Guest Post From The Maxwellton Workshop # 1: Linda Barsi---My LA Family

I interned for Liz last summer and a month after it endedshe hired me as her assistant. I worked on Season 1 of the web series Dating Rules From My Future Self  (Note from Jesse: Click here to watch all of Dating Rules on Hulu!) withher. Both the internship and that first job empowered me with vital workexperience and confidence. Two weeks after DatingRules wrapped, I got a call with a job offer from the entertainmentadvertising company I currently work at.

It’s been just over a year since I graduated from Cornelland it was so refreshing and invigorating to be back in the classroom thissummer with Liz at the Maxwellton Workshop. I consider the time we spent with Liz to be invaluable. It wassuch a gift to have four hours of workshop time every week with someone as experienced and knowledgeable asLiz. Her positivity and “can do” attitude is contagious in the best way.

I was so nervous to film my first short for the class. I was stressingabout everything from the sound to not being able to find turkey wraps for mycast and crew, but it really came together. My DP and my two actresses wereamazing. My actresses even brought their own costume options and extra props.It’s so encouraging having my first two LA film projects completed. And I hadthe opportunity to work with professional crew and actors to boot. .

There were seven of us in the class and we all bonded overgroup projects and helping out on each other’s film shoots. It was like havinga little film family in LA, with half of us graduated and the other half stillin school. This class was just what I needed to gain more confidence and startmaking things again as well as hone and put into practical use the skills that I began to develop at Cornell. It’s exciting to see everyone jazzed to continue writingand directing projects after this summer.

Some of the Maxwellton Workshop 2012 students, from bottom of pile to top: Emma Shalaway, Elizabeth Davis, Linda Barsi, Caitlin Cowie

First shoot for class, a scene from Thelma and Louise

--Linda

Goodbye to the Summer of Self-Promotion

Hey Everyone!

So this summer is coming to a close and with it our internship has officially ended. The funny thing is, in this business the kind of internship we had leads to a relationship that surpasses just this summer. It is a relationship that myself, Annie, and Elizabeth will continue to keep strong between one another and of course, Liz. We have learned an inexplicable amount about this business from so many different angles. It's kind of incredible that it was only 2 months. Without getting too sentimental, from all of us, we just wanted to publicly thank Liz for everything she did for us this summer. She both treated us as trusted colleagues and employees with integral creative work while simultaneously teaching and training us in a crash course on directing, surviving this industry, and being a professional. Whether it was cutting a reel, creating a website, writing a breakdown, practicing a pitch, helping to create a publicity packet, visiting a set, guiding ourselves around a studio backlot, or even just grabbing the ever-necessary latte, through our experiences we have a basis that many people don't get until they dive into this world themselves. That is priceless. What's more, we even have begun our own portfolios as directors this summer and now have the momentum and confidence it takes to keep adding to them as well as the knowledge and wherewithal to know how to do so.

Our work also continues past this summer more concretely. We are already planning shorts and other projects to shoot during the year. Elizabeth is staying out in LA and will continue to help Liz on future projects and will eventually be moving in with fellow Maxwellton Workshop students Emma, Linda, and Caitlin (expect a few guest posts coming soon). Both myself and Annie will be back at Cornell, both taking filmmaking courses, continuing learning the theoretical and practical sides of film we have started learning out here, albeit maybe a little more formally (who needs grades?)

Throughout the year, though, all of us as well as the Maxwellton Workshop members will be in touch and prep for hopefully working together on bigger projects in the future. Did I hear a feature film next summer perhaps? We'll see...

....but expect a lot of fake moustaches.


Peace

Love

Maxwellton


Signing off from the Min,

Jesse, Annie, and Elizabeth

PS. Shiri mentioned our blog on twitter! Watup 24,000 followers! Big thanks!!!

Tweets

7hShiri Appleby ‏@ShiriAppleby

Check out what it's like working on a pitch for Hulu from the pov of a Hollywood intern... http://bit.ly/OJJEEq  Such fun to work with them!

