In Review: LDSFF '09 Part 8: The Short Films

The short film competition is probably one of the best parts of the festival. I love the format, first of all, and to see ten or eleven of the films right in a row is great. This year, the competition was broken into two segments with about twenty films total. I won't discuss them all, but you can read synopses and get credit information here.

Let me briefly run down my impressions of the most memorable of these films (for me), in no particular order.

The Teller's Tale by Jared Parker and Jared Cook

This is a charming story that is great for anyone with children. It captures the magic that can exist when a father is involved in his childrens' lives and imaginations. Because I love to read to my daughters, this touched me.

The Skeleton Dance by the East Hollywood High stop-motion animation class.

While I found the animation on this one a little bit disturbing, it represented an encouraging and inventive effort by some talented young students.

Face to Face by Spanky Ward

This plain bothered me, and not in an introspective, constructive way. I don't know Mr. Ward (although I see his Craigslist ads all the time), but this seemed like a masochistic attempt to get us all to connect with our inner psychotic murderer. Coming to terms with your dark side is fine, but I thought this was a bit over the top.

In the film, a man is confronted in his home by an evil stranger who looks just like him. Predictably, over the course of their conversation it becomes clear that they're two sides of the same personality. The good self ends up embracing the murderous actions of the bad self, and, as far as I could tell at one viewing, embracing his evil nature as well.

True, we all do some things that we're ashamed of. We might even hide them from our consciousness as the man in this film did. But I just think Face to Face takes too bleak a view of human nature. We're not all murderers at heart, and when we come to realize our mistakes, most of us still desire to overcome our weakness. The absence of atonement here would be interesting if it were deliberate, but it seems unlikely that this was the case. Instead, this film simply gives up on human goodness and tells us all to go ahead and go to hell, since there’s no other place, really, although I doubt that even that was deliberate. My biggest problem with this film is not that it has dark and difficult themes or that the ending is unhappy; it's that the film seems utterly devoid of any constructive virtue. It denigrates both the main character and the audience.

Fifty Cents by Ali Barr and Sally Meyer

I thought this was an enchanting tale of the young learning from the old, and vice versa. Sally Meyer's gifts for short form writing come through here.

These Words are Mine by Robert Higginson, Brian Higginson, and Carol Lynch Williams

I'll take an extra minute on this because it applies to us as artists. This is a wonderful story of how an "impossibly horrible" writer uses her words to send the messages she's too shy to speak outright. The writer's boyfriend is reluctant to act as critic for her latest story because he doesn't want to endure its badness, but also doesn't want to hurt her feelings. He comes to understand, however, that although the words may be ill-chosen, the message is heartfelt, and it's for him.

In the Church, we have a high tolerance for people who are well intentioned but awkward in their execution. We almost expect people to be blunderers because, after all, the Lord looks on the heart and we certainly don't claim to be qualified for our callings do we? Our wills to be humble turn us all into this cute writer who does her best but invariably fails. What we hope is that those we're ministering to will understand our intent and not get caught because we're not mighty in writing. In LDS film, we similarly see a lot of attempts by people who mean well, but lack the polish of seasoned professionals. My question is, is that okay, expected, or even desirable?

The Edge of the World by E.R. Nelson

This is the second animated entry, and teaches a rather blunt lesson about recognizing what you have and being content with it.

A Piece of Infinity by Janine and Jamie Sides

This was probably the closest I came to shedding tears during this competition. It is an absolutely heart-wrenching look at relationships lost and the hope for the future.

Unhinged by Nick Stentzel and Diane Mayne

Like These Words are Mine, this film takes a look at art and relationships. This time though, the artist's obsession keeps his relationship from becoming meaningful, but he is awkward in art because he has no time for love. He almost loses his girl and his art, but he finally learns to let her in and finds the inspiration he's been looking for.

Best Wishes, Love Adele by Whitney Donald

A touching look at misunderstandings and forlorn hopes of romance, this film stands out because it takes a compassionate look at certain issues related to aging. I love the charitable ending, in which the doubters learn that the old man is big-hearted, rather than manipulative.

Mind the Gap by Kristal Williams-Rowley and Marcy Holland

This was the winner of the competition, and deservedly so. It centers on Sara, the daughter of a railroad engineer whose train is the weapon in a classmate's suicide. Sara struggles to deal with her feelings of bitterness towards the dead girl and her sense of injustice at the victimization (not for the first time) of her father, who copes with his own feelings by keeping a collection of small items found on the bodies of the people he has hit. Not only does this film reveal some startling statistics about the railroad industry, it openly confronts some difficult issues that are not often addressed simply because they are not obvious. The storytelling is superb. I was left feeling unsure whether this was a purely fictional film or a docu-drama. The film is beautiful, difficult, and in the end, uplifting.

In Review: LDSFF '09 Part 7: Rick Stevenson and Life-affirming Cinema

One of the highlights of the festival for me was seeing Rick Stevenson's Expiration Date followed later by his presentation. Stevenson was notable for being the only non-LDS filmmaker speaking this year. In fact, he began briefly discussing how he knew Christian Vuissa and by wondering aloud why he was asked to speak at an event where he so clearly didn't fit the niche. He is not wholly unconnected with the Church, however; his wife and family are members.

Perhaps because he has the perspective of an informed outsider (both in filmmaking and Mormonism) the audience's expectations were high. While Stevenson didn't speak much about the LDS film movement itself, his comments were interesting and, I think, important in that they demonstrate a kind of solidarity that can be had between LDS and non-LDS filmmakers.

