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And back to San Francisco, a day before our opening at the Roxie Theater. Bill Banning, Roxie's Artistic Director, working the phones in his office stuffed with movie memorabilia, reviews, posters, flyers, festival catalogs, even an old fashioned Rolodex. I finally got to take a shot of the famous, much photographed marquis.

Where are they now? -- Stuart Balcomb

When we met, Composer Stuart Balcomb was at the crossroads from a safe position at Universal Studios, to independence. He orchestrated tent pole releases such as "Triple X" (xXx), and "Miss Congeniality 2," with the enormous resources of a Hollywood Studio at his fingertips. And now he found himself in a small room squeezed in between the kitchen and backyard of his house in Venice, CA, and set up shop.

Stuart's instruments in his backyard in Venice, CA

Andrea: Were you afraid to jump into the cold water of independence?
Stuart: I don't think I really had many fears leaving Universal. I was so burned out from the rigors of supervising massive music preparation jobs such as Spiderman (I & II), the Bourne series, Men in Black II, Road to Perdition, Triple X, American Beauty, Terminator III, to name but a few of the over-500 I've worked on since 1978. I wasn't happy at Universal... I wanted to be out there writing the music, so finally in June 2006 I went on my own. It wasn't a totally irrational move, however. By that time my Secondary Markets Fund check, which is a royalty from every film I've ever worked on that now airs on television, had reached an amount that I could live off of for awhile, and still do. If no films are added each year, it gradually diminishes, but the grand plan is to eventually find enough composing work to live off of.

I love the independence, I love working at home — not having to drive miles to work. I still have my health insurance by doing an occasional union orchestration gig, which also pays into my social security.

A: How does one prepare for such a jump?
S: As you can see, I had a few "ducks in a row" before I went independent. Years ago I had a family to raise and support, and a "straight gig" at Universal put food on the table and a roof over our heads. It took many years to arrive in a place where I could make this move. I would highly recommend that anyone considering independence have a few things in order before doing so. For someone just starting out, without many financial responsibilities, it can be a lot easier to pursue a career 24/7, and I fully urge doing that. Get your reel in order, your demo CD... whatever it takes to make the finest representation of your abilities, and then start networking. Meet people. This is a town of relationships. Nurture those connections and follow through with honest and responsible communications. Don't over-hype yourself. Don't lie. Fake resumes will bring you down faster than having none at all. Get a PA job on a film, or assist in a recording studio. If you are a singer, get a gig as a backup singer, but not longer than two years because you'll be locked-in to that as a career. You'll just be known as a backup singer and no one will take you seriously as a solo artist. This can be an unforgiving industry where people don't trust you wearing more than one or two hats. As a music copyist I tried to not let the left hand know what the right was doing... in other words,  I tried very hard to keep my gig at Universal a secret from my composing contacts. It can even be hard for an orchestrator to land a composing job because people think of him only as an orchestrator. Heck, an actor became president and we still haven't recovered from that, but that's another story....

A: What have you been working on, above and beyond the incredible amount of compositions you did for 1000 Journals?
S: After leaving Universal, I immediately connected with the Elevate Film Festival team, and since have scored five films for them. I am now considered their "resident composer," and that has led to many connections and opportunities. Mikki Willis, the founder of the festival, asked me to scored a 3-hour yoga DVD which he shot, which also resulted in a double CD of the music, four tracks of which ended up in the film "The Moses Code." I am currently lined up to score a documentary that Mikki is shooting with Drew Heriot, director of "The Secret." Also, my film-director son keeps me very busy with his many projects, the most recent being the infamous "Legend of Zelda" trailer that rocked the Internet.

Currently, I'm scoring a documentary called "Mythic Journeys" and "Brian O'Brian" for the Disney Channel. I also have two new CDs on the burner, one of which is the first of a series that will feature art by my wife, Joanne Warfield. And on top of all that is my ongoing novel about Alchemy. It is sorely needing my attention these days!

A: Whatever happened to The Scream Online? Do you still find time for this culture zine?
S: Because I designed, built, and ran the magazine myself, I had to let it coast along with no new features for awhile because composing kept me so busy. But I recently met with someone who will help me redesign and restructure it using a CMS (Content Management System) which will allow my editors around the world to contribute their own content, with minimal involvement on my part. It will also enable us to upload new features as they are ready, without waiting for full, stand-alone issues. We will also integrate commerce features, daily news headlines, and competitions in our most popular categories. Don't worry about the magazine. It has become so popular and is in itself a recognizable brand that I won't let it die. After 16 issues since 2001 it now has a solid reputation, and I'm still swamped with submissions from artists and photographers wanting to be in it.

A: We've been sending each other invitations to all sorts of social networking sites. How is this working out for you?
S: I am well established on networks such as Myspace and Filmcommunity.com, and my own websites get a lot of good exposure. Also, Facebook and Linkedin, but not as much. I check them everyday and correspond with many people... making connections with directors all over the world.

1000 Journals at the Museum

Yesterday's screening at the Orange County Museum of Art was packed, and inspiring. I met old friends, among them Ginny Laird (it was our fourth 1000 Journals event, after The Inside Edge at UC Irvine, Newport Beach and Delray Beach Film Festivals), and Ernest Priestley, and Cinema Orange curator Leslie Feibleman, answered a few questions and showed journals, and I wish there had been more time for this, alas, the museum had to close down at 10 PM. Walking out, I was stopped by TM Akashi, who handed me the book "100 Thoughts," a collection of short essays about things that matter. His inscription: "This is my attempt at Johnny Appleseed..." I brought home another book, a notebook in the style of 1000 Journals, started by team members of the NBFF and OCMA, to pass around at future screenings. Sweet!

Next up for us is The Roxie. That's a big one. We've been posting the screening dates pretty much all over the internet, but if you can, please help spread the word. D.I.Y. style distribution is all about networking and word of mouth, one person to another at a time. My hope is to have a good run in San Francisco and then go out to other cities as well, to places near you... In this context, if you want to suggest a community or local screening, please get in touch.

1000 Journals in San Francisco

The 1000 Journals Project was started in San Francisco, in the summer of 2000, eight years ago. And now we're coming back to San Francisco, after our wonderful run at the San Francisco International Film Festival, to show the film for a week at the Roxie Theater. This is quite a milestone in the life of the documentary: our first theatrical booking, with hopefully more to come across the country.

If you live in San Francisco, please come and join us at the Roxie, and bring your friends. If you know folks in S.F., please tell them. We'll show journals during the opening weekend, and are around to answer questions.

1000 Journals opens on Friday, August 1st, 2008.

The showtimes are every day at 7:00 and 8:50 PM, and additionally,
Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday at 2:30 and 4:45 PM.

Roxie Theater
3117 16th Street
San Francisco, California 94103
map

Visit roxie.com or 1000journalsfilm.com for more info.