*Updates*

Beyond Belief: Honeymoon at Burning Man

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Graven Image Films provides:

Janke 10 (1.23.10)

(pronounced "Janky Ten")

A Modest Film Movement

The Janke Manifesto

1. Video cameras only.

2. Natural or found lighting, possibly one lamp.

3. On location or Do It Yourself sets.

4. No color correction.

5. Always good sound and music.

It helps if your subject matter fits the Janke 10 style. One wouldn't expect an opera to be filmed in this fashion. Backstage at an opera, perhaps. (Not that adhering to certain subjects or situations is a rule, just a tendency. When you have no money then Janke might be your only outlet).

And don't worry about signing a certificate and getting our official approval to call it a Janke 10 film. That's just not the Janke way.

Janke is a seat-of-your-pants, do it to it, make it however you possibly can kind of thing. It says it in the name, Janke is Janky. So let your Janke film flag fly.

12.9.09

The command performance shows in San Francisco on Dec 7-8 went great! The Burning Man organizers have their headquarters up there and they filled the Stage Werx theater. We even had t-shirts to give away and custom-made chocolates with our film logo.

Black Friday 11.27.09

We had a great show at the Project Infest Warehouse on Nov 25! We decked out the 13,000 square foot place to look like theme camps! We had DJs spinning (Mr Munk and DJ Noj!), promoters promoting (Tish Tha Dish at "Camp Sassy" and Rita Mar and "Camp 321") and prizes and press and a crowd of very eager viewers to make the night rock! Thanks Ben and Project Infest for the space and thanks everyone for making it a great night! And now we are a little closer to getting up to San Francisco for our command performance on Dec 7 & 8!

Thursday 10.01.09

Back from the World Premiere week at the San Diego Film Festival and preparing to go to the LA Decompression on Saturday.

Sunday 9.27.09

The last day of the festival and I still hadn't seen a single movie other than our own! They closed up the filmmaker's bar when they ran out of booze and that's when I found out that our screener tape was missing.

I tried to reach our pixie (see 9.23.09 entry), but there was no answer.

It's not like it's the master tape or anything, but it was expensive. And she can't show it anywhere because it doesn't play in regular VCRs (if they still even have those) and we don't actually have permission to sell tickets to shows--only to play at film festivals (for now) from Burning Man.

The closing night party was in the bar of the boutique hotel. We got to talk with filmmakers and fans as well as the festival organizers who were very pleased they could premiere our film. And they were very impressed by our promotions and plan on telling future filmmakers to do the same (programs, buttons, etc). And the founder of the festival who called us up after seeing our film on IMDB (he was looking for a Burning Man film because he'd had success with them in the past) was sporting our button ALL WEEK even though he's not supposed to show bias!

The week went great and we drove back up the next day (first gear is still non-existent and will need to be fixed).

We got an invite to attend another film festival (in Colorado) in March.

We'll be paying off the promotional expenses for a little bit longer though.

Saturday 9.26.09

We checked out of the hotel and the valet couldn't get my car out of the garage because they scrambled the stick shift all up and could no longer find first. I had to drive it up in second.

We went back to our friend's place out of town and then went to the theater for a mentoring lunch with young film enthusiasts and burnt pizza.

Ever the networkers we met some other filmmakers and traded stories. Then it was time for our panel discussion on documentaries.

Our lovely hijacker & party crasher (see 9.23.09 entry) tried to push her way onto the panel, but was denied by the moderator (also a woman, so immune to her charms).

It didn't stop our lady of perpetual emotion from fielding questions and spouting opinions from her seat until the audience and even the other panelists had to shut her down! We have it on video and will post it soon on HoneymoonAtBurningMan.com.

After the discussion we had fans come up to us and tell us how much they enjoyed the film (the panel was very lively and bustling, I'll give her that) and ask us who that woman was.

There were some burritos for filmmakers and I grabbed one, which I ate as I chatted with a filmmaker/journalist. She found some of the stories I told her hard to believe and asked me to point out the girl in question when I next saw her.

"That's her right there," I said as she came over and took a bite from my lunch and asked me for spare change. I had none. The guy she was with asked as well, but not having any money is a state that lingers regardless of how many times I am asked.

The reporter was amazed.

