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. . May 6, 2000 Okay, we're bad correspondents. We admit it. It's inexcusable. We haven't written an update in who-knows-how-long, and all we can do is ask you, our faithful, for forgiveness. And for those of you who must know the juicy details surrounding the exciting, fast-paced world of independent filmmaking... here's how we've been spending the past five months:
Day 1: we sat in the office and edited. It's now day 150. You get the idea. We are happy to announce that we have completed a rough cut of Modern Tribalism. Fortunately the rough cut isn't that rough. A screening for a select few is scheduled, and we expect them to be wowed. Of course, we also expect them to rip it to shreds, as that's why they're invited. The rules are simple: if they aren't critical, they don't get snacks. Another development is that we've started working with a composer. The actual score won't be written until the picture is locked, but in an effort to enrich this collaboration, we're starting early. A well-placed ad in the trades seeking a composer interested in writing a score that could be described as "electronica meets anthropological field recording" yielded quite a few musical responses. We are leaning toward one particular composer / friend who has carried a secret wish to score Modern Tribalism since he first heard the idea. Editing MT has been a challenge. Some wonderful stories, in the interest of space, have ended up on the cutting room floor. Our hope is to find a format for these lost gems -- be it the internet, a television series, or MT Part 2. We already have websites hungry for content knocking on our door. On the shmoozing front, we attended the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in mid-April. We hit two worthwhile panels: one on navigating festivals and markets and one on how to capitalize upon the growing interest in documentaries among audiences and distributors alike. We met a few movers, a few shakers, and many business cards were exchanged. We also saw two docs, both very good, and both encouraging. MT will definitely be in their league. On a sad note, the very first person who agreed to be interviewed for Modern Tribalism has left this world. Renowned ethnobotonist, writer and psychedelic pioneer Terence McKenna died on April 3. Although we never had the privilege to meet and interview "T" (as his friends call him), his interest in our film was the vote of confidence that made us say, yes, we can do this. Although MT would have benefited greatly from Terence's voice, interviews with friends and colleagues who were inspired by his work (Tom Robbins, Mark Pesce, and others) make his presence felt. Terence is missed. Finally, low-fi filmworks 1.0 is pleased to announce that it has both new investors and further investment from some of our original business partners. This support will help us meet our goal to have a finished film by the beginning of 2001. Our thanks go out to all of the members of our LLC. Your generous investments are cherished! We can't wait for you to witness the fruits of our labors.
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November 14, 2000
That grinding you hear is low-fi filmworks shifting gears. We are out of the editing bay and into the mixing suite. Steve Cornell, Modern Tribalism's composer will be delivering his final tracks any day now, and we look forward to replacing much of the temporary music with his original sounds. Soon after, we will work with a sound engineer to mix the entire film. Once that is complete, the final technical hurdles will be to color correct and master the film. Then, Modern Tribalism will be ready for public consumption. In the meantime, we are busily applying to many of the film festivals out there. There are hundreds to choose from, and when all is said and done we will have applied to more than twenty. We will start hearing the first "yeas and neighs" in early December. Hopefully much of the first half of 2001 will be devoted to traveling the U.S. and beyond in search of an audience and a distributor for Modern Tribalism. Presently, we are working on our press kit and sketching out designs for a poster in preparation for our debut. Look in the In Production section for our electronic press materials including never-before-seen stills from the film. We're proud to announce that Modern Tribalism has won a healthy grant from the Pacific Pioneer Fund -- a fund for emerging documentary filmmakers on the left coast. We will use the grant to pay our composer and the technicians who will assist us with the final steps of film production. Also, we were included in an article in Weekly Variety (November 13-19) about digital filmmaking in Hollywood. Unfortunately, the article isn't available on Variety's website, so we will put it on our website ASAP. In the meantime we are hatching ideas for low-fi's next project. We're considering optioning a short story on which to base a screenplay, and we're working with Rick's sister Liz on a proposal to do a documentary workshop with Native Alaskan kids. It will feel rapturous to send Modern Tribalism out into the world and focus on that inevitable question: What next?
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