NOTE: All timestamps are in the future because WE are in the future. The care takers of Midnight Ridazz.com reserves the right to remove, edit, move or delete anything for any reason. None of the opinions expressed on these boards represent the Midnight Ridazz nor can anyone purport to speak on behalf of Midnight Ridazz.
Hey guys! We're currently in the process of shooting a feature film and we are in need of extras for one scene filming on Wednesday June 16th for a few hours at night. More specifically we are looking for a variety of bike riders in the background.
The feel of Midnight Ridazz ("Party on Wheels") is what we are going for, so who better to make it authentic than actual participants of Midnight Ridazz! We would love to have a variety of people, costumes, bikes, colors etc. If you are interested in hanging out with your friends on the set of a movie representing Midnight Ridazz please send us your contact information so we can get back to you and make this work!
E-mail us at eg2@steakhaus.com with the subject "Cooler - Midnight Ridazz" and give us your name and phone number.
Also if you are a ride leader and would be interested in helping to coordinate getting people to come be a part of this, please state that in the e-mail and it would be greatly appreciated!
I will only do this IF I receive $1000.00 up front and I'm guaranteed at least a one second clip of screen time, or at least enough time, so that I can accurately describe where and when I can be seen in this "movie". And the portion in which I'm included must be very sexy.
If you cannot guarantee this, then I will post conflicting opinions about this project, even I have no conviction about it on way or another. I have some arguments that need application.
Unfortunately this is an ultra-low budget feature and therefore there is no pay available. Everyone working on this feature is doing it as a labor of love! But it will be good times none the less!
A little more about Cooler:
"Cooler is a dark comedy, combining satire and awkward, relentless denial. May and JP, are each other’s perfect excuse for imperfect lives. Their unexpected reunion forces the
couple to explore issues of penance and self-forgiveness through the genre of a chase movie.
Like the Bauhaus founders who helped inspire our name, Steakhaus Productions firmly believes there is a vital connection between usefulness and beauty. Our filmmakers have a strong personal connection to their material, resulting in brave, tender, hilarious and sometimes twisted cinematic visions that deliver entertainment and satisfaction to our audiences. We hold commercial viability on par with artistic merit because we?re determined to get our projects out to the audiences who want them.
So commercial viability means don't pay anyone to make your movie so the few copies you sell at the 99 cent store can go directly to the producers?
Cooler is a dark comedy, combining satire and awkward, relentless denial
.....and there is no pay available -- hahaha.. wow, "Cooler" is funny and not paying workers is pretty dark, which makes it all the more awkward. Is this a movie about itself (Fellini-style)?
Overall I'm sure some people will jump on this, and hopefully you're being honest about "everyone" is doing this as a "labor of love". Because If I know Hollywood, it sure labors for love, and it sure loves money.
md2 responding to a comment by Sanannah
06.8.10 - 2:51 pm
No. Better yet don't do that. We've already tried this and it didn't work out. Kwang Lee anyone?
Go find a decent budget and come back with a pay scale for everyone to do it at another location and on their own time. Don't come looking for work to be done on our play time.... the rides are play time not work time.
Roadblock responding to a comment by nolikedrive
06.8.10 - 3:32 pm
In the past, people in the bike culture have been quite happy to work for free on movies that their friends were making, especially when bike riding was a central theme of the film and not just used as window dressing to provide a "party atmosphere" or whatever.
They've been a lot more reluctant to work for free when someone they've never met signs up for a new account on Midnight Ridazz and asks them to ride around (or stand around) in the background looking all sexy and hip for a movie that has only an incidental connection to their interests.
If you want people to work for you, you have to give them some reason to do it. It's really that simple.
Check out this beautiful video of Venice....Imagine if there were a Venice midnight ridazz....It would be pretty tough with the lack of streets and such.
Wow, so not what i expected. Sorry to offend, it was an honest effort to reach out to a community that I have been a part of, or thought I was. We have a spirit of community in our filmmaking, which is not easy due to the unwieldy nature of it. And yes many people help or donate their time, sadly there is no other way to get our work made, and it may end up nowhere but I firmly believe that it is more important to be a part of the discussion then to worry about how your, input will be viewed or valued. I value the process, showing up and getting in there.
My work and our film is about pushing the dialogue of acceptance and diversity forward,
It was that that we wanted to show in our film, to me the bikes are a metaphor for freedom, and always have been. WHen I see large groups of riders in LA the most inhospitable place to ride I have ever lived, It makes me so fucking happy.
