The Awakening Moron

The hardest thing in any production that does not have a budget is managing to bring together a number of talented people within a time frame that makes a shoot a steady affair as opposed to a long drawn out process that might endanger the life being sucked out of the material.
Originally I had intended on shooting the Booker's World web-series over three days. After talking to more experienced people than me, five now seems like a more realistic goal.
I've been working on breaking down the 50-page script and trying to gauge shooting dates around busy schedules and it now seems the latter part of June is a more realistic goal than the early part.
Producing is a necessary evil at the moment, but it makes me think more and more how it might be impacting on the directing end of things. Anyone who's ever produced anything in Ireland, be it a CD, a film or a theater production will know the days sometimes make their way into dreamland and switching off when involved in pre-production is nothing but a nice idea.

The main cast has a meeting last Sunday week and we read through the script. It's almost there. Everyone is anxious to get going with it. I hopefully will have remaining cast and crew lined up towards the end of the week and those shooting days sorted out.

This week the Arts Journal has a series of screenings. Last night The Pint Bar on Eden Quay played host to a cast and crew screening. Slight glitch with the projection which didn't do justice to the visual work but it seemed to go down well.
Tonight we show in Kiely's Bar in Trim, a chance to thank John Kiely who supported the cast and crew throughout the three day shoot last year. And tomorrow The Underground Cinema play host to it on their monthly program.

I used to spend a lot of time on a Film-making forum over the years. I don't contribute much to it any longer as, if I'm honest, any would-be or wannabe filmmaker in Ireland would quickly run a mile given the level of hostility there at times. The critic and the filmmaker doing work without budgets were mainly scorned which I always felt was counter-productive to what the forum was set up to do. It may have changed since.
These days I take an interest in other filmmakers in Ireland, talented guys who struggle and struggle just to get lift off on anything while development money is given from the taxpayers purse for projects that never see the light of day.
Then, like an awakening moron it came to me that all that lark was just the same way Ireland is run. 100k for ten minute shorts? I'd love to know what filmmakers like Jason Mehlhorn, Terry McMahon or Frank Kelly would do with that sort of money. These are filmmakers I look up to because they do it outside that safety net of support available to all filmmakers, but only granted to a few.

I strongly believe film-making in Ireland needs a new approach, a more radical one where enterprise is forefront of it as a new funding model, where we take the tax-payer leg up out of the equation or use that to build a more inclusive film-making culture in the country.
Funding of the Arts is very important to any culture, but in lean times that money needs to go further and there has to be something to show for it. When the re-mit is make the country look good, then the work is false. Art in my own opinion should not be shackled by going against its own grain. Like the country itself, film-making needs a new fix. Many frown on the digital/Internet age, preferring to bask in the past. There's always room for sentimentality and an honouring of where we've been, but being the evolution beings we are, its maybe time to move on, play a little catch up, or heaven forbid, even show the way at times.

I think all involved in the web-series are happy to roll with this first one as a collaboration and hopefully play around with a few things that might swing a budget or two our way in the future. Without them or a new approach by the powers that be it's just going to be the same-old, same-old. Opportunity is nothing if missed. But it's even worse if it's not given to you at all.

Re-writing and Crushes.

Had some very positive conversations with some of the actors for the Booker's World web series during the week. I've decided to do another re-write on the first six episodes to include a character I originally thought I'd introduce in series two. But after reading back over the episodes I felt the over all hook for the first series needed further cementing. Gerry Shanahan is set to play the role and it's one I'm looking forward to writing.

We've had a good response with regard the rest of the casting and we will be going everything within the next week and getting back to everyone then. We are probably looking at an early March shoot and the shoot will be extended to 4-5 days in total. I felt we would do it in three, but after a number of chats now, have decided to give ourselves the extra time and there is a lot to get right if we are to engage an audience. But so far, so good. The team we are assembling is far more than could be hoped for at this stage.

I wrote to locations I could access and hopefully will have more news on crew and cast late next week.

I met with the very talented Monica Tivda on Tuesday. Monica is putting the finishing touches to the Arts Journal edit and I'd expect it to be finished shortly and some screenings dates can be announced. I've seen most of it now, there is music to be added and a sound design done on it, but after nearly a year where everything seemed to go wrong, we are almost there. Then the hunt for production funding begins in earnest.

It's been a week of watching tutorials and figuring things out things Final Cut Pro. Like Ireland's recovery, it's been a swine of a time. But to try and advance things in some way this year, I've learned it's essential to make us as Independent as possible. There's a thriving Indie sector here in Ireland but it's not being exploited, if indeed that is the right word. It should be and in proper terms.

