Site Info

Right now I've stopped using this blog since I have so many websites to maintain. For news, video, and photography please see the following sites:

http://danfinnen.com

http://danfinnen.tumblr.com

http://flickr.com/danfinnen

Thanks!

Muckrakers Now Online!

My new webisode series 'Muckrakers' is now online! Check out the first episode at www.watchmuckrakers.com.

Muckrakers Website Now Up and Running

This Monday my new webisode series Muckrakers premieres, and you can find all the new episodes up at a new website I designed: watchmuckrakers.com. I'll have a new personal website up soon as well, but I need a little time to refine from the previous test version.

Muckrakers shooting in full swing!

Check out the new muckrakers blog over at muckrakers.tumblr.com! We have and will be posting all sorts of goodies there as we cook up the new webisode series.

Dan Get New Camera, Take Lots of Pictures

Over 1,000 in a weekend in four separate shoots to be precise. I just picked up a spanking new Nikon D90 as well as a Nikkor 50mm AF-D 1.8 prime and I love it. The duo is a low light portrait monster for a great price. I sound like I'm advertising for Nikon. The equipment was put to the test, as 3 of the 4 shoots were indoors at night with no flash or extra light available, all the while trying to capture children that just won't stop.

You can see a few of the pictures here.

Muckrakers shooting is this weekend. 24 hours of outdoor shooting in the beginning of winter. This is going to be fun. Wish us luck, we're going to need it. That and maybe a blanket.

Test Version of New Website Up!

I'm currently testing out a version of my website that I intend to up and running on an independent domain on the Ball State servers. Check it out here. Let me know what you think!

In other news, ADR work for Bloody Good Movie continues and the Digital Corps are about to begin coloring. Run Hollywood Summer is still being sent out, and we've finally found a weekend to shoot Muckrakers. Hopefully this time we won't have a random reshoot pop up or anybody get sick. ...Hopefully.

As always, there's a whole mess of new pictures up on my flickr site!

Thanks to everybody who came out to the Bloody Good Movie test screening!

It may be a tad belated, but I just wanted to extend some big ole' heartfelt thanks to everybody who came out to the Bloody Good Movie test screening last Friday! The feedback we got was constructive and quite useful, we'll be using all the info collected as we continue to refine the film. As for those of you who haven't seen it, unfortunately you'll have to wait until spring before there will be any more screenings.

In other news, if you're interested in getting head shots, let me know before it gets cold outside! I'm going to work on building a little studio for the winter, but it probably won't be ready until December or so.

all sorts of new photos up!

It's been some time since I've posted some pictures here. As always, everything is up on my flickr site. Enjoy!

Bloody Good Movie Test Screening!

Be one of the first to see the new feature film Bloody Good Movie!

We will be having a test screening at Ball State on October 16 in LB 125 at 7pm. All you have to do is arrive, watch a movie, and fill out a brief questionnaire about how you liked the film. We'll be using the feedback in further cuts of the film.

All are invited and the event is free of charge. Seating is limited, so be sure to get there on time!

If you didn't know, Bloody Good Movie is this year's tcom Summer HD film, directed by yours truly. It's a comedy/horror that follows a group of writers as they try to come up with their next big hit.

The next screening won't be until at least spring 2010, if not later, so be sure to come out if you want to see the film!

Hope to see you there.

Run Hollywood Summer submitted to Sundance!

Well kids, after well over a year and a half of hard work, Run Hollywood Summer is finally on its way out to film festivals! I just sent it off the the first and most important film fest: Sundance. I'll find out later this fall whether it gets in or not, so keep your fingers crossed. It's a lottery ticket, but who knows?

In other news, I just put up some pictures from my recent photo shoot with Olivia. They're some of my best head shots, so mosey on over to flickr and check it out. The pictures were all shot with available natural light. I made sure to shoot at dusk and found some nice locations that gave me the back and fill light I needed.

The Constant Nightmares

Ever since I first goofed off with a digital camera, I've always been interested in taking pictures that made the mundane threatening and bizarre. 'The Constant Nightmares' is a set of these particular photos. I shall be adding more pictures regularly. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, some small, tiny, minuscule news. I'M FINALLY DONE EDITING RUN HOLLYWOOD SUMMER! CELEBRATE! WOOOOOOO!!

