By official count, we had 26 shooting days during production.
I think our earliest call was 7 AM, and our latest shoot went to about 2 AM.
Longest day was around 15 hours and shortest less than an hour. These are not officially recorded, just from memory.
I know we had days with three completely different locations, I'm not sure if we ever did more than that.
Number of times someone was unable to open a locked car door on camera: currently unknown. If I can I'll keep count while editing.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
That's a wrap.
So some people consider a long weekend a weekend where you have an extra day off. Others consider a "long weekend" to be when you have to work that extra day and the two before it. The second definition I believe is how those working on the movie saw this past weekend. Everyone involved in the production over the last few days made an extraordinary effort to complete some of the most challenging scenes in the movie.
Susan and Karen deserve a huge thank you. With a number of our trusty cohorts away for the weekend, they stepped up to build most of the set and props we needed this weekend. Since the portion of the film we shot takes place in outer space, that was no small task. Their contribution didn't end there as they also assisted with makeup and costume while providing food as well. We simply could not have shot what we did without their help.
Nicholas also deserves a big thank you. He was the only individual besides Mike and I who was there for every minute of the shoot. That is a serious commitment. Even when we were running late with last minute production details, he was prompt. I know he had his frustrations and irritations but he never complained. He simply worked ceaselessly and his camera experience was invaluable.
The University of Washington made this weekend possible by allowing us to shoot at one of the UW buildings. Eileen, the graduate student who helped us out in the space, was absolutely indispensible. She enabled so much of what we did, helping people find bits for props or suggesting locations. We really appreciate what she did for us. She was even game enough to come out for a little after-party which was cool.
Space being a rather empty place, we had only one additional actor in over the weekend. Cody did a great job amidst some very adverse circumstances. On a complex shoot, at a rented facility, shooting the final sequences of the movie, it is terrifying to receive an email from your main actor saying he has tonsilitis. I called him on the phone immediately to learn that he was just a few minutes away. He deserves to be commended for standing by his commitment to come film even though he felt miserable. It didn't show during his performance which is impressive because he got to join the long line of actors in the movie who are tied to a chair and tortured. Thankfully, Mike was one of those who'd been in the hot seat before, so they were able to make camaraderie. He also rolled with some new lines given to him the day of shoot and quickly came up to speed with them.
Cody's tonsilitis was one of many near misses and misses this weekend. It figures that the riskiest shoot is also the one that will have more problems than any other on the production. For a number of reasons, we were behind on preparation for this weekend, which is always a recipe for chaos. Most of it was mitigated, but it also meant we couldn't offset any hindrances that did arise. Of course, hindrances decided to arise anyway. The main room we expected to use actually was being utilized, so we had to adjust our set to compensate which was probably our biggest issue. What we came up with actually may be better, so you have to embrace things like that. We had a truly frightening close call when Nicholas's hard drive hit the floor. It did some soul searching but eventually found itself so we were able to continue.
Mike brings so much to the production that is hard to describe, but he brought it. Even when he didn't want to.
To everyone else, actors and otherwise, who have contributed to the production, thank you as well. From the beginning we knew the scale of the project would absolutely push our means. Sensible independent filmmakers would set their film entirely on an abandoned sound stage with only an actor or two. Sure you can make a great movie that way with the right script, but our goal was to make something exciting and different or at least fail miserably trying. We needed all of you to accomplish that (uh, the success part) and it's been fun working with everyone. I know we'll be able to count on your continued help as we start work on sequels 2-7.
This isn't the end of the blog or anything. I'll keep updating as we go through post-production, but this seemed a good time to acknowledge everyone who worked on the production phase.
PS: We finished our main shooting on the movie.
Susan and Karen deserve a huge thank you. With a number of our trusty cohorts away for the weekend, they stepped up to build most of the set and props we needed this weekend. Since the portion of the film we shot takes place in outer space, that was no small task. Their contribution didn't end there as they also assisted with makeup and costume while providing food as well. We simply could not have shot what we did without their help.
