Shooting in Central Park

Most days, I'm trapped inside, chained to my editing station trying to meet deadlines. But on a rare day, sometimes the stars align and we schedule a shoot outdoors. It's always a gamble shooting outside - is it going to rain? Will we have to compete with screaming children, barking dogs, lawn mowers, planes or other audio issues? What about wind? Not all shoots are supposed to look like a Vogue cover shoot.

In New York City, permits are free. All you need is insurance and the will to file at the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting (I always remember this office location because it's right around the corner from Letterman). Going to the Mayor's Office can be a daunting task, usually filled by PAs. Working through this position is like a right of passage. When you're at the Mayor's Office, you get the feeling that they've been asked every stupid question under the sun and you don't want to ruin their day by being lucky number 1,000,000 on the stupid question list. However, if you're polite and realize that these people hold the keys to the kingdom, the entire experience can be pleasant and over in the blink of an eye - well I guess in a giant's eye ( there is a lot of waiting around at this office due to the shear volume of productions in the city).



After you get your permit, you're free to go on your merry way and shoot. But how do you pick your location to begin with? Of course the script dictates where you should be filming, but our favorite exterior location has to be Central Park.

Central Park is truly one of the most beautiful locations in the city, and one of the most welcoming. As long as you stay off the lawns and can deal with the audio issues of planes flying over head, it's a scenic and lovely place to shoot. Central Park is also one of the cheapest places to shoot - asking only for a donation. Other parks - Battery Park, Prospect Park, have very high location fees that aren't cost effective for small or no-budget shoots. The other perk about Central Park - it's right out our back door, and you can't beat that!



So back to my point - a few weeks a go, Julie and I had the pleasure of venturing in the park on one of those perfect fall mornings. The air was crisp. The sun was warm. It was an ideal day to be shooting outside in NYC. Hopefully the stars will align again soon and I can venture back out there to film!

On the Leesh in Craines NY

Alicia was interviewed by Craine's NY about On the Leesh's ongoing webseries and the opportunities that the Internet provides production companies. Also featured in the article is Jessica Arinella as Holly Malone in our webseries, "The In-Betweens of Holly Malone." Be sure to check out the article at:

Craines NY

And to watch all of our webseries go to:
www.ontheleesh.com/web-series/current

Film In the City Panel

This is an old entry from our company blog (fetch), but it's an ongoing series, so we thought we'd add it here as well. Check it out!



On July 22nd Wayne Parillo (of Webjammer films and our very own I'm Sorry Melissa), Rebeca Conget (of Film Movement), and I took to three stools in front of a sold out house of about 75 people at the People's Lounge in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The three of us offered up our advice on how to distribute projects in a non-conventional manner.




Rebeca, being from Film Movement, has the most traditional model. What makes them unconventional is that Film Movement started as an "outside the box" type of company by offering a monthly at home DVD subscription service. Once a Month, members receive a DVD that has both a feature and a short length film in the mail. Through this model, Film Movement is able to distribute twelve films a year, including there films that have gained theatrical distribution. Their library of films are all wonderful festival heavy films, so if you become a member, you have your own festival once a month at home. Film Movement also offers tips on how to have your own screenings and discussions based on the films in your own community. They're aware that many markets in this country don't have access to art house films, so they have teamed up with libraries and universities to help bring their lovely films to a wider audience.




Wayne and I spent a lot of time talking about web-series and about using the internet to distribute and self promote. I offered up my advice for the festival circuit and spoke about how a filmmaker could work with On the Leesh. We met a lot of very interesting film makers and I look forward to my continued relationship with them.




Thanks to Elisa Keys for the opportunity to sit on the panel. I'll keep you posted about the next event where I'll serve as moderator. The date is Tuesday September 15th.

**All photographs by: Lee Ann Simmons Photographer, photosbyla.com

Check out this interview!

Our good friend Wayne Parillo (and "I'm Sorry Melissa" writer and creator) has done an interview! He's officially a fancy, fancy man...
Check it out at: www.news.tubefilter.tv

On the Leesh Gets Healed

On the Leesh has the great pleasure of teaming up with Janet Humphrey
a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist practicing in New York City.
Janet has been practicing traditional Chinese Medicine for over twenty
years, so we decided to team up on a series of podcasts and videos.
These videos will feature Janet's "Giving Nature" brand and will be
available for purchase in time for the 2008 Holiday Season.



These videos are geared to teach the average american how to be more
pro-active about their own heath. Whether you are interested in
Western Medicine, Eastern Medicine or a fusion of the two, Janet will
provide you with the tools you need in order to get healthy and stay
healthy. For example, she has a 6 step guide to beating the common
cold. Who doesn't want to learn that? If there's anyone out there, I
dare them to answer the question again in February.


We'll start posting our podcasts by late October, and we welcome your
feedback. Your notes will help shape the DVD. We want to know what
issues are most pressing for our viewers. Stress relief? Aide in
reducing high blood pressure? Relief from chronic pain? These are
just a few of the videos we plan on shooting over the coming months.

I've known Janet for six years, and in that time, she has helped me
ward off many the common cold and insomniac nights as well as dealing
with my chronic headaches. I was always curious about acupuncture but
feared that it would hurt or that it wouldn't be right for me. I
realized that there was really nothing to fear.

If you're interested in trying acupuncture, check out our podcasts for
more information and for more information about Janet, please visit
her website - www.givingnaturecenter.com

MY WEEKEND OF EDITING, BUDGETING AND SCHEDULING

On the Leesh has a very busy fall, our busiest yet. As they say in the
restaurant biz - "We're in the weeds." While other production
companies our size will work on one or two projects a year, we
currently have eleven open projects that are in one phase of
production or another.

