The Baby Magic "Take It From Me" music video

First of all, to view the music video, just go ahead and click right HERE.

It premiered online on September 15th, 2014.

To enjoy more of The Baby Magic, simply web search "The Baby Magic band" to visit their Bandcamp page, connect with them on Facebook, etc., etc.  There's also, on this blog, a main hub page for the music videos that I've collaborated with them on and that's right HERE.

Now, on to "Take It From Me".......

Lots of footage for such a quick clip!  But that gave me a plenty of editing options so I think that that worked out well.

Per usual, it was a really fun and surreal shoot with Chicago indie band, The Baby Magic, along with Laboratory Dancers (who are awesome) and a memorable cameo performance by one of my favorite actors, Michael Massett.

The story within the video can be summed up easily:

Mary Beth (the lead singer) finds that the guys in The Baby Magic are sick with some kind of illness (the flu?  a cold?  the plague?  nobody knows) so she goes off to the North Pole to find an extremely rare botanic serum and saves the day.

There is also a nurse, dancing muses, a magic pizza, and possibly some time travel involved but it's all, perhaps, within the lead singer's head (which, in the story, is filled with stress, paranoia, and an alcoholic haze so the imagination angle may be the bet to place your money on).  Or maybe not.  It's a campy, silly music video (but absolutely ROCK without apology) so I guess that anything could happen.

At first we weren't sure what the concept was going to be but then I stumbled across an article about that historic Balto medical rescue story that happened in Alaska (Google it) and I thought to myself:  "Maybe we should do something like that but ridiculous?".  And then the Polar Vortex happened here in Chicago in early 2014, along with some big snow falls, so I contacted Mary Beth and proposed the basic concept to her.  There was a point where she was going to get driven to the North Pole by a team of Tonka trucks or something along those lines but the snow was melting fast and I couldn't figure out how to pull that off in time.  So, instead, she cross-country skis it (with busted tiki torches as poles and Hot-N-Ready boxes for snowshoes).  When your band is sick, you've gotta do what you've gotta do as quickly as possible.

This music video was originally going to have some gruesome aspects to it (a mean frozen Snow Queen, a perverted Santa, and an out-of-control abominable snowman were going to attack Mary Beth after she squeezed out the elixer) but the band reeled me in on those ideas (that was probably wise of them).  So we had the Arctic adventure/medical rescue concept which was soon joined by a performance in (what I think was?) a former warehouse foundation on the west side of the city, some footage within the band's practice space, and--last but definitely not least--Mary Beth had the idea of asking Laboratory Dancers if they'd be willing to perform in the background while she's masked and singing.  Which turned out to be a fantastic idea.

We shot all over the city (the "North Pole" was an ice-encrusted Montrose Harbor) which--if you're doing something with a contemporary setting--makes things much more interesting than a studio.  I like a rough, retro aesthetic.  I'm not a huge fan of studio spaces and perfect lighting--they make me crazy for some reason--I like to feature interesting images and beautiful people but in imperfect situations/scenarios; ultra HD images turn me off too for whatever reason.  I don't think that anything should look evolved over 16mm film but that's just me.  I've always had a taste for that for whatever reason, probably because my entire sensibility was shaped by cult films and weirdo indie cinema--many of which were never too pretty to look at.  Luckily, The Baby Magic "get" me so it's nice working with them on projects when we get the chance.

"Take It From Me" is a very multifaceted indie music video and I'm happy that it turned out fun and bizarre and gritty; a genuine collaboration with everyone involved.

Some stills are below along with the credits.

The Baby Magic

Take It From Me

from their album, "Rent a Place in Hell"  © 2014

video by Derek Quint, Addovolt Productions

featuring performances by

Laboratory Dancers

Ally Subak

Cheryl Cornacchione Nowlin

Emily Lukasewski

Sarah Chmielewski

and

Michael Marius Massett

Special Thanks to:

Tracy Burnham (North-Pole Elixer poster design)

and

James Summers

Frederick South

The City of Chicago

search:  "The Baby Magic band"

"Nature's Ways" script/story/narration

Royal Pain:  the love-starved Princess Tiberia (played by Lauren Hearter)

The "Nature's Ways" fairy tale short film is narrated by a British male voice.  As though you're listening to a Charles Dickens audio book or an old record.  Music (synthpop and classical) will accompany the film along with very particular, very specific, sound effects at certain moments (for example: the sound of a dinner gong in one scene, some clashing of swords in another scene, you get the idea).

The actors in the film are seen speaking to each other but, like the reading of a typical fairy tale, we hear the voice of the narrator speaking for them at key moments.  The action onscreen will be reminiscent of a silent film in certain respects.  We see the actors moving and talking throughout their drama but we don't actually hear them.

