MAKING GAYLON!

01/01/07 - FINISHED!!!!!!!

2007-01-01T21:25:00.000Z

THAT'S A WRAP! That's it....Gaylon Peglegg Part I - Exorcist....is finished. Music, editing, colour treatments, audio mix...all of it...done done done. And if I do say so myself...it's PHENOMENAL! Better even than I though it was while putting all the THOUSANDS of elements together. If you have been keeping up to date on this production as I know many of you have, you will know this has been an at times a MAMMOTH piece. It may only be a half an hour show, but the many elements, styles, FX's, techniques etc have all been a valuable experience in filmmaking. I look back now and see how far I personally have come as a filmmaker....this has been 6-8 months in the works and the quality really does show. I established this blog for one main purpose..and that is an example to fellow filmmakers that things CAN be done differently. Things do not HAVE to be done in the "industry" way. YOU can make a film, if you have the eye for it, and the heart for it...and most importantly...the PASSION for it. So for all fellow film-makers out there, please allow me to sum up the overall point of this blog.

While making this piece, which even in rough forms has turned heads already, I and my colleagues have 1) Held down 9-5 day jobs 2) Set up an official production company 3) Shot and completed a music video 4) Shot and completed a documentary for a major TV company 5) developed a script and agenda for a self financed feature 6) Pitched, accepted, and been commissioned for SEVERAL documentaries for a major US, Internet and soon to launch on Sky Documentary TV company 7) Pitched and got green light to take further TWO feature film proposals for a major film production company...as in like, for cinema and DVD release (!) 8) Had our personal lives going all over the place...and 9) Developed more concepts to start in pre-production on.

AND ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE STARTING GAYLON PEGLEGG! And more! So, point being..if you want to make films...if you REALLY want it, with passion, drive, and dedication...then you CAN do it while holding down a "normal" bill paying life. This piece will now allow us to take forward the ideal of making it in the TV and Film Industry, which i salready WELL underway for 2007 without this piece...so it's all better with it!

But the most importnat thing about Gaylon Peglegg....is my god...it's fucking funny! Now it's time to get it out there...festivals, prodcution companies, competitions..and firstly...a screening for all cast and crew and friends...one provately, and one publicy....coming REAL soon. The film may be finished, but the fun is about to start. Fuck me. Did all this really happen?! See you at the movies folks!

28/12/06 - 99.9%

2006-12-28T21:28:00.000Z

Folks....been cracking away on so many other projects of late.....Gaylon Peglegg is 99.9% complete. I just have to finalise the music score and it shall be unleashed onto the world. Back real soon I promise......

03/12/06 - MAKING OF....

2006-12-03T23:44:00.000Z

Wow! This is a real treat for me and I trust a real treat for anyone out there who has been following the making of this film! Well...the time is ALMOST upon us when we let Gaylon from his cage onto the world...but until then there is one last piece of pre-release wonder for you. A HUGE big up to the man, the legend....Theo Garvey as he has edited for us a fantastic 14 minute Making Of Gaylon Peglegg show which is ready for you to download NOW at my website at www.ricardolacombe.com. You will find it in the Downloads section. Theo has taken HOURS of behind the scenes footage, outtakes, EXCLUSIVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE clips from the show, and original interview footage shot exclusively fro this Making Of. His dedication and commitment are inspiring and I urge you to check out his website at http://theoeffects.blogspot.com where you can read about his awesome new film Plague World which is currently shooting. I've seen some footage and it's even better than his previous directorial masterpiece The Purgers.
So, it's with great pleasure that I can release some more Gaylon material before the film itself, and to all those out there who keep asking about the show, I thank you for your interest as always and can't wait to get this baby out there. This is great for me also because I get to look on the Gaylon Material with a fresh pair of eyes, seeing how someone else interprets and puts together the visuals. And not to mention we had a BLAST doing the interviews, as you will see! This will really give you a glimpse into the filmmaking world and show just HOW we made this film...dnd more to the point...WHY! Kiss The Ring!

30/10/06 - GAYLON LIVES AGAIN!