Expiration Date

This dark, funny, romantic, and charming film is about Charlie Silvercloud, a 24-year-old Native American young man who believes he is under a curse. Charlie's father and grandfather, you see, were killed by milk trucks on their 25th birthdays. Only a few days away from his own expiration date, Charlie is settling his affairs and making arrangements for his funeral - doing such things as looking for a comfortable coffin, selecting burial a burial plot, etc. He is completely resigned to his fate, having grown up his whole life being taught by his mother to expect it. While both of them would like to avoid it (they have every milk delivery route in the city mapped out with red zones indicating unsafe times and places), both view the event as inevitable.

In the course of his preparations, Charlie meets a young woman named Bessie Smith, who is also coffin shopping, though she says it's for her mother, who is dying of cancer. Bessie also happens to be a daughter of the family that owns the city's milk production plant. The movie shows the development of Charlie and Bessie's relationship and how, together, they face issues of life, death, tradition, fear, and love.

I couldn't possibly say what the best thing about this movie is. I was personally struck by the message portrayed in the film's bookends, which frame the story of Charlie's curse as a morality tale being told by an elderly Native American man to a younger tribe member who is trying to get away from the reservation and therefore his heritage. Apparently, the Silverclouds' history of being killed by "pasty white" milk trucks began when the first of them left the tribe to live in the city. The old man telling the story is a humorous but wise character, and racial prejudice is not the point of his comments. Instead, they point out that by turning our backs on our cultural heritage, we reject not only our ancestors but our identities - our very lives. Having served a mission among members of an Indian tribe that has all but disappeared, I found these scenes accurate (per my experience) and deeply moving.

In his presentation, Stevenson spoke about films being culturally true, saying that the purpose of our storytelling tradition is to pass on our values and traditions. Hollywood, while faithful at first, has done this in ever poorer fashion, he claimed, and asked those there to consider their "celluloid footprint," which is not so much what they are taking from the world through film as what they are leaving it. Are we creating "fast food cinema," or producing something more wholesome, sustainable, and true?

Stevenson shared an anecdote that describes another of the film's strengths. After screening Expiration Date at a previous festival (this was the film's 84th - no, that's not a typo) he was approached by a woman whose 12-year-old child was suffering from a terminal illness. With tears in her eyes, she explained that she had been coffin shopping for her son only earlier that day, and thanked Stevenson for his film because it gave her hope. In her words, "it affirms life."

"That moment gave me all the reason to be the filmmaker I am," said Stevenson. He recalled feeling unworthy to be in that woman's presence, but grateful that his film could bless her in such a way. The real reason for making films, he said, is embodied by that experience and countless others like it. The payoff is not monetary.

Other Topics

A few other themes Stevenson discussed were community among filmmakers, the availability of independent film, and how LDS cinema can succeed. Regarding the first, he said that those who want to make good films should support each other. "Send a filmmaker $20 if you've seen his film." Gestures like that make all the difference in keeping people going, and develop a sense of common cause that is strengthening to everyone.

On the second topic, Stevenson gave some eye-opening statistics. He said that about 25,000 films are made around the world each year. About 500 of those are Hollywood productions. Only about 600 films per year get wide distribution, including all 500 made by Hollywood. So good independent films are getting made, but they are not getting to us. In order to help rectify this, Stevenson and some associates have started a group called Official Best of Fest, which offers collections for sale of fourteen to twenty award winning independent films, both short and feature length. Current collections include Chick Flicks, Films that Will Make You Laugh, Films that Inspire, Films about Love, Short Films for Children, and three smaller Date Night collections that come with chocolates.

Finally, Stevenson encouraged LDS filmmakers to focus on their storytelling abilities, seek a narrowly defined audience, and find a neutral storyteller for their films. He gave the example of a child, saying that since a child's primary question is "am I safe?" children make good universal narrators. Everyone can relate to the perspective. He views the current LDS market not as sparse or disinterested, but hungry - very hungry. Finally, he encouraged LDS (and all) independent filmmakers to embrace piracy. Anonymity, he said, not copyright infringement, is our enemy.

In Review: LDSFF '09 Part 6: Most of the Rest of The Presenters

That's a subtitle that's packed to the edges with vague meaning, I know, but I'm trying to prevent this from going on too much longer.

While there is one presentation that I'd like to focus on individually, I think I'm going to try to cover the others all at once. This is for two reasons. First, I don't want this series to take all the way until next year's festival to finish, and I still have some actual films to review. Second, several of the remaining presentations can be summarized with brevity, even by me.

Lets get started.

Seth Packard and Ben Lakey

For those of you who don't know, Seth Packard is the writer/director/star of Hottieboombalottie, a film about a teenager with (from what I've seen) self-image issues, raging hormones, and a number of other problems, which at the time of this presentation was gaining popularity in the festival circuit. I've most recently seen Packard give one of the few decent performances in Chris Heimerdinger's Passage to Zarahemla. His role, while minor, stole the show, in my opinion. Ben Lakey played almost as big a role in Hottieboombalottie's creation as Packard did.

Their presentation consisted of clips from the film coupled with advice for filmmakers trying to be successful - which is probably all of us. While I have little love for the film itself, much of their experience seemed useful to me. I'll repeat some of it here:

Packard is primarily an actor (and a talented one), and this film was an attempt at promoting his acting career by providing himself a starring role. This focus would have made it easy for him to surround himself with others who could do most of the other work, but this is not Packard's philosophy. Instead, he began with the assumption that the best way to make a successful movie was to know everything about what it takes to do so, which seems both reasonable and obvious. However, many people seem to think that having the idea for a movie is enough. Once the right idea comes along, everything else falls into place. Packard would argue that this just isn't so.