Muckrakers Auditions!

Auditions are coming up for the new webisode series I'm directing! If you happen to be spending your year at lovely Ball State and fancy yourself an actor you should mosey on down to room AC 312 Thursday, Sept 3rd at 8pm and try out.

In case you don't know, the webisode series Muckrakers follows the misadventures of two narcissistic freshmen journalism students out on a mission to find the best story on campus. The humor is in the style of such sitcoms as 'Always Sunny in Philadelphia' and 'Seinfeld'.

Here is the informational email I sent out in case you didn't get a copy:


Hey there!

You may recall me talking to you at some point about a webisode series I’m doing this year called ‘Muckrakers’ and something about how you should audition for it. Well, audition time is here, specifically this Thursday, September 3 at 8pm in AC 312. Let me know if you can make it, and if you can’t, if there’s another time you could audition.

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script, mostly from the first episode. It will be set up more like callbacks, everybody will be reading with each other.

As for time commitment regarding the shoot itself, shooting will take place late September / early October over two weekends. Also, you would be needed sometime next semester to shoot Season 2 of Muckrakers. Shooting has not been scheduled yet, so we will work around your schedule.

I’ve included at PDF of all the episodes for the first season for you to read. If you have any questions or need to get a hold of me my email is danfinnen@gmail.com

Thanks!

Dan

Manhattan Atmospherics

Just got back from a debaucherous little weekend in NYC. Ah, vacation. Never content to only drink copious amounts of alcohol, I managed to find some time to do some photography and writing. All of the photos are up on my flickr account here.

Principle Shooting Done for Bloody Good Movie

Principle (principal? I never know which) shooting is all wrapped up for the latest Ball State tcom summer HD film, Bloody Good Movie. Yeah, it used to be called Blood, Bath and Beyond, but apparently some pornographic film already got that name first. I think its a good sign that I'm competing with pornography for names.

Now that I'm not directing all hours of the day everyday I'll be restarting all the projects I had off to the side. Right now I'm working on film festival submissions for Run Hollywood Summer, and Muckrackers preproduction will begin in earnest once again.

More about new projects will be coming soon, but in the meantime, here's a smattering of some pictures I've taken lately. Enjoy!

Final Draft of RHS is done!

The final draft of Run Hollywood Summer is finally done! I've fallen behind on the last stretch of editing this summer because the labs aren't open on weekends, but I managed to find a computer hidden in the basement of the library that I could use. After spending the weekend toiling away at color correction, final tweaks, and motion graphics, the final draft is done! All that remains is a final audio mix and the film will be ready for film festival submission!

Which speaking of, if you know or have any experience with the film festival circuit please be kind enough to share your knowledge with me. I've never submitted to any before so this will be a new adventure for me.

Well, thought I'd send out an update. I have to get back to Blood Bath and Beyond for now.

dan

New photos up - first half of Summer 09!

I don't get to play with the camera a whole lot when I'm working on the set of Blood Bath and Beyond, so I've been taking pictures whenever I get a chance. Here are some highlights of a bunch of pictures I just put up on my flickr account.

Everybody's a (Film) Critic

Once upon a time a while back ago, specifically my freshman year here at college, I did a segment called 'the search for the worst movie ever.' Basically, I seeked out the worst the Walmart one dollar bin had, then showed clips and generally tore it apart. It was all good natured fun and most of these movies were so unbearably bad that I considered it a public service of sorts. I produced the short segments throughout the year, put them online, and forgot about them.

That summer I finally made the leap from short films and 40 minute mini features to my first 90 minute full length film. I struggled through the production and poured every ounce of my heart into the project. My hardy and fiercely hardworking cast and crew of only a few people brought their best to the table in order to make the best film possible.

Later, on one of the many long nights editing that film, I looked at some of my old videos, including the Search for the Worst Movie Ever segments I worked on. I looked at the comments that people had posted. Some agreed with my assessments, some were the usual mature YouTube LOLZ U FFAGS commentary, but a handful of other comments got to me. They were the few that stood up for the films that I made fun of, that told me I didn't understand, that I was too young to say anything.

