I haven't had much opportunity to update this week so I'm going to do that quickly and write a bit about what's going on now with me.
1.) Recently I've finished my Ham Radio documentary and screened with for Sam Pollard, who I always screen for because I trust him to tell me the complete truth, most importantly what he has issues with, and I really respect and appreciate that he does that for me. He told me what he has issues with but said at this point not to worry about it. I'll reserve his critiques until later because I don't want anyone to have a bias when seeing the film. I've filled out the online application for Tribeca Film Festival and will be sending DVD screeners soon. If you haven't checked out the trailer yet, it's here, go check it out.
2.) In early to mid September, in an effort to stay active I decided to practice my doc treatment writing and wrote a treatment on a documentary on Nyle Emerson. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned him before so I'm not going to go much into detail on him here.
Anyway, I showed the proposal to Sam Pollard and he said it sounded pretty good and to go do a preliminary shoot. Of course, upon hearing that I was like "yes! it's good, let's do a prelim. shoot!... wait, crap, how do I do that?"
Long story short I figured out how to do the preliminary shoot for very little money and that's what I'm doing now until Saturday night/Sunday morning. I'll be sure to give a further update on that as it happens, maybe I'll even post a clip or two up here.
Showing posts with label Sam Pollard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sam Pollard. Show all posts
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Good news, and of course, the subsequent bad news that follows
Good News:
Well, folks, the good news is that I now know that people actually read this blog.
The Bad News:
Apparently I can get in trouble with the actual people that read my blog for what I write in here.
The Story:
After a long day of interning after a long night of not sleeping I made my way down to NYU to work on my projects. While I was there I had decided to visit some old teachers and faculty administrators/members that I knew down there, an idea for keeping up good relations with those I respected.
After running into Sam and chatting briefly I made my way to the 9th floor in the hopes of catching Joanne Savio, which, of course she wasn't around so whatever. However, while I was there I thought it would be fun to catch up with Dean Antonio and Patti Pearson (assistant to Dean Antonio) since I've known them for such a long time and have a good amount of respect for them.
I popped into Patti's office and had a not-so-nice surprise awaiting me. Apparently they some how got a hold of my blog, this blog and were very much more than upset about this post, specifically the part that detailed the events of the final night.
I learned from a source whom shall remain nameless since I'm sure someone I don't want reading this is reading this and I would hate to get my source into any trouble, that my blog post was forwarded to Rudy who then sent it over to the film department.
This tells me that whoever ratted me out was either a "friend" of mine on Facebook or has some odd obsession with me because they would have had to google my name and go to the bottom of the second page, skipping over the at least 1 other Matt Chao blog just to reach mine. I have no idea who blew the whistle on me and even though I would like to know, it's not important. If whomever did this was an administrator or teacher or what have you in NYU, I can understand, it in some way shape or form was your job. I would like to put aside the child-ish reaction of saying "whoever turned me in can suck a big fat one," even though they can because they're clearly no friend of mine.
What I would like to discuss here are of a multitude of things. I would like to preface this conversation by saying in no way do I believe I was right in what I did nor do I believe that I should not be punished in some way shape or form by whomever is in charge of administering punishment in this case whether it be the university or the universe itself. I did something wrong and was foolish enough to put it on a public forum for all to see, I'm getting what I deserve.
Ultimately I wonder about the legitimacy of "evidence" such as said previous post that we find on the internet. I have been taught not to trust everything I read on the internet, or, for that matter, not to trust everything I read, so why are corporations and numerous individuals so trusting of incriminating evidence they find in people's blogs?
Something that bothers me is that I could have easily spun my situation into something that seemed as though it was a prank I pulled to test if the university was stalking me. I didn't because, despite the fact that I didn't think of it at the time, it's not the kind of person I am nor that I want to be, I'd rather not lie to keep myself out of trouble. If there's anything I've learned from Sam it's to own up to your mistakes and learn from them. However, the case still stands that I could have spun this easily to make it seem as though it had been all fabricated because it very well could have been. Aside from there being hundreds of false blogs out there (just a handful that we've just now heard of over the news), there is no physical evidence, no tangible evidence that confirms that I actually did what I said I did. People lie all the time, so why is my blog taken as immediate truth? A bragging confession?
