LESS Productions

LESS Evolution

2010-12-22T14:24:00.010-05:00

LESS is primarily a video production company experienced in producing, directing, shooting, editing and distributing projects for online and festival consumption. LESS also has experience producing film, social media, web pages, written work for publication & live events.

LESS' portfolio by category to the right will take you to specific examples of our work: LESS is Sustainability-Minded Video, LESS is Documentary & News, LESS is Innovatitive Marketing, LESS is Theater, LESS is Music Video, LESS is Original Narratives, LESS is Published, LESS is Fun, LESS is Experimental

Aesthetically, LESS Productions is about capturing and assembling inspired stories that may teeter between grime and gloss, but ring true. LESS also has a bias toward sustainability-oriented projects.

LESS has immediate experience producing for international and regional clients like American Greetings, City Fresh, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Heifer International, The New Agrarian Center, New York Magazine, and many others. In the spring of 2009, it released a movie called PolyCultures: Food Where We Live, which is a about sustainable agriculture. PolyCultures debuted in the Cleveland Film Festival and is now touring internationally at festivals, conferences, community screenings and will likely be broadcast through PBS in spring 2010.

LESS has also offered help for visiting production companies by providing PAs, 2nd Ads, Grip/Electrics, Camera Crew, Project Coordinators, DPs and held other various positions for many freelance jobs for clients like the Ohio Lottery, Vitamin Water, McDonalds, Kroger, A&E Biography, National Geographic, Suma Hospitals, University of Akron, Nike and NFL Films which has given it access and experience with a large network of local freelancers and an intimate understanding of industry standards.

to contact phone 216-236-8563 or email tom.kondilas[at]lessproductions.com

Sustainable Cleveland 2019

2010-07-07T14:28:00.040-04:00

Sustainable Cleveland 2019: LESS Productions interviewed a series of Northeast Ohio leaders in various sustainability-oriented fields about the progress our community has made since the first Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Conference in 2009.

LESS partnered directly with the Mayor's Office on Sustainability in an effort to represent four major themes that show great potential for the future of Northeast Ohio: Local Food, Local Purchasing, Neighborhood Revitalization & Advanced Energy.

Harry Bacharach teamed again with LESS to create an original score that laces the piece with a persistent natural energy.

The first piece below is the full 12 minute video and each of the following videos consists of one of the shorter themes that comprised the 12 minute piece. We shot with a Canon 7d and used natural light.

12min

Local Food

Local Purchasing

Neighborhood Revitalization

Advanced Energy

LESS Bios

2010-02-23T17:39:00.003-05:00

The American Dream: The Ultimate New Obstruction

2010-02-03T16:06:00.011-05:00

I just had a chat with Thomas Kondilas, a chat of unparalleled philosophical depth, rivaling our previous eight years' discourse and correspondence combined, with allusions running the gamut from the intentions and goals of calculus; to the concepts behind the photoelectric effect, quantum mechanics, and the superstring theory; to elementary French; to Ohio Valley history; to the aesthetic & ontological philosophies of Messrs. Wittgenstein, Descartes, and Plato; to psychoanalysis; to the below-mentioned literary works of Bukowski and Thompson, specifically the very idea of "turdness". I could very well describe this conversation in terms in which you may pretend to understand, dearest bloggee.

But I will not, for Tom and I decided that his picture is worth much LESS than a thousand words. Take a look at the picture right now, and you'll see the catalyst for Tom's blog entry, this my present blog entry, and the pursuit of the aesthetic which may be said/written to describe the body of LESS Productions' work past, present, future, and inchoate. In writing a description of the doctored photograph, one may get glimpses of the catalyst but not of the phenomenon itself.

This photo represents the Bukowskian "turd" (where'd that YouTube link go?) for Tom and myself and (we hope) you and anyone else who should deem to care. I, perhaps, can claim partial ownership of the photograph as I contribued to Tom's wardrobe the flag which he is wrapping about his shoulders. That flag was featured in a little absurdist play that Tom first heard back in summer '07 called "Dubait". The flag was the titular bait wielded about by candidates as they spoke echoing lines of equal parts meaninglessness and American patriotism (an oxymoron, that?) while "fishing" for votes. The play was performed twice in 2008 in different stages of the most recent American Revolution/election. Tom wears it well, fashionistically and philosophically, in that photograph and the blog entry below, respectively.

But the very ideas of the Enlightenment which this country and its supposed-Dream was founded on are inherently abstract-- that's why we're the nation without a nationality. In order to order these ideals, one must take them out of context, as lack-of-context is their original context, much like Tom's "New Obstruction". In teaching about the modern world for the past two years to high schoolers, I have seen the rise and fall of these ideals many times over, so positivistically-applied by inhabitants of the last century that "progress" nearly ended the world entire. Once "this" is institutionalized (even if that institution be language), "this" is no longer what inspired the "this", but rather a "thisness".

Therefore, how can one write about the flag, the photograph, the play, a piece of digital media, anything that is viewed so symbolically and subjectively? Very simply: by giving in to symbolism and subjectivity, and pursuing "this" anyway. That's why I'm writing this in "anarchic" words and not "ordered" binary code. For example, I cannot write of the beer can in Mr. K's right hand without being reminded of a line from a play of his I saw in 2003 in which Miller High Life is referred to as a drink for old females.

All I can write affirmatively for Tom (and you) is that I eagerly look forward to his next play, his next film, his next project, his next line to get stuck in my head and re-form the way I view beer cans, American flags, lens flares, or anything else which may be experienced and transmitted through dialogue, pixels, and neurons. From what I gather from his previous post, this is not a retrospective here's-what-I'm-all-about statement but rather an aesthetic landmark that will admittedly shift in future to encompass new lack-of-definitions and extrapolations of "this".

Through the latter end of our convo in Gfield, I was coughing quite a bit, and as I rode home, I spit out what felt like a small rock that was stuck in my sinuses. That very conversation, this very blog entry, and my previous near-decade with Mr. K are quite similar to that sinus-turd-- I stepped back and admired the work, but admired equally that it was a nice little mess of entropy that could and should be torn apart all over again. This LESS is a mess of thisness. Please, TK &co., I want some more.

- post by Matt Greenfield

As an independent media producer I am constantly struggling to describe my aesthetic or style to friends, family, potential clients...etc.

From the professional standpoint, the goal is to come up with a universal style that can be utilized by a wide customer-base. But as an artist the objective is to push a medium to its limits, sometimes despite the audience, to build on the freedom of expression. These perspectives often seem at odds with each other. On May 21, 2008 I tried to define the effort to split the difference between the objectives of a professional with the objectives of an artist as The New Obstruction. At the time, my thinking was that The New Obstruction was a term that was beyond definition, that The New Obstruction would always be a means of alluding to the specific feature of a thing that was missed in all other explanations. I liken this to Bukowski's notion of specialness. Or the concept of "suchness," as a friend Neil explained, which is less special than "special" but unexplained as such. All of these terms seem to get at the theme that there is a connection between the utility of expression and an intangible freedom to it that goes beyond definition. Perhaps, I heard Hunter S. Thompson's voice in my head, but today, it just clicked. The American Dream, is the perfect, intuitively understood example of this type of linked dichotomy: a single unachievable objective that could translate to an infinite number of practical outcomes without really defining the romantic lure it often represents. It defines professional and artistic objectives. It can represent great success or great failure and it can be applied to concepts/trends that aren't even American. Yet we are left to wonder...uh, what is the American Dream? Defining the American Dream is the same thing to me as defining what you want to be when you grow up and what your style is. It is the ultimate declaration of self expression within a global context.

In this blog I will try to show the American Dream with inspired content from myself and others that pushes the envelope and gives us some new ideas about what the American Dream has become, where it's going and how we can make better use of it right now.

- post by Tom Kondilas

The Concept of LESS

2010-01-19T13:36:00.007-05:00

LESS Productions is primarily a video production company experienced in producing, directing, shooting, editing and distributing projects for online and festival consumption. LESS also has experience producing film, social media, web pages, written work for publication & live events.

Aesthetically, LESS Productions is about capturing and assembling inspired stories that may teeter between grime and gloss, but ring true. LESS also has a bias toward sustainability-oriented projects.

LESS has immediate experience producing for international and regional clients like American Greetings, Heifer International, Great Lakes Brewing Company, New York Magazine and many others. In the spring of 2009, it released a movie called PolyCultures: Food Where We Live, which is a about sustainable agriculture. PolyCultures debuted in the Cleveland Film Festival and is now touring internationally at festivals, conferences, community screenings and will likely be broadcast through PBS in spring 2010.

