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Jeremy LaLonde's Blog Entry - January 16th/2007
I’m going to start this off on a slightly unrelated note. I don’t frequent message boards too often these days, but for some reason beyond me I always tend to look at the comments on the posts from aintitcoolnews. Why? I think it’s because I know that they’ll always make me angry. I don’t understand the ‘hater’. The person who goes on and flames about everything, any new film coming out they’ve got a negative opinion about it, how it’ll fail/suck/whatever. I’m just amazed by the amount of energy that people spend ripping apart the work of others (before it’s even presented in most cases). Mostly I feel sad for those people that they don’t put the same energy into trying to create something of their own (which will in turn, ironically be ripped apart by haters). So don’t be a hater. Opinions matter, but they’re like assholes – everyone has one and most of them are full of shit. I’m not saying you have to be lovey dovey about everything, but be constructive, otherwise what’s the point? Jeremy LaLonde loves/hates digital I think that I will never make another film on film. Huh. So am I now making an HD? Or can film be used like the world ‘paint’. I buy the paint, I paint the house… something to think about. I shot my first short films on 16mm and one of them I’m quite proud of. That being said, I can’t justify to myself spending the money on film for a short when HD looks fairly pretty itself. Especially when you’re not going to finish on film. With a short you’re going to festivals and television, both usually require a dbeta or beta-sp. Unless you’re going for a texture like 8mm, which I would argue an old video camera can give you the same kind of texture. I’m not against shooting on film, I just don’t want to shoot on it for the sake of shooting on it to be trendy (although I guess it’s trendy to shoot on HD now…. Damn it… I lose either way). I have issues with digital filmmaking, in addition to digital photography, and in a way it ties into the internet rant I was going on about earlier. There’s a danger in everyone being able to be a filmmaker, or to be able to have an opinion, even a blog. It’s over-saturation. Too much information. It causes people to rush the art. I mean before digital photography (and this from a guy who LOVES his digital camera) you REALLY put some thought into it before you took a picture. Now you can be snap happy. Good thing or bad thing? I think it depends on the person using the technology. I mean the nice thing is that you can do more takes, snap more photos to get them perfect, but… I guess what I’m getting at is when you go to a really good restaurant you’ll notice that the menu usually has less options, a one-pager type thing. Now that’s not because they don’t have the skill to do a full menu, it’s because they do have the skill, but they decide to not over-saturate. I guess I’m just saying look before you leap, think before you shoot. With more films able to be out there it’s harder, even if yours is great, to get it seen. Just because you can make a film doesn’t always mean that you should. I think that’s why it’s important to go to writer’s groups, and screenplay readings to make sure that there’s an audience for your work first. 
Jeremy LaLonde talks about preproduction So we’re able to sign a continuance with ACTRA so that the strike doesn’t affect our shoot. This is a fantastic thing because I really want to have “Hoff’s New Direction” finished by early March so I can add it to my submission package to Canada Council and Ontario Arts when I reapply this year for my feature. This is the first time I’ve ever been able to work with a Production Designer and I have to say it’s quite exciting. It’s great to get the ideas of others. I love brain-storming ideas, adding in new thoughts/perspectives. (Of course I’m a bit of a hypocrite with this to as I’ll get to in my post-production blogs in the upcoming weeks). So to make a long story short having a Production Designer is wonderful, if you don’t know one, ask around, or check out OCAD or other Design institutes, you can probably find a keen student looking for resume work. So we’re in the midst of scheduling right now. We’re looking at shooting at the beginning of Feb right now, just hoping that all the locations and schedules of creatives line up. A big part of preproduction for me is storyboards (see picture(s) below). For myself they’re a great tool in showing your DOP and Production Designers, whoever, how you’re seeing the world, what you’re seeing. It helps them plan their lighting designs and design in general. It can save you some $ too. If you know you’re only going to be seeing part of a wall in a room than there’s no need for your props person to fill the room with unnecessary items. So we’re counting down to the shoot, which is very exciting since there’s quite a bit to do in pre-production for this one, especially in the art department. For those unfamiliar with my short it’s about the world’s fore-most finger painting artist, and so we’re in the midst of creating his body of work. 
Jeremy LaLonde talks Bravo!FACT So last night I got another package from the Bravo people. Just be aware that there’s a fair amount of paper work involved in these grants, so it helps to have a producer who understands all the lingo. They’re pretty artist friendly and non-threatening, but either way, it helps to have a good solid producer that you can trust and rely on. All right. Hope that Helps. Feel free to throw any questions/comments you have. Just try not to be a hater! Cheers, Jeremy Return from Jeremy LaLonde's Blog to WILDsound Filmmaking Feedback Events home page
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