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by Lee Bailes | Jan 7, 2020 | Analysis, Festivals
Why did we make it?
Why this film, this idea and this particular theme?
Why the violence?
Why can't we all just get along and love each other and play nice?
Why didn't we make a heartwarming cartoon?…
Barcelona event flyer
DFTB wins at Indiewise
Last year, Darwin was lucky enough to be invited to multiple festivals, to accompany our film DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE and attend the festival screenings. One of those festivals awarded us a special mention. Another gifted us an award for best narrative. And then, back in December, I found myself attending a screening of it, to celebrate that award. it was then that I decided to try and organise some thoughts about the creation of the film, from first idea to film poster, to try and provide Darwin with some talking points – figuring that it might help when faced with a few questions from those attending the screenings. This is essentially a more organised form of what we had discussed when approaching the idea for the project and before Darwin first attended a screening and had to talk about the finished film.
Here's what Surprised Lee wanted to say when he stood on stage, on the 20th Dec 2019, but his mind went blank when the mic was pressed into a hand:
"Domestic violence is a huge problem. A problem of much significance. An epidemic in some countries. Somewhere in the world, every hour of every day, domestic violence is being committed – usually by men. Everyday in the US, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends. Every 9 seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten in the US. Even in Spain! Especially here, judging by the news this morning when another poor woman lost her life in Barcelona. Even those who work to help the victims of abuse are themselves often targeted by the same perpetrators – who are looking for another outlet for their anger. It is real. It is an epidemic. it's a tragic reality.
DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE, in some ways, seems over the top. Too violent? We apologise if anyone is traumatised by the themes and violent content / actions in the film. However, it is inspired by a true story and in many ways is not extreme enough! We had a tough battle finding the right level – enough to shock and provoke a reaction, but when to hold back for fear of losing the audience entirely? Realistic drama was definitely what we felt was needed.
We very much wanted to make this film to highlight this problem, to help open or even provoke a debate about the subject and for that debate to look for solutions to prevent such violence from ever being committed again.
We feel that not enough is being done to combat domestic violence and to help the victims and to fund those organisations who work on behalf of the victims. We only wish we could have had more budget, time, equipment and skill, to make it even more impressive and more impactful in order for the film to be a better catalyst for change. But thanks to our director and wonderful team, we have done the best we have, with the limited budget we had, time allowed and with a collective passion to try and change in the world in some small way.
The black dot on the poster, is a symbol – a cry for help – that has been used by abused women to ask for help, when a careless word or message may otherwise alert their abusive partner. Typically it is drawn on the hand. We want women in such situations to reach out and seek help. We want others who suspect possible crimes to seek help on their behalf, all without endangering their lives. But we also don't want to endanger them by making the symbol too popular, so we did not include it in the actual film: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-34326137 – there is some debate about this symbol alone and whether it helps or hurts? But the point is that victims need to find a way to ask for help. Somehow. Your lives are not without worth. You are important. Your story must be shared!
And hopefully, someone who sees this film might know someone in a similar situation and be willing to help rescue their friend from such abuse. Or simply pass the message of the film to another and create a small wave of change and avert something potentially much worse.
It's not about the film per se. But the message needs to be passed on. Violence is not ok. Abuse must be treated like the epidemic it is, and we must find a social vaccine. We need to change.
Thanks for watching. And sorry for anyone this may have traumatised. "
So hopefully if anyone does get to see the film, and comes hunting here as to answers to the "whys" / those questions, they will find something here that helps…. I definitely think that it is a theme that requires more exploration….
And if anyone is connected with an organisation that is dealing with such abuse and wants to consider partnering with us to help spread the message, we would love to hear from you.
by Lee Bailes | Jan 3, 2020 | Film Promotion, Video
Footage of the screening event in L'Hospitalet
Above, you can see footage (shot and edited by Instagram talent: @javier_ramire and @moontane718) from the event when Darwin and I were awarded with diplomas for winning the award for DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE and the screening where we showed that film, SVEN GUNNAR and MR CLEAN. Read the shoot diary to find out more about that event HERE.
And here you can see a clip of me being a muppet / being embarrassed on TONY ROVIRA Y TU towards the end when I finally stand up.
Copyright Tony Rovira Y Tu – excerpt from the show Darwin and I appeared on
by Lee Bailes | Dec 29, 2019 | cinema, Review, Writers toolbox, Writing
Top nine of 2019 @lee.bailes on Instagram
I didn't have high hopes and huge demands for this year. At least not when it began. Just having a functioning website was a key goal, after the last website was stupidly wiped out and needed to be rebuilt and repopulated… and I lost nearly 4 years of [luckily poor] activity. But beyond that… just getting through the year was also enough – well that and constantly expecting some epic global meltdown / armageddon. But thanks to SBC IT for sorting me out with a new website. Nice one. But this is the first year when I feel that I have properly used the website for what it was intended and used it regularly. Go me. And I think that this was a positive year creatively.
Loss – the previous years were overshadowed by loss and bereavement. So did I lose anyone? – Felix (my feline companion of 15 years), and a few friends sadly. That and some relationships ended… but I also gained some new friends and a new cat. Not a replacement by any means, but a welcome addition and helping to fill an empty space in our hearts and a great character he is. So not the best of years, but better than the preceding two years.
My health – could be improved. I'm still suffering daily with Shingles pain. However, I largely maintained the diet, despite my usual battles with depression. I've been mostly free of back pain, training smart and even got corrective foot insoles specially 3D printed to exactly match my feet and correct them, reducing some foot pain… but the last two months of MR CLEAN [colour grading] stress saw me drinking more than I'd like… But I made a point to get light every morning to help regulate and improve my sleep and it has been better over all.
Travel – any interesting trips? – Barcelona twice, Tallinn, Hälsingland and Cornwall. Two for pleasure and the rest for filming / film related trips.
Filmmaking – editing MR CLEAN, doing the trailer and post production for the premiere was hard work. But a valuable learning experience. Then there was SVEN GUNNAR and LOVELY TO MEET YOU, two other films that we wrote and produced this year. I am also planning to film another short very soon as well as help a friend on a film in Rome. In the process of doing SVEN GUNNAR I learned how to use the BMPCC 4K and learned enough to shoot it for Darwin (first time doing Cinematography for anyone else). But I do need to learn Da Vinci Resolve and Colour grading as a goal, to get the best out of the footage myself without having to always rely on others. I also made 7 music videos – when shooting background visuals for MEIPR, a friend's band, for their gig. 6 of them were made in a matter of weeks, back-to-back. I was impressed I got it all done! Despite the tough / insane tasks I set myself, I achieved everything that was within my power to do. Sadly only ZOMBIE MINTS didn't get released. But it will be a side project. Also we did not get to do a Swedish premiere for the shorts. It's bonkers. We have to crack this!
Writing – I wrote five short scripts this year and started work on rewriting an old feature script… enjoying the challenge of trying to work out what someone thinks they are trying to say in a rough form script and reinterpret it more to the goals of the narrative and polish it and fix it – more of a problem solving / jigsaw puzzle in some ways for three of them. But I also learned to take charge more, when collaborating, when the original narrative is not fit-for-purpose. Sadly I didn't finish the feature script rewrite due to work and MR CLEAN getting in the way. It's on the list for next year. But I still need to devote myself more to writing each day again.
Self-development – I completed quite a few training courses. And started some new ones. But MR CLEAN later stole a lot of my time there. I upped learning Swedish every day, to trying to learn Spanish also and devoting a minimum of an hour a day for it. but I have made good on reading every day and reading at least one script a week…. in fact, by my calculations, I've actually read 60 (admittedly 50 of them were TV scripts, so average 60 pages, rather than the usual 110-ish, but still…)… and I finished the entire John Connolly Charlie Parker book series, as well as the entire Stephen Hunter Bob Lee Swagger series. I also read my first entire book in Swedish, and in Spanish (although didn't understand all of them) …as well as many more – how many books? Who knows, but it was a lot. But with the languages, I need to speak more and reading books aloud is really helping.
Workwise – I delivered my first course end-to-end entirely by myself, save for a few commissioned graphics… constantly wondering if under this economy I still have a job? Worst year financially for us over the last 5 years…actually demanding that my boss "just go and fire me already", because I got so sick of wondering day to day about it. I still don't know. But I've resolved myself to just focussing on me and letting what will happen with work just happen.
Temperament – Lost my temper a lot…. I still want to work on being calmer and appreciating my successes. I want to be kinder. Thank you to Bob, the dummy, for taking so many beatings and helping me stay calmer. But meditation will be a focus for 2020.
Visualisation – I built a 'vision thang' – a mood board to help me focus and it worked. I will construct a new one for next year, although mostly it will be the same – but new visuals will help me focus anew and help me to manifest something I actually want to happen.
