Embedment: Days 2 & 3

Holy moley...I'm tired.

Okay, what to say, what to say. JMM stopped by the Lodge last night and talked to me for a bit, so that was good. Ivy McLemore (of Cigarette Girl,) came by as well, so it was a very McCarthy type of day over at the Lodge. Lots of folks hangin' out, lots of candid footage. Which is all very good, but I'm really struggling with how this is all gonna come together.

Do I pierce the veil of objectively detached footage and start talking to these people? Or, do I do a lot of interviews and just use this footage as supporting, evidentiary material? Or, do I shoot what I shoot, make no apologies, and let the viewer sort it out for him/herself? I dunno. And folk are still acting out for the camera. It's tough.

And my treacherous body is still on semester schedule, so I wake up at 6:30am no matter how beat I am and can't get back to sleep. (Well, the kitten has something to do with this, as well.)

I think I'm running headlong into my timidness - I'm so nervous around people, I don't want to just come bounding forth with release forms and then start shooting anonymous folk. It feels so blunt. But, I need to. And, do I ask them what they think of Lodge? I mean, this isn't supposed to be a "man on the street" segment. Ugh.

I guess I'm struggling to find a voice, an M.O., a whatever. It's all good, and I can still pull it together, but I am, for real, tired and feel like I need a breakthrough. I'm starting to feel a little crazy. Gotta pull it together, though - it hasn't even been a week.

Sorry, not much fat to chew on today. I'll try to include some better stuff tomorrow.

Take care,

-PB

Films Watched:

White Christmas

Funny Farm

Christmas Vacation

Saturday Night Live: Christmas Past

Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Christmas

A bunch of other stuff that I've written down but my notebook is down in the car...

Embedment: Day #1

Clock in: 4:00 pm

Clock Out: 12:15 am

Good first day of shooting. Got a lot of conversations and met some new Lodgers. Collected two Owl tattoos I didn't have before (Chris Bratton, and Timothy Clark.) Shot some customers. Got a few of Black Lodge's unique decorations - I need to take a coupla solid days just shooting the store's burgeoning collection of magazine clippings, graffiti, movie memorabilia, etc. Mostly, though, it was people watching/filming yesterday.

And, lo and behold, a naked butt on the first day of shooting! You know, Dziga Vertov said that the documentary filmmaker could expect that on the first day (or two, or three,) the subjects would probably be inquisitive around the camera, and probably act a little differently than normal. The real documentary starts, I think, when they get bored with the novelty, get over having this new body around them, and just forget that I'm there.

Coolness! Really, really extreme coolness! Kat C. is letting me film her getting an Owl! And its scarification!! Hello opening montage!

Technical problems: There's always a movie going on in Lodge, so there's always a soundtrack to everything. Not only that, but the TV is on the opposite side of the store from the desk, so they freakin' crank it. I'm having a hard time getting clean audio. They do hang out in the back a lot, and that's cool, things sound a lot better, but I gotta experiment a bit with my mikes 'til I find a way to get a clearer audio signal.

Hopefully, I'll be able to make my way over to the editing suite on campus in the next day or two, and, if possible, I'll be throwing up some stills or some footage for your edification. Take care, and I'll be posting again soon.

-PB

Films Watched - Day #1:

Ray Charles: Live in Brazil

The Hangover (twice!)

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

Inglorious Bastards (for about ten minutes - then someone came and rented it.)

Bad Santa

Silent Night, Deadly Night

Christmas Evil

The Ground Rules

Hey everyone,

Okay, well, I have to administer a test today from 12-3pm, but then it's off to the Lodge and the beginning of a 3-4 week long intensive film shoot. I'm nervous, I'm excited, I'm dreading it, I'm eager to be involved. It's complicated.

If you have an interest in stopping by, come on down. Here are some things you might want to be aware of:

1.) If I don't drop what I'm doing and talk to you, it's probably because I'm either filming something and trying to be inconspicuous, or busy working with my equipment or doing something film-y. Please be patient, I want to talk to as many people as possible, and I really have zero intention of being a jerk - it just happens sometimes.

2.) If you're interested in participating, the best idea is just to pretend like I don't exist. Hang out at Lodge like you normally would if nothing was going on. Pick a movie. Chat with folks. If you see me creeping up behind you, just ignore it. I'm bringing a ton of release forms, so make sure you sign one on your way out.

3.) If you absolutely do not want to be on camera, and I'm following you around like a twerp, just tell me. That's cool, and I will cut the camera off - no questions asked.

4.) As always, send me your photos of Black Lodge Owls around Memphis. Tell me where you found them. If you have a Black Lodge Owl tattoo, tell me, come talk to me, let me see it, and (if you're willing,) let me shoot it.

This is going to be an experience. I'll keep you all posted.

-PB

Where's the beef?

Hey everyone.

