Back to main site.Weekend with Ondi
Posted by Richie | Filed under inspirational, musings and humor
A few weeks back Futuristic organized a very special weekend for one of our most esteemed directors, 2x Grand Jury Prize winner of the Sundance Film Festival, Ondi Timoner. The weekend included Q&A sessions with Ondi as well as a provocative panel discussion on the topic of the emerging virtual world and its effects on advertising and culture.
The star-studded panel:
ONDI TIMONER / Director of We Live in Public
E.F. RODRIGUEZ / Social Media Expert and Writer for the Huffington Post
SCOTT PRINDLE / Crispin Porter + Bogusky - SVP of Interactive
ALEX “BURNIE” BURNARD / Crispin Porter + Bogusky - Creative Director
Moderated by
BRENDAN KIERNAN / Executive Producer of Futuristic Films
If you were there… you know, and if you weren’t… you missed out… and if you have not seen either of her films. (tsk tsk) (which would surprise me…Netflix has been recommending them to me for months) do not live and breath another second until you do so.
I was so lucky as to have the privilege of carting her to and from the airport all weekend and as a budding filmmaker myself, the quiet time on a 1 hour car ride was all I could ever ask for. She has so many ridiculous stories (more lives than a cat, that woman!)
Ondi is the epitome of a true documentary filmmaker… a force of nature. Not to gush, but her work seems solely indicative of her person with uncanny intuition paired with some serious social/political prowess. Clarity emerges through her storytelling. Her films not only exude an authentic sensitivity to issues but effortlessly engage you in those issues. Her company, Interloper Films was founded upon the idea of injecting herself and her team into a situation of which she doesn’t intrinsically belong.
She debuted “We Live in Public” at Sundance. The film considers some of the darker effects of modern media and technology on our personal identity through an examination of “the greatest internet pioneer you’ve never heard of”, Josh Harris. The dot-com millionaire had an affinity for expensive fascist-themed social experiments that eventually led to his mental breakdown.
Incredible films and an incredible lady! Check out Ondi’s work at www.interloperfilms.com
MORE BIG NEWS !!!
Interloper is thrilled to announce the imminent Video-on-Demand and DVD releases of WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, on March 1st and March 2nd. Go here for more details. (http://www10.dcccafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?articleid=782463)
Tags: inspirational, musings and humor
The Etown Endurance Test
Posted by Richie | Filed under Uncategorized, musings and humor
In my last post I mentioned that I was fortunate enough to inherit the footage that we captured for Etown (National Broadcast Radio show aired weekly on NPR).
What do I mean by inherit?
Well, many a month ago I started as an intern with Futuristic Films doing some assistant editing, and on my first day I was introduced to the Etown project. Originally, Etown partnered with Futuristic to concept, produce, and help distribute a film that captured the spirit, musical eclecticism, and force for positive change that is Etown. Futuristic shot about a hundred hours of unique, cinematic, and emotionally gripping footage for story development. This included hour long interviews with Nick and Helen Forster (the etown visionaries) and interviews with the entire star-studded cast for the concert etown produced during the Democratic National Convention at the Buell Theatre. *James Taylor, Ani Difranco, Irma Thomas, Tom Morello, and Crosby and Nash! I almost forgot to mention brief interviews with John Hickenlooper (Mayor of Denver), Bill Ritter (Governor), and Robert Kennedy Jr. Here’s a behind the scenes taste of Bobby Kennedy Jr….
” The reason we don’t have a clean environment is because we’ve got a news media that doesn’t work in this country. It’s broken. It was broken because in 1988, Ronald Reagan abolished the Fairness Doctrine and it eliminated the responsibility for the airwaves, which are owned by the public, to serve the public interest and to promote American democracy. So now their only obligation is to their shareholders. they meet that obligation, not by informing us, but by entertaining us, by appealing to the lowest common denominator, which is the prurient interest which all of us have, in the reptilian core of our brains for sex and celebrity gossip. So, they give us Lindsay Logan and Paris Hilton and Americans today are the best entertained and least informed people on the face of the earth. And you cannot have democracy very long if you don’t have an informed public. That is the principle role that this organization (etown) plays.” CASE CLOSED!
Anyway, I absolutely fell in love with the potential of this project, and filed the papers for adoption! There is something about experiencing hope, collective progress, empowered activism, and constructive dialogue wrapped in a sticky ball of awe-inspiring musical exhibitionism that just gets me every time.
Ugh… but man, has it been a marathon. I did not completely comprehend the infamous woes of editing long format projects i.e. live events (concerts, sport events, awards ceremonies etc.) with a half dozen cameras running simultaneously. I HAVE SEEN the Etown-DNC concert from any and every angle in the book (the unabridged version, mind you). And don’t get me wrong, the cinematography is tasty, but sifting through all the hours is like eating too much desert.
On an up-note, I have learned a ton and have brought this project through the phase for footage review and have just now put together something resembling a pre-pubescent trailer.