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What happens in Vegas...and/or Santa Clarita

Sometimes the best thing about this internship are the wonderful surprises from Liz that grace our email inboxes at 1am. Most recently we received word that we would be visiting Liz's mentor and friend, Gary Fleder, as he directed Episode 101 for the upcoming show, Vegas (starring Michael Chiklis and Dennis Quaid...yes, we were excited too).  After a busy day in the Min we hopped in the car and drove into the desert wasteland that is Santa Clarita where many shows are and have been shot including Liz's episodes of Franklin and Bash.


When we arrived at the set, we were thoroughly impressed with the magnitude and detail of the whole operation. The production design was amazing, complete with a Vegas strip from the 60's and a fleet of antique prop cars. Additionally there was an extensive Craft services table we took full advantage of.
We arrived on set and Liz went to go say hi to Gary and producer Cathy Konrad who was Liz's former boss a while back, while we tried to remain out of everyone's way during the shoot and still absorb as much as we could. The casino set was absolutely beautiful and watching the whole production team work like a well-oiled machine was both inspiring and daunting as we compared them to our own shoots in our heads. We saw AD's managing hundreds of extras, CameraOps working out shots and ironing out kinks, we saw color-correction working as the shot occurred, and we saw Gary keeping his cool throughout the whole thing, getting the exact performance and shot he wanted throughout all the madness that somehow also made sense.


Gary was so collected that he even made time to speak with us and show us stills on his iPad of color-corrected shots from previous shoot days, which looked awesome and telling us about what it has taken and will take to polish the episode up to his very high standards.
Oh and we forgot to mention in this set, because it is a casino in Vegas in the 60's, there is more hazy "cigarette smoke" than should ever be allowed to exist, and because they were shooting, the air conditioning was off for the most part...with roughly 200 people in a relatively small room in the middle of the desert. Somehow, nobody seemed too fazed. It was actually remarkable how everyone kept pushing through with their jobs at a highly professional level, a state of mind which Gary clearly creates and maintains on set.

Eventually we snuck up the fake stairs of the casino to get a better view of the whole production and who do we see waiting on the side? Our good friend Dennis Quaid, studying lines and just kind of being awesome.

After watching a few more takes and feeling the heat get the better of us, Liz took us to go explore the other sets including the casino office and the 

county jail where we all took mugshots and answered pop quiz questions about what we just saw regarding the procedure for communication for each take in a shoot, the details that are taken into account, and understanding the general movement and flow of a shoot. After another trip to Craft services (read: dinner), we concluded our expedition and said thanks to Gary and got back just in time for our final Maxwellton Workshop meeting. 

                 
                  The Minmates

               

                        Chief Minmate Allen--Arrested for owning a sweatshop of interns in the back of her house

Minmate Hayes--Arrested for indecent exposure and sass

                            (PICTURE REMOVED FOR DECENCY)

                             Minmate Davis--Arrested for possession of illegal substances and microphones

                      

               Minmate Turk--Arrested for violently snarky behavior in a crowded area and disturbing the peace

All in all it was a fantastic opportunity as per the norm with this internship and obviously a lot of fun, but nevertheless, it was still not taken for granted and a great expedition.

Huge thanks to Gary and the Vegas Team! Can't wait to see the episode!


--Jesse

Liz has a Twitter! Follow It!

So as you may or may not know, this is the summer of self-promotion here at the Min and in the works are an updated reel and even an official Elizabeth Allen website coming soon(big shout out to Ali Hamed for facilitating that one).  While we finish up on those, however, Liz does have a brand spanking new twitter. Right now, though, she only has something like 5 followers. So we ask you, readers of the Min blog, please follow Liz! If you don't have a twitter, here's the perfect reason to get one!

Liz's twitter handle is thisislizallen
link to Liz's twitter profile

The more people who follow, the more we'll get to see the witty humor and exciting window into the life of a director that are Liz's tweets. Already we have cameos from Michael Rosenbaum, Joey King, and Selena Gomez. Get excited for what's to come and follow follow follow!

                             Liz was really cool as a 5 year old

DIRECTING ACTORS Project - "American Beauty"

Hey guys!

