Actress Danielle Motley has a nifty new video up which just happens to have scenes from our newest feature film Saturday Night Special. Check it out to see our Danielle shine, and also to catch a glimpse of our newest feature film.
Danielle needed something of a sizzle reel. Just a minute that showcased some of the new footage she was in. So I threw this together. Danielle's an old friend, she's very talented and I'm always willing to help her. Also this gave me the opportunity to play with my own footage.
So here are the 3 goals I have. Finish REDD get it out to it's audience. Finish SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL get it out to it's audience. Put out at least 2 NEW episodes of MONSTER COPS.
Yes that's right. We make our triumphant return to Monster Cops. REDD is on track. Saturday Night Special (or whatever we're calling it) is on schedule. So now we turn our attention to our beloved Monster Cops.
Starting to spread the word again about it, as we're going to start up a Kickstarter soon for it. Check out the newest teaser trailer. I must say I'm rather proud of the graphics at the start and end.
It's always a pleasure to produce something you've been seeing in your head for a while. I've played this visual along with this music in my head for a couple of years now. Here it is.
When I heard the news it made me think of Ridley Scott. For a second I thought to myself "I can't imagine how he feels right now." I quickly realized I can imagine. I know what its like to lose a brother.
And that's how my day started.
I just want to disappear today, but I got shit to do.
I'm trying to be thankful and grateful as things could and have been worse.
I have to think about my friend Andrea. She's going through some medical issues. Going through the hell of waiting on doctors to tell her how bad things may or may not be. I feel for her, her husband and her kids. I truly hope all turns out well.
From that perspective, I've got it pretty good.
I'm in between right now but I foresee a day where I won't be and will never be again.
Yes, I've returned to this blog. I mean how could I stay away? I've been blogging on this thing forever. I'll still have a Tumblr, and I'll most likely cross post what I can from there, but for the most part I'll continue my blogging adventures in movie making on this very blog.
And speaking of movie making here's what's going down.
REDD
Status: Post Production
There are still scenes that need to be shot, and we're trying to coordinate with some of our cast and their schedules. So while we work out any scheduling conflicts there is ALOT to edit. Currently working on editing, Visual FX Editing, Sound Editing, etc. Alot of work, and alot of wait and see as much of the VFX work takes alot of rendering time. Like this scene which I posted for Kickstarter Backers only. Yes that's right, when you support us on Kickstarter you get special treatment and you get to see scenes before anyone else. So suck it. Maybe in the future you'll make a pledge. ;) LOL.
Check out the rough cut of a scene our backers got to see first:
Working on lots more FX shots like that one. And that one still needs a better color correction as well as improved composite shots. That took 2 weeks to put together. Suffice it to say, I'm working my ass off on this one. I'm pushing my Hitfilm skills to the limit, but I am having fun and I can't wait to get this one done.
You may or may not have heard that I was also working on yet another feature film. This is true. I am.
Here's how it all went down.
I was working out details for what my next feature film would be after REDD. I was and still am working out the details with actress Carrie Anne Hunt on shooting a feature film next year, the title of which I will not reveal just yet. But you may already know it if you happen to catch a few hints on my Tumblr (like anyone is that interested in me.)
So that was the plan. But then I did start to entertain the idea of just knocking out a small feature film in between REDD and the next feature. As I was working on all the VFX for Redd, I was really thinking about doing a film that had no VFX at all. Just something simple, performance based, no special editing. Just shoot it, cut it, score it. I mean that was kinda the point of REDD, but then my brain started to go "Hey how do I plus this Sci-Fi Horror Adventure movie?
But with this feature I'd actually stick to the idea of, "Keep It Simple Stupid". I was really looking at John Carpenter's Halloween for inspiration. Simple, creepy, a killer on the loose and characters acting and re-acting to the situation. No huge fx or explosions, just a simple and great flick.
But this feature idea was just going to remain in my brain. Then I got a phone call from my old friend and actress Danielle Motley who is currently in L.A.
