Category Archives: Filmmaking
Blogs here include my film experiences at industry events, screenings, movies whether they’re mine or other filmmakers.
Displaced in Vegas
Wow! It’s been one year since I landed in Las Vegas after teaching English in South Korea for 7 whole weeks. What was supposed to be a back-up plan to my filmmaking career ended up being just another experience. I left Los Angeles after 18 years. I have had a love-hate relationship with my filmmaking career. I’m still struggling to make any kind of steady income. The film business is so hard if you don’t have that full-time position. And I know people whom would love to break into freelance work, but are a bit afraid to leave their full-time job. It’s not easy to give up a steady paycheck. So, I don’t officially have a back-up plan.
My back-up plans need back-up plans.
It’s not all bad! Since I realized I may be in Las Vegas for a while, I decided to make the best of it. It hasn’t been easy making friends in this town, but I’ve manged to make a few. A friend told me I could be like a big fish in a small pond. There’s a little truth to that. I’ve had some great opportunities here in Vegas. I edited a short film, “Come Together” about social media. That’s starting to get out there. In April, I wrote an article about TribeFest, a gathering in Vegas of all the Northern American Jewish Federations that was published in David, a local Vegas magazine. That article lead to a 4-page story about myself and my film experiences; screenwriting, directing and editing in David Magazine. That story coincided with a screening I had in June for an old feature film I produced, co-wrote and co-directed. And on July 28th I’ll be screening my short film, “The Octo Circus” as a part of RAW Artists with all sorts of artists; Art, Music, Fashion, Photography and Models.
So, it hasn’t been a great year, but there’s been some good things that have come out of living in Vegas.
‘Always look on the bright side of life.’
If you’d like to attend the RAW Artist event in Las Vegas July 28th click the following link. Make sure you use the drop-down menu to show my name [Ross H. Martin] when buying tickets which are only $10. http://www.rawartists.org/lasvegas/illuminare
Share this:
Social Media Day
New York, New York Casino & Hotel
On June 30th, 2011, a proclamation was made for the state of Nevada that this date is now officially Social Media Day. Sara Gabriella of Finesse Enterprises holds up the proclamation besides her partner, Demont Daniel.
There are other cities that proclaimed Social Media Day. Many cities, at least six, were watching a live stream from Las Vegas @ Rok Vegas club at New York, New York Casino & Hotel. The event put on by Finesse had sponsors including Absolut Vodka and Red Bull.
Frederick Townes, CTO Mashable
The main sponsor of the evening was the great social media company, Mashable. A keynote was given by Frederick Townes, CTO of Mashable.
The Rok Vegas club had an inside bar and a Twitter feed set up with a large screen so guests can tweet themselves onto the screen using the hashtag #smdayLV There were some games and giveaways including a one-night stay at the New York, New York Hotel. Later in the evening as the social geeks got a bit tipsy there were some ‘planking’ going on. You have to be in the know.
It was a fun event, good for social media and actually good for face-to-face networking.
And now here’s a word from the sponsor…
Share this:
“Restrepo” and Remembrance
WOW! Just watched 2010 Sundance Grand Jury Prize award winning documentary, “Restrepo.” This mind-blowing film grabs you and never lets go. Seeing these boys fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan day-in, day-out and getting each other through the difficult times, losing soldiers, their comrades, their friends, is incredibly heartfelt. The footage is very real and extremely powerful! You feel somewhat like you’re there in the mountains with them as the cameras follow them everywhere. And who are these brave cameramen?
Who are these courageous filmmakers willing to put their lives on the line to be able to share the lives of these soldiers putting their lives on the line? Sebastian Junger wrote the book, The Perfect Storm, made into a movie starring George Clooney in 2000. Tim Hetherington was a celebrated cinematographer who worked mainly on documentaries. Hetherington was covering the war in Libya on April 20, 2011 when he was killed in a mortar strike. His legacy will not be forgotten as the men that fight these battles will not be forgotten. We like to think of our soldiers as strong warriors that never express their feelings. Seeing this film makes you understand the importance of soldiers sharing their emotions. How does it feel to lose a brother? The rest of the family has to move on. At war, the enemy doesn’t wait for grievances, but it’s important that these soldiers take moments to pray and remember the dead.
“Restrepo” is such an important film for so many reasons. The war is a decade old. Osama bin Laden is dead, but the war is not over. Americans forget what it’s like to not be at war. It’s now such a part of our every day lives that people shrug it off. It’s only when soldiers die or innocent civilians are killed that it makes the news. “Restrepo” is a great reminder of who’s fighting this war and the fact that we are still over there fighting. You can feel the fear the men and boys are going through. America needs to be reminded about the war. Many Americans don’t think too much about it as they don’t know anyone fighting in Afghanistan. This film brings it home to those Americans that don’t have a brother or a father overseas putting their lives on the line. Support the troops while they’re still there. Support filmmakers in making important films, bringing home the insight that makes us think differently and change us for the better.
Tim Hetherington RIP
Share this:
Closure
One of the hardest things to deal with when you have some sort of project that has exhausted every avenue and angle for success is learning to finally let go when there’s no end in sight. When a filmmaker or artist puts every fiber of their being; their heart and soul and countless hours, days, months and even years into a project [INSERT NAME OF YOUR PROJECT HERE] they often call their baby, it makes it that much harder to release yourself from the hope and possibility of it all.
It’s like having a relationship with someone and you don’t see it going anywhere. At some point you have to free yourself from further pain. You have to find the strength to move on. Find a new project, a new relationship to develop and be excited about. Perhaps there are mistakes to learn from the last project you can apply to that new fresh idea that will propel you to go further and find success.
While picking up some supplies at Target recently I passed by a section of throwback shirts. I picked up a new throwback Beatles tee-shirt of ‘Let It Be.’ It’s not that I picked it up. It’s the fact that I could not put it down. I have had one project that has been a chip on my shoulder for roughly a decade. I’m finally coming to terms with the fact that the ‘project’ is a dead issue.
Every filmmaker or artist has their breaking point, their threshold. How much time are you going to spend on something? Life is short. Move on.
“Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be”
Share this:
My First Blog…Through WordPress!
Hello there! This is my first post using WordPress. I have an old blog site on Blogger regarding the short time I spent teaching and living in South Korea. I transferred those blogs here. The old blog was called Rossman Got Seoul. Well, I still have ‘soul’, so I’m holding onto the name and making a slight spelling change to Rossman Got Soul.
I needed a place to share my film knowledge and other experiences. I may want to share a small vlog or a brief thought. I’m looking to this area to be my place to fully express myself, my views, my opinions, my voice. As you can see, I wear many hats. Sometimes I wear more than one hat simultaneously. For instance, I may wear my NY Rangers cap while directing a short film. I might wear my NY Giants cap while editing in front of my computer. Perhaps I might wear my NY Yankees cap while screenwriting or playing volleyball or hiking in Red Rock Canyon. (You guessed it! I grew up in NY.) Yes, I live in Las Vegas. I landed here July 12, 2010. I can’t seem to shake the film industry and in many ways I never want to. It’s a difficult business, but I’m driven to make things happen whether I’m in Los Angeles or Las Vegas or wherever.
I look forward to expressing myself, meeting new people and being more involved with the online community.
Thanks and happy reading!
In Your Head Productions 