LESS has also offered help for visiting production companies by providing PAs, 2nd Ads, Grip/Electrics, Camera Crew, Project Coordinators, DPs and held other various positions for many freelance jobs for clients like the Ohio Lottery, Vitamin Water, McDonalds, Kroger, A&E Biography, National Geographic, Suma Hospitals, University of Akron, Nike and NFL Films which has given it access and experience with a large network of local freelancers and an intimate understanding of industry standards.

to contact phone 216-236-8563 or email tom.kondilas[at]lessproductions.com

Published Writing Samples

2009-11-04T16:35:00.040-05:00

Cleveland Magazine - City Life Features

Most recent: Hooping It Up [Link to article on Cleveland Mag Webpage] &

Local Flavor [Link to article on Cleveland Mag Webpage]

Keep Off the Gas - by Tom Kondilas

Rolling on the River - by Tom Kondilas

Your Ad Here - by Tom Kondilas

EcoWatch Ohio

Deconstruction & Urban Gardening Go Hand in Hand - By Tom Kondilas

Hillsdale Daily News - News, Columns & Features

More Cuts at Hillsdale Tool - by Tom Kondilas

55-foot tree - AP Story by Tom Kondilas

City elects youngest mayor - by Tom Kondilas

The fad detector - from a biweekly column by Tom Kondilas

Video for Theatrical Performances

2009-11-04T13:35:00.003-05:00

Created for Cleveland Theater Company, convergence-contiuum
Play: Big Love, by Charles Mee - Opening Video: Surfacing

Play: Big Love, by Charles Mee - Opening Scene as in Live Performance

Play: Big Love, by Charles Mee - Wedding Carnage (Audio not used in performance) Shot by Noel Maitland and David Berry

Play: Big Love, by Charles Mee - Excerpts from Live Performance

Play: Buried Child, by Sam Shepherd - Like a Mummy

Big Love Promotional/Preview Video

Original Narratives

2009-11-03T12:44:00.010-05:00

American Greetings - the video portions of online greeting cards, which AG fused together with Adobe After Effects animations and sold on BlueMountain.com, AmericanGreetings.com and other similar sites.
Toilet Paper [Halloween] - inspired by the dancing bag in American Beauty, original music by Justin Walters.

POV Egging [Halloween] - the title pretty much explains it.

Stopmotion Nutcracker Love Story [Christmas] - original recording by Justin Walters

Freedom [Independence Day] - original music by Mark K.

Stairwell - a short movie about being in between things. Written by Matt Greenfield, starring Matt Greenfield & Tim Aker.

Stairwell (Part 1 of 6)

Stairwell (Part 2 of 6)

Stairwell (Part 3 of 6)

Stairwell (Part 4 of 6)

Stairwell (Part 5 of 6)

Stairwell (Part 6 of 6)

Losing the Hemingway - a short interpretation in 3 parts about the last days of Ernest Hemingway. Written by Matt Greenfield, starring Mark Cipra & Thomas White.
Losing the Hemingway A

Losing the Hemingway B

Losing the Hemingway C

Video Contest & Online Marketing Campaign (thru Alcohol Killer Parntership)

2009-11-03T12:39:00.010-05:00

LESS Productions and Alcohol Killer USA entered a creative partnership to help promote AK through YouTube Online.

Here is the video invitation to the currently open contest with a $1500 grad prize.

This innovative campaign immediately caught the attention of online publications like Snoo.ws and Vidopp and continues to grow on YouTube as viewers leave comments and create a discussion around the contest.

The first two videos below show the video invitation to enter the contest and the following videos were submitted to the contest and serve as examples of the campaigns viral success. By the end of the contest 21 videos were submitted.

The fourth video below, won the contest. This video alone gleaned almost 30,000 unique hits before the contested ended. This marketing campaign was so successful Alcohol Killer has decided to do another contest and offer a bigger prize for first place.

Ihor Video introduction

Nikki Video Introduction

Contest Winner - Currently More Than 31,000 Views!

3guys1girlandfetus - 2nd Place Winner

FilmBadgersVideos - 3rd Place Winner

LESS-Produced First Submission

Other Submissions

Purely Recreational

2009-11-03T11:36:00.002-05:00

Cleveland Magazine Article Teaser - Renee Kogler, Hoop Instructor, Free-Hooping

American Inventor - Bulletball reaction video

Browns Tailgate - Bone Crusher, Never Scurred 2009 - DRUNK

First Day of Christmas Ale 2009!

TK Documents Drinking the Little Hug

Dancing with the Stars, Sexy Single Style - Still Rehearsing...

theBase Brief Video Tour

Chewbacca Sleeping & Snoring - Cutest Puppy Ever!

Documentary/News-Style Video

2009-11-03T11:32:00.007-05:00

New York Magazine - 2nd Avenue Deli

New York Magazine - Cloverfield

hiVelocity Magazine - Myers Motors

Beyond A Definition - Short Documentary by Michael Carissimi

Beyond a Definition from Michael Carissimi on Vimeo.

Progressive Arts Alliance Hip Hop Camp Video

American Greetings Holiday Shorts

2009-11-03T11:31:00.002-05:00

Sustainability-Minded Video

2009-11-03T11:30:00.009-05:00

Check out LESS' Latest: Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Post

PolyCultures: Food Where We Live - an internationally recognized feature length documentary about sustainable food production.
Home-Use and Public-Use DVDs for Sale!
PolyCultures Trailer - Song by Andy Wagner

PolyCultures Trailer - Problem/Solution/Action

PolyCultures Food Where We Live - Food Deserts

movie clip - Introduction (first 4 minutes of the movie)

movie clip - Hartzler Family Dairy

Creating Partnerships Around Food & Sustainability

Great Lakes Brewing Company Tour Video

GLBC Burning River Fest 2008

Family Farmers Oppose Issue 2 - 4 minute version.

Cuyahoga County Soil & Water Conservation District Informational Video

The Real Low Calorie Diet - Precursor to PolyCultures a 60min documentary about sustainable food production in Northeast Ohio (2006)
Real Low Calorie Diet Trailer

RLCD Clip: Jones Farm Bees

RLCD Clip: Lucky's Cafe

RLCD Clip: City Fresh Super Hero - Maurice Small

RLCD Clip: Compost & Okra at the Jones Farm

Music Videos & Live Performances

2009-11-02T13:23:00.030-05:00

Natalie Green - America's Got Talent audition video.

Vendetta Point - My Way To You (directed by Tom Kondilas, shot by Michael Carissimi & Nate Lear, edited by Michael Carissimi & Jim Skrtich)

317 - Dr. Feel Good

Corissa Bragg - This Is Everything I Own (editing by Michael Carissimi, Valerie Nolan, Jim Skrtich)

Hairstylists for Hunger - video by Michael Carissimi

Hairstylists for Hunger 2009 from Michael Carissimi on Vimeo.

A Punch's Pilot - Pessimist

Harry Bacharach - The Crutch - Live at Cain Park, Alma Theater

Stealth Attack - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Theme Song
As seen on CollegeHumor.com

Chris Ward (feat: Holly Leassig) - video by Michael Carissimi

Wind in the Trees from Michael Carissimi on Vimeo.

Scalera - Cut

A Punch's Pilot - Roots Bloody Roots (Sepultura) feat Waylon from Mushroomhead

Liz Fang - Fang A Rang - video by Michael Carissimi

Fang A Rang from Michael Carissimi on Vimeo.

A Punch's Pilot - Wrechalection (live at the Cleveland Agora)

Scalera - Cut [Live Performance]

day to day living

2006-07-17T18:40:00.000-04:00

today i hit the short north area in columbus...a known artistic area of town. i got three serious venues that are interested in showing a ten minute trailer on loop or possibly showing the full thing. two are art galleries and one is a comic book store. i also got ahold of the alumni association. my hope is that i can get my hands on an alumni list and send out a mailer asking for twenty-dollar donations. i called the columbus dispatch telling them that there was a horribly interesting story and explained the situation. so lots of people have heard about the documentary and the work going into it...we'll see who responds.

Why Not?

2006-07-17T15:07:00.000-04:00

Inspiration.

God Made Dirt and Dirt'll Bust Your Ass

2006-07-17T10:25:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a great (though long) day of shooting for the New Agrarian Center, in Oberlin. And tomorrow promises to be the same.

They are doing some really great work, which I'm philosophically behind, as far as farming, promoting local goods and more ecologically/economically minded lifestyles.

...Like Evan and I road around in a truck that ran on grease and later made biodiesel. Aside from horrible tire and some sun and chemical burns it was awesome.

Let me just bribe everyone with the fact that: with this company, even if you are working on something that isn't exactly what you would be doing in an ideal world, it is still often fun and in line with principles that you may have.

I hope that as we go forth, we continue to make a really conscious effort to work on projects that help people/the Earth/and ourselves. Wouldn't that be a great thing?

I know it's easy to get anxious when you are outside of the group for a little while - like what the hell happened in the 05/06 winter? - but we who are working are seeing results every day. And I know that will continue to happen as long as we are trying.

We can accomplish anything and I'm not going to let others' worries worry me. But I understand them.

We do have to make $, and we will.
We do have to do what's right for our philosophies, and we will.
We do have to make this art that we are becoming better and better at, and we will.

And if we work hard, those three things will all happen with the same project at the same time.

