Nothing for you all today, except this amazing short film I found via Fazed.

Still playing with some “How To” footage. Still hate iMovie. I don’t want you all to think I’m just sitting on my ass, so I’ll provide an update and then share some open mic love with you that I stumbled across in my experimentations. But first, let me give you the rundown on progress headaches in the editing world. Amy with the Boom and the Pow after the jump.

As my many two regular readers know, I’m trying to work with film editing. I ran into some issues with iMovie a while back, but I skipped telling you about one detail in that process. The biggest problem I’m having across the board is that my iMac G5 won’t recognize my analogue Sony digi 8 camera. Macs “just work” right out of the box, right? Right. So.

The workaround is to boot into XP and use the proprietary Sony app to import the footage onto my machine. The problem here is that I made the Windows partition pretty small when I created it, so I need to be able to access my external FW drives, which are Mac formatted. Because they are Mac formatted, Windows won’t see them. So I go and find MacDrive, and use that until the free trial expires. I got a lot of footage imported that way, but it’s in the shitty .AVI format.

Which my Mac can’t deal with.

Seriously, when I merely click on an AVI file, if I don’t attempt to open it right away, Finder crashes. WTF? So I install 3ivx as instructed. Still no love. Quicktime won’t play them, VLC will, but that still doesn’t help me with editing. iMovie won’t recognize them either. I keep getting a “wrong file type” error or something. So I need to convert the AVI files to a format my Mac can digest. I found iSquint, a free program that does just that. Works pretty good. Just takes a long time.

The biggest problem I have with this process, though, is that the quality of the footage is being degraded every time I treat it in some fashion. I want to be able to just pull it right from the camera an play with the original footage. To give you an example, the AVI clip that I used for the YouTube video you’ll see here in a bit was 642MB. The .mp4 clip was 47.4MB after conversion from AVI. I know that if I were working with footage streamed directly from the camera, I’d be up into the gigabyte range, so I’m a little pissed that I’m expending large amounts of time on what inevitably will be a film with less than perfect image quality.

So, I gained access to a professional quality film editing program. Granted, it’s an old version, but even when running FCP, the program won’t recognize my camera. I might be doing something wrong, too, and I have a call in to a director friend of mine that left me two voicemails explaining the less-than-intuitive way to capture footage into FCP. (Set four scratch discs, File–>Log and Capture. Log and Capture? But there’s an IMPORT option there too, why not just name it IMPORT and call it good? Sheesh.)

Until I get a little bit more guidance, I’m leaving it sit for a time while I work on other projects, which I’ll talk about later this week. If anyone has any guidance they can offer me, I’d love hearing about it. Let me know in the comments.

Now, though, it’s time to watch a little bit of open mic night. This footage was shot at Red’s Blue Goose Saloon in Gardiner, MT, 1999. The guy running sound was known as Shifty Brian, and Amy was dubbed Amy with the Boom and the Pow. I don’t remember her last name. She does a killer rendition of Hattie McDaneil’s 1929 song “Any Kind of Man Would be Better Than You”

…

I ran into one of the musicians last night, and he informed me that two from the group will be performing at Dauphines next week. Sweet.

Meanwhile, you can find them on YouTube here and here.

The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has ended. Of the one hundred films that were shown, I was able to watch thrity of them.

The staff and the volunteers @ BSDFF were amazing. No one had a meltdown, even when things were seemingly falling apart around us. We held it together and pulled it off without any visable hitches. So many great films, so many wonderful people. I met people from all over the world, made some lasting friends, and am very much looking forward to next year’s festival.

For me, outside of the films, the most fun part of volunteering was working in a variety of different positions. I signed up for as much as I could, and I enjoyed all of them: passline, usher, film projector, merchandise table, will-call window, shuttle driver, filmaker’s lounge. And there plenty of not-in-the-job-description things that came up as well. It was fun to discover what those were, and to pitch in where I could.

