Films - Tampa Bay Films online film festival - Always open!Opinion and online debate section - Tampa Bay Film opinion section for production professionals and talent.Film festivals in Tampa Bay and Florida - Includes news, coverage, reviews, submission information, and opinions.Jobs, auditions, and castings in Tampa Bay, Florida, for production professionals, talent, actors, and indy filmmakers. This Tampa Bay Film section links to the job and audition boards of Independent Modeling, Independent Acting, Independent Performer, and the TALON Talent Online industry database for production professionals, talent, and business.Tampa Bay Film Scams, Unprofessional Conduct, Politics, and Unethical Behavior. Indy film casting audition scams, talent search scams, indy film competition scams, casting couch scams, indy film collaboration scams, film festival scams, talent actor exploitation scams, indy film misrepresentation scams, crimes against talent actors, unprofessional behavior, unethical conduct, questionable indy film politics, conflicts of interest, indy film credibility scams, indy film slander, libel, and rumor scams.Tampa Bay Film features, articles, tutorials, interactive tutorials, anecdotes, stories, tools, paperwork, and more.Tampa Bay Film resources, including career tool links, contracts, vouchers, scam fighting agreements, forms, and other tools.Tampa Bay Film contact information in the Tampa Bay, Florida area and the Tampa Bay Film Mail Bag!  
Tampa Bay Film - Covering indie film in Tampa Bay. Click to return to main index.
    
Tampa model Charlotte - Tampa Bay Film Festival PictureTampa Bay singer, model, actress, and beauty pageant expert Ann Poonkasem photographed by Tampa Bay photographer C. A. Passinault. Photography by Aurora PhotoArts photography and design Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay Film Festival PictureTampa indie film cameraman - Tampa Bay Film Festival PictureChris Woods Power! Tampa Bay Film Festival PictureA Dancer in a Tampa Bay event photographed by Tampa Bay photographer C. A. Passinault. Photography by Aurora PhotoArts photography and design Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay Film Festival PictureTampa Bay actor and model Jinelsa Rosado photographed by Tampa Bay model and talent photographer C. A. Passinault of Aurora PhotoArts Tampa Bay photography and design. Tampa Bay Film Festival PictureTampa Bay model Lisa Marie Lowrey photographed by Tampa Bay photographer C. A. Passinault during a photography session for Tampa Bay modeling resource site Independent Modeling in 2003. Photography by Aurora PhotoArts photography and design Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay Film Festival PictureTampa Bay Film Festival PictureTampa Bay model, dancer, and choreographer Melissa Maxim photographed with Lance, a nightclub dancer, in a Ybor City nightclub by Tampa Bay photographer C. A. Passinault in 2002. Photography by Aurora PhotoArts photography and design Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay Film Festival PictureTampa Bay model, dancer, and choreographer Melissa Maxim photographed with Lance, a nightclub dancer, in a Ybor City nightclub by Tampa Bay photographer C. A. Passinault in 2002. Photography by Aurora PhotoArts photography and design Tampa BayTampa Bay model, dancer, and choreographer Melissa Maxim photographed with Lance, a nightclub dancer, in a Ybor City nightclub by Tampa Bay photographer C. A. Passinault in 2002. Photography by Aurora PhotoArts photography and design Tampa BayTampa Bay model, dancer, and choreographer Melissa Maxim photographed with Lance, a nightclub dancer, in a Ybor City nightclub by Tampa Bay photographer C. A. Passinault in 2002. Photography by Aurora PhotoArts photography and design Tampa BaySkittles - Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival Official SelectionTampa Bay model, dancer, and choreographer Melissa Maxim photographed with Lance, a nightclub dancer, in a Ybor City nightclub by Tampa Bay photographer C. A. Passinault in 2002. Photography by Aurora PhotoArts photography and design Tampa Bay
TAMPA BAY FILM - BLOG - MODELING - ACTING - PHOTOGRAPHERS - TAMPA FILM FESTIVAL

