Fortress Of Freedom Board
Bringing The Mass Media To The Masses!
 
 FAQ  Search  Usergroups  Memberlist  Profile  Log in to check your private messages  Register  Log in
A Social Club Of One.....
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... 270, 271, 272 ... 414, 415, 416  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Fortress Of Freedom Board Forum Index -> Social Club
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well the surprise for Friday was a rejection letter from PBS in the States. If you were wondering what that looks like well it is an email and it looks like the snapshot from my phone below:





Actually I was surprised that they replied at all as we were from Canada with a series that takes up a lot of airtime. I figured it would just disappear into the ether, but they actually acknowledged our existence and opened the package and gave it a look. They got it on January 10, 2018 so a big six months for a reply. I think that was longer than the four months or so they said but they did reply and that is such a big deal to me. That one was a flyer, a "Hail Mary" pass, so the rejection does not hurt and if anything got me more upbeat.


Upbeat in that I always expect a reply sooner than it does come our way and that means stuff like The Vatican and Bhutan may still be in play as opposed to dead and forgotten. I'm just too impatient. So a bit more upbeat for the weekend. Everything is still in play and possibly I can still manipulate things at this time (subbing the series with the movie). PBS joins a long line of rejections from the States and Canada including:



AMC (only interested in scripted shows):







NBC (Got a nasty letter from lawyers in California even though we submitted to New York):







United Artists/MGM (formerly One Three Media where we got a view by their developmental department, this is still a possible recall as they were in takeover when they reviewed our stuff):







TVO (not interested but they reviewed it and I got a meeting with their head editor and producer):







NFB (Not developed enough - Silva the head editor and producer did endorse the series and gave us supplies and technically we could logo the shows because of that):







And so it goes. I am still working on the Movie, Michael should be reviewing it shortly and he may do the score but this has yet to be confirmed. But many of you who watched the original show know he wanted to score a movie before his creative days were done. Apart from that I should be handing out more of the movie to our gang and get some feedback.



Goodnight.....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2018 7:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I spent Saturday cutting down the movie from just over 120 minutes down to 110.....


That is one target as Netflicks, for example wants about 54 minutes per hour. So the movie hits that mark right there! Now the edits get more intricate and so on. Cutting it down started off as hard but got easier when you made the necessary cuts and found out the movie played better. We all like to think every frame is gold and should stay in the movie but you can learn to go past this type of amateurism. For me keeping the last length on file and just creating a new timeline and having a "devil may care" attitude toward cutting seems to do it. You learn to target a "dead spot" in the narrative that can be cut and the story still keeps going. You cut a chunk out and then figure out how to marry the two ends seamlessly like it was before. That is the time consuming thing, having to reconstruct something from the damage of cutting something out.


I was aiming at 90 minutes but that might be too much, but 110 min is one standard so we may park it at that size for the time being. As you go through successive edits you learn to finesse each sequence. You learn how to find a small conclusion to each part instead of just having that segment dangle there unfinished. For me this happens naturally just by watching it over and over again. For example in Dan's segment about making music I had Chris the drummer in a sequence of accent percussion shaking the tambourine and knocking the cowbell all in this one continuous shot - but I needed to end it properly. So there was this one part where he was using this rattle and then laughs at the end. So I just kept the laugh at the end and that completes the sequence and we can move on. Sometimes you have to caption something to state something that was obvious in the longer version. So at FOFSTOCK in the TV show we learned early that part of the contract was no profanity and I made a quip about it and rappers that comes home to haunt the concert at the end. Cut way down to movie length the audience does not know those rules ahead of time so they start to wonder: "Why did they turn off the sound on stage?" So the caption explains it as he was swearing a bit before. That is why I like to run the material past newbie's as they will point out ambiguities that have to be addressed or explained as most viewers come on to the material with fresh eyes and things have to be set up or explained to them to make sense.


So this is what I am into now. The people who will see this movie will all be newbie's, so fresh eyes critiques are important for me to get it right and make the material "sing". And that was what I started this weekend. And it continues into Sunday but not as intense as Saturday, that is all.....




Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dxp47usvXw&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jul 09, 2018 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm burning the DVD of the latest version of the movie. This one should stick around for a while, just minor alterations I guess from now on.


Of more interest is what happens next. I want some fun out of this as in at least one or two festivals and get some real input and criticism and see how our material stacks up against other movies. Then back to the onerous task of distribution.....


