BACKSTORY
[notes from the producer]

 

Wednesday, January 29, 1997

 

The purpose of this site is to create a living documentary about our experiences while making a feature film. It will cover everything from development to pre-production to filming to post and finally through marketing.

There are several reasons for doing this. First, I think it's interesting. My family and friends outside the film industry often ask, "What's a Gaffer." They have no real understanding of how a film is made beyond what they see on "Entertainment Tonight." What does the cast talk about? What do all those crew members do?

It will also be educational. When I was in film school, we didn't really cover some of the political and interpersonal aspects of filmmaking. We also didn't explore some of the real important issues of financing and negotiating. There was also only a cursory acknowledgment of the dichotomy of filmmaking. How does one justify their creative and commercial aspirations? We intend to inform film schools of our site and hope that other aspiring filmmakers will join us. We welcome your comments and criticisms about the film as well as this site. You can e-mail me at witt@motioncity.com.

Finally, we would be remiss if we didn't mention that we also have our own commercial reasons for this site. [And one of our big mandates is that we plan on being as candid and thorough as possible.] Motion City Films is an independent production company. We are a small fish in a sea of mega-studios. We can't promote our project using a large advertising campaign. It is our hope that over the next several months, enough people will be interested in our feature film project to be willing to plunk down the money to see it.

By now you may be asking, "Who are these guys?" What makes us qualified to dispense wisdom on creating a feature film? Well, I think we offer a non-jaded, insider peek at an interesting undertaking. Besides, someone has got to do it, and to my knowledge, there is only one other site on the internet that is documenting their progress. The site is called FOILED and it documents the efforts of a small group of people making their own no-budget film. Of course, they are shooting on Hi-8 videotape and their lead character is a guy in a tin foil suit. They sound like great folks, the journal entries are funny and there are plenty of photos.

Without intending to be arrogant, our goals are somewhat more lofty. We intend to shoot on film, probably 35mm. We intend to work with the Screen Actors Guild [S.A.G.] to obtain talented, experienced actors. Our first feature film script is both commercial and creative.

The final reason for this site is that it creates a sort of contract with ourselves and you. Thinking about something doesn't always make it so. But concentrating energy and effort on a project will eventually make it happen. We will get this feature film made. Hopefully, you'll find our journey interesting.

 

Jerry Witt
Producer,
Motion City Films