Another Hole in the Head

... you know, like, "San Francisco needs another film festival like it needs another hole in the head."
Except in this case, San Francisco really needs this festival, because this is the only bay area film fest that celebrates horror, sci-fi, exploitation and general wackiness.

And y'all are invited to attend two weeks of mayhem from June 3 to June 16 at the Roxie Theater in the happening Mission District, S.F.

Highlights include:


- Helldriver, by Yoshihiro Nishimura (opening night)
- The Victim, Directed by and Starring Michael Biehn (who will be at the screening!)
- Absentia, by Mike Flanagan
- Red Ice, by Ralph Hyver (San Francisco Filmmaker)
- The Bleeding House, by Philip Gelatt
- Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, by Jalmari Helander
- Apocrypha, by Michael Fredianelli (Bay Area Filmmaker)
- I am Nancy (cool doc about actress Heather Langenkamp, "Nancy" from Nightmare on Elm Street)

AND...

 Enter the Dark!  by yours truly, which will screen twice:


Thursday, June 3 at 5:20 pm (We actually open up the festival, supporting the feature film, Haunted Changi!)

Friday, June 9 at 7:20 pm 


I will be attending both screenings, along with some of my cast and crew, so if you're in the Bay Area and want to catch some cool films, drop on by.


Tickets can be purchased here:

The Next One...

I've been so fortunate with the success that Enter the Dark has had so far: screenings around the world, great reviews and multiple awards.  More importantly, people really seem to respond to it and have encouraged me to keep going.  And therein lies the problem.  That dreaded sophomore slump.  It's time to start writing the next one.

With Enter the Dark, my main goal was simply to finally finish something.  I've been very good at coming up with ideas in my lifetime, and horrible at actually finishing any one of them.  I purposely made this goal embarrassingly easy to accomplish - shooting it in my own house, with my friends, with gear we already owned.  No excuses.  If I couldn't complete a short film under those circumstances, I never would and I should just accept that fact.  Fortunately with the great help of my friends, we did indeed steam forward and not only finished the project, but made a pretty darn good one as well.

 

But now, things are different.  This time, there can be no excuses - no conditions.  It's not enough to say, "Hey, isn't this pretty good considering we did this with no money and it was just me and my buddies?"  No, this time it has to stand on its own.  This short film has to be good enough that it could be shown to anyone and they would assume it was a Hollywood-produced film.  The story, acting, camerawork, lighting, art direction, sound design and everything else all have to be top-notch.  It has to be seamless - no excuses.

And why is that - you may ask.  Well, it's simple - this has to be my calling card.  There's no more goofing around.  If I'm to ever make it in this industry - to actually fulfill my little ol' BA in Cinema from S.F. State University, then the time is now.  This project has to be good enough for someone to look at and say, "Wow, this guy's good - let's give him a couple million and see what he can do with an actual budget.  Let's give him a feature film to direct."

There, I said it - that's what I ultimately want to do.

So, you tell me, how can anyone actually produce good art under those pressures?  You see, I have to play a game with myself - to forget what my goals are and just concentrate on the task at hand - writing a great story.  But it has to be a story that not only speaks to me, but that enables me to showcase my talents as a writer/director.  It has to be small enough so it is do-able (considering I still will have almost no budget), but big enough to explore inventive ideas. 

In short, I need to produce a tiny, perfect gem of a story that will be the seed to my future.  No pressure there…

UGH!!!

I'm stuffing myself with movies, pouring over M.C. Escher prints and reading Borges' Labyrinths to hopefully have all this wash over me so that some of its brilliance may somehow seep into my pores.  But I know I need to find my own true voice - I cannot allow myself to try to write to please others.  Only by making the story personal will it connect with others on a deeper level.  The things that work in Enter the Dark work because they feel authentic.  I must focus on that.

The good news is I think I've found the story - the architecture around which I may be able to create my film.  I still need to flesh out the details, breathe life into the characters, find the heart - but I think I've found the vessel.  Now, if I can just make the damned thing float!

Watch Enter the Dark for FREE

Watch Enter the Dark for FREE and help us win a spot at the FirstGlance Film Festival!

