Back from Shooting in Las Vegas, and Some Thoughts on "Film Community"

Now that we have returned from Las Vegas and have put our equipment away, (temporarily), I've gone ahead and posted some stills here on our FB page (I'll post a few here too). The Black Magic Cinema Camera performed really well in the heat (107-115 degrees), and attracted quite a few comments, even with a pared down rig. We nicknamed the camera "The Whore" since it got a lot of curious questions and hungry looks: "what kinda camera is that?" "Is that the BMCC?" It's like having a sexy pedigree dog at the hike and bike trail. (Sorry guys. Can't say it's a chick magnet, since mostly guys asked us about the camera.) No one asked what we were shooting, they wanted to know more about the camera! It did not matter where we were shooting. People would come out of their offices to ask us about the BMCC. 

With a crew of two, we shot the ending scenes for "What's the Use?" where Sara leaves Austin and heads to Las Vegas on a whim. We are fortunate to have a supportive group in Vegas (Showgirls Across America, Oogoog, The Cockroach Theater), and a public there that doesn't seem to care much about a camera in their space (obviously more interested in the camera than us). Sometimes, this is why I prefer to live/film in smaller communities. It's just easier to find the support to get your projects off the ground than it is in bigger communities. 

I'm sad to say, but I feel Austin has been growing too quickly for its own britches, and with an expanding waist line (sprawl) and inflating rent prices (and no salary changes to compensate for this), I have a hard time justifying keeping BPFW here any longer. I take the "Top Rated City for Filmmakers" rating by Movie Maker Magazine with a grain, no...a large lump, of salt, but I wonder if Austin will be number one city again next year for filmmakers. Not that it matters. I've often wondered where this so-called film community really is here in Austin, or in any community. Filmmakers are a self-absorbed lot and care only for their own projects. It's the only way to get them done, unfortunately. I sense that as much as filmmakers in Austin and similar-sized film cities might like to brag about "community," I can't help but think there is a sense of the Cut-Throat, and while they might seem supportive, secretly we are all jealous of eachother's progress. But all arts deal with this. It's just seems to be part of human nature.



So yes, I've put my film "nose" in the air to sniff out other places to possibly move shop. Let's see what opportunities may arise.

We have quite a bit more shooting ahead of us this month, in yet more heat, and I am determined to someday shoot something in cold weather. It's not happened, and I am hoping it will!