"I 
          don't see online sales and distribution of movies as workable. People 
          will not pay for our film and will resort to stealing it."
          - Reverence Production subcontractor who 
          didn't get it.
        
The 
          "reason" that a Reverence production team lead gave 
          for NOT BEING ABLE TO DO THE FILM in 2002. The real 
          reasons are explored below. Ironically, this statement is idiotic in 
          2007 when online distribution is hot, and C. A. Passinault did indeed 
          see what was coming. With all of the "free" Peer to Peer networks 
          around with stolen music, millions pay digital distribution sites such 
          as iTunes for downloads. The bottom line is that you have to get people 
          behind you who believe in what you are doing and who overcome obstacles 
          instead of giving excuses why they cannot do what was agreed upon. To 
          our knowledge, this production team, which had a production company, 
          is no longer in business. We are still around; we have recovered from 
          this ordeal and have taken the time to ensure that this will never happen 
          again. 
        
The 
          following is presented as one of the two misadventures of attempting 
          to get Reverence filmed. At one point, we even had a rehearsal schedule 
          secured for the actors. This example is not intended to reflect badly 
          on anyone represented here, but is rather a behind the scenes look at 
          the challenges presented by any indie film production and as proof that 
          we did everything possible to get this film done. Writers C. A. Passinault 
          and Rachel Eaglin finished the original Reverence 
          Script, and we all know about the auditions. For reference, 
          "Chris" is C. A. Passinault in these interesting Emails. SCROLL 
          DOWN TO READ. 
        
Equipment Needed For The Production of Reverence: 
        
Unit Cost
          1,000 Gigabyte SCSI Hard drive Array $19,000.00
          2 Macintosh G4 Digital Workstations $ 2,500.00
          1 DVD-R/W Drive $ 700.00
          1 Canon XL1 Digital Movie Camera $ 3,200.00
          5 Three Hour rechargable battery packs $ 600.00
          1 XLR MIC adaptor with phantom power $ 250.00
          1 Monitor $ 300.00
          1 AC Power Supply $ 300.00
          1 Mic Boom $ 100.00
          20 10-20 60 Minute DVCAM Tapes $ 200.00
          Production Supplies $ 6,000.00
          Annual Studio Lease $12,000.00
        
          Total $45,150.00
        
        FROM MIKE:
        snds good except the price for the G4's would run you
          about 3-$4000 a piece.
        later.
        
        
          Here you go, sorry a little late got stuck working on
          a different project. If you have any questions on the
          list feel free to call me or email me either way i
          good w/ me.
        Thanks,
          BQ
        
          Hardware
          36gb (or larger) ultraSCSI 10k HD (around $359.00-799.00)
          Hitachi CM715 19-inch monitor (www.hitachi.com, $289.00)
          NTSC monitor (basically any TV w/ both A/V RCA inputs)
          Canon XL-1 miniDV camera (www.canondv.com, $4699.00)
        Software
          Adobe After Effects (www.adobe.com, $649.00)
          Roxio Toast (www.roxio.com, $99.95)
          FireWire port video send software (www.digitalorigin.com, ? may be shareware)
          Media Cleaner Pro (www.terran.com, $399.00)
          Adobe Premiere Update (www.adobe.com, $249.00, we may need this)
        I think this is all we need.
        
          Chris,
          
          We all have to sit down and talk realistically soon, because when you 
          sit back and look at what your asking...I've told you before that we've 
          already worked with several different groups along the lines of what 
          your looking to do and have not been able to come thru. Your asking 
          us to dedicate a year plus of our time to a project that at best will 
          just give us props. And I say that because unless your back by a major 
          distribution deal and marketing team, most first projects are look as 
          a demo reel that basically just gives one props for story, directing, 
          editing and makes no money but can open doors to new paying projects 
          if it becomes successful. So I repeat, we've already worked with people 
          with dreams, which we all have, but not one has been able to back themselves 
          up. 
          Rule on thumb, you get what you pay for. You start rigging things, its 
          going to show in the quality of the work. And if that's the case you 
          really don't need a GL1 or XL1 for that matter. You could do this film 
          w/a couple of VHS-C cameras that were picked up at the local pawn shop. 
          There is no rigging a 2.2 LCD monitor. If that was to case we would 
          just use the LCD screen that's build on. The whole point on having an 
          external monitor is to actually see what the view will be seeing, as 
          well as allow you to set the shot and check for color corrections. This 
          can not be done on a 2.2 LCD monitor, it can not be done on the flip 
          LCD screen on the camera. It should be done on a broadcast monitor, 
          but you can get by with just a portable TV that you can connect to the 
          DVCam during filming. 
          If we're going to dedicate a year or so of time it needs to be done 
          right the first time because if the shot comes out bad, editing is not 
          going to fix that and that is going to reflect on us not you. And I 
          was under the impression that you wanted this to look more that a low 
          budget "b" rated movie that would only get air play on the 
          sci-fi channel at night while everyone else is playing infomercials. 
          So tapes and batteries isn't the only thing we need. What I wrote earlier 
          are the bare minimums that we need before we started shooting, not only 
          to do the job right the first time, but so that we don't spend half 
          a year on a project only to find out that we can't get the rest of the 
          equipment to actually finish the movie. So as it stands the only thing 
          that we can honestly do for you is the motion graphics and trailer.
          