Here's my project for our "Directing Actors" class.  This is a scene from American Beauty between Lester and Carolyn.  We were supposed to go into the project with limited knowledge of the original, so here's a different take on it.



DIRECTING ACTORS - "American Beauty" Scene from Elizabeth Jaeleigh Davis on Vimeo.

I'm excited to see everyone's original projects next!

Cheers,
Elizabeth

Moustaches: A Practical in Pitching

This past Wednesday night we had a very unique exercise in class where each of us had to prepare and give a pitch for our respective short film projects that we will be shooting soon. Just as in a real pitch situation we practiced coming into the studio, working the room, engaging in small talk, transitioning into the pitch, having an engaging and well-thought out presentation, and how to wrap up and be concise so as not to seem too desperate or long-winded. After each pitch, one person was appointed the "head studio exec" and came up with questions to ask about the pitch and why it would be marketable and then Liz gave feedback on the pitch as a whole.

Now all of this would be cool enough and pretty important as is, but with Liz there is always that extra something. To feel more like a "real" pitch situation we added something that is present in all studio executive situations...moustaches. Yes, each of us  became mustachioed thanks to the party store up the street, so as to add that level of gravitas that only a French handlebar moustache can add. Annie seemed to really fit best into her facial hair as she took on the role of studio exec whole-heartedly bringing up a very tumultuous merger within the studio and her younger, wild days.

The whole process was really informative and we learned a lot in very little time with each pitch and the personalized feedback we got was pretty much priceless. For directors, a pitch is a lot like an audition, just in addition to selling yourself , you are selling an idea, a team of creators and collaborators, and an inspiration. In today's industry where money is scarce and in general less movies are being made than ever, these kinds of pitches are integral to staying in work and getting things done. Each of us brought our own flair to the different pitches with stunning visuals, music, charisma, information, and even some ridiculously addictive chocolate crisp things that Sarah brought.

Luckily, the Flat Pretzel Films Production company was very generous and bought all of our projects...except there's no pay. Woops.  Guess that's why you have an agent.

Shout out to Linda's mom who visited the Maxwellton Workshop this week and wins the photography credit for the post.

--Jesse

Photo Shoot and Q&A

Hi everyone!

It’s been a while since my last post, so kudos to Jesse for keeping everything up to date.

First off, we wanted to let you all in on a project we’ve been working on for Liz.  She and Shiri Appleby (see previous post about our awesome trip to the set of Dating Rules from my Future Self) have a meeting in a few weeks with Hulu and were asked to pitch an idea for a web series.  They came up with a concept, and I helped out by fleshing it out and preparing a little pitch for Liz, Shiri and the other Minterns.  At this point, Jesse, Elizabeth and I have each gotten a chance to do such a pitch to practice conveying our ideas and visions for a project.

So on Tuesday, the Minterns headed over to Shiri’s for a photo shoot.  The plan is to create sample posters so Liz and Shiri can show off the concept’s marketability.  We can’t reveal the full concept of the potential series, but suffice it to say that big love can come in small packages!

On Monday, we were lucky enough to get to meet Josh Randall, an actor Liz directed on Franklin and Bash.  He’s been featured on Joey, Cold Case, CSI: Miami and CSI: New York, Lost, The New Adventures of Old Christine, The Mentalist, Law and Order: SVU and Grey’s Anatomy and has completed character arcs on Ed, Scrubs, Courting Alex, Men in Trees, Pushing Daisies, Raising the Bar, Greek and Criminal Minds…among others.  He came by and we trapped him in the Min so he could answer our questions about life as an actor in L.A., the TV industry, and what he likes in a director. 

Since television directors are usually hired by the episode and often are neither producers nor creators of the show, they are in a very unique position compared to film directors.  It was interesting and very helpful to hear what Josh had to say about his preferences for a director’s balance between letting the actor handle his character and trying to find new angles or richer layers.  Essentially, the take-home message was that you really have to play it by ear; he said he’s had directors who have been able to deepen his character and his character’s relationships, but he’s also had directors who have turned to him for advice about a show’s tone or comedic style.  And it seems like both can work well, as long as each party respects the other’s input.  Of course, that might not always be the case.