Now, I'm not going to deny that I did what I said I did and I'm not going to pretend that I'm not sorry either, because I am, Patti and Sheril have a right to be mad at me, but I think that this internet stalking of employees has got to stop. I think that, even though there is no privacy on the internet, there's a need for additional evidence beyond a blog post because just because everyone can see who say I am doesn't mean who they see is necessarily me. On top of that, it's just fucking creepy.
Well, folks, the good news is that I now know that people actually read this blog.
The Bad News:
Apparently I can get in trouble with the actual people that read my blog for what I write in here.
The Story:
After a long day of interning after a long night of not sleeping I made my way down to NYU to work on my projects. While I was there I had decided to visit some old teachers and faculty administrators/members that I knew down there, an idea for keeping up good relations with those I respected.
After running into Sam and chatting briefly I made my way to the 9th floor in the hopes of catching Joanne Savio, which, of course she wasn't around so whatever. However, while I was there I thought it would be fun to catch up with Dean Antonio and Patti Pearson (assistant to Dean Antonio) since I've known them for such a long time and have a good amount of respect for them.
I popped into Patti's office and had a not-so-nice surprise awaiting me. Apparently they some how got a hold of my blog, this blog and were very much more than upset about this post, specifically the part that detailed the events of the final night.
I learned from a source whom shall remain nameless since I'm sure someone I don't want reading this is reading this and I would hate to get my source into any trouble, that my blog post was forwarded to Rudy who then sent it over to the film department.
This tells me that whoever ratted me out was either a "friend" of mine on Facebook or has some odd obsession with me because they would have had to google my name and go to the bottom of the second page, skipping over the at least 1 other Matt Chao blog just to reach mine. I have no idea who blew the whistle on me and even though I would like to know, it's not important. If whomever did this was an administrator or teacher or what have you in NYU, I can understand, it in some way shape or form was your job. I would like to put aside the child-ish reaction of saying "whoever turned me in can suck a big fat one," even though they can because they're clearly no friend of mine.
What I would like to discuss here are of a multitude of things. I would like to preface this conversation by saying in no way do I believe I was right in what I did nor do I believe that I should not be punished in some way shape or form by whomever is in charge of administering punishment in this case whether it be the university or the universe itself. I did something wrong and was foolish enough to put it on a public forum for all to see, I'm getting what I deserve.
Ultimately I wonder about the legitimacy of "evidence" such as said previous post that we find on the internet. I have been taught not to trust everything I read on the internet, or, for that matter, not to trust everything I read, so why are corporations and numerous individuals so trusting of incriminating evidence they find in people's blogs?
Something that bothers me is that I could have easily spun my situation into something that seemed as though it was a prank I pulled to test if the university was stalking me. I didn't because, despite the fact that I didn't think of it at the time, it's not the kind of person I am nor that I want to be, I'd rather not lie to keep myself out of trouble. If there's anything I've learned from Sam it's to own up to your mistakes and learn from them. However, the case still stands that I could have spun this easily to make it seem as though it had been all fabricated because it very well could have been. Aside from there being hundreds of false blogs out there (just a handful that we've just now heard of over the news), there is no physical evidence, no tangible evidence that confirms that I actually did what I said I did. People lie all the time, so why is my blog taken as immediate truth? A bragging confession?
Now, I'm not going to deny that I did what I said I did and I'm not going to pretend that I'm not sorry either, because I am, Patti and Sheril have a right to be mad at me, but I think that this internet stalking of employees has got to stop. I think that, even though there is no privacy on the internet, there's a need for additional evidence beyond a blog post because just because everyone can see who say I am doesn't mean who they see is necessarily me. On top of that, it's just fucking creepy.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Another Day at Work
I guess it can be gathered pretty easily that it's a slow day at work today from the fact that I'm writing about it. Despite that, however, I have learned a few more things.
1.) A full(er) night's sleep (6 hours) is wonderful and packed with interesting dreams that I had no trouble remembering when I was a kid but now have difficulty remembering. (Odd tid-bit but there it is)
2.) Pandora Radio is great.
3.) Life minus IPod Touch is pretty good too.
4.) Getting myself to write when the internet is available is difficult.
The fourth and last one is probably the only one that's really really annoying. I hate having projects hang over me but at the same time I'm really bad in that I tend to have a lot of them hang over me and this script, as well as other ideas, are projects that are hanging over me and it's a problem, as I've discovered, because I can't seem to get myself to do anything about it. I learned from Sam Pollard a year or so ago that so much of film making is just about discipline and I feel that discipline has been a problem that has plagued me since the age of 5. I'm horrible at keeping myself in line and have been for as long as I can remember.
