Press!

Two of Ventura's newspapers are interested in giving me and the documentary some press. I'm so thrilled. One woman is writing an article. Thank you Michel Cicero of the Venura County Reporter. Another contributing writer to the Ventura County Star is going to do a little preview mention for the upcoming screenings. Thank you, Mark Storer. I am really, really excited. Will post more info on the screenings and the articles as they appear. :-)

Screening!

"Voices of the Homeless" screenings are being set!  I'm very excited and very scared.  The first screening is private at the public access TV station where I edited the project.  But the 2nd screening is public at the end of this month on a Sunday afternoon at a public library down Ventura.  I am going to try and get the word out so homeless people can come and see the public one.  I wonder if they will like it.  I sure hope so.  Life is so hard for them in the first place.

A question and answer period will follow both screenings.  I've asked musicians to participate but I'm going to ask a woman who was once homeless if she would be willing to participate too.

And I'm submitting the doc to the Santa Barbara Film Festival and the Ventura Film Society.

That's it so far. 

I am over the moon.  This has been two years in the making.

It's FINISHED!

OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod
The documentary is FINISHED!  I'm done.  Finito.  Finished!

This Saturday I will give the doc to my Final Cut Pro guy and he will smooth out the things I can't smooth out technically on iMovie 11, like sound and color temperature from clip to clip.

FIRST SCREENING ~ August 15th at CAPS-TV Ventura, CA

If I wasn't so exhausted, I'd be hanging from the rafters.

"Voices of the Homeless" live performance was held August 21, 2010.  Shooting and editing this documentary took me almost two years to the day.

Wow.

I'm finished.

Broken Record?

I know I sound like a broken record but I'm ALMOST DONE!  It is exciting to be this close.  I'm almost there.  Got some more editing time at the station tonight.  I'm fixing this, fluffing and tickling that.  I'm almost there!

"Voices of the Homeless" documentary goes behind the scenes of the live concert where jazz improvisers helped the homeless tell their stories at the WAV amphitheater on August 21, 2010, in downtown Ventura, California.

Regarding your comments

I want to thank all those who have commented on my project, with one exception.  Today somebody used my most recent blog as a forum to promote their religious views.  They even included their own website and blog link.  PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT HERE. 

Please know that whenever I see "comments" such as these, they will be immediately deleted.

As we all know, it is inappropriate to use someone else to promote yourself.  I have a particular disgust for those who use others to promote their religious beliefs. 

Know it will not be tolerated here.

And it is just not cool.

Thank you.

Editing Continues

I have now moved into my new home, re-shot my interview with guitarist Dan Flowers, and spent another afternoon at CAPS-TV Ventura to edit in Dan's interview.  I have more work to do but I am very, very nearly finished.

In the meantime, I volunteer at Family to Family in Ventura, CA, where I have connected with the driving force behind this organization, Pat McLean.  Pat has been serving the  homeless and hungry for 29 years by creating a lunch program on Ventura's "Avenue."

I wanted to volunteer at Family to Family because, after making the documentary, I didn't want to lose my connection to this branch of society.  Really, they have taught me so much.  After serving for a little while, I decided I wanted to let Pat know about the project and get her input.  If anybody understands the plight of the homeless, it's Pat.

She came to CAPS-TV this Saturday and sat through the entire 1/2 hour rough cut of "Voices of the Homeless."  And, I am happy to say, she liked it.  She liked it a lot.  Being who Pat is she said to me, "I'm very proud of you, Toni."

But most of all, now I will have my first written endorsement for the documentary.

I am thrilled.

The Re-Shoot

My re-shoot of Dan Flowers' interview went well.  It's funny when you ruin the first interview.  In this case, it had been over exposed.  The first interview was heartfelt and emotional.  Now with the re-shoot, my subject spoke well but the emotion was not there.  What can you do -- hit him so he cries?  I'm hoping when I edit the interview into the documentary that it will be just right.  He is so well spoken.  He had such revealing stuff to share.  He really shows you how each person who has experienced homelessness is different.  They aren't all drug addicts and alcoholics.  This guy is one of the few performance artists in the documentary.  He is a guitarist and a writer.  He also was once an art director.  And yet, thanks to his divorce and some bad financial times, he ended up living in his car.

Well anyway, I don't want to give it all away.  It will be in the finished product -- with good sound and correct exposure.  :-)

This Saturday I will be editing this interview into the piece.  But this Saturday will also be very special because a new friend is coming to the station to see the rough cut, the whole 1/2 hour.  Her name is Pat McLean and the group, Family to Family, is her brain child.  Family to Family is the organization where I serve the homeless lunch the 2nd Wednesday of every month.  If she likes my little film, I'm hoping for an endorsement.  And get this one . . . her grandson works for AFI.  How cool is that?  She's already talking the project up to him.  She likes the idea of the documentary.  I hope she likes the final product.