While his career focus didn't remove him from interest in the other aspects of filmmaking, it did make him an actor's director. Packard would give input on each performance, but allow his actors to make the final decisions. Every movement was designed to add meaning to the film. A lot of stupid things happen in the script, but Packard and Lakey emphasized that actors can't interpret their own roles as stupid or their performances will be phony. They have to believe that their characters really would act in the way that the script is telling them to, even if it is outrageous. The director can have influence in this regard.

As Lakey observed, most filmmakers have three goals: to make it cheap, make it fast, and make it quality. Only two of these can be accomplished, he argues, and on Hottieboombalottie, the standard sacrificed was speed. Packard's approach relied heavily on storyboarding, which took four months compared to the six it took to write the script. Shooting took 18 days. Much of the funding came from family members, and Lakey says they were careful not to pretend to know more than they did.

In order to save money, rehearsals were held while the crew was setting each scene, and only Utah actors were cast.

A few other points of advice:

- Plan really well and it works.

- A realistic post budget is important.

- Keep a low-stress environment: no yelling.

Nelson Says

As I mentioned in my post on that subject, Maclain Nelson is the Executive Producer and star of Dragon Hunter, and also appeared in other films at the festival, such as The Sinking of Santa Isabel, Father in Israel, and Dianatha's Crossing. For those who don't know what exactly an Executive Producer does, Nelson says that it's like being in charge of sales. He puts the money together.

Nelson graduated from BYU in 2003 and began, like Packard, as an actor. Nelson believes that filmmaking is about networking. After a failed audition for the LDS adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, he asked to be a volunteer gopher. Over the course of the production one thing led to another and he ended up as Assistant Director. He accomplished this by being the type of person who says "yes" to every problem and works hard to do it.

In Nelson's mind, there's no difference between an independent filmmaker and an entrepreneur. He says you should realize what you're good at and find other people to do the other things. A good film needs talent at artistic, technical, and business levels. He also says you should make your own films your way, rather than imitating someone else's style.

When forecasting the success of your film, Nelson says you should pick others in the same genre that have been huge successes, failures, and moderate performers, and average them. Then be honest with yourself and others about the risk involved. Your pitch should send the message, "Film is risky. We'll put money in the right places, manage costs better, and bring more money in."

Because he believes that the hardest part of making a film is making the money, Nelson gave the following points of advice/insight/encouragement on the process:

• Make a list of anyone you can think of who might be interested in investing in your film.
• Have a solid business plan.
• Start an LLC for your film.
• Keep meetings with potential investors to 15 minutes.
• People are interested in film investing, so they will meet with you.
• Keep your contacts
• Sell investment units - don't try to get all the money from one place.
• Most investors will buy one unit even if it's a little higher. They don't like partial units or multiple units as much.
• If you don't have a big name actor, keep you budget under $500K unless it's a genre piece.
• Big actors will work for less money if they like the script and if you can be flexible with scheduling (this was how Dragon Hunter got Issac Singleton - not a huge name but a recognizable face).
• You only need one name actor, and with a $500K budget you can get it.
• Make a list of the actors you want and start contacting them in order of preference.
• Give them a week to respond before moving down the list.
• Start small.
• For musical (and other talent) find people who are hungry. Local/smaller bands are eager to get their music in a film and won't want outrageous sums of money for it.
• Get an IMDb Pro account

For foreign distribution, Nelson suggests a Park City company called Kowan.

A few things to look forward to from Nelson's company: a sequel to Dragon Hunter called Dragon Hunter: Legend of the Hidden City, a vampire movie, a western, a musical. Not much more info on any of them than that.

If you're looking to get a script produced, Nelson accepts submissions at maclainnelson[at]hotmail[dot]com.

Technicalities

Because they don't really have much to do with the purpose of this blog, I won't be in-depth about these, but there were a couple of technical presentations about the RED camera and Visual Effects. The first was by Alan Williams and Zach Helton. Williams is a Digital Intermediate Producer at Universal Post & Cosmic Pictures. Helton is from Digital Cinema Tech.

This presentation was interesting, but from a state-of-the-art perspective. One comment the presenters made that is worth mentioning was regarding the importance of storytelling. They see actors and directors as necessary evils in the telling of a story - an interesting point of view. The presenters also reiterated Ben Lakey's comment about quality, price, and speed, and how a film can only have two of them in its favor.

Other that that, I'll only say that if anyone reading this is considering using the RED camera in a film, either of the gentlemen listed above can help you procure one and they would be happy to assist in your post production as well.

The VFX presentation was given by the good folks at Bluefire Studios, who did a number of effects shots for The Errand of Angels. They gave suggestions for setting up effects shots with the goal of lowering post production costs.

S.A.G. U.F.C.

This presentation was by Anne Seward Hansen from the Screen Actor's Guild and Marshall Moore of the Utah Film Commission. They spoke about producing films in Utah - specifically how the UFC's rebate program (at the time it was 15% of every dollar spent) helps bring productions to the state.

Again, because it's not as much to this forum's purposes, I'll just give a couple of bullet points.