It went something like this.
"I'm coming into town. Let's shoot something. Like REALLY shoot something."
I took that as a sign that we should knock this movie out. Danielle would serve as a producer as well as star. I pulled in Amanda Elizabeth to star along side Danielle and act as a second producer. And we went to to work on this thing.
Writing it went pretty quick as I already pretty much had the whole movie figured out, I knew how it started and how it would all end. I spent alot of time watching Halloween 1, 2, and 3. As well as the original Assault on Precinct 13. As I said, John Carpenter is very much my inspiration for the feel of this. I can't guarantee that it'll turn out like a Carpenter film, but that's how I'm shooting it.
In reality, this one's going to have a good amount of goofiness and comedy to it, but there are some gruesome murder scenes we'll be shooting.
We've spent the last week shooting a good chunk of this movie. We look to get it all in the can by mid September.
Here's the basic plot:
Two broke girls hatch a plan to capture a serial killer in order to collect the reward money, and find clues that may lead to a larger conspiracy.
This is my little twist on an 80's slasher flick. There are some very irreverent and quirky scenes. I took some typical 80's horror movie scenes and twisted them a little. I'm simply excited to have a flick that has minimal Computer VFX. Other than color correction and some minor compositing, this movie is pretty straightforward. The only FX we need to worry about are all on set. Real props, real weapons, real blood. Well, real fake blood. In other words no CG blood.
If all goes well, REDD will be completed by October and Saturday Night Special soon after. Enjoy a few of the pics from last weeks shoot.
Look! It's a Monster Cops reunion!
Apparently there are a couple of different movies (recent movies) that are titled Saturday Night Special. So off I go to find another title. Our producer Danielle Motley suggests "Saturday Night Fright." Hmm, maybe.
When you declare to the Universe. When you make your statement about what it is you intend on doing. It's like clockwork that everything that is the opposite of what you're goal is comes into your path. It's necessary. It's the darkness that serves to better outline and define your light.
After all, you can't paint a pretty picture without using dark and contrasting colors.
So when I make my statement, when I declare what it is I'm going to accomplish, and when those inevitable opposites make their way to me, I find that there is almost always an example of inspiration within my sight.
Tonight NASA is headed to Mars. A rover is making it's way to the Red Planet right now. It's a great scientific feat and a quest to for answers about the secrets of Mars and to find possible signs of life. It's a historic event planned and operated by some of the greatest and most ambitious scientific minds in the world. I'm honored to have this occur in my lifetime.
Meanwhile there is a small island where the world's greatest athletes have gathered to compete to the best of there abilities, represent their country, and carry on the tradition of the Olympians. There are great and touching stories of struggle and triumph. To watch an athlete fight their way to the top and win that medal makes me proud to be a human.
It's these events that brighten me. It helps solidify the belief I've always held. As human beings, as strong spirits, as creatures of heart and action, we can and will do anything we set our minds to. Great minds and great bodies are at work achieving greatness and all it says to me is that I can achieve as well.
And so I set out to accomplish my own goals. Right now I'm on my own mission through space. I'm in a marathon racing towards my own gold medal. And I will not quit til I have achieved that greatness. And soon.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Just a heads up. I find myself on Tumblr these days.
I'm trying to blog more about my production work over there, where here I may post more personal matters. We'll see. I hate to completely abandon Blogger as I've been here for years now.
No I'm not actually talking about killing a real baby.
It's the trap that many indies fall into, as well as most any artist starting out. You become so attached to your project that you don't see what needs to be cut out, or you refuse to cut something out because you worked so hard on it, or because you think it's just to awesome to omit.
But you have to.
You have to learn to really look at your work through your viewers eyes and understand that what they're seeing may not match what you are seeing. Sure you may think that long 22 second shot of the horizon you worked so hard to get is just so amazingly beautiful you have to leave it in. But through the audience POV it's a long as 22 second shot that's boring as hell.