That night at the awards party I wore my red on black embroidered smoking jacket with a sheer black shirt and red tie. Jon wore his pimp hat again.

The crasher crashed again as usual and sat in the VIP section waiting for the awards to be announced.

She was asked to move and Jon made sure that he could get the to podium first should we win, but the winners of best documentary went to our fellow panelists (who had defended us to her ladyship) so we weren't too bummed out. And they jumped in the pool so that was awesome too! The journalist I was talking to earlier also won an award for her film!

Jon and I stayed a little while longer and then had to get to other parties, but our hijacker insisted on coming with us. She was a little drunk by now and started telling nicer stories about me. About how we used to perform poetry together and how I edited her second book of poems.

She told everyone who would listen how she only kept those poems I gave high praise to and low praise to figuring that the extremes are more interesting than the middle.

If I had known she was going to do that I would've explained to her that the low praise ones weren't extremes at all, but lifeless. The medium graded ones were the ones I felt were powerful, but not quite ready.

Then I reminded her that our film had extremes of which she spoke and that she shouldn't be so offended by that.

I don't know if she heard me.

We went to clubs with her and a fan of the film who she proceeded to make out with on the dance floor.

When it was time for us to move along once more to a place that she couldn't get into (even with her powers) she was very offended that we were trying to "ditch" her. We tried to explain that we still had to work, but she gave me the finger with both hands as she rode away on a bicycle rickshaw with her companion. To keep her from feeling unfair I gave her the finger back with a smile and a wave.

Friday 9.25.09

Friends were calling Jon all day as they drove into town.

The programs arrived special delivery and just needed folding.

We got word from our gift bag promoters to say they couldn't fill the order of 250 and only had enough for 100. Jon and I added business cards with linked rings drawn on the back to only those programs on top so that the first 100 would get the bags.

We checked into the boutique hotel that we had for the night on the Festival's dime. We were able to get a room with two King beds rather than a single Queen, but you had to sidle past them to walk the length of the room.

The gift bag folks took over the room as we went back to our friend's house to get ready. When we returned they were done and just needed loading into the car. I loaded up my arms and took 6 trips. Then I drove Jon and the bags to the theater.

As I sat in the car at the curb a gang of Hare Krishnas danced down the sidewalk on one side of me and hundreds of bicyclists tore down the street on the other (blocking traffic for 10 minutes).

Then Jon needed me to pick up a friend who came down from L.A., but the way the streets break off and go around the freeway and start up again got us lost for 30 minutes! I finally got everyone to the theater, but I still had to park the car at the hotel and race back on foot in costume. I made it just a few moments before the show, but I missed the photo op and didn't get to see the fans lined up down the hall and even down the stairs!

Then I was informed that some woman started the show early!!! Even taking the mike away from the festival volunteer before she could explain how the voting ballots worked! Jon and I were still setting up the table with the gift bags in the hall!

I raced into the theater and sure enough the movie had already started so I grabbed a seat in front and tried to catch my breath. I kept looking behind me to see the audience and to see the movie screening hijacker! (see 9.23.09 entry) She was smiling throughout the film.

After the show she had managed to change into a sparkly blue gown and tried to take over the Q & A, but she kept getting the facts wrong. When she said the film was shot seven years ago I had to correct her and say "six." She continued to say seven so I corrected her again and said "it was shot in 2003 and it's 2009 so that makes...six years!" She passed around a bottle of champagne to us and we passed around the microphone so that Jon and Ben could have a chance to speak.

We later found out that after the screening "some woman" took the screener tape.

The party that night was winding down by then and so Jon and I skipped it and crashed at the hotel.

Ben was there too and very sorry for pawning our stuff, but very glad all was okay again.

Thursday 9.24.09

Tonight's party was at a neighborhood bar (youth hostel adjacent). Street parking was plentiful. It was more chill so we dressed casual. The party-crasher crashed again (see 9.23.09 entry) with a new beau and proceeded to ask us for spare change. We only had cash to get back to L.A. so had to refuse. We still met quite a few people after the crasher left.

Wednesday 9.23.09

The Festival started today and we hit the opening night party. No parking for a half mile and a half-hour of looking. Very posh hotel rooftop thing with a pool and a DJ and a VIP section with free drinks you can make yourself. There was a bat-signal shining down to the bottom of the pool that had a stylish magazine logo instead of the Batman one.