I didn’t sleep much, as was the case for many of us working the festival. The big sacrifice for me was that I made almost no progress on the art exhibition that opens a week from today. Time to buckle down and get to it. Here’s the todo list:

1. Cut mats: 8
2. Cut glass: 7
3. Finish collages: 7
4. Assemble art into frames: 9
5. Create marketing materials
6. Blast email
7. Print marketing materials
8. Notify events calenders
9. Mass mailing
10. Consult with Burley’s Mercantile about music/food/ other logistics
11. Buy one piece of glass, 47.25″ x 28″

I think that’s it. I’ll be pretty busy these next several days. I’ll post progress here, as well as previews of works in progress.

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple - The rise and fall of Jim Jones and The People’s Temple. I was only seven years old when Jonestown happened. This film told the story I was too young to remember with grace through interviews with surviving members of People’s Temple, voice recordings of Jones himself, family members of victims, and old film footage. An important piece of American history captured painfully well on film.

Kobe - “Kobe is a composition of images and sound. With neither narration nor interviews, the film explores the daily tasks and pleasures at a Japanese seaport.” A beautiful piece of visual poetry reminiscent of Baraka. If you liked Baraka, you’ll enjoy Kobe.

A Short History of Sweet Potato Pie - “Residents at the St. Mary’s Court Retirement Community in Washington D.C. agree that nothing is better than Pearl Mallory’s sweet potato pie. Hailing from rural Virginia, Pearl is one of eight children born of the sons and daughters of slaves. Now, at the age of 82, Pearl has lived nearly her entire life in kitchens where she cooks for senior citizens. This tender and humorous portrait of Pearl and the aged residents reveals how simple things often contain the greatest meanings.“ This one was completely over my head. It’s going along, it’s going along, the story is in interesting one, and then, they throw a bunch of sweet potato pies off of a balcony and they smash in the street. Credits roll. What? Can anyone help me out here?

A Revolving Door - 33 year old Tommy Lennon struggles to deal with the dual diagnosis of mental illness and drug addiction. Tommy’s life and his family’s frustration, helplessness, courage and resilience are presented for us without judgement. The title of the film comes from the fact that Tommy is in and out of jail and mental hospitals. Directed by Marilyn Braverman, winner, Best Short.

WWasted Orient - A Beijing rock band embarks on its first nationwide tour as the artists wrestle with life in a transitional society. This was supposed to be some great social commentary on the subculture of a changing China. Instead, it was a noisy tour film that we’ve all seen before. Whiny self-obsessed unemployed rockers drink too much and rock out. Clocking in at 90 minutes, this one could benefited by some brutal editing, cutting it down to somewhere around 20 minutes or so. The point that the director attempted to make, that all of China is not headed towards prosperity and hope was never fully realized.

Chairman George - A Greek-Canadian travels from Ottawa to China ins a quest to play music at the closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympic Games. Pretty good film that told an interesting story well. George played live music after the movie at the Wilma, and was a pretty cool guy.

Seeds - A poor Polish/Russian family lives in a hut on the edges of the community that has rejected them for some unknown reason. Very dark film. Stark. Very moving. Soundtrack by Phillip Glass.

Ha Ha Ha America - “In the filmmaker’s words, it is ‘a love letter from China to America thanking us, and the current administration, for all the business.’ ” This was one of my favorite films in the festival. It humorously examined what is for Americans a painful truth: We are viewed as lazy slovenly hillbillies by the rest of the world, and the rest of the world, specifically China, is raking in the cash because of it. In the words of the film, Americans “suck ass”. You can see the trailer for the film here, and download the soundtrack for free here. Winner, Best MiniDoc. Directed by JD Ligon.

Plan F - Ed Marko lost his sight to a degenerative eye disease at age 20 and becomes a much sought-after auto mechanic. The film shows Ed in his shop working on cars as an old man near Columbus, Ohio. The texture of the film is dirty, and somewhat grainy, intended to mimic Ed’s blindness. Ed’s a likable guy, and the film tells his story well.