Friends, family, fans and horror freaks - now is your opportunity to watch our award-winning horror short, Enter the Dark for free in the comfort of your own home.  But be sure to hurry, this event only lasts until May 13th.

Simply bounce on over to the FirstGlance Online Competition website - http://fgff.openfilm.com , click "Join" and enter your info to create an account.

Then click on the picture for Enter the Dark, press play, click the full-screen icon, settle down and get ready for spooky fun.

Oh, and please, be sure to watch it at night…  alone… with the lights out… for full effect!

But wait… there's more!  We would really appreciate it if you would take a moment to vote for our movie and help us win prizes and a spot at the FirstGlance Film Fest in Philly (try saying that three times fast!)  Once you've watched the film to the end you will have an opportunity to vote (look for the stars above the film - wow, wouldn't FIVE RED STARS look really cool?!?!  I'm not trying to influence your vote or anything… just sayin')

Now, in order for your vote to actually count, the official rules state that you must watch THREE films in their entirety and vote on them (I guess they don't want anybody stuffing the vote or somethin'), so browse through the list of other equally entertaining nominees and pick out two others to watch and vote for. 

That's it - you're done!  You've watched some really cool short indie films AND you've helped us tremendously!

If you don't have the time to watch three short films and just want to check out Enter the Dark, that's totally fine as well.  Thanks so much for your interest, and I hope you enjoy it.

Enter the Dark - World Tour 2011

Big money baby - Big Money!!

Who says filmmaking doesn't pay off?  My first official check for Enter the Dark from DVD and streaming sales at IndieFlix is a whopper!  $21 big bucks!  Looks like I can now pay off that line item for Oreos eaten during production of my little horror flick.


... In all seriousness, any money, no matter how small, generated from this film represents a huge success!  And it's not about the money anyway - for now it's all about going through the filmmaking process, learning from it, getting my name out there and getting the film in front of as many folks as possible.

Speaking of which...

April through May will see ETD screened in theaters worldwide! I kid you not!

From Los Angeles to Scotland, to Australia the world will be abuzz with horrified viewers passing out in their seats, barely able to catch their breath from the terrifying menace that is ENTER THE DARK!!!
(well, actually just a few theaters worldwide... six to be exact... but it sounds much more impressive to say it the other way...  and folks probably won't be passing out... unless they get low blood sugar from not picking up a snack before watching hours upon hours of indie films...  or if they get up too fast from their seats after sitting too long for a while...  that can do it to me sometimes, ya know... well, not actually passing out, but kinda light-headed and seeing a couple of stars pass by...  that's gotta count for something, right?)

Anyway, here's the official-sounding dealio for Enter the Dark's 2011 World Tour: 

Enter the Dark is excited to be an Official Selection of the following film festivals:

 - A Night of Horror International Film Festival - Sydney Australia
Saturday, April 2, 4pm

- Famous Monsters of Filmland Imagi-Movies - Beverly Hills, CA
April 8 - 10

 - Indie Spirit Film Festival - Colorado Springs, CO
April 14 -17 

 - Bare Bones Film Festival - Muskogee, OK
April 25 - May 1

 - Dead by Dawn - Edinburgh, Scotland
May 5 - 8

 - High Desert Shorts International Film Festival - Pahrump, NV
Friday, May 27, 11:15pm



Phew, now that's a whirlwind tour!  I'd love to be able to attend all of these festivals, but alas, such is not the way for the lowly indie filmmaker.  I'm planning on going to the High Desert Shorts (tie it in with a trip to Vegas), and seeing if I can make it to Famous Monsters in LA.

So far, 2011 has blazed to action with a blistering start and I still have many festivals to hear from.  While it may seem excessive to enter into some 60 or more film fests, I find it money well-spent as it is really the only way for and indie filmmaker to have their work screened in theaters... or community centers... or casino ballrooms.  It really makes no difference to me as long as the lights are out, butts are planted in seats and all the hard work of my cast and crew is projected on a screen.  The ability to have people see our vision is priceless (well, actually on average, it's about $35/ per festival submission, plus burning the DVDs, shipping, making the postcards, etc.), but still, the marketing payoff is huge.