Again, the story is being told to us by a British narrator.  From a production standpoint, this makes things easier because we don't need to worry about recording sound and dialogue during the shooting process.  All sound recording/addition and music inclusion will be taking place afterward.  The fact that we're being told the story, having it spoon-fed to us in a certain respect, creates a sense of childish ease and timelessness while watching the drama unfold.  This is how I want "Nature's Ways" to be:  an extremely easy watch and something of a guilty pleasure.  It's designed for repeat viewings in the way that we can read/experience "Snow White", "The Three Little Pigs", "Goldilocks", etc. over and over again like favorite songs.  We know how the story goes, we know how it ends, but there's an addictive quality to it.  Simple, fun, delicious--let's do it again!

But this is still an edgy, creepy, PG-13 kind of film meant for adults and teenagers.  That becomes really clear within the first few minutes.  That vibe is established from the get-go.

The film is "disco-medieval".  Cars, cell phones, cameras, swords, skyscrapers, towers, crowns, jewels, gowns, drugs, ruined cathedrals, magic recipe scrolls.  Lots of gold and, also, some scary creatures.  It's 1987, 2017, and 1407 all at the same time.  Postmodern.  I'll be watching "The Wiz", "Xanadu", John Waters, and John Hughes films a lot while we're shooting this.

The film will probably end up being around 12 or 15 minutes long.  Fast-paced.

Here is the story that we're told for "Nature's Ways".  Feel free to read it out loud while doing your best "Masterpiece Theatre" host impersonation (or the "Little Britain" host for that matter)......

[NOTE:  I'm stilling working on the end section of the story.  Give me a couple of days, please.]

.......................................................................

Once Upon A Time, King Mercatroy ruled a kingdom.

Because the history of this kingdom is so complicated, I don't quite know if it was 7 centuries ago, 7 decades ago, or 7 days ago but it's in the books that King Mercatroy was one of the most prosperous and powerful monarchs to ever wear a crown.

Although he reigned over countless castles and innumerable stretches of land, what he valued most were the two virtuous ladies closest to his heart:

His loyal wife, Her Royal Highness, Queen Moduli.....

.....and their daughter, the majestic, the imperial, High Princess Tiberia.  Or, as she was known throughout the kingdom, "Little Tibby".

Little Tibby was coming of age.

While many of her peers were trying on wedding gowns, Tibby was kept occupied with other, less serious, endeavors.  She always did her best to follow her parents' orders but, yet, there were times when she wondered when she would be allowed to put paint on her face......or to mist herself with her mother's perfume.....or to adorn herself with the kinds of embellishments that would attract admiring glances.

The clocks ticked.  The lonely hours became weeks.  The weeks became months.  And the months turned into solitary years.

The King and Queen lovingly provided their sweet princess with every luxury imaginable and, of course, Tibby was given company by the royal household.  Yet, in her private hours, the princess longed for a different sort of companionship.

The past had not always been kind to King Mercatroy and Queen Moduli.  They thanked The Gods for the peace and wealth that their kingdom was now enjoying but they still wore the scars given to them by invading enemies--fierce and cruel villains from the foulest corners of the earth that the royal pair had defeated long ago.  Mercatroy still suffered from night terrors.  And Moduli used a dark paste to hide white hairs gifted to her from traumas long past.  She had done so since the age of 22.  The kingdom had not been easily won.

The King and Queen wished for Princess Tibby to retain her blushing innocence, to luxuriate in a sort of prolonged bubble of youth, the kind of which they themselves had not been able to enjoy.

Every month, the neighboring kingdoms sent names and portraits of available, worthy suitors for Little Tibby but King Mercatroy was exceedingly difficult to please.

The princes were always "too ugly" or "too handsome".  "Too fat" or "too thin".  Other ones were "too stupid" or "too weak".  The rest were simply "too ordinary".

If he were to give the hand of the princess to any of these men, who would protect her in this dangerous land?  Certainly not any of them.  No, no.  The princess was certainly better off at home, under her father's protection.  The King had no interest in marrying his daughter off to any of these buffoons.

Mercatroy was much happier thinking about his power and good fortune.  The wars had ended many years ago but the king demanded frequent reminders that he was, indeed, the mightiest of all rulers.  It was not uncommon for him to require displays of combative prowess to be performed by the very best knights the treasury could afford.  He no longer needed to swing swords with his own hands but it pleased him knowing that he had the very best trained assassins and the most ruthless mercenaries at his disposal.

The King's most fearsome enemies had already been annihilated but there were still a few isolated creeps lurking about from time to time, hoping to bring a bloody finish to Mercatroy's reign.  In the end, The King always managed to eliminate these pests in one fashion or another but their lingering threats gave him pause.  Nothing could be taken for granted.  Nothing was guaranteed to remain perpetually.  No castle was impenetrable, no king's flesh was made of steel.  King Mercatroy was a man of constant worry and he felt comfort in often sequestering his family in a chamber beneath his favorite palace where they would oversee the knights in practice, make decrees to the kingdom, and separate his familial treasures from the threats of the world above.

