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!
Showing posts with label Run Hollywood Summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Run Hollywood Summer. Show all posts
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
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!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
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
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
Sunday, May 31, 2009
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
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
Monday, April 27, 2009
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
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Run Hollywood Summer Preview Screening at Ball State!
We will be having our first public preview screening of the third draft of Run Hollywood Summer April 18th at Ball State! It will take place at 8pm in LB 125. If you're in town be sure to stop by for a good movie and to meet the cast and crew!
See you there!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
First Completed Draft of Run Hollywood Summer is done!
Hello all,
I've created this blog device thing as a way to keep everybody up to speed on various projects that I'm involved with, especially long term ones such as Run Hollywood Summer. Since I don't get to see the majority of the world that lives outside Muncie too often, here's an easy way to see what the status of projects are, what new movies have been released, and if I'm incarcerated or not.
As of tonight, the first completed draft of RHS is done! I'm only behind by original goal of having it done in October by... a few months. I'm still not sure when the final product will be ready, March is seeming pretty reasonable right now. Audio remains, which might take a while.
I sent out a note on facebook about credits, so if you didn't get that message and you were involved in RHS make sure you send me what you want your name to appear as and what you did crew-wise in the film. Thanks!
RHS is shaping up quite nicely, I can't wait to show everybody the final product!
dan
ps, if you haven't gotten a chance yet, check out the new short, 'Apples', which I directed with half of the crew for Ball State's upcoming summer HD film! Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKWdi8oVT28
I've created this blog device thing as a way to keep everybody up to speed on various projects that I'm involved with, especially long term ones such as Run Hollywood Summer. Since I don't get to see the majority of the world that lives outside Muncie too often, here's an easy way to see what the status of projects are, what new movies have been released, and if I'm incarcerated or not.
As of tonight, the first completed draft of RHS is done! I'm only behind by original goal of having it done in October by... a few months. I'm still not sure when the final product will be ready, March is seeming pretty reasonable right now. Audio remains, which might take a while.
I sent out a note on facebook about credits, so if you didn't get that message and you were involved in RHS make sure you send me what you want your name to appear as and what you did crew-wise in the film. Thanks!
RHS is shaping up quite nicely, I can't wait to show everybody the final product!
dan
ps, if you haven't gotten a chance yet, check out the new short, 'Apples', which I directed with half of the crew for Ball State's upcoming summer HD film! Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKWdi8oVT28
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