And speaking of marketing payoffs...

A number of months ago, I received the exciting news that I had won an award from the Maverick Movie Awards for Best Sound Design/Editing.  I had also been nominated for Best Director and Best Special Effects.  Now this was totally unexpected and very very cool news, but when I let people know, their response was tepid at best.

Now, let's face it, no one really knows what the Maverick Movie Awards are.  I hadn't even heard of them myself, until I had submitted my film for their perusal.  So, it's not like I had won an Oscar or anything, but still, any recognition is greatly appreciated.

Anyway, as with a lot of these award contests, the winners had an option of buying an actual award trophy or plaque for an additional cost.  Now, my usual reaction to this had been "Eff that!  This is all just a scam to make money off of inflated costs for stupid plastic keepsakes", so I wasn't really considering it.  But then, these guys seemed like legit folks, and they weren't really pushing the trophies - just offering it as an option since so may people had asked. "Oh, what the hell", I thought, "I need something sparkly for my office and I can write it off as a marketing expense anyway."

So I pulled the trigger and bought the dang thing:

The mighty acrylic monolith next to a DVD copy of Enter the Dark (still only $5.95 from IndieFlix)

And do you know what I discovered?  People are way more impressed with an etched piece of Acrylic-Crystal than I had imagined.  Suddenly, this makes one seem legit.  I am now an "award winning filmmaker" and I have the dang hardware to prove it.  So there.


Lesson learned.  Saying you have won an award is one thing.  Having something people can actually see, hold in their hands and reflect upon is another.  And while my natural inclination is not to toot my own horn, so to speak, I'm learning that shameless self-promotion is a necessary evil of this whole game of filmmaking.


Just a few months ago, my 8-year old was shoving his cheap, tacky plastic soccer trophies in my face, "Hey dad, how come you don't have any trophies?  And why do you keep making movies that don't make any money?"  Now I can blast him back, "Hah!!! Look at me now buddy! Feast upon the bounty that is my $21 check!! And bow down in worship to the mystical glory of my gold-tinted acrylic-crystal glittering monolithic behemoth!!"


Yeah... lesson learned...

Enter the Dark Updates

Here's what's new and exciting with my little bundle of horror goodness:

FESTIVALS

Enter the Dark will be screening at a couple of really fun festivals this week.
First off, if you happen to be in the greater Boulder City, NV. region (or ripping it up in Vegas), be sure to check out the Dam Short Film Festival. We will close out their Wednesday evening block of horror shorts from 9:15 - 10:15.

Then, hop on over to Sanford FL, and their brand new Love Your Shorts Film Festival, where you can see tons of great short movies of all genres (including the Oscar nominated God of Love).  Then stick around until Saturday night's sci fi/horror selections at 9:30 as we close out that evening's festivities as well.

We are also excited to be part of the High Desert Shorts Film Festival, May 27 - 29 in Pahrump, NV., another cool indie film short fest.  I'll let you know exact dates when I have them.

... And now for all the rest of you horror fans, this March you will get your chance to see Enter the Dark for FREE!!!  We were fortunate to be selected as part of First Glance Film Festival's short online contest:

In 2010 we presented over 50 short films online. More than any other festival in the world and awarded over $5000.00 in prizes.
 
Over 5000 registered voters, voted over 14,000 times to create one of the most competitive online short contests for any film festival in North America.
 
We look forward to you being part of the next Short Online Contest.
 
The Short Online Contest begins in Late March 2011 and run for 6 weeks.

 Stay tuned for more info on how you can watch and vote for a bunch of great short movies!


REVIEWS

Enter the Dark continues to enjoy great reviews from some really cool bloggers.  It has been incredibly rewarding to see that the vision I had for this short film is being well received.

From Midnight, With Love:

Miro's story works like a good horror tale should, suckering us in with one hand while it's preparing to pop up and scare us with the other.  There's a command here that can't be taught, and Miro shows a natural gift for creating tension.