Ireland had a sole Oscar nominee this year in the short film category. The Crush, written and directed by first-timer , Michael Dreagh, didn't manage to make the nominations for our own national film awards, the IFTA's.
Sometime this country really confuses me.

Interview with Irish Director, Jason Mehlhorn

I'm delighted to welcome Irish filmmaker, Jason Mehlhorn to this segment of the blog. The Dublin native's documentary, Ballybough Court took home the award for Best Documentary at The Underground Cinema Awards in September and Jason has recently completed work on his debut feature film, Ulterior. In this interview, Jason talks about a busy few years, his thoughts on a number of subjects, and what's up next for him.

Hi Jason. I guess the best way to start is to tell people a little bit about yourself, and I'm of the opinion that the best person to do that is your good self. So...
Hi Noel, thanks for having me. Regarding myself; I make films. I’m not sure if anything else is of interest to people, but if so, ask away.

You have a BSc. in Bioanalytical Science, correct?
Yes.

How did the cross over from that to film-making come about. It doesn't seem like what one might term, 'a natural progression?'
People get the calling to make films while being involved in all kinds of other professions and fields. My case is far from unusual. I can’t remember the exact eureka moment unfortunately, but I got interested in film-watching at least towards the end of my degree I think, possibly through an interest in philosophy which I feel bridges the sciences and the arts. An interest in filmmaking would’ve come a number of years later when I realised people can actually make the things.

I've read somewhere that your award winning documentary, Ballybough Court, took 6 hours to shoot, but almost 3 years to complete. Can you talk about that a little?
Yes. I won’t go into the full story as it’s extremely convoluted and boring, but it started as a collaboration with effectively three co-directors. This system really slowed everything up. When I direct alone I can make creative decisions in seconds and move on, but with three people there needs to be meetings, discussions, arguments, compromises and more meetings for even the simplest decisions. The project was meant to be a feature film with lots of other sections, some of which were shot, but I took control of directing the 6 hour shoot at Ballybough Court where old women play bingo every Wednesday afternoon. Then during the long post-production period the two others left. I ultimately took control of the only bit that really interested me and finished it as a short. But between it's shooting and finishing, I made a feature film which was more important to me so the short took a back seat as I've difficulty dividing my focus. But having said all that, I'm notoriously fast when shooting films and notoriously slow in post-production. It is something that needs to change, I mean how many other filmmakers can claim to have contributors on their films literally die of old age before they’re completed.

[laughs] At some point you thought to yourself that a feature film was not only possible, but also a viable alternative to getting caught up in the competitive world of making short films and trying to break through that way. When did you reach that point?
Pretty much from the beginning of getting into filmmaking really, it was just a question of the right time. I researched how people become directors and in Ireland particularly I feel most people blindly keep making short films until someone, somehow, gives them the crack at a feature film. Yes, a very few succeed, but in my opinion it’s pointless after a certain point. Yes, directors can learn a lot from them in the early days, but it’s good to know when to move on and take control of your own destiny. Also, I’m not ashamed to say I’ve very little interest as a viewer or director in anything other than feature films, so that helped push the issue also.

Is that why Ulterior came about, it being feature length as opposed to a short?
Yes. I knew I knew nothing, so was very happy to work on as many low and no-budget projects to see how other people do things. I mainly do sound, which was an area I fell into, so I was always around the director, actors and cameraman and learnt a lot, if even how not to do things. Concurrent with that I started directing my own work, mostly documentary shorts, and after a time I felt I knew just enough to have a stab at a feature. So I had a look at my bank balance and had €5,000 or whatever spare, and then flicked through my writing notebooks to see what stories or ideas I had that could be made into a feature with that amount of money. I finally narrowed it down to a choice between Ulterior and another psychological thriller type film, and choose Ulterior. It interested me a bit more and I believe I had more of the story figured out.

I guess this is a good time to get you to talk about one of the many elements it takes to make a film,So... Jason Mehlhorn on Screenwriting...
What to say about it? I don’t engage in what I perceive as ‘script-worshiping’ where a director feels they've to realise as perfectly as possible what’s on a page. Obviously being the writer allows me to treat the script however I wish, but I would feel quite hyper-sensitive if someone else had written one for me as there’s an inherent obligation there I think. However, for the time being I try to use the script as quite a loose document, for something to almost fall back on if things can’t be bettered on the day. The exception is the dialogue, which once it’s locked down in rehearsals, I like it to stay the same. This is fueled by my belief that film should be a visual medium, so the dialogue should be as minimal as possible and this needs control. When actors improvise they tend to talk more. Also I’m rather particular about writing for the correct medium, there’s little I dislike more than a feature film script brick-walled with dialogue, set in one location and it unfolds in real time. To me that’s filming theatre which I see as totally pointless. There's also a lot of feature scripts that are more like sit-coms.