The "Vision thang" visualisation tool / mood board
The original premiere in May for DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE, and later for that film (post award) in December, as well as SVEN GUNNAR and MR CLEAN, complete with three TV appearances
DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE not only getting into 15 festivals, but also winning Best Narrative Short in Vegas
Getting a diploma for my work on DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE
Shooting SVEN GUNNAR and LOVELY TO MEET YOU and making some lovely new filmmaking friends
Releasing the trailer for MR CLEAN and finishing the film
Seeing the trailer for SVEN GUNNAR get 18K views
Spending two weeks with family and friends
Lowlights:
Felix dying
Not doing my secret project
Seeing the MR CLEAN trailer get less than 1K views
Not getting ZOMBIE MINTS done and released, as planned
So what about 2020:
Obviously I'd like things to be sorted out around Brexit, one way or another.
Impeaching Trump, and unfucking the planet would help. Ok. Pls thx.
I want to do a Swedish premiere for MR CLEAN
I want MR CLEAN to get into some festivals if possible
I'll release ZOMBIE MINTS
I want to finally make COMFORT HIM and SEPULTURE
I want to finish the writing of and make a feature film.
I want to sort out publishing my old short stories and get back to working on one of the novels.
I want to continue working with, but also repaying the kindness of those who helped me make MR CLEAN and our other films. So Rome will be first on that score
I will read other books in Swedish and Spanish and improve speaking more of both languages
I will complete my secret project.
There's more, but that's the stuff that counts….
Q – What are your goals? How did your year go in review?
If any of you silent, lurking readers do come back here and have been following me over the last year, thank you for visiting and I hope that you have the best year that you can in 2020.
by Lee Bailes | Dec 28, 2019 | Film, Premiere, Production, Uncategorized
Before you continue, know this – it was only a 3-day film shoot, but I've detailed the entire film production related trip to Barcelona and back, from start to finish. The reason? Hopefully it details the craziness of guerrilla filmmaking on a no-budget short horror film in another country. That and the special screening of our other films. Hopefully it helps me remember, when I later forget the details. Hopefully it helps transport anyone reading this to feel like they shared the crazy journey with us, if you care. It's an update – but a long one. But hopefully you'll find it enlightening along the way – with a few valuable lessons that we've definitely learned – and what not to do!
We had three objectives going into this trip…:
Shoot LOVELY TO MEET YOU
Get on TV again
Screen our three films
Please note: this project only happened because Darwin wanted one more project before the year was over. I was crazy enough to say yes and to produce the script that we then shot. And this time, unlike DFTB, I wasn't going to miss the shoot! But could we do a 5 / 6 day shoot in 3 days?… only time would tell…
Sunday 15th Dec
THE TRIP OUT
Rendering fun
I got up and felt awful after zero sleep. I was exhausted. What was going on with my body last night? If only we weren't doing a film shoot and I could just stay in bed and rest. Something was up and I had fever and hallucinations in the night…but time to get my shit together…
After many hugs with Suss and Ruffs, my cat. I headed to the airport, trundling my way with too much luggage (half of it containing the production gear). Feeling light headed and woozy all the way and getting smacked in the legs by the cases.
I got to T-centrallen ok; although it was a pain with so much gear. And met a cheerful and well-rested Darwin; and then went and bought two locks for the black camera cases. Just in case the cases somehow got separated from us, I didn't want to make it too easy for someone to avail themselves of the camera gear. Then, when Rinat arrived, we headed to the bus.
Darwin and I chatted on the bus to Skavsta, reviewing things about the production. It filled the time well enough and kept me awake. And helped focus our minds for the coming battle against time, budget, inadequate preparation and trying to form a collectively talented team.
We did have a long day ahead of us at the airport, as we arrived their deliberately too early; however, I didn't want to risk any of us missing the flight and ruining the production and losing those funds by not turning up. And also we did not know if we'd have problems with any of the bagagge. I was mainly concerned about Lithium-Ion batteries (after a previous Ryan Air flight had been grounded for a battery fire and overly specific guidance around their capacity) and wanted to make sure we had time for backup plans to leave them somewhere safe, and arrange backup batteries in Barcelona, if things went tits up and we got them confiscated. But weirdly it all went smoothly once we'd divided the bags up and approached the bag drop.
Meanwhile, while there, I was trying to render a new version of MR CLEAN (due to a great new sound mix from Luca) and was eventually forced to give up, as FCP X needed to update the project file (something I'd not counted on after accidentally updating it the day before), then re-render everything and there was no way I was getting a finished output before we boarded the plane. So I force-quit the session and put the laptop away and recharged it a bit.
Cue some lawyer having a melt-down over baggage at the front of the queue and another girl trying to push in and not wanting to get back to the end of the queue that had formed behind her.
Once aboard, it was a really uncomfortable and hot flight – and despite pounding water and soft drinks like they were going out of fashion, I was feeling dehydrated and off-kilter in that heat and fighting drowsiness, knowing I wouldn't manage sleep. During it, despite the idiot in the middle / next to me trying to sleep and restlessly banging into me and his mate every 5 minutes, I managed to study the script for LOVELY TO MEET YOU, discuss notes that I made with Darwin. The whole way there I wished I'd flown Norwegian at least.
We got to the airport and then on the way to the hotel, when our tickets wouldn't work for the Metro barriers, we then had to get Rinat to jump the barriers and let us through to catch the rapidly approaching train… only later, finding out that we'd bought the wrong tickets and they weren't valid for the metro, we realised that we only had tickets for the train from the airport. So we'd accidentally done wrong. Damn. It was funny though.
We got to my hotel, I checked in, then Rinat and I dumped the bags, with a few repeat trips, and then we all went out to a nearby mall, to eat tapas. The food was good, or was it because we were really hungry and it was really late? – much later than I usually eat. But it was good, despite the weird looks I got from the locals while sitting outside in a t-shirt in December.
From there, I headed back to the hotel in Almeda, messaged Suss that we were all safe, tried to deal with charging all of the things for the shoot and assembling rigs and packing it up for the shoot etc. As at this point I really believed that we were shooting the next morning…
I tried to meditate myself to sleep and tried to ignore the noise from the lift that was right next door to the room (clanging away every few minutes) and the bar / foyer of the hotel…. it was going to be a long week of no sleep at this rate, I could tell!
Monday 16th Dec
SIGHTSEEING AND REHEARSALS
First meeting together
Details time
Are we really doing this?
A good huddle
Last questions
I hadn't really slept, yet again – maybe two hours max – some restless drifting in and out of consciousness and constant disturbances. And too late a night the day before, too active a brain? nervous? I don't know. But I do know that the hotel room was noisy. Especially from an ever-clanging lift. Every few minutes I heard the lift go up and down and stop noisily; and other weird loud noises, as the hotel was all tiled and had gaps under each door, so noise was free to travel and seemed amplified in the dead of night.
I got up and did a stretch workout. Uncranked my neck etc. And I finally rendered a new version of MR CLEAN, from the file Luca sent to me for the sound mix and it sounded so much better. Then I downloaded another version of the grade for MR CLEAN from our new colour grader and it did not look good. It was far from it. Supposedly it was also a work in progress. But something was definitely off with it. It was unwatchable.
Rinat and I had time to go sightseeing – which was a huge surprise, as we'd both thought that filming began on the Monday… but no. Darwin said that we had time – a few hours, before rehearsals, so I headed out to find the metro and get a ticket. I needed first to explain to Rinat, over the phone, where he was and how to get to Placa de Espanya and send him a pic of the metro map. Then I had to buy a ticket and needed Darwin to explain how to work the machine over the phone. But once I had a ticket I was on my way – once I also worked out how to get there.
At Placa De Espanya, it was hard to find Rinat around that huge station with many levels. But eventually we agreed a place to meet. Once that was done, we then went walking around the city. We walked up to the palace at Montijuic. The musuem was shut and the fountains didn't work…just my luck. We walked over the hills, through gardens, and Rinat found a new cat friend that climbed right onto him.
We had a nice lunch. And it was good to hang out with Rinat, as we hadn't hung out much after shooting MR CLEAN. Then we headed around, ending up riding the funicular to the Castle and later accidentally refinding the same cat when we went back on ourselves accidentally… and seeing the cat looking up creepily at us in an accusatory way. We then walked down to near the port / the water etc. Eventually we watched a local low budget / student film crew work and making the best of a cloudy day, while I took a beer. Then we headed down to the Marina, into the Gothic quarter and the Ramblas before heading to meet Darwin…in all we did about 23km walking. Doh! (not smart, but great to see the sights).
We went to Torrassa, waited in a bar and considered getting food… Then Alessandro (playing Michael) met us, and we got to know each other. He was a lovely guy and happily regaling us with tales of working with Ridley Scott and meeting many stars. Then Darwin came to meet us, late, took us to the location for Day 2 and 3 and to meet everyone.
