Answer Print - Fall 2011

answer print Fall 2011

Hernan Moreno “The Gift”

INSPIRATION Our Quarterly Manifesto Members’ Missives Pre-production Film as . . . inspiration!

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DSLR CIFF Film Review Barbara Hammer CSIF News

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The Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers (CSIF) October 2011, Vol. 20, #2 J2, 2711 Battleford Ave. SW Calgary, AB T3E 7L4 Telephone: 403-205-4747 E-Mail: operations@csif.org Website: www.csif.org Submissions, or to volunteer for Answer Print: email programming@csif.org Editor: Melanie Wilmink Designer: Dave Reynolds Copy Editor: Erin Sneath Contributors: Yvonne Abusow, Kelly Eshpeter, Gillian McKercher, Katrina OlsonMottahed, Signe Olynyk, Erin Sneath.

CSIF Board of Directors Melody Jacobson (President) David Jones (VP) Erin Sneath (Secretary) Keely Bruce (Treasurer) Directors: Caitlind Brown, Brendan French, Barry Leggett, David Ratzlaff CSIF Staff: Yvonne Abusow, Production Coordinator, Bobbie Todd, Operations Coordinator Melanie Wilmink, Programming Coordinator.

CSIF is grateful for the involvement of its members, the network of artist-run cooperatives throughout Canada and for the financial assistance of its funders— The Alberta Foundation for the Arts; The Canada Council for the Arts; Calgary Arts Development, —and from its donors—members and individuals.

Quarterly Manifesto I have had a difficult time starting this manifesto.

I guess I always assumed manifestos were angry rants against the government and were meant to sway the readers into thinking the same way the writer does.

If that is the case, I’m going to write the antimanifesto instead… and that means you can think however you like.

Creativity can come from anywhere and anything. I am sure that if I told you to think like me, filmmaking or any other creative endeavor would become pretty boring, pretty quickly (not that I’m boring, just that we would be inundated with the same product day in and day out). When it comes to art and creation no one approaches the same topic the same way, and isn’t that refreshing? There are endless possibilities within creation. So read this if you want… but it’s cool either way.

I’ve been told that in order to make films you need to be passionate about it, because when you hit the “dark night of the soul” - and you will - the passion you have for your project will help get you through it.

Yes, you need the passion, but I think you also need

the distraction and chaos of life to keep you sane. I have made a list of distractions that can inspire creativity: Have a hobby outside of your artistic practice, hang out with people who know nothing about what you do, destroy something rather than build something, go on adventures, let someone explain your project back to you, invite people into your projects (they may be able to carry some of that passion for you), take a relationship break with your project, drink with friends, listen to music, read a book, go watch a trashy movie, watch an excellent movie, go to an art gallery, have a great conversation, make a delicious meal, exercise, stretch, sleep.

That list was pretty much do everything but work on your project.

I haven’t practiced this technique fully, but I have found that many of my ideas have come from different times and places, doing things that had nothing to do with my artistic practice. My only caution is to use these techniques with balance in mind, because distractions can be…distracting.

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Members’ Missives know it is easy for us creative types to become so ensconced in our own work that we forget there is a world outside of what we are doing. The list is to help you remember that you exist outside of your project. There will be a time you need to recognize this, because when everything falls apart, it can and it will, you can let go of the things you thought you needed, change your approach and problem solve.

The distractions allow for movement and change to occur in your work.

Just remember that you need to be in the world to create, and if you disappear from it then you lose the things that inspire your creativity, so good luck on your creative quest. May it find you slightly distracted.

by Yvonne Abusow CSIF Production Coordinator

full schedule at www.csif.org

by Signe Olynyk Unmotivated.

Lazy.

Creatively constipated. Is this you?

It happens to all of us. We’re all overworked, underpaid, overwhelmed, and under-appreciated. From time to time, this stew of exhaustion can cause us to lose focus and drive, and our artistic engines can stall. BUT, there is good news. It is called a solution.

I write this because I have been dealing with my own creative exhaustion. Let me back up.

Three years ago, I had a low budget concept about a guy locked in a meat freezer. As someone who is always trying to make ‘Ben Hur in five minutes’, the simplicity of this idea was a personal breakthrough. But as I wrote the script, I was overcome with the worst case of writer’s block imaginable.

I went to film festivals and conferences.

I took classes and read books. I stared at my computer screen and drank buckets of caffeine. One day, I even strapped myself to a chair to keep from fleeing the keyboard. Where was the inspiration that would get me through the hell of writing this ‘man in a box’, script?

After months of little progress, I tried this wondrous thing called the internet. I googled. Meat freezer. Slaughterhouse.

