Monday, December 10, 2007

Day 21: Weather and Water Moccasins

Location: Entering Louisiana swamplands.

Late yesterday afternoon I spoke to Frank as He crossed into Louisiana and as he describbed the “swampland”.

“Wow, this place had some odoriferous eminations” He said. [exact quote]

“I need you to do me a favor, check the weather for me”

“it looked clear on the radar map earlier”, I said.

“Well” he said “all I see are clouds, also, can you find out about water moccasins?”

Two thoughts most people would not want to put together, but Frank was planning to spend the night in the swamp, so I guess that sounds normal.

Before we hung up he asked me if I had ever heard of a guy named “Amos Moses”

“no, who is he?” I wondered if I was about hear another story of someone famous Frank had met along the way.

“it’s a song, I don’t know who wrote it but I want you to look it up”

Besides one missed call, I have not heard from Frank since then. I finally left him a voicemail about the weather and watermoccasins “looks like a stationary front right over Lake Charles, but they say afternoon rain only and I think you should stay away from water moccasins.”


Here come Amos

Artist: Hank Williams Jr.

Now Amos Moses was a Cajun
He lived by himself in the swamp
He hunted alligator for a living
He just knock them in the head with a stump

for complete lyrics, click here for the rest of the Frank story - check back later

1 comment:

Michael Palombo said...

New Mexico Company Announces Distribution Option for
Independent Filmmakers

Albuquerque, NM -- The way films are distributed and the way consumers view them is changing on a daily basis. Hoping to catch the wave, a group of Albuquerque filmmakers and businessmen will launch The Filmmakers Channel March 3.
The online distribution channel will seek to tap the pool of independent filmmakers around the world who have not obtained distribution of their films in theaters or on TV networks, says co-founder Anthony DellaFlora.
"The whole business of distribution is changing so fast," DellaFlora said. "The purpose of The Filmmakers Channel (www.the-filmmakers-channel.com) is to give the thousands of filmmakers who may never get their movie screened in a theater or on TV the chance to get their movie out to the world, and to make some money off of it."
"I think that's the difference with our program," DellaFlora added. "A lot of movies are being distributed online through various sites, but the emphasis is on the distributor and the consumer. We're putting the welfare of the filmmaker first."
The Filmmakers Channel will feature a streaming, non-buffering video platform for movies, that can include a pay-per-view option. Filmmakers will pay a monthly fee for broadcast minutes and channels, starting as low as $10 a month, said company co-founder Dan Latrimurti, a local businessman with background in information technology.
The video platform, the same one used by Disney and ABC News, can be embedded in other websites and blogs in addition to The Filmmakers Channel, thus allowing the filmmaker to create an online "theater chain," as it were, Latrimurti said.
The Filmmakers Channel also plans to offer video tutorials to its filmmaking customers on the art and business of filmmaking, from screenwriting to distribution. The company will also provide assistance in online marketing.
DellaFlora, a New Mexico producer, was sold on the idea early last year, after Latrimurti convinced him to put his 10-year-old documentary "High Strange New Mexico" online using the video platform. With minimal publicity, the documentary was quickly picked up for distribution by a California company and is now available from a variety of outlets, including NetFlix.
"When Dan presented me with the option to sell viewings of my movie online, and the opportunity to do away with printing DVDs, packaging them, standing in line to mail them, I was sold," DellaFlora said. "The distribution deal was gravy."
The Filmmakers Channel is partnering with Albuquerque filmmakers Rob Ellis and Michael Palumbo, who have created a sister website, Big Window Video (www.big-window-video.com). Big Window Video will help with the educational side of the venture, providing links to tutorials on everything from screenwriting to shooting on green screens, tips about the latest equipment, and helping to produce interviews with independent filmmakers for podcast.
"They're also big into online social marketing, so they'll be a huge help in spreading the word," DellaFlora noted.
Los Angeles entertainment attorney Peter Dekom noted on a recent podcast that between 4,000 and 5,000 English-language feature films are made every year that do not have distribution. Many will go the film festival trail, hoping to get picked up for distribution. But if the recent Sundance Film Festival -- considered the mecca for independent film -- is any indication, things are looking grim for filmmakers. Of the 3,624 films entered, 121 were selected. Of those, Dekom said, four received domestic distribution rights for $1 million or more.
Considering the industry was faced with a potential shutdown of filmmaking with the recently settled writers' strike and a potential actors' strike, observers thought there more films would be picked up for distribution. Dekom speculated that the high cost of marketing films, which typically overshadows production cost, is the reason distributors have shied away from anything they don't consider a sure thing.
The studios also feel threatened by current trends. Film attendance has dropped over the last 15 years, and DVD sales have declined slightly, Dekom said. Lastly, more and more people are finding their entertainment on the Internet. As computers and television sets become more connected, more and more people will be selecting programming from the Internet instead of broadcast TV or cable.
"The trends look good for what we're doing. But we will unveil a plan to get filmmakers connected directly with distributors," DellaFlora said. "There's nothing wrong with a fat distribution deal for TV or theatrical release. In the meantime, we think we have a great alternative for filmmakers."
http://www.big-window-video.com/13.html