Production Update #23: Edit Suite Fireworks!

Hello cast & crew,

A number of you have sent me emails asking about possibly shooting this weekend (7/16-7/17).  Unfortunately, I've been unable to get all the puzzle pieces together (actors, crew, location, props)...

Rest assured, I have been editing my butt off -- that is, I was until July 4th weekend when the Steenbeck editing table literally "blew up"...

That's right, I had my own personal fireworks display when a 30-year old capacitor flamed out inside the Steenbeck, filling the edit suite with black smoke... It looked like a Civil War battlefield.  After frantically fanning the acrid cloud so as not to set off any sprinklers, I jumped on the internet and discovered that there are only TWO people in the entire United States who still know how to repair these old 16mm film editors -- Dwight in Boston and Bob in Los Angeles...  Boston Dwight was on vacation, but I finally reached L.A. Bob who patiently explained that they stopped manufacturing circuit boards for the ST-1600 in the mid-1980s...

"But," he says, "if you send me the burned circuit board, I'll try to rebuild it by hand."  So I packed the piece -- which looks like a torched slice of wheat toast -- into a bubble pack, and UPSed it to L.A.

Haven't heard from him yet -- keep your fingers crossed.  If he can't fix it, I'll have to transfer all of the film we've shot thus far to video, and begin the entire edit process ALL OVER AGAIN on the Mac G5 (essentially scrapping all of my work editing thus far... a totally disheartening thought....)

Hope there have been no flame-outs in your lives lately...

I'll keep you updated, and hope to put together another shoot perhaps in early August...

Take care. Keep heart. And as always, thanks for your support and patience...

Production Update #22: Another great shoot!

Thanks to everyone who worked a second full weekend in a row -- on Saturday 6/25 we picked up shots at the 2005 Barnyard Bingo, and on Sunday 6/26 we spent 4 1/2 hours out in 95 degree heat filming Talia on a 1947 fire engine...

Thanks Linda Kirkpatrick for the homemade blueberry muffins... again with the healthy food!

Thanks Julie Kirkpatrick for slating...

Thanks Gordon Masters for meticulously rewinding a crumpled audio tape by hand in the middle of a field...

Thanks Bob Sapora for hanging off the side of a vintage fire engine to get that POV shot...

Thanks Novia Campbell for hanging off the side of a vintage fire engine in a sweaty wedding dress...

And thanks to the Lineboro Fire Department -- especially John, Will, Keith, and Greg --  for donating a scorching hot day to this no-budget cinematic beast...

I'm driving the raw footage and audio down to Colorlab today (Monday) to be developed and transferred... Cross your fingers that all will come out great!

NEXT POTENTIAL SHOOT DATES:  Possibly the weekend of July 16-17. I will update you on location and script pages if this shoot comes together... Script pages? What are they?

Thanks, as always, for your support and patience... See ya on the set!

Production Update #21: SUN 6/19 Shoot Cancelled

Please note: Our shoot originally scheduled for Sunday June 19 has been rescheduled for NEXT Sunday June 26 @10am, Lineboro Fire Hall...  Weather permitting, we will be filming a sequence with a 1947 fire engine...

The good news: We had a totally awesome shoot on June 17 & 18 -- shot 2,000 feet of film and completed 12 1/2 pages... A heartfelt thanks to everyone who made it possible -- and fun!

Special thanks to:

* Linda Kirkpatrick -- for feeding us! Great food... and healthy! Homemade peach ice cream! Can't let people know about that or we'll have TOO MANY volunteers show up...

* Deb & Robert Lemieux -- for letting us shoot at Universal-Lemieux Studios...

* Gordon Masters & Bob Sapora -- for focus, exposure, and booming above and beyond  the call of duty...

* Ray Phillips & Novia Campbell: Tremendous work! Thank you for your wonderfully human performances...

If any ONE of you had not been there, this shoot would never have happened...

I'll drive the film to the Colorlab in Rockville, MD on Monday... so keep your fingers crossed that cinema gods are benevolent and everything comes out okay...  I'll let you know when we get it back...

Take care... and thanks again... And now, sleep...



Production Update #20: Prop Alert

Just a quick note to anyone coming to the shoot tomorrow and Saturday:

We still need a few more random props to "junk-up" Doc Flynt’s bedroom. It's supposed to be a place where an old guy has lived in a small rural town by himself for a number of years. And while Robert and Debra Lemieux's house has perfect period furniture  -- the room is like a museum. Immaculate. (I am soooo jealous! One of the many things that ends up falling to the wayside when you are throwing as many hours as you can at a micro-budget independent film -- basic housekeeping.)

So, we just need a few simple things to toss about so that the character of Talia can clean it up on camera...

Suggestions:

Old dress shirts, towels, sheets, paperbacks, magazine, cardboard boxes.  I even have an old set of luggage and a spare car tire that I'm going to bring. Rest assured: We will not be damaging or dirtying any of these props; they are just set dressing... (Hey, Gordon, do you have any vintage props stashed in the trunk of your Saab? I'm always surprised what you pull out of that thing...)

Anything you can throw in a bag or box and bring along would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks again -- looking forward to tomorrow's shoot...  



Production Update #19: Shoot confirmed June 17,18,19

Hello, again, incredibly-patient indie-film fans!

Thanks again to the dozen or so cast & crew members who attended our table screening in May. I think everybody got a chance to see how the project is developing, and most I hope are eager to move forward. Thanks for all the positive feedback.

The great news is that all of our principals have now confirmed their availability for an intensive 3-day shoot in mid-June. Here are the details:

Friday June 17, 2005

location: Robert & Debra  Lemieux's home in Westminster, MD

crew call: 9:30am

cast call: 11am

scenes:

bathroom scene #1--Talia, Flynt (they meet again)

bedroom scenes #1-3--Talia, Flynt (Flynt heals as Talia cares for him)

wrap shoot by: 6pm

Saturday June 18

location: Robert & Debra  Lemieux's home

crew call: 9:30am

cast call: 11am

scenes:

bedroom scenes #4-5--Talia, Flynt (more of Flynt healing as Talia cares for him)

barnyard bingo pickup shots (CU Ray & Novia's reaction to cow)--2 lines of dialog, need to match wardrobe to previous Bingo shoot

wrap shoot by: 6pm

Sunday June 19

location: TBD -- possibly interior Lineboro Bar; or Talia's wild ride through country on vintage 1947 fire engine

crew  & crew call: TBD

Those who are confirmed thus far:

cast: Novia Campbell, Ray Phillips

crew: Gordon Masters, Bob Sapora, Robert Lemieux, Jonathan Slade

If you are available for any of these days and would like to participate, just shoot me an email and we'll put you on the schedule...

I'll forward any updated production schedule info as I get it. And, as always, I truly appreciate everyone's support and enthusiasm...

Let's keep the camera rolling!