Trapped in cooler. Words that I hoped would trigger some sort of creative anything. As I searched, I came across an abandoned slaughterhouse near Edson, Alberta that was for sale. After contacting the woman who owned it, I asked if I could come for a visit.

When I got there, I asked if she would lock me in her freezer, and NOT LET ME OUT – until the script was done.

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Missives: Slaughterhouse Inspiration Admittedly, this does sound somewhat…extreme. Looking back, the expression on her face (part fear, part confusion, mixed with a whole lot of “are you friggin’ kidding”) was understandable.

But anyone who knows me (and my purple hair) also understands how obsession, and the quest for authenticity in one’s craft often removes the ability to reason.

After spending five days locked in the freezer, I emerged with a completed script. A year later, we were in production on the feature film, Below Zero, filming in the same location I wrote it, with stars Edward Furlong (Green Hornet, American History X, Terminator II), horror icon, Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, Weird Science), and Kristin Booth (Young People Fucking,The Kennedys).

I’ll write another time about how we did THAT. But for now, let’s get back to that solution I promised you. How do you get past your own creative ice block?

Where do you find inspiration in your own life?

I’m not saying you have to lock yourself in the freezer of an abandoned slaughterhouse to write a great script. But you do have to be willing to do what it takes.

Inspiration is a luxury, and we should all cling to it when the muse strikes, like the welcome friend she is. Most of the time, we have to create our own inspiration. To my workaholic mind, that generally means making a ‘to do list’ and racing around to accomplish a whole bunch of things to ‘inspire’ inspiration. But the opposite is generally true. What we really need to do…is often, nothing.

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Signe Olnyk

movies, books, and tv shows we love.

Taking walks and ‘nature moments’ where we simply breathe and appreciate the world we live in. Getting rest and taking vacations, so we are capable of even being inspired.

I haven’t decided what I am going to write next, but having myself locked up in a freezer seemed to be the only way I could overcome my own writer’s block.

Perhaps my next script will be about some guy, trapped in Club Med. That sounds so…inspiring.

Signe Olynyk is a Calgary based Writer / Producer, who also is founder of the Great American PitchFest & Screenwriting Conference, held annually in Los Angeles, CA (www.pitchfest.com). You can check out her movie, ‘Below Zero’ at www.belowzeromovie. com or email her directly at: info@belowzeromovie.com.

Pre-Production with Pisio

by Gillian McKercher Before Lyle Pisio’s films gained recognition as unique, compelling, and experimental artworks, they all traveled through arguably the most frustrating process of filmmaking: pre-production.

With an impressive repertoire of stopmotion animation shorts such as Wrecking Ball and The Empress, Lyle will bring years of experience to a new workshop at the CSIF. In the Artistic Visioning: Pre-production Planning workshop, participants can expect to gain insight into their own pre-production nuances through Lyle’s discussion of his own preproduction planning, camera tests, and creative problem solving.

Pre-production is undoubtedly a challenging test of mental and creative commitment, with some projects taking

years before being fully developed. For the independent filmmaker especially, burdened with piece-meal budgets, day jobs, and in some cases, a lack of experience, executing a film with full confidence is daunting. Lyle sympathizes: “at some point during every project I’ve worked on I’ve gone through periods where I wonder what the hell I’m doing, [why] everything I do is crap”. Creating a film with artistic integrity is another brick in a wall of building anxiety; after all, nobody wishes to produce a piece criticized for “lack of inspiration”. This term is described by Lyle as “movies that lack an emotional, spiritual, or intellectual excitement, safe, repetitive, formulaic pap that pretty much copies someone else’s safe repetitive formulaic crap”. Uninspired,

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that really, even if I’m right and my film’s all trash, there’s really no better way I can think of to spend my time. So, I grab my mile-long to-do list for the project, pick out the really juicy things I’ve been saving for such an occasion and dig in. Usually, after a day of doing the ‘fun’ bits, I’m ready to get back to the grind”.

While Lyle acknowledges that he can actively find inspiration by looking to other directors’ work, such as Kurosawa and Svankmejer, he maintains that such clear-cut sources are not necessarily the best way to facilitate an epiphany. “I’m not trying to be coy here, my process is pretty long and I see pre-production in a very broad way that expands to most of the project itself. As with most things that I do, I try to keep decision making to a minimum, having a general idea for a project that slowly forms itself over time.

For me, this keeps the idea fresh, and also keeps me from making a film that feels ‘forced’”.

Pisio is currently working on a stopmotion piece title Until the End featuring puppets and a set that appeared in his previous films.

a filmmaker’s ambition is depressed, a state with the characteristic symptoms of “wanting to go to bed, eat cookies, and play video games”.

