Muse Art?

I just got served…
It's been awhile since I've posted, for a number of reasons. Mainly, more than anything, I've been a busy boy. School is out for summer and finding work is harder than ever. On occasion I've found work on craigslist.com where film or tv crews post ads. I've heard from these crews that responses to postings on craigslist are sometimes overwhelming. One person for instance told me she had over 50 responses to a posting within the first 30 minutes it was available online. Yet for a recent graduate and film makers alike this is probably the easiest way to find work, aside from word of mouth.

A little over 3 weeks ago I received a phone call at 7 in the morning from one of my friends that has helped me get film work here and there for some time now. He informs me that a guy from Dallas is shooting a TV show at noon and needs a crew to film. Half awake I rolled out of bed, grabbed some gear, met up with a friend and booked it to Dallas to shoot a TV pilot.

The premise of the show, as we soon found out, was simple: Expose the community to underground art in the Dallas/Fort Worth community. We shot the show sort of like MTV Cribs and had the guests show us around their venue and talk about what they had to offer.

After we shot the show, the producer pressured us into quickly editing and making the show available. We had to act fast cause he wanted the show to air on channel 52 the following week. We also had to work quickly because investors had to view the program beforehand and contribute their commercials. Following a series of lengthy editing days I was able to finish the show. It was totally ready to air, except our producer disappeared. When this happened the show in a way fell apart.

A few days later I was able to get back in touch with the producer, but the trust that was there before had faded. We had the show ready and at this point we had serious doubts if it would ever air. I was hearing all different kinds of stories about what was happening, asked to change the show to air on a different network, payment issue after payment issue...

To make a long story short I learned a number of lessons while shooting and working on Muse ART:

1. Get everything in writing
2. Keep track of your hours and what it is you're working on exactly
3. Pay attention to everyone that is working on your crew
4. Understand that trust can be misleading

In the end we were never paid for the work we did on this show, and I imagine we never will be. I busted my balls to get this show finished and ready to go on TV and I'll be damned if it's going to sit on a shelf and collect dust. This project alone forced me to move out of my apartment, have my phone shut off twice, and my back account overdrawn who knows how many times. With the economy how it is ambition makes failure seem impossible...

Muse Art Episode 1 from Pat Flaherty on Vimeo.