I continued slaving away at Run Hollywood Summer for months in post, all the while immersing myself in further research on independent production. And I kept thinking about those segments. What right really did I have to make those comments? Some of the videos I tore apart were the work of people who had put all their passion, their life into making their film. They really cared, and what if it all had come to a mediocre film? Aren't they entitled to some sort of respect for even putting themselves out there in a way that most of us are far to afraid to ever do?

But mostly, what if my film, the one I put so much sweat and love into, turned out to be a piece of shit? What if Run Hollywood Summer, despite all my efforts, was utterly unwatchable? How would I feel if some snarky college kid just called it a piece of crap left it at that?

So late one night I got online and removed every Search for the Worst Movie Ever segment from youtube. I was embarrassed that people ever saw them at all, saw a younger, far less experienced me rip on filmmakers I have now come to respect.

For example, I don't love Michael Bay, so what? He makes movies he loves and quite a few others love as well and I respect him for that. I could pick apart any movie I've ever seen, but anybody who can sit in a chair can do that. Could I have done a better job? Maybe, but probably not.

There are so many variables that go into the production of a film that hard work and good intentions alone don't always result in a great movie. Everybody who works on a project wants it to be the next Pulp Fiction or Godfather, but it just doesn't work out that way. The secret is, nobody knows how to make a great film. It just happens. Some have a better track record than others, but if we truly knew, how come every film isn't a great film?

Lately it feels like Facebook and the internet is filled to the brim with amateur film critics. Everybody rates everything, gives their own opinion why a film is garbage or not. They usually speak with complete authority and conviction. A movie is such an easy entity to judge, such an inviting target to just tear apart. While I applaud so much interest in the medium, the idea that some teenager at a computer can publish a scathing review of a project that hundreds put all their effort into to create just seems unsettling.

Don't get me wrong, I love film criticism. I check Metacritic on a regular basis and look at reviews before I ever plop down a dollar to see a movie. But the best film critics have a love and understanding of film that only comes with age and experience. Such as I do not have.

I'm still learning, and as I embark on my second feature length I find that I know far less than I ever thought. The experience of directing is a humbling one, and I realize how little I truly know and understand, and how much I have to learn from everybody around me. I am in no position to publicly criticize anybody who has ever put their film, their baby, out there to entertain the world. Because, for the first time in my life, I'm starting to understand what it feels like to be on the other side.

So Ron Marchini, I owe you an apology. I tore apart your indie low budget futuristic flick Karate Cop in my first Search for the Worst Movie Ever segment. You went out there in the days when independent film was far more expensive and difficult than it is now in the digital age and made a movie, to hell with anybody who told you no. Wannabe filmmakers, such as myself a year ago, have nothing on you, because you made your movie. And for that, you have my utmost respect.

And so, a toast to the good, bad, and ugly of film. Celebrate it all, because anybody can talk, but only a few get out there and do. So if you're a doer, my hat's off to you, even if your film makes my spleen want to claw its way out of my body. You did it anyway.


dan

Lotsa New Pictures!

I find photography incredibly relaxing and creatively stimulating. It's amazing.

I remain quite inexperienced, but I'm learning all the time. I'm always amazed how good so many people are at this art.

These are pictures I've taken from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Norman Mailer's 'An American Dream' Abridged and Performed by Legos

It's been a while since I've been able to put out a short film since I've been so busy with BBB and RHS, but I managed to get this little thing done. For my honors 199 class we were allowed to film a summary of Norman Mailer's rather violent novel in place of doing an essay, and my mind naturally drifted to legos.

I had a lot of fun building the sets and playing with depth of field effects with my still camera lenses. This is the thing that gets me about still photography. I paid only 500 bucks for my Nikon D40 and two lenses, but they are far superior to lenses that I've toyed around with on 100,000 dollar video cameras. What gives? My only guess is that the consumer market is huge for DSLR cameras and competition has driven prices down and quality up.

Anyways, I'm getting off topic. You can find the short here.

As always, enjoy and thanks for watching!

Mountains in Muncie

I haven't posted many pictures for a while, but this is one I took last week. It is easily one of my all time favorites. It was a windy spring day in Muncie and a storm was rolling in.

When I was a little kid I always desperately wanted to be a weather photographer. I'm living the dream.

There are some other new pictures I added as well. http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfinnen/

Side note, since I haven't had a chance to mention it yet, thanks to everybody who came out for the Run Hollywood Summer premiere, I deeply appreciate it!

dan