TAMPA FILM BLOG
The real deal about the Tampa indie film industry by Tampa film expert C. A. Passinault
PREVIOUS BLOG POST - BLOG POST INDEX - CONTACT CHRIS PASSINAULT - NEXT BLOG POST
Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 7:55 PM - Tampa Indie Film Log for Filmmaker Chris Passinault
The Tampa Indie Film War - Is It Over?
The
current Tampa indie film war, as far as I am concerned, is over. As far
as everyone else is concerned, however, it goes onto a new phase.
As a recap, my name is C. A. Passinault, AKA Chris Passinault. I am a
professional indie filmmaker who is an entertainment producer. Over the
years, I have made most of my money as the top Tampa talent photographer.
I've also made a good amount as a DJ, as an event planner, and as an art
director (I made good money this year doing web sites and marketing for
other businesses through my Tampa advertising agency) . I've spent over
ten years becoming professionally certified in over 20 different professions,
and I am still learning. I am also sitting on a mountain of excellent
ideas, new forms of entertainment that my teams and I have developed,
and revolutionary technologies. I am Tampa Bay's best kept secret (although
the news media began to notice me last year, and this year has been great
for television interviews). I am a professional polymath (renaissance
man) who has a high-Mensa level IQ (don't bother checking with Mensa to
verify this; I turned down membership with them back in 1990 when I scored
the highest IQ in Florida and could not find a reason to become a member
and pay them dues... you only have to talk to me to know the IQ thing
as a fact) and I've been reading on a college level since I was six. I
was a banker for seven years, too. I've also spent the past seven years
investing in talent resources and talent contacts, which make me more
connected with Florida talent than most modeling and talent agencies.
This will be one of the things that will give me an edge in the Tampa
indie film market, with an endless supply of top talent working with me
on projects. Ironically, I've met a lot of the best models, actors, and
talent over the years because they either booked me as a photographer
to take their portfolio/ headshot pictures or have worked on one of my
many projects. Many of these talent connections remain current to this
day, and many of these professionals have become good friends.
Presently, I am the Executive Producer of my Passinault Entertainment
Group and Passinault Industries LLC companies. I own close to fifty web
sites and a large array of professional assets developed over the years.
Many of my web sites enjoy top search engine placement for thousands of
hot topics, and are the authorities in their fields (earlier this year,
I invested in over twenty new web sites, an all-time record, so expect
this trend to expand geometrically in the next year or two).
Ahem..... In 2005, I decided to meet some of the Tampa filmmakers in the
self-professed Tampa indie film community to find out what was going on
and to network with them. I was disappointed then, and I still am now,
especially after learning that there was not, and presently is not, a
real Tampa indie film community. In my opinion, there is presently a small
Tampa indie film clique which has been masquerading as a Tampa indie film
community, and many professionals are seeing them for what they really
are now.
At first, I got along well with many of the Tampa filmmakers in the Tampa
indie film scene. Well, at least I thought that I did.
In late 2006, I collaborated with most of the Tampa filmmakers and helped
them with a short film, The Quiet Place. It was during the production
of this film that my eyes were opened to the real deal with Tampa film.
Many of these filmmakers have serious issues and insecurities. I helped
out with the Quiet Place by referring them their lead actress (Harmony
Oswald, who is a good friend of mine and who I met when she was a client
who booked my photography company for her actor headshots) and by doing
their photography for them.
From day one, I figured out that I was set up to fail in an attempt to
discredit me. I received no cooperation from the director and experienced
interference as I did my job as a photographer. There were other issues,
too, but despite all of the problems, I did my job well, and turned out
photographs which, when compared to the film footage, blew away the film
itself (.....Finally, the mystifying lack of lighting in many scenes
(including extended scenes in pitch-black darkness I don't think were
intentional), mismatched lighting in other scenes (doing no justice to
the to-die-for behind-the-scenes photographs taken by Chris Passinault
months ago) - Film reviewer Nolan Canova from a film review of the
Quiet Place).
With photographs which made the film footage look bad in comparison, their
tactics to discredit me changed. I was the victim of slander and rumors.
Little did they know that I am a well-known scam fighter, and had the
resources to fight back.
In 2007, a series of debates with some of the filmmakers on a Tampa message
board got out of hand when I defeated my opponents in every single debate.
Not able to win and desperate to sidetrack the debates, they resorted
to baseless credibility attacks and rumors again (it was only then did
I finally learn of the rumors about me stemming back from the set of the
Quiet Place). It was then that I fought back, calling them out and taking
them to task over their issues. A war started, and although they tried
to spin me as some sort of crazy person with an axe to grind, it didn't
work. Support for me grew as I made points that were discovered to be
the truth, and their credibility became questionable.
Now, I am not claiming victory here. I've simply stated what I wanted
to say and, and have made my points. Simply put, I've been stating the
obvious, and now that certain people have been called out and have been
forced to make improvements, I am ready to end this war and move on. I
don't want people reading my endless rants about people and think that
I do have an axe to grind and that I hate certain people, because this
is not the case. Continuing on this course of action is no longer cost-effective.