I know who'll be there.

quarter life crisis

2006-07-16T21:16:00.000-04:00

what i've been doing lately:

for the last couple of weeks, i've been calling various corporations [redbull, coke cola] asking what i would need to do to have "dionysus help me" review for sponsorship. today i walked up and down high street in columbus and stopped in every business handing out press packets and business cards and talking with managers about sponsorship. the concensus was that the process takes about two weeks as the manger has to give the information to the general manager who has to pass it on to some corporate entity. but each of them showed interest and most seemed genuinely interested in helping. i'll do some more as the week begins...mainly focusing on getting a showing set up and calling art galleries to see if it would be possible to put up an installation. i've created and redone the dionysus myspace [ www.myspace.com/dionysushelpme ]. if there is anyone who you feel should be sent an invitation to join, let me know. or ask people you know to add dionysus help me. i'm working on getting video on the website but have not had much luck thus far. i also spoke with the vice president of business operations from mindbox studios who was quite intersted. he received a press packet and i will be sending him a cut of the documentary sometime this week. uweekly...a student newspaper at ohio state...is interested in doing a story on the documentary. it seems as though that would be most advantageous when there is a showing or presentation of some kind. but they seemed willing to do it at any point. so that's about it...for now. if there's anything that anyone needs done just let me know. hope all is well and productivity is high.

Greetings from the Commonwealth

2006-07-14T21:18:00.000-04:00

Dear LESS Productions,

I feel out of the loop. Not saying that is your fault or my fault, but I feel out of the loop. Period. It might be impossible for me to be here and be in the loop (also quite possible that I took myself out of the loop on purpose). Who knows. I am very much “re-energized”. I feel I can damn near accomplish anything I want.

So, regarding the titles – I think I just disagree on this one. Do I think it is a big deal? Not really. Do I feel disconnected from the choice? Yes.

What would my clever title be? Critic, I guess. Don’t really want to be handing that out to people.

I don’t know how to connect to the group right now. I want to be utilized or know how I am going to be utilized with MY skills, what I am good at and what makes me crucial to the group. I can find plenty of jobs willing to hand me out menial tasks (for much better pay and insurance). I helped form this group with a very strong belief in the people I was working with and the direction we were going in. I don’t feel that connection anymore.

Dionysus Help Me – It seems there are a lot of LESS efforts going into this, yet “LESS Productions” is not mentioned anywhere on its myspace page. That is all I will say about that.

I am having a very difficult time grabbing onto this group right now and I really, really miss it.

Tom

updates

2006-07-13T12:45:00.000-04:00

We have an updated webpage that matches our new business cards (that Evan, Derek, Ana and I all have). But there are still some sizing bugs that I can't figure out right now.

Titles so far are:

Evan: the Filter
Derek: Producer at Large
Ana: PBJ Coordinator (publicity, business and journalism coordinator)
TK: Point Man

what's everyone else want?

In News Stands This September!

2006-07-13T00:57:00.000-04:00

This is the roller derby article I wrote. Who's to stay what they'll publish. Thought yins might enjoy it. I do this for $.

......

Five ladies at a time, playing a full contact sport on rollerskates, wearing kneepads – what wouldn’t hairy-palmed MySpacers find sexy about that?

The Burning River Roller Girls, a new female roller derby league, is gaining momentum in Cleveland since its inception in March. But don’t be confused by suggestive publicity stills displaying skaters’ upper thighs, these derby dames are about more than just short skirts and sex appeal, and they’ll be the first ones to say it.

“This is rigorous – we’re sweating our asses off. If it happens that we’re attractive while we’re doing it, that’s a byproduct – we can’t help that we’re hot,” says Tina Brugnoletti, aka Stiv Skator.

These skaters train, sweat and drill in flat-track practices where mishaps do draw real blood. Unlike past generations of roller derby where audiences were treated to campy professional wrestling impressions on an inclined track, this sport is unscripted and genuine. Though it lacks the redneck entertainment value of an occasional dropkick, this wave of roller derby has a much more valuable commodity – authenticity.

Despite the sport’s emphasis on this authenticity, part of the success of its resurgence is in its sexy, new, naughty pinup-girl image. A webpage, a profile on MySpace.com and a Yahoo! group have turned the league into a publicity-collecting franchise with an assortment of sponsors and fans before a single official bout. Thanks to the sport’s timely originality and creative publicity, it’s becoming a success before it’s started.

Overwhelmingly apparent in the enthusiasm of its players, the Burning River Roller Girls will be ready to start their first official season with full force in 2007. Like leagues from as far away as the Cayman Islands to as near as Columbus, Cleveland’s league has attracted a variety of members who are already strategizing about the upcoming season.

“Let’s use a lot of scare tactics. Like, we’ll eat a lot of onions – then we’ll sweat onion smell,” says Natalie Sweet, aka Roxy Monoxide.

Smells aside, at first glance, the derby dolls seem to be a hybrid between punk rockers and recreational athletes. Many sport unorthodox hair color, tattoos and multiple facial piercings while flaunting aliases like Skelewhore, Kill Basa, MILFinator or Ivanna Destroya. However, these skaters have come from all walks of life with a wide range of aesthetics.

“There’s no requirement for that kind of crap,” says David Clarich, aka Coach Stirfry, who got involved with the league after finding the MySpace profile. Ranging in age from 21 to 40, the Burning River Roller Girls are scientists, radio personalities, bar tenders, insurance professionals, mothers and more. Their uniform similarity is their passion for the sport.

“Derby saves!” says Shay Gamier, aka Coach Agent Orange. She likened the league to a support group having helped many of its members through personal hardship and strife.

“It’s completely taken over everyone’s lives,” says Natalie Terry, aka Stinkerbelle Rock.

Currently the skaters still practice as a league, but they have broken up into four different teams that will eventually compete against each other. They have been looking for a space to hold exhibition bouts and other fun fundraisers like full-contact musical chairs later this year.

A word to the wise: “don’t insult any derby girl by assuming she wears rollerblades,” warns Stinkerbell Rock. “That’s ground for being put through the spanking machine.” Then again, that might be fun.

Mo $ mo problems

2006-07-05T22:11:00.000-04:00

Catching Up:

1. Big time work with Brianne and Lance's wedding. 100% shot, mostly edited a couple more days and we'll see what they think. I'm not sure I ever want to do another wedding documentary (not going to be cost effective), but nonetheless it was fun and it's a full-fledged documentary and we can do those for cash if need be.

2. New Agrarian Center: We are working hard with Brad Masi and Maurice Smalls on this series of documentaries for their nonprofit. Things are going well. Bobby Jackson (from NPR's Jazz Tracks) is going to do a voice over for the first piece and Evan and are collecting video of Cleveland's rustbelt for the b-role. We also have a musician who is going to do some original songs for it.

3. Spangle. She's coming...

4. Dionysus. Derek is doing some good work in Columbus and we have many opportunities to show off and start spreading the word that we are actually movie makers and not just dorky kids with expensive computer equipment. Taking pride in that Dionysus and promoting it, if nothing else with teach us how to promote and sell a movie.

5. As for what's next/an answer to TW's post: We have done a lot. We are doing a lot. There is enough correspondence everyday to keep me busy for 4 hours. That's just e-mailing, internetting and making sure things are going well. There are processes like video capturing, DVD authoring and minor aspects of editing, which are easy to do but take hours and need to be monitored 100% of the time. Believe me, if you are 50% competent I have enough work to last you 30 hours a week.

If you need to be creative, there is so much more - it's daunting. I agree that I would rather be making movies and acting and writing than doing some of the work that we are doing right now. But we're not studio-backed. We're not rich. To get there we need to come up with creative ways to do PR, publicize and show out.

Make no mistake. I'm not talking about being poor, irrelevant, internet video kids forever. I'm talking about using our art and advancing it to the point that we can feel like we are making a significant impact on society--I don't join the army or peace corps because I truly believe if I get good enough at this I'll make a bigger impact.

For the time being: We are better than 98% of the shit we are going to be compared to this year. We have prove that beyond the text on this blog, and by prove that I mean convince people, press, theaters and distributors. I can hear TW thinking "I want to act. I'm not a business student..."

To that I have three responses:
a. I know, but which is better to be a fuh-douche-iary ass-istant, or work for this company to give yourself the opportunities you're dreaming about even if it's hard? (we've actually talked about this a bit, I'm sure he's down with the L-E-S-S.)
b. We have to be innovative, brave and balls-out-cool to succeed at this. That's just fun shit.
c. There are three reasons. Fuck the fear.

this summer for me

2006-07-02T10:49:00.004-04:00

so people do be readin' this and I feel for your concerns tw's. What I am posting about is that Dionysus, Help Me... will be undergoing it's final stages of editing and will need to be heavily promoted. This should be our first feature release barring a record setting editing session by Evan. So we need to promote and get this thing seen and sold etc. And i don't even care about trying to get money for this thing anymore.

I think the best strategy, just like giving away free smoothies or something is to get this thing seen by many people. It is already in the Port Clinton Arts festival which i havn't heard of and probably for good reason but it's still a showing and they're paying for Amira and I to go there and stay and give a talk etc.

So anyone that knows how to promote stuff, that's what we need. Screenings and people, and subway sandwiches or something.

Tom White does what Tom White does

2006-06-28T18:02:00.000-04:00

Since having some time away from Cleveland and away from the group (as it exists), I have had a lot of things running around in my head about what I want to do, where I want to go, etc. I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but if nothing else it will be a way for me to materialize what I really haven't had the time to do.