There we did the production intro chat / rehearsals, met everyone (that was there, I think Carmen and one makeup girl might have appeared at another time) and Darwin and I answered all of their collective questions. Or at least we tried to. Bear in mind we were only a team in name only at this point. Would we end as a strong team and firm friends? Hopefully! But there was so much we needed to discuss and check and plan and it was all a bit late… but hopefully we'd get through it despite this. And yet none of the locations in this spot had been prepped or dressed for filming. It would cost us time.
Then by the time we finished it was 10pm! and we'd not eaten yet… and the 'hambre' hangriness kicked in. Yes I am a miserable selfish sod when I get hungry. Note to self: bring a shitload of protein bars or snacks with me on the next shoot… or just walk off and get food and don't wait for others.
We went to a cafe to eat, leaving Darwin with the other local team – because the other producers' conversations could go on for ages. Darwin joined us later and we ate and drank – although I didn't get my full order in the end. But I got something.
We then headed off to our respective accommodation. I travelled back by myself and took an unfamiliar route and yet it all went well.
Later, in my hotel room, I was messaging with our colour grader about the file he had rendered and sent to me – to try and understand how it could be that he said it looked great on his machine. But it made no sense that it was great on his machine and bad on mine. I wanted to know if he had checked it before sending it? Surely he had right?
I got back around 11.30. Headed to bed as it was too late to talk with Suss etc. Again a noisy hotel, as per the night before but I hoped it would be ok – it was too late to pack everything and move to another room and would they even have a free room?
I tried to rehydrate, having not consumed enough liquid all day. Then tried to put pillows and my coat down by the door, to block some of the sound. But it was useless. Even a mattress against the door wouldn't work, not with that lift.
Tuesday 17th Dec
Day#1 of shoot:
Blocking shots
Let's get a take
Make up ready
Filming on the metro
I had managed to sleep maybe a couple of hours. But had fever sweats in the night and woke up with blood on the pillow from my left ear. Wtf?!
I was woken by the sound of the lift and slamming doors and the staff setting breakfast service in the bar, and loud chatter in the foyer. Ok. Thanks I guess. Although I'd set an alarm you clearly wanted to make sure I didn't miss my shoot so woke up in plenty of time to get there, right?
After talking with Suss on the phone, to catch up and explain why I couldn't talk earlier, I had a stretch and a shower and then got ready and packed the gear for taking to the shoot.
Went to the location via Metro. But I should have taken a cab. I couldn't fit in the first train due to overcrowding and the fact that it is always a short train from Almeda. I was hot and sweaty and tired by the time I reached the location: Mamajuana bar. And then I was inside a hot and even sweatier chaos. A small bar, not enough room, trying to see my gear, assemble my gear, find places and get more light and then move said gear to set up a shot, ready to shoot. As everyone had naturally set themselves up exactly where we didn't need their stuff, as no one was clear about what the first shot was and what the plan was for that space. I hadn't even seen pictures of floor plans of this space despite asking numerous times, or a shot list which matched said nonexistent plans. So I couldn't have known. But it would have been nice to begin without hours of dicking around.
Meanwhile I met the DP Fabian, whilst sweatily trying to assemble the gear and set about trying out every lens and adapter etc. Despite being an excellent DP, he didn't know these cameras and how each lens performs under those sensor sizes. So didn't intuitively know what he needed until he saw it. There was quite a bit of asking for a specific lens combo, I'd ask if you're sure and recommend an alternative and give a reason why his choice might not work? He'd say yes. I'd change it. And then inevitably it would be changed back to what I suggested. Not always. But mostly – this could be my bad though for not knowing enough Spanish to explain it better that so he'd understand?
All this in between fielding numerous questions, helping Darwin out when he was in the middle of other questions / details elsewhere – such as what makeup should be applied here and how should we block the extras / arrange them so that they fill the background with action etc.
I think we didn't get the cherry broken on the shoot and get the first shots done until maybe lunchtime? So we were already behind, having lost 4 hours. Even an extra 1/2 day contingency on a shoot like this would help for slippage…. sometimes it's awful being right.
I was working the second camera with Fabian, tag teaming and switching from BMPCC4K to GH5 and back frequently. And all was going swell to try and cut some delays back and make progress. But then also, somehow he changed the cam settings on the GH5. So every time I tried to take a shot later on the monitor would go dark and the EVF would come on. And it took ages to sort it, once I was freed up from other tasks to find that damn setting. I can never seem to find it when scrolling through all the hundreds of GH5 settings. And I know I'd turned it off before to stop it dicking me around. But at one crucial shot, I could not see any of what I was filming. Great. But once this was rectified I soon found out that the second tripod we had, a loaner, was useless for what we needed. Too rigid, no fluid head and just awkward to use… so soon thoughts of speeding things up with two cameras had to be abandoned.
We filmed the bar scene. Most of it is good, and the extras were restless and it's hot. Everyone wanted to be outside, where there was air etc. And I'm not sure if we're fooling anybody about shooting inside and trying to make out it's night. Ala CLERKS with the blinds down. That worked fine for them in B&W. But not colour. But I liked what I saw from Toro and Ariadna and the extras were great. Once we got into the flow, some of the backgrounds looked good. I couldn't really see all of the foreground main action until I gave up filming and helped with lighting and diffusions etc, when that was needed so other things could be progressed.
At one point Carmen and Toro go off to do some pant shopping and then suddenly everyone was wondering how long does it take to find a pair of pants for the shoot? Also, how many times can someone trip on the same stuff, when we have to keep moving things around? I see no sand bags or proper visibility tape to tie down cables and make people aware of safety…. no like. And then there was DIY / repair work sounds somewhere through the walls to contend with.
We eventually got done with the bar shoot, I think it was nearly 7.30pm. Then Alessandro and Caroline and I went to a cafe to get some food and a drink while Darwin went off to do the van stuff with the ice boxes without me for some reason. A shit Greek salad (and I mean shit, not even anything like an actual Greek salad – only Greek by name) and a water later, and then we went to meet Darwin at Torassa, before we then headed to Sagrade familia by metro with Darwin and Fabian; all the while we were filming the happy couple on the way to and outside the venue and luckily no one stopped us.
However, Rinat and I got told off for leaning against some fence, sitting on the ground looking homeless across from Sagrada Familia – because of the pain in my feet, I'd had to rest at that point. But no we had to move on. lol.
Once the shoot is done at ten, we then headed to a Chinese Restaurant for a post 10pm meal and drink as I was feeling faint after my previously inadequate meal. It was actually really good food in the Chinese and bless Rinat for treating us to the meal. Thanks! Best food on the shoot yet. But far too late again.
I got back to the hotel at 11.30pm, shattered and just fell into bed – only there was a bar full of Scottish football fans drunkenly cheering every 5 minutes… until 2 fucking AM. Fuck! After my second call to the hotel staff, the fuckers finally got moved on… and I could try and find some rest. But I vowed to change rooms in the morning. Or someone was going to the hospital and someone else was getting arrested.
Wednesday 18th Dec
Day#2 of shoot / TV:
Getting into character
Setting up a shot
Sound in weird situations
Almost live
It begins!
Darwin and Tony
Those drunken Scots finally were made to go or shut the fuck up around 2am. I think it was then that I finally managed to get some sleep, although it was fitful and not deep enough.
By the time it was almost right for my alarm to go off, I got up, I felt like crap. No time for a stretch, because needing to pack for moving rooms. I showered and finished packing and then went to the reception to ask about changing my room. I then left my case with them and headed off to the location, now sans any room key. Again the only guy in a t-shirt and carrying and not wearing a jacket in Barcelona this morning and getting funny looks from all.
I met Darwin on the way to the location – as everyone was preparing it ready for filming, putting some pictures up, had created a bedroom at least, although not yet the bathroom. Then after making sure the gear was prepped and swapping SSDs, I was being presented with a few torture implements / weapons and then I started backing up all of the day 1 footage onto Darwin's hard drive just before shooting, between fielding more makeup questions.
Finally ready to shoot around 11:30. 3.5 hrs lost today. 1 day behind officially, if it weren't for the late night previously. And I felt all of it, as my feet were now sore from the sightseeing and a lot of standing around.
Today was the shots with the bedroom and then later the living room scene. The torture scene and then the rescue and some in the bathroom. It was a long day and we only shot half as much as the previous day. But there were some great shots. Although for parts of it, when busy with other tasks related to the shoot, I didn't get to always see the takes or to check them. Would we get it all right or would we need to redo some of it? Who knows? no one at this stage? Did we have enough coverage? would the angles match and cut nicely? Was it matching the shot list and storyboards? Were shots being selectively dropped? do the performances build in the right way??? all good questions that I didn't have the answers to. But at least I got some stills along the way to record some of it. We definitely shot less footage today re storage… we definitely lost time to moving gear around and changing the usage of the same location to be multiple sets.