Distribution: Well, cutting down the series to movie length makes it more of "the Maurice Ali show" than ever as the high points mostly have me involved. While great for my ego, it is bad for the salability as the movie then centers more on this brown guy with a Muslim name pushing freedom of expression and happiness at the highest levels and actually scoring with citizen journalists an bloggers getting legitimacy at the UN buy a majority vote of member nations. We were an important part of that. In essence we were one of the first citizen journalist orgs and maybe the first legitimate NGO. As such opportunities opened up fast for us to speak about access and protections as the issue was a hot one but organized organizations were few and far between at the time. But we were there and traveled the world to spread the word and ask for the protections and we road that horse all the way to adoption on the floor of the General Assembly Hall in New York City in December, 2015. For us it was referral from the Canadian Commission for UNESCO to UNESCO Headquarters in France that then became a half year study into a Citizen Journalism report that was presented at the first WSIS+10 Review Meeting at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, and citizen journalist protections making it into the final statement even though there was a push to scrap the statement by some countries (they lost that vote) in 2013. Applying for consultative status in 2014 and getting our first speech to member nations (NGO Committee at the UN) in January 2015, and the speech to all nations in General Assembly in July, 2015. Then the final adoption in December 2015 after a failed attempt - again - to get the citizen journalist and blogger protections thrown out. But we made it despite all odds, in the end all the effort was worth it! And all this is archived in our movie!


The movie is worth it as archival footage of the citizen journalist experience in its early days alone. The Fortress Experiment is icing on the cake that also made it to the UN in 2017! But it was a brown guy with a Muslim name behind all of this. To North Americans this is confusing and seems not right as the media - the same media I am vetting for distribution - has propagated the idea that a guy like me is this chauvinistic, backward savage not interested in equality and freedom of expression. In fact this story, this reality show, needs to get out there! Only right is right!


So we will start by being nice and see what happens. But if we encounter the usual human failings then I get more aggressive. I start to swing that metaphorical baseball bat. Remember, only right is right! I want to have some fun in the movie business first and then we try to reform the Canadian distribution business if it fails us this time. More pioneering work ahead - possibly. They could do the right thing and none of that needs to happen. We shall just wait and see.....




Goodnight.....





(NSFW)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrzKJ9ZEx94&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A late one today because we are just plain busy.....


I made some improvements to the FOFSTOCK segment adding in my summary of all the things we had to do to make the concert like insurance, food vendor permits and all that. I also added that time-lapse of me putting up the FOFSTOCK banner when we explained the rules of participation in the concert. Apart from that we seem to be basically there at this point in time.....


Well I'm back. Shane popped by the office and we had to go over a bunch of stuff. I have to run over to my Dad's place - it just never stops. I am the running man, literally!


Later.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm4FEjICVog&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laura posted some updates. The first is the movie announcement:



Laura wrote:
The Fortress Experiment Becomes a Movie!


By Laura Tommasone

International Association Of Independent Journalists Inc.
Fortress Of Freedom Inc.
MORE VISION Inc.
International Archiving Of Independent Journalists Inc.
MORE VISION Inc.
FOF Entertainment Inc.








Real Life!



The Fortress Of Freedom Corporation is pleased to announce that the "The Fortress Experiment Movie," is now available for broadcast distribution. This gives us a new dimension on the experiment in a shorter movie format!


Distribution will continue but now with this preferred format change.




Screen Credits - The Fortress Experiment: Series


Directed By: Maurice Ali

Edited By: Maurice Ali

Technical Director: Michael Atkinson

Sound: Fortress of Freedom Records and Maurice Ali

Cameramen: Maurice Ali, Michael Atkinson and Shane Murphy

Corporate Consultant: Susan Earps

Key Grip: Shane Murphy (excluding FOF TV Show)

Gaffer: Ryan Robichaud

Narration: Maurice Ali

Administration: Ainsley Wronski


Musical Artists:

Dan Strudwick
Michael Atkinson
Shane Murphy
Dave Getchell
Donald Brasseur
Shaun Kelly
Jon Chuck
Jim Burdon
Randy Nolson
Wendel Shank
Chris "The Kid" Stanoi
Jessica King
and many more.....




The Cast:

Maurice Ali
Mark Moore
Tara Roloson
Sabrina Singh
Samantha Blackwell
Ainsely Wronski
Gianna Gritti
Emily Smith
Sandra Murray
Dalila A.
Billy Lane
Dan Strudwick
Michael Atkinson
Shane Murphy
Dave Getchell
Donald Brasseur
Shaun Kelly
Jon Chuck
Jim Burdon
Randy Nolson
Wendel Shank
Chris "The Kid" Stanoi
Jessica King
And many others.....





