Films
72 Hours Film Festival in 32 Hours
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 | Films, Shorts, Uncategorized, Updates | No Comments
I write to you from the other side, we are here, we have finished. This year, we attempted, and finished The Grand Cinema’s 72 Hour Film Festival here in Tacoma, WA. Vonda N. McIntyre wrote the screenplay and Robin Hobb starred in it as well as Jennifer Lindholm, who is still in high school and in process of writing her first novel ( a horror novel no less) and therefore does not have an author’s website just yet. Erik Hulslander, of Bit Rationale, who is also my web master (and this entry keeps insisting he wrote it, which is his way of stealing my byline, Erik fix that or I will sue! I will! I have a lawyer in my pocket!) showed up and provided logistics and every manner of production support. My brother Giles built one of the sets and provided all meals which leaves me feeling like anything I cook from this point on in my life is lacking in taste, and Mike Peterson, a very talented architect who is also a very talented musician, delivered the soundtrack, custom written. Carolyn McIntyre was very kind to drive her RV all the way up from Olympia to give Vonda a quiet place to write outside our family madness. She also took some amazing stills which we hope to use in the longer version of the film- (check out the photography on her website, it is breathtaking.) My niece, whose chosen stage name is now Cadence, was rather anxious to not be included as usually she has some role on set. She is not a wallflower and muscled her way in to be the on hand, fog machine technician and primary operator for the final scene. I’m proud of her. The Hot Shop at Tacoma Museum of Glass allowed us on the floor and a completely up for anything UW student who happened to be crossing the Glass Bridge when we accosted her, Alison Jensen, jumped in and joined our mad fray for a very critical half hour of filming.
Not to sound like a fifteen year old girl, but it was completely awesome.
It was an exciting process, Vonda came up with a script idea very quickly and delivered it within a few hours. I wish I had a writer like this all the time but I imagine she has more things to do than live at my house and write scripts. But for one weekend I got to live the dream. It was not without obstacles… production sputtered when my son, who manages to get sick every year on the weekend of The 72 Hour Film Festival (”Next year just tell him it is on a different weekend,” his doctor suggested) spiked a fever and had to be taken in to the doctor. No one was deterred and soon we were back on path to production, though I wish I could have had those hours in post. My primary concern right now is that the soundtrack was imported into the film and the volumes are not adjusted. For the actual screening at The Rialto, I am not sure how much dialogue you will be able to hear. But my plan is to spend the next week making changes and adjustments and to hold a second, informal screening at my new favourite local wine shop, Winestyles with a few tasty bottles of wine. And of course, I’m nervous as anything because I am a perfectionist, and 72 Hours, well, 32 Hours doesn’t allow you to be a perfectionist. It makes you someone who finishes something but not a perfectionist.
I had a wonderful time, and I hope some of that is evident in what you see on the screen. Having a writer on the set proved invaluable asset, both for continuity and the spirit of the project (I now firmly believe that if Robin and Vonda set their minds to it, they could talk anyone, into anything. Beware their jedi mind tricks.)
If anything, I think the festival is to push home just what can be accomplished in a weekend. Which in our case, was a lot, and of course, leads to the question, what could we have done with a week?
And that is exactly how people get suckered into this madness, ladies and gentle readers. Exactly and precisely.
Yours from the grey city,
K.
The perfect cup of coffee
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 | Films, Shorts, Uncategorized | No Comments
(Sorry for pulling it down, I had to fix an edit. Fixed now!)
Greetings from the cold and misty waterfront town!
I love coffee. I’m not usually a snob. I drink coffee the same way I read my books: high and low and all over the place. That said, I can genuinely appreciate it when a cup of coffee is not just beans abused by a grinder and mixed with some hot water. And frankly, a really good cup of coffee can save my day.
When I heard a coffee shop was open in the former Temple of the Bean location, I was interested but decided it would have to wait until I was without child in tow. I remembered the interior was about the size of a very generous McMansion walk in closet. Didn’t seem like the place to go with my kid. Still everyone has bad days and breaking points and after a particular rotten one I pulled in to one of the cramped spots below figuring I’d just grab a cup and rush out. Child or no, I needed coffee, real coffee, not just the dirt in the cup variety.
So I took my chances with my kid and discovered Satellite Coffee.
Well, not only was the coffee heartbreakingly excellent and the milk steamed to the perfect stopping point, the service was incredible. The interior is well done, with some really subtle and interesting design elements. It is small but it doesn’t feel cramped, and while I would not recommend hauling kids in there unless you have a serious handle on them (the space is as small as I remembered) I will say that one of the winning points for me outside the coffee is that my son is always treated with the same respect and attention that any other customer receives which I really deeply appreciate.
When I heard that Zachary Marvick of Satellite was the only Tacoma local entered in the Northwest Regional Barista Competition, I rather shyly asked Pat Brown if it was okay with both of them if I get some footage of it. So here it is, now the sound quality was pretty rotten due to all the coffee making sounds, so you miss out on the amazing description of some of his drinks. So my suggestion is that you might want to stop into Satellite and perhaps give it a try if you’re not already a regular.
Take money for a good tip.
From the rainy town,
K.