Thanks to Rubi and the producers, we also got a nice breakfast and lunch – and I managed to grab a quick snack from that food after shooting, before I left for the TV show. At one point I think Fabian was picking out random vegetables and things that I could eat from other dishes that contained meat, just go give me more to eat. lol
We finished around 7pm – stressed, as we were so far behind and had to leave a huge scene incomplete – and it was now time for the TV show. We hadn't originally planned to do this today, but then plans were changed..,. and because of those plans changing without prior communication I didn't have my suit / shirt with me etc. And was still grubby from the shoot when we headed off. Not ideal.
On the way to the show, thanks to Fabian, we all had beers and chatted on the metro to get to know each other better. and after a wrong turn at Lacuna, we eventually got there. It felt weird not to be filming guerrilla style on the underground as per the day before. But was nice to spend time with the guys.
The show was the usual surreal experience for me as a non-Spanish speaker, – like Moulin Rouge Spanish style, mixed with Twin Peaks… and yet it must have also been surreal for all of those who did not know the show and had not seen it before.
Toni seemed on edge and there was a fiery argument at the start of the show, but eventually it all seemed to go well. But I was clueless as to what was going on. Darwin was on form in the show, like in his old role as compere, and everyone seemed to have fun. I felt embarassed and shy when I was given the microphone and made to speak. "I said Muy Bueno Tony Rovira Y Tu" and couldn't remember "estupendo" or "espactulo" or somesuch actually more Spanish… I am such a dick in such moments. I need to learn more Spanish and not go mentally blank when such things happen. I could only think in Swedish…
There was the usual dicking aorund, waiting to say goodbye before we left… I was tired and just wanted to get back to the room. I wanted food again… rest, to shower, to rehydrate… I was on the clock and conscious to get on…. I got a lift back from Ariadna (many thanks!) after Tony Rovira Y Tu, and was able to have a good chat about writing with her and Irene on the way.
I had to wait a while, to get dealt with at the reception and for things to be sorted, but eventually got my hotel room and it was on the 3rd floor… a poor guy carried my case all the way up there for me, which I very much appreciate as 3 flights after a long shoot on your feet is a stretch. The room was ok, but I couldn't get on line – they hadn't activated the internet, and the phone gave a weird electronic hum when I tried to ring them and sort it – like I was dialling another realm, where communication was impossible, with ghostly interference… I was brain dead at this point, but managed a few instagram posts before I showered the stink away, tried to meditate and find a happy sleepy place…… yeah. Good luck with that.
Thursday 19th Dec
Day #3 of shoot:
Makeup time
Blocking and keeping warm
More blood?
Wrap party
Lovely to meet you
I had barely slept. Maybe I got an hour or so, I'm not sure. What day was it?… I got up, messaged suss, tried to put life in my body with a stretch and then showered and dressed and shambled out into a taxi. The taxi broke down and the battery was dead. Luckily his buddies charged it before I ran to the metro. The traffic was also mental due to a fire en route. But somehow I made it only 15 mins late to the set. Toro and Carmen were a bit later as they got the worst of it.
Once there, we all went to a breakfast, just as I was set up and ready to back up day #2 footage. Then it was time for a last day pepp / prep talk and to get our shit together and start the day. Soon after much waiting, it was bustle… Slow, slow, quick-quick-slow. The usual dance. The same sore feet.
I was finishing the rough poster for MR CLEAN – while rendering off and trying to check some different versions of MR CLEAN for the screening; in between helping Fabian get the lenses set up / things he needed and help explain some of the deeper motivation for various specific actions during the action sequences. It was all about helping the actors know what was set in stone script-wise and why, and what could be 'played with' so that we could get what we needed and then allow them to improvise and give us more.
We started shooting at 10:45. Closeups mainly. From the torture scene. It was time to get fire extinguishers in faces, torture scenes reversed, and move from the living room to the final scenes in the bathroom. In between holding diffusers or making sure the cameras were powered and had batteries and the right lenses / swapping gear etc, I was tasked with getting the gear moved from the bathroom to set up that set, then dress it, then get ice and 'surgical tools' sorted, as none of this had been provided previously and work with both actors re the blocking of each shot / how we were going to film it. All the while Darwin is focussed on getting through the shots.
Eventually once the last scene was all set up Darwin said, "you direct this bit". By this time it was near 7.30pm. So I did, even though I wasn't sure what was going on? And why? But we nailed the shoot. It helped that I'd worked through the scene with both Toro and Alessandro separately, and rehearsed what we needed with Fabian, and with Arnaud doing sound and Irene holding lights and help from makeup, soon we were able to finish the most fun scene of the film. It was fun and easy. Darwin did come in and help on the final shot, squirting blood in Toro's face as he hacked and sliced – which was nice that he was part of that last shot.
Fabian got some great shots in that scene as in all of the others. He's really great at movement. And although we need to check them all later, it looked great to me from what I could see.
Irene and Rinat were invaluable. A lot of that shoot wouldn't have happened without them running off and finding what we needed, wether that was scurrying around on set for items or buying missing props etc. Stars!
From there, we packed up some gear but had to leave everything at 9pm, to celebrate wrapping the shoot and take photos. Then we eventually made our way, fresh Estrella in hand, to the breakfast bar on the corner for our wrap party. There was tapas and beer. Perfect. And there were lots of speeches and such to celebrate everyone – and I mean – everyone's involvement. Even the extras and catering etc, that sadly weren't there. No one was forgotten. Everyone is crucial to the success of a shoot.
I think that the question of forming a team and friendships on such a rushed, short shoot was answered. Despite the challenges, stress and the rough edges, we had formed into a tight-knit group and it was a warm and friendly during those final moments of the production.
Inevitably one-by-one our new film family said their goodbyes, parted ways and went back to their lives. Darwin, Alessandro, Ariadna, Toro and I were the last ones there. Alessandro gave me his bloodied pants to look after. lol. Darwin and he took off to get Alessandro to the airport. And Ariadna gave me a lift back to the hotel.
Once back, I celebrated with a large beer (stupidly) and tried to message Suss and watch some shit TV before crashing around midnight. Sleep was hard to find. Thoughts of redoing shots and working through the issues of the day haunted my brain… if only we'd had more days to shoot….
Friday 20th Dec
Screening DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE, SVEN GUNNAR and MR CLEAN:
Poster time
Subtitles!
Diploma time
Wrap time 2
Applause time
Picture time
Nice venue
It's all done – 3 for 3!
I felt like ass when my alarm shrilled at me to get up. I had been asleep for barely an hour or so, or who really knows? It was restless and stressy, but I had to get up and get ready and go to the location to meet Darwin and clean the place up.
I ended up taking a cab, as I was slow to get my shit together and why the hell not? But soon I was there before Darwin, as he was running late also. Although weirdly, while standing around the corner under a balcony and hiding from the rain, somehow the place was opened and I was able to start going inside and clean up, before Darwin arrived. But by then I really wasn't feeling good. I was coming down with something.
It was a strange come down feeling, to be back in that empty place and look at the remnants of the shoot and try and put it all back as it was as if none of us was ever there. Darwin and I were hustling, but also reminiscing about funny moments on the shoot and how we missed everyone already in between lifting, stacking chairs, sweeping etc. My sore feet were soon the only real proof that we had shot anything at all.
Between us we packed up the gear to return, packed up my gear and found that I was missing one or two batteries… for the BMPCC4K, but everything else seemed to be there, and working, although some things were a bit more scuffed up than usual. But also he hadn't brought the BMPCC4K and monitor with him, or his hard drives, so I couldn't break that down or back up all of the footage while working.
Once we got that done, and the rental gear had been picked up, Rinat came to meet us in the cafe from the night before for as late breakfast. Then once we'd eaten and had some tea, we moved on to another location.
By the way, all this time I was more nauseous and resigned to coming down with something… fuck…
Darwin returned with the camera and monitor, while I was backing up all of the footage, I broke the gear down and packed it. Definitely missing at least one battery.
Darwin then reminds me that we need to do Spanish subtitles. WTF! I'd asked him months ago for help writing them and he'd just mentions it now, at 2pm on the day, with the screening at 6pm!?!?! I hurriedly took all the text from the film, as best as I could remember it and formatted it for Darwin to write the Spanish text. Which he duly did. But could I get it into the film and rendered in time?
Rubi showed up with a lovely temp poster for LOVELY TO MEET YOU and then they raced off together to go set up the event.
Then once all the footage was copied across, Rinat and I left to trudge back to my hotel to dump the gear, grab food and head back to the room, for Rinat to chill and watch TV and for me to hurriedly try and do the MR CLEAN Spanish subtitles in FCP X. Not easy when you've not done it before and have no plugins for it and your laptop is suddenly on a go-slow.
