The D-Word's life is one of glamour and riches, as only a documentary filmmaker can live it

---

From: dbblock@el.net (Doug Block)
To: Jim Petersen
Subject: Re: Home Page screening
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 01:15:23 -0700 (EST)

Hi Jim,

Want to personally invite you a "special sneak preview" screening of Home Page on Tuesday, June 23rd. It's at 7pm at SFMOMA.

It's the first public screening of the finished film and, except for Justin, the first time all the folks in it will be seeing it. Hopefully it won't be too painful for you. I think you come off sympathetically, but I don't presume to guess how it'll feel for you.

Anyway, I hope you can make it. If not I understand. If you plan on coming, please lemme know so you'll be on the guest list. And feel free to invite guests if you want (just send me the name so they make the list too).

Look forward to seeing you again.

Best...
Doug

The Web98 screening is in 8 days, at the 278-seat San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

We’re not gonna be finished in time.

It's not like we've slacked off these past few months. Honest. And lately, we’ve been racing around the clock, with so many things to do it gives me a headache just thinking about it. And still we won’t be able to screen the finished film.

It seems like the famous 80/20 rule applies: it’s taken 80% of our time to finish the last 20% of the film.

So, it’ll be projected on video-- our fine cut “dumped” from the Media 100 at low resolution to a Beta SP cassette (actually two, since they hold only up to 90 minutes). And the sound won’t be the final mix, but a mix of the digitized sound from the Media 100.

I suppose it’s only fitting in a way. This project has always been about opening up my filmmaking process to the public as it unfolds. Well, it’s still unfolding, folks.

But I have to keep my eyes on the more important prizes: having a 16mm film print in time for the fall festivals and markets: Telluride, Toronto, Montreal and the Independent Feature Film Market.

If I were less confident about the film I’d be a basket case thinking about showing it publicly in an unfinished state. But now that the opening is finally nailed, I feel like a new D-Word.

Not that it came easily. I wrote the last piece of narration only last week (did you seriously believe me when I said it was locked?)

And Beo’s score-- even in "sketch" form-- is thrilling. It adds so much in emotion and subtext, makes it feel like a real moooovie!

Lots of excitement building around the screening. Folks from Wired, SPIN, ZDTV clamoring for tickets and interviews. Quite a change-of-pace, too, to have anyone clamoring for my work. No matter how well-regarded, people don’t tend to clamor for docs.

It’s important to spread word-of-mouth in the heart of multimedialand, better yet to get our first hit of audience reaction (although skewed somewhat by the hardcore insider nature of this particular beast). But I keep a grip by reminding myself that the screning is primarily for the people in it. It’s their night. It’s their stories.

When I was younger, and looking for Bobo, I wasn’t so anxious to share the glory. Now it feels necessary and right.

I look forward to sharing it with Marj and Lucy, too. Lucy was the catalyst for the film. Marj gave it heart. I’m bringing them out for the event because there’s only one time to ever share the experience of a first public screening.

And because I'm such a newly sharing guy, I told Debbie last week that I want us to share the writing credit. Yes, I actually wrote the narration (gee, all 10 lines of it, at the rate of about two lines per month). But as far as I’m concerned Home Page was written in the editing room. It's my way of saying she made a contribution that goes far beyond that of the normal editor. It feels stupid to pretend it’s all my doing.

Oh, yeah, Debbie and Esther are coming, too. It’s gonna be like a three-ring circus, but I look forward to playing ringmaster and trotting them all out after the screening.

While at Web98, I hope to see Julie Petersen’s performance piece (and take Lucy with me). Lookin’ forward to finally meeting Jon Lebkowsky and R.U. Sirius. Renewing old acquaintances and making new ones. Greeting the good folks at Excite.

And, of course, I'm anxious to hear what everyone thinks about their representation in the film.

From: Jim Petersen
Subject: Re: Home Page screening
To: dbblock@el.net (Doug Block)
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 09:33:53 -0700 (PDT)

Oh sure, Julie and I will be there. I think she is putting together a list of names.

Based on what you said in your online journal, I don't think you understand where I'm coming from particularly well, but then that's mostly my fault for not being very good at communicating my feelings. Whatev.

Well, then again…

But first there’s only a half-million things to attend to. And since, admit it, you think producing a doc is such glamorous work, I bring you a “special sneak preview” of my To Do list (all to be to-doed by this Friday!):

• remix the audio, color correct and lay in new narration and music on Media 100, then dump to Beta SP (at 20KB)
  
• buy Beta SP and digital beta stock
  
• vhs dubs to Toronto and Telluride fests (with applications), and ZDF (w. time code window and transcription)
  
• Chris finishes transcript for ZDF
  
• email remaining Web98 screening invites; update guest list
  
• continue to oversee music and sound design- meet with Beo on Wed.
  
• speak to HBO Business Affairs about next payment (e&o approval)
  
• send out formal release forms - urls and screens; klezmer publishing rights
  
• re-transfer Feed interview section with shaky video
  
• check 16mm film transfers at Magno when Film Craft test arrives
  
• deal memo to FrameRunner for final color correction
  
• speak to Jared re batch digitizing to 300KB while Debbie and I are in SF
  

There’s more, of course, but I’m starting to get a headache. (And I haven’t even mentioned fundraising, have I?)

I keep remembering how Michel told me this would be the period of the film that’s the most fun.

Uh huh.

Previous:
Next:
Newest:
Archives