In the end you learn that the ups and downs of this sort of work is what you were begging to sign up for to begin with.
Onward!
Tags: behind-the-scenes, musings and humor
Chronicles of a Futuristic Intern
Posted by Richie | Filed under behind-the-scenes, musings and humor, new work
My name is Richie Kendall, and I am an intern.
As a 22 year old, I am a spring chicken in the land of post-grad career building. Two months ago I was brought on as an intern with Futuristic Films.
Without completely spilling the beans, let me tell you a little bit about my experience thus far, how I’ve been contributing, and a little more about the company that is courting my karma.
For me, the sole “handy man” intern, every day is different. I go home at the end of the day with a feeling of exhilaration. Similar to the that of a newborn giraffe after a long day of gravity combat. Speaking of which, as an intern, I do a lot of legwork: digitizing footage (transferring tapes into our archives), exporting and compressing projects for different applications (web, DVD, iPhone), running mundane errands, but the glimmers of creative input on projects and the exaltation of a project completed make the whole experience worth writing home about.
Last month, I was on my first commercial set as a P.A., producing 3 broadcast spots for Fortune Valley Casino. We were on set for 14 hours. (I know what you’re thinking) Surprisingly, the whole day flew by. I was an extra in a few of the scenes, and having had a glance in post-production, have discovered that my right shoulder and the back of my head made it into the final project. Someday, they will be famous. (still looking for an agent) Anyways, overall I was very impressed by the talent that was casted for the spots and had a great time getting to know the production crew and agency creatives over the two “on the house” meals. The most home-hitting takeaway from the experience was that this is an extraordinarily exciting industry to work in. Another notable takeaway; I look like a glorified idiot in a headset…
Two weeks ago, I helped shoot interviews for a short documentary on Sean Swarner (two-time terminal cancer survivor who has gone on to crest all seven summits of the earth with only one lung). Holy Mother! Sean is an inspiration. It was cool to meet him and his family and be a part of transmitting his story on a more massive scale.
When I am not immersed in a task or project of extreme emergency, I work on the initial editing for a potential feature-length documentary that we shot for E-town - a diverse musical segment on (NPR). The film is focused around a concert they organized at the Buell Theatre for the Democratic National Convention with legendary artists James Taylor, Ani Difranco, Crosby and Nash, Irma Thomas, and Tom Morello among others. It is my job to find and pull out the footage that could potentially be used for the final documentary. There is a lot of footage (days worth) here and the task becomes monotonous at times, but I have just finished pulling what I have deemed the *select footage and am ready for the next phase of this process.
Last week, I authored the reels of all of Futuristic’s directors to be mailed and given to agencies all over the country. This makes me feel important…a rare feeling. So, I am now a DVD authoring pro and have had a wonderful time familiarizing myself with the work of all of our uber-talented directors. Check out the work of two of our newest directors; Jamin Winans (Director of Ink) and Nick Goossen (Director of Grandma’s Boy)
Ink Trailer by Director Jamin Winans
IFHM Viral Video by Director Nick Goossen
Well, I should get back to work before the crack of the whip. Gotta get back to “trying not to break or mess anything up.”
My next post will undoubtedly yield more excitement, and equally, more dread from the lonesome life of a self-prescribed slave.
Intern Out.
The Ripple Effect and an Old Friend
Posted by Brendan | Filed under behind-the-scenes, musings and humor, new work
The Ripple Effect plays to a sold out premiere crowd
After premiering on January 2nd, our new feature documentary, The Ripple Effect, had two encore showings in Aspen, Colorado at the historic Wheeler Opera House this past weekend. The action sports film focuses on the various ways people pass on inspiration, from generation to generation, from sibling to sibling, and between friends. The film received and incredible reception, with both two packed shows.
For the FF crew, it was a great opporutnity to spend some time in the mountains, visit with old friends, and experience one of the great joys of filmmaking — actually getting to show your work to people who appreciate it.
One old friend we visted with was the artist Gino Hollander, one of the stars of a film we did a few years back called Mountain Town. Gino is in his mid-80s and has an incredible perspective on life and what makes it meaningful. After 20+ years in the Aspen valley, Gino and his incredibly charming wife Barbara are picking up sticks and heading to Ojai, California to start over. Apparently, the altitude and cold winters at 8,000 feet are just getting to be a bit too much for Gino.
Here is a man that fought and was wounded in World War II, had a successful career as a filmmaker, gave everything up to become an artist at 38, moved to Spain and lived abroad for 30 years, and then, at age 60+ moved back to Aspen and took up backcountry snowmobiling. And now, when most people are picking out grave plots, he’s at it again, reinventing his life and wringing every second out of the unforgiving minute.
A friend of mine, who met Gino this past weekend for the first time, remarked that Gino had, in the words of Paulo Coehlo an “elemental faith for life”. Read more of Berto’s deep thoughts here at his Joy Engine blog post.
An elemental faith for life…I like that. I like that, alot.