OT: Zach from "on the lot"

Just curious what everyone thought about Zach, a contestant from "On the Lot". I have heard the opinion that he is getting ahead based on his editing special effects and not some much of his ability to tell a stories and direct.
Love him or hate him, what are your thoughts.

Well, of the 4 episodes I watched (the first two were great, but the rest of the show is total crap so I only watched two more...one here, one there)...including the time stop one and the one where the girl grabs the sun...I find that his stories are cute. You don't have a lot of time to convey a lot in a short film...so you keep it simple. And I think he does. I liked the story of the girl and the sun. And the people arguing...had a message and was fun.

But yes, he does have a leg up being a pro in another field of movie production.

God...the LOT had promise, and they RUINED it by making it AMERICAN IDOL FILMMAKER. stupid stupid stupid. Did the horrible guy with the spikey hair finally get the boot? The one that did the CRAZY CABDRIVER film that was multicolor STUPID.


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lhdor12

zach's latest short ('die hardly working') didn't have ANY special effects (just great sound design) and he still destroyed the competition, which is admittedly weak. i agree with shane -- a show with great potential has descended into a saccharine mess (with shameless product placements, like the caveman/mustang short, which not only kisses the arse of the show's sponsor (ford) but is itself a rip-off of a geico ad). but let's give zach his due -- at only 23, he's the only contestant who is consistently on the mark.

thomas nybo
cubanhiphop.tv

there is no doubt he has talent. His remarkable knowledge of special effects programs and the ability to produce at an extreme short amount of time is fantastic. The question seems to be is that all he should be credited for. I saw the office short he did and it was cute, but it was something I could see on Saturday Night Live. Is this what makes a great director? Should all our talented editor's be directors? hmmm maybe.

lhdor12 Wrote:
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Should all our talented editor's be directors? hmmm maybe.

Nah. I just came across some old old old tapes from back in my high school and college days. I now know in mortifyingly true clarity how I became a good editor.

In the early days, my director (ummmm, well, ME) was really really reaaally bad. I had to learn to cut from utter the utter dreck I was supplied with. I had to learn to make the proverbial silk purse out of the sow's ear. I polished those turds 'til they gleamed.

Got any more hackneyed metaphors and/or sayings to toss in there? I'd almost bet a nickel they'd fit.

And I was good at it. Sure, I at least had cutaways and all the angles I needed because I shot like I have an editor's brain, but I'm aghast at the performance of my actors, and I have strikingly clear memories of the "direction", if one could call it that, that I gave those poor, brave souls. I know they are good actors. I've seen them really act. In my work, they pretty much stunk up the joint, and that's all on me!

Although I don't for a second argue that there is the rare folk out there who CAN do it all....watching those tapes reinforced in me that for the majority of us, we seriously SHOULDN'T try to do it all.

I shudder to think where my career would be if I tried to continue to be the "all trick pony", from whence my roots emanated.

My best work has been and continues to be when I'm part of a collaborative team. I need other brains off of which I can bounce stuff, and I need other folks with different sensibilities than I to make some of the calls.

I have not seen Zach or On the Lot. He may certainly be one of the rare few who has what I would think is a split personality (in a good way, not in a "needs psychological care" way) that can process information in multiple ways to be able to handle multiple angles of production. That would make him a rare bird, indeed.

deb