Princess Tibby was pleased to view her father's knights for other reasons.  She understood her father's need to reinforce his own sense of iron-clad security but the princess felt that the spectacle of the knights' practices held a different kind of value as well.  The efforts of these brave individuals were certainly not lost on her since Tibby was gaining a deep appreciation for displays of combat.

The "clang!" and "bang!" of the knights' sport echoed within the underground chamber while the forlorn girl admired the skills, brute force, and craftsmanship flashing in front of her eyes.

"Hail, Hail to the kingdom of my father!" thought Princess Tibby.  "Hail to these glorious protectors!  Such riches!  Such bounty!"

The princess wondered when she would acquire a knight of her very own.

"The sooner, the better," thought the royal servants.  "May His Royal Highness find a suitable consort for Our Young Lady.  And with haste, please."

But the king was in no rush.  Things were perfectly fine as they were in his opinion.  But for the princess, life was becoming unbearable.

Mercatroy's kingdom, like all kingdoms, had it's fair share of scallawags and sneaky businesses.

Through one of the palace bakers, Little Tibby was connected to a merchant who supplied her with intoxicating substances, forbidden capsules, magic powders, and false identification cards.  No one noticed tiny bits of royal treasury vanishing because of Tibby's purchases.  "Don't worry, it's all just a bit of harmless fun for you, your Highness.  Live a little," the merchant told the princess.

In her desperation, Tibby began sneaking out of the palace in the dead of night, brilliantly disguised as a lowly and anonymous peasant girl.  She enjoyed pretending to be one of the common folk:  making jolly, participating in vulgar merriment, jigging like a wench, and sampling the nourishment of the serfs.  Although she hoped that some handsome cavalier would appear for her on a white steed, the princess--for whatever reason--would always return to the palace before sunrise, with limited experiences and no one to accompany her.  Even in her recklessness and foul moods, Little Tibby was careful that her nocturnal explorations remained in secret.  Or as secretive as possible.

Inevitably, more long, pure days came and went......followed by moon-lit amusements.  Back and forth, over and over.  But one thing remained the same:  The princess was alone.  Constantly alone.

After much drinking of ale and snorting of enchanted dust, Tibby realized that things would have to change.

How would she ever acquire a prince when her powerful father refused all marriage offers?

Perhaps she would have to find a knight to serve or maybe a squire to serve her?  How about a stable boy to hide beneath her bed?  Or another princess if thoughts steered her in that direction?  Or even a mad, old monk that no one had any use for?

Somebody!

Someone!

Anyone!

After this moment of deepest despair, a glimmer of hope finally materialized.  A figure appeared in the lamplight:  a woman selling parchments and handmade scrolls.

"Would you like to buy some knowledge this evening, my lady?" inquired the Scroll Maker.

"No thank you.  We have enough scrolls in the palace library already," answered the princess.

"Perhaps you have room for more?" asked the woman with a twinkle in her eye.

It was then that Tibby realized that she had read every scroll in the palace library and that she could probably use some fresh reading material.

to be continued.....(I'm working on it, folks)......

stills from a cancelled film ("Secretly Crazy")

I'm doing some bits and pieces for upcoming projects and I just stumbled across stills from rehearsal footage that we shot last year for a cancelled film project that I was going to do.  It was a feature-length dark comedy, titled "Secretly Crazy", about a teenage drug dealer who gets sent to a sinister Scared Straight type of program.  Chaos, creepiness, and murders ensue.  The main character, Connie, was basically a really hard, grouchy Nancy Drew sort of archetype (or imagine Veronica Mars as a lower middle class, cynical, greedy, bisexual bitch who beats people up--you get the idea).  The concept was fun but I was concerned that it was just going to be too much like "Annie" (in some ways....) but with a lot of swearing and some gore.

I was worried that the story wasn't going to be funny or interesting enough to merit another long, drawn-out, time/energy/money-sucking major project in my life.  I wasn't sure if people, even a small indie audience, would enjoy it. The dialogue was pretty good, I thought, but the overall storyline.....?  Uh, I don't know.  I hate diving into projects and then just cancelling them because that's weak; I'm one of those guys that has little respect for indecisive people so I hate seeing that kind of behavior in myself.

The actors who were cast were terrific in their roles but I felt that the story that was written here wasn't beefy enough and that's the writer/director's fault (mine).

It's possible that the valuable elements that I do like from "Secretly Crazy" will be absorbed into other film projects (specific, little plot hooks, some good lines, some good character aspects) but, no, "Secretly Crazy" as a film isn't going to materialize.

I'm not going to upload footage snippets from "Secretly Crazy" (that would make me kind of melancholic--we did have a good time shooting the rehearsal footage but I'm still kind of mad at myself for launching and then abandoning a project) but I do feel comfortable posting some photos on this page and then finally shutting the door for good on this film.