You have to consider what moves the story forward. Everything within your movie has got to move the story forward. If it doesn't, cut it out. Learn to understand what may be a potential dealbreaker with the audience. I don't care how beautiful the footage is, how funny, neat, or spectacular YOU think the scene may be, if it's not moving the story along chances are it's boring the hell out of us all.
I bring this up because as I go through what's left to shoot of the script for my feature REDD, I'm noticing things that could be combined, shortened, and tightened up. At the same time I'm going over scenes in editing trying to tighten things up there as well. There is one particular scene that just doesn't work. It's a scene between 3 main characters that is absolutely necessary to the plot. It's exposition that the audience needs to know. It's necessary. And it's boring me to death.
So I cut it and have come up with a new and simpler way to get the info to the audience without them having to stare at three people talking for an eternity (really just 2 minutes, but it felt like so so much longer.)
But there was a time, years ago, when I would have left it just the way it was. I would've thought about how I couldn't possibly cut this out because we worked so hard to shoot this. All the setups, the struggle to deal with the camera overheating, us dealing with the heat, the long trek up and down hill to the location, the actors working hard to remember there lines and perform under heat and pressure. To cut this scene would mean all that work would have been a big waste.
But you have to find a way to push all that aside and stick to that one rule.
IF IT DOESN'T SERVE THE BEST INTEREST OF THE MOVIE, CUT IT.
But too many moviemakers starting out are too afraid to kill their baby.
"It's my creation, my masterpiece, my baby. I couldn't possibly butcher it."
Get over it. You have to.
Ok, so let's not refer to it as killing. You're sculpting. You're molding.
Like an artist chipping away at stone, you're chiseling away all the excess bits to get to the statue underneath. Does that artist pine and sob over every bit of rock he knocks away? No, and neather should you.
If your movie was really a baby, then you as the director have to learn to be a better parent. You're movie in it's earliest stages is just growing. You have to raise it. Mold it, guide it into the fully grown matured movie that it was born to be. Sure it's adorable when the kid runs around in it's diaper holding it's Cabbage Patch Doll (Wow, that's an old reference). Eventually your movie has to grow up.
It's your job to make sure your movie heads out into the real world fully formed minus the diaper and doll. You don't want to put your film out as an unprepared baby movie. What you want is to put out a fully erect adult film.
When I'm not making ridiculous movies about monsters I make ridiculous memes about nothing.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Damn, I really didn't expect for that to knock me down so hard.
Winning Kickstarter was the big plus. But with this mornings events it's obvious I'm very much on my own.
I'm going to spend some time picking myself up off the floor, then I have to make sure this movie is something special. I've got to find the energy to do this, but I just don't have the heart to do free lance work like this anymore.
We're happy to announce that we've added Addy Miller to the cast of REDD.
Addy has appeared in The Secret Life of Bees starring Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah, Blood Done Sign my Name with Michael Rooker and Rick Schroder, and the upcoming Bad Blood with Christian Slater and Jeff Fahey.
Addy's most recognized work is on AMC's 2010 new original series "The Walking Dead," cast as the "Little Girl Zombie" in the pivotal opening scene that set the tone for the entire show.
Check out the Youtube Vid below if you're not familiar.
Since her appearance on The Walking Dead she's become a fan favorite at Horror and Comicbook conventions all over the U.S.
We're very happy to have her on board in an extremely important and pivotal role for our movie.
So excited to shoot her scenes.
If you haven't yet, check out our Kickstarter Campaign. Time is running out and we definitely need your help to finish REDD. Click on the banner below.
And if you haven't yet. Checkout our Kickstarter Video.
And checkout our latest behind the scenes video on some of our Visual FX.
I'm going for it. I've been agonizing over every detail. Made sure we finished the trailer. Put together a good Kickstarter video for it. Made sure the incentives were great. Listed exactly what we needed the money for. Now we've launched. Let's see if we can raise about 5 grand in the next 30 days.
Won't you help us please. Even if you can't pledge, at least watch our video and pass this link along.