Sound Track: (Complete CD Compilations)

A Slant On Life And Living: By Dave Getchell
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Daze In My Life: By AAVRY KNAPP
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Electric For All: By TWENTY6HUNDRED
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Free With Purchase: By TWENTY6HUNDRED
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

AAVRY KNAPP: Greatest Hits: By AAVRY KNAPP
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Real Life: By Shane Murphy
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Free With Purchase: By TWENTY6HUNDRED
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Flow With Me: By Gritz
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Memories Of Christmas: By Donald "Boots" Brasseur
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Hyperventilation: By Shaun Kelly
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

A Maze Of Music: By Donald "Boots" Brasseur
Produced By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.







Special thanks to:

Canwest Media
Global Television
CTV Television
Metalworks Recording Studios
Silverbirch Productions
Creative Post Productions
City Of Toronto
Government of Ontario
The National Film Board of Canada
Big Bang Direct Impact
MORE VISION



Videotaped in DVCAM and HDCAM digital video.

Filmed on location in Toronto and at Fortress Of Freedom Studios in Toronto.

Edited on AVID editing solutions.

Logistical help via the IAIJ Group, Fortressoffreedom.com company and the MORE VISION company.




Produced By: Fortress Of Freedom Inc.

Copyright 2018 By Fortress Of Freedom Inc.










Fortress Of Freedom Inc. is a debt-free corporation with 100,000 issues of common stock.






FORTRESS OF FREEDOM: BRINGING THE MASS MEDIA TO THE MASSES!




Next is stuff about the next issue of The Fortress:


Laura wrote:
2018 Submissions for The Fortress are now closed!




By Laura Tommasone




Submission for the 2018 edition of The Fortress are now closed. Thanks to all for their submissions! We will now format the paper and send it to the printers.






IAIJ: JOURNALISTS IN ACTION AROUND THE WORLD!




I'm spending less time on the editor and taking care of things that have to be done. It was getting to the point that I just jumped in the shower and let my hair dry without combing and spent much of the day without even tying my shoes. That ends now. I needed to get tunnel vision to make the movie but it is there now and only tweaking from now on. We now have all options from a movie to a TV series, but the probable destiny is a play or two on broadcast as a TV movie and possibly on-demand on-line shows for anyone how wants more. That is the best case scenario. We did the experiment and it is done and archived and on tape and hard drives. We were lucky to get this far.

In the end I should have failed miserably and just worked the Joe job and driven nice cars. But there is more to life than that, so we go this other way. Anyway we could not do the experiment now. The camera alone is like 24 grand and that is for a starter. But we are actually done so none of that matters. If we keep making docs after the experiment then it is used stuff and on the cheap always without going into debt.




You don't want to know how much all this would cost!



Anyway for Wednesday I drove up to the office and then over to Staples to buy some DVDs. I even ate an ice-cream cone there! Then back home to keep watching the movie and keep getting ideas and keep at it. I have already started handing out copies of the movie for early guidance - but we shall see. I'm also checking film festivals and how to apply; I will get more out of these than I ever thought. I have to do a couple of these before I hang my director's shingle up. And that is how it is going right now.


Later.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2v2t3s7Fk4&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I couldn't wait to get back on the editor late at night and then couldn't wait to get on the editor when I got up! That is sure a change as I sometimes had to flog myself to get working on the TV series. But this is easy.....


Anyway, I checked my finances and we are at the same place we were after the FOFSTOCK concert. That means that over the past seven years the companies and orgs have carried themselves without me having to go into hock. That can go on forever at this pace. What that also means is that as a filmmaker I am not under the burden of debt that has to get paid to move onto the next project. Movies and TV series that are not sponsored can bankrupt those producers and filmmakers. In fact one of the movies on that eight movie DVD I bought from Walmart long ago had one such filmmaker go personally bankrupt. That won't happen to me. But what a debt burden does is leave you beholden to the broadcaster or producer that shops the show for broadcast and payouts. You could get your money back, but you end up giving up "final cut" as a result and that means your art gets messed about by other people.


