Zambian Says He's Coming for 50 Cent
While we were on location in Mtendere, Lusaka, Zambia, a tweaked out guy came up to the crew and asked them to deliver a message to Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. The entire clip is only 54 seconds long. It's funny as heck. Here we were in one of the poorest sections of Lusaka where hardly anyone had a television, virtually no one had a computer and many folks didn't even seem to have electricity and this guy seemed to know all about the U.S. Rapper, 50 Cent. He wanted us to let him know that 50 Cent had messed everyone up and that he was going to come to America and get him for what he had done. We posted this video. In less than three days, it had over a thousand hits. A thousand hits. Just goes to show the ubiquitous nature of the U.S. entertainment personalities and, perhaps, that people just love to laugh.
Ah the envy ... Shawn Downs has finished his thesis film 
His newest project is based on a song by the son of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN's Larry McMurtry. With twin brother, JUSTIN, (who is a sound editor and composer), Jared is actively continuing to hone his filmmaking skills. I'll be blogging about his earlier films this week.
Further research in my email archive revealed that the grants announcment was made on May 2nd. Holy cow, May 2nd. With that announcement, we knew that a six-person crew could go but, by that point, we had 18 students who wanted to spend an unpaid month in Africa helping to shoot the feature (and companion documentary). We pushed out shoot date back to give ourselves more time for fundraising. To be honest, last summer was just a blur. And yet, the pace of the summer seems GLACIAL in comparison to how quickly the time passed in Zambia. That month simply evaporated.
Shawn “The Flash” Downs did lighting on the feature film. Initially, we brought four very expensive light kits to Zambia. The first day of shooting, we melted a transformer and blew several bulbs. Our expensive lights wouldn’t work. We had to go to the electrical store and create a low-cost, low-power solution. We ended up using shop lights with halogen bulbs of varying intensities. When presented with his new lighting gear, Shawn adapted without complaint. He lit the sets quickly and efficiently. No matter how small the location, he could bounce, screen or gel the lights to create great visuals. I look at the footage and I’m in awe of what he did. The guy’s got a great eye. Maybe even two of them.
Carlos “The Dark Knight” Espinosa was the cinematographer on the feature. He used the Sony HVR-Z1U, high-definition camera and he was the man in charge of capturing the director’s vision. Like The Dark Knight, the work of a good cinematographer is hard to see. It’s in the eyes of a satisfied audience as they get lost in the story. As the cinematographer, Carlos was first on and last off the set each day. He hung out of helicopters and buses and cars. He pulled Zambia through the lens so the world could see what we saw. Only better. To look at the images, you’d never know what he went through to get them on the screen.
Technically, Michael “Thor” Montesa was unit photographer for the feature. At the end of the month, Mike had over 40GB of photographs taken on set, on location, in the wild and of the crew. Some of the images have already been seen on the blog and in the crew video. The images are powerful, evocative and beautiful. His Zulu warriors leap out of the image and into your imagination. Mike is an amazing crew member and, one day, I am certain he will run his own crew. He was a great support to everyone. You could count on him to do whatever it took to make things work. Get sandbags, block windows, jerry-rig lights, carry a live light to follow the action. Whatever it took. He’d do it. Mike was the backbone of the feature crew.
Nick “Green Lantern” Marshall was first assistant director. On set, he got the nickname “Tick Tock” because his primary responsibility was to keep things moving. He had to make sure the crew got set up as efficiently as possible, that the cast was in make-up and on set as quickly as feasible and that all scenes were accomplished for the day. The biggest challenge he faced was his evening meeting with the producers (me and Pamela) to go over what needed to be accomplished the following day. He had all of the responsibility and none of the power to personally move things. With only three weeks to shoot, he never lost sight of what we had to get to make the story work. I’m looking forward to when he directs his own feature film. He’ll be strong and steady after this experience.
