It's a Joke - Done Shooting

This morning we wrapped for the shoot of It's a Joke. Yesterday's shoot went really well and everyone applauded the team for being very professional. The catering service by Lisa was extraordinary and everyone raved about the chili. Overall, it was a great shoot and I'm happy to finally call it a day on It's a Joke - time to go to post! 

The day started off with hanging the paintings my friend put together for the film. Once it was set, actors slowly began to show up and we were allowed to begin the first shoot of the gallery. We moved at a good pace and kept on schedule. The actors were fantastic and everyone took direction well, especially our main lead playing Piers, James Smith. 

Most of all, we all had a good time working together and we cranked out a great end to this film. I cannot wait to see the finished product, and I know you cannot too! 

 

It's a Joke - Paintings

An awesome friend of mine, Crystal Lyon, a production design graduate student at the Academy of Art is the creator behind the paintings for It's a Joke. Going for the modern abstract feel, these are the ones she created. 

Then there were two I asked her to create that were very specific to the script. One of them was as simple as a canvas painted two shade of blue with a black line down the middle dividing it. In the film, this is one of the pieces Piers scoffs at insulting another art-goer at the gallery. 

The second one that is also very important to the script is one where Piers sarcastically interprets the art saying, "It's an angry bull charging into the forest of dementia" and that it reminds us of our human, volatile nature. That is the painting below. This one is probably my favorite because it's exactly as I pictured it in my mind. A director's vision come true thanks to the talents of Crystal. 

We did it!

We did it! We made our goal on Kickstarter! Now time to put that money to work as we continue pre-production on It's a Joke.

Thank you to everyone who supported. I was very pleasantly surprised at everyone who so generously contributed. I couldn't ask for a better group of kind strangers, friends and family to help me make this shoot a reality. I would not be able to finish this film without any of you, so thank you. 

My Kickstarter Project

So August 6th I put "It's a Joke" up on Kickstarter to help pay for the gallery, catering and production design. 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/685817126/its-a-joke

So far, everyone has been extremely supportive and I feel so grateful to see such kindness from friends and family alike, whether someone contributed or simply spread the word.

I still have 12 days to go and I'm still short a large sum. My goal is $1500 and I'm currently at $713.

I've been spreading the word on facebook, twitter, linkedin, and now forums and my blog. 

I'll be honest, I'm a little worried I won't make it, but I do still have 12 days to go. 

I wrote in one forum why people should contribute and I noted that they would help fund a film that is being shot in San Francisco. After I wrote that I kinda realized, that sort of is a bragging right, isn't it? 

Their World: Inspirations

I finally released my film "Their World" to the internet a few days ago. 

For those who haven't seen it yet, you can find it on my website at www.zuzanavolny.com

I just wanted to talk a little bit about what inspired me to make this film. 

I don't really watch TV, in fact, I don't like it. My quality of life has drastically improved since I solidly stopped watching it two years ago. If I ever do watch TV it's at a friend's house and I'm always appalled by the things I see. 

Sex and violence are the dominant features in films and television and frankly, it's a little degrading. I don't need sex and/or violence to be in a film for me to watch it to begin with. Just give me a good story. Actually, when it comes to sex in films and television, I just think there is a time and place for that. I don't mind it being implied in TV/Film, especially if it contributes to the plot, but most of the time it's just eye-candy, and a lot of the time it objectifies women. 

If you've seen my film, you'll see that there is a clip on the TV of a show from HBO. Yes, I'm making fun of HBO in general, our modern, publicly acceptable soft porn channel. When people talk about how good "Game of Thrones" is, I never know what they're actually thinking. Things like that should be left to the internet and not to TV, please. 

Then there is violence. It seems like that's all we see on TV too. Some level of violence is acceptable, like some needed sex scenes in film, to help move the story forward and help establish relationships between characters. However, there is a point where the violence is just too much and is really about getting the stereotypical young male audience into the theater. I'm not saying I don't like any violence in media, because that's not true. I do like a good, exciting fight, but I just feel like there are limits that should be respected. 

I also touch a little on gossip media, tabloids and magazines. In the beginning, James is holding a Cosmo magazine which is his research for the year 2012. I have magazines as the representative for these times and the ideals people have in today's society. That includes the babe-magazine Megan picks up from the coffee table. 

In all, I honestly cannot articulate my emotions towards the media so I made this film to help send my message across clearly. I have been increasingly frustrated lately with what I do see in stores, on TV, in films and on the internet that I decided to share my opinion with others and hopefully have it attract those who can relate to my idea as well. 