Nicholas also deserves a big thank you. He was the only individual besides Mike and I who was there for every minute of the shoot. That is a serious commitment. Even when we were running late with last minute production details, he was prompt. I know he had his frustrations and irritations but he never complained. He simply worked ceaselessly and his camera experience was invaluable.
The University of Washington made this weekend possible by allowing us to shoot at one of the UW buildings. Eileen, the graduate student who helped us out in the space, was absolutely indispensible. She enabled so much of what we did, helping people find bits for props or suggesting locations. We really appreciate what she did for us. She was even game enough to come out for a little after-party which was cool.
Space being a rather empty place, we had only one additional actor in over the weekend. Cody did a great job amidst some very adverse circumstances. On a complex shoot, at a rented facility, shooting the final sequences of the movie, it is terrifying to receive an email from your main actor saying he has tonsilitis. I called him on the phone immediately to learn that he was just a few minutes away. He deserves to be commended for standing by his commitment to come film even though he felt miserable. It didn't show during his performance which is impressive because he got to join the long line of actors in the movie who are tied to a chair and tortured. Thankfully, Mike was one of those who'd been in the hot seat before, so they were able to make camaraderie. He also rolled with some new lines given to him the day of shoot and quickly came up to speed with them.
Cody's tonsilitis was one of many near misses and misses this weekend. It figures that the riskiest shoot is also the one that will have more problems than any other on the production. For a number of reasons, we were behind on preparation for this weekend, which is always a recipe for chaos. Most of it was mitigated, but it also meant we couldn't offset any hindrances that did arise. Of course, hindrances decided to arise anyway. The main room we expected to use actually was being utilized, so we had to adjust our set to compensate which was probably our biggest issue. What we came up with actually may be better, so you have to embrace things like that. We had a truly frightening close call when Nicholas's hard drive hit the floor. It did some soul searching but eventually found itself so we were able to continue.
Mike brings so much to the production that is hard to describe, but he brought it. Even when he didn't want to.
To everyone else, actors and otherwise, who have contributed to the production, thank you as well. From the beginning we knew the scale of the project would absolutely push our means. Sensible independent filmmakers would set their film entirely on an abandoned sound stage with only an actor or two. Sure you can make a great movie that way with the right script, but our goal was to make something exciting and different or at least fail miserably trying. We needed all of you to accomplish that (uh, the success part) and it's been fun working with everyone. I know we'll be able to count on your continued help as we start work on sequels 2-7.
This isn't the end of the blog or anything. I'll keep updating as we go through post-production, but this seemed a good time to acknowledge everyone who worked on the production phase.
PS: We finished our main shooting on the movie.
Photo-photo-photographs
Here's a few photos from the weekend.
Time to build a studio...
Set designer hard at work.
Greenscreen ready to go.
Are those spacepants you're wearing...?
The DP, hand on the tiller of his mighty camera boat.
Heated discussion.
Our most helpful liaison.
Our producer.
Nothing could stop the party.
Time to build a studio...
Set designer hard at work.
Greenscreen ready to go.
Are those spacepants you're wearing...?
The DP, hand on the tiller of his mighty camera boat.
Heated discussion.
Our most helpful liaison.
Our producer.
Nothing could stop the party.
What can anyone hope to achieve that hasn't already been done by The Clash?
I don't know, but these guys will give it a shot.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Overheard on set
Twitter this.
M: I bet Robert DeNiro would be making fun of us for moving weird in these suits.
Bob D: I wore my flightsuit for six months before my Top Gun audition.
J: I thought you didn't get that part.
Bob D: That's how good I am.
M: I bet Robert DeNiro would be making fun of us for moving weird in these suits.
Bob D: I wore my flightsuit for six months before my Top Gun audition.
J: I thought you didn't get that part.
Bob D: That's how good I am.
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