Edgar “Silver Surfer” Rider was the script supervisor. Like the cinematographer, Edgar was one of the first on set every day and one of the last to leave. He monitored the progress of the script scene by scene, take by take. Edgar watched the script inch toward completion. In spite of the daily grind, Edgar was the best pair of hands we had on the set. He moved more gear than anyone. When we went out at night, he partied with an enthusiasm that was contagious. A theater major, Edgar enjoyed watching the development of the characters as much as anything else.
Jeniece “SuperGirl” Toranzo did make-up and hair. Initially, Jeniece came on board as an editor but we were needing someone to take care of the cast visually. Jeniece jumped in and learned to do make-up for dark fleshtones. There aren’t a lot of all-black casts in the Mesa area so she had to research and study and prepare on her own. Not only did she make the cast look great, she caught the continuity details that others overlooked. She hid microphones, removed sheen and adjusted prosthetic pregnancies. With a cast of 45, there were days Jeniece must have wished she really were Supergirl. She handled them all. She made them look good and feel great about giving an authentic performance. We call her “Gidget” because there’s always fun around her. She’s just super.
Robby “Superman” Brown was the cinematographer on the documentary. Unlike the feature crew, Robby was on duty 24/7. Whenever anything was going on, someone would shout, “Doc cam!” and Robby was racing for the action. Trying to catch the truth behind the truth, Robby sometimes had to force his way into confrontational situations to capture the moment. Toward the end of the trip, it seemed as though Pamela’s camera had been surgically implanted on the end of his arm. No wonder we had about 80 hours of footage for the documentary. Super job, Robby!
Heath “Aquaman” McKinney was the audio guy on the documentary and almost anything else he needed to be. You could always count on Heath to “go with the flow.” In addition to serving as a human alarm clock each day, Heath would take care of anything that showed up for the day. He always adapted cheerfully to whatever was thrown his way. On the flight home, he even cheerfully went through Customs in Johannesburg to return sound equipment to Susan. The rest of us were terrified he wouldn’t be able to find her or that he’d miss his flight. He didn’t do either. As he had the previous 27 days, he navigated cheerfully.
Jared “Hellboy” Moschcau was the Unit Photographer on the documentary. Originally assigned to do sound on the documentary, Jared asked for a reassignment when he discovered a real love for grabbing a great shot that we could use on the blog or in the film. One of the youngest crew members, Jared became the mascot of the Kwazulu Kraal. He would bound into our rooms to see what was happening. He knew he’d get a task to do if he came to visit. He came anyway. In all the literature, it says that “Hellboy” is a special friend to DOOM. He was a special friend to the Doom Room. He was special to all of us.
Jacob “Spiderman” Felix is particularly gifted at constructing useful devices and tools out of virtually nothing. He built a dolly from a floor display, some skateboard wheels and a couple of broom handles. A few pipes and weights became an efficient steadicam. He worked with the Glidecam so that it had a broader range of motion with more subjective control. Give him a couple of rolls of duct tape and he’ll build you a submarine, if that’s what you need.
Alec “Wolverine” Hart declared at the beginning of the trip that he wouldn’t shave until we returned to the U.S. Within a few days, he could have been Wolverine’s twin brother. While Wolverine is known for his keen senses and fierce hand-to-hand combat, Alec is known for his fashion sense and his fierce verbal jousting. An editor with a keen eye, Alec is happiest in the editing room. He’s working harder now than ever before.
M.K. “Batgirl” Racine sometimes worked with the documentary crew but toward the end of the trip, M.K. primarily functioned as a Line Producer for the feature. A line producer will manage the day-to-day physical aspects of film production. If I wasn’t on set, she was there to monitor and report the progress. She and Nick kept things moving when it didn’t seem like anything would. Likewise, she kept pushing on the documentary. If M.K. is given a task, she won’t stop until it’s done.