Dollar Bin Horror:

… this 17 minute short has no gags. It's just scary.
It's just a really damn good film.

Chuck Norris Ate My Baby:

It's quick, fun and a bit spooky and, as promised, watching Enter the Dark in the dark makes it all the more effective.

Fatally Yours:

Enter the Dark is an entertaining, scary and thought-provoking short film.
The acting is also top-notch, with actors Charles Yoakum and Rob Sandusky putting on convincing performances.

That's all for now.  In the meantime I'll continue to play the festival circuit until October or so (do a full year to hit all that I can), and work on ideas for the next short film.

The we'll do it all over again!

Enter the Dark - Updates

The latest greatest happenings of my little bundle of spooky goodness known as Enter the Dark:

First, a couple of recent reviews:

Scary Film Review:  … a very surreal, scary and realistic depiction of a universal fear that all of us have... a sonic achievement of style and horror, but in a very psychological way.

Killer Reviews:  ...one of those short cool films that is efficiently produced and directed, well written and acted and a damn good use of a spare 17 minutes.

Be sure to check out these websites as they offer great insights and content on all things horror.

In other news, we were excited to find out that Enter the Dark received an Award of Merit from IndieFest!

From their website:  "Indie awards go to those filmmakers who produce fresh, standout entertainment, animation and compelling documentaries. The Indie is a showcase for cinematic gems and unique voices."

Woo Hoo!  While we're stoked to have received the recognition, I think we'll hold off on getting the actual trophy you see on the left.  You see, that little baby would set me back another $350 bucks, and while it would be nice to see it up on my mantle, I can live with the JPEG image just fine.

Also, congrats and a shout-out to my friend Elisabeth Fies for taking home an Award of Excellence at the same awards for Sound Overall Impact for The Commune.  Elisabeth and I, along with sound-recordist and mixer, Winter, spent a lot of time and effort on the sound design of that movie to really set mood, create tension, and emphasize plot points.  I learned a lot, which definitely paid off when it came time to think about sound for Enter the Dark.

No new screenings or festivals at the moment, but hopefully that will soon change as many of the festivals I have submitted to will be making their selections any day now.  Most of the recent submissions have been to short film festivals, or indie film festivals, so it will be interesting to see how the movie is received by a non horror-specific audience.  I hope it will do well, as folks who have seen it already who don't normally like horror movies (my wife included) have so far responded well to it. 

We shall see...

Enter the Dark - Updates

First off if you are in the Boston area this Wednesday, Dec. 1, it's YOUR LUCKY DAY!
Thanks to Mike Snoonian and Chris Hallock over at All Things Horror, Enter the Dark will be playing with El Monstro Del Mar! (which recently took home the award for Best Feature at the Dark Carnival Film Fest), and two other nasty little horror short gems, The Living Want Me Dead, and Get Off My Porch.
  



ALL THINGS HORROR PRESENTS
Wednesday, December 1

The Somerville Theater

55 Davis Square, Somerville MA 02143

8 pm/$5

El Monstro Del Mar! is an insanely cool exploitation monster flick from down under that has been generating some massive buzz for it's generous Russ Meyer meets Roger Corman vibe.  How can you pass that up?

Speaking of awards...

I'm super excited that my little snack 'o' dread, Enter the Dark took home the award for Best Short at the Dark Carnival Film Festival!  Wow - as a filmmaker, you don't do it for the awards, but it feels really great when you do get some recognition that all your hard work is actually having an effect on folks.  I really wish I could have attended - it looked like everyone there had a blast.

Also, I just found out that Enter the Dark was nominated in three categories by the Maverick Movie Awards:

- Best Director
- Best Sound Design/Editing
- Best Special Effects

(Drumroll please...) 

And we won for Best Sound Design/Editing!  This is really cool for me because I do think that sound is enormously important in telling a story (especially a horror story) through the language of cinema.  Although oftentimes overlooked, sound hits the audience in an immediate and subconscious way.  For an indie film director, good sound design is the most cost-effective way to creating an authentic and deeply resonant experience.  Try to imagine Eraserhead without that jarring, industrial nightmare soundtrack.