I soon found a plugin, and once I could get FCPX to stop crashing, as quickly as I could, I built-in the Spanish text – but it was furiously trying to render each bit and struggling.
By then Darwin had called Rinat off to the venue. And I was getting worried, as I only had two hours to get the subtitles finished and the video rendered and get ready and get my arse to the screening.
As it happened, the rendering was going to take much longer. At 5pm I set off a render of the film, and I watched the bar slowly update the percentage – no way near fast enough. Meanwhile I had shaved, showered, dressed and was anxiously waiting until it got to 5.30 and the file was only 60% done… fuck!
I stupidly carried my laptop and hard drive (while rendering) and jumped into a cab that I ordered. The cab driver sets off at haste. As I am buckling and we head towards a roundabout, the hard drive cable decides to uncoil and flip the hard drive off the laptop and into space, sending it crashing to the floor and separating from the cable and even though I was lightning quick, by then the render had crashed, the session was fucked and it took two reboots to get the machine working again… but this time, as I am in the cab, no render is happening. FCP X is crashing… But it gets worse!…
The cab driver was a well-meaning dolt. He nearly got us killed twice, once on that roundabout as he wasn't paying attention to another car that had to stop suddenly, fiddling with his GPS. The second time, as he was making an illegal turn, down a one-way street and driving onto a major road was quite terrifying. But then also, when I realised that we'd been 20 mins into a 15 min max journey and saw him continually messing with the GPS and muttering, I decided to check up on him. We were no closer to the event. He'd gone 20 minutes in the wrong direction! I gave up trying to do the files and hoping I would arrive on time. Now I was just hoping that I'd arrive at all – once I discovered we were now 35 minutes in and still 15 minutes away, but now having to retrace our steps before we could go in the right direction! Wtf!
I eventually arrived at 6.30 ish and luckily when he dropped me off he said "no pay"., "so sorry"…."Too fucking right mate." What a shambles.
I met Darwin in the empty foyer, with an equally empty red carpet. He hurried me into the venue and weirdly, as they were screening our films, he guided me to the back of the auditorium to sit with Toro. Ok. Where was everyone else? And why was I at the back?
So despite wanting to try and render off a new file and show it later with Spanish subtitles, after some speeches, MR CLEAN was on first, sadly only in English and now it's all too late… and this is the point where it gets weirder… These girls in fabulous frocks come into the venue, on really high heels that they could barely walk in and they start falling down the stairs. Luckily grabbing chairs mostly to stop plunging down. But no one is graceful. And one big lass falls on me, then proceeds to chat with her friends behind us so in parts I barely heard Luca's amazing sound mix and Flora's amazing score. And my temp colour grade didn't look so good from where I was sitting… too dull on the small projector… and then with moody teens tromping up the stairs in loud shoes and making a right racket and people talking amongst themselves and playing on phones throughout before and behind me…. And before I knew it the film was over! It was a blur.
Soon SVEN GUNNAR and DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE were also done, and only then I'd finally recovered from the stress and the distractions. Then there were speeches, from Rubi, from Toni, etc. And at some point after a speech that I sadly didn't understand, about domestic abuse, Darwin and I were brought up on stage and presented with certificates, in a frame each, for our 'certificate of appreciation' (Certificate of recognition for your participation in the short film, DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE, as a writer from the council of Hospitalet de llobregat).
At this point, I am called down to come on stage. By the way, at this point almost everyone (if not everyone) who went to do this tripped on the red step on their way on to the stage, from the right-hand side. So I decided to just step up elsewhere and managed to get up without incident.
After I got my diploma (I think from the minister of culture) Darwin offered me a microphone and said "say something", and I replied "about what?, "about the film" he said, so after some thought I tried to remember what I drafted for him to say about the film, how it was designed to spark a discussion about Domestic Violence, how it was intended to highlight how bad it can be, and that although it is extreme we don't even go as far as some of the very real cases. I talked about the symbolism of the black dot, the very real case on Spanish local TV that morning and the case of the woman who got her partner arrested at the vets. I hoped it was understood.
Afterwards, randomly again, the girls in the frocks started tottering past while we were still stood on stage, as a fashion show began. So we left the stage and returned to our seats. Toro and I clapped through the show, and enjoyed the folk dancing and another speeches before it was all over.
As the lights came up I saw the others in the audience, as we were all called to go back on stage and pose for photos. And it was good to be reunited again after the wrap. And good to see Alejandro again and thank him for everything.
Once the event was done, some people wanted pictures with me, which was new for me. Then when we were outside, more pictures with others in the audience. Ok. Perhaps I need to get used to this? Then more hanging around, chatting.
– I really did enjoy the event, the generosity of the local council and the hard work everyone put getting this event sorted. I did nothing, beyond arriving late etc. But Darwin and Rubi and co all worked their butts off to help the event go smoothly and I really appreciate it. Just in case my bitching gets in the way of my appreciation. It was great. Thank you so much! I'm just trying to honest reflect on where my head was at the time… –
Bear in mind at this point I felt rough. I was tired and hungry. It was 7.30pm at the latest. But more like 7pm. And then we didn't go somewhere to eat until 9pm, with all the yammering. Then at a cafe, we got a drink, but when we tried to order food they didn't have anything I tried to order / wanted from their menu. Luckily by this time Carmen had kindly given me some pills for the cold, as she and Ariadna etc were all now suffering too.
It was so nice to see some of the guys again, as if we got a second quieter smaller wrap party of a different sort. And then another small sad parting as some of the group had to go.
By 10pm, I was wanting to go. It hard started raining and we still hadn't eaten. Finally we went to a nearby restaurant and Darwin calmed me down with some food. I was proper livid until the first food hit my blood stream. Sorry. But anyone who knows me, knows to feed me. Don't poke the beast. You'll lose a limb. "Yo tengo mucho hambre".
Ariadna very kindly picked some of the best local food for us and soon Toro and I were happy, with full bellies. Darwin riffs about writing with me and describes what I do as "formatting a script" which he meant as a compliment, but seriously if that's all you think writing is, you need help. So on one hand we share an award for the narrative for DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE, but on the other my writing partner has no clue as to the difference from his crude story points to my script, other than formatting… weird and unrelated to the shoot, but to me it really highlights how misunderstood Script Writers and how their contributions to the creative process actually are often unrecognised. But this is after getting a certificate and an award…
Around 11pm I really needed to go. Despite the previous hangriness and 'formatting,' Darwin and I parted ways happily at the metro as we went off in different directions. And I made it back to the hotel through the pouring rain around 11.45pm. I took a beer and some water from the bar… but couldn't drink it. I felt too sick.
I think I somehow went to bed around 1am, confused and exhausted but too tired after too much late night food. I couldn't meditate due to coughing – but I could lie in. The DO NOT DISTURB sign was hung outside.
Saturday 21st Dec:
Sick in bed
I had a miserable restless night. Full of fever. Restive.
Once I'd coughed up enough, I tried to get some water down me and then speak to Suss on the phone. We had a good chat and then I tried to rest again. But definitely had to get up to cough up the green stuff periodically, until I decided to sit up in bed and try and catch up on correspondence etc.
Eventually – by 1pm – I managed a shower, took more pills, dressed and hit the bar up for a tortilla sandwich and a coke, before shakily making my way back to the room.
I messaged the others hoping to see them later. But worst case I could stay in all day if I felt too ill later. I started working on this shoot journal, while watching show reels for actors who had contacted me.
I also created a folder added all the pictures and videos in from my phone, from the shoot to share with the cast and crew. And once I finally had time to let the files render, I was easily able to export two Spanish versions of MR CLEAN to use, and started uploading one to Vimeo for a potential preview screening, to make up for those who couldn't attend or saw it and didn't understand it.
Eventually after I had done a fair bit of journal writing and realised that it was about 7.30pm, and I now needed to meet Darwin at 9pm, I went down to the hotel bar and ordered a beer and a meal Although Darwin said I should meet him earlier than planned and we could eat etc, I knew it would get random and my stomach comes first. And would I even make it out?…
Despite feeling sick, I got to Urgell. I checked the map, and a small child crashed into me while not looking where she was going and started screaming. I met Darwin and Stanley and we went for a beer. By then the heavens had opened and a terrific wind came up out of nowhere. Punishment for hurting a child?
Darwin told us about the deal he was close to closing – it was exciting. When they were planning to move on and finally get some food around 11, I headed home, whipped by the illness.
As soon as I got back to Almeda, the wind was even fiercer. I had to do my jacket up, and lean into the wind, just to get back to the hotel, like a comedy ginger Chaplin. Once there, vodka and coke in hand, I stumbled up 3 flights of dark stairways. Weirdly the power was on in the foyer, but the rooms were all without power and around the block. Although the phones worked and smoke alarm still seemed to have power…. but my phone was still so broken that calling downstairs to enquire about restoring power was useless… the ghostly voices seemed louder…
Luckily I had charge, to see enough to get my drink to my mouth and watch BRIGHTBURN on my laptop. I watched half of the movie, brushed my teeth by the light of my phone and then hit the sack.