TRUTHS

I do not know how to operate a video camera enough to be creative with it. I have very little, if any, training in operating an XL-2 and feel I am no better than the average guy with it. Sure, I can learn, but I don't want to be a video artist.
I must be creative.

So I guess those are the two main ones. I have a lot of reservations about what my job will actually be with LESS Productions. I don't know how to channel my creative energy into that endeavor (I realize that this might come off as "hippy bullshit", but it is genuine, I promise).

More than anything I want to act. I know there will be opportunities to act with LESS, but it still is not where the money comes from...that is the goal, but I feel that we are at times telling ourselves that producing these, in effect, advertising videos for people will lead us to the ability to make better movies. Why don't we just skip ahead and make better movies with what we have. I also feel like that my day job with LESS Productions has the potential to not work as well as we had hoped. Tom and Evan seem to frequently be at at odds and I don't know how I would squeeze myself into that dynamic. Will we all just hate each other and hate the job? Again, I don't even know what my job would be. Also, this is a start-up company...the TV tells me that startups take years to get off their feet - I can't wait that long doing something that I don't really want to do.

Maybe I am missing something about what my job will be with LESS Productions. Is it web design? I sometimes like doing that, enough to make a day job out of it. If it is trying to get a good shot of a foaming glass of beer, I can't do that.

I can hear Tom K now getting frustrated that I am letting self-doubt get in the way of progress. I am sure there is plenty of self-doubt in this post, but there is also a heavy amount of fear that this is the begining of me, and the group, giving up on what we originally set out to do. Make movies and do plays.

"Ok, Tom W - how do you propose we make the money to do those movies and plays?" Well the obvious answer is with another job, as this one doesn't really pay. Is that other job this video production company? I am not qualified to do that and don't really have a burning desire to do it either. I do have a burning desire to make another movie or put on another play and all of the challenges that come along with that.

In summary, I am not convinced that my job with LESS Productions will not be just another day job that I don't feel suited for - the only difference being I would be working with my friends. I have had crappy day jobs with my friends and it wasn't what I thought it would be.

Just where I am at.

YOU JUST WON A FREE X-BOX 360!!!!! CLICK FOR DETAILS

2006-06-13T15:39:00.000-04:00

Allegedly, I haven't been posting on the blog for awhile - A L L E G E D L Y. I have been touching myself - that is a fact.

I can't remember how professional the blog is supposed to be, so I'm going to play it safe and assume we decided to keep it unprofessional. I just finished up a flash site, learned a lot about FlashMX 2004, and feel fairly proficient with it now. When we have time/collectively decide to update our site, there are a few things we can do to make it easier to update content, faster load times, loading progress meters, etc. Before Tom K has the chance to say it - I will, it is by no means a priority.

On that note, it seems that priorities become much clearer when looked at within the framework of "how much food will this get me?" I suggest others do the same.

I am really scared about this undertaking. Starting August 12th, I have no job, no home, no money. I know the basics of panhandeling...ran out of gas...daughter has ballet practice...my car is just right over there...but the basics will get you so far and then they'll get you KILLED.

I do have a few plans to make money - most of which involve using Flash for web design and promotional material. It's going to be a summer of lining up clients. I need to learn to use the camera and edit, as it seems that is the other way of making money right now. I'm pretty good at learning, so I don't anticipate any problems with that.

I want to make movies that change the physical properties of things. Our next movie will turn peach rings into gold. My life the past 2 weeks should have made me millions, but I didn't have a camera handy. I propose this question...how can you have continuous coverage of a location (ie room) without a camera crew? Already proposed were security cameras....

Solutions are welcome.

TW

Back from the Weird

2006-06-13T11:16:00.000-04:00

Ok,

Spangle editing is finally back and in full effect. I bought a 500 gig hard drive, and my dad went hay-wire and bought another one, and both have serial stacking capabilities, and he also bought a stack to house them in.

We have enough space to hold all of the tapes easily without crashing a computer and just slap it together like nothing. Evan actually got down to some work yesterday so we're in about as good a spot as we can be.

Opinions: Do we need to get releases from actors who clearly agreed to be in the movie?

It's for sure safer, Alex Johnson might say was promised him half the proceeds of the movie, but he was clearly willing to be in it. It's not like a documentary where these people didn't know they were getting filmed or something. As a side note, for all the on camera stuff I have done (professionally) I haven't been asked to sign a release, although I did have contracts to sign about the actual pay and rights.

Back from the Dead

2006-06-06T16:00:00.000-04:00

Dear Faithful Blog-Readers,

Hey!! I bet you thought I forgot about you! Nope ;)

Some things you might like to know (the irony here is that the people who read the blog know what's going on and many of the updates are actually for people who won't read them):

1. Become LESS Production's friend on YouTube.

a. I have made it pretty much standard practice to upload finished videos on YouTube (if they're short enough) so that clients can see them as soon as they are done.
b. Of course, the picture quality isn't that great, but people can make suggestions before everything is forgotten and deleted, which I think is good.
c. I usually make the videos for private viewing to avoid weird public comment, seeing as though some of our material is sensitive. Hence, if you are a friend you can view them.

2. The Web Site is down but not out.
a. Gimme my $
b. Some problems with GoDaddy but it should be worked out by Wednesday.
c. Gimme my $

3. Have a bunch of job.
a. Three weddings for sure.
b. A meeting about a potential one on Sat.
c. New Agrarian Meeting tomorrow at 12.
d. above mentioned Anne Grady.
e. Spring Sing done.
f. Constant work on Dionysus and Spangle.
g. slap together comedy video tonight.

4. About that comedy video.
a. Standard rates are $100 per camera per event.
b. $200 per day of planned editing.
c. Many people and companies charge $1000 per minute of finished video. Our rates are so much cheaper it's ridiculous, and for cheaper than that it's not worth doing it, even if you made some promise to a client.
d. Double check with people before you obligate yourself to their services, even if you think you have it covered.
e. Of course, we'll work with price ranges and make things happen, but not again without knowing about the compromises in advance. (.) (period)

5. I have many ideas about how we can conduct business in the future to make things easier, but right now I have to go, more to come.

i wish i were more creative

2006-05-26T00:43:00.000-04:00

so here's the deal...four grant applications all due by september first. that's my goal. once i get my hands on the fiscal information we will be in business. the grants are as follows:

gund grant...due june 30th

wexner grant...due july 1st

itvs open call...due august 1st

ohio arts council...due september 1st

all the applications ask for the history of the group as well as our budget for the last year and proposed budget for the next year. a couple ask for qualifications of personnel as well. it may take me a bit and i might have questions for you along the way to try to get these complete but here's a shot at some big money. any input or questions...just say so.

$

2006-05-23T12:27:00.000-04:00

I am going to pay for the web renewal from the LESS bank account for accounting reasons. It would be good if we split it evenly, especially because the $ would actually have been mine from Brigadoon. Also I don't believe we will get it done in time if I don't pay it soon.

Evan, possibly Jeremy and I are doing another Midpark job - this one Spring Sing. Hopefully our process is down now and we can just bang it out.

I'm thinking we should start using U-Tube more to link to sample videos so it doesn't kill our bandwidth. It's there and free, why not. Or google videos. Of course the quality is poor, but unless we want to drop $ on more bandwidth for our site, it's not that great anyway.

the long and the short of it

2006-05-19T23:24:00.000-04:00

in one month's time, Derek and i will return to ohio. we will be there until sometime in mid-augustish. during this time, i am taking on financing and money making and grant writing as full-time jobs. i've already started picking up some grants that i saw back when i lived in ohio that got waylayed due to the move. http://www.gundfdn.org/HOW/how_proposal.asp
the gund grant is the first grant that will come due on june 30th. if anyone has any suggestions or questions let me know.

Everything I Didn't Learn Watching Hollywood Movies

2006-05-19T12:48:00.000-04:00

so for this website renewal thing. should i just send a check or should we send around a coffee can or something?

fresh & local

2006-05-18T14:08:00.000-04:00

I had a meeting with Brad Masi and Maurice Small last night. I met Maurice way back after I first moved back to Cleveland.

The long and short of it is that they are interested in hiring LESS to do as many as 14 short spots (2-5 minutes each) over the course of the summer. The spots would be used initially for web exposure, and possibly DVD or Cd handouts. Brad and I discussed the possibility of reeditting all the spots together, including other collected footage, to create an eventual film festival piece.

The pieces would be to promote various aspects of a nonprofit Brad and Maurice are involved that does City Fresh Farming. (I'm still not totally sure about all of the lingo), But the idea is that these guys help local farmers get their produce in local restaurants and groceries. Maurice is also involved with creating Urban Oasises throughout the city. Noticeably there is one on Chester between the high way and Case.

Our goal is to show this produce's narrative. From planting the ideas, to the soil in which the crops come from to the sandwich I ate last night that had local eggs in it (Brad delivered them to the cafe we met at).

I see a lot of opportunity for animation, fun and work to come from this. That last graph kind of gets into the potential I'm already envisioning.

TW can we flash animate over movies?