2006-11-30T23:55:00.000Z

Geez...what a busy time! Apologies for lack of posts but myself and my Troika+ buddies been busy! (See www.ricardolacombe.com for details!). Anyway....post production has begun again on Gaylon which is about 95% finished and WILL be seen by the end of the year....what a lovely Christmas Present for us all!
I do have some exciting news for you all, Gaylon Worshippers. Our good buddy and Gaylon Devotee...Theo Cane Garvey has agreed to make the Making Of for Gaylon Peglegg. Footage has been compiled and tonight we shot interview segments with Lee and Myself for the piece, including an unexpected return to the screen of Gaylon himself!
This is going to be so cool and Theo will have all the footage needed to turn in a masterful Making Of...film. I thank him for that and can't wait to see what his editing talents come up with! And all in bewteen shooting his new movie too...Plague World (I'm excited again!)...check out his page at: http://www.theoeffects.blogspot.com/ to see some shots and promo material for his new film.
And my second announcement is that this Making Of film will be placed on my website at www.ricardolacombe.com EXCLUSIVELY for download when it is completed (with Theo being a film-a-holic like myself this will probably be online real real soon...but you'll have to wait!). So as soon as it is ready and complete you will be able to watch an awesome Making Of show made exclusively for download to you all. Keep watchin and praying...he's getting close now! And as this will likely be up before you see the film it will contain some EXCLUSIVE shots and footage from the show itself! Kiss The Ring!

29/10/06 - TITLE SEQUENCE ONLINE NOW!

2006-10-29T23:59:00.000Z

GREAT NEWS!...After much much much demand from Gaylon fans out there, I have decided to put the Title Sequence from the show online at www.ricardolacombe.com. See the Downloads section and you can watch it RIGHT NOW! This was an easy enough edit as the footage was so awesome. The biggest challenge was getting 25 minutes of cool footage down to 51 seconds! Man, i hate to lose cool footage...so will likely go onto the Making Of section on the DVD! Always wanting to offer tips on how I do things to anyone interested, the process for me was to chop up all my footage in to the shots that had seomthing dynamically exciting about them. I followed the tone and pace of the music track to define the visuals...so as it starts off slower I was happier to use more drawn out shots. The visual effects on the other hand...well, that would be a whole wesite on it's own to teach! You gotta just find out what tools you need, pay for em, and then spend years learning em! Sorry guys...would love to explain more!

28/10/06 - DAY FIVE SHOOT - IT'S A WRAP!

2006-10-28T23:59:00.000+01:00

Ladies and gentleman...today was the FINAL day of Gaylon Peglegg shooting...with re-shoots, green screen, pick ups, and new material!
A highly enjoyable day and I now have ALL the footage I need to complete this madness of a project! And what a really cool days work! For starters today let me big up the dudes involved. Lee was on fine form today (is he ever not?!) in his main role and nursing a cold he marched on and did his thing, getting in the spirit and giving us mere peasants something to marvel at with his genius performance! In public too...more in a moment on that! Secondly was the return of Emma Greaves! A true star. She attended to re-shoot the continuity issue ridden scene in which she begs Gaylon to perform an exorcism on her daughter. Now in a previous post I discussed the power of alcohol to put her in the loose frame of mind to open up the acting. (I, by the way, am a non-drinker. Not a drop!). Emma however surpassed herself today and required no such liquoring up! Well done to her and very impressive! The poor girl was made to look distraught again, and turned in another brilliant performance to cap off her involvement in Gaylon. She is a welcome Troika+ member!
Also, Amanda was on hand to help out on crew duties, with some great On Location shots as you see on this very page! Well done and a big round of applause Amanda!
Ruth, tireless crew member as always, was also on hand to back up the images you will see in this fine film....and was today the perfect hostess as always!
And also returning was Theo Garvey....to generally help out and jump in on some footage too!
Always a pleasure to have this guy around...very talented and enthusaistic....sporting a WICKED J-Style haircut....and showing us his latest movie The Purgers...which FUCKING ROCKS! (See http://theoeffects.blogspot.com. Do it NOW!)

Oh...and I did some things too..you know...cameras and directing and stuff...you know...little stuff! (!!!!) So we bagged some Green Screen footage for inserts today. Anyone out there who is comfortable with After Effects etc, let me explain what I did. I shot Lee just fooling around so that could lay him OVER the transitions between scenes....just pop him on with some motion blur from edge of screen, doing something funny...and zip him off again. Just thought this would be some added entertainment for the viewer...and pack in some more laughs...while showcasing technical ability too!