So, the script is completed. What next?
Finding locations, actors and crew really. The crew was just 5 people with the same number of principle actors. And the locations are very few as you’ve seen - a house for about 70% of the film and some city scenes around Dublin mostly to stop the film being too indoor based and claustrophobic. The whole of pre-production was rather stressful, as I’ve never needed to produce a film as formally as this before and even taking into consideration how simple everything was it still took a toll, especially with my time.

I'm of the opinion that a writer/director sometimes has no choice, but to produce their own work. So yes, you've guessed it, Jason Mehlhorn on Producing...
Well yes, I produce solely out of necessity as I absolutely hate it. But if I don’t do it nobody else will, and for the time being my films don’t get made. In that sense it’s a necessary evil. At my level of film making [independent micro-budget films] finding good producers is very difficult, but I think there’s ways of easing the difficulty of it. I’ve done a number of one-day courses on the legal and technical tasks involved in producing properly.I’d recommend people do some, as it’s the kind of stuff that if you don’t know you can’t be made aware of it casually - you either know it because someone informed you or you don’t know it. Directing is something where there’s a personal learning curve involved, so it’s the opposite in a way, I don't believe it can be taught. Anyway, if someone is forced to direct and produce simultaneous. I’d recommend keeping the script and therefore task of producing as simple as possible because if things are too complex you’ll spend more time organising and the creative side will suffer.

It's obvious from your Workbook and by the films you view that your passion lies in European Cinema. Who, if anyone, influences your work?
Well, my top three favourite directors would probably be Tarkovsky, Bresson and Kieslowski, but there’s none of their style in my work I don’t think. On the other hand, I am very influenced by Jacques Tati, but he probably wouldn’t even be in my top fifteen favourite directors. But I think I am influenced by the way he utilises the composition of his shots, very simple editing, much visual storytelling, slow pacing and his use of sound in films. Although having said that my first short film which was made before I ever heard of Tati has some of these traits too, so I’m not sure.

Here's a question I want to have a little fun with over the series, so please forgive me. As i sit here I imagine many a chin being stroked, which kind of amuses me given the scale of the question being asked. Describe yourself in one word?
Alive!

Backfire - [laugh] Talk to us about Directing? What, in your opinion, does that particular role involve, and when do you suggest is a good time to take the plunge? If there is such a time.
I think a good time to take the plunge is when you feel it’s the right time, although sometimes ignorance is bliss too. If I knew how difficult I’d find Ulterior I’m not sure I would’ve embarked when I did. But having done it I’ve learnt so much that now a second feature doesn’t scare me. Regarding the role - I see a director as a creative coordinator trying to get many different areas of filmmaking to gel.

You collaborated with Starofash/Heidi Solberg Tveitan, a Norwegian singer/musician on the music for Ulterior. It's a fantastic score which I found perfectly matched Ulterior? How did that come about?
Thanks. I was listening to an album she wrote for and I had just bought and when a certain song came on, the feel and mood was what the film needed so I emailed her record company. She was the first person onboard as I wasn’t looking for anybody at that point; I was still writing the script actually. Heidi is very versatile but still has a lot of authorship or style and this was important to me. I wanted music with a bit of character. I really didn’t want a very conventional thriller score that you’d find in most very low budget films, you know that horrible cheap sounding stuff with violin sections - just really generic and tacky sounding. Neither did I want source music I think it’s called, you know CD or library music crowbarred into scenes. I was actually planning to go with no music in the film if I hadn’t picked up that album.

So, here's another chance for us to pick your mind. Jason Mehlhorn on Music ( We appreciate a controversial approach, so don't feel you should hold back)
I’m not a musician and it was my first time working with a composer, so I’m not sure I’m the best person to answer such a question in some philosophical way. I would recommend having the emotional level of any music along the same levels as the emotions of the scenes, it sounds obvious but I see it quite rarely in low budget films. I think it happens because filmmakers think their characters are more likable than an audience finds them.

You're sitting at home with your first feature in the hard drive. Did you launch into post-production immediately, or do filmmakers tend to take breaks between the three principal areas of production?
Yes, I’d imagine they would take breaks but I didn’t, maybe a day off or something. There were breaks away from the film both planned and forced along the way. It was a two year process so doing that full time would have caused madness.