• It's in the state's best interests to have lots of productions and big productions.
• Yay Utah! stats: Utah was 4th in the nation for production last year, the film industry created 994 jobs in Utah in fiscal 2008 and generated $36 mil. in revenues.
• The minimum you have to spend to get a UFC rebate is $1 mil., but that will be lowered soon.
• Utah is the only state in which a union film and a non-union film can be shot side-by-side without restriction.
• Rebate is changing from 15% to 20%.
• The $500K cap on the rebate is being removed and it will now be structured as a tax refund instead of a cash rebate.
• 35 of the 38 submitted films have been approved - those that weren't were so trashy they didn't fit the state's values.
• Ratings are not discussed in the approval process.
• It may be possible to package several low-budget films from a single funding source in order to meet the minimum spend.

Last One I Promise - The LDS Film Forum

This would normally merit a post of its own, but I snuck out partway through to go to a different presentation, so I only have a little bit to report on.

This years forum was moderated by Gideon Burton and included presentations from Cathy Cowley and Katherine Morris. No doubt I'll do no justice to their thoughts and preparation by summarizing what little I heard.

Cowley's and Burton's comments can probably best be encapsulated in the questions they asked, which may merit further discussion here, but which I can't begin to answer without waxing long-winded and boring. Cowley contemplated the formal presentation of our identity (as in a eulogy) through film and asked, "Who do we want to think we are and try to become?"

Burton extrapolated with this query, "What aspect of our identity must be present in a film to call it LDS?"

Morris spoke about Paradox a-la-Terryl Givens. She claimed that Film offers a good medium to explore the disintegration of sacred space that Givens discusses in his works. This concept is basically that rather than separating everyday pursuits from spiritual reality, Mormonism eliminates the difference. Morris further said that because we think of film as a secular medium, sacred things portrayed thereon can be hard to receive.

It was at this point that I left the room, so I'm sorry to cut this off when it's finally getting interesting. Perhaps I can return to the subject in more depth later. What's left is a discussion of the presentation by Rick Stevenson, a non-LDS independent filmmaker, and reviews of several films. For now (assuming anyone has actually finished this post - thanks, if you have) I'll leave you to ponder.

In Review: LDSFF'09 Part 5: Christian Vuissa

I apologize that these posts are not more consistent. Being now months from the end of the festival, one would think that I would have finished already. But life is such that I write them when I can, not knowing whether they are even being read any more for their sparseness - hoping, though, that they are.

One of the most interesting presentations to me was made by Christian Vuissa, founder of the festival and an influential figure in LDS filmmaking. His most recent film, Father in Israel, premiered there and is now coming more to the public. But this film was not his main topic of interest to me.

Vuissa made some observations about the state of LDS filmmaking, which I will try to summarize here, along with describing an economic model for producing films that he believes to be sustainable. Those familiar with the financial end of the film industry will know that such a model has never yet been found - or if it has, it has not been widely accepted. I'll deal with that model as thoroughly as I can, but not until the end of this post.

Among other things, Vuissa noted that traditional carreer expectations of new filmmakers have reversed themselves. Instead of working their way to bigger and better productions, many new entrants desire to have the "big one" be their first one. Indeed, some seem to judge filmmakers more strictly by their early works than their later ones. If a first film (particularly a first film after the maker's schooling is completed) is not exemplary or incredibly successful, its creator is clearly not cut out for filmmaking and should go back to whatever he or she did previously. I have seen this attitude reflected in the reviews of several critics, aimed quite harshly at actors who try their hands at directing. While the critic's role, as discussed in Fellini's Otto e mezzo, may well be in part to prevent the creation of films that ought not to be, such a role should be played in a way that it fosters, rather than destroys, personal and professional development.

Audiences also, said Vuissa, are more critical now that the novelty of LDS cinema has passed. Additionally, their expectations are trained by Hollywood, the low budget films of which are more expensive than the least thrifty LDS films. In the popular mind, the amount of money spent on a film often seems to be a predictor of its quality.

Yet money is an essential part of filmmaking, observes Vuissa. "If you're afraid of money, you can't be in film," he said. Nevertheless, he argues that a quality film can be made for $200,000 - an amount that allows the possibility of profitability - and can be shot in about 15 days with a 10-12 person crew. Because of the "first-timer" status of many LDS filmmakers, Vuissa proposed the formation of a foundation to support their work and development. A $20 million fund, said he, would produce enough interest to produce four or five films each year so long as they remained within the constraints he described. Not every film would have to be successful for the fund to continue, which would allow growing filmmakers to make mistakes without being driven out of the industry. The goal would be to groom these artists with a mind towards creating excellence in the LDS filmmaking community. An attitude that is not self-serving, but seeks cultural preservation and productivity would be essential to the success of this venture.

Vuissa's proposal, while it may have been received as largely hypothetical, was not, to my mind, intended that way. That this is the ultimate answer to the growth of LDS cinema I doubt. No single organization, individual, or fund could or should be looked to as the source life for the movement. Improvement must (will, I think) come from many places, both assumed and unexpected, or else stagnation will not be far behind any innovation, no matter how revolutionary. But I feel that Vuissa's idea put into action would be a step in the right direction. So I ask these questions in closing: what can we do to make this fund a reality? And perhaps more importantly, what else, apart from this foundation, can be done?

In Review: LDSFF'09 Part 4: Edwards, Meyer, and Flynn

In order to prevent this series from going on forever, I'm going to consolidate a bit. This post will consist of highlights from two of the presentations at the festival. The first was by Annie Edwards and Sally Meyer, among whose contributions to the event this year was teen mystery film Minor Details. The second presentation was by veteran actor, director, and producer Michael Flynn.