Then we re-shot the scene with Emma which was neeeded due to technical (ie WEATHER) issues before. See above for details.....she turned in a greta performance which will be really cool on screen. I thank Emma from my heart for her work on this project and she will return to the screen again folks!
Then, the highlight of todays shoot. I wanted to craft a title sequence for the show and we had ideas for cop style running, and jumping etc. Now I had no desire to storyboard it. I knew the kind of shots we wanted and most of it relied on Gaylon out in public. Crowd reactions etc.
So we took to Sheffield City Centre to show them the power of Gaylon! Lee in full garb running, jumping and skipping his way through Sheffield Centre! The poor devils! What a blast this was with some BRILLIANT spontaneous work and shots. Really sweet looking too!
A note to all fimmakers reading this...there is nothing wrong with just picking the damn camera up and going to shoot sometimes! Some filmmakers do this exclusively (not me I may add!) and I can hands down say we would not have got the footage and shots this cooly if we had planned and boarded the stuff. So I have 15 minutes of really cool footage to pick and choose and work in to 1min 20secs title sequence to the theme I wrote. Awesome!
And a big HELLO to St Johns Ambulance Crew. While hanging round some of Sheffield's public events on near The Crucible a charming Ambulance lady asked who we were, what we were filming and would we know how to get help for them to film some free promotional charity stuff. I put them in the direction of a good resource to help and in return they let us shoot Gaylon mesing round in the ambulance they had...and they even suggested he could steal their CPR Test Dummy...which he did and looked great. And one really cool guy even stepped up to some acting, throwing Gaylon out of the ambulance! Briilaint! Thanks guys! Will DEFINITELY use the shots for the title sequence!
We even did a Ghostbusters style run through the crowds shot in busy shopping area which looked cool. And jumping off walls, myself doing a cameo as gaylon forces me to kiss the ring (great fun!), and an underground car park fight and robe pull up shot with Theo (again, cool cameo for the titles!). I would have loved a cameo from Ruth, but I don't think she was ready for the glamour of it all yet! Next time.

And finally today some small, slow paced, dolly style shots for a montage segment that replaces the orginally grander Congregation scene. This was adpated last minute. IF READERS HAVE NOT GRAPSED THIS YET, SEEING AS THOUGHT THIS IS FINAL DAYS SHOOT REPORT I WILL SAY IT AGAIN....ADAPTABILITY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS! Be prepared, in filmmaking and life in general, to adapt to whatever is needed, or suitable, at any time. We had planned some shots of Gaylon in bars, or busstops etc, but quickly adapted this to a Gaylon at home segment, with Lee on toilet, brushing teeth, and ironing ...and so on. And it will be FAR better as a whole than the unlinked shots I had originally planned. Will include some CG news headlines in shot, so i shot everything to side of frame to make way for them later. more on that as it happens.
So all in all, a great days work. Something different. More spontaneous (and so more funny!) and some awesome footage. Which I better crack on putting together! about 70% done on the whole film now, with this wrap on photography, so head down, coffee on, and lets get to it. The self imposed deadline looms......that's a wrap on filming though! But Gaylon WILL ride again!

Oh....and by the way...did I mention.....I FUCKING LIVE FOR DAYS LIKE THESE!
And got to see The Purgers too!

27/10/06 - ALMOST FINISHED

2006-10-27T17:16:00.000+01:00

Gaylon Peglegg production sees the final day of shooting tomorrow with pick ups, re-shoot on one small scene (due to bad weather continuity issues) and the title sequence of the show.
This will be a masterclass in guerilla filmmaking as although style, shots and ideas are flowing for months now, the cutting edge feel will come from improvised shoots in public places with crowd reactions a plenty.

I have a final date I am working to the finished product which is 12/11/06. After this Troika+ memebers are heavily involved in an intense 2 week music video competition organised by South Yorjshire Filmmakers Network, so I dont want the 2 overlapping.

Full report on the end of Gaylon Peglegg: Episode I after the weekends activities (and some more pictures).

16/10/06 - PUKING TASTIC!