Thanks Shiri and Josh!

Paramount (part 2)

As promised, here is the sequel to our Paramount excursion, this time with the entire Cornell in Hollywood group.

Through Cornell in Hollywood, we all met Lee Rosenthal, President of Physical Production at Paramount. Lee was really great at explaining what his role at Paramount was and how he got there and was really inspiring with all of the zeal he had for the work he does. He also showed us behind the scenes clips from different films he has produced including the Mission Impossible movies (he was there when Tom Cruise jumped out the window of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai--which was apparently real), the Paranormal Activity movies, the Transformer movies, and 8 of the Star Trek movies--just to name a few.

Some of the highlights of Lee's tour included explaining to us the process of using the parking lot/water tank for different scenes and using it also as a reflective sky for the latest Star Trek movie. Also he showed us different iconic spots on the lot where movies like Sunset Boulevard prominently featured parts of the lot.

For me, the best part of the tour was when we got to check out the different New York streets backdrops and came across a film shoot for the upcoming Broadway musical turned movie Lucky Stiff. One of the producers, Victor, came over to our tour group and chose me to come sit with the director (who directed Memphis on Broadway) and Tony-award-winning lead actress Nikki James (from Book of Mormon) to watch a few takes complete with rain towers on the director's monitors. It was very cool to soak it all in.

The set of Lucky Stiff

Finally, we all went back and had a Q n' A with Lee about pretty much anything we wanted.

Definitely a good finish to our Paramount experience. Looking forward to what comes next!

--Jesse

Paramount (part 1)

Our most recent studio drive-on was at Paramount Studios. The old school backlot with all the history. You'll notice that the title to this post says part 1. That's because in addition to Liz's internship rocking, Cornell in Hollywood likes to hook us up too so we are going there again today and meeting the President of Physical Production. I'm sure we'll have some pretty cool stuff to talk about after that visit as well.

We got onto the lot with a drive-on to meet Sasha Alexander of Rizzoli and Isles. Although we didn't expect to meet the famous Ms. Alexander, we did end up walking right by her and only Elizabeth realized what was going on. Just to be sure we quickly IMDB'd her to match picture to face so as not to make giant fools out of ourselves only to find that when we looked up from my phone, Sasha had vanished.
Unfortunately we didn't get to see Sasha again for the rest of the visit, but if you're reading this Sasha, it was nice to sort of meet you.

After that we did an intensive self-guided tour of the historic lot. We walked down the streets of the different city backdrops moving from Chicago to Brooklyn to Soho to some rundown city in just 10 minutes. It's pretty amazing how detailed all of the sets are. 

We also saw the sets for Dr. Phil and The Doctors (which was what was set up at that time) and took pictures in the star's chairs backstage as we eluded to the more legitimate tour groups as they actually toured the set. We just can't be tamed by the conventional tour group.
   

As we went from stage to stage and as the weather got hotter and hotter, we started to feel our energy wearing down and decided to head back to the car. The lot itself isn't that big because it is relatively old and in the middle of West Hollywood (as opposed to the rest of the lots we have visited so far which have for the most part been in Burbank in the Valley with a lot more space). That being said (and I take full blame for this since I claimed to know where I was going) we got lost a few times and ended up taking the very long windy way back.

In the end we used up the last of our energy to check out the gift shop, where, per usual, we bought nothing because everything was insanely priced, and took pictures with the banners (well the ladies did) and the famous Paramount Gate. 

All in all it was a nice break from all the work we've been doing for Liz on an upcoming project and very cool to see a place with so much history, but it will be even better after today when we get a personalized tour, explaining what exactly we are seeing.

                                                                                      

The girls and their men (there are more but I figured, 5 pictures of virtually the same thing would be a little overkill)

The Minterns in the classic Sunset Blvd. shot

Excited to tell more about this awesome lot soon, also shout out to Carla from The 24 Hour Plays who works at Paramount that we had the good fortune of bumping into for a quick hello!