I know we live in LA BLAH BLAH and movies are bullshit and the people that make them suck...and I get that this may just seem like some shithead trying to take advantage and co-opt your culture. That has never been my intention. I want to celebrate the spirit of the LA i struggle every day to love and honor the people in it. oh and buy them beer if they want. Best we can do. cheers. v
Yeah, we even surprise ourselves sometimes. Anyhow, what is your beer budget or at least what kind of beer are you offering? We're quite the sophisticated bunch you know.
md2 responding to a comment by valeriestadler
06.9.10 - 9:48 am
Reaching out to a community you thought you were a part of?
Lets see you just created a login how many days ago?
valeriestadler
Member since: 06.3.10
Topics: 0
Replies: 1
Oh yeah......so by being part of a community, meaning you did a popular internet search engine query to find out that this bike thing at night is called Midnight Ridazz and it seems really cool....
Foldie responding to a comment by valeriestadler
06.9.10 - 9:53 am
i dont think the forum represents everyone who attends or has been (is) part of MR. our accounts only reflect how much of our life has been wasted in front of a computer. why does this point always come up? MR community does not boil down to the pseudo-importance of your registration date?
Foldie, you must not like beer... dont ruin it for the rest of us.
md2 responding to a comment by Foldie
06.9.10 - 9:59 am
Oh wise one you deeply undervalue the importance of the MR.com forum.....It is the lifeblood of MR and is perhaps even bigger than MR itself. It is a caboodle of unique characters that represent this vast Bikey thing.....
So call me suspicious when someone logs in for the first time and says I am part of the community...Bike riding is secondary to this internet world we all belong to.
Foldie responding to a comment by md2
06.9.10 - 10:08 am
perhaps this is not the best way for mr to go about this, it was suggested to me that if I reached out to people on this board that we could arrange a ride, meant to be a joyful experience. And I'm sorry if you misunderstood my use of the word community, I am Not nor do I pretend to be a Midnight Ridazz. You don't know me I get it, and if it feels like I am an intruc=der in your space I can take off. I seemed to have kicked up some bad feelings and for that I am truly sorry.
You don't have to be sorry, but how about coming on a ride or two (or ten) with us before asking us to serve as human scenery?
There's a bunch of rides to the right, and almost all of them are super fun!
Get a bike, come by a bike co-op (bike kitchen / bike oven / bikerowave) and get it sorted out, and come along. Riding at night in L.A. is pretty much the most fun you can have in public, and if you haven't been, you're really missing out.
Don't just use us as a metaphor for freedom, join us and experience the freedom!
(Or, you know, just pay standard scale for extras.)
JB responding to a comment by valeriestadler
06.9.10 - 11:10 am
Just read some of the other posts, missed them, so to recap-
Bad time with film? i get it me too, it's a rotten business, wish I loved ANYTHING else as much, I would do it in a minute!
And beer budget?
Do Know, don't drink anymore, long story, but what ever you like i guess. I know you're a sophisticated bunch...
by the way, i did it so whoever knows me, would recognize that it was just me talking to myself. and like clockwork foldie comes to my side to call me lame.
get your asses to polo!
i was working my way to a POLO plug man!
I think the real issue here is being exploited and having the MR community exploited - it's not really about the money, although some of these guys might be desperate for some cash...that's no reason to hate. In general there is a protectiveness for guarding what makes MR genuine, and we've seen it distorted and exploited before. And you know, some people just like to hate...and it's so easy to do on the internet...so a valid concern - exploiting MR - turns into the anti-fest you catalyzed.
That said, I wish you luck on your film project. Not every labor people undertake is for money, which is probably even true for some of the shit-talkers in this thread. I hope to meet you on a ride someday; it seems to me that you have a sincere appreciation for MR or else you wouldn't have gone to the trouble of trying to include our antics in your film.
As for polo, we're pretty media-friendly, with prior consent of course. Should you have any interest in that arena, shoot me an email: passionforwords at gmail dot com - or just show up at the 818 rink. We would love to have more female players, too, if you're intrigued enough to give it a stab.
hell yeah, accordingly Bodulo I'm an elite member...
well then, ms. kryxtanicole, throwing us elite members under the bus so you can get a little film for your polo club, eh? i see how it is (well, thats showbiz for you).
Plus i think this Valerie person is smart enough to get the jokes.... honestly, if she can't handle MR posts, then she has no business in Hollywood.
md2 responding to a comment by kryxtanicole
06.9.10 - 12:51 pm
"e have a spirit of community in our filmmaking, which is not easy due to the unwieldy nature of it. And yes many people help or donate their time, sadly there is no other way to get our work made, and it may end up nowhere but I firmly believe that it is more important to be a part of the discussion then to worry about how your, input will be viewed or valued. I value the process, showing up and getting in there."
I don't have an issue with a production company coming on here to hire riders to be extras in their film, if I was directing or producing I too may be willing to work for 'screen credit', but basically I find the film industry to be cheap and exploitive when it comes to extras or other on-screen talent.
