Question: “When was the last time you went to an art-house?”
Answer: “Years ago. I watch everything online. I don’t have time to go to the cinema.”

The inevitable has begun, and as filmmakers we must consider the realm of digital and online distribution to reach a relevant audience. The article then goes onto describe how the majority of an entire generation under under 30, indie film consumers can only be found online. Let’s just call it was it is…the Hulu Generation!

Sticking with the Hulu Generation concept, we are dealing with a younger audience that is used to being connected through the “instant” concept – with the click of a button one can instantly access something on their laptops, on their Xbox, Netflix, mobile device, etc. So, if it’s not mainstream Twilight or Ironman, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see young adults paying for $12 movie tickets and a $10 popcorn and soda combo.

As filmmakers, we constantly have to be looking at finding our audiences. So, if our audiences are leaning more towards the “instant” rewards then maybe that is the direction we need to head. Creating more viral and grassroots campaigns surrounding our films. Creating more down-loadable features and projects that include a transmedia storytelling concept. Creating more high impact shorts that can thrive on the web and fit into a Hulu Generations attention span. Afterall, studies show that we have an average of 56 seconds to keep someone’s attention before they go back and send a tweet or change their Facebook status.

It really makes me wonder as I continue to type this blog that all the glitsy web features really have made us unsocial.  But, maybe that is an overstatement.  Social media really has become a phenomenon within itself.  Yet, without it….where would we be?  Would Obama really be president if he hadn’t embraced the web of younger generations?  Would “Paranormal Activity” created the cult following that it did without the use of social media sites like Facebook?

To some, the social media bug creates an avenue for people to know, whether they want to or not, what you are thinking and doing at all times of the day.  But, I’d like to think that social media is an avenue that can champion change.  Like the texting for Haiti campaigns that raised over $10 million dollars in one day.  Or the Facebook phenomenon of stating your bra color could help create commotion about breast cancer.  The web has become a worldwide ‘watercooler’ and I love it!  And I think Erroll Morris might change his tune when he is having to promote his next documentary.

I want my MTV. I want 200 channels with nothing on. But, when I change the channel and come across a rare gems of someone sitting in the interview chair and spilling their guts about their darkest secrets or triumph, that is when I’m on the edge of my seat. That is when I am contemplating my own life. That is when I am inspired to make a difference. Now, don’t get me wrong, I definitely get sucked into those Saturday marathons on VH1 where everyone is drinking, hooking up and fighting with each other. I understand the need for mindless entertainment, but I think we have taken this genre consume us. I feel like my mind is mush once it become 4pm and I still realize I am on the couch and in my pajamas. As opposed to getting fired up and wanting to change laws because of the injustice I just learned about.

It’s the amazement of being able to capture real life. It’s the empowerment of telling a story that can change someone’s life. It’s the one thing that reality TV just cannot, and will not, offer. I see the classic documentary genre seeping threw in new shows like ‘Modern Family’ or new movies like ‘District 9.’ Is the documentary style the future? Is that where things are headed? As for me, I can’t wait for the guido phase to die.

What started with a phone call from a friend crying out for help, turned into an 8 year journey to tell the stories of women convicted for killing their abusive husbands.  A film that could change the world, turned into a film that changed my life!

Sin by Silence brings the outside world into the California Institution for Women where in 1989, Convicted Women Against Abuse was created by inmate Brenda Clubine to help abused women speak out and realize they are not alone. Over the past two decades, the women of CWAA have changed laws for battered women and raised awareness for those on the outside.

Sin by Silence went on to be featured in People Magazine, win various festival awards, have an incredible online movement, and even go on a national tour which kept me on the road for over 3 months.

I remember at a screening we had at a shelter in St. Louis, MO while on tour and there was a statement that was framed above the entrance. “Everyday holds the possibly for a miracle.” That statement still runs through my head, even after having countless screenings since then.

A miracle?  Maybe it’s just courage. Maybe it’s just faith. Maybe it simply takes a friend reaching out to help another friend. Maybe it takes a community willing to make a difference for their neighbors. Whatever the “miracle” is that brought together the women of Lydia’s House that night to watch Sin by Silence was for a reason. We were able to share the message and stories of the film, and help empower those women in the choices that they had made. The choice to leave their abusive partner. The choice to go down a long, hard road towards independence. The choice to sit there that night and watch a film that I put my all into creating.