2006-10-17T00:10:00.000+01:00

OK, this is like the coolest and worst thing!
Amanda came round to help record some voice overs for the end scene of the film. I had always intended to emulate The Exorcist by layering up several voices coming ftom the possessed girl. Male, female, all kinds of effected voices (sounds great by the way!).....and so Amanda came round to help record a couple of laters.
Only, I think I pushed too hard. She's not the biggest of women and to push her tiny throat like I was doing (and I hurt from it!) is a mean feat. And she went hell for leather! Really pulling out some let loose crazy demon groans and screams (if my neighbours are reading...fuck you...you make enough noise of your own!).....and then.....unnanounced.....she puked. No joke. She pushed her voice so damn hard, messing with throat muscles that only a demon would...and puked. White, gloopy, puke.
Now....is there a lesson by my grossing you out? Damn right there is....Amanda Tyson is a dedicated, amazing, committed (should be) individual. As if dressing up as a demonic possession case was not enough for several gruelling hours on set, she now forces her performance to the point of vomitting during ADR work! Crazy woman! Thanking you Amanda. You are a true star and mad woman. I apologise for your puking.

16/10/06 - EFFECTS SHOT COMPLETED!

2006-10-17T00:02:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note to say that after 4 weeks (count em!) I have finished the largest of the visual effects shots for Gaylon Peglegg....the infamous Kiss The Ring shot. After many gruelling (yet ultimately fun...go figure!) hours of rotoscope madness, I have added final visual effects, motion blurs, composite elements and sound effects....and it's a beautiful shot! And funny too! However, it was also a VALUABLE learning curve for me..and I would like to pass on a tip for anyone in my position who is able to produce their own digital effects work, but has not really let loose on a major piece yet....THINK HARD! You may be able to do a shot, and know all the techniques, as I did. But have you really judged the time involved? This shot will be real high point and legendary shot, of a quality not seen in this budget of film (fact!)....but it did takes it toll.. On the deadline (pushed back further than I wanted) AND my health! Too many hours in front of the screen will mess you up. I was eating in the car on way home just to get more time in to bag this shot. Crazy but true. Good friends willing to come round an cook for me so I can stay glued to After Effects, or thoughtful enough to help out with wake up calls so I can get up for work in a morning! Thank you all.....I can't wait to unleash this shot on the world of independent film! See what CAN be done!

01/10/06 - ROTOSCOPE HEADACHES!

2006-10-01T17:50:00.000+01:00

For anyone who doesn't know the techniques of film FX, let me introduce you to a process that will cause your eyes to pop out, your head ache and your mind to explode! Rotoscoping. And any rotoscopers out there will know exactly what I am talking about. It is without a doubt one of the slowest most challenging elements of special digital FX work.
Let me explain, relative to this show. In one shot Gaylon moves along a semi-circle of youth offenders and performs a holy baptism, Gaylon style, by inviting them to each "Kiss The Ring" in turn. As each one kisses the ring the script calls for Holy Light to be surround them, or a beam of holy light as their head throws back and they become tranced.

This was all shot on the day 3 shoot and I knew the technique I would be using was Rotoscoping.
In order to place an effect BEHIND the foreground elements (in this case, Gaylon and the youth offenders) I must first make what is known as a Mask, or Travelling Matte. This involves creating a cut out shape around an element so you can put fx elements BEHIND it, or cut it out to place over other things.
See the screenshots for what I am talking about. Each element must be masked out so it remains untouched by the effects after, in the case of these screenshots you wil see that the current mask is that of Gaylon's right sleeve. Each mask is made up of many many points, or nodes. This means that for each frame of film you must re-position the dots to make the shape fit.
Now in the case of say, a square shape or something basic, you can use what is called keyframe animation...where you can set the start point, and the end point...and the software will fill in the gaps. This may need some tweaking to make it match properly but is reasonably quick.....but not in something like this. The sleeve for example is made of cloth and the action in the shot is fast, so it moves shape CONSTANTLY, which basically means I need to pretty much hand place the dots on every single frame of the shot. Now......figures......24 frames of film per second....and this shot is around 11 seconds long......so, I am hand animating the Mask Shape over 264 frames. And this can range from a quick move as the camera slightly moves (remember this HAND HELD CAMERA, so it moves ALL THE TIME!)....or could be as complex as the cloth shape moving so much you essentially need to redraw the shape from scratch.
I have completed the one sleeve after HOURS of work. I now need to start maksing the other elements (like the rest of Gaylon in foreground, or the peoples heads and torsos etc in the mid ground). THEN, and only then can I start to introduct the light beam effects behind them.

