On Tap @ Lago's Lounge - 7/6/2007
Happy Friday to ya!
Today’s edition of On Tap is in the form of a special video presentation. Below is a short movie titled “The Script.” I shot it on 16mm black & white film while at NYU in the fall of 1989. I lost the original soundtrack. The version presented here has been re-cut with a new original soundtrack added. Two quick notes: again, I do all my own stunts and yes, I realize this film has the same theme as the “One Step Away” video. Enjoy the show!
The Script (2007)
About the Film:
The film was shot in New York City and Jersey City, N.J. A couple scenes take place in front & behind the Tisch School of the Arts building. The chase scene in the park was shot in Washington Square Park where many a student epic has been filmed. The romantic park scene was shot at the park down the street from my apartment in Jersey City. That was my apartment in the film where Neil is typing and then tosses his notebook out the window.
That’s Neil Webster as the writer. I worked with him in the Dramatic Writing Dept. I believe Neil was a graduate student. He was working on a screenplay at the time about a motorcycle gang that pulls some robberies. I remember him watching a lot of “Easyrider” videos for research.
I don’t recall the girl’s name. She was in my class and part of our production team. There were four members on a team and you would take turns directing a short film. When it was your turn to direct, the other members acted as your crew and many times were also the actors.
“The Script” was my final project for the semester and although we were shooting without audio, we were allowed to add a single non-synchronous soundtrack. The original soundtrack was a phone conversation with “Neil” and “an agent” discussing his latest writing idea, and also consisted of a music track. Originally, I had used the music from the end of “Badlands,” a 1973 film with Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. A lot of people like that film, I did not. But, I liked the music at the end.
I remember when we shot the scenes in Jersey City, I drove into the city and picked up Neil and the girl. Later when we finished, I had to go to work and didn’t have time to drive them back. I paid for their train fare, but that was all I could offer.
The scene where the girl hides around the corner as I run past in the background, hopefully you saw me, it should have been redone at a closer distance. She’s actually in plain view and I used the angle to make it appear that I couldn’t see her.
You may notice there are actually two shots of me falling over the park railing, one from behind and one long shot from the side. We had only one camera, so I had to fall over the railing twice. The fact that a police/security officer was in the scene and turned when I fell was purely coincidental.
There was a scene I cut out of this version at the end where I grab the girl by the shirt. When I shot it, I wasn’t really sure how I was going to end the film. I didn’t tell her what I was going to do and she looks very surprised that I grabbed her. In the scene my character lets go of her shirt and then walks off. I know, not much of an ending and in this re-cut I took it out all together.
When the film was originally edited, I physically cut and spliced the film on a flatbed editor. This new version was edited electronically via Sony Vegas - Vegas baby!
Sorry for any “fans” looking for more from my NYU days. I had only transferred one other film to video and while it looks great (rainy days are excellent for black & white film), I wasn’t pleased with how it turned out. I placed a still image from that film in my opening “Timmay Programming” stamp. Perhaps I can re-cut it much like I did with “The Script,” who knows? I still have more new and old projects to share, maybe that's good news or bad news - c'est la vie.
Salut'!
Today’s edition of On Tap is in the form of a special video presentation. Below is a short movie titled “The Script.” I shot it on 16mm black & white film while at NYU in the fall of 1989. I lost the original soundtrack. The version presented here has been re-cut with a new original soundtrack added. Two quick notes: again, I do all my own stunts and yes, I realize this film has the same theme as the “One Step Away” video. Enjoy the show!
The Script (2007)
About the Film:
The film was shot in New York City and Jersey City, N.J. A couple scenes take place in front & behind the Tisch School of the Arts building. The chase scene in the park was shot in Washington Square Park where many a student epic has been filmed. The romantic park scene was shot at the park down the street from my apartment in Jersey City. That was my apartment in the film where Neil is typing and then tosses his notebook out the window.
That’s Neil Webster as the writer. I worked with him in the Dramatic Writing Dept. I believe Neil was a graduate student. He was working on a screenplay at the time about a motorcycle gang that pulls some robberies. I remember him watching a lot of “Easyrider” videos for research.
I don’t recall the girl’s name. She was in my class and part of our production team. There were four members on a team and you would take turns directing a short film. When it was your turn to direct, the other members acted as your crew and many times were also the actors.
“The Script” was my final project for the semester and although we were shooting without audio, we were allowed to add a single non-synchronous soundtrack. The original soundtrack was a phone conversation with “Neil” and “an agent” discussing his latest writing idea, and also consisted of a music track. Originally, I had used the music from the end of “Badlands,” a 1973 film with Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. A lot of people like that film, I did not. But, I liked the music at the end.
I remember when we shot the scenes in Jersey City, I drove into the city and picked up Neil and the girl. Later when we finished, I had to go to work and didn’t have time to drive them back. I paid for their train fare, but that was all I could offer.
The scene where the girl hides around the corner as I run past in the background, hopefully you saw me, it should have been redone at a closer distance. She’s actually in plain view and I used the angle to make it appear that I couldn’t see her.
You may notice there are actually two shots of me falling over the park railing, one from behind and one long shot from the side. We had only one camera, so I had to fall over the railing twice. The fact that a police/security officer was in the scene and turned when I fell was purely coincidental.
There was a scene I cut out of this version at the end where I grab the girl by the shirt. When I shot it, I wasn’t really sure how I was going to end the film. I didn’t tell her what I was going to do and she looks very surprised that I grabbed her. In the scene my character lets go of her shirt and then walks off. I know, not much of an ending and in this re-cut I took it out all together.
When the film was originally edited, I physically cut and spliced the film on a flatbed editor. This new version was edited electronically via Sony Vegas - Vegas baby!
Sorry for any “fans” looking for more from my NYU days. I had only transferred one other film to video and while it looks great (rainy days are excellent for black & white film), I wasn’t pleased with how it turned out. I placed a still image from that film in my opening “Timmay Programming” stamp. Perhaps I can re-cut it much like I did with “The Script,” who knows? I still have more new and old projects to share, maybe that's good news or bad news - c'est la vie.
Salut'!
Comments