Take us through your post-production process? How do you approach it? Is there a standard path to follow or are all filmmakers different in how they approach this area?
I personally hate post-production so don’t eagerly or willingly talk to other filmmakers about what they do. However, I’d imagine the process would be fairly similar. Edit a visual rough cut, get it locked [i.e. into a state were it stops changing], work on all the sound and do colour grading. In theory it’s quite simple. For me the locked visual cut came last, and I done most sound and some colour grading as I went along. Sometimes these things informed the edits see.

Jason Mehlhorn on Editing...
I think if a director is also editing it’s a good idea to get feedback as you proceed. The last thing a director can do is look at their own film with any kind of objectivity.

Ok, let's get off films for a moment and refer back to an earlier remark about your interest in Philosophy. If you had to condense down your philosophy on life into 3 sentences based on where your current believes are, what would you write? It's ok if the last sentence has the words 'shoot Noel' in it.
My only philosophy on life is not to have a philosophy on life. Yes, another cop-out answer I’m afraid - I really don’t like talking about myself!

What has been the most difficult area thus far for you in film production? You've taken something from an idea to a physical state of being, if there was one thing you'd like to avoid next time around, what would it be?
I would like to avoid funding the next film myself! But that mightn’t be possible. More seriously, I guess needing to produce the film, as I said earlier it takes a toll on the creative side of things. I will look into trying to find someone though. Regarding the most difficult, I’d probably still say post-production.

Ballybough Court, your short documentary premiered at the Underground Cinema before picking up the award in the best documentary category in September. That must have been a proud moment to get acknowledged by others working in areas of filmmaking in Ireland?
It was the first award I’ve won so yes, it was quite thrilling. Although I think the award was more to do with the subjects in the film than anything I necessarily done as a filmmaker. It’s directing was simply a case of pointing the camera in the right direction really. I did see most of the other films in that category [best documentary] and was quite surprised as they were all very good and at least two were funded.On Ireland for a moment.

How do you think the current economic shambles here will impact on filmmaking in this country over the coming years?
Well on the one hand there’s less spare money floating around, so this makes filmmaking harder, but on the other everything is cheaper and more people are free to work on them! It’s a double-edged sword, but I think for any filmmaker making stuff on an extremely low budget it’s a good thing. I suspect the people who’ll suffer the most are filmmakers higher up the chain, you know the ones used to the many luxuries on their healthier budgets. To my eyes there seems to be more independent features being made in the last two years than I’ve ever noticed before that.

I was lucky enough to have seen Ulterior a few weeks back. It was only after a few viewings I could truly appreciate the effort involved, but not only that, what you achieved with the budget you had. Has this type of filmmaking, meaning micro-budget, a broader place in filmmaking practice than what it has currently in Ireland?
Well to be honest I find low-budget independent features far better and at least more interesting than the funded ones from the Irish Film Board. I think by and large lower budgets force filmmakers to think more creatively to tell a story and I also sense more passion about them. I’ve seen some amazing low-budget independent films in the last year from Ivan Kavanagh, Colin Downey, Donnacha Coffey, Rouzbeh Rashidi and Michael Higgins to name just a few.

What now for Ulterior? Are copies of Ulterior available to the general public yet?
I’ll be entering it into film festivals for about a year and we’ll see what happens. I’m still in talks, but outside of film festivals I’m hoping there’ll be at least two public screenings in Dublin in 2011. After the year I may either approach distributors to see what they make of it or I’ll distribute the film myself on some cottage-industry style if not bigger. So regardless of what happens people will be able to see it in 12 months if they don’t catch it anywhere else.

I know you've done work in this area Jason, both on shoots and in post production and it's an area you yourself pay particular attention to. Would you expand a little on the area of sound...
As I think I said earlier it was something I kinda fell into and will be moving away from to concentrate on writing and directing as it’s mostly served it’s purpose. However, I’ll continue doing it on my own projects and I’ll always have a particular interest in the possibilities of sound in film. I also prioritise the sound recording with the same level of importance and consideration as the camerawork, which is almost unheard of. Usually the sound department needs to work around everyone else and are sometimes treated quite disrespectfully, but I place it on a much higher level. It’s great for creating subtly and emotionally affecting the audience in ways that I don’t think can be achieved with a camera.