Although Edwards and Meyer provided many insights into the production of Minor Details, I would like to focus on some of the more general film making tips they offered in the hopes that they may be useful to those who read them.

Being herself a ubiquitous name in screenwriting credits for this year's selections, Meyer had much to say on that topic. Edwards contributed other insights. I think a list may be the most concise form for the presentation of this advice, so here goes:

1. Write small scenes. This makes it easier to rearrange and cut things together in post-production, which keeps options open. Preserving your options is always a good thing.

2. Expose yourself to the work of others. Meyer said, "If you want to write, read, read, read."

3. As a writer, don't get in the way. To again quote Meyer, "Once you hand the script to the director you stand back because it's his vision."

4. Be aware of other productions being shot in your area or it may be difficult to schedule crew members, particularly where hair and makeup are concerned.

5. As a writer, don't force an interpretation on the director or the actors. Write in a way that enables their artistry instead of limiting it.

Such was the general thrust of the presentation, as I picked up on it. I hope these topics will inspire some discussion here, as I don't do justice to any one of them. This list doesn't represent the whole presentation, but I'll cover much of the rest of it in my review of Minor Details.

Those of you who have met Michael Flynn may agree with me that he has a powerful, but not necessarily threatening presence. When he speaks, it is easy to listen. Much of his subject matter was related to finding the passion in a film and in life (a distinction he hardly made), and he related the first section of it to acting specifically. According to Flynn, art is what is left over when all the uninteresting bits are squeezed out of life. Only the passion remains, and that is art. An actor, he claims, is paid to communicate that passion, and so must be capable of sensing the finest variations in it, be they related to vocal inflection, tone, or some other nuance. According to Flynn, this obligation extends to all participants in the production of a film. He says that when a particular scene doesn't "work," it is often because someone involved (an actor, the director, the editor, etc.) wasn't "listening" to its passion. With his perspective and presentation style, Flynn transported the process of making a film to a most paradoxical sphere in which participants are simultaneously floating in turbulent, volumetric clouds of emotional connections and bracing themselves in the solid, packed earth of technique, technicality, and realism. He insisted that rhythm helps a film transcend the ordinary, but also advocated the necessity of variation.

From here, Flynn's remarks took a turn towards LDS cinema in particular. He spoke to the high moral standard placed on Mormon filmmakers. "If the Mormons are doing the film," he said, "it has to be so unbelievably squeaky clean that it boggles the imagination." In saying this, Flynn was not disparaging cleanliness, but speaking to the artificial constraints sometimes placed upon LDS artists by others' ideas about what it is to be LDS.

This expectation may drive Church members in the industry who want to produce something other than institutional films to any number of measures, including producing films that have no LDS-specific content, but still hold to a theme harmonious with gospel standards. Flynn made an observation about this approach when he described the area between LDS specific content and popular emulations of Hollywood as "no man's land." The problem with staying away from too much LDS-ness, he says, is that Mormons don't care about these films because they aren't representative of them, and other people don't care because they don't recognize anyone associated with them.

After speaking to some of the difficulties involved with making financially sustainable films (a popular topic this year that I'll deal with in my summary of Christian Vuissa's comments), Flynn concluded with this thought: "It's a shark-infested pool..but the nice thing is, come on, you're making a movie!"

Filling the Gap

I've ony got a few minutes - not enough for a review, but this has been on my mind a lot lately, and I wanted to get it out for discussion.

Some people are critical of LDS film that seems too naieve, simplistic, or restricted. They say it demeans the art or that it misses larger opportunities. Others complain about LDS filmmakers who want to push boundaries. Concerns of doctrinal correctness and gospel faithfulness can come up with this last group. Yet others are a mixture, wanting to represent all aspects and do justice to evil as well as good without coming close to the edge in what is actually depicted. This more moderate group may be called wishy-washy or double-standarded or hypocritical by some.

This isn't the best summary, but I think you see what I'm getting at.

So where do I fall? That's the problem. I don't know. I'm always trying to consider new ideas on this, hoping to find the one that fits for me. I love complex art and I believe in paradox and helping raise everyone to a higher sphere. I also think LDS art has the obligation to deal with serious issues. With our gospel perspective, who else can do this as effectively as we? I also agree with those who say that we shouldn't be preachy. I like the point of view that advocates exploration and representation without indoctrination. I remember the counsel of Brigham Young, quoted often by me, that you don't need to commit one sin on a journey to the depths of Hell in pursuit of truth and wisdom. But I realize we have been counselled to avoid the appearance of evil, and eschew those practices that, though technically innocent and potentially advantageous, may cause others observing us to stumble or go astray. I have a great desire to produce clean art, although I've struggled with what that means, exactly.

My point is that this is a tough question. But I also want to make the point that there's room for everyone. You may not like the Liken the Scriptures series. He may think God's Army was blasphemous (as I was told when, as a missionary, we were counseled not to see it). She may argue that the Halestorm collection is damaging to public perception. I may say that depictions of certain things have no place in our productions.

Yet the Lord works in diverse and mysterious ways. He also looks on the heart. Who are we to second-guess the inspiration - recognized as such or not - of others? Let's try to be tolerant and even cooperative, supporting each other in success and failure, because all of us - each of us - is filling a gap. Together we make the whole.

In Review: LDSFF '09 Part 3 - Dragon Hunter

I'm glad I finally have a chance to get back to this. Sorry it's taken so long.