--Jesse

First Screenings in The Maxwellton Workshop

This past Wednesday night was pretty exciting. In class, Annie and I screened our first scene shorts for everyone.
Annie screened a scene from Thelma and Louise and I screened a scene from Squid and The Whale. It was very exciting to hear feedback on our work, especially because actually just going out and making your own work is something pretty new to both of us and this whole experience was very telling as to what it takes during pre-production, production and post to make something you're proud of.
Personally I learned a couple important lessons while screening:

1. Always do quality-control before screening. This may seem obvious but when you're finishing up the project it's the last thing on your mind. But lo and behold, neither me or Annie tried the DVD's on the system before screening so in the end they weren't the right kind and had to be screened on the computer.  Definitely not the kind of thing you want to happen in any kind of presentational setting; screening, pitch, or whatever else. Technology is great---when it works, when it doesn't it tends to make you look unprepared and dumb.

2. Checkerboarding in post-production. This is a technique in editing where you overlap sound so that speech comes before you cut to the speaker's face, thus quickening the pace and taking some of the unnecessary air out of the scene. It's a lot like in theater when people overlap one another in conversation for comedic timing or for intense drama, just in film, you want to have the actors give each other space in shooting so that in editing you can choose exactly how much they interrupt each other and where. It may seem weird to do during editing, but by the time you're done you'll be glad you did.

3. Finally, don't be afraid to play. Both in production and post, everything is digital, which means you can make a copy of your footage and play around with it. You can add effects, coloring, sounds, tracks, whatever you want. During shooting you can improv, have the scene be done silently, or without scripts, or in a Boston accent. Don't be afraid to screw around a little, because in the end it will actually make the performances come off as more real and full-bodied and will help you discover really cool takes on the scene. And then you edit together all those true moments in a creative way and suddenly you win an Oscar. It's just that simple. We'll have James Cameron verify that soon.


Anyway, the best thing that comes out of this experience is that you can learn and gain so much from just one shoot and that in today's world, shooting is so easy that there is no excuse not to always have some project in the works. Shoot with an iphone/flipcam/anything and download Avid/finalcut/premiere and edit in bed or if you're me edit with a beer outside barefoot. You'll have a movie within 2 weeks.

Here are mine and Annie's videos.

Enjoy!

Excited to see the next screenings for class next week and our 2nd shorts in a few weeks!

--Jesse

"Directing Actors" Shoot - Photos from the Set

Hello All!

Last Sunday we shot my project for our weekly "Directing Actors" workshop.  I chose to direct a pivotal scene from American Beauty.  With the talent of a couple wonderful actors, my cinematographer, classmates acting as production assistants, and Jesse's gorgeous house, we recreated a charged moment between the mid-life crisis-ing (yes, I just made that a verb) Lester and his uptight wife, Carolyn.  

We started the day doing glamorous location duties--picking up piles of dog poop in the backyard--and ended the day sweating in the hot heat of the Valley.  But all in all it was lots of work, lots of fun, and a really invaluable experience.

My DP (Director of Photography), Tim Merrill and I.

The very talented Chris Connell (as Lester) and Lucy Egerton (as Carolyn).

Can't wait for the next project!

Cheers,

Elizabeth

Never Say Never: The Avi Youabian Story

Just chilling in the Min with Bieber and check out the credits!

2 nights ago we had the privilege of meeting with one of Liz's former students and close friend Avi Youabian. Avi went to USC Film and is now a successful editor in LA. He has edited everything from blockbuster 3-D movies to Academy Award winners to his own bar-mitzvah video cut with footage of him jet-skiing. His resumé includes The West Bank Story (Oscar for best short film), Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and TV episodes of FlashForward, 90210, and Cold Case.
As diligent interns we of course had a screening of the Justin Bieber movie and gained a newfound appreciation for the Biebs. Liz even claims she is now a Belieber. In truth, though, the film was a work of editing talent, though, because in a documentary you have to make the footage you are given seem compelling and make it tell a story even if it isn't, even when it is Justin Bieber eating doughnuts out of a trashcan (yes that happens).