Jon and I had buttons, business cards, laminates with our poster on them and all-access badges. We were there to work, after all. We'd been a last minute addition and so we had to make up for lost Burners.

Jon brought his game face and his game hat too. Always stylish this was a rare level even for him. He had a burgundy velour wide-brimmed hat that domed at the top and a shirt to match of something shinier.

I wore a bright blue double-breasted suit with red buttons, a red tie, a white shirt and white pants. Then I put on a pair of white cardboard 3-D glasses with one red lens and one blue. We made the VIP section our homebase and started meeting people there on the shallow couches.

Periodically we would leave the base and move around the place. Most people were standing around drinking, some were leaning. Instead of walking I danced--well, dance-walked, I was still moving forward. I kept it loose and didn't move my arms much, but it got the desired result: notice.

People came up to us to ask for a picture with us. Girls came to us in pairs. Filmmakers tried to compete with us for attention, but could not. We were alone in the limelight because no one dared to draw attention to themselves like we did...well, almost no one...

As I was dancing another party lap I heard a woman say, "Hi, Geoffrey" and I recognized right away that voice I have listened to coming out of the speakers of my computer for years. Princess Mati!

Princess Mati who left town after the movie was shot but before it was downloaded to a computer. I might have been surprised to see her there if I'd never met her before, but I used to perform poetry with her and know her Princess-ly ways. She got into an invite-only party without an invite, barreled her way into the VIP section without a badge with a rugged fellow she'd met on the way in tow. She wore a sleeveless gown that was bright on top and dark all below. She made ready use of the free booze. Security had to stop her from running barefoot into the pool so she just started dancing in front of the DJ table instead. Well, dance-thrashing, really, complete with her escort's attempts to sling her over his shoulder. I got some pictures coming to HoneymoonAtBurningMan.com soon.

Tuesday 9.22.09

Jon and I drove to San Diego in my slightly rusting '86 VW Golf with blue paint that rubs off when you touch it. We slept on the floor of a friend's place just outside of town.

9.20.09

Just hit #1 on the number of VIEWS on the San Diego Film Festival Site! Helped out, no doubt, by the fact that we are now listed on the Burning Man site calendar! You can use their Ride Share Board if you intend to meet us at the festival this Friday, September 25th at 10PM! Come celebrate in costume!

9.15.09

Jon and I drove to San Diego to promote our premiere. We called the San Diego Film Festival and they were surprised to hear we came to town to put up posters because they hadn't even started doing that yet!

We had a staple gun to attach them to wooden telephone poles and that would've been great if not for the fact that there are no telephone poles! There are lamps, sure, but made of metal and there were zero posters anywhere. We did what we could going to youth hostels, bars and cultural centers.

8.20.09

After seeing the film the San Diego Film Festival gives us the prime slot on Friday night at 10 PM, Sept 25! They emailed me at 2:35 PM.

After seeing the film the Burning Man Media Department okays it for public presentation! Contract will follow (after this year's Burning Man).They emailed me at 2:35 PM.

8.18.09

San Diego Film Festival calls (unprompted!) to see if we'd like to fill a slot they reserve for Burning Man movies!

8.10.09

Draft 11b completed and sent to Burning Man Media Department for approval. Round three.

5.30.09

Draft 11 completed!

82 minutes and brisk enough to give you whiplash!

For the first time ever the producer has no notes, no misgivings, no suggestions, no objections! It passed the test!

And now I must collapse.

4.12.09

Our first private preview screening (of Draft 10, 101 min) was:

Resurrection Day

Sunday, April 12th
at the Talking Stick Coffee Lounge
at 1411 Lincoln Blvd
(at California Ave) in Venice, CA!

8:00 PM

The Man (and Woman) Will Rise Again!
(Check back for updates)

March 2009

The film is finally done! (At least what our equipment can handle). We're looking to premiere it this Summer in Los Angeles. Keep checking for updates!

January 2009

LATEST UPDATE 1/26/09:
Happy Chinese New Year! We finally have a page on the Internet Movie Database! We're on the map! Now if we just knew how to READ a map...

