Resignation

On 11/9/06 9:07 PM, "neal@nealacorl.com" wrote:

> I have some news regarding our work together. The time has come for me to
> let you know that the experiment did not yield the results that I, and I'm
> sure all of us, hoped for.
> We have a record of some very fine and interesting work by all, but we do
> not in my estimation have the necessary elements to make a feature film.
> No one is at fault, nor should anyone feel that we failed. We tried to do
> something extremely difficult to accomplish under the best of
> circumstances.
> I learned a tremendous amount from the experience and wish to thank you
> all for your contributions.
> We are in the process of cutting all of the scenes together in story order
> to put on DVDs for everyone. We will make every effort to include the
> best performances and camera work, but we will not force anything. There
> will be gaps in the story and inconsistencies in the photography. I look
> forward to seeing the story laid out. As I look forward to having a
> record of our work. I think there will be bits that you will be proud of
> and that you could use on a reel. There's certainly a lot of great stuff.
> Soon you will have a copy of your own to judge for yourselves.
> Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
>
> With Respectful Gratitude,
>
> neal

I appreciate receiving the following responses from some of the people with whom I had the privilege of sharing this experience:

hey neal,
it was truly a pioneering project, with rewards that i feel aren't bound to
a conventional end product. i heartily believe it's all about the journey.
thanks for letting me come along.

::: ::: :::


Neal,

You pursued MADE CROOKED with tremendous heart, and now you're
letting it go with both tremendous courage and focus on the important
things. Good on you.

Our "Acting Retreat" will remain a turning point for me in my
artistic life. Thank you for that.

Fondly, and gratefully,

::: ::: :::


That blows. Understandable though. Thanks for the heads up. Had a great time and as always learned a bunch.

::: ::: :::

White Flag

I'm sick to my stomach. I've been trying to cut some of the opening scenes of the film together. The performances are pretty good -- powerful emotion with some funny bits, too. Problem is that the two cameras are shooting incompatible stuff. By the time we shot these scenes I was exhausted and as such I let the cameras work on their own. They were tired as well. Understandably so.
Angles, energy, composition, continuity -- none of this matches between cameras. I don't see a way in to tell the stories. In the three scenes at the grill that happen continuously the camera changes every time. The biggest problem is the mismatch of energies. I can't move from a static shot to a shot that's jumping all over the place.
I'm considering putting together an assembly of the entire film regardless of these issues. Just lay it all out there as a record of the work we did. Put it on DVDs for everyone and make a decision about whether or not to pursue this experiment any further at a later date.
Right now I just want to vomit and go to bed.

nc