Returning from LA as filmmakers
I've been to Los Angeles before, but mostly as a tourist. This time: I was a filmmaker. With Los Angeles native Damen Quincy Hayes navigating and pointing out sights of personal history along the way, we spent a week first producing a mid-project teaser of our documentary "Do the Dance" with our editor Edo Brizio and then meeting a major distribution company. I had concerns about stacking the meeting so close to the editing, but we decided this would be more efficient and we were eager to take the meeting. For those new to this blog, "Do the Dance" tells the story of the 1969 trial over the limits of adult entertainment.
A two-day edit turned into four days as we pulled more and more of the "best content" onto the timeline. The stress in the editing room was palpable on day three. We emerged with a great video tease into times, trial and issues. Hosted by a fellow Burning Man creative with a loft near the downtown fashion district we got to rub shoulders with an eclectic cast of Los Angeles creatives working to make their mark. We made some social calls over the weekend but mostly tried not to stress out about our big meeting. We arrived at the meeting early and looking good. We tried to make a connection, then talked about the project just enough to build suspense before we played the four-minute culmination of months of work and years of research. The teaser delivered. The film executive said he was "very interested" and we discussed when we could deliver a finished project. Back at the loft we showed a few more creatives and may have found our sound engineer. Yep, we were no longer tourists or folks visiting family. We are filmmakers. The next viewing of the new "Do the Dance" teaser will likely be with potential investors. Please any suggestions our way.