Of course we are only in the beginning stages of this project, but as of right now, Evan and I are going to shoot at Brad's farm on Saturday and put together a minute long spec video to get the final go ahead for this project that could go on and off all summer.

back

2006-05-17T13:21:00.000-04:00

1. It's Briga-done.

2. I'm trying to work out a movie editting process.

3. I have a meeting about more work tonight. We'll see what comes of that.

4. Apparently Derek got OSU permission to look for grants. I'll be looking for those soon.

ghostbusters

2006-05-09T20:26:00.000-04:00

Derek, myself, and tom k put together an estimated invoice for the learning hale and sent it to aaron schweitzer. we gave each hour of work a monetary value then used some formulas to come up with estimated amounts of time for preproduction, production. and post-production. if anyone wants any specifics about the invoice just let me know and Derek or myself will be willing to go over what we came up with and how.

trashcan

2006-05-06T02:02:00.000-04:00

sorry about the hiatus. a brief period of time was taken to enjoy and appreciate hawaii. today, back to work. Derek and i attended a meeting with aron schweitzer of the learning hale. Derek tutors for him and aron recently brought up the idea of updating their promotional video. the meeting went quite well. the only area where there was some question was the area of pricing. we will have to provide the company that owns aron's division with an invoice of the tenative price of the package that we tend to supply to them. all in all...they want an eight minute video and one two minute video. there will be about five interviews and some graphics with statistics. aron and his partner paul were very nice to deal with and quite professional. we should have a better idea in the next week of what will be required and need to be discussed.

It's On

2006-05-01T15:09:00.000-04:00

Got bank account, checks and debit card.

Is anybody else doing anything? Also, are we getting $ for TIOY? Other than paid back for what we bought? I am getting paid back for that paint right?

don't pet the sweaty things.

2006-04-26T11:47:00.000-04:00

And sure if you want to improve on something that's fine but there are more important things to do. (I'm going to make a whole post to clarify that last sentence tonight).

A metaphor: When I wanted to write my own column at Hillsdale (which was one of the sweetest things in the paper at the time), it was like "Ok, but you still have to write two news stories a day on top of that."
--sure, fuck my boss at Hillsdale.

That's kind of like the rule (at least what I think about it).

As Jim Jarmusch said (paraphrased): This work is about collaboration.
Sure, if each of us did everything, individually we would like the product more because we made it.

Collaboration/compromise is required for our work/business/product because we can't each do everything (even if we have the skills to do a certain thing).

Believe me I know that can be frustrating. I see something and I say: "I could have done that better." For me, I draw the line at - does this get the job done, within the group's principles/aesthetic/competence.

Ultimately I think we all know this; We all try to work together; We all want what's best for the group; We want that to be in line with our artistic standards. We have to work to get in a place where we can fight over minutiae, because right now, the big things are too unstable to rock the boat with the little ones.

I do believe in this group. I believe in the Cavs, even though they lost last night. We are capable of great things. LeBron will score 30+ points before the season is over. Let's not trip on each bump in the road and discuss whether or not we should take a different route.

2006-04-25T15:02:00.000-04:00

“Instead of critiquing one thing or another (like I just deleted a large section of this comment) because of design preferences I really wish people would work on product and getting clients.

This probably could be a big argument, all I'm going to say is this: I fear we are becoming more about our image as a production company instead of our productions. That is unacceptable for me, and makes us as bad as the people I sought to avoid in getting involved with this company.”

This post is hypocritical. Subtly or not, it is a critque. I don’t see how we can progress as a group if we stop critiquing or working to find ways to improve. Not holding yourself responsible for your product and your company makes us as bad as the people I sought to avoid. As far as working on new product and getting new clients, I honestly don’t know how to respond to that. Maybe I am taking this too personally since it was in response to my post, but I would like to point out that I have followed through time and again with promised opportunities and product.

GETTING CLIENTS: AGC, Brianne, working on Cathy Albers and American Oak Creations.
PRODUCT: AGC Flash program, financing this is our youth

Those examples are just the past two months. I would also like to add, I have significantly LESS time to work on the group than Tom K, Justin, or Evan.

On the subject of product – what do you want me to make? I am working on what I know I can make and that is primarily images and graphics at this point. Let me do that. I can’t help edit the movie and I can’t shoot a new one. Have some acting for me? I’ll do it. But assuming I know the answers to these questions, improving things I think I can improve upon was one of the founding principles of this group – The Rule.

I feel I am doing exactly what I should be doing for this group. If you disagree, you need to be more specific than that.

In Reference to the Blog Title

2006-04-25T09:49:00.000-04:00

1. That the playboy channel comes in clear for two minutes every four hours, starting at midnight.

2. That my Dad's dirty magazine stash was kept in a closet in the garage.

3. You can forge your parents signature and most people won't notice.

That's my top three right now.

CHECKING IN

CREATED FLASH ANIMATION FOR THE AGC CD
SUBMITTED BILL TO AGC
WORKING ON REFORMATING BILL FOR APPROVAL, PART OF MY PLEDGE TO CREATE CENTRALIZED, UNIFORM IMAGES.
FINANCING A HEFTY PORTION OF "THIS IS OUR YOUTH". SO FAR, I HAVE PURCHASED A $36 ACTION FIGURE AND A $30 HALF-OUNCE OF REAL-LOOKING FAKE POT. (SIDE NOTE: WE ALSO HAVE POSTERS WITH OUR LOGO, ALBEIT SMALL AND TRANSPARENT, FLOATING AROUND THE CLEVELAND AREA)

-SOMETIMES I FEEL PRETTY RIDICULOUS POSTING ON THIS BLOG. EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON THAT I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT, I HEAR IN PERSON. I CAN'T ASK QUESTIONS THAT GET FULL ANSWERS ON THE BLOG, I JUST END UP CALLING. IT GETS DEPRESSING READING ABOUT THINGS NOT WORKING OUT WHEN YOU CAN SCROLL TWO POSTS BEFORE AND HEAR HOW EXCITED ABOUT SOMETHING SOMEONE WAS (YOU THEN HAVING THE KNOWLEDGE THAT IT DIDN'T GO THROUGH). OR I'LL FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO PROVE MY WORTH ON THE BLOG, LIKE "LOOK AT THIS POST - I'M SUCH A PART OF THE GROUP!" I THINK SOMETIMES BEING PRODUCTIVE GETS TRANSLATED INTO POSTING ON THE BLOG, AND I DON'T LIKE THAT. THE BLOG WAS MUCH MORE FUN WHEN IT WAS ABOUT MASTURBATION.

boring stuff = business is good

2006-04-24T13:52:00.000-04:00

Long time no blog, I know.

1. I work with Evan on editing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday now.

a. The movie is getting edited.
b. Solving problems for the ever-inconsistent Liquid.

2. Evan and I video taped the Midpark Musical and sold 40+ copies of the DVD to the audience.

a. We will net ~$450.
b. That includes a $225 donation to Midpark.
c. We have to spend some time putting that DVD together this week.

3. LESS is an official business recognized by the state of Ohio.

4. I applied for a checking account with Charter One Bank today for LESS.

a. I have some kind of meeting to set that up tomorrow.
b. We will be able to take checks/pay each other professionally.

5. I sent TW the bill for the Anne Grady thing today.

a. There are some changes that need to happen for more $.
b. Hopefully, we will get the first payment for the initial product this week ($2,000).

6. I'm going to start holding back a minimal percentage of the $ we make for taxes, so I don't get boned at the end of the year.

7. We should also hold some back to reinvest in LESS (get sticks, another camera, a better editing system...etc.)

a. This will happen as we make more $.
b. A man's got to eat.
c. All prices and payouts will be agreed on by all before money changes hands.

editing

edited

Mid park

mid park

professionally

editing

when they handed me my paycheck, i said "i worked harder than this"

2006-04-22T02:25:00.000-04:00

yesterday, i met with a representative from the muscular distrophy association about a video project that they are going to put together during their camp this summer. the job would not be a paying job but i figured the meeting would be an opportunity to hone some skills and figure out what our deal really is. the meeting was not what i had expected. where i thought it would be a one on one meeting with the representative to discuss the focus of their project, the focus of our production company, and how the two would benefit from working together; instead i was greeted by an entire room full of people in charge of various aspects of the camp. they did a fair amount of discussing how things worked in last years camp and how the video project would fit into this year's. i left the meeting giving them only an answer that i would call them tomorrow after discussing their idea with my partners. it was decided that this is a job less productions will not be putting their name on. the main reason i discussed with the representative was that the association had rounded up some student intern volunteers who would be using school donated machines and cameras. we would be using our own, throwing off the continuity of the project as one group of children would be getting a different experience than others due to the fact that we cannot afford final cut and that is most likely what a school organization would be using. we would also be using a different camera. it just seemed to me as well as those in the group that i spoke with that the mda would be better off using the student interns that they had as opposed to using less. this just isn't the right job for us. so that's that. oh yeah, and then directly after this meeting i realized that i had locked myself out of my house wearing high heels and no one would be home for ten more hours. peace.

for and for not money

2006-04-15T05:05:00.000-04:00

I have some leads as far as people who would serve on the board. Also, I've put in a pretty detailed email to the president of the alumni club out here (osu) along with various other things. I am also working on getting quicker transportation out here so I can make it to prospective jobs or meetings etc. but I'm debating on if it's worth it. If ever all of our infinite poetentials all started cashing in at once, I'd have pee all over me. (cuz for me pee is like liquid gold).

p.s. I had other, not so professional things on here but then I deleted them, and then I wrote this, what am I doing. Well who cares, it's our damn company, we're the only ones that determine what's professional and not in our little online communique

the sun comes out now

2006-04-13T22:51:00.000-04:00

Derek and i have been discussing the forming of a non-profit here in hawaii and what role that would play etc. i see no reason not to comply with what tom has presented on the blog and what Derek has presented to me here. so i'm in, just tell me what to do if assistance is needed. Derek and i have been discussing what the name of said non-profit would be [and how we need help with that as a group consensus would take a little pressure off] and what direction this organization would be working toward in its next project. i've been looking over grant material and as far as work here in hawaii, there's a good number of grants available to anyone willing to do work on environmental protection or crystal meth and how either of these topics is affecting hawaii. the idea was presented to do a documentary about wave energy or to do it on the use of resources because hawaii has to ship practially everything in from the states in order to survive and how it is no longer a self-sustained island. that's all i got for now.