It was never my intention to destroy the careers of anyone or to hurt
feelings. It was my intention to help make corrections by addressing issues,
and to put certain people in their proper place. Mission accomplished.
I'm now ready to change gears and move on. I am going to address Tampa
indie film as a whole and will continue to address the issues which haunt
it. At the same time, I am moving on to providing solutions and will voice
my opinions on more positive things. I will also throw a few bones out
there, making suggestions and publishing a few ideas. When it does not
undermine my business models and help competitors, I won't have a problem
doing this.
Just don't think that I am going to give away the store. I'm going to
give just enough to help professionals in the Tampa indie film scene and
to make my detractors stop and think. I have no shortage of great ideas,
so this won't be an issue. As time goes on, many of my detractors will
come to the conclusion that they were wrong about me and that they listened
to the wrong people.
This will be a prelude for what is to come, too, as I make the best professional
indie films, run the most advanced and effective Tampa film festivals
that the Tampa indie film market has ever seen, and introduce new, revolutionary
concepts to indie filmmaking. These steps, however, will be planned, calculated,
and tightly controlled, as I intend to be in the position to benefit from
these advancements as they happen while undermining the ability of my
detractors to plagiarize those ideas for their own gain.
I am on track to dominating the Tampa indie film market, although I do
not intend to be the only one to benefit from that progress. The real
professionals will benefit, too, as it is my desire to help other professionals
as we go about the hard work of creating, and growing, a genuine professional
Tampa indie film community.
It can be said that the best way to destroy your enemy is to make them
your friend. Although I cannot think of a single detractor who has ever
been much of a threat to me, and they have proven to be simply annoyances,
that would be nice. It would be nice to one day be friends with some of
these people, and put all of this nasty business in the past.
The Tampa indie film war is over. It's time to pick through the rubble
and work together to build a professional Tampa indie film community.
One day, we will have a Tampa indie film community which demands, and
inspires, respect from the Tampa film commission and Tampa film festivals.
Tampa filmmakers will no longer be pawns to be used for purposes which
are not in the best interest of those filmmakers. One day, Tampa filmmaking
will be on the map, and I intend to be one of the leaders that will make
that happen.
Expect my first "productive" Tampa Film Blog post in a few days.
I am tied up with creating content for Tampa Bay Film's new online film
festival web site, the Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival. The site was
supposed to launch yesterday, but we are giving it a few more days. It
is almost finished.
PREVIOUS BLOG POST - BLOG POST INDEX - CONTACT CHRIS PASSINAULT - NEXT BLOG POST
COMMENT ABOUT POST - SEND ANNOUNCEMENT - REPORT TAMPA INDIE FILM SCAM - CONTACT TAMPA FILM BLOG
UPDATED 11/29/08
© Copyright 2008 Tampa Film Blog. All Rights reserved.
About Tampa Film Blog - Tampa Film Blog Features - Tampa Film Blog Archives - Tampa Film Blog Contact
Tampa Indie Film - Tampa Film Festival - Tampa Online Film Festival - Tampa Bay Film - Tampa Photography - Tampa Photography Society - Tampa Bay Photographers - Tampa Advertising Agency
Related Blogs by Chris Passinault, AKA C. A. Passinault:
C. A. Passinault Blog - Tampa Film Blog - Tampa Photographer Blog - Tampa Photography Blog
Scroll Class web site blog by Tampa Advertising Agency Eos MediaArts. Tampa Film Blog online 02/28/08.
Tampa Film Blog Web Site index refreshed 01/01/09
The Tampa Film Blog covers, but is not limited to, the following Tampa Bay and Florida markets:
Tampa, Ybor City, Hyde Park, Westshore, Apollo Beach, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Saint Pete (St Petersburg), Palm Harbour, Brandon, Plant City, Lakeland, Orlando, Winter Park, Sarasota, Bradenton, Daytona Beach, Miami, Miami Beach, South Beach, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Key West, and Palm Springs.
Tampa Film Blog Disclaimer
The
views and the opinions shared on this blog are those of the author and
are not necessarily those of Dream Nine Studios, the companies of Passinault.Com,
the Passinault Entertainment Group, or Passinault Industries LLC. Presented
as-is, with no guarantees expressed or implied. Informational use only.
Tampa indie film expert Chris Passinault is not legally liable for the
content on this web site blog, and use of any content waives him from
liability. Anyone using the content on this site or attempting anything
described on this site assumes all legal and civil liability. Please be
familiar with with your local laws before using this site. Information
on the Tampa Film Blog is not to be taken as legal advice or advice which
may be covered under any licensed or regulated profession. Opinions expressed
on this web site are those of the individual contributor and may not be
shared by other contributors, models, actors, talent, production professionals,
photographers, or businesses who may be involved with this web site or
our online community.
.
© Copyright 2008, 2009 Tampa Film Blog. All Rights reserved.