It's always frustrating when you discover something that your parents said to you that you just rolled your eyes then is valid. I remember my dad saying something about my needing to learn discipline. I never took it seriously nor did I try to do it because it seemed like too much effort. I just trusted that when it came to crunch time I'd do it, and that, for the most part, is how it is with me now, but is that how I should be doing things? What happens when I have no "crunch time," or, rather, that "crunch time" is ongoing because there is no deadline because no one is keeping me accountable? How do I get it done then?
I guess I just need to learn discipline. Now's a lot better than later. I guess.
1.) A full(er) night's sleep (6 hours) is wonderful and packed with interesting dreams that I had no trouble remembering when I was a kid but now have difficulty remembering. (Odd tid-bit but there it is)
2.) Pandora Radio is great.
3.) Life minus IPod Touch is pretty good too.
4.) Getting myself to write when the internet is available is difficult.
The fourth and last one is probably the only one that's really really annoying. I hate having projects hang over me but at the same time I'm really bad in that I tend to have a lot of them hang over me and this script, as well as other ideas, are projects that are hanging over me and it's a problem, as I've discovered, because I can't seem to get myself to do anything about it. I learned from Sam Pollard a year or so ago that so much of film making is just about discipline and I feel that discipline has been a problem that has plagued me since the age of 5. I'm horrible at keeping myself in line and have been for as long as I can remember.
It's always frustrating when you discover something that your parents said to you that you just rolled your eyes then is valid. I remember my dad saying something about my needing to learn discipline. I never took it seriously nor did I try to do it because it seemed like too much effort. I just trusted that when it came to crunch time I'd do it, and that, for the most part, is how it is with me now, but is that how I should be doing things? What happens when I have no "crunch time," or, rather, that "crunch time" is ongoing because there is no deadline because no one is keeping me accountable? How do I get it done then?
I guess I just need to learn discipline. Now's a lot better than later. I guess.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Production and Doodles
Saturday and Sunday I finished production on Laszlo Santha's and Sam Pollard's doc. It was an interesting experience with lots of interesting subjects... as well as a crazy one or two.
At any rate, I had a good experience sound mixing, which doesn't happen that often, but yea. I recruited an underclassmen friend of mine, Ming Hu to be the DP for this project and I'm glad that I did. Ming is a Beijing native who went to high school in Queens and is now going into his Senior year at Tisch. I knew him since my Sophomore year, meeting him on the set of a previously mentioned film Bohemibot and have worked with him one other time my Junior year where I was DP-ing my friend Andrew Roehm's colorsync film.
Ming had recently returned from the also previously mentioned shoot in Georgia; the one that left one dead and others in not-so-great shape. At first I felt hesitant about asking Ming; considering the situation, but he agreed to it and I rationalized that he needed to do something to get his mind off the past shoot down south.
I am extremely glad to have had Ming as a DP on this film. Ming made the film look great and was a pleasure for me to get to know better. My only other experience with Ming was his working for me as an AC on Roehm's first film but this time I felt like we were partners and we kept each other sane... or at least he kept me sane, and the outcome was good too so I'm glad that he was there and I would love to work with him again... which I hope to in September.
In other news, I have a doodle or two to post, so here they are:
At any rate, I had a good experience sound mixing, which doesn't happen that often, but yea. I recruited an underclassmen friend of mine, Ming Hu to be the DP for this project and I'm glad that I did. Ming is a Beijing native who went to high school in Queens and is now going into his Senior year at Tisch. I knew him since my Sophomore year, meeting him on the set of a previously mentioned film Bohemibot and have worked with him one other time my Junior year where I was DP-ing my friend Andrew Roehm's colorsync film.
Ming had recently returned from the also previously mentioned shoot in Georgia; the one that left one dead and others in not-so-great shape. At first I felt hesitant about asking Ming; considering the situation, but he agreed to it and I rationalized that he needed to do something to get his mind off the past shoot down south.
I am extremely glad to have had Ming as a DP on this film. Ming made the film look great and was a pleasure for me to get to know better. My only other experience with Ming was his working for me as an AC on Roehm's first film but this time I felt like we were partners and we kept each other sane... or at least he kept me sane, and the outcome was good too so I'm glad that he was there and I would love to work with him again... which I hope to in September.
In other news, I have a doodle or two to post, so here they are:
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