Turning in my treatment, budget, and formal proposal this week. It's mostly a formality, but it's the last scholastic hurdle before filming actually begins. And embedment is really close at hand. One week and change left. I really hope folk will come by, but there's something else I wanted to talk about today.

I was talking Lodge with my friend Chad the other day, and he mentioned that he has a friend that has a beef with Lodge, but isn't really interested in talking about it. From what I gathered from the conversation, this guy is under the impression that the doc is gonna be a fluff piece whose sole function is to glorify Lodge.

Look, I'm a Lodge fan, true, but I'm also not livin' in a dream world. Lodge isn't for everyone - I know that. And I think I'd be dishonest if I didn't include the segment of the population that dislikes Lodge, for whatever reason. It makes the story a little more complicated, and Lodge is kind of a complicated place.

Point being, I guess, is that nobody's talking Lodge at all right now, but if you're holding your tongue because you think this is all gonna be pro-Lodge, do me a favor and don't hold back. Bring me your anti-Lodge complaints, beefs, and general antipathy. I can't get honest about this story if you can't.

Be good!

-PB

Anomaly #2, or why JMM calls it "Black Loan"

Check it out!

Kerry snags an owl in the women's bathroom of Otherlands coffee! Great oogly-boogly! That's the way to do it! I'da never found it, at peril of criminal violation. There's lotsa reasons why folk could stand to be more like Kerry, but this is one of 'em. If you see an owl, send me a pic, or let me know about it! I'm on the hunt to track as many down as I can.

And check out Kerry's blog (http://ilovememphisblog.com/,) while you're at it. Come for the breakfast brackets, stay for the trenchant and dynamic Memphis commentary. It'll do ya good.

Today I want to approach another conspicuous element in the Black Lodge dossier that seperates them from not only chains like Blockbuster (well, duh..) but also from many ("many" being pretty relative, here,) independents.

When was the last time you paid your late fee at Black Lodge? If you're like me, it's probably been awhile. And not just because they're doin' me a solid because I'm making a documentary about them. It's always been like that, from the first time I rented there.

Which is kinda crazy, isn't it? When I think about the amount of money for late returns that they haven't collected - accrued over almost ten years of operation - good grief! That's a decent coupla two three simoleons, right?

Matt and Bryan both say, though, that they're kind of sympathetic to the pathologically-late customer. They can identify with it, and as Matt says, "Why would I penalize someone for doing something that I'd do myself?" Which is pretty cool.

Also, (and, who's with me on this) how many of you folk have a couple of video stores around town that you have to avoid because you have a late fee? I mean, the late fee drives business away from the store, see? So, in a way, it's also smart business to get the customer out from under that black cloud, and back into the store.

Is it worth the sacrifice of the potential revenue stream from late fees? Does it even out? That's a good question, and one I hope to talk to Lodge staff about. I think, though, it makes the place feel a little more comfortable, and a little more personal.

I dunno...why do you think they do it like that? Is it mad? Or, maybe your experience is different from mine. Have you gotten jilted by Black Lodge for some reason or other, along these lines? As always, please, please let me know what you think, or what you'd like to talk about in re: Lodge.

Have a great weekend!

Footage Follow-Up

Okay, just after looking at the tapes from Friday night. Yeah, as I suspected, the audio levels on the band are a little messy, but perhaps not irretrievable. It's amazing what you can do with FCP and Soundtrack. Still...it's gonna be tricky.

The video, on the other hand, is actually a lot more solid than I expected. The band footage is pretty good - it is a little dark, but I'm cool with it. The only problem I see there is that I (that is camera 2,) was doing a lot of cutaway shots as well as wandering around the Lodge and getting footage of folk just kinda hangin' around the store and not necessarily in the room where the band was playing. Then, when I came back to do cutaways of the band, I didn't re-white balance. So....my footage is decidedly more red than camera 1 footage, which is predominantly blue. Gonna have to spend a LOT of time color correcting to get this to look right.

More good news, the conversation I got downstairs looks great! I'm really looking forward to getting more of this candid-style interaction amongst the Lodgers. I mean, the piece is as much about the community as it is about the store itself. The more I can get of this style of footage, the better as far as I'm concerned.

Next is a bit of a waiting game - I've got about three weeks and change before I embed myself at the store over the holiday break. I'll be dropping into Black Lodge a lot just to check in, but this is the period of time where I really need your help. What can you tell me about Black Lodge that I don't already know? What do you think of Lodge? What have been your experiences? Do you think you have a perspective that would be good for inclusion in the documentary? I'm really hoping to start hearing from people who want to weigh in on this piece. And, again, you don't have to be a fan, necessarily. If you've got a beef with the Lodge, now's the time to let it out!

Also, I'd really like to gather the owls. If you have an owl, and are willing to let me get a photograph of it, I sure would appreciate it. And, there's owls all over this town. Seen one? Let me know so I can go shoot it. I know of a couple on campus, one at P&H, one at Huey's downtown. Where are more?