Being at the same time as the 24 hour screenings, I didn't think I was going to get to see Steve Shimek's Dragon Hunter. Probably because of popular demand, however, the festival's producers decided to put in in the TBA slot immediately after the 24 hour films. So I stayed.

I have to disclose that I tend to be a sucker for fantasy, and was consequently predisposed to like this film. I was intrigued by it to no end. A Mormon film about hunting dragons? How "Mormon" would it be? Would it be an overwrought morality tale? A complex allegory? Or nothing of the kind? How "big" would the film be? Would it look like a Hollywood fantasy-action movie, complete with realistic CGI monsters and carefully choreographed fight scenes? Would it be more like something you shot in your backyard with sock puppets? The posters certainly didn't look that way. I had a lot of questions and didn't know quite what to expect, but I was excited to see it nonetheless.

Because I'm not very good at summarizing plots, I've pasted the synopsis from the festival site below:

Orphaned as a baby when his parents were killed in a vicious orc attack, Kendrick of Elwood was raised by his elder brother, Darius. Though only nine at the time, Darius devoted his life to Kendrick's care and to purging orcs from their land. As Darius grew into a great warrior, he sheltered Kendrick from all possible harm. Now, after years of absence, a new danger emerges, more lethal than the threat of orcs or men. Reports of dragon attacks spread like wildfire through the panicked land. In memory of his mother's prophesies of a mighty Dragon Hunter in their bloodline, Darius leads Kendrick on a perilous journey to the castle of Ocard - the Dragon Hunter training grounds. Will dragons completely decimate the countryside? Only the Dragon Hunter will decide!

In spite of being patterned after films like The Lord of the Rings, this film, to paraphrase Maclain Nelson, its executive producer and star, was not the most riveting action-adventure movie ever. It was made to make money, Nelson said in his presentation later in the festival. Fantasy, he pointed out, does better in foreign markets than in the U.S., and so, for Americans, does not lend itself to art for art's sake. This, however, does not mean that quality craftsmanship is not involved. In fact, the very first thing I noticed about the film was the stunning cinematography-a-la-T. C. Christensen of the opening sequence in particular. I was surprised later to learn that not only was the script submitted by a student, the film was crewed entirely by students to keep costs down. Nelson and his team essentially said to the BYU media arts department, "We want to do a fantasy film. If you can come up with a script we like, we'll produce it."

This might just be every film student's dream come true - although not necessarily this genre - and I have to applaud Nelson and his associates for making the offer, regardless of other considerations.

Getting back to the film, let me say a few things generally to answer what I imagine some of the surface questions about this film may be.

The special effects were good enough to not be cheesy. The fight sequences were shot in such a manner that I never knew who was hitting whom for all the quick cuts, and motion blur. It was a bit melodramatic and slow-moving, but not unbearably so. Many of the characters could have been taken from any number of other fantasy films (or even video games), notably the orcs and the overdone, heavily painted, scantily clad female elf. Who really goes on a battle quest dressed like that? Honestly. The main protagonists, Kendrick and Darius, were original and well done. I particularly liked the captain of the travelling band the two brothers meet up with, though his name escapes me. The character played by Isaac Singleton, of Pirates of the Caribbean fame is also pretty good. The story has potential, but doesn't always live up to it.

With that out of the way, there are two aspects of Dragon Hunter I'd like to discuss particularly: the language, and the intertwined moral themes, namely courage and the motivation for fighting.

Language

A lot of fantasy films have every character speak in British-like accents in order to get an archaic sound to the words. At the very least, they try to eliminate accents that are clearly modern, such as the distinct speech patterns associated with people from Brooklyn. They also avoid modern slang, contractions, and other linguistic artifacts that might give the piece too contemporary a feel. While the effectiveness of this approach is debatable, it is nevertheless a common creative choice. Although some actors did have (it seemed) native accents, this was not the format of Dragon Hunter, in which the main protagonists noticeably sounded just like everyday Americans - though not crudely so, and I spoke with Nelson individually to ask why.

He said that he didn't feel such language lends any extra credibility to a fantasy film. Indeed, my linguist sister-in-law once told me that people in medieval times probably sounded more like Americans than Britons, although popular perception is the reverse. Nelson didn't think the choice hurt the film at all, and I, after getting into it, agreed. But I do remember being surprised by it, nonetheless. For the first several minutes, the world created effectively by cinematography, costuming, and sets, was made less believable by the sound and content of some of the lines. In many cases, good or fairly good acting made up for what I considered somewhat weak dialogue.

And yet, aside from being occasionally forced, the primary reasons I considered it weak go back to this same concept of setting and perception. I don't think the accents would have thrown me as much if the words being spoken had sounded less modern. With the conglomeration of voices and speaking styles in the film, the return to everyday English felt out of place at times, especially since the characters who did this did not do it consistently. Some lines, in content and delivery, sounded tailor made for a big fantasy action film. Others sounded like they were written for a suburban sitcom. This is probably a realistic reflection of life, and it ended up being a minor issue, but it was harder for me to commit to the film because of the language.

Courage and Fighting

Here I want to shift gears a little bit. While I want to discuss these themes as they apply to the film, I want to also discuss them as they apply to the LDS filmmaker.

Dragon Hunter opens and closes by making assertions about the relationship between courage and fear. In the beginning, Kendrick admires Darius' bravery, but Darius claims to have none. Instead, he claims that his will to fight comes from the fear of what will happen if he doesn't fight. In many cases, this means that he simply fight to stay alive and to kill his attacker. In fact, he's devoted his life to hunting orcs for this reason. His primary motive in life is the fear of dying at the hands of an orc. Therefore, he becomes an orc hunter. The topic of his daring deeds and those of others comes up repeatedly in conversations throughout the film.

