With the film-making component of Creative Scotland well under way, (Leadership Team Lines Up, June 10th) one can hope that encouraging and supporting Scottish artists will contribute not only to our cultural heritage but also to our exports.

As one of a relatively small number of Scottish screenwriters who has had a film or two produced, my own experience with previous bodies was less than happy. Twenty years ago, British Screen told me my scripts were too commercial and had the potential to make a profit. A frightening thought. Scottish Screen were much more enthusiastic and welcoming but unfortunately lost my script behind a filing cabinet for three years.

In despair, I went to America. I sold my first script within three weeks. Two months later, I pitched a story about Edinburgh’s criminal underworld to Madonna’s Maverick Pictures. They bought the idea and rewrote it for a Miami location.

That summed it up for me at the time, but in retrospect I should have stuck my ground in Scotland and not succumbed to the mighty dollar.

We should be making films by ourselves, about ourselves. Digital technology has given us the means to do so relatively inexpensively. We have the finest locations and remarkable talents in all departments. Not least, we have stories from our past and our present.

We cannot compete toe-to-toe with Hollywood but if we can focus less on bringing expensive foreign productions to Scotland and more on the worldwide distribution of well-crafted Scottish films, we’ll have the mindset to succeed. And perhaps make hefty profits too!

Markus Innocenti

And why should “senior figures” have raised these doubts? Lets take a look at the three key executives. Caroline Parkinson, who will be in charge of Skills Training for the Visual Arts (among others duties,) has a resume with no experience in this area. She is a photographer and a member of Scotland’s rhythmic gymnastics squad. Iain Munro, who will be a director of creative development (in other words, deciding which filmmakers and which projects get development funding) is a student of singing and economics who has overseen Lottery Funding for arts and creative industries. Perhaps the most experienced of the three named so far is Venu Dhupa. A former chief executive of Nottingham Theatre, her tenure as Head of Arts at the British Council ended in resignation after her strategy and methods “sparked an artists’ revolt”.

It took me a moment to digest this - perhaps because of weary disbelief. But only a moment.

Not one of these key people appears to have had any film industry experience. They may have some experience in handing out taxpayer or lottery player money to “artists” - but none in evaluating film projects or in developing screenplays. Nor do they have any experience in film financing, film production or, most important of all, film distribution.

I was not one of the “senior figures” referred to. Obviously an over-sight! So I decided to write a Letter to The Editor of The Scotsman. You can find it in my next post.

Saturday night’s Gala Award ceremony brought indie film-lovers out from all over the Chicago area. Roger Ebert received an emotional welcome, Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark) was there to hand over the Best Actress award, and Jim Peterik (Survivor, .38 Special) performed a rousing acoustic version of his “Eye of The Tiger” which got the audience suitably pumped to rise up to the challenge of a rival.

“worldfullofnothing” lost out to G.R. Kearny’s  “Handicapped” for Best Feature, but in a tense, Oscar-worthy moment, the announcement for Best Director came down to two words. Jesse Pomeroy.

Much excitement ensued from the “worldfullofnothing” table as Jesse collected a handsome trophy (fabricated by the same folks who make the better-known Academy Award) — and I learned that it is a good feeling to stroll around the after-party with an award under your arm.

Naperville is a fest still in its infancy, but organizers Glessna and Edmond Coisson, Daniel Nigg and Gary Pradel are working hard to create a must-go-to fest in the Mid-West.

Now, if they could just sort out the catastrophe that calls itself American Airlines, all would be good in the world.

Laura Shields in Hollywood

That’s a return on investment few filmmakers get to see, so I think there’s a new paradigm being put into place. “And what is that”? you ask. People are getting used to seeing stories told in a very short time frame. Thank you, You Tube. It’s no longer a weird stretch to watch a “short”.

Which brings me to filmmaker Hannah Cowley and her debut short feature, “Flame of The West”. A sparkling debut mentored by Jane Campion (yes, that Jane Campion) and executive produced by your humble servant. “Flame of the West” was made for a small ‘two-figure’ sum. It has, so far, garnered a ‘three-figure’ sum in North American distribution fees, giving Hannah a substantial ROI.

Hannah talks about the film in an interview with Emrhys Cooper of Mamma Mia! fame. You can watch it here.