Special Thanks to Victoria, Lauren, Michael, Brian, etc. for participating.  Everyone will be working together on current projects and, hopefully, on other films down the line.

First World Problems

Homeschooled:  Tea time is no longer fun for Princess Tibby (Lauren Hearter).

Here's the first still from our new short film, "Nature's Ways".  It's about a princess in a disco-medieval country whose father won't let her grow up so she is forced to take matters into her own hands.

Lauren Hearter plays Princess Tiberia (also known as "Little Tibby" throughout the kingdom).  In this still, we see that Princess Tibby is not enjoying another lonely Sunday afternoon with her "friends".  She needs to get out of the palace in my opinion.  The sooner, the better.

"Nature's Ways" is a really strange comedy film that plays out like a twisted fairy tale, which it is.  It's a project within our Vault Projections series which is a collection of films that I'm doing that are all based on myths and literature (basically "Masterpiece Theatre" for weirdos, stoners, and art geeks).  As bizarre as the story in "Nature's Ways" is, it is in fact based on an old Armenian folk tale.  We started shooting it on the 4th of July 2014.  We're shooting it in chunks, bits, and pieces over the coming months.  It's going to be a while but we've already shot a (surprising) number of scenes and I'm loving it so far.  The cast and crew are wonderful and we're having a great time.  I'm very, very happy with the footage that we've shot (we're aiming for intelligent, colorful, guilty pleasure, cult film trash).  I'll post more stills soon and the script/narration is coming up.

"moments from Chances Dances: Summoning A New Queer Reality (MCA, 12-06-13)" documentary footage

I had the pleasure of doing some videography for a Chances Dances event recently--to document some of the fun.

Watch "moments from Chances Dances:  Summoning A New Queer Reality (MCA, 12-06-13)" right HERE.

Extended footage of performances by Mister Junior and Darling Shear can be seen HERE and HERE, respectively.

"moments from Chances Dances:  Summoning A New Queer Reality (MCA, 12-06-13)" footage shot and edited by Derek Quint.

Very Special Thanks to Mister Junior, Latham Zearfoss, Kiam Marcelo Junio, Darling Shear, MCA, and Chances Dances.
.....................................

It was a very nice, very inspired group of people creating beautiful and meaningful performances, images, and memories in a dance party setting at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.  I showed up with my camera, pushed the record button, and did my best to capture the magic.

The footage turned out great:  gorgeous performances, people, music, and art.

The "moments from Chances Dances:  Summoning A New Queer Reality (MCA, 12-06-13)" footage is done in a classic documentary style but given a surreal, flowing twist in which beats, voices, and melodies from within the party dominate the audio while visual sequences politely tumble over each other, creating a loose narrative.  My editing ques were inspired by the documentaries "Paris Is Burning" (1990) and "La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet" (2009) and, also, the casual, gritty, early films by Andy Warhol such as "The Chelsea Girls" (1966) and "Empire" (1964).

This turned out to be a terrific, enjoyable project that emerged from out-of-the-blue for me (thanks, Mister Junior!); a perfect way to end the year.
..........................

www.chancesdances.org

www.mcachicago.org

Chances Dances:  Summoning A New Queer Reality

December 6th, 2013 presented with Event Creative

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

The MCA presented a night of dancing, performance, and radical potential, cocurated by Chances Dances, a queer dance party and collective dedicated to building safer spaces for the varied LGBTIQ communities in Chicago through collectively shared moments of pleasure, inquiry, and resistance.

All Chances parties recognize the power of consent, welcome all gender expressions, and feature gender-neutral bathrooms.

Experiences for that evening included:

Claire Arctander, Cake Ritual with Robert Smithson
an edible sculpture based on a work by Smithson, who inspired many artists in The Way of the Shovel exhibition.  At the end of the night, Arctander served pieces of cake.

B!TCH3Z Drinking Project, Premium Optionz
B!TCH3Z, the conceptual post-bar drinking project for tomorrow's neosexualle, offered up non-alcoholic body shots.

Myles Cooper, Tuscany
In this video work, Cooper explores the faux-architectural forms of a Tuscan-style casino in Reno, Nevada, in relation to the artist's generated sculptures made of hotel towels, buffet leftovers, and various hotel freebies.

Nicole Garneau, Deer Remedies #1
A video document in which the artist explores the boundaries of the grotesque and the beautiful by communing with the earth and animals through song and ritual performance.

Rami George, Untitled (an attempted utopia is never a failed utopia)
George explored the theme of a new queer reality through a series of discreet takaway ephemera.

GNAT, Glitter-Kink Bondage Gear:
Go-Go fashionz and queer bondage gear, made by queer clothing designer Gnat Brillmeyer, were worn by Go-Go dancers Dirty Girls, Jay Vanity, Stevie Hnilicka, and Cer Vixen.

