David,

Thanks for the kind words about my blog and, especially, my films.

I find it funny that you, me, and AJ all seem to have discovered each other's blogs at around the same time. It seems like we all have quite a bit to say to one another, and yet we're not overlapping too much in the things we're saying. I am really growing into this blogging thing, I dare say.

David (and Paul),
Thanks for the kindness. And yes, funny and wonderful to discover each other and the comraderie that results. I blame Indiewire.
Here's to the Altman blog-o-thon. I'll be writing about Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean, I dare say.

Hey dvd,

Thanks for the mention of Indie Features 06 & DNO.
DNO editing is happening, but strolling may be a better description then racing to completion :) Either way, I think I'll finish (at least a version w/ temp music) around 3/1 for festival & review submissions. No rush, no worries, the film is looking good, it takes a while to cook a feature length product to proper dining quality.

You'll definitely get to see it before it premieres in DC in late April or plays in Seattle in May.

Re: "Rick Schmidt is supposedly on board as well."
Rick said he was planning on blogging last weekend. Maybe he got busy w/ a project.
Though blogging is fun, making movies is more fun.
I am sure Rick will blog @ some point. I am very excited about 16 people having signed up and 5-6 of them blogging on a regular basis at this point.

Yeah, the indie/DIY/art end of the known film blog universe seems to be taken up by the the blogs that you mentioned in your post, for the moment. Someone's gotta do it, might as well be us :) Hopefully we will inspire other filmmaker/bloggers to look into the kind of stuff we are into.

See ya in DC in May, I'll be in touch early next week re: travel plans, etc.

Sujewa
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Concerning this Altman-marathon... was anyone in Berlin to see A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION? I was, so if there's no borders on these blog-a-thons... maybe I'll write about that one..? Though; I don't have a blog.

Karsten, I'll be seeing A Praire Home Companion in two weeks or so, but until then, I don't think a single one of the bloggers participating in this round (with the exception, perhaps, of David Hudson of GreenCine) has seen the film. So you should definitely write about it, and if you don't feel like starting a blog for that reason alone, feel free to send me your piece on it and I'll post it here as a 'guest entry.'

Just a quick comment on the multi-credit issue. If you wind up doing a lot of things yourself, which is common on no-budget projects, it helps to condense. For Mutiny City News, per each episode, I simply credited myself with "created by," and offered no other credits than the execs. If anybody wanted to see the full credits, cast included, I created a stand alone clip and left it at that.

Hey, David: If it occurs to you, be sure to e-mail me with the names and/or subjects of any guest articles you're posting and I'll be sure to link to them on my site. I am sure I'll miss something because this Altman thing is ever-expanding, but I'd like to try to offer as comprehensive a rundown as possible.

And MutinyCo: While I agree with you in principle about not repeating people's names in the credits on low budget productions too many times, there's one very good reason to give people a separate credit for every job they do: IMDB. That's how references get checked when people apply for jobs.

To give you one example, there's a guy who worked on my movie "Home" named R.C. Sanders who worked as a boom op, a location sound mixer, a lighting technician, a stills gaffer, a dialogue editor, an actor and a soundtrack artist. I made sure to give him a separate credit for everything he did, in the movie and on all promotional materials that include credits, so that if he wants to get a paid gig doing any one of those jobs, his potential boss won't come back with, "Well, I checked the credits, but I didn't see you listed as boom op." Or lighting tech, or whatever.

That's why I made sure to give myself a credit as a foley artist in addition to other stuff. I did a hell of a lot of work recording sound effects for the movie, including most of the male foosteps heard on screen, every door or window or gate or sitting-in-a-chair noise (no two are alike) and one extended five minute scene near the end where I re-washed every dish cleaned by one of the actresses in a kitchen scene, in perfect time to her motions on a video monitor, with no audio cuts. (All one take.)

Even though a foley credit might seem excessive to people browsing the credits, I definitely want people to know I did that because it was really hard and I was proud of the finished product.

Matt-

I did take credit, as well as credit the others in the separate credit sequence. Same thing was done for my coverage of both the NYFF41 and NYFF42, both of which featured either video or narrative devices -- however, as there were so many episodes involved I kept a separate page for the credits, so it wouldn't hit people over the head.

I have no problem crediting anyone for their work. But for me personally, a pretty big influence was attending a press screening of The Brown Bunny and experiencing a room full of laughter as Gallo's "wrote, produced, photographed, edited, directed" credit came up. There are ways to be more subtle. Like Peter Andrews. Or Roderick Jaynes. (both union issues I believe) Or Rodriguez's "shot & cut."

But I actually think this is an interesting issue -- and one that we're going to see a lot more of now that digital allows filmmakers to do more themselves. Either audiences will have to get used to the multi-credit, or filmmakers will have to be creative about it.

Re: "was attending a press screening of The Brown Bunny and experiencing a room full of laughter as Gallo's "wrote, produced, photographed, edited, directed" credit came up."

I am no fan of the 1 Gallo film that I've seen (I like some of his acting though), but he probably did do all the things he was credited as doing in Bunny, plus more (music?). The laughter could come from amazement as much as a preceived absurdness of the title. Regardless, in indie film I think it is cool (& useful, professionally - beyond no budget filmmaking, as Matt pointed out above) to credit people for what they've done.
If the audience thinks it's silly, big deal, as long as the movie is good, credits are a non-issue I think.

On the flip side, many years ago when I saw that in "All the Vermeers of New York", Jon Jost was credited as being the shooter on top of other things, I was moved to consider the possibility that it is possible to both direct & shoot a good movie. Later on I learned to shoot (still learning), and knowing how to shoot was very useful in making my current movie "Date Number One". The flick would not have gotten shot as easily (relatively easily as indie filmmaking goes) if I did not know how to shoot/had to rely on another person for videography.

Oh, on top of all the key filmmaking credits, I will be adding "distributed by" to my credit in the new flick. I think such a thing will be more visible in the indie scene in a few years, I am just a bit ahead of the curve (hopefully to my benefit & not for "agony of defeat type" crash & burn failure :) I think. Well, even if that happens, it should be a good learnin' experience.

Sujewa
http://www.wilddiner.com/
http://www.filmmakingforthepoor.blogspot.com/
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When the question of credits first came up over at Paul's site, The Brown Bunny was the first thing to pop into my head. The critics laughed when I saw it too, but I think they were people already predisposed to picking the film apart. I thought it was endearingly sincere, and it didn't bother me - but I just really like Gallo, and things that would annoy me in other instances (the credits, his political stance, etc) manage to pass with flying colors.

I really don't mind multi-hyphenate or multiple credits, as long as they don't seem driven by ego, and are within reason). Giving crew members the credits they deserve is definitely justifiable, and in Matt's instance, his credit for foley definitely indicates the degree of care he put into his film. Incidentally, Matt, I'd love to talk to you further about your sound design on the film...

And as long as all these extra credits are relegated to the end of the film, there's really no reason to complain. If they're at the beginning, however, I may take isue with them: I really hate masturbatory opening credits sequences, especially on short films.

As Paul pointed out, Orson Welles knew how to credit himself with humility, class and style; but just because a filmmaker chooses to take more overt credit for their work doens't mean they're shameless showboaters.

However, when M. Night Shyamalan gives himself a directing credit at the beginning AND end of his films, it drives me fucking batty.