May 1, 2008 May Day! May Day! May Day!
Everything is actually okay, once a year I just like saying that.
As many of you know, I have been learning Final Cut Pro and that's been going pretty well lately. I am still not of fan of Larry on Lynda.com and I wish he would cut to the chase when he tells me how to use things. It's probably good there isn't a picture of him on the site as I would probably print it out and throw darts at it. I am just that kind of person.
There is some terminology that I can't stand and I do believe that some of the editing tools are lame, (yes, I am an avid fan still, but that company is so screwed up right now that it's really frustrating) but I am finally getting the hang of it. Now my problem is learning Compressor and then DVD Studio. Does it ever stop?
Now that I know how to edit, excuse me, now that I know how to run this piece of software (I have always known how to edit), I am surprised that the only way you can get your material out is to learn more stuff. Is it just me, or does this drive other people crazy too?
As long as I am at it I should probably learn Sorenson Squeeze too. I guess my learning curve is just not going to end any time soon. I have it around here somewhere…
Speaking of editors, maybe I should post a list of books that people should read if they truly want to become editors. Just because you can run a piece of software doesn't make you an editor.
And now, your AF Tip of the Day.
When writing screenplays, I tell students to stop wasting their time watching movies. Forget about movies. Go out and live life, then write about that.
- - from The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide (coming in Spring 2008)
And don't forget my Masters Class in Filmmaking this summer through the Franklin Film Institute. Go to www.independentcinema.net for more details.
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“Wages of Fear,” “Convoy,” Smokey and the Bandit” and “Duel”
Remember these great flicks? What are they? Road movies, of course, but more importantly, they are trucking films. Here is a genre nearly forgotten that Navistar, which builds legendary International trucks, hopes to single-handedly revive.
The company that just launched a revolution in long haul trucking by building the mold-shattering LoneStar Class 8 tractor is now launching another first - a student film competition that will ask aspiring auteurs and cineastes to celebrate the lives and labors of long-distance truck drivers in a short film format.
You could be the next Spielberg, Sam Peckinpah or even Henri-Georges Clouzot.
On May 1, 2008, Navistar is sending out a call for entries to approximately 50 universities and film schools around the country asking ambitious filmmakers to hit the road and produce short films or videos that honor the American trucker. These mavericks will then submit their final product in a competition to win film school tuition or top-notch camera equipment.
Academy award nominated producer/director Brett Morgan (Chicago 10, The Kids Stays in the Pictures) will chair a jury of filmmakers who will judge all submissions. First, second and third prize winners will premiere their films at The Great American Trucking show in Dallas, Texas, on August 22, 2008, and will be featured as streaming content on InternationalTrucks.com. The films will also be included as bonus material on a DVD with “Stand Alone,” Brett Morgen’s upcoming Navistar-funded documentary about truckers.
It’s time for filmmakers to release the jake-brake, hammer down, and make cinema that really matters, films about real life on the road. Put it this way: if America’s drivers decided to stop working, the entire country would shut down. We depend on truckers to deliver everything we own and consume. Truckers are that important. They are true American heroes.
Merle Haggard sang it this way: “The whiteline is a lifeline for the nation… It takes a special breed to be a truck drivin' man, And a steady hand to pull that load behind.”
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