Despite the set-backs of preproduction, Lyle hopes his workshop will act as a source of guidance and inspiration through the process. “This workshop is mostly a case study in the process of preproduction. I’m hoping people will be able to come out of the session with ideas for themselves as to how they should go about it. I don’t necessarily mean they should follow what I do, but by seeing how someone else does pre-production, hopefully they will get ideas as to what works and doesn’t work for them. And by discussing the process with others, I’m hoping to maybe get some fresh ideas for myself.” There may be “as many different processes as there are filmmakers”, but a unifying feature amongst artists is the task “to portray ‘larger’ truths like love, fear, anger and happiness”.

“Uninspired, a filmmaker’s ambition is depressed, a state with the characteristic symptoms of wanting to go to bed, eat cookies, and play video games”

The Artistic Visioning, Pre-production Planning with Filmmaker Lyle Pisio workshop will be held on Saturday November 26, 1pm - 5pm at the CSIF office. Member price is $45 and non-member price is $90, limit to 8 participants.

When asked how he perseveres through episodes of self-doubt, Lyle responded that he spends “some really quality time pouting until I remember -7-

DSLR: Canon 5D

by Kelly Eshpeter In the first Back To The Future movie, Doctor Emmet Brown looked in astonishment at Marty McFly’s JVC camcorder calling it a “portable television studio”. What would Doc Brown think about the camera hanging from his neck if it could make feature films? Clearly, the Canon 5D Mark II has taken film making to another leap into the future.

The Mark II is a small, unassuming machine that that has been used for everything from vacation photos to episodic TV filming. If you haven’t had a chance to try this recent addition to the CSIF’s inventory, you’ll probably be amazed at what you can do with it. The Mark II is capable of full 1080p HD, giving you the same recording capability as George Lucas had on Attack of the Clones (but without the $150,000 price tag).

So can you produce great motion picture images with a DSLR that fits into a small gadget bag? It depends -how steady can you hold such a small unit? What about focussing on the move? That’s where some important accessories turn a still camera into a real cinematic machine.

The CSIF has also acquired a Red Rock Micro kit which allows for steadier shooting by adding hand grips on either side of the body. This widens the shooting platform so small move moments are absorbed over a greater area. But another potential source of jarring movements can come from handling the

focus ring on the lens barrel. For this we have a follow-focus kit that provides smooth control by locating a control knob at one of the handles on the mounting kit. There’s also a very slick Sony LCD monitor available to add even more to a great professional shooting package.

Feedback from users is decidedly positive, citing its ease of use, portability, and high image quality as some of the reasons. Another plus is that firmware updates have allowed a greater degree of manual control; if you’ve ever watched a Digital Short on Saturday Night Live, chances are you’ve seen some work that the Mark II is capable of.

Will the 5D Mark II make everyone a great film shooter? No... but it will make high quality film making more accessible than ever before.

CSIF will host an introduction to its new camera kit in the Visual Story Telling with the DSLR workshop. Workshop runs December 3 & 4 with instructor Aaron Bernakevich. Cost is $190 for members and $240 for non-members.

Enrolment is limited to 8 participants.

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CIFF Film Review: Amy George

by Erin Sneath life feel. A tough balance.

Amy George, the first feature for Amy George is beautifully shot, mostly Canadian writer-director team Yonah with a handheld camera, and the visuals Lewis and Calvin Thomas, manages reflect Jesse’s need to notice beautiful what many coming-of-age tales cannot; details in life, like the artist he wants to it is a naturalistic slice of life and has be. The casting is well done. Gabriel del a protagonist with strong aspirations. Castillo Mullally’s Jesse doesn’t have a lot Thirteen-year-old Jesse has all the normal of facial expression but he doesn’t need to. confusions of a person his age, but he wants He is completely natural, as if the movie to be an artist, a real artist, and according camera were not there at all on set. Jesse’s to a book he finds, the key to being a real parents, the mother in particular, seem a artist is to make love to a woman. Gender bit cartoony at times - which I suspect was politics aside (what if one were a gay male a conscious choice on the filmmakers parts or straight female artist or asexual?) this in order to firmly ground the film’s point is potentially scary if you’re thirteen and adulthood seems epically far away. Jesse’s answer is to take risks, worry his parents, and find his muse in a girl named Amy George.

