Blog-o-STIFF

Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge - Team Ramrod

Weekend Film Challenge - Genre Draft, originally uploaded by Clint Berquist.

Team Ramrod
Team Leader: Joe Sexton
Genre: Horror
Odds: Not Applicable

Previous coordinator Chris McBride hasn’t gone anywhere, but he now has a toddler and another on the way and wasn’t sure he could dedicate the time necessary to pull it off. So, last year’s B-movie team captain, Joe Sexton has stepped in as the new WFC coordinator and he has been doing a bang up job. I met Joe during STIFF 2006 when his film Coup Poudre screened. Joe said he wanted to be involved, kept after me and now is an integral part of the team. Joe really likes horror and he mentioned that he was heading to some remote cabin with a bunch of people to shoot, so it sounds like he found a really authentic location. There is no doubt that Joe will be able to put together a quality, horror movie that audiences will enjoy, but while none of us see any ethical problems with making a WFC movie, it just wouldn’t be right to actually have a member of the team compete. Team Ramrod will be the last film to screen and now that you have a little more background on the teams, I hope you are as excited to see the finished films as I am.

The first screening kicks off TONIGHT at the Rendezvous' @ 6:15PM (Be sure to stick around afterward for RFK!). The other screenings are at Central Cinema on Wednesday June 11th @ 7PM and again at the Rendezvous on Saturday, June 14th at 1:30PM. The Awards Ceremony hosted by comedian Emmett Montgomery happens on Saturday the 14th @ 6:15PM. Please come check these movies out and vote for your favorites!

Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge - Bloodstone

Craig Packard, originally uploaded by Clint Berquist.

Bloodstone
Team Leader: Craig Packard
Genre: Comedy
Odds: 10 to 1 (the long shot)

Craig Packard also has a feature film playing in STIFF 2008 called Big Plans. Craig told me that he spent quite a bit of time living in LA, trying to get screenplays made into movies, but eventually became frustrated and moved back to Seattle to go the indie route instead. He has the means, patience and the other strengths that come with completing a feature. What makes Craig the longshot for this years’s WFC is that as of the kickoff Craig was actually a one-man crew. He told me not to worry and that he would be able to put together something cool. I honestly believe him, but starting out as an army of one comes with some obvious disadvantages. I can see that there will (hopefully) be few arguments on set, but I can’t help wondering how Craig is going to pull it off. One of my favorite music performers last year was Ricky Lee Robinson. Here’s to hoping that Bloodstone becomes my favorite one man band from STIFF 2008.

Coming up… Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge – Team Ramrod

Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge - Peek

Peek

Team Leader:  Dan Tharp

Genre: B-Movie

Odds:  5 to 1 (sleeper pick)

Peek Productions blew onto the STIFF scene last year with their short film Soup (actually, it would almost be a misstatement to call Soup a short film since it clocked in at around 40 minutes).  When people find out that Soup was essentially a movie about a cook’s rise to prominence in the culinary arts by peeing in the soup, they sometimes roll their eyes and automatically discount it.  But the truth of the matter is that Dan Tharp and Damon Morris actually did an incredible job mixing some real depth of character and a strong story into that off-beat humor.  They told me about some current documentary projects that sound interesting and more importantly are probably helping them grow as filmmakers in a variety of ways.  This is their first year taking part in the WFC, so on paper Peek isn’t the strongest team.  I think it would be a real mistake to count them out though.  But, they might just prove to have the right mix of quality and funny to bring home the glass STIFFY.  They are my sleeper pick for this year. 

Coming up…  Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge – Bloodstone

Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge - P.R.o.K.

P.R.o.K., originally uploaded by Clint Berquist.

P.R.o.K.
Team Leader: Andy Peters
Genre: Mockumentary
Odds: 3 to 1

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to say that I have been slowly working on a documentary about the alternative Comedy Scene in Seattle for about the past year. P.R.o.K. or The People’s Republic of Komedy is a huge part of that project, so this may be a bit biased. But, I think that these guys are some of the funniest human beings I have ever had the opportunity to know. A few months ago a filmmaker came up from LA for a screening and I invited him to check out their weekly show Laffhole. I later found out that he is actually a pretty accomplished stand-up comic who works with people like Sarah Silverman, Brian Posehn and Paul F. Thompkins on a regular basis and he told me that Laffhole blows away any room that they have in LA, so there are obviously a lot of people in town who agree that the P.R.o.K. rocks. Travis and Kevin consistently churn out hilarious short films for Pabst and Dewars (the Laffhole sponsors), not to mention films for their own wildly successful Entertainment Show that happens once a month at the Sunset in Ballard. So, there is no doubt in my mind that the P.R.o.K. mockumentary will be funny. The real question is, will funny be enough to win?