Emrhys Cooper gets intimate with Hannah Cowley

Admittedly, the audio isn’t very good but I think you’ll agree Hannah is very beautiful and Emrhys very charming.

I must admit that, being a slave to the industry’s “received wisdom”,  I have been lukewarm about Hannah making another “short”. But now I’m beginning to realize that Hannah’s passion to make her next venture a “short” is a good idea. Especially when you can make $35,000. Luckily, Hannah has another story which we have in  development and which I think will be very marketable.

It’s an exciting time for filmmakers when we know that our work - no matter what length it is - has a market out there. As long as we’re prepared to look at new horizons, new markets and new distribution tools.

Stop It, Said The Raven

http://filmsnobbery.com/2009/07/20/world-full-of-nothing/#more-715

I’ve got a feeling distribution may be just around the corner!

Enjoy!

\”Murder Story\”, the Spanish Dub

Producer-Screenwriter Phil Aslaksen assembled a hard-working cast and crew for the one day shoot on location in Torrance and Palos Verdes, California. Markus Innocenti directed with Nadine Vinzens in the role of “Savannah”. An excellent supporting cast included Alina Andrei as “Felicia”, Lee McDermott as “Ronny”,  Janine Foster McKenna as “Armynel” and Phil Aslaksen as “Erik”.

The feature length project has Dean Haglund (”X-Files”) attached to play eccentric psychiatrist, Dr. Dale. For the teazer, the role was played by Greg Travis (”Watchmen”, “Lost Highway”, “Starship Troopers”).

Dr. Dale (Greg Travis) is knifed to death

Director of Photography Matt Irwin worked with a Sony EX-1 and a small lighting/ grip package and produced amazing results. Matt was ably helped by Ron Cabreros and Michael Maguire. Make Up Artist Sean Conklin achieved marvels with corn syrup and food dye for the bloodwork, and Phil Aslaksen coordinated stunts and fights for Lee McDermott and Alina Andrei.

Ronny (Lee McDermott) becomes a victim

The footage is now in editorial and the finished reel will be available as part of the “Stop It, Said The Raven information package. In these difficult economic times, producers need to use every resource to attract funding and “having something to show” is a big advantage. A teazer reel allows investors to judge not only the eventual quality of the film, but also the quality and skills of the production team.

Savannah (Nadine Vinzens) and Erik (Phil Aslaksen)

The event was “The Earthquaker” — an all-night rave party held at Dalleagles Farm, Scotland. With some of the top technos dj’s and artists of the time, Europe’s largest circus big top filled up with 15,000 people dancing to a 120K sound system with the most advanced sub-woofer array in the world. Hard-core ravers came from all over the UK, Europe, the USA and as far away as Japan. The lighting and laser rigs were bigger than anything seen at any rave before or since.

Original Flyer for "The Earthquaker"

Given the awesomeness of “The Earthquaker”, I took the precaution of hiring seven camera teams to shoot continuously for 12 hours, recording the entire event. The resulting footage became an hour-long documentary and was distributed in the UK by Sensible Distribution - on VHS.

Dream Frequency \”Feel So Real\” at The Earthquaker

Given that old video clips come up on youtube all the time, it was no surprise to find badly pixelated video of the event on several sites. And from the fan chat I found out there’s a DVD on sale — and has become popular with old-school ravers and people who missed out on the original rave scene in the UK.

When I saw the footage again, I was reminded how powerful it was. It’s no wonder there are buyers out there wanting the DVD. I clicked on another link and there was ‘New Atlantic’ and ‘Dream Frequency’ in all their glory. Amazing stuff. Without boasting, I can safely say that “Earthquaker” is the single best existing video document of the British Rave Scene 1992-3.

New Atlantic \”Into The Future\” at The Earthquaker

Which is why it’s so disappointing it’s only available on a pirate DVD. The images look horrible. My original footage was Beta-SP quality. The show was edited in a top-end facility. The original Sensible label VHS (PAL format) tapes were clean. Even in a NTSC transfer for the US, the program looked excellent - great colors, lots of detail, good skin tones.

Edinburgh’s Sensible Distribution no longer exists — and I’m not even sure where the masters are, but I’d love to be able to strike good DVD copies for an audience that clearly still wants the material, and for a future where my work can be seen from a historical perspective.

So producers and distributors, please - don’t let your copyrights fade away and allow pirates to make money selling old shows to new audiences.