The film covers a surprising amount of ground despite its leisurely pacing. It asks about the rights of the subject in art, rather than just the rights of the artist. When Jesse sneaks a photograph of Gabriel del Castillo Mullally as Jesse in Amy George Amy, she insists on seeing it and on having a more active influence on him. of view as Jesse’s. A particular highlight is The story also gets into themes of identity Natasha Allan as Tara, the lovably flawed - not surprising for a coming-of-age film. family friend who speaks to Jesse as an Jesse’s mother is fixated on pinpointing adult. who he is, mostly about his sexuality and One of the strengths of Amy George is its whether or not he is likeable, while Jesse innocent humour.There is a lovely comical wants to discover himself on his own. moment when Jesse admits to his friend Although he speaks very little and Liv that he wishes he were a member of rarely emotes visibly, Jesse’s point of a disenfranchised group so that he would view is clear. This is an impressive feat have a reason for rage and passion. “If we on the part of the directors, being clear were gay and homeless, we’d be famous.” without leading the audience by the hand Amy George is sweet, and a valiant effort or resorting to cliches. It also follows the on a low budget. It’s the quiet story of a traditional three-act-structure for the youth trying to live out loud, and that’s all most part while maintaining that slice-of- it needs to be.

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Barbara Hammer

By Katrina Olson-Mottahed “I would like to be considered a poet of images…I am a visual poet, a poet of vision, a visionary.” –Barbara Hammer (HAMMER!: Making Movies Out of Sex and Life, The Feminist Press, NYC, 2010) Barabara Hammer is one of the most, if not the most, important queer and feminist filmmakers of our time. Hammer has been concerned with creating, documenting, and correcting history of queer film (specially but not limited to Lesbian films) since the 1970’s; her found footage spans the 20th Century and creates a new visual refection of the past.

On September 2, I drove to Banff from Calgary, and for the first time in my life arrived at the Banff Centre. I had often heard about this place in passing from other artists, but hadn’t realized how wonderful it actually was until I saw it for myself. Before the screening of her films, Hammer came out to center stage and read the prologue to her book (HAMMER!: Making Movies Out of Sex and Life). She then introduced the first film, BarbaraWard Will Never Die. It was a film Hammer made right out of film school, while married to her husband at the time - hence the last name “Ward”. The film was shot on Super 8 film, and the imagery was shifty and out of focus, moving through trees. After the film, Hammer explained that these were not emotionally preconceived images; the camera just documented Hammer moving through the cemetery, knocking down tombstones, showing her control of the film: a marriage of feeling and images.

Optic Nerve (16mm, 1985) was the first film of Hammer’s that I ever saw, in my experimental film class in 2009.

I remember in my introduction to this film, I felt that it was dark in emotion

but also had some humor because of the non-diegetic sound used throughout.

The footage of the woman being pushed throughout a sterile environment is a grainy, decomposing image, almost to the point of being abstracted. The degradation of the image is very symbolic of the degradation of life, and how we all decompose the same way. Vanishing into nothingness that cannot be recognizable in the end. The sound is mechanical, which I think cuts down on the emotion in this film. The minimalist soundtrack carries a strong rhythm with a base drum, and the advancing video equipment, and it guides the film. Hammer’s explanation of the film personalized the heaviness of the subject matter, which I would have not understood otherwise. The lady being pushed around in the film was Hammer’s grandmother and she was visiting her at her nursing home while filming.

The next film was Sanctus, a 16mm film made in 1990 with found footage discovered by Hammer in the home of George Eastman in Rochester, New York.

Like the other films, Sanctus deals with mortality. The images are from nitrate X-Ray film that contained both male and female subjects performing activities such as eating, drinking, or playing musical instruments. There were also a few animals in the film, including a rabbit, a snake, and a lizard. Positive and negative images flickered like optic nerves and scratches, drawing on the film. Classical compositions that were instrumental and choral contributed largely to a very different mood in this film. It felt more retro, and yet more contemporary, than the previous films made by Hammer.

There was still a lot of repetition and overlapping/super-imposition in this film,

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is Not a Metaphor (2008).

This film really caught me off guard because I did not expect it to quite as literal, or raw, as it turned out to be. The film documents Hammer’s stage 3 ovarian cancer chemotherapy treatments in “rounds” as a metaphor for a rodeo. This film was very connected to nature and relationship between animals, nature, and their environment.

There were many superimpositions of horses on Hammer, and visa versa.The close-ups were sometimes so close that the images were unrecognizable and melded Hammer and the horses. The horses in the film also overcame different cancers.

This film really took me by surprise, the same way as if someone had told me they survived a shark attack. The powerful images and use of Katrina Olson-Mottahed with Barbara Hammer the footage was so intimate, unlike her other films which however the musical arrangement, in felt more secret and removed. Perhaps the unison with the moving images, became changes came with the age/experience like choreographed dance numbers which that built confidence in her artistic made the film less loose in approach medium.