(from mid-January)
Am hand-drawing many of the titles where i was letting prefabricated fonts handle the burden up till now. It is looking very nice and helping me really trim those last few scenes to a tidy smoothness. I didn't realize how many titles there were though! Hope to have this version and the third trailer done by late next month. Temp work is scarce and so this movie may have to act as breadwinner for our whole gang.

December 2008

Sat 12/6/08 3:27am

Sent Noj the new "Beyond Belief: Honeymoon at Burning Man" film logo I spent all night creating from a page of hand-drawn and scanned elements and old version software on an old model laptop. Applied it to the site and will feature it in the films opening credits.

November

Two-more rounds of private screenings have been instrumental in streamlining and cohesiveness! Included in the test audiences were screenwriters, animators and DVD authors. The good news is the feedback has been positive and the notes amazingly helpful. The bad news is that it means a lot more work for me! But anything for the film! I gave up my personal comfort long ago when I switched my diet from tasty food to cheap.

October

Hand-off complete! I was able to get the latest version to Noj so that he may shop it around and get some investor help to finish up the score. He also gave me three more CDs of music in case I can spot any more scenes that can use a song fragment. He expects to be able to meet with his first investor later this week. Here's hoping!

August 26

Noj may have found an investor to help us complete the score and release the film, but another viewing is called for and with the current system and software that will require a re-edit (some things didn't come through intact). So it's back to the drawing board again...sometimes I wonder if this is my Hell...

June 21

DJ Noj tells me that the laptop he's been composing the score on isn't cutting it, but he has secured a nicer system (a friend's--"beg/borrow/steal" is what it always comes down to!) to work on--so the kindness of strangers (and friends) saves us once again!

May 31

DJ Noj came to look at the latest draft and we spent the day deciding on all the music cues and themes. (Some of the points nearly turned into brawls, but in the end we could agree on most things). Now he gets to work his magic with composing and we'll see what's what!

May 22

We're experiencing some cautious optimism as I may have found a way to edit the remaining draft, but it's a little like trying to fix a carburetor with bubble gum. Even so the train has started to slowly chug up the hill again. Next stop: the film score by DJ Noj to stitch together the soundtrack. And unless the music calls for some of the cuts to be re-timed the film length should be pretty well set. So there's that.

May 17

I take it back. May 16 is not my new favorite day. It is a hateful day for I have discovered that Final Cut Express is a downgrade from Final Cut Pro and all the functionality of FCP is missing!

The search resumes! As well as the boiling of the brain!

May 16

This is my new favorite day!!!

I found Final Cut Express HD 3.5 for only $60 and it arrived yesterday! But after waiting for it to install with my heart in my throat(!) it gave me the same "Out of Memory" error causing my heart to dislodge suddenly and shoot down the abyss of my gullet into a festering pool of bile!

But all morning on the phone with tech support solved the problem!!! I can breathe again! And I gave my heart a spit shine to keep its spirits up (he's very sensitive)!

So now I have to get the next draft ready for Jon to watch so we can discuss the music cues in order for him to write the rest of the score!

I sigh the sigh of the soul relieved! But, can't talk now--it's back to work!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 29

Okay, here's the scoop.

Our Mac Mini has an Intel Processor. Final Cut Express HD 3.0 isn't intended for Intel and so it is causing the memory error with big files (like our movie!).

So, we need to upgrade the software to Final Cut Express HD 4.0 (3.5 should also work, but is no longer supported by the online techs).

The upgrade is about $200 bucks (we aren't eligible for the discounted rate of $100 since the 3.0 version was a school discount version!! Argh!).

As soon as we can scrounge up the money we are getting that new mofo, you can bet!

If you need me I'll be checking the seat cushions and pay phone coin return slots in hospital waiting rooms and bus stops...

April 27

We are borrowing a friend's monitor!

We are sharing the license on another friend's software (Final Cut Express HD 3.0)

We HAVE the minimum system requirements to run the program, BUT there still exists a OUT OF MEMORY Error.

Will check with Online Support!

So close!

Updates to follow!

Looking for:

Hardware: One (1) Monitor.

Software: One (1) Final Cut Pro 5.1 (or later)

Help us get our eggs to market and join in the scramble!

April 2008

New computer arrives! Still using the old picture-tube monitor though.