I feel as if I need to write the Lydia’s House quote down on a post it and read it to every morning. “Everyday holds the possibly for a miracle.” Everyday we have a chance to make a difference. Everyday we could tell a story that could change someone’s life.

The journey of my documentary Sin by Silence has had great press response to help spread the word.  From national to local coverage, here’s just a few of the highlights…

NBC interview in St. Louis, MO

Interview on KPPC – Patt Morrison in Los Angeles, CA

Click here to hear more.

Interview on Capital Radio in Sacramento, CA

Building a better world start at the local level.  Whether that be helping communities organize food drives, volunteer at homeless shelters, or host fund-raising events for the effects of natural disasters.  Creating avenues of outreach at community based levels demands action.  Yet, for a documentary, this phase of the film’s campaign is the most engaging and worthwhile for any filmmaker.  After all, isn’t this why we make documentaries in the first place?  To create change!

In creating Sin by Silence, I had many hats to wear.  Yet, once the film was done and the campaign needed take life, I had to take my Director hat off and take on the role of being the Outreach Coordinator.  It wasn’t an easy task. I had the challenge of transforming the film into a tool that would create a new level of activism for the fight against violence towards women.  Exhausting, but worthwhile.

I had to research the state statistics of domestic violence, and assess where to travel with who would benefit from a screening event.  I had to create strategic partnerships with non-profits and organizations who already had the network and advocacy in place.  I had to organize and create the schedule, logistics of travel, organize the regional data of domestic violence, as well as set in place all promotional and local press connections for each event.  Impossible?  No way!

In the end, the Stop the Violence Tour went to the top 10 states with the worst domestic violence statistics and reach over 5700 in less than 3 months.  We ventured into the “trenches” where the film would have the most impact and biggest ripple effect.  Attendance was amazing, press coverage was incredible, hearts and minds were transformed right in front of me at each and every screening.

My comrade on tour was Brenda Clubine.  She is featured in the film and recently released from prison after 26 years.  Her presence provided the campaign an opportunity to continue extending the message beyond the screen.  She is the living embodiment of the film’s cause, and audience after audience were speechless when I brought her up on stage after they had just experienced her journey from victim to survivor from watching the film.

I could go on and on, but instead click below to see some of the impact…

Tour Assessment

Local Press Coverage

Facebook Page

Outreach and Web Videos

Screening Events

Stop the Violence Network

The subject has given you their time. They have given you their trust. You have to make them feel comfortable. They cannot feel judged. This is a relationship. A commitment not only for you to tell their story, but for their story to be told. It’s time to just start listening and documenting real life instead of how you want life to be.

As for the interview process of Sin by Silence. Filming was under the worst conditions for production. Prisons are not very conducive towards the ideal interviews without a guard hovering over your shoulder. Prisons are not very conducive for helping to create a quiet environment for capturing audio due to the sirens, doors locking and guard announcements over the loudspeakers. Yet, I knew the stories of the film were worthwhile to capture. These stories must be told.

Month after month, year after year, I drove the 70 miles to be at every Convicted Women Against Abuse (CWAA) meeting. I listened to experiences that were living nightmares. I listened for the stories that emerged. And once we both sat in our interview chairs and the lights turned on, I knew that the listening had to continue. Of course I wanted to ask these women, “How did you kill him.” But, because I had previously spent years listen to their stories of pain, I knew that was the last question that needed answering. These women had a different story to tell! So, I let them talk and gently guided them from beginning to end, from victim to survivor, from criminal to empowered woman.

The end result was a documentation of several women’s epic stories as they began to discover hope and dignity. Many interviewees openly expressed gratitude for the freedom to tell “the whole story” to someone with whom they felt comfortable. A surprisingly large proportion of the women stated that this was their first opportunity to openly reveal their lives, their abuse, their experiences, and their perceptions.

