2010 April « 12 Films. 12 Weeks. There are worse ways to spend a summer.

Our Latest Film-Race Entry: “Thirsty Work”!

April 29, 2010 at 7:19 pm | Posted in Keith Boynton | Leave a comment
Tags: boardwalk, champions, Coney Island, Film Racing, race, racing, sleep deprivation, tracking shots, victory

Another Film Race has come and gone, and I’m just now feeling recovered enough to blog about it. Perhaps even more so than “The Queen Bee of Mushroomtown,” this was a surreal and wonderful experience. The hours flew by, the team clicked seamlessly; we became a lean, mean, pizza-fueled filmmaking machine. And you know what? I think we made a really good movie. We call it “Thirsty Work,” and we can’t wait to let it loose upon the world.

Speaking of which, come to this Saturday’s 7:30 screening at NYU’s Cantor Film Center! We’ll be there, and we’d love to see you. Tickets and details are available here.

“Thirsty Work” will be posted in this space sometime next week. Till then, here are some pictures to tide you over! I hope they capture a little piece of the experience. It was a magical time.

(It may be noted that our beloved Clint Byrne doesn’t appear in these photos. That’s because Clint was too busy taking photos to pose for any. Thanks, Clint!)

Brigitte Choura and James Fauvell croon their hearts out on the pier before dawn

James Creque preaches hellfire while surrounded by it

The sun rises. We keep right on shooting.

Going about our work in the shadow of Coney Island's famed Parachute Jump

Yes, that's water from the Atlantic Ocean. No, Mike's not very happy about it.

Are you intrigued yet?

Done with shooting! One happy crew.

Mike's innovative credits-designing posture

James Creque sleeps the sleep of the recently drenched.

Two cousins enjoy some family editing time.

With a few hours left to turn in the movie, the remaining team enjoys a short break on the roof.

… and we got the film in with time to spare! We’re getting pretty good at this. Should that worry me?

Posted by Keith

Defending Our Title

April 23, 2010 at 6:46 pm | Posted in Keith Boynton | Leave a comment
Tags: brooklyn, defending champions, film race, Film Racing, new york city, racing, time trials

There's not actually a trophy involved, but I couldn't find a good image for "bragging rights."

Last year, before all this 12 Films 12 Weeks nonsense got underway, a crew of future 12in12 accomplices assembled for the 2009 New York City Film Race — and totally dominated it. “The Queen Bee of Mushroomtown,” the bizarre little movie we threw together in 24 hours, took home Best Film, Best Actor, Best Ensemble, Best Cinematography, Best Direction (tie), the Audience Award for its screening block, and the Online Audience Award. For a group of people just about to plunge into a summer-long filmmaking project of dubious feasibility, all that affirmation was deliciously welcome.

Now the Film Racing tour has come around to New York once again, and, like a pack of fools, we’re back for more. We’ve brought together most of the original team — actors Mike Lavoie, James Creque, and James Fauvell, cinematographer Robb Stey, composer James Bruffee, and yours truly in the director’s chair — and we’ve added Brigitte Choura, Clint Byrne, Sumi Lee, and Chad Sonenberg, all tried-and-true 12in12 comrades. Is there any chance we can recapture that “Queen Bee” magic and sweep this year’s awards the way we did last year’s? I don’t know. But when Mike, Robb, and I were out scouting locations yesterday, Robb spotted a very promising sign.

Seriously, what are the odds?

Truly the gods are smiling upon us! Or taunting us. It’s difficult to tell.

We are SO HAPPY.

We’ll post the film race results in this space when we have them. Good luck to all the teams!

Okay, fine, this is a pretty good image for "bragging rights."

Posted by Keith

Footage from DCTV Panel

April 18, 2010 at 9:38 pm | Posted in Keith Boynton | Leave a comment
Tags: conversation, discussion, economy, low-budget filmmaking, panel, public television, saving, scrimping, talk, thirteen, thrift

Last October, Mike and I participated in a panel discussion called “Low-Cost/No-Cost and the City.” The theme was low-budget filmmaking in New York City — specifically, the challenge of finding an audience for cheaply-made work, and the ways that established media outlets (like public television) might be able to provide a platform for filmmakers whose work is relatively underexposed.

A fairytale castle? Close; it's a firehouse-turned-television-center! Pretty neat, huh?

The discussion was held at the Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV), a very cool facility located in a former firehouse (see photo); it was sponsored by the New York Film/Video Council and Channel Thirteen, and Mike and I were brought in through the wonderful Ginger Brown. Dan Allen did an excellent job of capturing the whole conversation on video; the link to his final product is below. Obviously, I’m way, way late in posting this, but I figured it should be up here for posterity’s sake!

Click here to see how it all played out. Mike and I speak up at around the 11-minute mark, and again an hour later, but the whole thing is well worth watching if you’re interested in this stuff.