If the art is just pure entertainment and if the filmmaker is only mediocre in ability then it doesn't matter. In fact they would probably make it better. But get someone with an agenda or someone with real talent and changes just corrupt and warp the message the artist had. The incongruities of the new forms become ugly in the theoretical philosophic models of true art. The "being" of the art has been compromised. This happens all the time because people need money - Money corrupts. That won't happen here as I don't have a financial gun to my head. I still have all the options. I can still say "no"! I could even get the show on the air just like our previous shows by buying the airspace and using the advertising company to pay for the spot with advertising we get ourselves. That is the path of least resistance and keeps the integrity of the movie. But I also want an emotional satisfaction. I want my community to accept me and my work as our constitution and laws say it should. I don't want to stay an outsider. So I go through this kabuki charade of sending in stuff they loath to dabble with. All they see is a project with an admittedly interesting idea - but - with a head-strong filmmaker who would fight changes to make it more palatable to a North American audience. And like TVO I'm sure the bubble over the producer's head would say: "This is not worth the F**king trouble!" And they may be right.....


The difference now is that I am trying to make a movie they would accept as passable right from the get go. So they could air it with minimal agro from the headstrong filmmaker and get rid of him and his agenda that way. So that is how I have been editing the movie and so far I have not had to compromise my morals or integrity. We shall just have to see what the real broadcasters think. I have a chance to get some emotional satisfaction. But I still have all the other options up my sleeve.



There is always that.....



Later.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDyz7OMsYbg&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm starting to get some reviews of the movie and right now they are all negative.....


These are from our gang that has seen the series and now the movie and they prefer the series. Some criticisms I don't think about like the whining about my voice for narration. I can just bring in Scott or even a pro for one day and do all the narration so that I don't even think about that criticism. But when I hear them telling me the video is too choppy because we only have this much time for each segment, then that becomes a big problem. You can still have a rock'in movie but you have to toss some characters out and broaden others, and that starts to gut the experiment. So if the negative reviews hold - then what to do?


What to do? Then two possibilities; one is keep the eight episodes and just make them better, and the other is to double up the episodes. Doubling up means cutting down the series to four one hour documentaries or cutting each current documentary in half. But that also means more than doubling the movie length of the segments. TVO claimed that they got bored with the characters half way through the shows so cutting them down to half length may hit the "sweet spot". The fact is that in the movie we don't even touch on Donald Brasseur's D-Day experiences and going through his scrap book like an old diva starlet. With Shane we have none of the revolving door of prison or any of the street youth stuff. Twenty6Hundred starts on their second album and so on. Simply put - We don't have enough time in the movie version.



The Real Life Crew from Shane's show!


So where do we go now? I'll still keep the movie version and keep working on it. It's there, it's finished and so we just keep it. The current critique of the series is that it is 4:00am in the morning fodder for television which isn't the worst thing in the world, but we should try to improve on that!

I will start chopping the one hour shows in half and keep them separate for the time being. Then I will cut DVDs of those shows and we will compare them against the one hour show and see if we keep the structure and all the salient points in a shorter format. I have the sneaky suspicion there is enough fat on the one hour shows to do this but time will tell. But anyway all options will be cut and we will just decide. I also still think that in whatever form it becomes, that movie should continue and go to the festivals. I'm still up on that so the movie is still in play though we may see some major changes. That movie is just plain fun so far even if the first rough cuts blow.....Hehehehehehe..... I even warned first timers to have a bucket ready for vomit and they laughed while I didn't. The good thing is you get the rare person who sees things develop and then can really give you constructive criticism. Our best shows had this type of input. But that is like one out of 15 people off the street. I don't begrudge them running away and never coming back. You can only throw up so many times watching our stuff.....



Goodnight.....


EDIT: Well now that I'm talking to the reviewers it seems we may stick with the movie a while yet. The length has to increase a bit but a movie even at 150 minutes is preferable to 200 but in 4 parts. So we are sticking with the movie concept for the time being.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2hYf6nzOK8&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another back-up so another update.....


The early version of the movie was too severely cut at 110 minutes. So I back pedaled and add some time. I got in both Twetny6Hundred albums so the story and dialog makes sense. Added Donald Brasseur's war time experience on D-Day which was a must. I even added the "revolving door of prison" in Shane's segment to give more dimension to his character. FOFSTOCK now was a lineup in the segment and looks like a concert/music festival. I also added a few breaks in Dan's segment to not make the pace too frantic.


The movie is better this way.


And of course I answered the question of four one hour episodes or one average length movie: It's the movie all the way! When you get past it all, its about half an hour difference between the movie and the episodes as they are not truly one hour in length. But the movie can go to the festivals. The movie is easier to show in one spot as opposed to four. There is just so much upside to the movie format as opposed to the serial format when you self-produce and so we are doing it this way.