OPINIONS - POST OPINION - PREVIOUS - NEXT

OPINION

Monday, January 15, 2007

Alternative Film Making

A good friend of mine, author Rachel Eaglin, once assisted me with one of my first screenplays and introduced me to some really great ideas in the creation and the formatting of scripts. One thing that I learned from her, and it is something which has influenced much of my work now, is that the supposed limitations of structure actually frees the creative process.
It’s true. Limitations, whether real or perceived, can actually inspire creativity and alternative ways of accomplishing what we set out to do, and it often surprises us when we are able to do things that we would have never believed were possible. We also tend to surprise those who think that what we are doing is misguided and that it cannot possibly work. I’ll be the first one to tell you that there is more than one way to do what you want, and what you need, to do.
I remember all of the times in college and when working with local professional productions here in Tampa Bay, back in the early 1990's, when a lack of technology was the supposed limitation. Many film makers shot on film stock, and even more invested in 3/4 inch video, Amiga workstations with video toasters, and used programs such as scala to create keys. I miss the days when you had to go to classes to become certified, where you cut your teeth on live television productions and working on independent films done with primitive video equipment. Some of my fondest memories were climbing up ladders to safety-wire and configure studio lights, taking direction as a cameraman, floor directing with a team of cameramen, technical directing, writing, editing, and working with sound. I remember all of the classes that you had to take back then, and all of the intern work done at television studios and the efforts of film makers and entertainment enthusiasts. Back in college, public access was the only cost-effective way to get your message out there, and the station had more of its share of politics and strict rules that seemed to limit the efforts of creative types rather than assist them. Despite all of this, film making was alive and well. Ironically, despite these limitations, there was widespread creative experimentation and some downright respectable work, even with the efforts of the indy film community often being panned by the critics and the press. What I find both amusing and tragic was that much of the work done back in the day was better than what is being done now, and there is absolutely no reason for it to be this way.
The future is finally here. These are the days of web sites, of powerful software tools such as flash, of Youtube and Myspace. These are the days of professional video editing solutions at low prices and high definition video cameras. These are the days where just about anyone can get involved in film making regardless of their limited resources and professional training, and while this has unlimited potential for professionals, this is possibly the reason for the large decline of the quality of the work that we are seeing now.
I can draw up many parallels between the film making and the photography communities. Both professionals used to have a high cost of entry and certain professional skills and dedication were needed. It cost a bit and was more difficult to do what you wanted to do in the old days. In many ways, this was a good thing, as the professions were mostly limited to those who were serious about what they were doing and those who didn’t have what it took mostly washed out of the program. Today, it is different. Technology has opened up these industries to the masses, and many of these people don’t have to pay their dues or make any kind of investment into what they are doing. As a result, the voices of the professionals are often lost in the crowd of loud amateurs, and the majority of the work that most see is less than professional.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
While some may say that the flood of amateurs is making the professionals look bad, I submit that all of this mediocre work can actually make the professionals look better. As a photographer, I should have problems competing with all of the people out there running around with high quality consumer cameras claiming to be professional photographers. I don’t, however, and still make a great deal of money doing what I have been doing professionally for years. The reason? Well, there are actually several. Obvious quality aside, one advantage of genuine professionals is that they continually invest in their profession and market themselves as professionals with references, a solid portfolio, and actions that back up their professionalism. You only get out of something what you put into it. Sure, it doesn’t take much for someone to pick up a camera and snap off a few decent pictures. The big picture, however, is something more. Do they know what to do with the pictures after they take them? Do they know the technical aspects of what they are doing? Do they know other skills which will enhance what they are doing? Also, do they know how to market and sell themselves as a professional? It is one thing to be able to take decent pictures and find people who don’t want to pay for them, it is quite another to sell pictures when all that you do is work for free. What is free, anyway? If a person is not making a living doing what they do and they don’t make any money doing it, surely one has to ask what they get out of it. No matter what you do, there is always underlying motivation, and in most cases where a deal looks too good to be true, the motivation can be misrepresented and not in the best interest of the people who are targeted for those services. You also have perceived value. Not only are the services which are offered for free questionable, but the fact that they are done for free undermines any perception of value. Could you truly respect something which is given to you, or do you respect what you work for and invest in? The irony in this situation is that it is often harder to give away a service than to sell it outright because of perceived value. As a professional, I realize that if you do anything, it is worth doing well. If it is worth doing well, then you deserve to be compensated for it. Show me someone running around doing so-called professional services for free or for charity all of the time, and I will show you someone who either isn’t being honest about their intentions and motivation, doesn’t know what in the hell they are doing, or maybe a little of both. Are these people of any benefit to anyone with what they claim to be doing? I think not. On the flip side, it’s not all black and white, either. Sometimes, a professional needs to collaborate with other professionals and they might need to do projects with little or no pay to invest in their career and the industry. It is all about weighing out the investment with the return. That is fine, as long as it is kept in perspective and that is not all that they are doing. If you make money with a career as a professional, by all means you have earned the right to collaborate or invest. If all that you do is free, however, you really need to re-evaluate what it means to be a professional and what your career is really all about. This is why I question people who seem to be trying too hard to be philanthropists and seem to go out of their way to do challenging projects at no charge or they announce to the world that all of their proceeds are going toward charity. A little of that is great for business, but a lot of that may point to poor business skills or downright deceptive practices, and none of that is good for anyone to get involved with. If you don’t make any money doing what you do, you’re not able to put your all into what you are doing, and ultimately something will have to give and you will not be able to continue.