The ironic thing about winning this award is that Enter the Dark has many instances of little or no sound.  Just as composition in art is all about positive and negative space, so is sound.  What many forget is that silence is sometimes the most effective way to heighten tension - and horror movies are all about tension.


We've also been getting some great write-ups by fellow horror bloggers and websites:


The Independent Critic: Enter the Dark is an effective, psychologically thrilling chiller ... involving, slick and suspenseful.

The Man-Cave: Miro provided me with something that I crave as a horror fan. A legitimate scare.

I Like Horror Movies: Fans of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY will be happy to discover this spooky short!

All Things Horror: ...effectively creepy with an atmosphere that kept me looking over my shoulder constantly.

Cinema Crazed: …a nail biting bonanza of moments that will definitely keep audiences watching in anticipation the entire time…

Zombies DON'T Run: …a short movie that's shot very well, creepy as all hell, and has a twist that may just catch you off guard…

 
For all you aspiring filmmakers out there, just be aware that none of this comes without work.  Since I completed post-production on this movie, I have easily spent 20 hours a week making all this happen.  From burning DVDs, contacting possible reviewers, submitting to festivals, mailing out DVDs, creating postcards, updating the website, Facebook and Twitter - all this is a non-stop marketing blitz.  And I've really only done a small amount.  If this were a feature film I really would want a professional publicist and marketing team, with the end result hopefully that ever-elusive distribution deal.


But for now I'll keep humming along - probably until next summer when I will have completed a full festival circuit.  Then I'll start on the next project - probably another short that may hopefully help to sell a feature idea.


If I'm lucky...

Your Worldview Terrifies Me: Se7en and the Four Shades of Horror

When it came time to shoot the final scene of my short horror movie, Enter the Dark, I knew it had to have a certain tone.  This dark ending had to deliver a crushing psychological blow, like the amazingly resonant movies of David Lynch - especially Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive.

A few days before shooting the final scene, I got this gnawing feeling that I needed watch Se7en, one of my all-time favorite films.  As I sat in admiration of the incredible skill involved in that movie - the script, the acting, art direction, cinematography and of course, David Fincher's overall vision, I was mostly overcome by the absolute bleakness of its ending, and especially the amazing performance by Brad Pitt as he is forced to make an impossible decision with the realization that no matter what he does, evil has already won.

I knew I was watching the embodiment of what my ending had to be.

The night that we shot our ending, I had my actor, Charles step into my office, and we alone sat in the darkness and watched that ending of Se7en.  Then we stepped into my hallway and shot our scene.

This got me thinking - what about this movie (Se7en) makes it so above the ordinary for me?  Why does it emote such feelings of dread in me, while other so-called horror films seem so shallow.  It struck me that in this movie, the key issue is that evil has already won.  Throughout the film, Somerset tries to warn Mills that society is rotten to its core, but Mills only learns after he has paid the ultimate sacrifice. 

To me, it is this pessimistic worldview that ultimately terrifies me.  As I examined some of the films that have effected me the most, I realized that most of them contain elements of this same worldview.  Extrapolating this further, I realized there are really four different worldviews that a horror movie (or any story, for that matter) can be set in.  How a storyteller sees the world will greatly influence the shades of horror that he or she creates.

There are 4 primary worldviews: Light, Grey, Dark, and Empty.  (I know these may sound silly - bear with me with the names, you'll see where I'm headed in a sec.)

-LIGHT - In this world, people are inherently good.  The systems they create: Science, Education, Politics, The Media, The Police, The Military, The Church are all essentially good.  Therefore, the world in which we live is essentially good.  The occasional outbreaks of bad behaving people are anomalies that are swiftly and effectively dealt with by the systems we set up to protect us.

There is no evil - no monsters, no demons. There are simply misbehaving individuals that may have been damaged as children.  Rehabilitation is always the best way to deal with misbehaving individuals. They can always be fixed - there is always a cure.

Good ultimately and always triumphs.  The perfect refinement of our systems will ultimately lead to peace and nirvana.

