Moving along

This week was a very productive week for my group. Wednesday night we got the video shot and I have begun the editing process. Since I had so many people volunteer to help with the shoot, it moved along quickly and we managed to get it all shot in one night. I was really surprised because I was worried that the "too many cooks in the kitchen" effect would become a factor, but turns out everyone was a huge help and I don't know what I would've done without them. Now my job is to finish the editing and get it ready to be shown as a rough-cut.

Up and Moving

Well we finally got filming on Wednesday and Thursday. Everything went well. Once we saw eye to eye on the character it all went smoothly. Thanks to Desiree (Sorry if I spelled it wrong), I was able to get an amazing dog for the shooting. I'm glad the other one didn't work out. I'm a little worried about one shot but if I have to reshoot it I'll just have to reshoot it. I'm also concerned about the webcam shots. I just don't know how smooth they have to be. The shots we have are pretty choppy so I'm a little worried how they'll translate in the sequence. The music is still up in the air for me. I don't really know what kind of music I'm wanting yet. Everything should come together soon. I guess it has to by next Monday anyway.

On another topic I got in contact with my audio member Ben. He was wanting to come and watch on Thursday but something ended up coming up where he couldn't make it. It was cool having someone so interested in getting experience to where he would just come and stand around and watch. Hopefullly things keep progressing as they have. If it does everything will be pretty easy.

Well... I guess that's all I have to say...Bye.

Squeaky hedgehog.

Done filming, have been since... Wednesday? Yeah, Wednesday. I've captured and started piecing together the footage while the person assisting me with editing has been unable to meet up. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far, although we do have to reshoot one teeny tiny thing due to a wardrobe foul-up. Oh well.

Editing should continue/almost be complete by Tuesday, other than the reshoot and any others that might pop up. I'm relatively confident that the finished product will be good, although in comparison to what I've heard/read from the other directors, I'm wondering how my film will stack up to the others. I'm not using HD, or a high amount of filters/gels/artistic symbolism yada yada yada. I don't really care about those sorts of things either. Call it minimalist, call it crap... I figure as long as myself, my actors, and my crew like our final product, I'm a happy girl.

More Frustrations

I'm having a super frustrating, ridiculously difficult time getting together with my partner for this project.  We've met only twice to talk (one of those juts for a few seconds).  Those meeting took a few weeks to set up and went through a few cancellations on her end.   And then we were all set to shoot this Saturday. We had the audio group set up and I got the equipment.  Then she finds out last minute that she has to do LA showcase rehearsal during that exact time.  I just...have no idea what to do.   Our week days don't work out (at least in the morning at all).  They seem to match up at the exact wrong times.  Her days next weekend are booked for more theater show stuff.    

This is seeming impossible and is making me hate and fear the "new email" sound on my computer.

fanatical!

We just finished shooting everything. Everything. We stayed up until 3:30am Friday night, then had a 7am call this morning. Just got finished about an hour ago. Two hours of sleep. I don't feel it though. At all.

Our actress was amazing, and Cody was very good too. We went handheld on most of the project, because the characters deserve the look. I have a steady hand too.

Have you ever mixed chicken hearts and gizzards, fur and fake blood together? Yeah, it's pretty awesome if you want to emulate someone tearing a creature apart.

I'll start editing next weekend. I'm tired now. And cold. But we'll have a great film. In fact, a fanatical film.

The Grind

The good news is that me and Geoff are on the same page with damn near everything.  We've got our actress lined up.  Storyboards are almost finished.  I have/had an amazing location lined up (granted a couple hours away, but a vacant, run-down/creepy dormitory fit perfectly) and am still waiting on permission/security clearance to film on location--it is at a military training facility.  It's a process, sure...but if it takes much longer, we'll be forced to move on to secondary locations.  So, we're searching for an alternate location.  I've done some experiments in After Effects on test shots...getting close to creating the look and (especially) the FX I want.  Also did some research in the audio world...my lips are sealed but we've got a neat little project going that will amp up the effectiveness of the film.  Finishing up final storyboards and building a list of sound FX for the audio kids to start work on.  The hope was to begin filming by the end of the week...the location waiting game is dangerous, and, to be honest, worries me.  It's a two-edged blade: if we get it, the atmosphere it provides will be worth the wait, but if not, we will have pushed back production a few precious days for nothing. 

Killing me slowly...

Well, pre-production for me has been quite a bit of work. I love collaborating with different individuals for projects. However, I wish that not every actor would question my ability to direct. I like people voicing their concerns; but damn yo'. Give a gal some room to breathe a wee bit. The actor that I found for the other character has been dismissed from the project, due to too many schedule conflicts. Therefore, I didn't want to bullshit around anymore. I have already found an actor to replace her. Things should be well on there way once I get in contact with the audio crew. After that, hopefully my drama on this end will be over. Thank god I don't have to edit with anyone. Christ. As far as my actor from Dwandra's class, I couldn't ask for more patience.