LONG LONG LONG work...and the reason it is taking longer is the fact that it has to be super accurate. i wil not use a quick fix technique that you may or may not see flaws in...it has to right...100%. And also bear in mind that on a major movie, the job of rotoscoping would be performed by a whole department, taking shots each...and still take months and months. Ricardo Lacombe....One Man Visual Effects Crew....and feeling like it! Onwards.....later folks!

24/09/06 - GREEN SCREEN VOODOO

2006-09-24T23:19:00.000+01:00

Heh readers.....a quick update on some shooting I just did only hours ago. My good friend and fine actress Karolyn came round to my place to shoot a green screen (ok ok...Chromakey for you budding filmmakers!) section for the film.

This was where Gaylon's mother, a voodoo priestess, appears in the clouds (in footage already shot) and will instruct him.

I knew this was always going to be a green screen job.
The kit (if interested) is a poratble kit bag packup of two spring released stands and 4 poles that all fit into a handy sized carryable kit bag. Combined with the cloth itself it can reach heights of about 12 feet and length of about 18 feet...ideal for most situations.
However....todays post is more to do with improv.
I was not expecting to do this shoot tonight as did not have correct lighting to hand (to sufficiently light the green screen effectively). However, the actress was fired up to do it and who am I not to reward enthusiasm!

So, dont have lighting...what's wrong with an Ikea spotlight and normal room Halogen lights?
Don't have white face paint for bone style lip paint....I am sure toothpatse mixed with water and applied with a chop stick will do the job?!

Dont have "crew" to hold reflectors...come on guys...your sofa will surely do it!

So...basically....a lesson in on the fly, quick set up, imroved Green Screen filming. So before you go rent that studio, those lights, and those crew.....have another think.....!

And a HUGE thanks to Karolyn for some killer work and getting into the Gaylon spirit! Brilliant work!

14/09/06 - CHOP CHOP

2006-09-14T16:17:00.000+01:00

A decision has been made to chop a scene altogether, but as this is a harsh decision I would like to explain some things to anyone who may have this issue: RUNNING TIME!!!!
We were quite sure up front on this project that this needed to run at 30 minutes or under, in order to fit the mould of a TV Sitcom. Even though this is actually a hybrid between film and TV. That is part of the uniqueness of it.
So I had scripted 5 scenes of 5 minutes or so each, allowing time for titles etc. But on rough, but tight edit of the 4 completed scenes, the running time was looking to rise to maybe 35 minutes if we included the scene still to shoot as written.
We looked at chopping the scene down, or making it a different kind of scene, but all options would still push the running time.
So after much consideration, we felt it would jepordise the whole show to simply shoe something in that would a mere shadow of the original intention.
So.....away it went. The gags involved were not story specific anyhow so always had options with this area.
I should point out that the scenes shot so far could not be cut down further without affecting them drastically. I could maybe shave 5 or 10 seconds here and there with some ultra tight, clever edits. But why bother! James Cameron had the best idea. Before Titanic, when studios were fearful of 3 hours or more running time, whenever he had to cut down his epics to smaller size, the advice he gave was not to try and cut little things here and there....go for a complete sub plot or element that can go entirely.
This is what we have done here.
However, we needed SOMETHING as there needs to be a time difference (pointed out by the ever keen Ruth!) so we need something to merely break the two scenes open a little.
A montage style segment with Gaylon in various different amusing locations will be in place, showing Gaylon's daily life (thus adding to the character) AND also some local newspaper spinning headlines and papers to build some time between scenes.
The first will follow on from the scene just watched...some grander linking ones in between...and finish on a headline that sets up the next scene.
So this will form a very visually exciting, very short, but VERY useful 2 minute or so segment that will serve far better in this form than the original intened scene.

06/09/06 - HOW RUDE!

2006-09-06T22:35:00.000+01:00

Ladies and Gentleman....film fans....Gaylon fans......Jester fans......anyone out there who finds this should know......

I am humbly apologising for the worst case of "taking for granted" I have ever commited.