-GREY - All people have good and evil within them.  Who they become is determined by their upbringing, and ultimately their actions.  Every one of us, every day by our own actions choose to be good or evil.

However, there definitely is real Evil in this worldview - some of which can never be rehabilitated.  The systems we create may be corrupted by this evil and at times work against us. However, Good can always battle back when enough people band together to take a stand and fight against the exposed Evil.

The battle rages on...

-DARK - People are inherently selfish, greedy, violent, sadistic and destructive.  The systems they create reflect their diseased state.  Occasionally there may be glimpses of people who try to do good, but they are ultimately taken down by the true wretched state of mankind.

The systems we create perpetuate a vision that they are protecting us simply to keep us passive - like sheep being led to the slaughter.

Dystopia and destruction are the ultimate outcome.

-EMPTY - There is no good or evil, no right are wrong.  Things just happen.  There is no meaning.

The systems we create do what we tell them to - no more or no less.

In this Nihilistic vision, there is no final judgement -no God or Devil.  What you do, how you treat your family, how you interact with the world matters not.

You are ultimately alone in the universe.

So, if we go back to my old pal, Se7en you might say that it lives squarely in the Dark worldview. I think that is what makes it so damn frightening to me.  If you were to draw a graph (and you know how much I like graphs) and place Se7en on a spectrum from Light to Dark, you might see something like this:

Now, most films will not live entirely within one of these worldviews, but will tend to have elements of one or more.  Looking at a bunch of my favorite movies, if I had a bunch of time to waste, I might graph them like this: (click on image to enlarge)

 

I find this to be an interesting way to look at movies, and horror movies in particular.  You can see that most of my favorite movies tend to live in the areas of Dark or Empty, or some combo of both.  You'll also notice that almost no horror films live in the Light worldview (no surprise there) so I added some stuff like E.T. and Care Bears Movie so you can see what would live there.  And if anyone can find a movie that is both Light and Empty, please let me know.  A happy, positively nihilistic film is something I'd like to see someone pull off - perhaps the ending of Life of Brian comes close??

Of course this is all open to interpretation, which is ultimately what makes it so interesting.  So, I invite you to argue with me, make your own graphs, chart tv shows, books, comic books do whatever.  It might help illuminate why you've always been attracted to or repelled by certain stories.

The question also becomes then, how do you view the world?  Where would it be charted in the above graph?  I think for me, I'd like to live in the Light world, but know that's a fairy tale.  More and more, I'm convinced we live in a Grey world - somewhere between Grey and Empty. Yeah, we exist in a world somewhere between Alien and Jaws.

Heaven help us all...

Enter the Dark - updates

First off I'm excited to report that Enter the Dark is now available via IndieFlix!

- $1.95 for 30-day stream

- $5.95 for a DVD that you can keep forever and use to scare your friends.

For anyone who has been under a rock for the last six months, Enter the Dark is a short horror movie that I wrote and directed (and edited and produced, yadaa yadaa...).  It tells the story of two buddies who are led on an adventure of paranormal encounters: cold spots, an eerie talking children's book, unexplained apparitions and a final mystery that leads to an unforgettably disturbing ending.

Or something like that.

Yeah, I know it sounds a lot like Paranormal Activity, but trust me... it's a lot different.  In a good way.

It has been getting some great buzz and positive reviews as it has made its way through the film festival circuit.

Speaking of which...

Enter the Dark will be playing at the Dark Carnival Film Festival, Saturday November 20th at 4:00 in lovely Bloomington, Indiana.  It looks like a cool festival with none other than Joe Bob Briggs hosting this year's festivities.  Joe Bob says check it out!

At that same festival, we have just been nominated for three awards:

- Best Short

- Best Editing

- Best Supporting Actor (my buddy, Rob Sandusky)

See, I told you we've been getting good buzz.  Fingers crossed - hopefully we can bring home some hardware.

In other news, the team from Enter the Dark recently had a great time attending the screening at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival.

