Production Update #49: Helicopter goes down…

As we were about to depart from Lineboro today on our way to the shoot location near Columbia, PA, I received a phone call from helicopter pilot Terry Inch who informed me that their four seat R 44 Raven had suffered a severe mechanical problem while in flight near Lancaster, and that they were forced to make an emergency landing in a cornfield.  Apparently, a metal strip used to secure the tail rotor during recent maintenance was not removed (as it should’ve been when maintenance was complete) and a cable inside the tail section was completely shredded.

Inch, and one other man onboard, managed to land the craft quickly with no injury. But as he said, “There was about 30 seconds of terror.” He thinks the NTSB investigation might take a week or so, and then the helicopter will need to be repaired.

Unfortunately, this effectively ends our shooting this year. Even if the helicopter is fixed quickly, all the foliage will be dead or gone by the time we get back out there. And it won’t match the rest of the film. The only other possibility is for me to try to find another rural airport without any nearby trees – just a grass runway and sky…

So, I’ll spend some time scouting for this new location, meeting with composer David Zee about the soundtrack, and editing the few remaining shots from our tractor shoot. And maybe I can plan some kind if interior shoot that isn’t weather or foliage dependent.

I’ll let you know how things progress… But thanks, once again, for another wonderful year of shooting…

Production Update #48: Helicopter shoot

Novia and I drove up to Columbia, PA and Lancaster, PA today in the rain to scout everything out and meet the helicopter people face-to-face. I think we've got it all locked down -- weather permitting, and barring any unforeseen catastrophes...

Crew call is Sunday at 1:30pm in Lineboro.  Then we'll pile everything into as few vehicles as possible, and head off to the very tiny McGuiness Airstrip in Columbia, PA (just across the Susquehanna bridge).

Pilot Terry Inch will meet us at the airstrip at 3pm.  We'll put the "medic alert" decal on the helicopter door right away, stage the short scene right there on the ground at the McGuiness airport, shoot it, then let them go.

The challenge is this: We only have these guys for one hour starting at 3pm -- and then we lose them.  The actual scene we need to shoot is less than a minute, but we all know how crazy stuff can go wrong. Let's hope the cinema gremlins work WITH us on Sunday.

Sapora: Thanks for loading a good mag with our last can of daylight stock.

Masters: The 3 dialog shots will be shot in close-up... but I have no idea how loud this helicopter will be -- or even if they'll let us shoot a dialog shot with the rotors moving...

Campbell: Bring the black doctor bag... and a green hospital sheet (and something to stuff under the blanket to look like a body)...

I'll plug in battery belt, bring the sticks, slate, and the medic decal.

Hope this is fine with everybody.  Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or concerns...

See you guys on Sunday in Lineboro... And thanks so much... We're getting a lot closer... Promise.

Production Update #47: Tentative Helicopter shoot

Hey, guys. The few... The crazy... The core believers!

Just wanted to let you know, Terry Inch of Dutch Country Helicopters in Lancaster, PA called me this afternoon to say that their R 44 Raven 4-seater helicopter should be cleared for use by the FAA by next weekend (Oct 24-25) (it's undergoing routine maintenance) -- and that weather permitting, they might be available on Sunday afternoon around 2pm for our brief shoot. 

I have found a rural airport near Columbia, PA that might work for the scene, but it is family-owned (there phone has no voicemail) and I’m having difficulty contacting the right folks in order to get permission to shoot there.

Again, this is very tentative, but any chance you might be available...? If not, let me know what other dates might be possible...

VERRRY short -- but essential scene  -- below (It comes at the end of Act 2):

*****

HANDHELD -- CLOSE ON

Helicopter door closing swing to pilot who gives a thumbs up.

TALIA

(shouts over the engine,

pantomimes chest compressions)

I tried. 10 minutes.

PILOT

Are you coming?

TALIA

(struggling to hear)

What?

PILOT

Are you riding with us?

Talia hesitates for a moment before she answers...

TALIA

Can't.  Another patient. I can't leave him...

Talia steps back... and watches the helicopter lift off... She's made her decision. She must stay...

The chopper disappears over the trees, and is gone.



Production Update #46: Tractor Shoot a Success

On Thursday, I screened the dailies from last Saturday’s shoot – and everything looks and sounds terrific. Bill Minor and I loaded up the junker tractor today and returned it to Yingling’s Tractor Salvage… Ugh. A three and a half hour roundtrip from Monkton, MD to Harney, MD and back… This is the sort of task that people never think about when they say they want to be independent filmmakers.  But on a micro-budget project like this, you are the director and the janitor – and everything in between…

But seriously, I want to thank the cast and crew for some great work on location. We raced and somehow managed to get through the entire production schedule before the downpour. A minor miracle. Thanks to:

* Bill Minor for helping us flip over the tractor with his front end loader… and for setting up that tent to keep all the gear dry during those intermittent rain showers.

* Pam Minor for slating with enthusiasm.

* Novia Campbell for running in that wedding dress even after your shoe flipped off. Barefoot through the horse pasture. Very nice.

* Gordon Masters for always having that lav ready to whip out at a moment’s notice.

* Bob Sapora for running downhill on the wet grass for that handheld shot – and not breaking your neck…

Also, a special thanks also to John Stranovsky, a photographer contracted by “Carroll Magazine” to document the shoot. Keep an eye out for an article in “CM” later this fall where I’m sure to look great, covered in mud…

In other news: I think I’ve finally lost the interest of just about everyone who ever wanted to be on the ‘Cinder’ email list.  When I sent out the production update in September – to almost 100 potential production assistants and volunteers – absolutely no one responded. Not a soul. This is the first time this has ever happened... So I think their patience has at long last run out. Obviously, they’re exhausted by the length of the project – and God knows, I don’t blame them – but for no one to respond? Ouch, that hurts! In fact, I might just have to stop sending out those mass emails, if only to reduce my own embarrassment…

But to the “Core Four” (Sapora, Masters, Campbell, Slade) – and the Minors – I thank you for hanging in there, even when the rest of the world has apparently given up on us.…

Let’s hope we surprise them all with a great film...

Production Update #45: Flip the Tractor

I’ve finished cutting everything we shot during our July backcounty shoot… But with all the vacations, illnesses, work and family obligations, it’s been especially hard this year trying to wrangle up folks to help finish the film.  We are so close. 75+ minutes cut.

I know everybody's really busy -- Sapora with his son’s wedding, Slade with his teaching duties, Masters with all the renovations and additions to his castle -- but any chance you guys might be available for a daylight shoot on EITHER Saturday Sept 19 or Sunday Sept 20. I'd like to shoot the tractor accident that day at Bill Minor's farm (in Monkton, MD).

Already confirmed:

* Novia Campbell -- actor

* Bill and Pam Minor – location managers/production assistants

* Jonathan Slade -- director

Yingling's Tractor Salvage outside Harney, MD has graciuosly agreed to loan us a junker Farm-all tractor, and Bill Minor has a 6' X 14' trailer he will loan me, along with his pickup truck to pull it.  Still looking for a come-along to winch the tractor aboard.  I plan to pick the tractor up and deliver it to the Minor farm a day or two before the shoot.

I'd like to get this shot while we still have green trees... (FYI: This is the weekend after Sapora's wedding -- and the weekend before Minor is out of town)...

Hope everyone is well...