About me: Greetings to all who attended MoFest 4 this year and to the rest of Chicago production!
We had a tremendous collection of artwork, photography, films, and an overall ambiance that I hope everyone enjoyed. I haven't gotten back the final numbers on ticket collection but estimates of about 280-300 people attended this year's festivities!
First of all I want to thank everyone for making this event what it has become - and its definition will be different with each person you ask. I personally believe that MoFest is a good thing. And like all good things it should grow and continue to get bigger and more important. On the surface, that would seem like an ominous task for one person to prepare. But by taking one look at the character and spirit of the this community, its easy for me to realize that we have and have had dozens of outstanding individuals willing to donate their time and resources to this event.
Everyone who bought a ticket or t-shirt helped contribute to this year's event, but I, along with everyone else, must give special thanks to the following entities and individuals for going above and beyond all expectations. If you see any of them on set or just wandering about, please thank them for adding their own touch to this great event:
ESSANAY STUDIOS for generously donating the food and equipment. I can't stress enough how much their whole organization, from owners down to their crew, care about and respect this community. They help out every year and they do so without a moment's hesitation.
ODD MACHINE STUDIOS for generously donating the loft in which we had our party. Seth Henrikson and Chris Ziegich partnered up and built this incredible space for their production business, but it goes without saying its a great multipurpose space capable of holding, say 300, comfortably.
HONEST FOODS for donating food and time. Tad Devlin is one of the busiest people I know and for him and his people to take the time to prepare this wonderful food is greatly appreciated.
A TO B for donating the chairs, tables, coolers, walkies, and other party supplies. Brian Baron is a tremendous individual always offering any equipment we may need. He even gave us the original walkie with which we build the prototype for all of the Mosie award models!
MR. BIG & LISA DELEO for donating the cans of film to all the filmmakers with the hope of them creating something new for next year. Unfortunately film is a dying medium but with a little effort we as filmmakers can now capture one final story onto the celluloid which has built this industry over the past one hundred years. And for those who didn't witness, the donation was a big hit. People surrounded the table like a pack of lions around their prey! All the film was donated!
SHARON LOMASNEY for donating endless time and resources to the art gallery. From the moment she walked into the space on the tech scout she envisioned her amazing 3D suspension gallery. She didn't hesitate to contact all of the artists herself, collect and coordinate the delivery of the art, and get her hands dirty on the day by hanging artwork with her assistant. She is an incredible artist, a tremendous producer, and one of the friendliest people I have ever met.
JOHN ADAMS for donating endless time and resources to the photo gallery. John is unique for not only does he have to commute to Chicago from long distances, but he has to commute from out of state. He lives in Appleton, Wisconsin but loves the community so much he travels back here on a regular basis for work and social gatherings. He found the time to collect works from photographers all over our great city and found a way to do so remotely. He's a great photographer himself and has limitless creative potential.
ELDRIDGE HUNTINGTON for donating the insane lounge and beverage area. I've known JR for some time and aware he likes to keep his cards close and surprise people when the time is right. I would've never expected the sheer size and effort he placed into his lounge, essentially breaking down and transporting much of his apartment to do so, but alas that is what he did. I hope everyone got to sample his Man vs. Nature beer. Those who don't know, he and his entourage are basically experts in the art of brewing.
MARIO COLLETA for donating the sound equipment and time to set up and mix audio for the show. He has always been the first person to offer support for the following year, typically coming up with a game plan days after the previous show. He is an astounding business man who always offers advice, equipment and money (one of these days I'm going to take you up on that Mario!) for the fest and does so in the most accommodating and professional manner imaginable.
DANIEL MARCUS for donating time to pick-up equipment, to edit typically half a dozen mofest movies every year, constructing the first annual video installation, and for being an ear to listen to me bitch about anything and everything (sometimes voluntary, but mostly involuntary)! He is a great editor, business partner, producer, drinking buddy and most importantly a great friend. He has the potential to move mountains in this industry and I look forward to working with him in the years to come. Hire him for everything production and post-production!
JOSH LEVY for donating last-minute advice and gaffing to the space. His addition of the light spill on the cyc was something I could've never dreamed up in the weeks before the fest. Josh did so in a matter of minutes. He credits his knowledge to Jules and the fine technicians at Essanay but I can see his development as a seasoned electrician is starting to show his own unique style. His work on the visuals took us to a new level and added even more ambience to our spectacular event.
PETER WIESE, BRIAN BABARIK, DAVID SAMO, GINA DEWALD, RICARDO SANCHEZ, SCOTT BAERHEND, JOSH LEVY, KEITH KOLECKI, SHARON LOMASNEY, JOHN ADAMS, ELDRIDGE HUNTINGTON, MARIO COLETTA, DANIEL MARCUS, & JANICE HARRYMAN for donating time over the weekend to make the space work. We surmounted impossible obstacles and we converted a large, empty, dust and junk-filled space into our own unique area in less than 36 hours. I could not and would not have wanted to do it without each and everyone of you! I consider all of you friends and can't wait to hang out on a more relaxed, less-amped level in the very near future.
DJ MARCUS Q for donating the music for the festival. He's been compiling MoFest playlists for 3 years now and his music always blends so nicely into the surroundings its difficult to remember to thank him (Sorry Qseph)!
SCOTT BAERHEND for donating his time to hook up lights and reconfigure conduit to make sure we had enough power at this year's show.
JESSICA VOOGD for donating her time as MoFest photographer and taking some really great pics.