Aight...

2006-04-12T17:47:00.000-04:00

I am definitely down for this.

Although I am unclear what you mean by "shady". Does this include my personal life? If not, then we are all clear.

Learning from Ron Wilson

2006-04-12T11:56:00.000-04:00

I filed the paper work to become the sole proprietor of LESS Productions on Monday. Assuming it goes through, which I can't imagine it won't (I guess there is a small chance because my driver's license is in Michigan and the company is in Ohio, I get a call and have to answer some small questions, but fuck that plenty of people own businesses in different states and countries...) this means I will be able to set up a bank account and people can write LESS Productions checks (instead of us being like, "well you can just make it out to me and I'll make sure everyone gets their share...I swear this is not shady..."). And we will also be able to claim things on our own taxes that went to the company (like DV tapes, web site registrations, and other equipment, even mileage). So that's cool.

You all will be hired as independent contractors for any LESS Productions job that you work on. I know it may seem a little lop-sided, but obviously things will not change in how we work, other than we will have to make sure to keep track of $ better. If you have specific questions call me, it's just too boring to explain all these menial details here.

Although, one important thing did occur to me the other day about this whole set up. As sole proprietor if LESS Productions gets sued for something, copyright infringement, trespassing...etc. I get sued. Of course I don't have anything that anybody would want (except huge genitals), but that doesn't mean I'm cool with getting sued.

So, for the record and as a measure of precaution:

1. I want to know about anything "questionable" with LESS Productions' name on it.
If there is a project that we do that has anything that we are only "pretty sure" we can use, I want to know what it is and what the material in question is.

2. I want to know about the terms on any financial agreements we make.
Obviously, we are all adults and can handle a certain amount of responsibility and I trust everyone and everything like that. But if LESS Productions is doing something for money, I want to see the agreement, whether it be an e-mail, notarized form on linen paper or Sharpe marker on the back of a cereal box etc.

3. If you suspect that somebody else in the group - for any reason - has done something even the slightest bit illegal, shady, or against some contract or regulation for LESS Productions - tell me.
Again, I'm not changing into some kind of ball busting ass hole, I'll still handle situations like always, talking and begging and waking up Evan at 12:30 p.m.- but I don't want to find out by an angry landlord, client or whatever that somebody involved with LESS Productions did something they think is shady.

This is not like me trying to be a better manager or boss or something. This is straight up TK trying to stay not sued and keep all his dollars. Because of that, if shit does happen illegal or otherwise for LESS Productions and I'm not told about it, I will take it super personally, which is to say this is not so much a reflection of your inability to do good work, but be a good friend.

Of course, we are just beginning. So we are going to come across things that we've never seen before, and may just be unsure of how to handle. I totally understand that as well. I would much rather someone take the extra time to make sure that something is done right, than on time and wrong.

Comment on this post whether you're down or out.

bipedal

2006-04-12T03:47:00.000-04:00

not much to blog on this end but i figured i'd check in anyways. i've been closed indoors during the days getting paid based on how geeky i can be [so it is here that i will insert that i get paid quite well] and skirting questions about boot camp. come thursday i will have much more freetime and thusly, more to report. i've exhausted my telephone skills with ohio state's staff and faculty when it comes to questions about funding. a faculty member whom amira works with now is taking things over where i left off and talking to a few people who couldn't give me answers due to the fact that i am neither faculty nor staff. fingers crossed that she gets further than i could...she seems optimistic.

business cards

2006-04-08T20:01:00.000-04:00

Ok, so we decided on a card, lets move forward. I still don't think we need thousands of these things, but we do need some. So let's figure it out and we can have that shit in our wallets behind our 5 year old condoms.

One thing to complete for the card is our titles. Frankly, I have thought about it and I can't think of what my title should be. Here's some titles I can randomly think of right now that anyone can assume. I dont' know if we want to have more corperate style titles, or more filmy titles.

Producer
Unit Production Manager
Production Manager
Executive Producer
(these are more for individual projects)
Manager
Editor
Cinematographer
camera operator
gaffer
key grip
best boy grip
public relations....itron
actor
stunt man
partner

and blank.

Thank you for the paycheck, National City

2006-04-07T12:18:00.000-04:00

I have seen the greatest actor of our time plummet into madness. I have seen this century’s leading poet burn out before his time. But nothing could have prepared me for what I witnessed last night. With it all on the line, with the crowd waiting, the most influential man on the South Shores of Lake Erie cracked.

Tom Kondilas could not call Stephan Bonnar.

But the new day brings clarity to these events. Appearances can be deceiving. I now realize that Tom Kondilas is not, in fact, a “sissy”. He is simply stretched too thin. His commitments to LESS Productions have sucked him dry. He cannot do everything when it comes to developing this into a full-fledged professional undertaking. It is time I take a stand...

I know we all might have differing opinions when it comes to the issue of LESS’s image, particularly graphic and web design. We have different opinions on what looks good, what should be changed, updated, etc. It is very easy to just post something on the blog about how this or that should be different and how your idea is the best (please ignore that this is what I am doing right now). I am taking the vacant reigns of the website and graphic design. This does not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that I have creative control or anything like that. It simply means that from now on, my results will be more than blog posts. I believe I can improve our web site and graphics in general. I am not talking about complete re-design, simply cleaning things up and providing more options for us (be it for actual use or to spark ideas or more suggestions). I know TK has often stated that he doesn’t think thing x or y is that important right now, but I do and have time to do it and enjoy doing it. I think I do a good job of utilizing other people’s input when it comes to design and think that this will better the group.

My plan of action is roughly as follows:

1. Clean Up the website
a) Evaluate text, make changes as group sees fit
b) Streamline flash transitions
c) Create loading introduction
d) Insure consistency throughout site and links
2. Create consistent images for group use
a) Promotional images
b) Images used in correspondence
c) Develop central location for storing/transferring images

This will not be an overnight process, but is going to be my main function in the group for the next few weeks, minus a span of time where my computer is being repaired.

Suggestions are encouraged. Ignore me if need me.

A sandwich for the blog

2006-04-06T11:09:00.000-04:00

Dear Blog,

Hi! How are you? I am fine. Google is really great. You can submit your information to them multiple times and they never register you! That is crazy. I even paid a service to submit us to all the major search engines and that never happened either - the internet is so crazy, blog. Well, Ana is trying now too, maybe the internet likes girls more or something.

What else is going on with you blog? Did you hear about my idea for pricing? DIRT CHEAP. I already told you all of this though, so I won't repeat myself.

Well blog, I have to get ready for work, but first I have to get this guy off of my couch. He smells like Labatts or leadership, I'm not sure which. He keeps mumbling something about productivity. Weirdo.

Love you,
Tom

woo ha

2006-04-05T22:26:00.000-04:00

thanks to aaron, i set things up with google so sometime in the near future...less productions should be accessible via google. Derek made some reels today with labels. i wrote letters to include with the reels. we'll be sending these out to half a dozen non-profits tomorrow. we need to discuss prices. people wanted price lists included with their reel and they'll just have to settle for "call us with your questions" because i blogged two weeks ago about how we needed to discuss prices and no one got back to me. i believe this to be an important part of forward movement for the group and something we should seriously begin considering. Derek questions if we should charge similar to what other companies are charging or if we should go with some sort of hourly rate and what things should be taken into consideration. i think that's it for now.

food for blog

2006-04-05T17:22:00.000-04:00

Ok so I printed out pretty nice, but not perfect, labels for the reels that I will mail out shortly. Ana suggested that I send a little letter too, which I think is a good idea and will go ahead with. So I can make reels including label and mail them out to you or directly to potential clientos (changing contact info and color splotch or whatever you'd like). Send out orders and I'll try n crank em out.

werd

2006-04-05T10:46:00.000-04:00

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry I'm kind of like your single parent trying to make sure you get the nurturing you need to grow up strong one day and be the adult blog you need to be to make all your dreams come true like LeBron James. Maybe if there were other people like me out there, in Cleveland or Hawaii that wanted to help take care of you, it would be easier.