The Days and the Hours - “Every morning in downtown San Francisco, homeless people arrive at a church to sleep in the pews. Filling row after row, more than a hundred exhausted men and women find refuge from city streets and shelters. We hear them describe their lives before they lost what most people take for granted. The Days and the Hours is a documentary meditation on the thin line that separates homeless people from everyone else.” An interesting story that makes one gratful for what he has. Powerful film that told its story in a very short amount of time.

Salvation Mountain - Leonard Knight builds a mountain in Slab City, California to prove his love to God. Good movie, especially since it deals with what looks to be a crazy man, but the film never passes judgement on Knight. Winner, Big Sky Award. Directed by Travis Peterson.

American Blackout - Directed by the Guerrilla News Network’s Ian Inaba, American Blackout explores the shutout of blacks during the 2000 and 2004 elections through the efforts of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney . Though this is a GNN production, it is for the most part unbiased. A great film, one that should viewed by all Americans. The website has a trailer of the film, and ways for you to get involved.

No Umbrella - Fannie Lewis, a councilperson in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country, in Cleveland, Ohio, works tirelessly to get more voting machines and inserts on election day as blacks stand in line for upwards of two hours waiting to exercise their right to vote. Another great film that all Americans should watch.

The Colour of Olives - A Muslim family refuses to move their home when the wall goes up in the West Bank. They are then cut off from their farmland by the wall, and must rely on the soldiers to let them in and out of the gate in order to tend their farm, go to school, and all other activities outside their home. A very personal look at the very complex conflict that continues to rage in the West Bank. Winner, Artistic Vision Award. Directed by Carolina Rivas.

THE CATS OF MIRIKITANI - “Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy’s painful past.” Unfortunately, I caught only the last ten minutes or so of this film. What I did see of it was very good, focusing mainly on Mirkitani’s personal life and his relationship with he director, who says she never intended to film this movie, but her subject chose her. I hope I have the opportunity to see it in its entirety.

An Unreasonable Man - The history of Ralph Nader’s public life. Did you know that it is because of Nader that we have things like seatbelts and airbags in automobiles? Or OSHA? I didn’t. This movie tells the story of his rise to popularity in the ’60s and ’70s and his decline in the ’80s. It’s a compelling story and told well. Left feeling pretty discouraged about the American political system, though. As one woman said as we walked out of the theater, “Where do we direct our energies if we are going to make a difference?”

Who Gets to Call it Art? - The world of the 1960’s New York art scene as seen through the eyes of former Met and MOMA curator Henry Geldzahler. Includes never-before-seen footage of Warhol, Jasper Johns and Lichtenstein. Told mainly through interviews with Frank Stella, David Hockney, and James Rosenquist, the film explores one of the most fertile periods of American Art. Very well told story about some of my favorite artists. Of course I loved this one.

While you’re waiting to hear about more of the films I watch, head over to New West and read the
interview with “Montana Meth” director Eames Yates.

Technorati Tags: documentary film missoula montana bigskydocumentaryfilmfestival volunteer

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The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has arrived in Missoula again this year. There are so many films I’d like to see, but with a limited budget, I can’t afford to see all of the films on the agenda. One way that I’ll be able to see many of the films is by volunteering at the festival. Thursday, I volunteered for a little over six hours. During the volunteer time, it is permissible for volunteers to sit in on films during our shifts, if we have a few minutes between duties when we don’t have passes to the films being shown. This is great on some levels, but frustrating on others because we never are able to see a complete film in this way.

However, by volunteering, we earn passes to see films when we are not working. Below are a list of some of the films I was able to see thus far, either in part or in their entirety, and some quick impressions of them.

First Lesson in Peace - A Jewish father films his six year old daughter as she attends an integrated Arab-Jewish primary school in Israel. A compelling movie which shows how deeply rooted the Arab-Jewish conflict really is. Takes complex issues and breaks them down so that even children can understand. (Viewed only part of film.)

Who the F**# is Jackson Pollack - A seventy three year old retired woman truck driver buys “an ugly painting” at a thrift shop for $5. The painting may be a Pollack, she learns. She doesn’t know who Pollack was, but works to prove that the painting is genuine so that she can sell it for millions. The film was a good one, but at seventy-four minutes, ran longer than it could have. The story would have been more effectively told in fifty minutes.