Erica Gressman, Nested Core
In this durational performance, a body removed layers of skin while enveloped in a soft, protective light.

Darrell Jones, Excerpts from Hoo-Hah
Jones presented a dance performance that explores the racial and gender politics through an homage to ball culture.  The femme warriors conducted a fierce dance-off in collaboration with Chances Dances' Justin Mitchell.

Kiam Marcelo Junio, Jerry Blossom Brigade
Junio organized a military-style march throughout the museum in a collaborative performance that functioned as a ritual circle marking a safe space for queer expression.  The march culminated in a runway walk on the second floor where each participant's performance revealed a personal queer aesthetic.

Meg Leary
Leary is a classically trained opera singer who combined vocal inflection with electronic effects to create a musical performance that shifted among different emotional and psychological states such as beauty, failure, virtuosity, and discomfort.

Mister Junior, Allusion Illusion:  The Mythology of Mister J
Mister Junior is one of Chicago's premier burlesque performers.  In Mister Junior's Epic, the artist prepared for and then performed a burlesque ballet in three acts that represented Mister Junior's birth, death, and divine rebirth as an incarnation of la Virgen de Guadalupe, a patron saint of the utopian world of queerdom.

Dan Paz, KODAK 2013
Paz's video, KODAK 2013, responded to Kodak's famous, recently rediscovered 1922 film tests, which only featured white actresses.  In Paz's version, subjects of various genders and skin tones performed their identities for the camera.  The artist projected KODAK 2013 on a loop in tandem with a live-streamed video of audience members enacting their own performances.

Macon Reed, Team Spirit
Reed collaborated with members of the UIC Flames gymnastics team for a durational performance.  Dressed in matching leotards and high femme makeup, members of the team created various configurations drawing on gymnastic routines.

Darling Shear, Baby You Know Me Out/Clap Yo' Hands/Just one of Those Things performances

Mariana Milhorat: Hair Flips, Mariah Version (film) featuring Mark Aguhar

Latham Zearfoss, Myth of Ancestors (film)

Rami George, Dan Paz, Oli Rodriguez, and Latham Zearfoss, For Chances Dances on her 8th Birthday (film)

[Experiences descriptions and credit details are transcribed from the Chances Dances:  Summoning A New Queer Reality event program.]

DJ Sets:

The members of Chances Dances who performed individual DJ sets throughout the night included--

- Rita Bacon
- Nina Ramone and Lady Speedstick
- Swaquerrilla
- CQQCHIFRUIT

Sponsors for the evening included:

- The Reader
- Room and Board Home Furnishings
- 93XRT
................................

The exhibitions on display at the MCA during the shooting of "moments from Chances Dances:  Summoning A New Queer Reality (MCA, 12-06-13)" included:

- MCA Chicago Plaza Project:  Amanda Ross-Ho
- CITY SELF
- Paul Sietsema
- MCA DNA:  Warhol and Marisol
- The Way of the Shovel:  Art as Archeology
- MCA DNA:  Alexander Calder

"The Spirits of Detroit" press release

 

       

 "The Spirits of Detroit" promotional image       photo by Derek Quint

All information and photography on this page may be freely used by journalists, bloggers, periodicals, websites, etc. for featuring, mentioning, promoting, and/or critiquing of the Addovolt Productions short documentary "The Spirits of Detroit" by director Derek Quint.

The documentary is right HERE on Youtube.
....................................................................

With its deep and unique history, it should come as no surprise that the Motor City supposedly has its fair share of things that go bump in the night.

Independent filmmaker, Derek Quint (a native of Detroit suburb, Allen Park), decided to unearth some of the local lore.  His short, 12-minute documentary, "The Spirits of Detroit", is now up on Youtube and can be watched for free by anyone online.  Simply Google "spirits of detroit documentary" and it pops up easily.

"For a long time, I had wanted to do a project centered around Detroit and, on the other hand, I also wanted to do something along the lines of those paranormal documentaries that I enjoy watching on TV," said Quint, "so I decided to do a short paranormal documentary about Detroit.  My aim was to make something fun, informative, and easy to watch, like an old episode of 'Unsolved Mysteries'.  I grew up hearing and reading about Detroit ghosts and urban myths.  You can find all kinds of weird stories about this area."

Although exploring those spooky tales and shooting his film was an enjoyable experience, Quint says that the most rewarding part of the project was learning about Detroit's rich history.  "Within the first few days of making this, it became pretty clear that this project was really all about research.  Once you begin understanding the geography and background of this city, its legends start to make more sense," Quint said.

"The Spirits of Detroit" is narrated by Chris Chavez and features original music compositions by Chad Nini and Kodjo Atiogbe.