TIM YOUNG for giving one hell of an impromptu presentation of the Set Photo Awards for this year.
JOE LENZ for donating his time to sit by a cold window and collect ticket revenue throughout the night.
FLETCHER for donating the projector.
RSL for donating the truck and equipment.
BIG CITY for kindly building and donating the flats for the photo gallery.
PROPABILITIES for donating the popcorn machine, podium and stantions.
VIDEO ACUMEN for donating the video installation monitor and stand.
CHICAGO SOUND SERVICES for donating the audio monitors and mixer.
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE SECURITY for providing the security for the event.
ASTRO LABS & DUKE for processing David Kessler's 1974 film "The Magic Touch" for next to nothing.
SET PHOTO CONTESTANTS for submitting their photos and creativity into the competition. Its hard to turn art from the subjective into the objective but its always fun to give out awards at a party. That's just me.
ACADEMY OF CREATIVE CHICAGO CREWMEMBERS for judging the set photos and picking out the nominees and eventually the winner. You're a team of 20 of the people closest to MoFest over the years and I look forward to doing this again next year.
MY PARENTS for coming all the way out from the suburbs and attending the event, even though they only knew a couple of other people there. Love you guys!
...As for input on this year's fest, everyone's comments are welcomed and greatly appreciated. Please send me any ideas or suggestions as to how to make this fest better (mo@mofest.com). Let me know if there was too much or too little of something, want to clue me in on something completely different, if you want to contribute artistically or volunteer time or resources, or if you want to contact any of the artists or volunteers who were involved with this year's fest.
Until next year, I plan to build a MoFest website and possibly get a newsletter going. Another bigger and better community bowling party and 48 Hour Film Fest is in the works. And as always, I provide my services as a liaison to all things production - whether through my quickly-growing production company Damoco Films (plug!!) or just as a fellow crewmember who can offer help or advice on a freebie. Don't hesitate to ask and I'll be there...
Thanks to all and plan for a bigger and badder MOFEST 5 next year!!
Love, Mighty
(from 2007)
THANKS TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, MOFEST 3 WAS ANOTHER FANTASTIC SUCCESS!!
The doorman at the Abbey tallied 170 attendees at this year's fest - crushing last year's attendance! We had our fun at the Abbey Pub this year - all the seats downstairs and in the balconies were packed, and it was standing room only all the way to the bar!!
This was the first year we gave out the "Mosie" award for excellence in the field of production. This year's proud recipient was Mr. Tim Young and the presenter was Paula Blythe. Who will win next year's Mosie? We'll have to wait and see...
THE INAUGURAL PHOTO GALLERY WAS AMAZING!!
Katy Rall put together an amazing collection of photos through weeks of scouting and gathering. Her and John Adams both dedicated the weekend of MoFest to put the gallery together and the results couldn't have been better..
AND IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING BUT THE FILMS WERE ABSOLUTELY INSANE!!
For the very first MoFest only two years ago, our festival was comprised of student and side project films shot many years ago in a land far, far away. This year a majority of the films shown were made within the past 12 months - some of them created specifically for MoFest!! I can't stress the importance of creating new films and putting your ideas into motion. I guarantee its why most of us got into the industry in the first place, so why would anyone put it off?!?!?
(from 2006)
MOFEST 2 WAS AN UNBELIEVABLE TIME!! ANYBODY WHO MISSED IT REALLY MISSED OUT!
An incredible energy this year folks. I couldn't believe the cheering, applause and enthusiasm throughout! UNLIKE ANYTHING I HAVE EVER SEEN AT A FILM FESTIVAL!!!
Thank you to everyone who attended. A huge thanks to everyone who contributed. Thanks to Becky "Wavos" Werve for contributing to the crafty, including the incredible MoFest carved pumpkins and the schwag bags loaded with Halloween goodies at each seat. Also a huge thanks to Sue and Jules Tomko at Essanay for contributing the beer and food, which was catered by Tad over at Honest Foods. Jules has mentioned many times that he appreciates the hard work ethic of the crew around town and his contribution was a small gesture towards thanking all of us. Thanks to Jim Summers over at Fletcher for donating the projector, which produced an incredible picture on the big screen. JR also pitched in and gave out ridiculous samples of his microbrew Man vs. Nature. DJ Q supplied the pre-party music which was phenominal as well.
Let's do it again next year, peeps. More good times to come...
Who I'd like to meet: Every Chicago pa and crew member who's made a short film, music video, spec spot, industrial video, home movie, and any other visual media they would like to present at this year's fest.
MoFest 4 was stellar! The loft was huge! The crowd was huge! I wish it had lasted the entire day...too many peeps I didn't get to even say hi to. That's a good thing though...people just can't stay away. Who can blame 'em? MoFest is an institution in the Chicago Production world, featuring films and the creatives behind them that never fail to inspire. This is always an event so not to be missed. THANK YOU to Mo, John, Dan, JR & Ricardo, Sharon, Mario, all the filmmakers, photographers, painters, Sharpie-ers, Essanay, Darryl & the Security Crew, Honest Foods the gallery owners, Eric & the Unloaders, Syd, Pete Eager, Keith Keith, Tom Deja, Brain @ A to B, and probably a million other peeps who donated their time, creativity, and energy to this homegrown, awesome event!!!!!
So I just re-watched the opening piece for Mo Fest 2, and GOD DAMN am I excited for Mo Fest 3... God Damn, I said God Damn!!!
p.s. Opening for MoFest3 -> Screen Vision