Montana Meth - Made in coordination with the Montana Meth Project, this film will be shown on HBO as part of its “Addiction” series. Montana ranks second in the nation for methamphetamine abuse in the nation. The story of meth in Montana is effectively told by the addicts themselves in an amount of time longer than the thirty second soundbites heard on the radio or seen on television.

The film also illustrates the efforts of law enforcement’s attempts to deal with the meth problem in Montana. This is a story that needs to be told, although the dramatic use of music was slightly overbearing. Remembering that the film is intended to be a part of a larger HBO series on addiction, this one fault is forgivable.

Silver Spurs - A man obsessed with the “Old West” opens a home for the mentally disabled and gives it an Old Western theme. A story about patients in an institution is given a twist with the added Old West theme. The patients’ stories are interesting ones, as is the story of the proprietor and his family, but this film also suffers from lack of editing. At eighty-five minutes, I was looking for somewhere closer to between sixty and seventy minutes. Silver Spurs had not been previously viewed publicly in any venue. It screened without press coverage and is not part of the competition. Hopefully, it is unfinished and will later be further edited.

Saddam Hussein: The Trial - The story of Hussein’s trial from before the trial occurred until after it ended as told by a French director. The trial is made out to be a sham that was more for show than justice and fairness. An excellent film which adds to one’s understanding of the current situation in Iraq.

The War Tapes - National Guardsmen from Charlie Company, 3rd of the 172nd Infantry (MOUNTAIN) Regiment, spend a year in Iraq and film their lives. Powerful film which was at times difficult to watch. A must see for all Americans to better understand the war and how it affects soldiers and soldiers’ families.

FUCK - From the same folks who brought us Awesome — I Fuckin’ Shot That, the Beastie Boys concert documentary, comes FUCK, a story about the origins of the word itself and a study about how the word is currently used and viewed in our society. Told in part via man-on-the-street interviews, animated shorts, and interviews with people in the media industry/music industry/comedy industry, FUCK was humorous and well-paced. Could have been more effective as a documentary if it was a little lighter on the celebrity views and a little more focused on the common man. Overall, a good movie.

The Forrest for the Trees - The story of the bombing of Judi Bari, her survival, and her 12+ year struggle to clear her name as having bombed herself. After the bombing, she, and by association EarthFirst!, was viewed as terrorists. Before viewing the film, I knew only vaguely of EarthFirst! and their history. I, like many of you probably do, viewed them as wacko environmentalists who use terrorist tactics to get their way. This is, as the film portrays, simply not true. Excellent movie which tells a story worth telling in a succinct and compelling way.

How is it with Phooie - A man in his mid thirties explores his relationship with his record and film collecting father, and, by extension, his role as a father to his daughter. The reason for the story about the director’s daughter was not immediately apparent. It seems that the director has a choice to make: Is this movie about his relationship with his father? Is this movie about the relationship with his daughter? Is this movie about the process of discovering himself as a father by exploring his relationship with his own father? How it is with Phooey had not been previously viewed publicly in any venue. It screened without press coverage and is not part of the competition. The director was present for the screening and has already said he is considering revisiting the film. I found watching the process fascinating, and did not mind the slight confusion.

Trans - Told from the perspective of a passenger aboard the Trans-Siberian Express railroad. This film has no dialogue and is a good meditation on travel, specifically on this particular train.

…And Then There Were Four - A seventy-seven year old raises four of her grandsons, ages five through eight, whose parents have been unable to care for them. Heartwarming movie that shows the hardships of being a primary caregiver for unruly kids when the deadbeat parents can’t get it together.

Yellow Ox Mountain - Two Chinese artists show how The Cultural Revolution helped shape their work. Excellent movie which sheds light on two individuals’ creative process.

The Giving - “…chronicles the difficult journeys of five women from the time they learn of their pregnancies to the signing of adoption papers.” Each woman very gracefully and bravely shares her story. Very well told by the women and by the director. Excellent film.