January 2010
46 posts
Heading out for the last night of shooting. Running on about 6 hours of sleep for the whole past weekend. Need to find a last burst of energy somewhere.
Day 5 Wrapped
Hardest, longest day is over. I was personally at the location from 3:30pm to 6:30am. It was rough. There was a major “reformatted card” fiasco which almost led to me having a breakdown. But thankfully, our sound man Barry’s data recovery program did its job, and we got all but one shot back. Probably would have cried otherwise. We shot some great stuff, but we still shot really...
Two more nights left. Need to stay on task and make this worth it.
That being said, thank god for Paul Isakson. Seriously. Dude is saving my ass.
Day 4 Wrapped
Oof. 5:17 am. Heading to bed now. Tonight was not as happy-go-lucky as the first weekend. Tonight was stressful. We didn’t get one of the setups we needed to get, we encountered loads of problems, I kept people way later than I intended to, and I think a couple quick scenes really suffered because of it. The shots we got still look good, I’m just not sure there’s enough, and I...
G&E Help - Saturday 1/30
Hey gang,
Anyone out there up to work with our grip & electric team on Saturday night? We just lost one of our grips and Saturday is particularly busy with lots of rigging and lighting. If anyone has some experience and wants to lend a hand, we’d totally appreciate it. It’s a full night of shooting in downtown LA, but we’re doing some fun FX, blood & gore, plus...
Sent out call sheets for the 2nd weekend. Everyone read em carefully.
This weekend is going to be A LOT harder (and apparently much more expensive) than last weekend. I hope I can get this all done, and at close to the same level as last weekend. It’s definitely going to be a huge challenge.
Trying to nail down the shoot schedule for the 2nd weekend. Looking at really long nights of shooting. At least one 12 hour night. Hoping my cast & crew puts up with it.
Day 3/Weekend 1 Wrapped
Got the actors out 30 minutes late. Skeleton crew is cleaning up. Everything was way better than I expected. Everyone was awesome. More later. Thanks to everyone who helped out so far.
Day 2 Wrapped
About 10 minutes ahead of schedule too. No big deal. Tomorrow: the bloodshed begins.
First Night Wrapped
It was pretty amazing. Weather held up. We went later than I wanted. Footage looks beautiful. Five more days to go.
OK here we go…
Follow the Production on Twitter!
I’m going to force my producer Michael to “livetweet” production stuff from his iPhone. So follow it over at our Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/irrationalfilms. Hopefully every post won’t be “This director of ours needs to hurry the hell up.”
Cast read through/wardrobe testing was a success. The funny lines sounded funny, the energy is getting there, and everyone is still eager and on board. Was a good end to a hectic and nerve-racking day. Two more days til shooting (holy shit).
This is hands down the hardest I’ve had to work on anything I’ve done. The most I’ve had to spend. Some of the stuff is going right, some of it is going wrong. I’m four days from shooting but I wish I were more like ten. I’m trying to quell my anxieties and focus on getting what I can get done taken care of. I may have lost my lighting package deal. I am spending more...
When I was describing the plot of my short this weekend to a horror saavy person, he goes “Sounds like Night of the Demons & Return of the Living Dead.” Which is cool and right on track with what I’m going for.
WatchMAKING DOWNSIZED
In an effort to psych myself up for the shoot coming up next week, I went back and looked at the Behind the Scenes featurette I cut for Downsized. It was on the DVD so some people saw it, but I never put it online. I decided to upload it.
NOTP is 10x bigger than Downsized in every respect, which makes me really nervous but also pretty excited. Gotta go bigger with every project...
All right rain. We’re cool, for now. Just get this out of your system by Friday, please.
Playing Dead →
Everyone should check out this web series, directed by none other than Ted Raimi. Suzanne Keilly, who wrote & stars in this, is doing a little role in Night of the Punks, which I’m really excited about. Enjoy!
Bought some more supplies for set building, which is happening on Monday (in honor of MLK). I’m looking forward to it. Still nervous about the rain, but trying to avoid thinking about it and prepare for everything as best I can. At least the 1st weekend is mostly indoors.
Agenda: More shot planning, testing out the foam rubber/spraypaint situation, FX meetup Sunday, more planning, set...
Shooting starts in one week. I am totally confident about the elements that I have control over. The things I can’t control (weather, flaky people, etc)… are another story. But I’ll just cross my fingers and hope for the best.
Feeling confident about my scheduling of the first weekend. Secured a production sound person. Drafted call sheets for the first weekend. Listening to the “demos” for the fictional band in the movie and loving em.
Grip & Electric Needed (1/22-1/23)
Anyone interested in working on our crew as a Grip & Electric on Fri 1/22 and/or Sat 1/23?
Need someone with some experience rigging lights, cables, etc (or else my DP will say no). These days are actually fairly easy and not too labor intensive, so we’re seeking someone willing to work unpaid. Which I’m aware sounds incredibly lame, but it’s the unfortunate truth.
Friday...
Fake wood paneled walls, hollow core doors, plastic tarps, spray paint, cases of soda/bottled water, Costco sized boxes of snacks, paper towels, and 2 1.5 TB external hard drives. It’s been an expensive day.
1 AM Scheduling Headache Questions
If the sun sets at 5:20pm at the latest on any given shoot night, is 7pm going to be dark enough for shooting night scenes?
Should I actually get a permit for shooting on the sidewalk/street in front of the bar (note: the place is deserted at night)?
Or just stick with shooting handheld and risking it (if a cop shuts us down I’m pretty much screwed)?
Is ten minutes enough time to rig up...
Production Starts in 2 Weeks
Fourteen days to get a month’s worth of things prepared. Yikes. Spending all weekend scheduling out this shoot and hoping it can all fit into a 6 day shoot. Cannot get distracted. Only contact me if it’s NOTP-related. Thanks.
Crew: Production Sound
Know anyone who does production sound and owns their own gear? We’re looking for a one-man-band with gear to run sound on our set. I set aside a budget for a sound person - $100 a day. 6 day shoot. Two weekends at the end of the month (1/22-1/24, 1/29-1/31). If you know anyone who might be interested and willing to work for that rate, please have them get in touch with me at...
A Few Major Props Needed!
Busy busy busy with pre-production. I’m still looking for a couple key props, if you or anyone you know has something they can provide, get in touch with me by emailing: driesser@gmail.com.
PROP - SHITTY ELECTRIC GUITAR - Any kind will do, the more busted up the better. The guitar will not be destroyed or get bloody in any way so I can return it to you in the same shape. Looking for...
Shooting at the end of the month. Too much left to do.