"The Spirits of Detroit" promotional image       photo by Derek Quint

Chris Chavez does double-duty as the narrator of "The Spirits of Detroit" documentary while also portraying a member of the Purple Gang.     photo by Derek Quint

"The Spirits of Detroit" promotional image       photo by Derek Quint

Michael Marius Massett portrays Le Nain Rouge, or The Red Dwarf, an impish creature that supposedly brings mayhem to the Motor City.     photo by Derek Quint

Lauren Hearter portrays a mournful, symbolic figure in "The Spirits of Detroit" documentary.    photo by Derek Quint

"The Spirits of Detroit" promotional image          photo by Derek Quint

"Buckles and Bread Bowls: a Renaissance Faire in North America" short documentary

First of all, you can watch it right HERE.
..........

I had no idea what I was doing.  That's probably pretty obvious when you watch it.

"Buckles and Bread Bowls" was shot a long time ago.  Something like....2009, maybe?

At any rate, it had been a while between when I actually shot the footage for it and when I finished the editing/uploaded it on Youtube.

Why so long?

Because I was just joking around when I brought the camera to the Bristol Renaissance Faire that day way back when.  I had another project to do coming up (it may have been "Danse Macabre" but I'm not sure....) and my camera had been acting weird ever since we had shot "Go Ask Alice In Wonderland".  During "Alice", we were out in some unpleasant conditions (a heavy rain storm, a dusty/buggy/dirty forest, etc. and according to my mom, the vengeful ghost of Lewis Carroll) and the camera was never quite the same after that; it was acting up in strange and random ways no matter how much it was cleaned.  I was stressed out about it and I wanted to make sure that the camera would (probably?) be able to survive another entire shoot.  So I brought it to the Renaissance Faire to see if it still had enough go-power to make it through.

It did.  I noticed that the tapes would, every once in a while, drop a frame or whatever and the mic would get wonky when loud, sudden audio shifts took place (like an old person, basically) but it seemed to be okay enough.  Another cleaning and it would suffice--that was my logic.  I must have been right since the "Danse" footage turned out fine in the long run.

Truthfully, "Buckles and Bread Bowls" was just a camera test and an editing exercise (I was trying to familiarize myself better with my editing software during that time too).  When watching the footage--which turned out to be very fun and interesting--I thought to myself:  "Well, hell, this would make a decent little documentary.  Might as well...."

And here we are.

But why did "Buckles" take so long to sign-seal-deliver?

I was working on other stuff.  There was always some other (more important) project popping up, cutting in line in front of it.  Other documentary projects, other short films, adventures with The Baby Magic.  Poor, neglected "Buckles and Bread Bowls".  Now, finally, it's online and thankfully I can clear all the raw footage from it out of my computer (good).

The amazing, talented people who were generous enough to give me a moment of their time deserve a big, fat THANK YOU for putting up with me and answering whatever (less than brilliant) questions that I threw at them.  They were all extremely cool, willing sports.  So, again, ladies and gentlemen who were in this silly documentary THANK YOU A BUNCH.  And thanks a bunch also to Lauren Hearter (who did a beautiful job narrating it and completely understood the tone that I was going for).

Fantasy is important.

As a documentarian, I'm really fortunate that there are enough imaginative, open-minded individuals around who are somehow able to merge their creative talents together in order to bring things like Renaissance Festivals to life.  These fantastic people--with their costumes, crafts, and performances--are truly inspiring and awe-striking.

"Buckles and Bread Bowls:  a Renaissance Faire in North America" premiered online Saint Patrick's Day 2013.

More images from this documentary are below.

"The Spirits of Detroit" short documentary

What goes bump in the night in the Motor City?

Well.....probably many things.....

But I'm referring to the ghosts, phantoms, and ghoulish creatures that may be lurking inside the abandoned factories, in the woods, and through the outskirts of town.

Watch "The Spirits of Detroit", a short documentary, right HERE.

"The Spirits of Detroit" was written and directed by Derek Quint through Addovolt Productions and narrated by Chris Chavez.  It features original music compositions by Chad Nini and Kodjo Atiogbe.

The film premiered online October 30th, 2012.  It has been featured on Mysterious Heartland, Unearthly News, Unexplained Mysteries, Timothy Yohe's Paranormal Insights, Paranormal Globe, Midwestern Gothic, Legends of America, the News-Herald, and Creepy Pasta among other publications.

The press release for this project is HERE.
........................

I'm from Metro Detroit and I've wanted to do something Detroit-oriented for a long time.

For a while, I've also wanted to make a very traditional ghost documentary like the kind that my family and I enjoy watching on The History Channel or on PBS or "Unsolved Mysteries"--a project along those lines.

So I made a documentary about ghosts in Detroit.  Two birds with one stone.

Sometimes I like to be traditional, and fit within a certain tonal framework, which is what I was aiming for with this project.

I wanted to maintain that particular sensibility that those television paranormal documentaries have.  How do I put it....?

They're always pretty informative and fascinating.  But deeply nerdy too.  You can count on some history and legends getting mixed up together.  These kinds of documentaries are somewhat melancholic but also whimsical and absurd.