In almost every case, the person in question denies fighting out of valor or some sense of right or righteousness, and instead cites fear, vengeance, hatred, or plain necessity as the driving motivation. Regarding fear, I want to make it clear that this is not fear for the welfare of others, but simply an (arguably) utterly selfish concern for one's own life. In the end, when Kendrick becomes the legendary Dragon Hunter and devotes his life to bringing about their extinction, he monologues the same reason Darius gave. He chases down and confronts dragons because he is mortally afraid of them.

So how does this apply to LDS filmmakers? I wonder if sometimes we have these same motivations for creating our art.

For example, no one is surprised to hear an LDS filmmaker express a desire to combat the immorality common in Hollywood films, or at least provide an alternative. We tend to applaud and encourage these desires because we want more beauty and goodness in the world. But how many LDS filmmakers (or viewers, for that matter) are motivated by fear of the influence of immorality in their own lives or the lives of others? Do we combat these things to avoid being destroyed by them? Is that an appropriate motivation?

Similarly, like a masked vigilante, do we harbor a deep hatred of filthy entertainment and want to see it eradicated? Do we view the battle as inevitable or the alternative to fighting as unacceptable? Have we or a loved one been hurt by it so that we desire vengeance? This may not be common, but I doubt it's impossible.

Further, how do we define the dragon?

I don't propose to answer these questions for anyone, but I think we would do well to ask ourselves why we make films and why our audiences want them. Are any of these motives at the core? If so, is this appropriate from a personal or gospel perspective?

Closing Note - including spoiler, in case you care.

Dragon Hunter provides, if nothing else, a lot to think about. Let me say one other thing really quickly. I often have a hard time with seeing LDS actors who have been in official Church films playing roles in worldly movies. In Dragon Hunter, the villainous "wizard" who tries to control the dragon and gets eaten - a topic which might make for a good post another time - is played by (I'm terribly with actors' names) the same guy who plays one of the apostles in Finding Faith in Christ. For some reason, I couldn't take him seriously as a demented, bloodthirsty maniac. He always seemed like an apostle in costume. However, if I had seen the two films in reverse order, I have a hunch I may have felt differently. What do you think about that? Does acting in Church films limit an actor's credibility in other roles?

My 24 Hour Film

Note: I just noticed that something funny is going on with the frame size here - it's getting cut off.. If you want to see the full frame, watch it here.

This is pretty lousy, especially compared to many other films in the competition, but then...

Nevertheless, my cast and crew of more-or-less first-timers made a heroic effort.

You should know that I suffered a severe hardware failure shortly after the festival, so I lost some of the content from the original. I was able to recover it, however I tweaked a few things to include in a demo video to a prospective client. This is the new version, but it's almost exactly the same as the old, just with lower thirds added and the (nasty) keying improved very slightly (barely perceptibly at this size, really). I also had to redo one of the (terrible) effects shots. Other than that, it's identical frame for frame. Can you tell I'm nervous about posting this?




Hi, now that you all know what I look and sound like in "real" life. Nice to meet you. Needless to say, we didn't win anything. I'd love your feedback, though.

In Review: LDSFF'09 Part 2 - The 24hr. Films

The first event I was privileged to take part in at the LDS Film Festival this year was the 24 Hour Film Making Marathon. I've written about my experience as an entrant elsewhere, so I'll not bore you with those details here. Suffice to say that I learned a lot about myself as a filmmaker and a person. Instead, I want to deal with the competition in general.

For those unfamiliar with it, the Marathon starts the Friday before the festival screenings begin with a registration meeting. Teams of filmmakers (no more than five people per team, cast and crew) meet to sign up and find out a theme, an object, and a line of dialogue that must be included in the film. This year, the theme was sacrifice, the object was a match, and the line was, "Let me be your..." From the time the meeting ends, the teams have 24 hours to produce a completely original three-minute short film based on the criteria. Anything over three minutes is disqualified, but a film can be shorter.

41 films were turned in this year.

An interesting side note: at the opening meeting, the question arose as to whether a person could be on more than one team. The issue was put to a vote, which came down in the affirmative. I noticed several people in multiple films at the screenings the next Thursday.

Speaking of screenings, I had no idea what to expect from the films when I showed up for them, but I was amazed by what I saw. Filmmaking of the highest quality was represented there. Many films were so polished that they easily could have been competition shorts. The creativity with which the theme, object, and line were used was vast.

I saw there a friend of mine, Todd Smith, whose films have won audience choice awards in past festivals. We grew up in the same ward, and I hadn't seen him for some time, which made the encounter more enjoyable.

One thought I had going into the competition was that it would be easy for filmmakers to take a comic approach, seeing how tightly regulated the competition was. I thought comedy would be a crutch for many groups, because it could help to mask flaws created by the tight schedule. While a lot of the films were funny, I was impressed by how few seemed immaturely so. On the other hand, many of the films dealt with subjets seriously and well. I was surprised, pleasantly, to see that a ridiculously tight production schedule and inflexible content guidelines (the three required elements) did not seem to stifle either creativity or quality. In some cases, the opposite may have been true.

Some of the films included There's Waldo (Todd's group), a sort of "Where are they now?" film about the red-and-white-striped cartoon icon; 'Fice: the Musical (parts 1 and 2); The Infinipede Space Monster from Outer Space, a spoof on the original Star Trek and sci-fi in general; Gold is Not Enough, another musical with a spy themel; Malaroli, a personal favorite of mine; and many more.