I’ve put Pamela “WonderWoman” Bowman last on the list, at her request. She’s hoping everyone will be tired of reading and will skip over the ending. The request is representative of how Pamela served as the Associate Producer of the two films. She worked behind the scenes and always put the needs of the production above hers. Very few people know how vital she was in getting the films completed. She got on board early and provided encouragement and support from the earliest stages. In June, when I lost faith, she found it and pushed me to continue. And, at the end, when I was so weary and frustrated with the enormous problems we faced daily, she’d just keep calling cast members, arranging for transportation until I could get going again. She was a better producer than I was. I am looking forward to when she produces her own film. It’s just a matter of time.
BY CYNDI GREENING, PRODUCER — When you think about how complicated it is to take 14 students and 4 faculty members to another continent to shoot a film, you might wonder why we made that choice. Here's a short piece on why we think it's important to shoot BAD T!MING and VOICE OF AN AFRICAN NATION in Zambia.
BY CYNDI GREENING, PRODUCER — Sometimes, it's amazing to realize how serendipitously this all came together. How did Jabbes come to Mesa Community College? Why did MCC sponsor such a project in Zambia? This piece might clear it up.
BY CYNDI GREENING, PRODUCER — We leave for Zambia tomorrow. Principal photography begins on BAD T!MING on Monday, August 14. The following video will help you to understand what inspired these projects.
The first couple of screenplays I wrote, I used a typewriter. It was insanely difficult. Then I found something that would work on my computer. It was a $3000 computer that ran at a whopping 3MHz (that's NOT a typo). The software was called Movie Master and I loved it. It made it so much easier!! It was great for screenwriting AND could also do character and scene breakdowns. I found it very user friendly but I must have been in the minority. It faded from popularity and was not available within a couple of years.
The Independent Producers Conference is held every August and is structured to provide participants with opportunities to explore the issues of independent producing and to apply them to their own projects. The goal of the conference is to support filmmakers in finding resources to develop their films and to enhance their options for production and distribution. The conference brings together emerging producers, executives of production companies and distributors to discuss the challenges and possibilities for bringing these new film projects to the global marketplace. 
The last few days, I've been marveling at how challenging it can be to produce a film. It’s a long and complicated process to be sure. 
I got a GREAT night sleep last night. Alec stayed in so I wasn't worrying about him all night. I went to bed early and woke up refreshed and feeling better. The day started out with notification from 
Shortly after reading that, I hopped a plane to Burbank to meet with Sundance alum, Kathy Busby. A senior vice president of production at New Line Cinema, Kathy graciously agreed to meet with me and listened to my pitch about the Zambia films. She shared her thoughts about the strengths of the projects (good title, good media kit, good concept) and offered her thoughts on how to make the project as successful as possible. She shared that her experience at Sundance was one of the most rewarding and wonderful experiences of her life. She said being included in the Producers Conference would help the film more than any words of advice she could offer. Creative, accomplished and modest.
We're starting to settle into departure dates now. Although we now have enough to complete the project, we're still looking for more money and support to propel the film to that higher level. A couple of days ago, I had that moment of terror and fleeting thought, "Oh my goodness, what the heck have I done?" I'm anxious, excited and terrified, all at the same time. Fortunately, we're getting support from 
I found their history fascinating. They got their start in Botswana in 1962 where they pioneered the concept of low volume tourism through the development of Ker Downey Selby’s photographic safari camps. They still operate camps in Botswana; Shinde – a great big game experience; Footsteps, an interpretive camp which features walking safaris and mokoro trips through the delta; Edo’s Camp – a Kalahari experience which offers rhino and the opportunity to interact with Bushmen; and Okuti – located in the Moremi National Park and is a great camp for family safaris. They say that there is no where else in Africa can you get away and feel like you were a part of a true safari experience like you can with Ker & Downey. I'm eager to see how they put this adventure together for us!
One of the great things about working in a creative field is that you meet so many creative, talented people. Today, we met Colin Boyd , film critic and radio host of