It was easy to hit upon all of those qualities with the material that I had to work with regarding Detroit and its ghostlore.

Detroit is unusual even by local-interest paranormal standards.  You could encounter African relics that move by themselves, Native American demons, and Red Dwarves alongside traditional, mysterious men in suits and White Ladies.

Detroit has some good stuff to talk about if you're into these kinds of things.

There are MANY legends and ghost stories circulating around this city.  In "The Spirits of Detroit", I've tackled only a small number of them.  There are always more to do.  This project is in the public domain so, if any one wants to take the torch and do a "Spirits of Detroit" part II, that would be amazing!

I had to specifically pick and choose which stories to discuss and portray.  There are a bunch of creepy tales what we never got to take on (we didn't have the time and money to do everything) so I had to reign it in and decide where to put the cap on this project.  Fortunately, we were able to do my favorite legends and the ones that seem to be the most infamous and important around Detroit (i.e. the Nain Rouge).

It was a fun little project to make and I hope that you enjoy watching it.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like "Bianca"?

Advertising?  Guerrilla screenings downtown?  Torture bondage, "Clockwork Orange"-style viewing?

No one watches "Bianca".  And, yes, this is a sensitive subject (but that doesn't mean that we can't make fun of it).

The other projects, as far as bare bones/not-overannouncing-them-to-friends-and-relatives-via-Facebook/not-being-annoying/not-becoming-a-pest-about-them, etc. are doing fine.

People don't watch my projects as much as they watch the videos of Justin Bieber and Keyboard Cat.  I don't get millions of hits.  I'm just a simple, straight-up indie filmmaker with no corporate backing and my projects just aren't of a viral nature (maybe I'm okay with that....).  I usually don't even advertise them.  That has to change with projects coming up.  My era of not-advertising is coming to a close--I have some important projects coming up and taking the slacker approach to announcing them is not in the cards.

When it all comes down to it, I make independent art films. As pretentious as that sounds.  If we had to sum it up in a sentence, though, I think that saying "He makes independent art films." cuts to the truth of it and makes things quite clear.

People don't watch my projects and email their friends about them with an LOLZ in the subject line.  That's not the kind of stuff that I do.  Plus, I'm not a scenester and I'm not a chatty kathy when it comes to my personal life nor my life within the indie film community (from a survival standpoint, I do realize that I have to "put myself out there" more for a number of different reasons).  I have a small bit of a base (for which I am extremely grateful) and they tend to have certain personality types that are kind of similar to my own.  Which makes sense.

"Salome" gets watched, "Danse Macabre" gets watched, the newer music videos are doing fine for being true indies.  Things are on the upswing and people seem to be enthusiastic and curious about forthcoming projects which is a great thing.

But then there's "Bianca".  The big project from last year.  It was long, exhausting, and cost 3 times as much as I thought it would.  It was supposed to be a short but then it almost ended up being a kind of abbreviated feature length.  It was a tiring and humbling experience.

Only about 100 hits as of this time.  Oh dear....

Is it because it's 5 parts?  Is it because it's not bite-sized and you're sort of forced to invest in 5 segments in order to fully understand the story?  And you don't want to time-invest in a 5-part indie project if you have no idea what you're getting yourself into?  Yes?

I think that that may have something to do with it.  But, truthfully, I have no idea what went wrong in that arena.  Obviously I didn't advertise "Bianca" at all or, just through sheer mathematics, I would have higher viewings for it.  Maybe what bothers me is that I think that, perhaps, people just aren't into "Bianca".  I hate to say it but that hurts my feelings (all sympathy cards and muffin baskets can be sent to Warner Avenue in Chicago).

"Bianca" is actually pretty cute, strange, and funny.  It's indie as hell and a bit rough around the edges in some parts (the restaurant scene) but it's a good little story and it's enjoyable.  The performances are strong.

But, yeah, "Bianca" is an odd duck.  I realize that.

If you read all about the Making Of and why the project was done in the first place, you'll know that "Bianca" was produced to be a segment within the "Four In Chicago" collaborative film project.  I wasn't strong-armed into it; I gladly volunteered to be a part of it.  Were there moments when I wondered why in the hell I had done this to myself?  Well, duh.  But I went full blast into this collaboration and the rest is deeply obscure, indie film history.  I don't typically do romantic comedy material.  I thought that it would be a challenge.  I was right about that.

Do I regret it?

No, no, no.  Absolutely not.

Yes, I did go into debt for a while over this project (I don't enjoy doing that--I prefer to stay exactly on budget) but I learned a crapload of "What Not To Do" when it comes to technical aspects.  Sometimes "What Not To Do"'s are just as valuable as "How To"'s.