I would like to sincerely and publicly apologise to Troika+ member, RUTH CIVICO-CAMBELL for failing to mention her fine work in my last post (Day Four Shoot).

I wish to inform everyone here that this was a drastic oversight on my part. I was so involved in the work and the write up and those IN FRONT of the camera, I commited the crime of not mentioning the most iimportant member of crew that night. Ruth Civico-Cambell.

I am truly sorry for this and an apology after the fact in no way can make up for taking her work for granted in my mind and not giving her the big up and shout out she so VERY VERY VERY much deserves for her work on Saturday.
Keen readers will know I have spoken highly of Ruth in past entries and I should have made much of her exceptiona work on Saturday's shoot.
This was even AFTER reviewing footage which on several occassions (and I have video proof of this) it was RUTH and not I that is heard saying "hang on, we have something in the way of the light" or "wait a second, there's a reflection in the mirror" etc etc.
So what did, atfer getting pizza in, creating a hospital environment in her own home (which we covered in blood and apple juice), and some exceptional boom mic work...AFTER all of that, she has saved several shots for me, and saved potentially hours of work in removing objects that I did not see on the night.

So, in a very humble apology to her, I would ask....ladies and gentleman....would you please give a massive round of applause to mask my shame and embarrassment....for The Rude Girl herself, tamer of The Jester, owner and keeper of The Ginger Zoo......

.....Ruth Civico-Cambell.

I bow down and fall on my sword in humble apology.

03/09/06 - DAY FOUR SHOOT!

