ARROGANCE and SCANDALOUS - Fashion Fun

ARROGANCE by Diram was a fun shoot and subsequent film of a fashion show in Second Life that took place earlier this year featuring the "Arrogance" collection by couture designer, djod Karu. Karu is an imaginative, cutting edge designer and a delightful lady who I first met when I did a similar piece (discussed below) for the fashion show based on her "Scandalous" collection. I was flattered to be invited back by her and the folks at AVENUE Models to create this piece.

I've had a nice long association with Rusch, Jesika, Livia, the staff, and the Models at AVENUE. They are an ingenious group of marketing professionals and their fashion shows are always clever, inventive, and exciting.

I had to have some fun with the set, so I created the "crime scene" intro with the help of a few of my regular SSC&C actors, listed in the credits below, to grab the attention of viewers.

The choice of music underlying the show footage was also djod's idea, so I was happy that MFM Booking who owns rights, granted up permission to use the piece, "Bang It!" by Zoo Brazil with Gina Turner. Special thanks to Damien and MFM for expediting the process for me.

djod's sets always help me conjure up the story I want to tell with the piece and this one was no exception. I started imagining what I wanted to do the moment I saw the gritty and detailed location, so I had a good time doing this one. Also, one of my favorite pieces, of my own, was the one I mentioned above created for her "Scandalous" collection last year. I've included links to both pieces in this post, so check them both out, let me know which one you like better!

Enjoy!
Suzy





Fashion Show Produced by AVENUE Models
Stage Set and Design: djod Karu

Producer and Choreographer: Livia Mastroianni
Assistant Producer and Stage Manager: Emlies Xeltentat

DJ and Voiceover: Rusch Raymaker
PR and Publicity: Jesika Contepomi

AVENUE Models: 13 Cortes, Bety Dudek, Jesika Contepomi, Mimmi Boa, Seashell Dench

Film produced by Running Lady Studios
Director and Editor: K. DaVette See (SL: Suzy Yue)
Title Sequences: K. DaVette See (SL: Suzy Yue)
                           Rob See (SL: GnuEon Aeon)

Camera Operators: K. DaVette See (SL: Suzy Yue),  Rob See (SL: GnuEon Aeon)

Intro Film Noir
Actors Provided By: Suzy's Super Cast & Crew
Actors: Olaf Barbosa, KimberlyAnn Bieler, Lea56 Hyun, Cherry Mahogany, Aisling Sinclair, Dee Theas

Music
Bang It! Zoo Brazil/Gina Turner
Used with permission
Special Thanks to Damien at MFM Booking

Additional Music licensed through
Beyond Music www.musicbeyond.com

Scandalous



Featuring "Scandalous" collection by djod Karu of DIRAM.
Fashion show production by AVENUE Models.

Producer and Choreographer: Livia Mastroianni
DJ and Voiceover: Rusch Raymaker
PR and Publicity: Jesika Contepomi

Models
Mavi Beck
Tatiana Kuri
Liane Maertens
Vixie Raina
Gena Zeiler

Film by Running Lady Productions
Directed/Edited by K. DaVette See (SL: Suzy Yue)
Cinematography/End Credits by Rob See (SL: GnuEon Aeon)
Music Licensed through Beyond Music

Learning to Stop

Long shoots suck.

Here's the thing: Some shoots are going to be long ones. There are unexpected delays, unplanned changes, unhappy turns of events.

In other words, things happen. Still, there are ways to avoid overlong shoots. Careful planning, thorough prep, communication with cast and crew, scheduling. I think, generally, I try to do all that. The thing that is difficult to overcome is my desire for perfection. Not that my work is perfect, but sometimes on some shoots, I just keep trying for it, long after I should simply call it a day.

According to the Guinness book of records it took Stanly Kubrick 125 takes to capture the scene were Shelley Duvall climbs the stairs near the end of "The Shining. I'm no Kubrick, but I think that I understand him. It's going to be on film forever. You want to get it right.

But in my quest for getting it right, sometimes I have forgotten about or ignored the schedule, believing the end result woudl be good enough to erase the the negatives. And though the end result has generally been acceptable to me, it has not as happy a day as it should have been for the client, or even for the cast, when the project has been long overdue.

When I directed for the stage, I was a perfectionist, but not so much so that I ignored the fact that there was an audience buying tickets expecting a show to be up and running opening night. I think that we have seen recent examples in the press illustrating what can happen when those types of realities are ignored in pursuit of something amazing, breathtaking, etc. Not only is the audience you are expecting to wow let down, but you put you cast, your crew, and your reputation at risk. So, as a director for the stage, I learned acceptance. You have to, or you go crazy.

Now I have to apply that same attitude to my work as a filmmaker. There's a time when you just have to sit back and say "Enough."

On Actors and Second Life - The Actors' Sandbox, Part One

I love actors. I think the realization hit me only recently. I had another grand 90 minute session recently with The Actors' Sandbox in Second Life.

In case I haven't written about it yet, this is a collaborative effort between Running Lady, Corky Myrtle of Schoolhouse Earth and Wytchwhisper Sadofsky of TMU. Its evolving purpose is to allow actors of all levels of experience to come in and stretch a bit, do some scenes, discover and rediscover the tools of the trade, and generally relax and be actors together for an hour out of the day. At the same time, it is a place where directors and producers can come and observe these actors in preparation for casting of future projects. I'll post another blog on the evolution of The Sandbox and the particulars of the workshop sessions.

I'm excited about this project for a couple of reasons: it is providing a place for actors to hone their craft, and it is raising the profile of the role of "actor" in a virtual environment. In our case, it is Second Life that we focus on and in SL , frankly, the role of actor in machinima has been at best nebulous and at worst non-existent. For actors, filmmakers tended to grab the nearest avatar standing around, usually themselves, and basically place them in the shot as a prop.

In the last few years, I've worked to both seek out talented actors roaming the wilds of SL, and to show filmmakers that their films can be much richer and the experience of shooting a film can be greatly enhanced by using these talented actors. Not only talented, but trained, as well, in the craft of performing in SL.

I'm happy to report that the during the last three years, I have seen a rise in the both the awareness of an actor community in SL, but a desire to use these actors in films and live performances based in SL.

Here's to keeping that momentum going.