Peter Hawley

Julie and Gibson, my downstairs neighbors, are moving this weekend. (Thanks for the bottle of wine, it was- notice the past tense- a Coppola; they know what the dumb filmmaker likes.) On Saturday we were at our block party and Julie very casually announced that she thinks they have a ghost in their unit. She described a series of strange events- a mirror somersaulted off the bathroom wall, bounced on the floor and landed in the tub as Julie was drawing a bath. The mirror and Julie were not damaged. She also mentioned strange chills, a clock that lept off the wall and skidded across the room, cheese that mysteriously flew across the room and hit Gibson, and a variety of other ghostly misdemeanors.

Cool. And better them than me.

All this started me thinking about scary movies and by far, BY FAR the scariest film I have seen in a theater is Manhunter by Michael Mann. It is a Hannibal Lecter film. He is played by the terrific Brian Cox- yet the true star of the film is not Bill Petersen, but the director Michael Mann a good Chicagoan, like Petersen and his co-star Dennis Farina. Mann styles up this film with a ton of eye candy- my guess is FBI agents don’t fly on private jets and have $1000 lamps on their desks.

The short version is that FBI manhunter Peterson has to go to Hannibal Lecter to figure out who the serial killer is. It turns out he is a man, (played by Tom Noonan) who develops Super 8mm film. He knows his victims because he has seen their home movies. He breaks into their homes, kills them and removes their eyes.

When I saw it in 1986 it scared Holy Hell out of me. I was going out with a woman who lived on the 11th floor, she kept her windows open and all that summer I swear I felt Tom Noonan was going to crawl through that window.

I met Tom Noonan a few years later. He is a really nice guy. In addition to acting he also has written and directed films- he scores them as well. Check out his film The Wife. Finally, here is an interesting side note- both Noonan and Ted Levine, who was the real bad guy in Silence of the Lambs were in Heat also directed by Michael Mann. About 10 years ago I used to play basketball with Ted Levine- he threw a mean elbow and no one would get under the basket with him because they remembered him as Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.

While I start hanging out with different types of characters, somebody call Ghostbusters.

PeterH

I often wonder where good ideas come from. I have lots of ideas, many good, many overlooked, and many not so good ones. I have always liked Michael Keaton’s character in Night Shift who was forever coming up with half baked ideas that he would talk into a tape recorder- here’s an example.

“What if you mix the mayonnaise in the can, WITH the tunafish? Or… hold it! Chuck! I got it! Take LIVE tuna fish, and FEED ’em mayonnaise! Oh this is great.
[speaks into tape recorder] Call Starkist!” (I must digress, my favorite Michael Keaton line has got to be “220-221 whatever it takes” in response to Martin Mull in Mr. Mom.)

Paul Simon wrote a song called Think Too Much and then, like anyone who thinks too much, wrote another song called Think Too Much. I think young artists often fall into a trap of over thinking things. Often, the easiest solution is the best solution. This goes back to something I wrote about a long time ago- the enemy of good is better. Over thinking a problem often leads to more trouble. I usually rely on my instincts and first impressions. If the original idea sticks with me, then it is probably worth pursuing. It might need some shaping and tinkering, but if the basic idea has some traction I am going to stick with it.

Jim and I began shooting a new documentary yesterday. The other day I said let’s have the interviewees talk directly into the camera (as opposed to me off to the side). It is something we have only done once before and an aesthetically not my favorite choice, but in this case it worked. The feeling is very intimate- as if the viewer is being let in on a secret. I think I have devoted more time writing about it here than I did thinking about it, yet I knew it was a good and valid idea. I guess one could argue that I also used 20 years of experience to get that flash of an idea, but that’s another post.

PeterH

Close readers (and viewers of the Danny Boyle interview) of this page will have noticed some changes of late. Gone from the about me section is a reference to Columbia College in Chicago and in its place is a description of my new role at Flashpoint Academy.

Yes, after nearly 12 years teaching in the Columbia College film department, I have left to be “the film guy” at Flashpoint. I told the Columbia administration at the end of May I was leaving and I have been on the Flashpoint payroll since June 1. Due to student commitments, I just recently broke the news to my Columbia classes. By far the most difficult part of leaving was saying goodbye to my current, former and future students.

At the end of each semester I tell students, ” Like it or not, once you are my student you are always my student.” They can, forever, ask me to screen cuts, read scripts or just chat. Of course the big secret is that I learn way more from them than they will ever learn from me.

Classes start September 17 at Flashpoint and there is a lot of work left to do. In the weeks to come you will read more about our progress and I will provide details. For starters click on those links to the right and you can see the Flashpoint website and the blogs of Simeon Peebler, chairman of the Gaming Department and Perry Harovas, chair of Visual FX and Animation.

PeterH

Here is my interview with Danny Boyle. Some side notes: I had 10 minutes with him. I was sandwiched between the ABC reporter and the CBS reporter. His microphone fell off during my intro so I did it a second time (not as well). His camera didn’t stop rolling so it rolled out of tape with 15 seconds left. My camera rolled out on my last word. When I say I had 10 minutes, I had 10 minutes, the camera crew used 10-minute long tapes. We were probably rolling 45 seconds after I entered the room.

For a guy who is typically behind the scenes I did OK. Danny enjoyed it enough to send over an autographed poster. Let me know your thoughts. It’s nine and a half minutes long. We discuss his film Sunshine, collaboration, sound design and how to get into the business. I previously embedded the clip here, but I think following the link is easier. It is 9 and a half minutes long.