2006-09-03T12:30:00.000+01:00

Last night was a late late late night shoot, and the longest shooting period (of constant work) that I have ever done. It was also, by far, the most rewarding in terms of the footage we bagged! So many things to mention of note.
Firstly, and without doubt the star of tonights work was Theo Garvey, the upcoming special make-up effects GENIUS!! Everyone out there, watch that name, Theo....Garvey.....as this young guy is sure to go FAR in his field. To be at the level of skill he is at his age and experience is stunning and I get excited thinking where this Make-Up Wizard is gonna go in the future.
He spent much time hanging on set as we had to shoot earlier footage first and out of sequence footage before applying the Possessed Girl make up effects only when we needed to. The make up he laid down (using his own developed techniques and style) were awesome to see in first person, looked even better on camcorder during "making of" footage, and by the time we went with final shot lighting on HD camera....WOW! Blew....me....away. Check out the visuals on here for a mere glimspe of how awesome this guys work is.
Secondary to that has to be the other star of the show, Amanda. She had stepped up to this role with some doubt and reservation (it's not everyones dream role!) and she absolutely nailed the performance and overstepped any reluctance....of course...a little alcohol surely helped the situation along. Biggest accomplishment I saw her pull off was the amount of time in full makeup, strapped to a bed with belts, arms outstreched....for what must have been about 4-5 hours! Water thrown on her, blood put in her mouth, spitting, moaning, growling...all of it. FUCK Linda Blair...there's a new girl in town (albeit a possessed one!). She really nailed all aspects of this role and the results speak for themselves on film.
Chris Boydell stepped up to his role as Gaylon's assistant and once again brought some comic genius and magic to the show! Even though he was not feeling well, and even slept on set (!!) when needed he stepped up, performed the hell out of it, and was so willing to offer up ideas and contributions on set. Another BRILLIANT performance from him and I look forward to working with him again.
Emma Greaves returned to her role on what has been the third day of shooting for her. She knocked me for six tonight. Really really pulled something very special out of the bag! I was watching from behind the viewfinder and was so excited with the level of realism she was delivering, her response to direction was immpecable, and again the on-screen results are amazing! (I'm sure she wont mind me saying this, but again, a little alcohol to loosen up those nerves I am sure was a good thing!). Brilliant and EXACTLY what I was looking for!
Dave Oxley was new to set for last nights shoot. He had been on set for the last shoot and had contributed to that, and we are in discussions with him on a much grander project than the small role for this piece. What can I say about this guy.....amazing talent. Really raw, honest, captivating to watch talent at work. So natural and so so so funny. Last night was one of those moments where I was watching from behind camera and being stunned at a performance coming out that I will watch on screen time and time and time again with passion, humour and fond memories of a great nights work. You'll see when the film is out! I itch to work on the next project with Dave. MANY thanks also to his lovely wife Kath, who was on hand all nigth performing Making Of footage duties. She really got some good shots and material for that purpose and enjoyed being on set and watching the action.
Lee Civico-Cambell will by now be bored reading the compliments I pay him (or probably not!) but he really capped off an amazing cast last night. Too easy to take for granted his work and even when I knew shots were spot on the money, he still insisted to perfect his craft and do another take where needed. This will pay off in editing I am sure. Interestingly, last nights scene was probably the least humourous of the show, with an odd mix of horror styling, serious tone and all out vulgarity. It was written this way to top off the show with something unique and different....and it was awesome to see Lee take to this. For example, a shot where he enters the room of the Possessed Girl to perform the Exorcism showed some real weight. It is not an easy task to be in a comedy outfit, with comedy contorted face and yet turn in a performance that has real seriousness and weight. I really do not think this scene, no matter how well shot, could have happened or worked without this man developing a performance that will have them jumping on the seats by the end of this scene. Stunning work.
A note on lighting for tonight. And some tips for you would be filmmakers like myself.
The biggest challenge tonight, and one that HAD to work, was to capture a low level light environment but effectively light the subjects. Now two things worked here. Firstly, once a level of atmospheric background lighting had been established, with lighting under the bed, and lighting through metal grills to bounce a pattern on the walls (has to bee seen to be believed!), what I did was to UP THE SHUTTER SPEED OF THE CAMERA, as far as I could without losing character definition. So make sure you have no Auto settings on your camera and crank the shutter speed up to really soak up the minial lighting. I have never seen something that is so atmospheric on set come across just as atmospheric on the film. You normally lose something in the transition. So with the camera really soaking up every ounce of ligth, a full "professional" lighting rig would have been useless as even a standard house spot lamp was too much! Torches galore!
And speaking of torches, point number 2 that really worked tonight was improvised on set. A standard...pocket...torch. Due the high shutter speed, some light was inevitably lost on the actors themselves, but I really did not want to compromise the atmosphere by throwing more lights in there. A pocket torch was suggested to see how it would light just the characters faces. And it really really really worked. Now it would not work on all films as what it did here was to add suspense and horror to the effect. We even went, thanks to Theo's sense of style, with the light actually moving on the face during shots. It may seem unusual, but it really really worked. It looks like a cross between a stylised lighting effect on film, and the viewer actually holding a torch to watch proceedings. Really draws you in. Again, see some of the stills for just a glimpse of the final effect.
I was planning to heavily after-effect the footage to get atmosphere, but 80% of my work has now been done on set with these unique ideas.
Timing was long tonight. I had storyboarded ALL shots up front, to be better prepared and shooting overan due to the dillgence of everyone involved in making sure we were getting the best we could possibly get. no rush jobs.
The shoot wrapped at 3.45 in the morning, after having started around 8. And even at that time, on the very last shots, some cast were quite literally being woken up to do the final scenes...and yet all did so with style, and vigor, and enthusiasm....and the results on screen....if you will pardon my french.....are UN....FUCKING....BELIEVEABLE.
This is by far, on all points, the best looking footage I have ever put to film so far and bodes well for us on our constant learning curve. It's amazing when I think that this is only our second feature and we have all learnt so much and have so much raw talent in and around us. The future...unlike the lighting in this scene....is very very bright!

21/08/06 - DAY THREE SHOOT!

2006-08-22T16:48:00.000+01:00

Again, another stunning days work today!
We were shooting in a hired school room and using the most amount of extras for this shoot that we will be using. I wont bore any readers about there with a repeat of precious subjects (camera excellence, preparation, performances etc), but rather share some highlights.
First and foremost today was making sure you LOOK AFTER YOUR CAST AND CREW. I had booked the room for a full day, even though I only expected to need it for approx 4 hours. At the cheap cost, it was the best option. Some advertising needed here….ANYONE in South Yorkshire region needing school rooms, training rooms, creche room, a bar / café, courtyards etc should give a look to the Burton Street Project (http://www.burtonstreet.org.uk/) as not only are the varied rooms and location IDEAL for independent film use (The Full Monty shot here), but the staff are really really helpful! Thanks to them for an excellent day.

