PACING OF FILMby Cybel Martin I've been watching a lot of these small films and/or foreign films lately. And what I am noticing is that the pacing and story arc flows differently than most films. What I mean is these movies all start off a little boring. I can read the New York Times while watching the film and don't feel like I am missing anything. I make breakfast. I answer my cell phone. I am still following the story but really, not much happens. And I wonder why it got 4 or 5 stars at Netflix. And then, in the last 20 mintues, a secret is revealed, someone returns home or someone dies and I start to cry. And I wonder, what happened? Its amazing. When I started in film, we all knew the significance of page 20. By then, you should have grabbed the audience. The race is on. However, no one mentioned about page 100. I don't want to mention which films because I feel bad by calling them "boring". My theory is these films start off so mundane and slowly weave you into the families or cultures that they are portraying. So when someone does indeed die, or fall in love, or disappear, it feels like it happened to your family member. I am not sure, but it is very powerful. And now time for Cybel's 5 minute rant: I make great strides not to complain, but this needs to be said. I hate small cameras. What? I HATE small video cameras. Now, let me explain. I am impressed with the technology and often the footage looks great. And the new cameras are a great option when the money isn't there for film or a F900. So what I mean, specifically, is that I am so tired of clueless producers. Many producers think that a cheap video camera means they can be cheap in all areas. I had an interview recently where the producer proudly exclaimed "and we won't need to rent lights because we are shooting on HD". I worked on a feature film once where the producer thought, because And scene. On a similar note, I am now officially a producer. And I am thrilled. I started reading Rebels on the Backlot for inspiration and watched this incredible piece about Jeff Skoll on Ted.com, that had me more pumped than 5 years of film school More on "Cybel, the Producer" as projects developed. Lastly, I am in pre-pre-production on a feature film that I am really excited to shoot. And a documentary shoot this month. I had an interesting interview for the documentary. Besides teaching me of the importance of an agent, this summer also taught me of the importance of being honest about my expectations of a job. During this interview, the director asked me what draws me to a project. In the past, I would have tailored my response to include their project. Not lying per se. However, this time, I took a deep breath and thought of all of the jobs that I love and the ones that have been miserable and it all comes down to who I am working with. I told her what draws me to a project is the passion, integrity and commitment of the director. Not the content. After working in film for 15 years (sheesh!), I just don't care about content. Correction: it matters. Content does matter (refer back to the Jeff Skoll video), but I FINALLY got why, when I go into an interview, it behooves me to interview them for competency and commitment too. Oh - and this director is great. She's smart, committed and with an excellent producer behind her. They do exist! Return from Pacing of Film to Cybel Martin Blog
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