I saw some combat during the Vietnam War. Saw some.
"Saw" is the key word. There is a big difference between witnessing combat up close and actually taking part in it.
I saw some death. I saw some destruction. And I saw several scary situations while I was in the middle of events that could have gotten me killed.
Yet, my tour of duty in the Vietnam conflict was a calm Sunday family picnic compared with what our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq have been experiencing and are still experiencing.
I came home from the Vietnam War with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It affected me strongly for many years afterward. It still affects me sometimes today. And mine was just a mild case.
With the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq still dragging on and on, we now have thousands upon thousands of veterans - men and women -- who are experiencing, or who soon will experience, PTSD and the various, unnerving ways it can affect individuals, families, co-workers and others.
There are no easy solutions or quick "cures" for PTSD. Most of those who have it now likely will need assistance of some kind, possibly for years to come. You don't just take a pill and return to "normalcy" after you've been to war.
One way I have dealt with PTSD is by writing: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenplays, articles, reviews, blog posts.
I recently wrote a book that, at one level, has been another way for me to confront and deal with the PTSD ghosts still floating around inside my head. It is fiction, but many parts of it are drawn from real events in my life during and after my time in the Vietnam conflict.
The book, a novella titled Jump, recently has been featured in "The Spark," the Harvard University Extension School's blog. Here is the link: http://harvardextension.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/si-dunn-story/
The posting explains some of the background behind the book's creation.
-- Si Dunn
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Friday, September 10, 2010
PTSD and the story behind my novella
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Almost (Poem and Photographs)
But wait, there’s more!
He almost made it.
Some critics of Birlinger's small plaque
But this all avoids the essential question:
Just before Corporal Birlinger died here,
And realized that
-- Si Dunn
From the forthcoming book of poems and photographs by Si Dunn:
The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower
(Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.)
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Story Behind the Criminal Conversations Screenplay
By Si Dunn
The screenplay for Criminal Conversations explores several areas that intrigue me. (Here's the logline: A man meets up again with his ex-wife while his current spouse is dying and his ex-wife's current husband is suing her for divorce and trying to prove she is guilty of adultery.)
First, I am interested in what can happen when two people who have had a previous, unhappy history together suddenly need each other again, yet they are constrained by forces both inside and outside their new circumstances.
The youthful marriage of Ted and Alexandra ended badly several decades ago, and the two of them moved on to separate, successful lives and new marriages.
Now, they are in their fifties, and happenstance has brought them back together just at the time when their current lives are crumbling.
They could try to be friends or lovers again. They both need someone who understands them and they are increasingly are aware of their own mortality and how time is beginning to run out in their lives. But both of them are still married. There are strict limitations on teacher-student relationships. They have the feelings of their own families to consider, and they are being spied on Alexandra’s estranged husband, Frank.
One wrong move could cause them both to be sued for “criminal conversation,” an old legal term for adultery.
How can they be close again and helpful to each other while maintaining what the law and society would consider a “respectable” distance?
Secondly, I am interested in exploring how two people who once loved each other can find enough forgiveness to overcome the transgressions that tore apart their marriage. They cannot go back and change the past -- anyway, they would not want to give up their children and the careers they have formed since they went their separate ways.
Yet, their new circumstances have thrown them together in a way that causes them both to face a choice: Can the one who was wronged forgive the one who bears the most blame? And, can forgiveness, contrition and the healing passage of time lead to a renewed relationship--one that can succeed this time?
In a third area of interest, the Criminal Conversations story examines how sudden new realities in peoples’ lives can turn their lives in unexpected – and sometimes unwanted – directions that ultimately prove beneficial. At the same time, these changed directions may be limited or misinterpreted or exploited by others outside the new relationship.
Fourth, Criminal Conversations also explores greed and deceit in a divorce setting. It looks at student-faculty relationships in a college or university setting. And it deals with the process of teaching and imparting knowledge.
