I finally screened New Shoes for the first time this past Sunday at Bike Shorts, hosted at Public Assembly in Wburg. I hadn’t been to the space since Galapagos vacated the premises, and was pretty disappointed to see that they had removed the pool, which always looked like the inky depths of hell to me. I thought it was so cool that someone thought to dedicate that much space at an art venue to their aesthetic vision; you could easily have crammed at least another 80 bodies into the area it used to occupy. In a place like New York City, where real estate is at such a premium, there seemed no greater expression of disdain for a rational economic model than that.
Anyway, a handful of friends came out for the show, but all left before the audience applause vote was taken. Of course Rick came out to lend support and stuck around for the whole thing. Even though he attempted to disguise himself in a vain effort to insulate himself from the wrath of the crowd.
I tried to capture the voting for New Shoes, but I didn’t really get to turn the camera on in time. This brief clip should give you an idea of the response it generated though.
I think the one guy generously sharing a pity clap with the crowd was the A/V dude. It was pretty funny (to me and Rick at least). Anyway, here is the film. Things learned:
1. Prep work is key. If you want to shoot a location, you should probably check to make sure that that particular location is actually open during your scheduled production period.
2. Degenerate gamblers DO NOT enjoy having their picture taken outside of the OTB on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
3. Rick is gully. No one I’d rather have at my back if I had to throw down with a group of overbearing Park Slope helicopter rents.
I spent a good chunk of my Saturday attempting to shoot a short film with the help of Mr. R. Petkovsek, who graciously agreed to spend his day serving as the principal actor. My innate laziness dictated that I do no location scouting beforehand, which wasn’t intially a problem, considering that the first scenes were shot entirely on the street. However, upon arriving at the second location, the OTB on 5th Ave and 12th Street, I quickly realized the benefits of preproduction planning. My storyboards required several shots be acquired inside the OTB; it functioned as the setting of crucial elements needed to advance the film’s narrative. I had assumed that taking a guerrilla filmmaking approach was the best option, and had planned to try to shoot as much as I could before the OTB’s minions ejected us. But facing the cold reality of gambling degenerates likely throwing away their children’s college funds on a Saturday afternoon, I felt my resolve wither, and also felt some responsibility for potentially putting Rick in potential danger/under threat of arrest. So I made the crucial mistake of trying to sweet-talk my way into getting some random ticket taker to let me shoot there. No dice.
After a quick consult with Rick (who really should get a producer credit on this inevitable turd of a movie, or at the very least a compliment on his Comrade Tito t-shirt), we attempted to cobble together a semblance of the required shots by relying solely on close-ups and exteriors of Rick walking in and out of the building. That was when we discovered that degenerates whiling away their childrens’ futures don’t like to have their pictures taken. So after some dicey exchanges with a few gin-blossomed gamblers who seemed intent on dusting their knuckles with our faces, Rick and I decided it better to cut our losses and get out of there with our teeth intact.
The other location I had in mind, Bar Reis, was still closed by the time we made our way over there, maybe around 3 pm. But I think that actually worked out for the best, as I got to put Rick through some method acting paces by compelling him to pretend to take swigs from a tall boy and act trashed in a public park besmattered with small children. His actions likely scarred several of them. Emotionally. Despite the rough go, I think I got some great gems thanks mostly to Rick’s quick thinking and willingness to throw himself into the part zealously. I gotta say that Rick was my rock; after I was resigned to just give up after the OTB and bar failures, he convinced me to keep plodding along, which I thank him for. The MNN editing class I made the short for doesn’t start until early June, so I’m going to force myself to wait until then to review the footage.
Hi All,
If you’re getting this email, it’s because I thought you might like to see the newest addition to my family (of tattoos). Here is the long-winded explanation…
1848 is my favorite historical year because of the explosion of revolts and revolutions that rocked the European continent in that year. These were the long-delayed and natural extensions of the French Revolution of 1789, and the liberal ideas that Napoleon had spread had been (sometimes brutally) subdued for half a century. When another revolt happened in France in July 1848 (“July Days”), revolutionary fervor spread quickly, hitting big empires and little ethnic groups alike. The tattoo has 3 drips on it. The first represents liberalism, the most direct force unleashed by the French Rev. The second is for nationalism, the bottom-up kind that led many Slavic nations and ethnic minorities to demand better treatment within autocratic empires (specifically the Austro-Hungarian), The third (and smallest one) represents socialism, as it was just being born and realized–1848 was the year that the Communist Manifesto was published. I wanted to get it in the style of graffiti because they were very informal, often spontaneous eruptions of protest, like guerrilla revolts.
Anyway, if you could stand reading that, at least you got a minor history lesson for the day. I suggest Revolutions of 1848 by Priscilla Robertson as a comprehensive study of the events of that year.
