12 Hours till USA Departure

I meant to update this page sooner, but the last couple of days have been a whirlwind.

First of all, I worked out the insurance with Taylor & Taylor. I got a worldwide equipment floater instead of a production policy. All my gear is covered, but I'm losing the liability coverage and some other perks I had with the ASMP policy However, at 1/5 of the price of a production policy, I can live with it, especially as international liability probably wouldn't have been covered anyway.

I am now the proud owner of a Zeiss Mk1 9.5mm Superspeed, apparently the first one ever brought into the USA, a "dazzler" as the previous owner, Bob Elfstrom, called it. The lens shot many episodes of NOVA, entire docs, and spots for National Geographic. I got a great feeling about this purchase, and Bob is a wonderful man. He did, however, also make me purchase the matching 25mm Superspeed, in Aaton mount, to get the 9.5. So, if anyone wants to buy a 25mm Mk1 Zeiss Superspeed, let me know when I get back. Props to John Chater, another CML members, for leading me to Bob.

I have the whole rough cut of the doc in Final Cut on my laptop, so that will be helpful in Meheba.

I've got a few last items to put in storage today, on my way to drop off my car in a garage for the summer. Some Forgies have agreed to help me take stuff over to Africa, so things are coming together at the last minute, bit by bit. Thanks to the people who have, in one way or another, made it happen. You know who you are.

Next entry from London.
David

72 Hour Tsunami

Wed. May 25th, 2005.

At times like this, 48 hours can feel like months. Plans change. Things happen that you hadn't accounted for.

I don't even know where to start.

Yesterday, I got the go ahead from Students for Humanity to purchase a plane ticket from London to Zambia, with the assurance of reimbursement. All the flights around the ones I wanted were starting to skyrocket in price, and with my London ticket already fixed, and my Lusaka depature less than 3 weeks out, it was time to make the move. Lawrence and Geno gave me the go-ahead (Students for Humanity is the organization they founded after returning from FORGE to continue working on educational issues.) They printed some of my photos in the coffee table book they used to fundraise for their org, so we continue to work together. I'm flying to Lusaka on the same flight as FORGE Meheba 2005, and should proceed with them directly to Meheba now, with Geno following, a slight change of plan.
Let's put that in the up column.

My S16 film meandered its way from Kodak to my doorstep this afternoon ("we delivered that package already - what do you mean the customer is not in possession?") Once again, the Motion Picture people at Kodak have follow through. I like that, though I never quite got it clear what the exact problem was. It doesn't matter. I have my film. up.

UHaul today was a disaster. I had a feeling I shouldn't use them, and it was right. Their phones were off. They didn’t have my truck at the location I went to – I ended up getting one from Budget in the end. Wasted hours and unnecessarily stressful. down.
I moved the furniture out of the house I having been living in today. It's in storage, as is my editing suite. I'm pretty far along in clearing out my life. up.

I saw “The Interpreter” last night, while the rest of the world was watching Star Wars. It was really quite good – very intelligent, in addition to being the first film shot in the UN and all of that. Brought up relevant African concepts and themes without actually going there. Right in my direction. Definitely an up. Wish more films were like that.

A couple more lens leads died today. down.

The Zambian Embassy doesn’t answer its telephone. The one time they did, they connected me to fax machine and then wouldn’t pick up when I called back. Getting really close for the temporary importation papers, though I suppose I can also deal with it in London.

I had a decent lead on a lens today. From an old school SF doc cameraman that sold his Aaton a couple of years ago, but kept his 9.5. That could still pan, but at the moment, it’s a hold.

Actually, my whole plan is a hold at the moment. My insurance company, Taylor and Taylor, has refused to renew my previous insurance policy, which expires in a couple of days. They apparently wrote me a policy for still photography last year. Now they want to put me on a motion picture policy, at 4x the price for the same coverage. I’m trying to work something out, but this could be a dealbreaker for some of my plans. Not what I need to be dealing with right now, but it’s beyond my control..

I’m curious what I’ll be writing in the next entry.
David

Countdown to Departure: 5 Days

The overstimulation continues.

I continue packing, organizing, and preparing for my return to Meheba. It's an almost infinite process, crushed into a very finite amount of time.

It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to purchase a Superspeed before I go. Nobody seems to want to part with the ones they have. I'll probably end up renting one, which is less desirable, but I really do think I need one, so what can I do?

My film shipped from Kodak today, so that's something to be excited about. I'm going to hand carry to Zambia. Moving Pictures Anywhere told me transporting it through their service would cost about double the price of the stock to begin with. I suppose I could have purchased in London, but the extra cost, plus the fact that it only would cut out 2 of the 6 flights made it an unattractive option, especially considering the nice discount Kodak gave me on the stock to support the project.

Still have to get the temporary import papers from the Zambian Embassy in DC.