I Can See the Finish Line

The awesomest thing happened last week... I found a gallery!! 

For those who don't know, I've been looking for an art gallery to shoot in so I could finally finish my short-dark comedy "It's a Joke." 

It's a cool little place in North Beach here in San Francisco and it's called The Emerald Tablet. Great name and really great owners. The gallery is what they call a "creativity salon" where they hold art classes, exhibits, performances and much more. Hence, they are letting us shoot my film there! You can check out their website here: wwww.emtab.org

Here is a preview of Piers' painting that will be featured in the film.

Painted by Jeremy Beliveau

I'm so excited to finally get the show on the road again. Stay tuned, because this project may end up on Kickstarter to help us raise funds to make it the best possible shoot we can get!

And I will also keep you all updated because there will be a chance for some of you to come by the day we're shooting to act as extras for the gallery. No acting experience necessary! 

It's a Joke: On the Road Again!

I don't know how many of you know anymore since it's been taking forever to finish this one project, but I've been looking for an art gallery to shoot in. 

The film is called "It's a Joke" and is about a struggling artist named Piers who lives in a world that only appreciates modern-abstract art as opposed to the classical art he likes. 

Half of the film was shot last year for my Directing 1 class, but was never finished due to some unfortunate series of events with gallery rentals. Ever since then I've been on a mission to finish this film. 

What keeps me going?

For one thing, I'm very passionate about this idea and this film and definitely this cast/crew! 

Also, there is a bottle of wine waiting for me that I promised to open only after I've finished filming. Waste not what not.

Well, I'm not getting my hopes up quite yet, but things are looking good. I'm hoping to inform you all soon that I finally have a gallery I can shoot in, and will be able to call wrap very soon. 

Opportunities

So just a couple of weeks ago I was placed to help out on a set of a feature film. Out of courtesy and respect, I will not go into details regarding the name of the film nor the people involved. 


That is all beside the point anyway. I was very excited to help out on this set, especially since it was going to be a month-long commitment. Long story short, things didn't go exactly as planned and the film was scratched. 


I don't care that the filming didn't continue, I was just simply thrilled to meet new people and to be given the opportunity (no matter how short the time I had) to show off my skills as a hard-working, dedicated filmmaker. 


There is nothing more rewarding when someone recognizes you for your hard work and remembers you as a potential crew member for a future film.


The opposite can be said, of course, and people will keep you in their personal black-list of people to never work with again.


How much you care about a project and the people working on it is displayed through how hard you work (or how intelligently you work). 

On the not-so-fly Filmmaking

Hello people of the film world. It has been a while since my last entry... which actually brings me here today. 


Since school ended, I haven't done much in terms of film, and I'd like to share my frustration with you all now. 


Why is it that film school changes people into "must-have-professional-crews-and-professional-equipment" stubborn mules in order to make a short film? What if I just want to go out, on the fly, spontaneously and make a short film? The worst thing that could happen is we learn something new. The best thing that could happen is we get a really good short film out of it, and the most likely thing that could happen is we have a good time, capture a few frames, and discover new ideas.


I really want to go out and film, that's why I'm a film student. But it seems to me when I ask my friends if they want to go out and film they respond with, "well, what are we going to do about sound?" or "okay, but who will be our DP?".... Do you have a camera? Than let's freakn' film! Let us be a three-man crew and film a short story using a few of us as the actors. 


I remember when I used to make short films all by myself. I set the tripod up, I walked in front of the camera, I acted, and I cut it. I edited, I added in sound/music and BAM, i had a short film. If it takes only ONE person to churn out a decent story, why not two or three?


Film is all about story. If the story is good then people start to overlook the quality of the picture/sound/etc. I'm not saying I want to make a shitty-quality film, but what I am saying is I want to practice. I want to practice working with other people, discovering new shots that work, discovering story elements, discovering locations. Why is everyone so determined to have EVERYTHING at their finger tips, including a large crew, a great camera, great sound, the whole 9 yards? We are just students after all, and I'd like to go out with you, my fellow class-mates, and just hangout and make awesome films somewhere.


It doesn't take a whole week to film something. Take a day, a few hours even and film something. Practice. 


If the story works and you want to make something epic out of it... then go the whole 9 yards... but until then, what happened to plain old fun, spontaneous, on the spot filmmaking? 


Who's with me!?! and who wants to do this with me over the summer!?!?


One last thing: There is no such thing as being too busy for filmmaking. 

Penniless Filmmakers, Ha!