Able to move the video files! Yes! Two steps forward!

The old software doesn't work with the new system! Two steps back.

The monitor blows out! Three more steps back!

(Keep checking for the latest tragedies!)

:::

ARCHIVED...

March 2008

Second small investor supplies a hard drive! One more step forward!

February 2008

Small investor found for replacement processor! One step forward!

Wholesaler located (for best deal)! One step forward!

January 2008

Computer fan burns out, take two steps back.

Music storage device fails, take three more steps back.

December 2007

...

Odd work and editing drains me.
A meager diet sustains me.

Stress threatens my mental sanity.
My words become profanity.

And yet the movie improves with each draft,
Blowing my mind and testing my craft.

Draft eight is the number I'm on now,
(Ten should be the sacred cow).

At this point the movie lives, and says what it wants,
Draft eight has melding themes, color and fonts.

Number nine shall be music, a revolution of score,
We already have a soundtrack, but it still asks for more.

Nothing to smother it--just to bring out its heart,
And turn old home movies into something near art.

Number ten, and I’m guessing, could be a belt-cinch,
Once the fat is all trimmed and we’ve shaved the last inch.

Our score-master Noj is plunking away at the notes
(He’s surprised this sunken ship now—finally!—floats).

...

October 2007

Draft 7 is well under way and nearly ready to render, save and burn to a disk. I had to get another burner (external) because the internal one won't work anymore (it's an old machine (Mac)). That's part-time job #3 I had to get to cover the cost. I showed Draft 6 to Jon and he had some minor points, but for the most part thinks it has just the right pacing and balance of content that it needs. I also showed it to a couple other friends and they saw different things that made me very excited because I could see how their concerns could be addressed with just a few adjustments. I may still show Draft 6 to my friends to avoid spending the week it takes to render, save and burn Draft 7 when they may have further questions that need clarification. If we still have to make a Draft 8 then we will, of course. The film's the thing!

The other thing is that the darn DVD only plays on the Burner that spawned it. We may eventually have to record-to-tape and take the footage back over to our friend's house and get a nice copy because no matter how many upgrades I get I can't get it to look as nice on this computer! Grr!

The trouble with that is that the camera skips during recording and so I have to pause the computer playback, backup a few seconds and start again, which results in a loop appearing on the finished tape which then must be re-edited later. I can't always get over to my friend's for long periods so he winds up doing it, but that can lead to a missing frame here and there since he's already super-busy and doing it as a favor when he can. Sigh. Don't believe the detachment-minded gurus--being poor helps nothing!

***

September 2007

Survived Burning Man! This year's theme: The Green Man.

And even though I was super-prepared thanks to the film, I was still "green" (technically).

I carried a photo of Mati around with me on my water bottle (should've been a milk carton) to show to people who might have seen her. (She never misses Burning Man! But this year had almost 50 thousand people, one case of arson (of the Man--they rebuilt him and fast!) and one suicide (in the Comfort and Joy tent--no lie!)).

I saw several people that I recognized from the film! But that was four years ago and most didn't remember her from the photo (it was just a still shot from the film of her giving a gift to the guy she got to hold the camera at that moment).

And then I found that guy! I knew what he looked like because he shows up later in the footage and I also knew what the gift she was giving him was from her goodie bag: a little toy space alien.

Also known as a Little GREEN MAN!

How frigging random! Well, I found him by going to the camp that Mati stayed near and asking them if there was anyone from 2003, so not completely random--but still "wow!"

Especially since he hadn't been back since 2003!

I never found Mati, but I had an awesome time (I especially loved the dust storms--I was well prepared, like I said, and had my goggles, my dust mask, my hat and my water. I was set!).

Time to get the next draft ready and then another round of private test showings.

***

August Update!

I found a ride to Burning Man!

And I received word from the organizers that I have permission to film this year based on my proposal! Yee-haw!

See you on the playa!

***

August 2007

Burning Man happens at the end of the month!

***

July 2007

Burning Man is the Plan!

We're looking forward to sharing the experience this year. Hope to see you!

April 2007

The second trailer is up on the MOON page (click on the crescent moon above).

We're looking forward to getting this movie out this year. All your support is greatly appreciated.

Maybe we'll see you at Burning Man this year, maybe at a theater near you!

***

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