Sunday 22nd Dec
The trip back:
Final tickets
On our way back
I was woken up twice in the morning… Once when someone was fumbling around upstairs or in the hall or next door. I can't be sure. But they were tapping and banging on the walls in the dark, unsure about how to find their way in the dark of their room / the hallway and cursing…. Then I was woken again by the lights coming back on when the power was restored. Eventually I was woken again by people going for breakfast, I tried to nap but was woken again by texts.
I got up late, around 10:45 am. I showered sluggishly, coughed a lot of green stuff up, and packed my bags while I watched the end of Brightburn. I checked out on time but with difficulty due to all those bags and those stairs and needed multiple trips; then started work on a new piece in the hotel bar.
After eating, I got a cab – thanks to the nice cab driver not only helping me with my bags in and out of the cab, but also knowing where he was going (without any sat nav), and no almost crashes, and soon I was with Darwin and we stored the gear across the road in the accommodation where he'd been staying. Rubi and Julio were there and helped lock up and walked with us around a market, looking for late Xmas presents, and then off to the metro. There Darwin and I went to Barcelonetta, for us to share a Michelada outside in the sun. It was my first Michelada – a spicy beer cocktail. Nice. It was also lovely and crazy that it was sunny, dry, 18 degrees on the 22nd December and I was outside in a t-shirt and caught the sun a bit while chatting, and almost forgot feeling rough…
Back at Torassa, we picked up the luggage and repacked it for travelling, before we headed back to the metro. Rubi and Julio helped us down to the bottom of the station, looking after us and took a couple of pictures some last promotion. I was going to miss these guys. And I wish that I could speak more Spanish to communicate with them better. It's very easy to see the attraction of the climate, the warm people and the life bustling all around you – different to my usual dark, wet, tree-obstructed Swedish view outside my window. And I really appreciate all they did to help the production and make sure the screening went smoothly.
Rinat was was going to the airport by himself. Darwin and I eventually met up with him after we had checked in the heavy case, gone through security and then eaten a nice meal at the first place we saw. Weirdly it was almost without stress. However, Darwin had been distracted by the disorganised queues and had forgotten his red suit case and gone through the x-rays. Meanwhile we'd both been test for drugs and explosives. Luckily he got it back ok, having to go back through the barriers first. Then we were all reunited, armed with drinks for what would undoubtedly be a swelteringly hot Ryan Air flight home and despite the long priority queues, soon on the plane.
Soon on the flight, apart from someone getting a bottle in the head, from the overhead storage upon boarding the plane, we were in the air and on our way back home to the cold and the darkness.
Once we got to the other side, and picked up our bags we hurried onto the bus just before it left, chatting on the way back. Back at T-centrallen, having just missed their last Tunnelbana, Rinat and Darwin helped divide the stuff / repack it and get me into a cab. There we exchanged Xmas greetings parted ways.
Back inside, bags dumped, I hugged Suss and then cuddled with Ruffs. It was lovely.
I climbed into the shower and then climbed into bed, exhausted and tried to meditate in between coughing…. but my head still swirled with all the thoughts of the production…
We had three objectives:
We did it all. On that level it was a success.
Did we make a good film? Only time will tell? Did we have a great cast and crew – yes! We were very lucky. We were still crazy to attempt this, but we did it. Could we have benefitted from more prep time? Undoubtedly. It was obvious how the pre-production was rushed and not complete and it did bleed over into the shoot. And could we use more shoot time? Hell yes! Double for sure.
However, despite all that, I really can't wait to see it all and see the finished film. There were some great performances and some great shots. I can't wait to go back to share the screening with this cast and crew later in 2020. And despite all my selfishness / hangriness, it was a pleasure to do this project and to share it with this amazing team.
And special thanks to Tony Rovira Y Tu and the Centre Cultural La Bòbila, L'hospital, Minister of culture and the Columbian Consul. Apologies if I missed anyone!
Lessons learned (that should be obvious):
Prepare sets / locations in advance, ready for shooting
Gather all props and wardrobe items before the shoot – you will lose shooting time chasing things down and lose manpower during crucial times – it is what pre-production is for!
Do a test shoot before hand if possible to be sure of lenses you will need / check framing / familiarise yourself with all gear
If you can use more shoot time, plan for that – especially if sets / locations not prepared in advance
If you can get more lights – do so. You will always use them and you will probably never have enough
Make sure to share biographies with actors to explain their history up until that point / shot and where they are coming from in approaching the scene
If doing a kill room with plastic, do not allow an actress to wear heels. It will tear the flooring and make a joke of continuity and logic
Do not plan complex rope tying, and then shoot out of sequence and expect it to match later
Do floor plans of each set / location and do plan the shoot out – make sure to include where catering will be, where makeup will be, where you can change lenses and keep gear to find it quickly and easily – to save needless moving stuff around repeatedly if it can be avoided. If not, allow more time for dicking around
If you can get someone to do script supervision / marking and logging shots etc, do allow them to actually do that. You will appreciate it later
If you read this far, you're mental. But thank you. I <3 U. And if you're a creative, I wish you much success in 2020.
Try setting yourself some crazy goals and stepping outside of your comfort zone. Who knows what will happen?
by Lee Bailes | Nov 29, 2019 | Uncategorized
A new MEIPR track video is released – for 'Europa – EgalitÈ' – more ambient Industrial, Synth and cello vibes.
Europa is taken from the Alvaret Tape Rekording release EgalitÈ (ATR010) 2018.
Get EgalitÈ here: https://alvarmusic.bandcamp.com/album/galit
Meipr
Organics – H. Meierkord
Electronics – P. Josefsson
Video by EibonFilms – as in me.
by Lee Bailes | Nov 24, 2019 | cinema, Film, Horror, Premiere
In honour of winning the best narrative award from Indiewise, for the short film: DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE Directed by Darwin Reina), there will be a special celebratory screening, a 2nd premiere if you will, in Barcelona on the 20th December. And we're very honoured to have this event sponsored by AMC TV, DR TV and especially by the local city council of L'Hospitalet.
Event post for premiere #2
My Spanish is bad, so I can't translate it for your. However, there will be a discussion panel, exploring the themes of the narrative of DFTB, with abuse survivors and a psychologist / expert, discussing the topic before and after the film. The event will be hosted by Tony Rovira (of TONY ROVIRA Y TU fame), there will be bands playing music, and last but certainly not least, we will also be screening SVEN GUNNAR (also directed by Darwin Reina) and MR CLEAN (by yours truly).
Invitation for DFTB premiere #2
Here's the official Facebook event URL: https://www.facebook.com/events/1197314443797609/?event_time_id=1197314543797599
I know it's a bit hard to travel there just to see a short film, or even three short films. But watch this space, because we might be able to arrange a special temporary online preview of the films… but you need to let us know now if you're interested in that sort of thing… – so tell us in the comments below.. or email us…
But now that I've finished my rough colour grading, I'm just waiting on the sound mix and then we've got something to show them! And also we're currently working on the Swedish premiere event in Stockholm also, as well as getting ready to shoot our next film LOVELY TO MEET YOU around the time of the event. So busy, busy, busy…
by Lee Bailes | Nov 18, 2019 | FCPX, Motion graphics, Music
The week of furious editing to create 6 music videos – background visuals for MEIPR's gig at Snottys Seaside, in Stockholm, last night was achieved! The night before the gig! And above you can view the first of the series: Sommersonne:
Sommersonne is taken from the Alvaret Tape Rekording release EgalitÈ (ATR010) 2018. It's a lovely piece of Ambient Industrial music. A great blend of organic and synthetic sounds.
Meipr are:
It was a fun challenge to see what I could come up with, after receiving firm instructions / restrictions from the band: "ideally black and white, no people, cars or modern objects… something blurry / out of focus, weird, distorted…blurry, distorted shapes or flashing lights is fine…" – but also, the challenge I set myself, was how to make each one unique, properly reflect the source music and if possible add to the experience…
Somehow, in the process, I decided on taking random pictures of strong organic plant forms and a summer sunset and stumbled upon a way of twisting them into synthetic childlike forms that I'd loved as a child, when looking through toy kaleidoscopes…
You can see Track 3 of their 6-track set here:
The rest of the videos will follow over the next coming weeks.
Hopefully you will enjoy them and you'll agree, like the crowd who attended the gig seemed to do, that the visuals did indeed add to the experience. Although when some sync issues were encountered, I'm not sure how much it messed with people's heads at times, rather than added positively. At times it felt like combat, wrestling between the images and the notes. But maybe it was just me who knew each track and visual so well by then?
