Interview

P e t e r  J o h n  R o s s

www.BudgetFilmMaker.com:  Peter- Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us

                                                  about your short films The Quarry, Licence Exam, The

                                                  Line of Masculinity, Bitter Old Man and finally Film

                                                  Makers - The next generation. Tell me a little more a

                                                  about these films and point of making them. What were

                                                  the morals behind each film?

Peter John Ross:  'The Quarry' was loosely based on someone I used to work with. A

                            despicable self cantered type of stockbroker that womanized. I fantasized

                              about him finding people more evil than himself and running for his life. It

                              was a happy film for me. I am an avid action film fan, and this was one of my

                              attempts to work out those interests. 'Licence Exam' was just a thought I

                              had when my girlfriend (who appears as a DMV employee/Hostess) had a

                              bad experience at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and I saw the faces of

                             these horrible, underpaid, cynical government employees. 'The Line Of

                             Masculinity' got created based on a real life conversation. I overheard this

                            and it was very based on the way women were rating the men in the office.

                           This is how I think some women view men. 'Filmakers The Next Generation'

                           came about from doing 6: 30 PSA's (Public Service Announcements) for the

                           non-profit COLUMBUS FILM CONSORTIUM, which I created. When the

                           non-profit group went under, I re-combined them as a short. It stars my 5

                           nephews and my niece (affectionately called "Porkchop"). I gave them all

                          equipment, told them their job name (no description of what they need to do)

                         and let them go. I started rolling film (actual celluloid with Kodak Super 8 film)

                         and they did their thing. I wish I had recorded synch sound because my nephew

                        Andrew, playing the director, started yelling at my niece "Just say your lines! Just

                       say your lines!” We wrote & recorded voice-overs after I did a picture edit

                      'Bitter Man' is about a racist father confronts his son on the eve of his engagement

                      to a black woman. Shot on Super 8 black & white film & also mini DV and

                     converted to black & white to match.

BFM: After watching some of your films I could see you have a real passion for

           comedy film making, what is it that you enjoy about film making and the thing

           that keeps you coming back to making more films like the ones you have already

           made.

PJR: I’m now done with making short films, I am moving on to features only. I have 2 feature

       films in the works. One a dark, dark comedy (the kind I love) and the other a World War

      II horror film.

BFM: We understand it’s important to get the right look in pre or post-post production

            when shooting a film. What digital camcorders do you currently use for your

            films? (Please recommend any new camcorders that would be useful for anyone

            beginning film making)

PJR: I own a Canon GL1, but the essential tools to go with it are Tiffen filter sets. I have promist,

        enhancing filters, 58A, and more. They soften the "video" look. The new camcorder of

        choice is the Panasonic DV100A 24p mini DV, but it still looks like video. I think the goal

        with these new camcorders & plug ins like MAGIC BULLET are to make your video look

        less like video, and not to look like film. If you want a film look, shoot film. I have also shot

        Super r8 films with the Nikon R10 super 8-film camera, and currently shoot in 16mm with

        the CP-16 camera.

BFM: What lighting equipment do you use for lighting your films? (Internal sets) 

PJR: I use a Lowell lighting kit. Lots of gels, lots of diffusion. Well exposed, but soft lighting is the

        secret. Scott Spears, a D.P. I work with a lot, has taught me tons & tons of tricks. Using a

       china lantern (a $5 purchase) gets really good soft light with a standard light bulb. Using

       utility lights don't really produce very good results. Learning the art of lighting is a lifetime, so

       I like to turn to people who are passionate about it to help out.

BFM: What hardware and software did you use to edit your films on?

PJR: I used Canopus DV Raptor capture cards (I have 2 editors), and Adobe Premiere

        6.5 [although I am upgrading this week to the Canopus ACEDVio and Adobe Premiere

        Pro]. I also use Adobe Photoshop and After Effects, as I feel like the whole Adobe suite

         is essential to doing practically any movie.

PJR: I feel very strongly that it is less about the brush you use, as it is the mind & the

           hands of the artists. I don't think Final Cut Pro is better than Avid which is better

           than Premiere or Media Studio Pro which competes with Vegas... they all do the

           exact same thing and it always comes down to preference. There is no difference

           between any of them except what buttons do the same things.

BFM:  How did you get into making films? What were your influences?

PJR:  I met Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise, Slacker, School of Rock) in January of 2000. I

          told him I wanted to be a filmmaker, but didn’t have the money to get started. I thought

          films were at least $25,000, like his own movie Slacker. He told me to get a camcorder

          & make a movie. He asked "which is more important to you: owning film stock, or telling a

          story?” That had a profound effect on me and within 2 weeks I had bought a camcorder

         & had shot "The Job Interview", which is now playing on Movieola the short film channel.

          I made 6 short films within a couple months, including The Quarry, The Job Interview,

          Friend Or Foe, The Manhattan Project, Conspiracy Theories and Asphyxiated Heart.

          I got fired 8 months later & have been a full time filmmaker ever since.

BFM: How do you fund your filming projects? Do you get funding from external groups

           and how you recommend other filmmakers go about getting funding for their

           projects?

PJR: I have paid for every film I've made so far out of pocket. No grants, no investors. Short

        films can be made (even on film) so cheaply. Save up and make your own movies until

        you've made a name enough for your self so that you become a safer investment to

        investors. If you can win awards or get press for your short films, then an investor feels a

        lot more comfortable putting their money with you. You run the risk of losing an investors

        money on "learning" what works & what doesn't on a first time movie, as opposed to honing

        your skills for free or cheap on DV.

BFM: Name your top ten films of all time?