 

(L-R) Actor, Charles Yoakum, Writer/Director(and blogger)Todd Miró, Sound Recordist Ben Weiner & 2nd Unit DP/Assistant Cameraman Eduardo Silva outside the Sacramento Horror Film Festival

 

The festival was very well organized and we screened in a block of very good shorts, including the very funny, award-winning, The Familiar.  Charles and I were able to do a little Q&A session with emcee, and filmmaker, Blake Reigle who had a tremendous knowledge of the horror genre and asked intelligent, and interesting questions.

Although I was nervous at first, Blake put me right at ease.

Charles has 'em cracking up as usual...

I was able to speak with some other attending filmmakers including James Tuverson (Zombies Take the School Yard), Matthew Roth (The Man Who Collected Food), and Producer Ethan Cushing (Devil's Creek).  Needless to say the atmosphere and experience was much better than what happened to us in Chicago.

That's all for now from the indieworld!

Disobedience is Good - Two thoughts to live by

When I was growing up, I was taught to pay attention to rules; to ask before you do something; to try your best at what you do before you finish it; and these simple rules helped me to succeed in school, and I assumed they would lead to success in life.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

In the dog-eat-dog reality of the grown-up world, those who succeed are rarely those who wait for permission, or who do the most thorough job.  The winners are more often those who seize the moment, take action and get things done.

In the last couple of years, as I've tried to make a course correction in my own life and strive to make a name for myself as a filmmaker, I've had to fight against some of my ingrained tendencies in order to succeed.  Through this process I discovered two thoughts to live by that have helped me immeasurably:


1) Ask for forgiveness, not permission.

 As children, we are constantly reminded to follow the rules, ask before you do something - look to those in power for confirmation.  We look to our parents, teachers, coaches and later, our bosses asking them, "Is it okay if I do this?"  While this is good behavior as a child, it is not useful as an adult.

As an adult, this puts you at the whim of incompetent bosses, and arcane rules.  Yes, obviously you shouldn't break the law, but short of that, everything else is up for negotiation.  If you wait around and ask for permission to do something, the stock answer is almost always NO.  You will need to get around many NOs to succeed in what you want to do, whether that's make a movie, start a business, or plan a vacation.  Why place more phantom NOs in your way? You're a grown-up now - make a reasoned decision and take action.  If someone doesn't like it, ask for forgiveness after the fact.  More often, however you won't even have to ask for forgiveness as your actions will have proved that you were right.


2) Ready, Fire, Aim!

This was a huge one for me to overcome.  I am a natural perfectionist, which is what makes me a good editor.  I am paid to notice an edit that's 2 frames off, or a logo that should be eight pixels to the left.  However, as someone who is now trying to get my own projects done, this tendency can be crippling.

My natural tendency is to want everything to be perfect before I can accept it and send it out into the world - whether that's a movie, a business idea, or even a blog-post.  The problem with this however, is that those who get things done are rewarded more than those who do it better, but who take too long. The lesson for me is that good enough is good enough!

I spent many years coming up with ideas for movies, web sites and products and never finished a single one of them.  I would always be crushed under the weight of my own expectations - if it wasn't perfect, it wasn't worth doing.  I never wanted to hand in B- work, when I knew I could do an A.  But, you know what I realized?  The world gets by on B- work.  Heck, most people can barely do C level work, anything more than that looks like friggin genius level!

What Ready Fire, Aim! taught me is to do a good-enough job, get it done, get it out there, and make course corrections on the fly.  This is how the world really works.  Ever wonder why it seems you're always Beta testing software that you have bought?  That's because you ARE!  The software developer is fine-tuning their product with your help - yup, Ready, Fire, Aim!

When I made Enter the Dark, my main priority was to actually finally finish something.  I had to let go of a lot of things in order to do that.  One of them was my fear of rejection and putting something out there that wasn't perfect.  What I learned however, is that the process of completing this project, of making the movie, submitting to festivals, getting reviews, making connections, is WAY more important than having a finished perfect movie.  Enter the Dark is not perfect - far from it.  If I were to grade it, I'd probably give it a B.  But you know what, it's done, it's out there and I learned tons from the experience.  And people seem to like it.

Warts and all.

(p.s. - I'm going to post this blogpost without spell-checking it... so there!)