Heads up from Web Vomit.

“James R. Petix, an Avid editor for Function, a studio in Royal Oak, works on the video that will be played for the fans during the Stanley Cup playoffs at Joe Louis Arena.”

This is probably the only time in my life that I’ll be featured in the Sports section! My picture is in the Detroit News today. It’s an article about this Red Wings Playoff video that I edited. No, that’s not a bald spot, it’s a sunbeam!

Courtesy of Motor City Rocks.

For our latest podcast I dug through the archives of good songs and performances that didn’t make the final cut of the movie. Many of the performances in “It Came From Detroit” were stitched together from multiple shows, but towards the end of the period of time when we were filming, I was able to borrow a second camera from work to tape with. This song is “Love” by the Hentchmen performed at the Magic Stick in Detroit on March 5, 2005. Anyone will tell you that they are the quintessential “garage rock” band in Detroit, so I won’t bother saying it here. In the movie we ended up using live video performances of “LeSabre Radar” we had shot mixed in with their studio recording and music video footage of the song. I was always bummed that I couldn’t fit in a truly live track of the band because their shows really are amazing in person.

While editing together the two camera angles for this piece, it reminded me of the one thing that I was always looking for while cutting the documentary: COVERAGE.

When you’re up in the front row of a crowd there’s only so many shots that you can get from that angle. Every time you move the camera from one subject to another, the shot is will be blurry and unusable. This is why coverage is so important, so always try and make sure your other camera is shooting something that you can cut too!

James’ Tips and Tricks For a Two-Camera Live Shoot:

Wide Camera:
Have one camera on a tripod behind the audience, and slightly above them if you can. Make sure at your very widest you can see the whole stage. This will be your coverage camera. Make sure the beginning and the end of each song start off wide. Pan in slowly. If the other camera is in between subjects you have to be able to cover their shot, so make sure you’re conservative in your framing. Only zoom in to medium or two shots. Your partner has the close ups covered. You don’t want to cut back and forth between the same shots. Cover the singer at all times. It can be a two shot, or the whole band, but make sure when the singer is singing that you’ve got it on tape. The other camera could be zooming in on the guitar player at the time, and you’ve missed the lyrics of the song! Lastly, cover any blind spots the second camera might have. If they’re stuck on the right hand of the stage, concentrate more on the center and left.

Floor Camera:
The other camera should be as front row and center as you can get. This camera is responsible for getting all the cool close-ups and cut-aways you’ll need to make the footage look really good. Make sure to get some close ups of every single band member, but make sure you’re paying attention to what’s going on in the song. Make sure you get most of the singer’s lyrics as well as the guitarist’s solo. If you’re filming a whole show, but only need a few songs, during the songs you KNOW you’re not going to use, try and get some more artistic shots such as people’s feet on the pedals, the lights on the amps, or an extreme close up of a guitar. This is the time to experiment with slow shutter speeds and in-camera effects. Also try to get shots of the audience and the musician’s heads bobbing up and down while they jam. You can cut these in almost anywhere!

This might all seem very obvious, but as you can see from our footage, we broke almost every rule I just laid out! Make sure you communicate with your other cameraman BEFORE you shoot so that you don’t wind up in the same mess as we did. Is every second of every show you shoot going to be useable for editing? Of course not! But if you have the luxury of using two cameras at a rock show, you might as well use them smartly!

-James

For our third podcast I wanted to showcase an extended or unused interview that was entertaining and worthwhile, but just didn’t fit into the movie. The thing that came to my mind was my horrific first interview with The Dirtbombs. Let me put it in a little context for you.

It was September of 2002 and the scene was arguably at its highest point. I had been filming the movie since and January and had made some pretty good connections around town. I was invited by Pat Pantano to come to a Dirtbombs practice at Jim Diamond’s studio, Ghetto Recorders. For me, this was my first big interview. They also happened to be my favorite band, so I was extra geeked when I stepped foot into the already legendary studio.