It is often said that the actions of people can reflect upon others in their profession. This is often not the case in reality, however. How can a market flooded with amateurs make professionals look better? Simply by the professionals having a professional voice through networking and marketing. These days, those with the best portfolio of work, the best skills, and the best ideas are those with the advantage. Don’t ever forget that.
I am sure that most will point to the flooded industries and bring up the disadvantages to poor public perception of these industries. I point at advantages and opportunity, especially when an effort is made to educate the public. Many of the same things which are supposedly ruining industries can, in professional hands, be used to unlimited advantage.
This is the dream, and more film makers are beginning to wake up and realize that. We have inexpensive ways to make films, market those films, and to promote ourselves. With reduced costs, we are free to experiment and create. It’s just too bad that many aren’t doing this yet. This, of course, will change.
A lot of the old ways of doing things in the film industry are simply outdated. It used to be that a film maker had to write a script, get investors, obtain equipment, hire a production crew, cast the roles, rehearse, shoot their film, edit and score it, package it, send it out to film festivals, get their film discovered by a buyer, and then close the deal to do anything in this industry. With over 6,000 independent films made every year (and possibly many times more than that by now), this process is not only difficult, but it is a long shot to obtain any return on their, or rather their investors, investment. Those who limit themselves with this process most likely will not make it regardless of the quality and the talent going into their films.
Trust me on this. When I attempted to do my first major film project, I tried to do it by the book. The end result is that the attempt failed, and it was a bittersweet experience in that it had a good measure of misery intermixed in some lessons that were learned along the way. I have learned in the past four years since, and now know that there are better ways of doing what you are meant to do. With the Tampa Bay Film site, we will all be sharing what we have learned over the years and you will all have the advantage of learning from our successes and our failures. You will also learn that you can make your own rules, create your own opportunities, and increase the odds of becoming a successful film maker regardless of what everyone else is doing.
I remember back in 2002 when I was in a Reverence pre-production meeting in Northdale with a contracted production team headed by a gentleman by the name of Edwin. The independent film was almost completely cast by that point after several long auditions, the script was just about done, and we were ready to start filming. Just before rehearsals were supposed to begin and the final actors were cast, however, something went wrong. What were the issues? Well, for starters, Reverence was a TWO HOUR feature film which would have taken a lot of time and resources to do despite the effort that was put into it being low cost. Edwin and his team balked at the extra equipment and hard drive storage which was needed, and the breaking point came when I brought up a then-unheard of plan to self-publish the film as a purchased download if we couldn’t land a buyer or a distributor. There were concerns about piracy and other issues, and the result was that the team abandoned the project. While I believe that the download issue was a scapegoat covering the real issues of the general lack of the equipment needed, I don’t really have to point out that, five years later, in this age of broadband access and video IPod downloads being mainstream, that the download plan was correct, if not a little ahead of its time, and will become even more relevant as time goes on.
There are concrete business paradigms that have been proven to work. There are professional alternatives to what professionals have been led to believe is the only way to do this business. We will reveal this to the independent film community on this site in due time. We must address what needs to be taken care of first, however. We must first teach others how to walk all over again, of how important it is to put quality ingredients and time into any creative effort, and how they can do quality, entertaining films on little to no budgets.
Sure, I have issues and concerns with independent film here in Tampa Bay. As an example, I’ll point out that very few indy film makers realize that good lighting is important. Many seem to forget to budget lighting altogether, and if they do use it they don’t use it well. This leads to the infamous home-grown Tampa Bay indy film/ video camcorder look, and it is one of the marks of death that will handicap any film even if the rest of it is done well. After spending thousands on professional cameras and editing stations, there is simply no excuse to skimp on lighting, especially since it can be done inexpensively if you know how. This is only one of many areas where we will be helping indy film makers. While on the subject of lighting, I should point out that a few independent films that I have seen have done lighting well, but there are not many of them that do. Of those that have good lighting, I would have to say that Paul and Pete Guzzo and their film series The Ghosts Of Ybor have excellent lighting, at least from what I could see from the trailers. Those look good, and we need more of the same.
We then go onto the subject of film festivals, which much of the Tampa Bay Film site is optimized to address. We have an online film festival which will serve a larger purpose as time goes on and we reveal more. For now, however, this online film festival is far more convenient than any other local film festival event, and it should give even the large events much-needed competition. Tampa film festivals, it should be pointed out, should have a little competition, however, as many of them have lost sight on what the point of having a film festival is all about. What is the point? That’s something that well be addressed in due time, as changes are coming to the Tampa Bay independent film community and everyone will benefit from those changes.
Tampa Bay Film will lead the way to exploring alternative film making and the possibilities of what is coming. I can’t wait, and neither can you.