There are very few experiences than her previous films. Like the other I have absorbed in quite the same way as films, Hammer personalized the work by A Horse is Not a Metaphor; it likely had a explaining that all the doctors who were lot to do with the previous films and the in the found footage died of cancer due to experience as a whole of having Hammer radiation exposure from the x-ray machine read from her book to open and close the used to record on the nitrate film. films, followed by the Q&A session.

The last film Hammer showed was a On Saturday I also attended Hammer’s recent film made on video entitled A Horse Media Maven Masterclass. We started the - 13 -

Barbara Hammer continued from pg. 13

day with a meditation session of imagined visualization into our own bodies, followed by a visual script we constructed on a life-sized outline of our bodies. These drawings/collages became the script for our own experimental films, based on the body parts we were assigned or chose.

Mine happened to be the pelvis, which I chose because it was the most colorful part of my drawing, and as a woman I identify it with the power of creation, which allows me to produce another human life. Personally it feels like the most powerful part of my female body and so I visualized how I wanted my film to appear based on these feelings. Our master class was essentially ten women who all had very strong creative energy flowing and

I wanted to try and channel the feeling that gave me as an artist into a film.

Working with Hammer on our projects was an amazing experience; she has such a calming and happy presence to her being.

It was very nurturing to the creation of the experimental films we were creating ourselves, which can be seen on my website: www.olmo.ca

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“For woman artists everywhere May your pleasures in creating be huge; Your path sound; your fears, vanished; Your success valued.

Yours is the future I write for.�

-Barbara Hammer (From her new book: HAMMER!: Making Movies Out of Sex and Life,The Feminist Press, NYC, 2010)

On the Slate: CSIF News CSIF Events

Call for Submissions

Question & Answer Print Lab with Corey Lee October 20 @ 7pm CSIF Sofa Cinema - free admission Experienced filmmaker and CSIF member Corey Lee will discuss his process, the films he makes and the filmmakers that influence him. Q & A includes a screening of Corey’s films and discussion.

…one-eight-challenge…

Processing deadline: Nov 1 Join the CSIF for a fun Super 8 production challenge. Shoot a short film, editing in camera and screen it at the CSIF Christmas party. It will also be eligible for the $100 Film Festival! www.csif. org for more details.

AMAAS Arts Party - November 19 @ 8pm The Royal Canadian Legion #1 - 116 7 Ave SE Calgary Tickets at the door - $15 CSIF Members, $20 General Admission.

Join the CSIF and other AMAAS members for a fantastic networking event. The Arts Party will host musical acts, media art, silent auctions and more! All funds raised go towards the AMAAS Spirit of Helen Award. More information: www. amaas.ca

$100 Film Festival Deadline Dec 1, 2011 Short films (under 22min), finished on Super 8 or 16mm film. www.100dollarfilmfestival.org for more details.

CSIF Member Films Ongoing deadlines Films by CSIF members, utilizing CSIF resources.

Will be juried for Member screenings & other exhibitions.

Classic Film Screenings - please note the screenings have been postponed until 2012.

Additional festival call for submissions: http://

ARTiCAL - Meetings on the 4th Tuesday of every month. 6pm @ at the EMMEDIA. Join a collective of writers to discuss critical writing and increase your own skill through workshops. E-mail programming@csif.org for more information or to RSVP to the next meeting.

imaa.ca/en/index.php/news/submissions Grant Deadlines

Alberta Creative Development Initiative: Grants to Individuals - 1 November 2011

Workshops

Volunteer Opportunities

The CSIF Fall Workshop schedule is available now. Go to www.csif.org for more details.

Upcoming: Lighting for Film & Video - Oct 22 & 23 (Allan Belya) $135 CSIF Members, $180 Non-Members Super 8 Transfer - Oct 29 (Yvonne Abusow) $45 CSIF Members, $90 Non-Members Writing the Short Film - Nov 12, 17, Dec 1, 10 (Corey Lee) $260 CSIF Members, $310 NonMembers Production Sound - Nov 19 & 20 (Mike Markiw) $145 CSIF Members, $190 Non-Members Artistic Visioning: Pre-production Planning Nov 26 (Lyle Pisio) $45 CSIF Members, $90 Non- Members Visual Storytelling with the DSLR - Dec 3 & 4 (Aaron Bernakevich) $190 CSIF Members, $240 Non-Members

Clean-up and Inventory - CSIF will be running several sessions to clean and inventory our space in November. If you are interested, please call (403) 205 4747 or e-mail programming@csif.org $100 Film Festival Committee - meetings through the fall and into the new year to plan the 20th Anniversary Answer Print Journal & CSIF Blog - needs writers for the new year.

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