Tyler Gibb - Writer, Director, Editor, Filmmaker

Is “blockbuster” a genre?

I think it might be. Now. Because, when I hear it said, I know what it means. There can be no doubt about what a blockbuster is.

Modest movies can turn out to do better than expected, think The Hangover. Sometimes extraordinarily better than expected, now think Paranormal Activity. But you wouldn’t call them “blockbusters”.

Blockbusters stand for something big, don’t then? Enormous in scope, both visually (and symphonically) grand and ideologically broad.

I say it’s a genre unto itself.

What’s different about it, perhaps, is that it’s a genre with limited accessibility to all filmmakers. One of the few. Period pieces and some sci-fi might also be unattainable at the indie level, and true blockbusters most definitely are. I can mix all the corn syrup and red dye I want and make a splatter pic but wrangling a legion of Roman soldiers to storm a castle is a little above my budget.

Ergo, I - and frankly most of the writers I know - don’t spend a lot of time dreaming up blockbusters. But then, we are Canadian, and such things are generally frowned upon up here.

However, I’m kind tired of writing within certain limitations.

I don’t know. I kind of got tired of writing small. When I wrote Minushi I sure didn’t think small. Animation is the one exception to the budget rule. With enough time and enough paper, you can bust blocks with the best of them. But I’m not really thinking animation these days either. I guess I’m not really thinking. I’m just doing.

Yeah, there’s a plan. A loose arrangement of ideas. But it’s nice, you know. To be writing above your budget. Above what’s expected. To be writing a blockbuster. The very act is sort of blockbuster in itself. The lofty ambition. Broad. Sweeping. Impossible…

… In the optimistic sense.

 I don’t know if there would be low budget filmmaking if not for the concept of deferral. Perhaps not even the concept. Just the word alone, I think, serves an important function.

Not so long ago a producer approached me to direct a film. She wanted me to work on deferral. Now, I should point out that this producer was not exactly a capital “P” producer. (In case that wasn’t clear enough by the example of her request for me to lead a project for free…) Nor did she  have any record - that I knew of - of producing anything that could safely promise me any backend. And remember, a deferral is only a deferred payment if there’s money made in the end. Moreover, this “producer” went on to tell me (as though it was a selling point) that everybody else on the production was working on deferral as well. Personally, that’s not really much incentive. This producer’s rationale for their strategy was that everybody on the crew would work extra hard to make the movie a success because they’d only get paid if the movie was a success…

Yeah… That’s a wonderful theory. So was communism. But the flaw in the logic there is that a good film is not the same as a financially successful film. For a film to even dream of being financially successful, you need to at least begin with a competent producer… Not someone who’s trying to cut corners before they even have a route planned out. That said, I suppose, if a project was truly unique and something I was incredibly passionate about, I may still be persuaded… At least I’d still be able to tell myself that, hey, if it works out, I’ll be getting paid!

But this wasn’t. Not even close.

It’s all well and good to agree to work for free, essentially, on the promise that you will be paid later if the film ever turns a profit. But who are we kidding? Film’s that rely heavily on deferral don’t turn a profit. Not for you at any rate. But nobody in the “negotiation” is going to admit to that. Least of all, perhaps, the person actually considering to defer their payday. To admit that would be like admitting you’ll just work for free. That your time has no value. So the word “deferral” actually serves a very important function in that it protects the ego of the person who’s really got nothing better to do at that particular time than to work for free.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. At least, I don’t believe there is. Once. And only once. For the experience. After all, where else are you going to get that experience? And hey, according to your “agreement”, you’ll still be getting a percentage on the backend when the movie’s a big success. So on paper, at least, you’re not a sucker.

I politely declined the offer. I’ve already had the experience of being deferred payment (indefinitely) on my own projects. And I was passionate about them.

Try anything once, just for the experience. But be wary. Nobody is better suited to put a price on your time than you.

So I found this groovy new start-up site called DeviantArt.com…

I kid. DeviantArt’s been around almost as long as I’ve been around, I’ve just never really gotten around to posting any of my illos there.

I recently learned that if you’re really hip to the scene, you call your illustrations “illos.”

And I am hip.

So, yeah, DA (more hip abbreviating), is an upload site for illos. And what with me doing a lot of illos these days, I thought, why not use that resource. Why not.

You can find me at tylergibb.deviantart.com. I’ll be uploading some Mankind drawings periodically and maybe some sketches, we’ll see how it goes. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll eventually get around to digitizing my old school old-school drawings from back before the interweb was even around.

Past few days have been nothing but graphite and paper… Graphite and paper.

It’s up.

And, in case you hadn’t noticed, things are a little brighter around this little weblog nook of the site as well.

I wanted a bit more of a resumé type of landing page for the ol’ homestead. There’s still life in those old moving drawings, I reckon, and I’m hoping one day something can be made of them.

Also, I’m sure you’ll notice, there’s a bit more Mankind action up there as this project has sort of moved to the forefront around here. Lots more on that soon, including an answer to the question: Did you actually make a trailer for a comic book?

If you spot any glitches in the new design, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

With my weight poised behind Mankind I’ve decided it might be good to spiff up these digs. So I’ve been working on a new TylerGibb.com website. And by website I mean splash page which is essentially all this site amounts to. Well, and this blog thing. I suppose I’ll have to spiff this area up a bit too. It’s kind of dark in here.

Normally whenever I apply my web coding to a new webpage on my Mac then I can expect a certain amount of discrepansies when viewing the design on a PC. However, this new design prompted no cross-platform errors!

It’s the little victories.

The new web environs will be up in August.