The women of CWAA became stronger as a result of the interview process. Many of these women who used to remain in the background, now started to find their voice. An entirely new sense of purpose was given to the women of CWAA and a sense of empowerment came from finally being able to have their voices be heard. An empowerment that could lead to other women learning how to not follow in their footsteps. Empowerment that could push society to finally do something about the countless women being brutalized behind closed doors. All because…I listened!

In order to have an impact with a documentary, you have to create a campaign. A campaign that will move people to action. A campaign that will open people’s hearts and minds.  A campaign that inspires people to get out of their comfort zone and do something.

Film leads to activism. Activism leads to lives changed. But, a movement just won’t happen on it’s own. For my documentary, Sin by Silence, we had to help inspire people to take action against the tragedy of domestic violence. Quite the undertaking when this tragedy is truly an epidemic – 1 in 3 women experience abuse! So, with statistics like these we had a huge task ahead of us.

The main questions that helped define our campaign were…

What is the message?
What are the goals?
Who are we trying to reach?
What are the avenues to reach an audience?
What are some tangible actions steps?

Well, instead of me babbling on and on, click here to check out what all the details of what we accomplished at Quiet Little Place Productions.

In the summer of 1969, America was forever changed.  What seemed as just another night in Los Angeles, turned into a crime that the world will never forget.  The Manson murders caused America to become a paranoid nation.  And although these crimes occurred almost 40 years ago, their story continues to haunt and fascinate people around the country.

During the trial, Patricia Krenwinkel was only 19. Today, she is known as Krenny.  An inmate for the past 40 years at the California Institution for Women.  A woman who has helped countless women transform their lives while in prison.

Over 8 years ago, I met Krenny while creating Sin by Silence.  She agreed to be part of an exclusive interview with me that tells her journey of a man she thought she loved, being part of a horrific crime, letting go of the damage she helped create, and becoming a woman she can finally accept.

Quiet Little Place Productions
Producer/Director, 2004 – present
Independent production company of award-winning documentaries, community outreach campaigns and online initiatives

Avant Productions
Creative Director,  2002 – 2009
Leading high-definition production company in Orange County, CA. Managed projects and other employees to take client’s vision from concept to completion.

Vanguard University of Southern California
Adjunct Professor,  2006 – 2009
Instructor of upper division, high-definition production and non-linear editing classes

Cardone Media Center
Associate Producer & Editor,  2000-2001
Produced, directed and edited promotional, non-profit and corporate videos

Plus 8 Video
Operations Manager,  1999
Oversaw the establishment of the New York City location of leading high-definition rental company.

Latin America ChildCare
Producer,  1997 – 1999
Created promotional videos and supplied visuals for print publications used for worldwide distribution; shot on-location in various Central and South American countries

FEATURED CREDITS:

Director/Producer                       Krenny – Documentary Short (currently in post-production)
Director/Producer                       Sin by Silence – Feature Documentary

Director/Producer                       Hwy 6 - Feature Documentary
Director/Editor                            Normal Freaks – Documentary Series
Director                                      The Prayer – Film Short
Producer                                    Know More Tomorrows – DV Short
Producer                                    Antigone, DV Short

ADDITIONAL CREDITS:

Segment Producer                    The Verge – Cable Series/Stephen Yake Prods.
Assistant Director                      Bass Pro Shop TV – Television Special/Outdoor Living Network
Assistant Director                      ByLine – Daily Satellite PSAs/Cardone Media
Assistant Director                      James River Special – Television Special/PAX
Camera Operator                      UFO Hunters – Television Series/The History Channel
Editor/Sound Design                 Sign-A-Lot – DVD Series
Editor/DVD Architecture            Just Say Julie Volume 1 – DVD Release/MTV, Just Say Julie Productions
Editor/DVD Architecture            Just Say Julie Volume 2 – DVD Release/MTV, Just Say Julie Productions
DVD Architecture                      Medusa: Dare to be Truthful – DVD Release/Showtime, Just Say Julie Productions
DVD Architecture                      Attack of the 5′2” Women – DVD Release/Showtime, Just Say Julie Productions
DVD Architecture                     The Bruce Movie – Volcom Entertainment, Veeco Films
DVD Architecture                     The Dawn of the Stone Age – Volcom Entertainment, Veeco Films
Video Assist                             Undressed – Cable Series/MTV