I was alone at the time. Sarah hadn’t started helping me with the film (we’d only just met in late May of that year) and my friend Matt Hyland must have been busy. I had no lights, and only a boom mic for audio, which I mounted to the top of the camera. The band was just getting to the studio while I was setting up. They were going to practice first, which I was aloud to tape, and then I would do the interview. As I prepared the camera I soon realized that all my batteries were dead and that I had left my charger at my dad’s house in Troy (about 25 minutes away). Embarrassed, humiliated, and frustrated with myself, I apologized and ran as fast as I could to my car and then back home. By the time I returned the band was putting their instruments away and were ready to leave. I could tell they felt bad for me, and decided to stay a little longer for my interview. They huddled around on a couch in the middle of the rehearsal space and just chatted with themselves for about ten minutes. Letting them settle down a little, I attempted to ask my first question from a list I had prepared earlier.

The band lineup at the time is what I like to refer to as “Dirtbombs Classic”, which consisted of Mick Collins, Pat Pantano, Ben Blackwell, Jim Diamond, and Tom Potter. Any one of these men alone had a very opinionated and colorful personality, and when they were sitting altogether, it was exactly like what makes a Dirtbombs show so exciting: uncontrolled chaos. To be honest, I didn’t stand a chance. I tried asking my textbook questions such as, “why have two drummers and two bass players” and was answered with an analogy to pedophilia. Of course, it was hilarious, but I couldn’t use it in the documentary, especially with everyone talking over them selves the entire time. You can see in the clips, that Ben is visibly upset about the way the interview is going. Mick and Jim both mention it as well. But I think while it may not be the most honest and informative interview I’ve ever done, it’s a great example of the character and dynamic of this amazing group of guys.

The only part of the interview that made it into the final cut, is actually the opening line: “There are more good bands in Detroit than any other major mother-fucking city in the United States of America” by Tom Potter. Even though Jim is talking over him when he says it, I still couldn’t find one other statement that summed up the attitude and theme of the entire movie so perfectly.

Enjoy!
-James

Whenever you make a film like this, inventively you’re going to have to cut something that you love because of time. For our second ICFD Podcast we have our first “deleted scene” from the finished documentary. If you saw the rough cut at the DFT last year, this is the Soledad Brothers section.

Even thought they’re not technically from Detroit, The Soledad Brothers have earned their place among the pantheon of the bands in the garage scene. The reason the section was ultimately cut was simply do to timing and the fact that it was at a place in the movie where there were alot of band profiles right in a row. It pained me to do it. The Soledad Brothers are good friends and I’ve directed two music videos for them. So this is my tribute to them. I hope you enjoy it!

-James

PS: The band is not gone from the film completely, a longer performance of the “Handle Song” is now in the Magic Stick section of the film!

Here’s a little piece I’ve been working on for a while. The theme is “haunting nostalgia”.

Enjoy!
-James

This particular song, “Bad Girl” is a cover of The Oblivions’ tune “Bad Boy” with the obvious lyric change. I have to admit that it took me a lot of Cobras shows to get one that both looked and sounded this good. Their live shows that I witnessed from 2001-2006 in Detroit seemed to be hit or miss depending on Rachel’s mood that night or the particular line up. This show was just perfect on both accounts featuring Steve Nawara (Electric Six, Rocket 455) on bass, Kenny Tudrick (Rocket 455) on drums, and Joe Mazzola on lead guitar. Rachel seems like she genuinely wants to be there and puts on a great show, proving to us why she earns her diva status.

I could have done without the strobe light, which Mary brought that night. I give them credit for trying something new, but it ended up just messing with my auto focus. Antal Zambo was on second camera near the mixing board on a tripod. The room was so loud that the camera shook a lot if he wasn’t holding it down. I managed to cut around it, though. I hope you enjoy the first of a series of great videos taken from our ICFD archive.

James