PeterH

http://www.veoh.com/videoDetails.html?v=v823930TyTaa8Wj

A dynamic sound track is critical to making a successful film. I argue that good sound design is perhaps more important than good looking pictures. If you have ever seen a film that is “thin” when it comes to sound, you know what I mean. Of course the most obvious part of the sound track is the music and for us it is one stop shopping with Eric Sproull at Earhole Studios. http://www.earholestudios.com/

I have known Eric since college. He played keyboards on a music video I made (I have pictures of him dressed in all sorts of garish costumes that I threaten to give to his kids) and we have been friends since. On more then one (five?) occasion(s) he has given us just the right bit of music to create the mood. Once he gave us some temp music that the client liked so much, we kept it. Other times he has created demo after demo for us looking for the right sound. When not bailing us out he does high end commercial jingles- check out his reel on the Earhole website.

Here are some facts that don’t make his professional bio.

1) About 15 years ago he decided to go to law school at night. He did, passed the bar and until recently worked one day a week at the public defender’s office in Evanston, IL.

2) He and his wife have two kids of their own and a bevy of foster children and their relatives. At any given time he has at least six people and as many animals living in their house.

3) He is a committed parent and supporter of the Waldorf Schools. http://www.awsna.org/

4) A year ago he moved his family to Ann Arbor, MI. There he has a goats, horses and an in-ground swimming pool. He has created a small recording studio there and comes to Chicago three days a week.

PeterH

I had several good comments and questions on my “more collaboration” post about filtering out those bad suggestions cast or crew members might have. I am going to try to answer that issue here.

As I indicated earlier, I like to create an environment where cast and crew can feel comfortable sharing their ideas. I am open to anything but, I only take the ones I feel are good. To me it all starts with the culture we create on the set. Jim and I are very easy (I like to think) to work with. We aren’t egomaniacs or pretentious (this improved greatly after I stopped wearing jodhpurs, a beret and carrying a riding crop) and we truly value everyone’s efforts.

I think when new crew is hired they can take a quick read of the situation and know how to act appropriately. I also believe I have a pretty good filter for siphoning out bad ideas. It is not unlike teaching when students make comments- I take the Socratic approach and ask them a series of questions to get to an understanding of what they are thinking. So, if a p.a. suggests something crazy I will ask them why, and try to teach them a little about the bigger picture of what we are trying to accomplish. To me this helps create that collaborative atmosphere I so appreciate.

Finally, many suggestions from crew members come not to me directly, but via the assistant director. And the assistant director is what I am going to post about next.

PeterH

A big part of professional filmmaking- especially when clients are on the set- is the video assist set up. Video assist (invented by Jerry Lewis so he could be in the films he directed) taps into the optical system of your film camera and allows you to run a video feed to TV monitor or a series of monitors. On many larger shoots you create a video village, a little area just off the set often shrouded in black to cut down on the glare, for the clients and executives to watch what you are shooting. It is at the same time ridiculous- they could just look up and see it with their own eyes- and mandatory. Video assist is de rigeur.

When I first started I thought video assist was an indulgence. In fact I thought it was a sign of sloppiness. Once when asked if I wanted video assist I said , “No thank you I have an imagination.” I quickly changed my mind when I had clients breathing down my neck. Not only can you see what you are shooting, live, but you can roll back the video assist tape and check what you just shot. My imagination is pretty good, but not that good. In addition it is a giant safety blanket for those trust-challenged clients, who really like to belt and suspender everything.

My biggest lesson about the benefits of video assist came from Jim’s wife Kim. Before she was a nurse she worked in the film business as a video assist person. As such she spent a lot of time in the video village with the clients. The information she learned- not only about the shoot, but about office politics and agency worries was invaluable. Often Kim would come up to Jim or me and tell us something the client was worried about, BUT was afraid to tell us. Sometimes is was something mundane like there wasn’t enough lime flavored bubbly water and other times it was pretty critical. Once Kim told me the client wanted me to consult with them more. After she told me I made it a point to check with them after every take and to spend more time with them.

It was a valuable lesson. Not only did I learn something about my own dealings with clients, but I learned that they don’t always tell you what’s on their mind. Thanks to Kim’s eavesdropping we were able to make the client more comfortable and they called us often for more jobs.

PeterH

It has been said that film directing is the last dictatorial job left in the world. That might be true. There are many directors famous for their tyranny and outrage and their good films. On my sets, however, I like to create an atmosphere where everyone feels free to contribute. I don’t pretend to have all the ideas and I will take any help offered, but at the same time I don’t turn around and poll the crew as to what we should do next.

We have worked with a gaffer named Tom Lewis many, many times. He always sort of intimidated me. He was a little gruff, until you got to know him. He has worked on thousands of projects over the years so he knows more than I ever will and he didn’t take fools lightly.

On the first job we did together I could tell he was a little skeptical. Here was this kid filmmaker with- in my projection- a million-dollar idea and a 50-dollar budget. I was asking for lots of lights- big, expensive and time consuming. One full day was going to be devoted just to readying the set, the next day to a pre-light, then finally a shoot that would only last 3-4 hours tops- a lot of work for a very short payoff.

Like any pro, Tom and his crew did the job and by the time we were shooting I think he realized I wasn’t quite as crazy as he first assumed. Over the hours I could see him understand more of my vision and his work was really helping me achieve it. As we are setting one of the last shots, and the shot that will conclude the film, Tom noticed something that escaped me and everyone else. As our lead walked off into the “sunset” it appeared as if the window sash was growing out of his head.

Tom, very quietly, said to me, “Why don’t we lower the camera (we were on a jib arm that could move up and down) as he walks away. It will change the perspective of the window sash.”

It was a great idea, one that didn’t really change the film at all, but an idea that came from Tom being present and in the moment and buying into my concept. It would have been easy for him to say nothing- it wouldn’t have mattered, and I would never have known the difference, but from that moment on we were able to forge a working relationship that lasted through dozens of projects.

PeterH