We normally have this number of projects open, but what makes this
different is that six of our projects right now are in open production. This means cameras are rolling and computers are editing. We don't
get like this all the time, but right now and through December, we're
completely excited about all the work that is coming through our
office and we don't want to say no to any of it.

How does each
project get it's fair access of the On the Leesh spotlight? Well sometimes, I have to work weekends.

It's not so bad really - I give myself certain liberties when working
on weekends: I'm allowed to wear pajamas to work, I can eat ice cream for lunch and if I need to take a Broadcast News-Holly
Hunter-break, I allow myself to do so. All in all, it's not that bad. Come to think of it, I'm almost my own lifetime television for women reality
show. The only difference is people would be bored out of their mind
watching me sing to myself as I generate title cards on videos, or try
to figure out the nebulous cost of gas for a line item in a budget. I pride myself on my organizational abilities, so I do have that on my
side.

I've noticed recently though, that my dreams include all the characters I'm
editing. Holly from The In-Betweens of Holly Malone visits Johnnie from The Sexually and Bernice from In the Can Productions has cupcakes at Frannie's
house from For Belly. It's kind of interesting to see what will happen next with
them. Perhaps we have a whole new season right there. A sort of cross
over, Buffy/Angel kind of thing.

Oh no, I just made it twelve projects!

More updates as I go along...

Go See Fault Lines

Our good friends at The Naked Angels are producing Stephen Belber's FAULT LINES directed by David Schwimmer. The cast includes Noah Emmerich, Dominic Fumusa, Josh Lucas and Jennifer Mudge.

One of my first jobs in the city was working on The Naked Angels' production of Stephen Belber's TAPE. Geoffrey Nauffts directed that production, and he is now the Artistic Director of the Naked Angles. Dominic Fumusa was one of the first NYC actors that I got to work with, and his professionalism and respect for me was one of the reasons I stayed involved with theater. I met Jennifer Mudge during our production of Lucie Tiberghien's The Things We Know. Jenny was our leading lady and a class act all the way.

If you are looking for something to occupy your time this week, I highly recommend - going to see FAULT LINES.

Press notes for Fault Lines read: "Whole Foods, Edie Brickell and mini-hot dogs abound in this dark and twisted new comedy, in which a seemingly ordinary boys' night out turns sour for two friends when a stranger forces them to delineate the boundaries between loyalty, conviction and betrayal."

For more information or to purchase tickets go to - www.faultlinestheplay.com www.faultlinestheplay.com

You won't be disappointed!

Thoughts About the Film Festival Circuit

Going around the film festival circuit has been an incredible experience. More than anything, it’s taught me that technology has enabled a single individual with a camera and perhaps not that much cash in their pocket, make a movie that a sold-out audience can enjoy. It feels like movie-making has really gone to the masses. It’s an exciting prospect to think that filming doesn’t only have to be about money and that the quality of the film can be brought back to the quality of your script, director, producer and actors. Each film festival so far: Bare Bones and the San Francisco Independent Film Festival have been very supportive and very guerrilla film-making friendly. I look forward to seeing all that the Durango International Film Festival has to offer!

K-9 GROOMING SECRETS

A couple of weeks ago, Melissa and I headed down to Memphis, Tennessee
with Sue Zecco to meet up with her grooming partner, Jay Scruggs. Jay
offered his home as a location for our latest collaboration. On
August 9th, we pulled ourselves away from the gorgeous town of
Collierville, away from the delicious aromas of Corky's ribs and away
from our day dreams of Elvis. We hunkered down and got to work. We
shot two videos for the pet owner. One uses a Golden Retriever, and
the other uses a Maltese and a Bichon to illustrate how a pet lover
should care for his/her large or small breed dog at home between
grooming appointments.



We've been working with Jay and Sue for two years, and we have
produced, directed, shot and edited over 15 videos for them. Until
now, their techniques have only been available to professional
groomers. We're all very excited that this DVD will expand our market,
and bring their "Grooming Secrets" to a much wider audience.




I, for one, learned dozens of useful information while working on these
videos. For one, I've been brushing Atticus and Scout incorrectly. I
never knew not to brush a dry coat. I also learned to brush my dogs
before I give them a bath to reduce matting and make it easier on them
during their final brush out. And most importantly, I learned that my
Kerastase is not good on poodles or any breed for that matter. While
it might make my hair shiny and strong, the pH messes with their skin
and can cause irritations and discomfort. Never a good thing!



Now, Atticus and Scout are going to get the royal treatment at home.
(If you were to ask them, it's no secret they prefer their visits to
Sue!)



To purchase this video, or to find out more information about grooming
your dog at home - visit www.k9secrets.com

OTL Attends The IFP Filmmaker Conference

This week, OTL was at the IFP Conferences. We actually “took” meetings! Awesome. We met a lot of great emerging writers looking to get their work produced and then went to some interesting panels. Sometimes the information seemed contradictory, such as one would say ‘just get your work out there – whether online or in theaters’ and another would say ‘don’t just put your work out there...’. Although the differing points of view were sometimes confusing, they were still valuable. I took away from it that the best approach is to look at the specific project and what your end goal is. Is it less about money and more about having a calling card for you work? Is your fan base big online or is your audience older and less internet-savvy? Like everything in life I guess, there’s no one answer, which, well sucks, and yet, it’s nice to have the freedom.
Check out IFP at www.ifp.org