MEIPR live @ Snottysseaside
It was definitely educational to me, to see the same videos I'd worked on played live, with video projection over the artists and with the volume of the music, it had quite the sensory impact! Definitely worth seeing such a gig live if you get the chance. And it was cool to see the other bands and their unique visuals too. Each unique and complimentary experiences.
Ok… so we didn't have a premiere on Halloween…. and MR CLEAN isn't finished yet… but that's not strictly why….
Off to a great start… ahem….
The week of the premiere, we did have a music score… and we got all of the VFX shots… but then we suddenly didn't have any venue. Also, we didn't have any sound mix for MR CLEAN. But we weren't the only ones.
Re the sound mix – Darwin also didn't have his sound mix. In fact, our Sound mixer, the one we're both using for the same film, went AWOL. Please note: when people are donating their time to your project, you must always respect that paid work takes time and comes first. It has to. Either pay people… or be prepared for potential delays. I totally respect that. It was just a shame with the timing.
But the venue was a separate issue. Essentially, we had two potential venues and then suddenly we didn't have any. And I'm still none the wiser as to why that is. I mean, I've asked… but there are no clear reasons as to why both of them were suddenly unavailable to us.
Ignoring that fact, we now have to find a new venue and book it. And we're no nearer to finding one. It's just not that easy to do it over here…. we need help – if we want to hold such an event!
Then, when colour grading – I was 2.5 mins in to the film, doing my own grade and we suddenly found a colour grader! Yayy! Then I needed to spend time getting the files ready for them to take over the grading. That meant stripping all colour effects and titles away and re-rendering the project to different settings… however, I still need to finish the grading! As Darwin and I are again sharing the same colour grader and he found them first…. oh and then two of the VFX shots needed to be redone, because of minor imperfections and then the grade needed to be reissued again…
The other strange element, is that we do have a Spanish premiere booked and arranged – more details on that soon. This is a premiere for DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE, to celebrate the award success it's had. But also SVEN GUNNAR and MR CLEAN will also be screened and a lot more going on that night too…. The only question for that premiere is will everything finally be done by then?… who knows?
But seeing as there is this event going on in Barcelona… why not shoot another film there? right? That's what Darwin wants to do. And so we collaborated on another script – LOVELY TO MEET YOU. It's another dark piece. And we'll be shooting it before the end of the year. We're currently in pre-production and we have a cast. More details on it soon…
But yeah… barely finish a thing and then you start another thing… and then so why not suddenly do 6 videos for a friend's band, for their performance tomorrow… lol. Yes I did that too!
But now, I am back on the colour grading train, because you can't guarantee that we'll have anything to show in time otherwise, even though I will probably end up binning my own work for that of the professional. But needs must and I've got to do what I can do…. all we really need right now is that sound mix… oh and a venue in Stockholm!
So hopefully that explains what's g'wan and when I have more info I'll share it soon.
by Lee Bailes | Nov 12, 2019 | Animation, Music, Video
Yesterday I released a video for MEIPR, for their song Schlangenbisse, a project that I started back in February I think. Yes I've been a bit tardy with this project, but finally finished it. Woohoo! He finishes a thing!
MEIPR consist of H. Meierkord and P. Josefsson. They try to capture the old days of dark ambient as well as a neo classical vibe colliding with the sizzling sounds from modular synthesizers. Essentially lovely, haunting ambient vibes.
'Schlangenbisse' is taken from the album: Egalecto (out on Alvaret Tape Rekordings) https://alvarmusic.bandcamp.com/album/egalecto-2 . And the video features evocative photos by @katkeeper.jpg.
So why did I finish the video only now? What took so long? What's going on?
After I did the original video for Weich, Peter set me the challenge of taking some pictures from Instagram that he really liked and then animating them to the music in some way…. An easy enough request in some ways. However, there's one slight problem – the images are instagram sized and therefore smaller resolution and not so easy to animate on a 1080p timeline; well not without extreme pixelly graininess. Something that Peter doesn't actually mind, but hurts me a little inside ;).
The other problem was that there were only three pictures. So I cheated and used one more to round it out.
All pics by katkeeper.jpg
I kind of got about 2/3rds through it, and like a lot of projects, when you drop it for something else, it stays forgotten – in this case it was MR CLEAN, needing me to take over the editing – and so everything had to get pushed aside. That is until now…. Because MEIPR are doing a gig this weekend, and I promised to do the visuals for their set, for some projection over the band while they play…. and I've been lost in MR CLEAN land and head down on colour grading… oops! Better get on with it then!
Cue me hastily resuming editing and finishing it off. And now editing the rest of the footage I've been shooting and editing over the last months, as some random project. Like a true autist, I've been collecting random abstract textures and things that might look good in Black and White… or might not. It's all very experimental and fun. But now I've got to finish the damn thing! And let's hope it all looks good on the night!
More on MR CLEAN and the Premiere situation soon… and mention of another project that is now in pre-production….
by Lee Bailes | Oct 29, 2019 | Festivals, Film, Premiere
If you want to view a throwback to the DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE Premiere from earliest this year in May, play the video below and you might just catch a glance of me suddenly being interviewed… as well as Darwin, and see some of the cast too:
DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE premiere – May 2019
Also, DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE, with director Darwin Reina in attendance, will also be in the CYIFF 2019 – 14th Cyprus International Film Festival 2019 later this year. So fingers crossed there.
Also, if you'd like, you can check out the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/noteolvidesderespirar/ – which should be worthwhile as there are some interesting things planned later this year…


Past Event: Our Holiday Celebration: Thursday, December 1, at 7:30 pm NOTE LOCATION CHANGE!
WTJHS invites the public to join us for our special December 1st meeting to be held at the historic Lambton House. We are going to hear an excellent presentation concerning the music of the fur trade in a historic hotel tavern room and enjoy the opportunity to raise money for the WTJHS at our usually boisterous Holiday Season Charity Auction!
Daniel R. Laxer was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, and received his undergraduate degree in History and Music from the University of Alberta in 2005. Going on to do his Master's degree in Canadian history at York University, he subsequently completed his PhD at the University of Toronto, which he received in the Spring of 2015 for his dissertation "Listening to the Fur Trade: Sound, Music, and Dance in Northern North America, 1760-1840." He has won various accolades and awards including the SOCAN award for best paper in Canadian music in 2011, as well as teaching assistant of the year in the U of T history department in 2013. He is currently revising his dissertation into a book for McGill-Queen's University Press.
Our Past President, Gib Goodfellow, will be hosting a special charity auction with the proceeds to go to furthering the activities of our Society. Of particular note will be three Wedgewood plates originally issued in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Confederation.
Everyone is invited (and encouraged!) to bring items to contribute to the auction, however no books please!
Meeting Date: 1st December 2016.
Location: The Howland Room, Lambton House.
TTC access: the Warren Park #55 bus from Jane Station stops in front.
Doors open: 6:30 pm and you are welcome to come and help set up the room.
The business meeting starts at 7:30 pm.
Charity Auction starts at 8:00 pm.
Socializing starts as soon as you get there!


Solution: Use the RDP-zero2 image (for RDP connection only). This image contains all of the components required to support most ELO touch screens. Or, you could install the ELO touch screen components (patches) manually on the CLI Standard gold, or default images.
Use CLI Device Manager or CLI LX USB recovery to put the RDP-zero2 image on the thin client.
Type "# /etc/opt/elo-usb/elova --help" for available command line parameters and usage.
Run the calibration utility from a command window in X Windows from the /etc/opt/elo-usb, or /etc/opt/elo-ser directory for a single or multiple video setup (supports Xorg Xinerama, Xorg non-Xinerama and Nvidia Twinview options).
In a multiple video setup, the calibration target(s) will be shown on the first video screen and switch to the next video screen after a 30 second default timeout for each target or screen. Once the touchscreen is calibrated the data is stored in a configuration file on the hard disk. To display the calibration targets on just one specific video screen(example:videoscreen) use the command shown below.
To view a list of video and USB touch devices available for calibration, use the command shown below.
To view all the available options and specific usage for elova calibration program, use the command shown below.


The Obama Administration's efforts to cobble together a coalition of nations for the new war on ISIS has netted a handful of Sunni Arab nations willing to conduct airstrikes inside Iraq, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and by some accounts Egypt.
The big problem is that no one asked the Iraqis if they were okay with this, and President Fuad Massoum today made clear that the Iraqi government considers such nations "unnecessary," which is a polite way of saying extremely unwelcome.
It's not hard to imagine why, as the Shi'ite dominated Iraqi government, allied with Iran, is not on the best of terms with the Sunni Arab world, and having those nations' warplanes looming overhead is going to be problematic for Shi'ite leaders.
President Massoum is a Kurd, however, so it is rather surprising that he would be the one vocalizing government disquiet about the US moves to include such nations in the strikes, without consulting the Iraqi government.