So last week I went to a film seminar (sponsored by the San Francisco Film Festival) where they screened a demo reel of films representing 13 film schools in the Bay Area, followed by 5 panelists/Bay Area filmmakers who attempted to answer the question I've been wondering a lot for the past couple of months: Can you make a living in filmmaking in the Bay Area without moving to LA or NY?


Well... they answered my question, but honestly this entire panel was extremely bias. They all have two things in common: 1.) They're all poor and 2.) they choose to be.


Choose to be poor? Yeah, because they're all those typical "artsy fartsy" artists who want to make films that speak to them, that are passionate and that basically don't make any money. A couple of the women on the panel do no-narration documentaries...


Though there is nothing wrong with "artistic" films, I was kind of hoping to get someone on the panel who is actually successful at filmmaking because he/she makes commercial things that actually sell and are marketable. 


Don't get me wrong, I also want to film things I can be passionate about, but I also want it to sell to a broad, commercial audience.


Either way, these people are alive and didn't look like they're starving, so in a way, yes you can make a living here in SF in filmmaking. 


Also, after watching the reel of different films from different schools, Academy of Art is by far the most professional in every sense of the word. Go us! 

"Their World" - Short Sci-Fi satire

Hey guys!

So last Friday I directed a short film for my Directing 2 class. I put a lot of pre-production into it (or so other people thought, I was just doing the work that needed to get done) and it came out a success! My actors did a great job and were easy to work with. Actually, everything flowed really well and without a hitch, so I'm very pleased!

It's in post-production now and it will premiere online by the end of May. However, I will share some sample photos with you before hand! 

I don't really want to give the story away, you guys should watch it for yourselves and gather your own opinion. The gist of it is that a couple of college students from the year 2683 travel back in time to 2012 to see for themselves how the world worked.

I will also add: This short was inspired by today's media and how they exploit sex and violence in pretty much anything we watch or read. The media uses these subjects as a gimmick. I play on that in this short film and I hope people get the message I'm trying spell out.

Here are a few photos from the set!

 

Screenwriting, oi!

I'm taking a moment out of my time to address: Feature screenwriting is really freakn hard. Kudos to all you out there who can do it. 


As of now it deems impossible. I'm used to writing shorts and I feel more confident in that area. However, this is my first ever feature, so I guess I can't be too hard on myself (but i'm very notorious for being my own worst critic). 


Ideas, ideas, ideas. I've never been good at thinking up stories or ideas. If I ever got an idea, it was always a small gift from God that was delivered to me by a white dove, so you probably can imagine good ideas for me are pretty rare. But when I get them, they're awesome! 


So right now, I have a good idea, but I can't flesh it out. 


So you may be wondering then, why the hell did I take this class? Honestly, as difficult as screenwriting has always been for me, there is something rewarding about it. I guess it's the challenge. 
I also want to learn more about the process of screenwriting. Knowing everything just helps you become a better director anyway, so why the hell not?


Also, I've heard from professionals that I have great potential and show more advanced skills in screenwriting. I don't quite know what that means when compared to the rest of my classmates, but I guess that's pretty good news. 




- On a separate note: "It's a Joke" is still on hold. I don't know how many of you know this, but I need a gallery for the location for the rest of our scenes. 


I, again, asked the school to help me, so we'll see what happens, but my hopes aren't very high and the search for a great gallery continues.


Wish me luck. 

First Entry

Many of you said you would read my musings about film and my experiences in it if I posted them in the form of a blog... well, here goes...


First off, thanks for following a student filmmaker's difficult journey. I promise to deliver you the most cinematic experience with all its ups and downs, dramas and absolute silent moments. 


I'll start off this blog explaining the title I have chosen for this blog, and the display name "Reziser ZV." 


"Quixotic Imaginations of a Film Director" ... this pretty much sums me up. The word quixotic is actually one of my favorite words. When I was an English major for two years (studying in Southern Oregon University) I had an English class where the teacher infused such beauty into this word's definition. I related to it immediately. So using this word in my title reflects my past and past inspirations. English is still very much alive within me and I still turn to it and use it in my films - Shakespeare being the greatest example. 


"Reziser" is the Czech word for director. Usually if the director is female the word would be in the feminine "Reziserka" but I find that old fashioned and honestly, kinda silly. In Star Trek, women are referred to as "Sir" just like the men. I find this to be an accurate assumption of feminine vs masculine suffixes in the future. I already hear females being referred to as "actors" as opposed to "actresses." 


Anyway, now you know a little more about me. Stay tuned for lots more about my current film projects, including "It's a Joke" and a Sci-Fi I'm working on for my Directing 2 class as well as anything else I observe in the film world.