Alright, off to teach. Be careful out there.

-PB

Post-Op

Got the second camera for last night's shoot! Just in the nick of time!

All in all, things went well. I'm really curious to see how the audio is gonna come out...the band didn't run through a sound board, so, me and Matt Bowling were riding the levels on our cameras all night. Still, it looked really cool. If you haven't been up there, the Micro-Dome is really dark - not a lot of light to get yer textbook exposed picture. But, hey, it's a freakin' "black" lodge, right? I'm cool with dark.

And got some cool music, too. Want to give a shout out to Tiffany Harman, Other Stories and The Ideal Setback for a great show. The Ideal Setback is Todd Chappell, and his stuff is ambient, spooky, with lots of loops and neat distortion and stuff. He and I talked a little bit and I think I'm gonna be using some of his music for the background track. It works well with the atmosphere I'm trying to get with this doc. You can check out his stuff at http://www.myspace.com/theidealsetback. See Tiffany Harman, Other Stories, and Tiffany Harmon and Other Stories at http://www.myspace.com/eveestarr, http://www.myspace.com/otherstories, and http://www.myspace.com/tiffanyharmonotherstories, respectively.

Got some interesting conversations from folks down in the store proper, too. I really think that's gonna be the trick of making this thing look and feel a little more authentic. Me going down with a camera, postin' up in a corner somewhere, and just being very silent and unobtrusive and getting people speaking off the cuff without worrying (or, even, knowing,) about me being there. The best stuff I've shot so far for this documentary was just folks talkin' who had no interest in the fact I was making a documentary at all. Boss. Very direct cinema.

So, mucho mucho going on today. I've got to get little Vertov over to PetCo and do some kitten things. Out to the Orpheum with the woman tonight. Play practice this afternoon. Point being, I'm not gonna be able to look at the footage til Sunday at the earliest. In the meantime? Shit...I dunno. Start gettin' ready to embed, I reckon. Finish my papers for my other classes, too. Damn! I just realized I'm freakin' busy!!

-PB

Pre-Op

Dropped by Lodge tonight to check out the set-up for the show tomorrow. Talked to Matt and Tiffany Harmon and the collective known as Other Stories. Looks like its gonna be a real laid back show, which is cool. I'm kind of wondering how it fits into the documentary though. Well, in a way I am.

I mean, the average Lodge show tends to be a little more punk, a little more industrial. This being the case, is what I'm getting typical? Is it emblematic of Lodge events? Probably not. On the other hand, it is an ontological happening. It's "real." I'm glad I'm gonna be shooting it, regardless, Tiffany and her colleagues are cool folks. So...its all good. It's all gonna work out.

Just wish I had that second camera. Dang.

Also talked to Chris Bratton for a second. Looks like we're gonna be one happy family for Christmas. This is gonna be tough. I'm embedding myself at Black Lodge for a month, and it's gonna be different. Difficult. Hopefully, rewarding. I just don't see any other way to get the story of what Black Lodge is really about without being there and soaking in it. All of the interviews I've done so far and the footage I've collected amount to a film about a store with a bunch of movie boxes all over the wall. It just doesn't...I dunno...it doesn't live and breathe. It looks like a 20/20 human interest segment. Ugh.

So....we'll see how it all works out.

Again, come out tomorrow. 5 bucks. Cheap.

-PB

Currently on loan from Black Lodge: Cassevetes' Shadows

Prepping, prepping...

So....

I'm off to the Lodge tonight to check out the setup for tomorrow's show. Tiffany Harmon and Other Stories and The Ideal Setback are playing in the microdome, and I want to get some footage. I'm still not sure how this is all going to work out. Matt Bowling has been good enough to volunteer to run some sound and just generally be an extra set of hands, but visually speaking what am I supposed to do? Get coverage of the band, sure, but get coverage of the crowd and just the whole "scene." And I've only got one camera. Dag, yo.

Anyway, I got my equipment checkout sheets okayed, so I'll be picking everything up tomorrow after my speech class. Then I'll probably try to squeeze in a nap, get at Lodge around 5. Figure whatever happens, whatever I can get, it's all still good footage.

I'm tired of waiting around for this thing. I feel like I've done a lot of good prep work, but the prep period has gone on FOREVER, and I'm still no closer to really understanding what it is I'm so drawn to, what story it is I think I'm trying to tell. Much less how that story should look - how to make it visually apparent. I'm such a fucking dumbass sometimes it's fucking depressing.

Still - got to remember to print out a whole buncha release forms...I've GOT to remember that. I'll probably forget.

So, if yer not doing anything, head down to Lodge tomorrow evening. Check out the show. Come say something about your Lodge experiences. Come memorialize Cooper. It's a good thing to do.

-PB

Currently on loan from Black Lodge: Pink Flamingos & Wet Hot American Summer