All is well!

On MLK day my co producer and I met up with our other actor and worked through the script. Both of them contributed a lot to specific decisions we could make to develop the mood of the film such as possible music ideas, wardrobe, and characterization choices. We also blocked out the script so we would be prepared for filming.
We started filming on Saturday and it went surprisingly well. We're a crew of newbies in respect to producing narrative films, so I was a little worried about the things that may come up that we wouldn't have thought of, but so far so good. I was also really grateful that things worked out with our audio team from 330. Both guys were extremely helpful and gave some great suggestions as far as camera angles, set design, and lighting.
Hopefully on Tuesday night we'll be finishing up filming, and I can only hope that it goes so well...

Actors Kan't Reed

I've added a small role which is being played by a kindergardener. I've shot with her a little bit and it is a lot funner than it sounds. She can't read yet but that's a minor obstacle, so far. The dog has been more difficult.

Scheduling has been a nightmare. My partner is involved with both the New York and the L.A.
We haven't been able to shoot on weekends yet because of her commitment to that. To top it off I had to go and write a kid into the picture. Her parents don't get home from work 'till 5pm and her she has to be done by 8pm. So there's about a 2 hour window to shoot. The family has been absolutely wonderful and I'm learning a lot from them about directing.

So, scheduling sucks but it sound like I'm having an easier time than Tori.

Keep going guys,
Andy

Still in pre-production

I'm still having a problem getting together with my co-producer.  She's been really busy with the show she's in and everything else she's doing.  We're most likely going to be meeting this Monday to really talk in depth about everything we want for the project.  I've been in contact with an audio team, so at least there's that.  They're trying to work out their schedules with our schedules and we'll try to make something work.  We're most likely going to be filming this upcoming weekend, on Saturday.  We also might film a bit on Sunday night if we need more and then after that we'll see how it goes.   

Pre-Production Continues

I am still trying to set everything up to make sure the day of shooting rolls without any flaws, or as few as possible. My partner in the acting class is quite busy with a show that she is in, which is making it more difficult to lock down a solid shooting date. I imagine I will have it set by Tuesday. I spent most of this weekend acquiring props and testing some techniques that I plan to use. My plan is to go black and white, as a nod to Hitchcock, but then leave red as an active color. Just about every shot will contain an important item that is red. I tried this out using FCP and it looks pretty good. I have even found a way to keep something that is somewhat red in the shot, that should be black and white, to become black and white. I also did some experimentation with lighting for some of the night scenes. All in all, I'm a little worried about getting started, but once we lock down the filming dates, I should be alright.

Production under way

Production is finally under way with my crew. We accomplished more than expected last night with filming. We plan on filming all day this coming Saturday, with pick up shots reserved for Sunday morning. My partnered actress, Meg, has been wonderful to work with and has put forth many great ideas. Scheduling is still the main conflict, but if we continue to put forth the same effort next weekend as we did yesterday, we should have no problem producing a professional piece. Hope everyone's productions go well.

I've been working my ass off on the pre-production of this short. It's completely visualized in my head, and I just sat down and did complex storyboards and a very nice shot list. We're not going linear at all with this script, and it's very very stylized and high-pace. I'm going for a very strange feeling, a combination of Youtube's cheapness and 16mm film's over-saturated scariness.

We're holding a rehearsal on Thursday, and shooting Friday night, and Saturday all day. Sunday is available for pickup shots. It should honestly be a great time, and I'm very excited to get this short shot. I'm even more excited to edit it, because that's where my true art comes into play.

Miscommunication

The planning has been going fine but a miscommunication between Michael and me has set us behind and now dogless. If anyone has a dog that they would be willing to have in a movie it be great. We had one but Michael thought I was going to get back to him and tell him if we were shooting Wednesday or Thursday when I was planning on filming Wednesday and Thursday. No filming was done either day. So, again, if anyone knows a dog....