Coming up… Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge – Peek

Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge - Team ASCOT

Team Ascot, originally uploaded by Clint Berquist.

Team Leader: CB Shamah
Genre: Mystery
Odds: 5 to 1

CB had a hand in the feature film SPREE which is screening as part of STIFF 2008 and it proves that he has the means to put together something truly unique and very cool. Team ASCOT has some excellent film and music connections around town, which will most likely come in very handy for their very first WFC Film. There is one big question on my mind though. While it is an incredible feather in a filmmaker’s cap to complete a feature, making a concise short film is a whole different task. Many accomplished feature filmmakers have struggled with the short form and nothing is worse than a short that is too long. Can Team ASCOT successfully transition back into a team that can tell a short story that is short enough? We know it is going to be good, but just how good is a mystery (which makes the genre selection super appropriate!)

Coming up… Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge – P.R.o.K.

Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge - The New Originals

The New Originals, originally uploaded by Clint Berquist.

The New Originals
Team Leader: Chad Cobain
Genre: Western
Odds: 2 to 1

Members of the New Originals have taken part in every Weekend Film Challenge so far and one thing is certain – these kids have skills, always finishing in the top three. Chad, Christian Hansen and Matt Dy were part of last year’s winning team and they possess just the sort of mix of youth, raw talent, and willingness to take risks that gives some of us older guys a bit of a complex. They are bringing back some key talent from last year’s Sunday Market, which means that they are the odds on favorite to win the top spot in 2008. Some questions are afoot though: They set the bar pretty high last year, will they be able to hit their own lofty standards this year? Can a team that makes serious movies win it in this year’s comedy-rich field? Western? Very hard to pull off, but I heard that they were heading to Eastern Washington and that sure sounds like the right direction to me.

Coming up… Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge – Team ASCOT

Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge - Puppet Entertainment Television

Elizabeth and Ken Westerman, originally uploaded by Clint Berquist.

Team Leader: Elizabeth Westerman

Genre: Erotic Thriller

Odds: 3 to 1

Elizabeth had the honor of leading the winning team from the 2006 Weekend Film Challenge, which was a hilarious send up of Blue’s Clues. That team consisted of several talented improvisers from Unexpected Productions which holds court at the Market Theater and produces the long running Seattle favorite - Theater Sports. Elizabeth and the Blues Clues team went on to produce a show of their own called the Cotton Gin which blends puppets and improv and was quite delightful. Members of our screening team already know that I actually have a secret weakness for puppet movies (and musicals) that may be firmly rooted in my childhood love of Sesame Street. They have managed to find a really good chemistry between the live action performers and the puppets, and chemistry is hard to beat. Improv skills have proved to be a real asset in past challenges. Can they capture that magic with this year’s longer format? Will those skills be stifled as they strive to write something a bit more cohesive? Surprise genre selection with this year’s number 1 pick. Can erotic thriller win the top spot two years in a row?

Coming up… Handicapping the Weekend Film Challenge – The New Originals

Victory Studios Returns as WFC Sponsor

As I reported earlier, we lost Victory Studios as a sponsor for the 2008 Weekend Film Challenge.  Great news as I just got word that they are going to sponsor after all.  The Sponsorship will just work a little differently (as a $2500 match instead of a straight grant).  Thanks a bunch to George Riddell for making this happen.  Details of this year’s Grand Prize for the audience award are as follows:

As a STIFF / Weekend Film Challenge sponsor, Victory Studios will provide a 100% match up to $2500 to the winner of the Weekend Film Challenge for equipment rental or post-production services (such as editing, color-correction, audio etc.) through 12/21/08. In other words, if the award-winner spends (up to) $2500 at prevailing Victory Studios rates, Victory Studios will contribute an additional (up to) $2500 in services. The matching award excludes sales tax, applicable insurance, shipping, expendables, videotapes or other items which may require out-of-pocket Victory Studios expenses such as sub-rentals. The matching award has no cash value, and may not be redeemed for cash.

Upon the awarding of the prize, STIFF must notify George Riddell with the name of the award-recipient. The award is non-transferrable, and can only be redeemed by the award winner identified by STIFF. To qualify for matching funds, the award winner must make arrangements with George Riddell or Kurt Horn for the services by calling (206)-282-1776.

Bad News and (WAY) Better News!