Massoum's comments came in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press, in which he also expressed "regret" that the US was not allowing Iran, the primary nation currently involved in the fight against ISIS in Iraq, to even attend the coalition meeting in Paris.
France had similarly said they wanted to invite Iran to the coalition meeting, though the US insisted it was "not appropriate" to include them. It was seen at the time as a concession to the Sunni Arab nations which the US has been so desperate to include, but seems to be putting the coalition on a rather sectarian-looking footing to the Iraqis, and an unwelcome one at that.
Ever since putting itself on the path to a new war in Iraq, the US has been eager to put on the show of a broad "coalition," even if it meant many of those coalition members weren't doing anything. Keeping the Iraqi government more or less on board seems to have fallen by the wayside in favor of getting more members, which is making the US intervention far less comfortable for all involved.
Well, no one should be happy about Arab nations to strike ISIS, because ISIS is created by Saudis/UAE/USG/English.
What John Kerry and USG trying to do is for Saudis/UAE second force of "moderate" rebel to enter Iraq and Syria. As we said before, this is Obama's all times political trickery all over again.
What became of his first "moderate" rebel is ISIS, the second "moderate" Saudis/UAE force well become the 7th brigade of Saudis/UAE mercenaries, the occupier of Iraq and Syria, then again the idea by Barack Hussein Obama in Islamization and expansion of Saudis/UAE religious and their dictatorial system are still there: look we have said it many times, Barack Hussein Obama is following the path set forth by pentagon/AIPAC/Israel/Saudis and UAE for regime change in Iran, Syria and Libya, they have succeeded literary to give Libya to Saudis/UAE/Qatar regime, Syrian government and the Iranian government are still there, Barack Hussein Obama or any other president after him can not back down on the plan unless the entire political structure of USG is changed to one that works for the American people and is elected by the American people, not the Saudis or Qatar's or AIPAC or English, the one that respects the laws of the land where its social political, economical system based on that law.
Let's make it simple for democrats to understand: if Barack Hussein Obama/Joe Biden didn't have his manipulative political agendas they simply would not get involved in regime change in Syria or in Libya, nor in Ukraine.
Yet another QUALITY beltway production. What is the political equivalent of "direct to video"?
This is getting ridiculous and embarrassing.
I was just thinking the exact same thing. WHat is this Keystone Govt routine? We're organizing a flase flag operation, and then Iraq says oh no you don't, from the guy we just helped get in. Oh well, that part of the world doesn't workt he same way we do. We are embarassing ourselves, you are right.
"Keystone" is a good comparison. Consider also First Lt. Milo Minderbinder and his M&M Enterprise where 'everyone had a share' – even in the bombing of his own airbase. It seems that Iraq's President Fuad Massoum is rejecting his share. Will Egypt come up with chocolate covered cotton to entice him I wonder? Life imitating art.
There is one reason that inviting Iran to the "coalition? meeting is not considered "appropriate": Israel! Will there ever be an end to Israeli dominance over the foreign policy decision making process of the United States? Not as long as The Lobby is permitted to function. I say bring an end – and a very fast one – to The Lobby and its ownership of America.
There should be an end to killings in Irak half of the nation is suffering and the west is destroying their immages as brutal agressor.
I agree. After all these years of meddling, destabilization and killing, I cannot believe Iraq is still even a nation…maybe in name only, but…jeez…what a bunch of cold merciless f*cks who started the killing and destruction and will never stop…so sad.
Come on people… this is not about some hokey coalition. There is no coalition. This is about performing a snow job on the American people. The American people are tired of the government's adventures in the ME and they've made it clear when Obama and his neocon buddies tried to expand into Syria. No more… So, realizing that if the American people are not going to be willing to pay, in blood and treasure anymore, they've concocted this kabuki to convince the American taxpayers that the US won't be lifting the heavy stuff – just providing air support and strategic guidance (and funding, of course – but they don't really talk about that much) and there "won't be any US boots on the ground" – except for the nearly 1500 they've dribbled into Iraq as "advisors". At least, and I really hate to say this but, McCrazy and Grahamcrackers are honest when they say they only way we have a chance to win against ISIS is to put troops in country – and use them. But that would be a serious mistake.
Look, the neocons got what they wanted, mostly. The ME is a frigggin mess and the lid has been ripped off a 1000 year old pisspot of religious animosity between Shia and Sunni, thanks to the neocons. The US people have been dragged into this mess on false pretenses and the designers are trying everything they can to keep the American people ignorant. The US is being well played – by the Israelis and the Saudis. The job of the American press should be to expose the real reasons we are involved over there and inform the American people. And then to call for an official examination of what happened to get us where we are now and who was responsible. And then to call for prosecutions, no matter how "respectable" or "elite" or "monied" they are.
And then they need to lead the charge to get us out of this mess over there and take care of business here…for the people who are paying taxes and who love this country for what it used to stand for.
Attention; This was not the neocons doing pal this was ALL Obama's doing. The Obama Doctrina; Lead from behind, then pretend to givea damn- until you don't have to.
Of course it was but that's OK, many of us who live in the real world understand that that fact doesn't fit your narrow world view so, whatever… BTW, many of those same neocons are still "advising" the government instead of wearing orange jump suits and THAT you can place at Obama's feet.
And I'm surely not your "pal."
It's really simple and straight forward. The Obama administration does not make decisions about anything. Like the Bush administration before it, they merely serve as front-man and offer legitimacy to decisions already made by Zionist neocons running the US government.
Ha! So the Coalition Of The Killing is a no show. Looks like violence-loving Americans will have to do the killing themselves, instead of watching big, brave NFL players beat up women.
Kurd have their own agenda to advance under the guise of fighting ISIS.More territories and independent state.


Slave narratives are extremely rare. Now two newly uncovered narratives, and the biographies of the men who wrote them, join that exclusive group with the publication of A Slave No More, a major new addition to the canon of American history. Wallace Turnage was a teenage field hand on an Alabama plantation, John Washington an urban slave in Virginia.
Few locations in South Carolina have figured as prominently in the early history of the state as the old town of Ninety Six. It was witness to two Revolutionary War battles, two Cherokee War battles, a trading post, three forts and two towns.
Barbara J. Mitnick has edited a remarkably comprehensive anthology, bringing new life to the rich and turbulent late eighteenth-century period in New Jersey. The volume brings together contributions by twelve outstanding and recognized experts on New Jersey history.
New Arrivals: New arrivals to The Patriot Resource library.
2007 Book Reviews: 2007 book reviews from The Patriot Resource.
2006 Book Reviews: 2006 book reviews from The Patriot Resource.
2005 Book Reviews: 2005 book reviews from The Patriot Resource.
2004 Book Reviews: 2004 book reviews from The Patriot Resource.
Site Bibliography: Books used as resources in the American Revolution section of this website.
1. Battles: Books focused on individual battles of the American Revolution.
2. Biographies: Books focused on individual figures involved in the American Revolution.
3. Campaigns: Books focused on specific military campaigns of the American Revolution.
4. Overviews: Books that serve as overviews of the entire American Revolution.
5. Politics/Prelude to War: Books focused on the politics in the years leading up to and during the American Revolution.


text:
Buenos Aires Sings (Spanish:Buenos Aires canta) is a 1947 Argentine musical film directed by Antonio Solano and starring Niní Marshall, Hugo del Carril and Azucena Maizani. The film is part of the tradition of tango films.

Cast
 Niní Marshall
 Hugo del Carril
 Azucena Maizani
 Homero Cárpena
 Oscar Alemán
 Oscar Alonso
 Los Lecuona Cuban Boys
 Lilia Bedrune
 Los Mills Brothers
 Chola Luna
 Ernesto Famá
 Francisco Amor

References

Bibliography
 Etchelet, Raúl. Niní Marshall: (la biografía).  La Crujía Ediciones, 2005.

External links

1947 films
1947 musical films
Argentine musical films
1940s Spanish-language films
Argentine black-and-white films
Films set in Buenos Aires
1940s Argentine films

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Habitat has launched a new homewares collection in collaboration with supper club duo Laura Jackson and Alice Levine.
The capsule collection, which is the first for the pair, features a range of hand-woven table and kitchen linens such as an apron, tea towels, a runner, tablemats and napkins.
Coinciding with the launch of Jackson & Levine's first book Round to Ours, the collection has been designed to reflect the pair's distinctive stylistic approach to their supper clubs in London's East End.
Jackson & Levine explained: "Our first capsule collection includes the staples for dressing your dining table and kitchen. We've focused on creating informal, hand crafted textiles and have worked with one of Habitat's oldest suppliers in India to create designs on a khadi base cloth. This cloth is hand-spun and hand-woven in a traditional weaving village and has a beautiful relaxed quality to it.
The collection retails in Habitat's London flagship stores.