As all of this unfolds, the major characters in Criminal Conversations confront matters that include their feelings about life, life after death, faith, courage, and love in the face of death.
I think you’ll be surprised at how it all turns out.
The project's one-sheet is available at: http://bit.ly/9JNu6N.
A recent draft of the script can be read at: http://bit.ly/c4VEAX.
A video about the screenplay can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sPZasOf1o.
Donations of any size can be made via PayPal to si@sagecreekproductions.com. Donors will receive on-screen thanks in the movie's ending credits. It is not necessary to have a PayPal account to donate.
Movie Project 'Criminal Conversations' Gains Distributor
California-based movie distributor FilmWorks Entertainment, Inc., has delivered a letter of intent (LOI) to distribute the movie project Criminal Conversations, which will be directed by Stephen Jules Rubin. The screenwriter is Si Dunn.
Logline: A man meets up again with his ex-wife while his current spouse is dying and his ex-wife's current husband is suing her for divorce and trying to prove she is guilty of adultery.
The character-driven romantic dramedy is seeking additional funding and donations, and the movie is scheduled to be shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico, sometime this fall.
New versions of the movie's one-sheet and business plan are now available.
The one-sheet is available here: http://bit.ly/9JNu6N. A recent draft of the script can be read here: http://bit.ly/c4VEAX.
Some of the story behind the screenplay can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sPZasOf1o.
Donations of any size can be made via PayPal to si@sagecreekproductions.com. Donors will receive on-screen thanks in the movie's ending credits. It is not necessary to have a PayPal account to donate.
For more information on this project and how to become involved in it, please contact:
Si Dunn
Sagecreek Productions, LLC
3800 N. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 730-131
Austin, TX 78756
sidunn@hotmail.com
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1918688/
Friday, August 20, 2010
On-Set Security? Even No-Budget Movies Need It
The first time I worked on a movie set, I was a featured extra in two crowd scenes. I played a photographer in one scene, and I got to use my own cameras. It was a friendly set, and I was able to get some pictures of the stars. The next scene, however, did not require my cameras. So I left them in the big "extras holding" room where we were supposed to stash our personal belongings.
That room was unguarded and unlocked, of course. And someone who was assumed to be one of the hundreds of extras entered it while the new scene was being shot. All of the set's security personnel were busy protecting -- or gawking at -- the stars. Meanwhile, the room-entering "extra" just happened to have a criminal record for thefts and burglaries. He grabbed my camera bag, plus numerous wallets from coats and purses, and left the set unchallenged and unnoticed. The thefts were not discovered for almost two hours.
The police later caught him trying to pawn my cameras -- I had kept track of the serial numbers. But people's money and most credit cards and identification documents were not recovered.
I remembered this disturbing incident the next time I worked on a movie with crowd scenes. In this production, I was a different kind of extra. My headshot was used as the photo of a murder victim. So I was given a day's pay, but I could not appear in the movie at any other time. With plenty of hours on my hands, I volunteered to help a friend -- one of the casting assistants -- as an assistant's assistant. I sat in and guarded the room where extras stored their personal belongings. All day long, cell phones rang and pagers beeped in coats and purses. And some of the real extras periodically entered to check messages, grab something, put something away, or find new wardrobe items for the next shot.
But the real extras and crew members were not the only ones who entered. I sat in a corner where I could not be noticed at first. Twice that day, people I did not recognize as extras or members of the movie crew suddenly slipped in. Just as they started to poke around, sizing up what was accessible, they realized I was watching them, cell phone in hand.
"Sorry, wrong room!" the first one said. He didn't ask where the "right" room was as he hastily departed.
The second one just said "Shit!" and ran out the door.
Movie production companies are notorious for disdainful and rude treatment of extras and featured extras. Yet even on a no-budget movie set, there is no excuse for failing to secure the belongings and identification papers of cast, crew and extras, when necessary. You expect and need people to bring certain items when they report to the set. But they can't watch over their belongings once they are in camera rehearsals and scenes that are being shot.