The first time I had a produced DVD that I could take around to stores it was a pretty nerve wracking experience.  It was always a goal of mine to be able to walk ino a record store and see my DVD on a shelf, but I wasn’t sure of the process.  I didn’t realize just how simple it was since it was all so new.  It was pretty exciting to have a piece of plastic that actually represented finished work and I’ll never forget how good I felt after coming out of the first store that said that they would put it on the shelf (Sonic Boom in Ballard).  I’ll also never forget the old lady who almost hit me backing her t-bird out of a parking space while I was walking across the street.  I probably had my head in the clouds and wasn’t watching.  She pulled the Marlboro out of her mouth long enough to call me an “asshole”.  It was a good experience followed up by a cruddy (although in retrospect, laughable) experience.    Today, I had the same thing happen on a much grander scale.

First, the cruddy experience:  We lost a sponsor.  After working with Victory Studios for the past couple years, I was informed today that they wouldn’t be donating a prize for this year’s Weekend Film Challenge.  He told me that it wasn’t anything that we had done.  He had “Gone to the wall for me, but couldn’t get his boss to agree”.  They were “reevaluating how they sponsored film festivals”.  It reminded me of getting dumped in high-school.  A very grown up, film festival sponsorship version of the “It’s not you, it’s me” speech.  But, they are still giving a 15% discount on rental gear for contestants.

It was a bummer, but to be honest I just couldn’t get upset about it and I still can’t.  Because about 30 minutes prior, I had gotten some INCREDIBLE news.  A special celebrity judge had signed on and he was also providing a one-of a kind prize of his own.   Maybe you’ve heard of him? 

That’s right!  You’re hearing it here first.  Moby will be judging this year’s Weekend Film Challenge and each member of the winning team will get a STIFF 2008 poster signed by Moby.  Oh yeah…  He is also doing a concert as part of STIFF 2008 (Sunday, June 8^th at Neumos).  You might be asking yourself why Moby would be interested in STIFF. 

Ever since college," says Moby, "I have had friends and acquaintances in the worlds of indie, experimental and non-profit film. Their biggest complaint has been that licensing music for low-budget films is almost always incredibly difficult.  With that in mind I started MobyGratis. The goal is to provide free music for independent, experimental, and non-profit filmmakers.  I hope that somehow this will enable filmmakers to spend their time making films and not calling up record companies trying to license music."

The third wrinkle in this year’s Weekend Film Festival will be that each team is going to use a track from Moby Gratis in their film.  It is all incredibly exciting.  Stay tuned for more details.  The WFC kicks off on Monday.  We still have room for a team or two.  If you want to sign up, email filmchallenge (at) trueindependent.org with your roster.

2008 Weekend Film Challenge Wrinkle 1 & 2

Hello everyone. My name is Joe Sexton and this year I have been given the task of organizing the Weekend Film Challenge. I have been corresponding with many of you via email, but I wanted to post a blog so everybody would have a place to get the latest updates and information. I would like to thank all the teams that have signed up this year and encourage anyone who hasn’t done so to contact me about signing up. As many of you know, we have made a few changes this year.

The first change is that we are not going to have just one weekend to make our films. This year we will hold a genre draft on Monday, May, 5th to determine the sort of film each team–will make. Teams will draft in the order that they sign up, so if you are on the fence it is to your advantage to sign up sooner.  Each team will have that week to plan its production. We ask that principle photography take place the weekend of the 9th through the 11th. Each team will then have a week for postproduction, reshoots, etc. The final cut of the film is due on Monday the 19th.

Another change to the challenge this year is the introduction of wrinkles. The wrinkles are replacing the traditional character, prop, and line of dialogue requirements of years past. We have already announced the first two wrinkles with the third and final wrinkle coming at the end of this month. Wrinkle number one requires each team to lend an actor from its production to the team which follows it. The team order is determined by the order in which teams signed up for the challenge. The second wrinkle is much like the first only instead of an actor, each team will also pass along a location from its production. For example, team one may end its film with a character running wildly across a grocery store parking lot. Team two then will have to incorporate the character running wildly as well as the parking lot in to its film. The experiement will be to link all the movies together and have them play as one continuous movie. How will this look when it's finished?  Hopefully cool, but who knows?  It's Experiemental.  I also hope that by promoting greater cooperation among teams and allowing more time to produce a film, we will be able to make a product that everyone can be proud of. I am personally looking forward to the challenge this year as I feel that the past couple of years teams have really raised the bar and this year the trend will continue. I think that with a bit of cooperation and some good teams we will make this year’s challenge the best one yet. Anybody who has any questions or input regarding this year’s challenge should contact me via email. I will be updating information and sending emails as new announcements are made. Stay tuned for an announcement about Wrinkle #3!  I’m looking forward to working with everyone to make this year’s challenge the best yet. Joe Sexton