"Bianca" has a lot of "What Not To Do"'s.  But there are, however, some strong points:  the actors, some of the aesthetics are strong, the costumes are cool, the writing works, the tone works, the music works, I did some good directing throughout most of it (trying to nail that cheesy 80's-style vibe that inspired this project, i.e. "Heathers", "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", etc.) so it wasn't a total trainwreck.  But could it have been better with some more time and care (and advertising!  and technical finessing!) put into it?  Undoubtedly.  "Bianca" has its reckless moments.  Despite the negatives, I still like "Bianca".  I hope that you like "Bianca" too.  At least give her a try.  Pretty please?

I've talked a little bit (not a lot, obviously) about "Bianca" with my friends, family, and a few other film people.  They've said "Well, why don't you spend some time advertsing it?  That way more people will watch it, you'll get more hits, more people will enjoy it, it will be closer to the worth of the time/energy/money you spent on it, etc., etc.  Enter it into film festivals, especially festivals centered on comedy.".  You get the jist.  I don't do film festivals when it comes to very small/ short film/low-low-budget projects like "Forgive Me, Bianca" because I don't have time for that.  For bigger projects coming up, sure I'll (begrudgingly) do the film festival thing, but I'm not going to be going down that route every time a new little project pops up.  The entry fee's are annoying, the paperwork is obnoxious, and I don't know that I'll actually be able to show up to the theater on that day (I work full-time--more than full-time, actually--and I have grad school; my schedule is as ruthless as a medieval demon).

I don't have the time to dedicate to "Bianca".  It's now an old project.

TAKE NOTE, INDIE FILMMAKERS:

Do not overload on projects.  Films (and people) suffer when you are trying to tackle too many films.

Over the last few years, this has been my biggest mistake.  I didn't spend enough time making some projects and I didn't spend enough time promoting some (okay, all actually) projects.

My world is Go Go Go Go Go! all the fucking time.  Even though I'm straightedge (no alcohol, no drugs), I have always been able to relate to cokeheads because we're sort of on the same wavelength (see upcoming film:  "Secretly Crazy").

The rest of 2012 and all of 2013 will continue on the same batshit Go Go Go Go Go! rocket trail, filled with numerous film projects, that was carved out back in 2010.  So, really, I'm being a hypocrite.

But after the "Secretly Crazy" feature film is done being promoted, I look forward to slowing things down a bit and putting more love, care, time, and prioritizing into upcoming projects.  One or two projects a year is fine.  5 or 6 is just fucking stupid.

"Forgive Me, Bianca" comes from the 5 or 6 projects a year plan.

As a short(ish) film, it has entertainment value but it could have been produced better and it should have been promoted as an enjoyable piece of indie cheese.

But it's too late now because it's time to move on to other projects.

Oh, "Alice"....

Through the (cracked) looking glass.....

One more glimpse at "Go Ask Alice in Wonderland (Cliff Notes Edit)".  Watch it HERE.

Because it's the end of summer, and because it's just for fun, I thought that we should have one more step into Wonderland.  Let's put the proverbial cap on this conversation.

This film (if that's what we should call it) is from 2010 (in truth, it was really made in 2008).

The "Buckles and Breadbowls" documentary will be online in September.  I'm busy as hell right now, we were going to do a re-feature on "Go Ask Alice...." anyway, so here it is. I was going to do it next month but I'm having these two project features switch places instead.

It all boils down to timing.

So.....what about "Alice"?

It feels like we made "Alice" 15 years ago.  In truth, it is closer to 5 years ago.

The whole rundown with the story about this project, the whole Making Of trainwreck associated with it (a dying camera, crazy weather, wiped-out audio, and so on) is detailed on the official page for this project HERE.

Wowza......

I just watched it recently (the first time in a long time) and has sort of an early Internet 2.0 junkiness that makes sense for when it was made.  Very meme, "Funny Or Die", photobomb-y, WTF-y, LOLCats, that type of shit.

I kind of like it because it's so weird and off-center.

It's obvious that she's supposed to be a drug addict from the get-go, so at least that's established early on and helps explain the tone of the overall video.

The messiness of it (it was conceived to be that way) is too too much.  The fact that the story (and the project) is supposed to be "fucked up" could have been approached with a bit more digestible subtlety.....but  (clearly) it's too late now.

The actors (especially Britney Collins) are great.  Britney is always kind of perfect and has an understanding of complex comedic tonalities that could throw other people off.  She's dependable and I love working with her (I look forward to working with her again on upcoming projects).  Michael Marius Massett as the White Rabbit is brilliant too--like Britney, he's dependably wonderful in everything he does.

The editing of "Alice" is obnoxious and the camera work ranges from surprisingly attractive to straight-up crapola.  No consistency in those areas.....

But whatever.

It's an old, deeply imperfect project, it's fun, and people like it when they're high.  Maybe that's the only time they can understand what's going on with it.

"Alice" will always hold a special place in my heart.....but a place in my heart that doesn't necessarily have the best table and lighting.  The cheap seats.  That's fine for "Alice".