When meeting with Avi, we learned all about his journey to where he is now and as is now becoming a pattern with the people we meet, we learned about the incredible work ethic he has. Every step of the way he always took initiative to give every project he worked on paid or unpaid, credited or uncredited more than his all and in return he gained a reputation as a top-notch editor. We learned more about the politics behind the scenes of movie-making both for big and small films, and that sometimes what may seem like a misfortune may be a blessing in disguise.

Avi also gave us a lot of helpful information as to how the editor and director can collaborate and what not to do. A main point was to get as much coverage as possible, meaning shoot from every angle, every time. When debating whether or not to do one more take, do it. You won't regret it later. Digital space is cheap and you'd rather have more material to work with than less.
Finally Avi regaled us with stories of his beginnings and working late into the night on a project only to be offered a job on the spot after a director noticed his diligence. These things pay off and out here people find jobs in the most unexpected ways.
Watch out for Avi, he has only just begun.

Warner Bros. Studio Sneaking and Stalking

It's been a while since our last post, so let me catch you up. The past week has been extraordinarily busy with all 3 of us hard at work on our own projects creating publicity packets, cutting reels, brainstorming pitches for new projects and learning about the finance side of projects works. Unlike many other industries, this one has no set path and no predictable outcome day in and day out. It's why it's exciting and also why it's terrifying and can keep you working until all hours. But, if you love it like we do, it's all worth it.

While making sure we have plenty to do, Liz also makes sure we get the most out of our time out here, so a few days ago she had us drop everything and go on our second scavenger hunt of the summer at a studio, this time the Warner Bros. Studio. We might have stressed out a little bit worrying that we wouldn't get things done in time, but let's face it, with Elizabeth being the Batman fan she is, it was hard to push off this impromptu visit.

Our self-guided tour of WB was nothing short of awesome. We visited the site of many different famous TV and film shooting locations all over the lot and took pictures (as per Liz's scavenger hunt) with many different backdrops and the famous water tower (the one where the Animaniacs used to pop out of on Sunday mornings). We also visited Central Perk, the Ellen Degeneres Show office and the Legendary office (the company that shoots Batman) so that Elizabeth could fulfill her inner comic geek.
After all of this we tagged along different VIP tours (keeping our distance) and trailed off at times to sneak on to soundstages. In particular we snuck around the set of Shameless and saw the swamp area and building used for Merlott's in TrueBlood.

Wrote the Harry Potter Screenplays

Merlott's from TrueBlood

all the soundstages (so many!)

Shameless 

Shameless set 

Trying desperately to keep her cool

In addition to all of this we visited the chill-inducing Warner Bros. museum where the original costumes, props, and prominent set pieces from some of their most well-known shows and films are on display. We saw the new Batman costume from the upcoming film (which yes we all have tickets to already to see in Imax) and all the costumes from Friends (including the girl repelling bracelet), the Departed, and the Oscars that WB has won for its numerous films. There may have been some tears. We also went to the second floor of the museum devoted to Harry Potter. We each got sorted by the original Sorting Hat from the films (I'm in Slytherin, Elizabeth is in Hufflepuff, Annie was identified as a Weasley and was put in Gryffindor) and saw all the different beautiful props and costumes from the film. It's actually so impressive the time and effort that must go into the design of all of those and it is shocking that a lot of what we might think is CGI in the movies is actually just fantastic prop design.

Unfortunately the security was pretty tight and photos weren't allowed there.

Finally we found the hidden bungalow colony where celebrities have their offices and stalked around to find different famous parking spaces (because we're cool like that) and found Steve Carrell and Sarah Silverman.

<Pretty Little Liars shoot>

we kind of wish we were this cool

The coolest thing we saw by far though, especially if you are either of my sisters, was a shoot in progress  of Pretty Little Liars that we were somehow allowed into (Note: if you walk around like you're supposed to be there while looking at your phone like you're reading an important email, you can get pretty much anywhere in this town). We watched the shoot for a while and may or may not have seem some stars (truthfully none of us watch the show, so who knows).



After a good 3 hours of walking around and stalking random tours to find cool things, we decided to head back to the Min. It's pretty awesome getting to see first hand how things work both on the development side from working for Liz and on the production side through these visits. Getting that kind of well-rounded view is pretty much priceless.

--Jesse