Right now, though, we’re busy with tying up all the loose ends that inevitably happen after you wrap a movie (like trying to get a start on the editing process, for one thing). We’ll probably spread the blog entries out over the next few weeks or so.

Stay tuned. We should have Film Day 1 ready by Monday.

Or Tuesday…

(Or maybe we’ll just stick in another guest blogger.)

You can tweet via anything you like that are listed on the directory. Posting and Updating new status using cool applications like iPhone, iPad, Android, Twitter, Google and more. You do not need to have the device or applications on your own, you just need to allow your Twitter to access and you will be ready to go. Just type any status you want to post via and press the Tweet button, and you see the tweet updated on Twitter time line.

Showbiz Sandbox with both myself and Christine Vachon talking about the current state of the union for independent film:

http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/09/28/showbiz-sandbox-22-the-trouble-with-indie-films-roman-polanski-and-hollywood-guilds/

The Galway Film Fleadh July 10th Producers Master Class:

http://www.galwayfilmfleadh.com/ns_listen_masterclasses.html

Not only is it too late to fix it… but every take has the same problem. The actor you need has already gone home and can’t come back because they are off on another shoot. And it just isn’t in the budget to get them back anyway.

That’s where creative filmmaking comes into play.

This scerario happened to us on our last film. We still can’t quite figure out how it happened, because the shots taken before and after the one in question are fine. But every take we did of this one particular shot in Dear J did not match the rest of the movie; or the rest of the scene, for that matter.

We actually realized the shot was no good while we were still on set, but only AFTER we wrapped for the day. The actors had gone and as we watched some of the dailies for that day, well, our hearts began to sink.

Not only was the shot key to the scene, but it involved the Judge (played by Karen Lynn Gorney — Yes, the same Karen Lynn Gorney who played opposite of John Travolta in ‘Saturday Night Fever’)… And she was off to shoot in Florida or something the next day.

First attempt at fixing this mistake: We decided to do the shot again, this time without her in it… using a double and only getting the Judge’s arm in the frame. And although we reviewed the footage, you can tell we were rather harried because we got Fumbles (played by Myron Buchholz) to use the wrong arm when he whispers his message to the Judge! (We actually didn’t realize this mistake until we began editing the movie about a month later.)

That version of things stayed in the movie for over a year during the post-production phase. And it even made it into the version we showed at the gala in October 2007. (There’s a little trivia for you!)

But then, shortly before we burned the final DVD version, we had a breakthrough… Firstly, we reasoned, this whole scene takes place in the imaginery courtroom, right? Secondly, it’s part of a discussion between the two psychologists, Dr. Donovin and Dr. Frolick, as they discuss James’ situation. Therefore, if the original footage is grainy, why not make that whole particular scene grainy?

We tried it, and voila! It worked… Serendipitiously, it actually makes the scene work.

Necessity is the mother of invention… or in this case, at least of creativity.

There are so many cords and microphones and other equipment, that these items often sneak their way into shots. (All movies seem to be suceptable to this problem. Just take a look at the “Goofs” section for practically any movie at IMDb.)

For us, on Under Jakob’s Ladder, it was all those yellow extention cords.

(That’s right, we had extention cords that kept trying to make their acting debut.)

Often what you do to disguise a piece of equipment or unwanted object is to cover it up with something… put a person or piece of furniture between it and the camera. Of course, that isn’t always the best solution, especially if the camera is on dolly tracks and has to move. Or the character has to move at some point in the dialogue.

As you can see in the photo, we usually tried to clip the cords up on the ceiling. Or we’d run them along the edge of the wall and cover them up with straw or a blanket.

But still, for each shot we filmed, those of us in Video Village had to keep a close eye on the screen to make sure “Waldo” didn’t turn up! (Sorry, Waldo!)

HENRY JAGLOM: I was alone, and I didn’t understand why I was alone. And I looked around at my friends and I realized that I was part of a whole generation of people that were alone and that it wasn’t just a generation but that it was a function of something that was happening at that period in the 80s and the 90s where people who always assumed that they would be married and have families found themselves somehow in the middle of their lives on their own.

So I thought I would try to make a movie about it, but what I would do is go through my phone book and actually pick out people I knew who were alone and put them together in some central location.

You had an idea, right, but not really a script for the movie.

HENRY JAGLOM: I had a plan, a super structure, but I left it up to the individuals as to what they would say and depending on that was what I would say. I knew what I wanted to talk about in terms of loneliness and relationships, but I was actually seeking the movie as I was in the movie.