Instead - Go Hungry Bitch!

Love,

TK

p.s. I do a lot of little things over the course of the day, that probably don't matter, but I might as well mention, like putting the trailer on myspace. I haven't spent enough time on myspace to actually learn how to do all the sweet stuff every 16-year-old knows how to do yet, but I'm learning. Also, I feel creepy if I spend more than 15 minutes on that thing at a time. I ain't no pederass.

we're really doing it

2006-04-04T00:10:00.000-04:00

We are really doing it. Whether or not it really feels like we are all involved in this thing, a company, a business, creatively, making art -- we are. It is very much affecting our lives. I have noticed that some times this is easier to ignore/forget than others. It's good to make the reminder.

In general, a motivator might be that this group and the projects it makes are those things that we have chosen to do to make a livelihood. Though there are certain aspects that are better than others, the point is that laziness, a lack of motivation and distractions in general take us away from a thing we have chosen to do. That is tragic.

I personally want the freedom to do whatever I want, artistically, financially, socially... It would be a terrible thing to fall short of such an awesome goal only because it takes me a while to wake up and watch sports center three or four times before I make it to the kitchen for cereal.

I know we can do this. I'm pretty sure we all want to.

Today I did a good deal, but I still didn't work my hardest. I copied reels, digitized video, worked on the pamphlet and made calls to potential clients in Cleveland and Hawaii. What if I worked my hardest ... What if we all did?

post from jeff!

2006-04-03T14:56:00.000-04:00

hey friends, i don't know if this got to you guys, but rich sommer sent it my way and i told him i would let lessproductions know about it. i know that tom k has a 'play' that weekend, but rich and patrick and virginia and i think it might be a fun, sweet time full of good experiences, learning, and whatnot. so if any of you cleveland types are available (i think it is the weekend of apr. 21) you should plan a little trip to nyc and we can all make a movie together. just a thought. let me know your thoughts...
(that post again is http://www.48hourfilm.com/newyork/)

i just made "googleable" a word

2006-04-01T03:57:00.000-05:00

can someone look into what it would take to make the website googleable. like, say for instance, someone types in one of our names...how do we change things so that less productions' website shows up. for that matter, how do we change things so less productions' website comes up when you google "less productions."

i have spent many hours for many days now [for the last couple of weeks] on the telephone with various facets of ohio state in an attempt to get someone to not transfer me to some other branch and answer my question "can we borrow your non-profit status." one girl...jennifer from academic affairs called me back and told me outright that ohio state couldn't do it because of the legal ramifications...this was after i called the legal department who refused to give me any information due to the fact that i am neither current faculty nor staff. so i'm going to spend the next few days or weeks or whatever it takes trying to find a way around that. i think if we become affiliated with some academic organization or have one particular member of the faculty agree to support us and be our representative...we may be able to make something happen. more on this later, i'm sure.

Cleveland, City of Tomorrow

2006-03-30T12:04:00.000-05:00

IMPORTANT: The following blog post should be read at a medium volume with pleasant, yet determined undertones. There should be a slight hint of sarcasm at points, clearly directed away from, not towards, members of LESS Productions.

Our main idea: see mission statement. Our main idea is definetly not that we are from Cleveland. We ARE from Cleveland. We are a multi-media production company. We have a mission statement that explains what we do, or our main idea, if you will.

I think our main selling point right now should be that...well, we are cheap. We could have the best name we could ever think of, it still wouldn't mean dick. No one knows who we are and from my own personal experience, the best way to sneak into people's wallets is undercutting.
I've managed to get several high paying web-design jobs from initial jobs that were WELL below cost. Price gets people's attention. We have a reel, but from what I understand it is just what we have - not the best work we could possibly offer. I propose we just focus on finding work for whatever price we can get, FREE if need be. We just need to start putting together better examples of what we can do.

As far as the Cleveland thing, it seems people all agree that we are proud of the "heritage". I think LESS Productions is a fine name and have no problem keeping it. I don't think we always need to spell it out "Lake Erie South Shore", but I don't think we should drop that all together.

What kind of "geographical misunderstandings" are taking place? People don't know where Cleveland is or understand that yes, indeed, people live there? How does where we originate even come into play. In Hawaii, I don't see why that needs to be brought up by clients or us. "They don't get it" - What aren't they "getting"? We are a multi-media production company. That's all they NEED to get. If it is the webpage, well, we are based in Cleveland, primarily. Our biggest project right now, Spangle, is set in Cleveland. I don't think we are beating people over the head with it, but yes, it does play into our image currently. I think it sets us apart from the hundreds of "production companies" with generic photos of cameras and beautiful people at parties.

I don't think the Cleveland image is holding us back.

I think our lack of a quality portfolio, distance, finances, and motivation (myself included) play a major role in our heldbackedness.

FINAL THOUGHTS: We need to focus on finishing Spangle and building a better reel and less on making money - that just won't happen for awhile. I also don't think "Cleveland" is a problem. I'd like to relocate to Portland.

In response to #3

2006-03-29T16:08:00.000-05:00

Let's assume for the sake of argument that I see relocating in my future. Like a quarter of LESS is relocated already. The idea is that Cleveland made us, and we make art with that high-octane Cleveland fuel. I think the name becomes more poignant if we don't live here anymore.

Have to admit it's getting wetter

2006-03-28T12:32:00.000-05:00

By split decision, it has finally been voted that the business card style will use will be the TW design.

Some changes will have to happen:

1. Deciding Titles.
2. Different e-mail addresses?
3. The abyss that lay behind the question of what do we do with "LESS" after relocating. And what does that mean for things we are designing/(documentary) trying to incorporate into our identity now.
4. And I'm sure, things I haven't thought about.

as ana said, "...Derek and i would both stress the use of input whichever card is chosen as we feel both cards offer good things that could be incorporated into one awesomer card."

But at least we know what to ask questions about.

A pocket full of dreams...and condoms

2006-03-28T09:22:00.000-05:00

Spangle Music - Justin has talked about, and written some music that I really like. He can also put together instrumental stuff in a short amount of time. I think we need to use his stuff, somewhere.

Weddings fast approaching - From what I understand there are a few reels floating around, at least one would guess that from previous blogs. Can we get something together for this girl at my office to see so that we can do her wedding? I will not mention this again (not a threat, but just a fact), so if we want to do it, let me know.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON

1. THIS IS OUR YOUTH
2. FINDING INTRO/LOADING SCRIPT FOR WEBPAGE
3. DETECTIVE WORK

watch it

2006-03-28T00:23:00.000-05:00

www.sitemeter.com
just a suggestion but maybe think about putting meters on the blog or on the website itself. the one i've listed is the one i use on my blog and it's worked out well. you get weekly reports with graphs of peek usage and it comes complete with the ip addresses of everyone that's visited. that's all i got.

Questions to all your Answers

2006-03-27T14:26:00.000-05:00

Excuse the difference in size. But here is some info concerning this debate.

"having an all black business card would be an expensive venture as it would require a great deal of black ink or some sort of less frequently used black paper material" Not really. I just checked a couple of web pages, for example on www.hotcards.com, we could buy 5,000 full color cards for $100. No difference in price for amount of black ink. Ultimately we should find a service like hotcards that best suits our needs as it will be less expensive than kinkos.

The irritating thing is that you have to buy 5,000 on hotcards, I'm still looking for the best price for a good quantity. The color is not a problem.

"if we went with an all black business card that was inked...would this not leave the back of the business card white and come off maybe a bit tacky or at least less than professional"

No. We can do two-sided printing, therefore the back could be plain black or whatever, and I'm not sure if it's tacky black and white anyway.

"Derek and i both prefer the simpler, less crowded design. it feels like a great deal is going on the card with TW's version."

All language and bullshittery aside, this really comes down to two questions:

1. Effectiveness
2. Personal preference

They both have the required info. We will ultimately incorporate titles, but aside from that, the debate is subjective and as far as I'm concerned, stupid to try and rationalize.

The solution:
Everyone e-mail me with your preference and an explanation that you think supports your case. Secret ballots and all. I would prefer e-mails to phone calls because then I don't have to feel weird if I disagree with you.

I will let you know who wins tomorrow. And after that, we will just go with one all out. If you think that there is a more fair way to go about this, by all means suggest it, but we are not using two different kinds of business cards, that is wrong on a bunch of levels.

Sidenote: Derek if you have already invested in some, of course you should just use them until you run out, there's no problem with that.