I got my pre-departure package from B&H photo. For a digital intervalometer, I just decided to go with Nikon Capture 4.2 and a 16 foot usb cable. None of the other, non-computer options made sense for the D70, as it doesn't have the port for a remote trigger release. The D70s does, but.. that's just too close to what I have for me to want to change. I tested it out Saturday night for sunset and the KFOG fireworks in San Francisco. I got some cool stuff for a first attempt, and learned a lot. The software definitely didn't act as expected (for instance, if one picture was still downloading, it just skipped an interval before shooting again - no buffering). Maybe that's a setting somewhere. I'm sure that additional practice in London and Paris will allow be to lock it down before I get to Zambia. (For those that don't know, I'm going on a 2 week family vacation before heading to Africa.)
I also got a new lens for my D70, a 24-120mm Vibration Reduction lens. I figure it will be good to be able to zoom in closer to people, and steal shots from further away, especially at the repartiation convoys.

My Aaton has returned from Abel and will be joining me in London. I had it shipped to my father for him to carry-on, as I'm going to have so much else to deal with (film, laptop, video camera, still camera, lenses). I'm going to have to check some things I really don't want to.. He is also taking delivery of the video tapes, DVD-Rs, and print packs for my PictureMate.. that's right, I'm bringing a photo printer this time. I figure I can give people their photos as thank yous. Many people were asking me to give them the photos I was taking last year, and I felt like a real jerk not being able to do it. This year I will.

Today I am also burning my last DVDs, doing back-ups, and moving data to my laptop for the trip. I am going to take apart my editing suite for storage this evening. In some ways, that's the biggest part of the moving process!

And one other nice thing has happened. CML, or Cinematography Mail List, is now going to host this blog! I'm excited that such a great resource for the professional camera community will be presenting what I'm up to. The url is:
http://www.cinematography.net/david-mallin/index.html
I'll be keeping both sites active for now.

Better get back to it.
David

Return to Meheba Prep

It's always a kind of controlled chaos at times like this.

I am packing my stuff up for storage.
I am questing for a Zeiss 9.5mm Superspeed to buy. It's difficult, as most people don't want to break up lens sets, and I can't afford a whole set right now. But I want a small wide angle lens for this summer, and renting for 2 months is tough ROI.
odell and I are working up a shot list for the summer.
While Geno has assured me he is purchasing my ticket from London to Lusaka, he hasn't figured out how to actually access the money from the grant he got that is bringing me, so I'm still in limbo for the exact flights.
I'm going to have to deal with an Angolan visa in Zambia. Sigh..
I have about 2 hours worth of S16 film for my A-Minima to shoot this time. I haven't figured out any way to transport it except as a hand carry on, though I'm supposed to hear from a film transport service tomorrow. We'll see.
My Aaton is at Abel Cine Tech being prepped & upgraded for the trip.

In other news..
Last week I completed the submission process for IFP in NYC. IFP is a currated convention geared toward connecting media buyers with filmmakers who either have finished products in need of distribution, or who are in need of finishing funds and distribution (me). They just happen to have an entry category: "Spotlight on Documentary; Rough Cut Lab." That is the category I submitted our - now finalized - 80 minute rough cut to. (I did a polish pass over the entire film after odell left, fixing name plates, adding dates and subtitles, some graphics, and transitions.) I will know by July 23rd if Zambian Forge was accepted, which just happens to be my first full day back in the USA after the trip. I do have to say, VHS is a pain! This submission was the first time I had to generate VHS dubs in about 2 years.

FORGE news..
FORGEing Futures is now slated for delivery 2 days before my departure, which is good, because I owe copies to people in Meheba, even if they don't have DVD players. I submitted it to UNAFF 2005 (United Nations Association Film Festival), and I am looking forward to hearing if it gets accepted.

Brandon, Tom, Kjerstin, and a whole new posse of FORGE volunteers are already at work in Zambia, at a Congolese camp in the Northern part of the country. Tom is holding a DVD we created of sections of the film that are in need of translation, and is going to arrive in Meheba 2-3 weeks prior to me to help get everything roling with translations and begin his own research.
I have to say, now that I know I'm going back, I can't wait to be there shooting. Especially the S16..

I'll post again before I leave.
David

End of an Era

The last week has been a big and exciting one for me.

Last Friday, my editor odell returned to NYC for a few weeks, having ended his first contract for Zambian Forge. We have a rough cut of the film as it stands so far, running approximately 80 minutes. It really is like watching a movie to view it now, a major leap forward. It's exciting.

The editing process is going on hold until August. odell has another contract to work. I have other plans..
Geno, from FORGE 2005, has secured a bit of funding for me to return to Zambia this summer. Just enough to cover the plane ticket and a few plates of nShima, but it was the tipping point. I'm headed back.
My plan is to do follow-up interviews with Zezito, Paul, Prudence, Brown, and any other relevant characters. I'm also planning to bring my S16 camera this time around, and to really concentrate on gathering some awesome b-roll. I will continue to follow the process of Angolan Repatriation. If I can arrange a visa, I will hopefully travel with a repatriation convey the whole way into Angola this time around. (the Angolan Embassy in DC does not issue tourist visas, so it's more difficult than one might imagine..)

I depart at the end of May for a brief vacation in London and Paris, then I will continue on to Zambia in mid-June, and return in late July. Returning is another interesting point, as I have decided to not return to San Francisco. I'm not 100% committed to any plan just yet, but I am leaning toward moving to LA. I will make a final decision in July.

FORGEing on..
David