What's up next project wise?
The only definite thing is writing the feature script for the other thriller which would’ve been selected had I not choose to go with Ulterior. It’s just a writing exercise mostly, but if something really grabs me during the process I may wish to make it myself. Other than that I’ve two ideas for two features that I can make for a very low budget, a thousand euros or so. Both are quite experimental but they’re really exciting me at present. I’d work with a much looser script than with Ulterior and go with the flow more, however it won’t be some improvisational or haphazard thing. After I finished Ulterior I noticed that many of my favourite things in the film were happy accidents or incidents, or ideas that came from others. I’d like to see if I can set up an environment to utilise these things more.

Finally Jason, I've seen in the UK that Film Study enters the curriculum at an early stage. It's seeping into the system slowly here in Ireland. Do you have any advice for filmmakers who would be considering shooting shorts, or indeed, crazy enough to attempt a feature?
I think to always follow your instincts, it’s one of the only tools a director has in my opinion.

Sound advice. Jason, it's been a pleasure. I hope the coming year provides both Ballybough Court and Ulterior with the attention they deserve.
Well, many thanks Noel and thanks for taking the time to interview me.


*****

Keep updated with all the current information on Jason's work and some exclusive content here.

A New World

Isn't technology moving fast these days? No sooner have we bought the latest gadget or device, but it's already nearly outdated by the time we get to use it at all. With so much of everything out there though, it means there is competition and that can keep certain prices down.
Camera's and lighting set-ups are now affordable to everyone and with a school of filmmaking now available for free right across the Internet, any new filmmaker now has the opportunity to delve into the possibilities should they so choose.
As with writing books and making music, filmmaking is gathering momentum when it comes to those with an Independent spirit, with artists utilising the many ways they can begin their careers by action, instead of waiting around for the approval of others. That certainly was not the case twenty and perhaps even ten years ago.

I've talked on my writing blog before about the Age Of The Independent. That is not inclusive of filmmakers, but can carry across many arenas in life, be it self-employment, a musician, an artist and hopefully in politics too. I've come to the conclusion in life that the only thing that holds anybody back is themselves. Dealing with contrary opinions eats up the time we all have, and to no effect. People who want a freedom and Independence in what they choose to do, generally come back to the same conclusion. If I don't do it myself, well then nobody is going to do it for me. From what I've learned, that's true.
Creative people generally don't take to kindly to criticism. I've been guilty of it myself. It made me think at every point along the way, is the pursuit of something that's always called to you a waste of time. You would be surprised how many people will think the same of you. That it's a crazy pursuit. I'm sure many have even given up. I nearly did myself a few times.

After taking time out I hope to get back into the swing of things this year. Continue practicing, try get scripts out there and work toward my first feature. Through trial and error I've learned an awful lot. I've found people I can work with who have similar ways of doing things I do. Some give up great time guiding and advising. Funny enough, they are actually people motoring along themselves and bringing out some quality material, knowledgeable of every pit fall along the way, but head down and focused on what it is they want to do. Make films.
Like everything, it takes time. Like life, filmmaking and other endeavor in the visual medium is a tough teacher. It is for everyone that practices it. I've had great times doing stuff, other times not so great. But learning all the while.

My own ambition in filmmaking is from a writing and directing point of view. I will produce my own stuff out of necessity if I have to. The queue for funding is long. Why wait?
In between times I try to learn what those around me can do. How a camera works, how light adds to a scene and a possible tone, how hugely important sound is. The art of editing. I don't want to do all those things as i think filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and I think it's good to respect what others around you are doing so something can be produced at the end of post production that all involved can be proud of. I don't see much point doing it otherwise.

I personally don't feel the structure of the Irish film Industry is designed around the development of filmmaking at a young level. Strives are being made, but it's slow. Looking around though their is undeniable talent there and the crazy thing is some of that talent have to sweat blood and tears practically to get anything off the ground. Some would be more deserving of support than others, but even that is not the difference.
Courses seem to be at Celtic Tiger price levels, opportunities to get experience are rare and mostly unpaid. Hopefully over time I can build up a variety of links for any filmmaker to look over. All geared toward getting started and learning about the many elements that need to come together to make a film. Be warned though, Ireland's filmmaking circuit can be a tough and sometimes brutal environment. The best advice i could give to anyone starting out or thinking of giving up is go with the gut feeling you may have. If you think you have something to offer, don't be put off by the detractors. You might be getting some of their work someday. Read, watch and get experience anywhere you can. Listen closely to those who talk about the work and the art and run from those who may be a little chatty about themselves. It won't take long for you to find your feet. Remain thick-skinned at all times, chances are somewhere along the line you'll need it.