We just have to make some decisions and start rolling.

p.s. I'm not sure what to do if there's a tie...I probably just don't count the votes of people who say they are going to do things and then never do them...(that is mostly kidding).

the business of getting down

2006-03-25T00:42:00.000-05:00

the internet access that we have regained is by no means stable, but it seems to be working for now. so after viewing the business cards set forth by tom white, Derek and i have the following concerns:

having an all black business card would be an expensive venture as it would require a great deal of black ink or some sort of less frequently used black paper material

if we went with an all black business card that was inked...would this not leave the back of the business card white and come off maybe a bit tacky or at least less than professional

it's nice that the card and the website now mirror each other but Derek and i both prefer the simpler, less crowded design. it feels like a great deal is going on the card with TW's version.

this is not to say that the version of the card that we provided was the best but something less busy is probably what we were looking at. also, would titles be going on these cards and if so how would individual titles be decided. i called a bunch of people the other day and i believe a price list needs to be added to the website. like how the other website had "packages," i believe we need to come up with tenative pricings because a high percentage were asking price related questions [which i had little to no answers to]. Derek and i talked about it and there could be general packages broken down by how many days the shoot would go and how many people would be involved as per how long the product is going to be. voiceovers would be extra, stuff like that. i feel that would be a very good addition to the website. when's the next meeting. shoots.

crapola

2006-03-24T01:28:00.000-05:00

Derek and i have found a way back to the world wide web. we lost every last file we had though. we have not tested the extent to which this death of files has gone or how much this will affect "dionysus" or any other less files we were holding. that is all.

up and down

2006-03-23T18:03:00.000-05:00

Really quick,

Link to blog on web page.

Also link to poetry.

For that matter could link any text ya'll want up I got it covered. I intend to start a weekly, column type thing...we could all contribute.

TW and TK in NYC. Peace.

Bound to be better...

2006-03-22T21:52:00.000-05:00

Get it? That's wit.

This has been like opening a time capsule to see the handful of posts that survived short-lived, ill-fated, now resurrected and renamed Bound. Anyway...

Spent the day dealing with a crippling hangover and reading through This is Our Youth. Yesterday I spent a lot of time dealing with Avid issues as I worked on the Muse of Fire sequence. Should have the first 5 pages of a movies (sans sound) in a day or two.

This is what I need:

Derek, let's work on the Pour Intro so I can use it for the logo at the beginning of spangle. I have some suggestions and such, hit me up when you're ready to get back to work on that.

Everyone: Get me music. This is that time. I need it. The means by which I'm going to have edit this may render it difficult to score it after editing. I think it will be easier to have music as I go, but I suppose this isn't set in stone and remains one of the bigger decisions I have to make right now. Either way, get me any music that you can get your hands on.

Should be it for now.

Can we please refer to this blog in conversation as EIDLWHM? Think that's concise and appropriate.

Rock out.

2006-03-22T17:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, this is actually not a brand new blog. That is because I still wanted it to have the lessproductions url. Anyway, this should be easier because a bunch of us were already signed up for it.

Let's just get back into the swing of things, and fairly consistent posting. Derek's computer is kaput so he and ana won't post as often. Regardless, the rest of us should.

See you in cyber space.

As promised...

2005-11-16T14:52:00.000-05:00

Buckle up bitches.

Some paragraphs (not this first one) start with one of your names and involve a lot of things specifically for that person. BUT, every single one includes things that NEED to be read by some one else. Translation: Read everything. Fo real.

I'm meeting with Hoffman on Monday to record the inspirational tape stuff. If any wants this to be something besides exactly what is written on page 45, let me know TODAY. I'm sending Geoff his stuff first thing tomorrow.

If anyone has any suggestions/ideas for the changes to the S.T./Cleveland scene, let me know. I'll just come up with something and send it out, then we can work on it from there. In the meantime, I won't have that written for at least a couple hours, so you're more than welcome to break the ice. Just to keep you all posted, Reignier is getting back to me this evening on what days next week he can shoot. Oh yeah, we're gonna need Becky's again for the Buk one. TK, get the ball rolling on that with your hook up, then give me the contact number.

Justin, get your scenes scheduled with me as soon as possible. You can wait a little longer on the ones that involve the inspirational tape, as we won't have that until Tuesday (or maybe Wednesday depending on how exactly I decide to do that, again I'll know in the next couple hours). Pretty much, just dig up that e-mail I sent awhile ago detailing everything you have left to do and what it all entails. I can resend it if you need.

Tom White, Pickle Bill's is a go for this Sunday, the 20th. They open at 1:00, let's get there between 11:30 and 12:00. This means let's leave at 10:30. Justin, let me know if you can make it to help out with boom and such (don't sweat it though, not even really any dialogue, I'll get a roommate to tag along if you're busy). Continuing with Tom White: let me know when you want to do the tat scene. I'll let you know when we'll be doing the new, unwritten S.T. scene.

I can't remember what else I wanted to say for the time being, this should be a good start though.

Let's get physical. Phys-i-cal.

For the record

2005-11-16T02:33:00.000-05:00

I'm right on the verge of making some horrible decisions.

The irony of my ability to make that comment in contrast with my ability to make said decisions is mind-boggling. Also, I'm having the best farts of my life tonight.

Check this out. I'm sick of being useless. All of the stuff with you guys in it is going to be done this weekend. Period. Including Michael Reignier and shit, two weekends from now, November 26th, is the deadline. I feel like the reason I haven't been hard on a deadline is the fact that it's already so late just seeing that date is a dagger to the heart. F that. This shit is happening right now. Justin, get the F in contact with me so we can finish your shit. TW, I think we're pretty planned (I'll have Pickle my Dickle ready for Sunday, early).

I haven't been eating or sleeping these last couple days, and I feel like my exhaustion is about to overtake me. For this reason, I'm getting out of work at 4, and then going Rip Van Winkle for a hot minute, after which you better either jump on my train or get the F off the tracks.

Also, I'm going to be unemployed in 49 hours. Bad for the bank, good for the the flick.

I know I am by a wide margin the most at blame for the drop off of productivity. This is why, now that I'm ready to be intimidatingly productive, I reserve the right for you guys to do whatever I say. Be better people than me and don't hold my recent suck ass-ity as an excuse to say that "just because you're ready all of a sudden doesn't mean I am." F that hard. Give me shit, but do it while we finish this GD movie.

Word.

FYI: My horrible decisions (from line 1) don't concern the movie, so don't fret. My life is, however, in shambles. All the more reason to get this one thing right.

Boom Boom Boom, Open the Door (What the F)

2005-11-15T03:28:00.000-05:00

1. Did some crazy shit go down in the recent past that I have not been privy to so that now I can't understand what people are writing? Or are all of my uncertain notions towards these last posts the ones I'm supposed to be getting (i.e. Are those posts the first and currently only pieces of the conversation that they are a part of)?

2. Mr White, change your damn name on here to TW. Mr Kondilas, change your damn name to TK. It's only fair, neither of you gets to keep Tom anymore. I'm serious.

It's Always Been There

2005-11-14T19:18:00.000-05:00

Notes from the camping trip to consider regarding our first conversation on art, the nature of the universe and everything.

1. Art in a can: The idea that for something to be considered art it has to have an audience/consumer. Otherwise we are masturbating until it bleeds for no reason-except masochism.

2. Even though things are fucked up they are still great. War, Bush, the Browns all suck. I can buy the DVD collection of the Osbournes, but at the same time I can talk to you guys from Hillsdale without worrying about anything but why you never answer your phones, ok Jeff always answers his phone...you other fuckers...
The point is that there is something totally optimistic about this time even though we're clearly going to destroy the world.

3. Sexuality. That's always been there, yet it means something totally different now than ever before.

4. We're adults, right? Who are these people we've become and are getting to know? Oh wait they're us, we look different from the picture...

let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go

2005-11-14T18:52:00.000-05:00

Ok I have given it a lot of thought and I think I'm finally ready to begin a discourse on this. This is not a mission statement.

1. I am frustrated and angry with all of us.
a. We all know we have potential yet we are constantly failing to actively take advantage of it. I know that we have have to live normal lives and so on. But I really don't understand why. I really think that we are ready to take things to the next level. If we moved out to some cheap state, lived on a government grant for artists, and really, I mean really worked on a project why couldn't it be the new best thing? Not because we don't have the talent, the time or ability. It really is a lack of balls. That makes me deeply depressed.
b. A big part of what we were saying during that conversation in September was that things are good, a love for life even. I really think that the world needs to know what we were talking about. Which is to say, we have the material, we just have to put it in play. Basically that night was I Hear America Singing. Not only do I think we are on the verge of greatness for ourselves but for our people. We have a thing that needs to be communicated.
c. Right now things like this need to be communicated. I think this is when our generation is just beginning to define itself. We don't want the young republicans and young democrats to take over this country. We are so much more complex than that. It's war-time, literally, politically and artistically. I really believe that now is the time to prove that we don't suck.
2. The message needs to be defined and performed.
a. I don't know what it is yet.
b. I don't know how to best perform it.
3. This blog is the filter for all our input.
a. At the end of pink flamingos, after seeing the movie one man says, "John Waters has his finger on the pulse of America...He has his thumb right up America's ass." I think we should invite all artists that we respect to comment on what they are doing and why it's relevant here.
b. It's our jobs to sort through the useless bullshit and the genius as it falls within our parameters (that we define with the intent to perform after assessing all the input).
4. I miss you guys and we have to talk about something.

A New Project

2005-10-22T05:46:00.000-04:00

The blog is open...

Some of you may be unhappy with my choice for the title, but it is very late, and my office environment does not inspire a great deal of creativity.