          Production
          
          FYI, on the PVC piping, have you ever thought about the amount of feedback 
          you might get. And I know that's not my problem, its Mikes, but you 
          might want to play with that idea a little.
          And if you stop by your local book store you might want to pick up this 
          months issue of "computer art special," it's about digital 
          video techniques and places great emphasis on what your trying to accomplish.
          ----- Original Message ----- 
          From: passinault.mail 
          To: C. A. Passinault 
          Sent: Saturday, June 22, 2002 9:01 PM
          Subject: Reverence Production Stream
        
          Hello Production,
          I was expecting a list like that. At this time, the only thing that 
          I'm concerned about is getting the bare minimum that we need to film 
          the raw footage. Our actors will be cast, rehearsed, and ready by September 
          14. I do realize that we won't have every thing in place that we need 
          to edit the movie by September, but if we do this one step at a time 
          (step one: Principle photography), it will be manageable. We can manage 
          half of the dilemma using resourcefulness and creativity. The only thing 
          that we have to worry about at this point is getting raw footage, which 
          will only require batteries for the GL1, DV Tapes, and the interface 
          for the boom. I'm building the boom here with PVC pipe, a pivot counterpoint 
          (to maneuver the boom fully extended), and a safety wired cardioid cradle. 
          Total cost (The microphone is free, as Mike and I both have them) is 
          around $30.00 . List price for such a boom (and I have never seen one 
          with a pivot counterpoint, as this is my design) is roughly $1,000.00 
          . See a pattern? Simplifying is the key, and as long as we get good, 
          clean video and sound, we're on the right track. Our goal this year 
          is to compile performance footage that we can work with.
          We'll have grant money and investors by the end of the year to carry 
          us the rest of the way, and we can take all year next year to edit, 
          score, and master. We will need the trailer, which we'll be able to 
          get out by years end, to balance our budget with the investors (We will 
          need the trailer as a demo to pay off the balance, which won't be a 
          problem because the output will be gold).
          Don't sweat it, as I'm used to working with little to no money. I've 
          been doing stuff for years that would normally cost a fortune for next 
          to nothing, with professional results (those Tapes that Mike told you 
          about would have cost $10,000.00 a pop, but cost me nothing but time, 
          CD's, and blank tape. I made 32 of them over the years.). It's going 
          to be a busy Summer. The only real issue that I see would be scheduling 
          all these people, and I've got that settled up to September 14. I've 
          been out all day location scouting, I just applied for shooting permits, 
          and the grant paperwork goes out Monday. Storyboarding will be done 
          this Summer as I build our 400 page technical script, which we will 
          shoot from. I've created a page with two samples of a story board frame 
          (made today, IMO) with this E-mail. The technical script will have the 
          frames illustrated. The link to the samples, a private area of our web 
          site, is here: http://www.passinault.com/dnspd1.html 
          
          We're all set. I'd like you guys (You, Christina, and anyone else that 
          you want to bring; Mike will already be there) to check out our audition 
          on June 30th. It will start at 9AM. The address for R2 is 4326 Bell 
          Shoals Rd, Valrico Fl 33594. It will be held at Shirley's Dance Studio, 
          which is in a plaza located next to a gas station. For detailed instructions 
          on how to travel there from your location, we recommend going to www.mapquest.com 
          . Valrico is a town located due east of Brandon, Florida. The studio 
          is located in south Valrico bordering Riverview. 
          Let me know if there are any changes, and chin up. On the technical 
          side, except for batteries and tape, we could shoot now. At least we 
          now know what we'll need for the entire production (End of 2003). I 
          have the cast handled, and they will be ready by September.
          We're going to do a great job, and I'm looking forward to kicking this 
          movie out with you guys.
          -Chris
          
          __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
          
          Chris,
          
          I was doing some calculations on what we actually need to make the movie 
          and what it would cost. And I'm sure you know this but let me break 
          it down from the beginning so that you could get the full scope of it 
          all.
          
