Moby... you are my hero.

So... Moby is doing the music to my short film!!! Kinda... Sorta... The balded-vegan-one has created a website called mobygratis for independent filmmakers, where you can choose from approximately 150 of his songs that you can apply for licensure. The best part... it's FREE!!

It was a bit of a lengthy process due to the fact that I listened to all of the music on the site. I found two songs that I thought would work for the short, then I applied. During the process, you have to let them know what your film is about and also what the scene is where you plan on using the music. There is also a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo in regards to the film being non-for-profit and not changing any of the music and such. The bottom line is that I heard back and was granted licenship on two songs. Rad.

It's pretty amazing in today's society to see an artist like Moby giving back to the creative community. Somewhat inspiring actually. Without getting all Eddie Haskell in regards to The Little Idiot (what Moby call himself), he is also responsible for one of my favorite songs from a film. The song in question is (somewhat flowery titled (similarly to the Reznor/Ross Social Network Track Hand Covers Bruise )) God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters from the flick Heat. Both tracks are worth a listen or two... or two hundred.

Thanks Sir Moby!

Lessons and Lamentations.

Things I've learned while editing my last short:

-Get a master shot of the entire scene. I have a couple scenes where I just have the master (or 2-shot) of the beginning of a conversation between two characters and not of the whole conversation. Not having that master shot has made editing the scene more problematic, particularly when the conversation picks up in pace and is a bit on the rapid-fire side.

-Wear headphones and listen to the audio.

-Use a monitor and watch the scene while filming or during playback.

-Slow down and focus on the acting and not so much on marking off the shot-list.

-Take control of the day.

These are all things I have been taught in the past, but for some reason I did not put them into play. Neat.

I have a really good rough cut assembled and I have hit the point where I feel like I have something. It doesn't always feel that way when editing. Now I need to balance sound, smooth out transitions, license and add music, and then add opening and closing credits. Then I have another short to edit... Then and only then will I allow myself to work on another script.

Things I have been digging as of late: Circuital by My Morning Jacket, Restrepo (Military Doc.), The King's Speech, Super 8, Never Let Me Go, The Killing, Game of Thrones, All Access: A Beastie Boys Megamix by Z-Trip, Hellhound Ale by Dogfish Head.