Someone you implicitly trust should be given this important (and hopefully paid) security job. Various PAs can take shifts, if necessary. But whoever is room guard, he or she should be supplied with an accurate list of who is authorized to store items in the location and retrieve them. Brief notes on what each person is storing -- purse, make-up bag, laptop computer -- also could be helpful.
And if there is a question, the room guard should be able to quickly contact someone by radio or cell phone and verify that Extra X is indeed Extra X, not some ex-con looking for unwanted ways to make some money off your movie. A little attention to this simple security detail can help minimize some potential major headaches for your production.
-- Si Dunn
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Low/No-Budget Movie Makeup Tips
By ErinJennifer Dunn
Looking to make that next indie hit? And suddenly realizing you’ll need makeup for your actors? You frantically look at your budget, and you only have maybe $100 to put toward the makeup/hair/wardrobe department. Is it possible to make your actors look the part with $100 or less? Of course! These few easy tips and links can help you meet your makeup needs on a low-to-no-budget project.
First, figure out how many actors you have. Male actors usually require little to no makeup. Women, however, do require makeup. If your movie is set in a certain era, you'll need to add about $50 more to your budget to help get the right looks. It is always important to match makeup with skin tone. Most female cast members will have their basic foundations that match their skin tone. But if you are going for a classic look and a cast member has dark eye shadow for a dramatic clubbing look, you'll have to invest in lighter tones.
Consulting with a makeup artist before buying anything is a good approach. Offering a small fee or buying them lunch can be an easy way to get a good consultation out of the deal. A makeup artist can take a look at the headshots or photos of your actors and suggest what products to get for each look, depending on time period your movie is set in. For special-effect makeup such as bullet holes and gore, fake blood is a must, along with molding wax and liquid latex. These items are easy to find online and at good prices. A little bit of each goes a long way.
To create a custom makeup kit at a reasonable price, check out:
http://www.youravon.com/edunn
http://www.cinemasecrets.com/
http://www.eyeslipsface.com/Default.asp
Key items to include are: (1) a gentle cleanser and moisturizer; (2) face primer, and (3) translucent powder.
For special effects makeup kits:
http://www.mehron.com/default.asp
http://www.fxsupply.com/
Ben Nye Special Effects foundations are widely used, but some may find them overly oily. They often are highly recommended for Halloween makeup and photo shoots.
Special-effects kit essentials are: (1) molding wax; (2) liquid latex; and (3) translucent powder.
More and more moviemakers are shooting in HD, and there are many HD makeup items out there, but they can be expensive.
http://www.makeupforeverusa.com/runaways/
Look for their High Definition line of products, which run about $40 apiece.
http://www.smashbox.com/
Smashbox's Photo Finish FX is the best HD coverage. However, all Smashbox products should work well in an HD environment.
http://www.maccosmetics.com/
Supplies many HD products, but at A-list prices.
For makeup artistry consultation:
Austin, TX:
http://www.rawkstarglam.webs.com/
National:
http://www.nomausa.com/artists_please.htm
http://www.makeupartistdirectory.com/country/33/United_States/
http://makeupmag.com/web/
When putting together your makeup/hair/wardrobe department, remember that it is best to simplify your looks and use what your actors may already have. You don't have to hire a makeup artist or a hair specialist to get the looks you want. (But you definitely should if you can afford it!) Check with your cast and your friends to see who has a willingness to help out. Always be sure to credit people for their help, including any kind of consultation you may get. Never forget the “little people.” Even with just a hundred-dollar budget for makeup and the help of your cast and friends, your indie movie could become the next hit on the big screen.
ErinJennifer Dunn is a makeup artist, consultant, writer and actress in Austin, TX.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower (poem and photograph)
The One-Trillionth
Picture of the Eiffel Tower
Yes, I took it.
-- Si Dunn
From the forthcoming book of poems and photographs by Si Dunn:
The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower
(Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.)