          30 frms = 1 sec
          60 sec = 1 min
          1 min = 1800 frms
          1 frm = 1.5mbs
          1 min = 2700mbs
          270 min = 486,000mbs raw
          1000mbs = 1gig
          movie = 486gigs w/o sound
          
          (1) So basically if the movie was a straight shot you'd be looking at 
          harddrive space of 500gigs, now add all the multiple angles and double/triple 
          takes to get the scene right.
          Now you finished shooting and you have the movie all edited, you now 
          have to render it harddrive space, but you can't render it to the same 
          space that the raw footage is on. So if it was a straight shot that 
          only took up 500gigs (which it will not be), you would more harddrive 
          space to hold the edited movie uncompressed to then give it to Mike 
          to add the sound track. 
          cost w/o s&h for video alone @ 500gigs...$1,500 firewre raid, $9,000 
          SCSI
          
          (2) You mentioned that would would be camping for the entire weekend(s) 
          for film scenes, that requires batteries. Bare minimum, we would need 
          five 3hr batteries.
          5/3hr batteries $600.00
          
          (3) To capture the sound so that Mike can do his thing we need an XLR 
          Mic adaptor w/ phantom power.
          $250.00
          
          (4) To view the shots while filming a portable 9in or 13in TV to monitor 
          the overall look and color, and a portable power supply.
          Portable TV roughly $200, Power supple $200-300
          
          (5) 10-20 60 min DVCAM tapes.
          20 tapes $200
          
          So production wise, your looking @ an easy $3000.00 just to shoot and 
          edit the movie. Which we would need before we could get started.
          
          My team got together and unfortunately none of us have the capital right 
          to invest to make your movie. Mike is right in saying that at one point 
          or another we are going to need these things but if we had the money 
          right now, we would already have these things. Right now, unless you 
          can find investors to fund your project all that we honestly can do 
          for you at this time is do the "Motion Graphics for the opening 
          credits" and the "Movie Trailer."
          
          Get back to me or (omitted) next you can to let us know how things are 
          looking.
          
          Production
        
        Chris,
          I apoligize for not calling you back, I've misplaced your number. If 
          you could e-mail me the number so we could talk that be great. Probably 
          would not be untill tomorrow, right now I have to meet with (company 
          name) production for a business logo. However, I do want to say that 
          I do like that concept of doing the short first. As you mention it will 
          allows you to get the investors that you would need to get Reverence 
          off the ground, allows us to get use to working with each other, and 
          its more realistic at this time.
          Production
          
          ----- Original Message ----- 
          From: passinault.mail 
          To: Production 
          Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2002 6:12 PM
          Subject: Re: Reverence Production Stream
        
          Hello Production,
          I wasn't implying that we should cut corners in the production process, 
          but rather use a bit of creativity to make up for a lack of all the 
          bells and whistles. You are right about the LCD monitor, as it will 
          not work to do color balancing, etc. Mike told me last night that the 
          GL1 doesn't have an RF output, too, but that's beside the point. The 
          PVC boom rig won't affect the sound quality at all, too, as it is only 
          a flexible structure to hold the microphone just over the actors heads 
          out of frame. As long as the microphone is high quality (which it is), 
          and the XLR line is balanced, the sound will be clean. All's we need 
          is clean footage and sound. I do agree, also, that it can't look cheesy 
          or cheap, and it won't.
          I visited the original shoot location yesterday, which we used for the 
          test photography, and realized that it wouldn't work because of cars 
          going by every 30 seconds. We'd need to keep ADR and looping down to 
          a minimum in order to keep editing reasonable.
          In regards to backing with a distributor, if we had that then money 
          wouldn't be an issue. The script is solid, our actors are good, and 
          everyone realizes that the pay is deferred. If the final output was 
          intended to be classic "B" movie output, then I would have 
          never started this project to begin with. I believe that, if it's good, 
          it will sell on its own merit. If people realize that we're able to 
          put out a good movie for what amounts to pocket change in Hollywood, 
          then we'll get attention. So, after a small bit of sacrifice, you'd 
          not only get props but the pay as well, and royalties don't run out 
          as long as the movie product SKU is selling. After all costs are factored, 
          I'm only going to see a meager 5% of the profit, which I don't mind. 
          
          You're right, though. We all need to sit down and talk this out. There 
          is another option, which I discussed with Mike last night, and it is 
          to do a small film project between 20 and 30 minutes in length first, 
          which could be used to attract investors for the rest of the gear. I 
          already have a great script, and it could be ready to shoot in a matter 
          of four weeks. I even have good actors that I could put in the roles.
          I'm counting on the grants, though, and the profits from my other companies.
          If it will make you all feel better, feel free to come out next Sunday 
          for the next audition and check out what we have going on on this end. 
          You may be pleasantly surprised. We aren't those other companies, and, 
          quite frankly, we have no choice but to make these movies. You have 
          a choice, but I don't, and neither do my people. It'll get done, because 
          it has to get done. 
          Let me know if you guys will be able to attend next week, and have a 
          good day.
          
          -Chris
        
          CHRIS,
          
          JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'LL ALL BE THERE SOMETIME SUNDAY. 
          ONE MORE THING, IF ITS POSSIBLE, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF YOU COULD BRING 
          SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT YOU WORKED ON THAT CAME OUT PROFESSIONAL ON 
          A LESS TO NONE BUDGET.
          
          THANKS,
          PRODUCTION
        ....... 
          And, of course, the production team was a no-call, no-show 
          for that Sunday audition. At this point, the talks fell through, and 
          the clock began ticking for the beginning of the end of Reverence.
        
        UPDATED 08/17/2007 
        
  
        
 .