Scott Williams



I will run through the movie on Saturday and render another QuickTime file and hand this out of my gang. I will also give a copy to Scott and see if he is interested in doing the narration when we lock the thing down. That is the plan for now.


Goodnight.....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 1:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I finished the updated movie and it is in at 2:27 which is long but it is all in there. We may cut it down a bit in finishing but we shall see later. I want a movie that rocks first, and then worry about run times. I'm even getting worried about the ability to fit the QuickTime file on a dual layer DVD - so that may be history shortly. I may end up having to just transfer files from a jump drive to their computers directly. That is the way they do it now but I don't want to start buying jump drives instead of DVDs as they are more expensive. This one render is taking 16 hours! And should but up against the limit of 8.5 gigs. Whatever, all I can do is wait and see what happens.....


I celebrated the finish of the third draft of the movie with greasy chicken, followed by a beer and then a hot fudge sunday. That was how I celebrated. Now that things are calming down I have to think about other things. I mowed the front lawn and that back yard has to be done. Its like an African Jungle back there! I have to exercise a bit more. I am aging and every day is one or two more gray hairs replacing the black ones on my arms. Physically I am really healthy for my age but I have no aging picture in the attic, I am aging like everyone else. So far nothing terminal or even distracting. Only cosmetic and I am doing pretty good there to. But it won't last. It will last as long as it takes to make the plays. The Fates have given me that. So I make the plays.....


Goodnight.....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So now I'm punching out updates from my phone.


Anyway the Master movie file (at 2:27 min) is being backed up as a DnxHd file and then I'll make one tiny title edit and burn a smaller QuickTime file that will fit in a dual layer DVD. This one I'll hand out to my gang. We will make ongoing edits off this file from now on. This master file has everything we need in it. They will tolerate longer docs at festivals so we start here. If anyone is interested then it starts to get cut down and the fun starts.


I've earned a break and started doing chores around the house. I swept out the garage and hosed it down. I also mowed the lawn and it sort of looks presentable now. I even topped up all bank accounts and submitted the annual return for More Vision. Life goes on but the movie is looking much better now.


Goodnight.....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I applied to our first film festival.



We applied and submitted the fee this morning, I have to send them in a copy of the movie within the next three days as that is the deadline. No guarantees for acceptance but we have started this journey into film. Much more later but I have to get out and clear my head a bit'..



Later.....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another quick one as I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off.....


Ok, the film festival we applied to is called: Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival. The festival will run from Saturday September 15 to Sunday September 23, 2018 (my birthday as luck would have it). I actually applied on my cell phone as the deadline is this Friday. So far so good but I muffed the question about the completion date as I said 2017 which was the completion of the TV series but the movie finished just now in 2018. No biggie I thought but last year would seem to disqualify me from resubmitting next year if we didn't make it this year. I could try to have them change it but the copyright on the movie is 2017 and its too much bother to change it so this may be a one shot deal with this festival. Anyway my biggest problem was giving them a proper reference file to screen the movie. I had that crappy reference file for my gang but it was horrible with compression artifacts and such. I am trying to get a bigger file but power failures killed my last two attempts and I am running out of time.


Running out of time, so I called up the festival's office. The guy there told me that they really didn't even want a thumb drive QuickTime file sent to them but rather an uploaded file to their servers. Ok that buys me some time as I don't have to courier it in. But that also means the dual pack of thumb drives I got was a waste of time.....Hehehehehehehe..... So I've got till Thursday night to get the file. The proper file they will use if selected will be about 228 gigs but they want much smaller for reference. The next version could come out about 16 gigs up from 7 and we shall see what that looks like. But by hook or by crook that application will be finished by Friday. These festivals don't grow on trees, so to get one this close is great! But also remember they get to pick the movies they want at the festival so we may not make it for any number of reasons. That is why Laura is not making a formal announcement on the matter. We are getting in at the very last minute so nothing is for sure. But what I am doing now is all I can do.


In the end you just put out the best application you can and wait. That is all there is to it. Some would say why not wait to apply when you have everything good and ready. The answer is because when you delay nothing ever gets done. Sooner or later you just have to put your stuff out there and see what the redaction is. Most people's egos are so fragile they can't take possible rejection and the film never goes anywhere. Put it out and maybe it goes somewhere or maybe it gets viciously attacked and disparaged. That is the industry. But I know how to start and finish projects and it seems we are into the film festival thing faster than I ever thought. We shall just have to wait and see.....