C. A. Passinault
Executive Producer
Passinault Entertainment Group

OPINIONS - POST OPINION - PREVIOUS - NEXT

Opinions expressed on the Tampa Bay Film web site may not be shared by the professionals shown or represented in our photographs. There may be no photographs of our staff on this web site, and our writers reserve the right to publish under Pseudonyms for their safety. Professionals featured on this web site may not be affiliated with this web site and may not be contributors. Photographs are the property of our contributing photographers from the Tampa Bay and other Florida markets.

Opinions published on Tampa Bay Film may not be shared by our contributors and advertisers. Opinions expressed may not be shared by the Tampa Bay Film web site, and are solely those of the writer or contributor behind them. We reserve the right to withhold the identities of our writers, and may not provide such information if we cannot positively identify the source of the request or their intentions.

Films shown on our online film festival remain the property of the copyright owners, and exist on profiles which were set up by them. No film or intellectual property which belong to others exists on our web site server. Films and externally hosted content may be removed at any time simply by the owner deleting the profile where it is hosted or by writing us so we can remove it at our convenience. We are not a hosting or networking site and do not maintain servers capable of hosting large amounts of content. We are a resource, business, and marketing site for the professional Tampa Bay Film community for the use of production professionals and talent.

All use of the Tampa Bay Film site is covered under our terms of use, and you must read and understand our terms of use and our disclaimer before you can legally use this web site in any way. Usage, which includes viewing our content on any web browser or computer, waives us from any and all claims of slander, libel, cyberstalking, misrepresentation, and invasion of privacy. Please read our DISCLAIMER and TERMS OF USE for more information.

OPINIONS - POST OPINION - PREVIOUS - NEXT

UPDATED 03/03/07

 
   

NEWS - FILMS - OPINION - FILM FESTIVALS - SCAMS - JOBS - TALENT - FEATURES - RESOURCES - TAMPA BAY - CONTACT

TAMPA BAY FILM - BLOG - TAMPA BAY MODELING - TAMPA BAY ACTING - TAMPA BAY PHOTOGRAPHERS - TAMPA FILM FESTIVAL

TAMPA MODELING JOBS - FLORIDA MODELING JOBS

TAMPA FILM FESTIVAL

TAMPA BAY MODELING - TAMPA BAY ACTING - TAMPA BAY FILM - TAMPA PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

TERMS OF USE - DISCLAIMER

© Copyright 2006 - 2008 Tampa Bay Film. All rights reserved. Presented as-is, with no guarantees expressed or implied. Informational use only. Tampa Bay Film is not legally liable for the content on this web site, and use of any content waives us from liability. Anyone using the content on this site or attempting anything described on this site assumes all legal and civil liability. Please be familiar with with your local laws before using this site. Information on Tampa Bay Film is not to be taken as legal advice or advice which may be covered under any licensed or regulated profession. Opinions expressed on this web site are those of the individual contributor and may not be shared by other contributors, models, photographers, or businesses who may be involved with this web site or our online community. Tampa Bay Film is a free, no-obligation professional independent film and talent resource web site operated from Tampa, Florida, by a team of professional freelance and agency-represented talent. For more, please read our Disclaimer.

Raptor Class Web Site by Eos MediaArts, a Passinault.Com company. Raptor Class 0002, commissioned 011107.2100 hrs.

Web Site Design by Tampa Advertising Agency Eos MediaArts. Main Tampa photography by Aurora PhotoArts. Tampa Bay events by Eventi Events. Our Tampa Film Showcase monthly Tampa film festival and networking event series by Eventi Events, a Passinault.Com company.

Hosted on the Tampa advertising agency Eos MediaArts Tampa Hub server account as of 01/11/07.

Tampa Bay Film moved to new Eos MediaArts Tampa Hub server on 12/17/07.

Raptor 3.0 Upgrade applied 12/17/07

Tampa Bay Film moved to new, permanent TampaBayFilm.Com server on 03/23/08. Updates resume!

Tampa Bay Film site template and site directories refreshed on 10/11/08. Chris Woods power!

© Copyright 2006-2008 Tampa Bay Film. All rights reserved

 

    
   

A1-M

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

    
   
Professional Opinions and Debates
    
   

 

Tampa Bay actor Joe Davison during a break on the set of the Tampa Film Network independent film The Quiet Place. Photographed by Aurora PhotoArts, a Tampa Bay photography and design services company. Photograph by photographer C. A. Passinault.