Girl Power responding to a comment by valeriestadler
06.9.10 - 1:11 pm
"you don't have to be sorry, but how about coming on a ride or two (or ten) with us before asking us to serve as human scenery?
There's a bunch of rides to the right, and almost all of them are super fun!
Get a bike, come by a bike co-op (bike kitchen / bike oven / bikerowave) and get it sorted out, and come along. Riding at night in L.A. is pretty much the most fun you can have in public, and if you haven't been, you're really missing out.
Don't just use us as a metaphor for freedom, join us and experience the freedom!
(Or, you know, just pay standard scale for extras.)"
That's a great idea! If she does not mind all the set up required and the fact she will have to get her shot in one take because the ride won't be waiting around for hours and hours in between shot set-ups i.e *working for no pay* then that may work.
Best of luck and sorry so many got nasty with her.
I love how everyone is more interested with the dude hitting up the sax and pelvic thrusting all over the place ... than the actual question .. I started sending it to people all over my office with a message saying " turn it up and listen" ..
shit, we'll play polo for free...film rolling or not. I didn't throw anyone under the bus, the people that sound like jackass dicks (not pointing any fingers) do that to themselves. and all the snarky crap - it's not funny, so i guess you couldn't really call it "jokes."
Ijunes i love you and i hate you. mostly it's the auto music i hate.
Hm yeah, I know where you're coming from. I made a 3 minute short edited together of two CRANK Mob rides last year, and didn't get the huge response I expected to it. It wasn't screened at two events because of technical problems, and I've just let it go. I had too many high expectations for it, and in retrospect, the fun isn't in the documenting (which was actually extremely stressful), it's being part of the experience itself. People who see group rides on the big screen just won't get that same feeling, whether they're bicyclists or not. I have to say though that if you want more community involvement, maybe try to meet folks in person first, the internet is far too anonymous. The folks at the bikerowave are really friendly. Depending on where you are, maybe you can post flyers in Melnitz Hall at UCLA looking for extras. I don't know if you'll get any sort of response. The very very least you can do is feed them decent food, or maybe put off the project until you have more money to budget for extras?
dusky responding to a comment by valeriestadler
06.9.10 - 1:53 pm
Here's the thing I don't think a lot of filmmakers understand.
You may be in it for the art, you might be working with a shoestring budget and you might have the best intentions to make something "authentic". But this is the bottom line:
Your project is YOUR vision, not MINE.
Some of us have our own visions we're pursuing, some of us want to have a good time on our limited time off from working. If you're going to ask people outside of your circle of friends to volunteer their time and skills to contribute to YOUR vision (particularly if it is intended to ultimately make a profit), you need to offer some compelling reason for them to help you out, the most obvious motivator being fair pay.
It's certainly possible that you might get people excited about your project if you let them read the script or come out to a ride and talk to people in person, and it's possible that they might be willing to volunteer their time. But, frankly, I think it's very egotistical to simply post to a message board and expect that everyone will simply be awed by the glamour of filmmaking.
BTW, this doesn't just apply to filmmakers; don't mean to single them out.
Sanannah,
I'm sure that has been said one way or another.
But you should have been a bit more clear in your first post about the nature of your project.
Many of us are collaborative artists here and greatly appreciate that style of art making.
In fact many of the rides & surrounding activities almost become as collaborative performance art.
Unfortunately, for every artist that wants to incorporate our sub-culture in to their work in a thoughtful way, there is 10 corporations that would use us for some gorilla marketing straggly, or as an easy way to get a bunch of urban energy happening on the cheap or for free.
It has happened way more that you might think in the 6+ years that Ridazz have been doing their thing.
I think if you would have given a more comprehensive description of the nature and intentions of your project you may have received a warmer welcome and certainly much less assholish behavior.
I'm sure this has been send in some way before, but who can possibly read through this thread after some iJerk posted that horrible sax loop.
trickmilla-
You are so right.
IT was a mistake! I had a friend of mine post for me, because I couldn't get to a computer. I should have done it myself, I'm valerie, not Savannah, I should have let you know that we had the support of the bicycle kitchen, which means so much to us because we love what they do, and i love a collectiv! came up in collectives in SF.- shred of Dignity, and the Farm- , Should have mentioned that I spent the last year making a doc called bajitas rolling smooth, about an after school program in south central LA that helps kids build Low rider bikes as a way of staying out of gangs. I should have done it differently, but there it is. Me and a bunch of my friends are going to be at Heliotrope and Melrose at 7:30, on June16th to make our movie, if you feel like joining that would be awesome if not no sweat.
best, v
the epic sax loop has totally made my weekend. my girlfriend and i will sporadically make love to it, sometimes with several pages of the thread open at the same time. it's like a sax-orgy.
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