Later.....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Too, too much going on.....


The big news is that our submission for Sudbury is done! The movie is uploaded onto the secure submission servers and we are good to go! So now all we do is wait, but there is more! I just received the open call for submissions for Sundance! And we actually qualify to apply. And apply we shall.....


If anyone told me I would cut a movie in like three weeks and start submitting to film festivals like Sundance - well - I probably would have laughed, but there you are. Movies are an area we really haven't covered before and we did do the Real Life Mini-Movie back in the day. But that was a short and this is a full length documentary. We may also get a chance to go to the UN and rub shoulders with the "A" team in politics at about the same time as the Sudbury Film Festival. I could fly down from New York to Sudbury if need be so we shall see.


What a day so far.....


Hubba, hubba, hubba.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUHFjy2qDg&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Things are moving along quickly.....




Scott Williams



I met up with Scott who was the MC of FOFSTOCK and asked if he would do the narration of the movie and he said yes! So you hear him in the background and then see him in the flesh when the FOFSTOCK segment comes up and then back to the background for the rest of the movie. I did this as me narrating is too much. My voice is like fingernails on the chalk board and so we try to mitigate that. I also made a few quick edits that were bothering me but the show is the show. It is done! The Sudbury Film Festival application is done and we just wait on that with the answers coming middle of August. With a deadline so close, they got an earlier version of the show but hopefully that won't penalize us much if at all. For Sundance we will polish it up some more but that window is only three weeks so we really are going with the same movie.


We will find out about who gets to go to Utah for Sundance at the start of December. This festival is a big ticket event due to the money there to purchase movies so our chances are slim. But we do have a chance so we try our best! Sudbury is great (if we get in there) in that people in the movie can drive down there and see themselves and the movie in a movie theater. I like it as everyone can see their performances. Nothing has been cut or compromised yet, so all is good. The director's version if you wish. So I am really jiving for this festival. If we get in this makes the application for Sundance look better as we will be there probably before our application for Sundance is considered. So we actually have a bit of a road map to success here. Almost 2/3s of movies at Sundance get bought or distributed so this is still a play for sale or broadcast, but it is much more fun! This is way better than what I was doing before. The movie business rocks!


I have come down from the shock of getting the Sundance application. Everything is seen in a rational light now. But to just start your first application and like on the second day you are getting an application for Sundance is really a "big grin" surprise. I don't know how to describe the feeling. Sundance is where the "A teams" go, the best of the best. That ticket means you're definitely on your game and a player in the industry. That is the feeling you get.....



Man what a feeling.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NrSie76QB0&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What a week!


Now that things have calmed down I actually had time to think about things. First is that I love our movie! It shows the experiment and how everyone supported the idea behind it of fullest expression being the best way to live a happy life. I didn't want to spell it out to them in too an obvious way but it is all there if you look and think. Even the Jelleestone incident had Jelleestone stating it and the crowd indorsing it by protesting when the mics were turned off and cheering when they came back on with Jelleestone apologizing really for nothing..... Then the road for advocacy. I really like what we accomplished. My only regret is leaving so much good material on the cutting room floor where a series fleshed it all out better. But I originally wanted a documentary movie. It was going over the options with Michael after the PBS rejection where his best suggestion was to cut the movie. So I gave it a shot and found the thing coming together quickly - very quickly! That's usually a positive sign there when it comes together effortlessly. When I am happy to get back on the editor and create instead of fighting with the material..... And here we are today.


I was reading about some of the tips for submitting to film festivals and one of them was: Develop a thick skin! Oh yah, I know that already.


So expect nothing but be happy when an invitation comes. As for this weekend I will take if easy and dabble with getting the most of our on-line player we use for submissions. I should also write down the text for Scott and hand it to him on Monday and get ready for that. The film should go in the early week that starts August. But we will submit even if things are not ready.I will always have a last up to date copy ready to upload because shit happens. Which reminds me to back up the project files for the movie this weekend. I like the fact there are no major revisions of the movie, just tweaking. The story is there and told. It is what it is, but there is 14 years of all our lives. So that is what happens this weekend.


We have a true and unique story to be told, and not some second rate remake of something great. Anyone can do that - we create!


Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnfYNAZcD1Q&feature=share
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Fortress Of Freedom Board Forum Index -> Social Club All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3 ... 270, 271, 272 ... 414, 415, 416  Next
Page 271 of 416

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

affiance theme by sparsely