PJR: In no particular order: Slacker, Blade Runner, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Fellowship of the

        Ring, Star Wars (iv A New Hope), Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan, Smilla's Sense of

        Snow, Die Hard, Raiders of the Lost Ark, In the Company of Men

BFM: When working with actors, what do you think is the most important factor when

            instructing them during a scene?

PJR: I don't like to view it as "instruction", but rather collaboration. The most important factor is

        preparation. Rehearsals and concentration. Try to play some very basic actor games with

        them. I started by meeting  everyone I did and did not know. We introduced ourselves and

        then moved into some improvisation exercises, like "what's on the table?” where 1 out of 3

        selected actors try to convey without words what's on the table & the other two have to

         guess solely based on their physical acting. That's more for warm up and basic chemistry

         between actors. Then comes the fun game. Pair everyone up and  go with a simple set of

        dialogue:

CHARACTER 1
What's that?

CHARACTER 2
What?

CHARACTER 1
That!

CHARACTER 2
Nothing.

     They can make it drama, comedy, sci fi, whatever. The point is to see what they come up

     with (see what their instincts are) and then you (the director) can then give direction. Shape

     the performance with the actor and see how well they understand what you say and how you

     say it. It's a great and very simple game that shows how well you can communicate direction

     and how well they can tweak a performance.

BFM: What difficulties have you come across working when with digital technology?

PJR: Just audience perception. If it's video or looks like video, it's harder for the audience to get

        into the story & forget that it may look like a soap opera or reality show.

BFM: What difficulties have you come across during the production of your films?

PJR: Learning about contracts and how even "friends" will screw you over if you don't read the

        fine print. I lost the rights to 2 of my short films by forming a company with friends. When I

        left the company, it got ugly. We had to get lawyers involved about something we shot with

        a camcorder in 3 hours. Pure lunacy, but it really happens. Cover your ass. Get the

        paperwork signed before beginning.

BFM: How would you do things differently for next project?

PJR: Focus, keeping attitudes & energies very positive. Keep everyone excited from start to

        finish. 

BFM: What is your next up and coming project you are working?

PJR: I am moving on to features only. I have 2 feature films in the works. One a dark, dark

        comedy (the kind I love) and the other a World War II horror film (a scene is online now

        with Horrors Of War). Both are being shot on film. We've been scooping up film stock

        from short ends, and even ebay.

BFM: Do you prefer to write and produce your own ideas for films?

PJR: Mostly, I do only want to produce stories that originate with me, but I am no longer going

        to write the screenplays without a screenwriter, separate from myself. I had always fancied

        myself a writer/director, but I am at a stage now where I have to admit that I am not a very

        good writer. I am working with writers and being very collaborative on the writing process.

        In the same vein as Steven Spielberg and Bryan Singer - I am going to take the "directed by"

        credit only, no matter how involved I am with the script. I might take a "story by" credit,

        but I don't think I'll write the screenplays myself any more. I want the input and debates that

        come from working with someone else. You generally wind up with a better piece in the end.

 BFM:  How did you recruit your cast and crew for your filming projects?

PJR: Initially I used friends, then I held auditions, now I just call upon the people I've worked

        with for the last 4 years. At this point, Ohio State University sends me interns for class

        credit, so it's a good place to be in.

BFM: What advice would you give anyone writing his or her own scripts?

PJR: Get & take other people opinions on occasion. If someone reading it says, "I don't get it"

        you might have a problem.

BFM: Did your project come out like you expected ?

PJR: It's my opinion that if you get 50% of what you expected on the final movie, then it's

        arousing success. The art of filmmaking in many ways is trying to get closer to your

        imagined each time you make a movie.

BFM: What makes a successful film?

PJR: That's hard to say. People define success very differently. For me, I can only say that

        when you sit in a dark room with a bunch of strangers and the flicking images entertain the

        audience... then it's a success.

BFM:  After watching your short, Bitter Old Man. we noticed you used CGI. I wondered how

           you achieved the CGI over the graphics for the ending scene?

PJR: I started with a shoot on a blue screen. We used a 16-foot by 16 foot blue piece of

        construction paper. Then some Photoshop images of trees & forests. Put it all in After

        Effects (version 4.1 at the time). We keyed out the blue. It wasn't very good (my fault.

        as you need distance from the blue screen to get a good "matte”), so I had to manually

        trace the actors frame by frame for several shots. I had some stock footage of a sky sped

        up and the Photoshop stills. In After Effects, I used the plug-in from Digieffects in the

        Delirium set. It was called "Specular Lighting" and it gave an odd, liquid-y look to

        everything in the background. Since portions were shot on Super 8 movie film, we had to

        match the film stocks with Film FX from BIGFX. When shooting mini DV, we used a filter

       over the lens to soften the "video" look. It was a 58a Tiffen filter and we didn't white balance

       to the room.

BFM:  Finally what advice would you give anyone getting into to Bdget Film Making?

PJR: Learn your craft first... DV and IEEE1394 Firewire editing gives people an unprecedented

          ability to learn this craft cheaply. Learn how to tell a story cheaply and quickly. Maybe

          start with a 1-3 minute short film and see if you succeeded in telling the story you wanted

          to. Then move into something longer. A lot of people jump in head first with a feature

          length movie. That's like picking up a violin and expecting to play Mozart without learning

          your scales. A lot of people get discouraged and quit. Filmmaking is an art form, like

         music, start slow and build up your skills.
 

     Peter John Ross's films 'The Quarry', 'Licence Exam', 'The Line Of Masculinity' & 'Filmakers

     The Next Generation' can be seen in the 'Films' sections of www.BudgetFilmMaker.com.