It's hard to review any one of these films independently, since they were all so much a part of each other. The 24 Hour Filmmaking Marathon represented the entire range of LDS work: from first-time filmmakers to experts, from comedy to drama, from narrative to documentary, from traditional to experimental. Although there were a few moments that I personally felt were in poor taste, none of it was bad. In fact, it produced some real gems, as good as anything else that played all week, and in some cases more meaningful.

As Christian Vuissa said of it, one of the most important things about this competition is that it gets filmmakers making films. It strips away all the traditional excuses. No one expects an appreciable budget or big-name actors. Few actors were widely known, even within the LDS community. No one I knew of expected to win based on prestige. I would bet that few expected to win at all. I don't want to get into too many disclaimers about how I don't know what other people were thinking and feeling, but, as far as I know, the only things anyone expected were to have fun, be friends, work towards perfecting their crafts, and create something good. And while there was certainly an air of competition, that is exactly what happened.

Read about the winners here.

In Review: LDSFF '09 Part 1 - General Observations

I have no idea how many parts there will be to this series, but probably a lot. It should keep me busy for some time. So, to it!

The 8th annual LDS Film Festival concluded last Saturday at about 11:30 PM. The only exception to that is the script workshop, which is this weekend. Since I won't be attending that, I'm ready to start reviewing. I thought it would be appropriate, before delving into the specifics of what happened there, to offer some general observations about the festival this year that made my experience memorable. First and foremost for me was the difference from last year, specifically in how I felt while there.

Let me give you a bit of history. I've said often to my wife that going to the festival last year was the best thing I'd ever done for my career from a spiritual and professional perspective. The reasons for that are many, but I won't go into them here. It was at that festival that I first heard of this blog. I started following it and when Trevor asked for contributors a bit later, I jumped right in. My life has changed dramatically as a result.

So I might have been expecting a similarly inspirational experience this year. I got it, but not until the awards ceremony. Most of it came as I talked over the phone to my sweet wife on the drive home. And it was not at all what I was thinking of. Instead, most of this year's festival felt like what it was - a business conference. I've run A/V equipment at countless events for many companies and industries in the past five years. This festival was only different from those in that I had a personal stake in it. That made it more interesting, but not always more exciting. While it wasn't drudgery by any stretch of the imagination, I found myself thinking and feeling with less uncorked enthusiasm and more quiet staying power. It was a good feeling, but one that required a certain degree of tenacity.

One of the first things I noticed in looking over the schedule was that there seemed to be far fewer films this year that were built around a specifically LDS, spiritual theme. There were exceptions, of course, such as the flagship film, Christian Vuissa's Father in Israel. My biggest regret of the week is that I didn't get to see that one. There was also One Man's Treasure, (a missionary film), Mario's Conviction, (a film version of From Mobster to Mormon), and Dianatha's Crossing (set during the "invasion" of Salt Lake City by Johnston's army). But the majority of the feature-length films were either non-specific in their spirituality or simply secular. To be fair, several of the special screenings (too long to be competitive shorts, to short to be features) did have LDS content, and in rich supply.

Let me admit at this point that I didn't see most of the features and special screenings, since I was attending the filmmaker presentations. I did see some. But these are the impressions I got from looking and listening and talking to people. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

I also want to say that I think that's something I'll do differently next year. Although I was eager to hear the presentations, I don't think I got as much out of them this year as last. Maybe it was the subject matter, but I don't think so. I think next time I would like to see more of the work of my associates there, and hear less, if necessary, of their commentary.

Speaking of which, that was another difference: I had associates there. Last year, the only person I knew was Brandon Smith, who was the first director I ever screen acted for. He works on Christian's films now. This time, before I even walked in the door Thursday night, a member of my 24 hour film making group told me that someone was there who wanted to meet me. I was stunned. It turned out to be Brent Leavitt, who I've interacted with online, but never met until then. He does excellent work on his Sun Swing Studies, and was a volunteer that night. In fact, an intermittent conversation I had with him throughout Saturday was possibly the single most inspirational event of the weekend for me. I also had the opportunity to see Brandon again (always a nice thing) and meet and speak to people like Maclain Nelson (actor and executive producer), Christian Vuissa (filmmaker and festival founder), Russ Whitelock (composer), Arlen Card (composer), and others whose names I didn't get.

More genres were represented as well, from teen-mystery to political activism to high fantasy/adventure. The short films were as stunning in their variety as they were in their quality. They were easily my favorite. Even the 24 hour films, of which there were 41, including my first-ever festival entry, showed incredible talent, skill, and creativity. That's not a description of mine, by the way, which was among the dimmest candles of the evening.

All in all, I saw 65 of the 100+ films that screened there and attended 9 hours of presentations in less than three days. I think the most important thing about the festival is that it shows that film making in the LDS community is alive and well. People are producing, and they're producing quality films.

The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement, as one professor of mine says, but Latter-day Saints in this field are showing their drive to be productive - even prolific - and to strive for the same progression in their art that they strive for in their souls. More thoughts on this will come out in subsequent posts, but I think I'm safe in saying that the gloom and doom predicted by some for the LDS film movement couldn't be less accurate. I think we're going through a period of introspection, experimentation, and maybe even captivity of sorts, but we will emerge stronger than before. Why do I think this? Because if the festival impacted others the way it did me, then LDS filmmakers are more determined than ever.