One of my biggest challenges today was to not keep people waiting around too long. We had (via contacts made) some new cast of extras to work with and they were all absolutely fantastic. Creative, enthusiastic, excited and a pleasure to work with. There were some very young children too whose parents were on set and although I was conscious the subject matter was a little much for them, the parents were more than happy…so I went with them!

Now in terms of looking after them all….CATERING was my main aim. If you are using cast and crew, on a weekend, for free, for several hours…the very LEAST you can do is make sure you have a decent spread of drinks and food for them so I made sure this was looked after. As it happens I went overboard, but heh, I wanted to them to know they were valued enough to be able to relax.

Another pointer from today, which I would recommend to anyone, is that future cast were on set to see how we make our films, and how I run a set. We had Karolyn, who will shooting green screen for a role in this film – so would not have met up with anyone or seen a decent size cast and set in action. She also helped out with “making of” footage which was handy. And Dave Oxley, who we have for a small role in this film, and a entire future project lined up based around him. So again, this was his first taste of how we do. And we had Theo Garvey, who is a freelance Special FX Make Up whiz, who will be doing the make up for our later Exorcism scene. He brought two friends with him who also work on films and all 3 added a TON of weight to the performances! And I feel we made some good contacts with them to help each other out on each other’s future work.
Also present were the children and their friends of Dave Oxley who were there for the pure fun of it! They were brilliant also and again, as extras I will have no doubt we will have future roles for them. They were all so good it is a joy to be cutting them into the final edit.

Lee also had a friend, Jarrod, who attended. Again, he has never acted on screen before to my knowledge. He was also sublime in his enthusiasm and work. I singled him out for a very specific role which some “actors” would be challenged to take up…and while he said his nerves added to the performance, what I really noted was how he took direction. I was expected to re-direct and re-shoot as need. Not needed as he took in, processed info and turned out a first rate job.

I have already started on the editing for these scenes. I SHOULD POINT OUT that I am not posting much to do with editing techniques here as I feel this is something a filmmaker or editor should personally get in touch with and develop themselves. The only thing I would say is that I feel that to edit between shoots is a real key. Get on the editing while the days shoot is still fresh in your mind. Anyway…that is a separate subject for a separate post! The point I will make is that during editing I have found that the PREP I did has made massive payoffs. The shots I had been conscious of during pre-shoot all are playing out superbly in the edit so far. The biggest challenge I present myself is my speed of shooting. By the time I walk on set I want every shot I need in my head. Add that to knowing the pace of shots before, and shots that will come after. I use a constant moving camera for this so I am conscious of being aware what is happening with the camera movement not just for this shot, but combined with the flow of previous shots. Add that in with watching for performance quality, audio issues, lighting and the physical demand of being in all manner of positions for handheld work and I really do have a fine days work! It is all good fun and days like this prove it.

Final note is that in the very first stage of editing I have tested on some shots a post-shoot digital White Diffusion effect that I had been playing with. I am not speaking too soon when I say this effect raises the already great quality to stunning levels and I will be using it extensively on the post production work.

The day was capped by several cast and crew all chilling for a barbeque afterwards which even the crappy English weather managed to part the heavens for! It’s as if Gaylon himself had commanded his God to give us some final summer weather for a day’s wrap BBQ! Awesome…

19/08/06 - DAY TWO SHOOT!

2006-08-19T18:42:00.000+01:00

Great days shooting! We really got some awesome shots today and I was very very pleased with the entire production, talent and visuals.
Highlights for today were really the actors involved and the stunning visuals we achieved. The Sony Z1E really does do the job! Def worth purchasing one as opposed to renting larger cameras if you shoot lots. You will save money and the results with a bit of know how are stunning.

THE WEATHER WAS ALMOST AGAINST US TODAY!
An early start for park shooting was a must due to crowd control and background staring issues and this worked wonderfully. And to boot the natural lighting was again stunning. It was a fine cut for main scene shoot with the rain JUST starting to come down as we were leaving......
...however, a lesson on improv here today as during a secondary shoot high on the hills of Sheffield, the rain was clearly visible coming in from the valley!
But here was our approach today for combating changing light and weather conditions.....
Firstly, once everything is in place...move fast....you HAVE to. You could loose the whole days production if you shoot half and cannot do the rest. So MOVE FAST! The only other option if you see it working against you may be to either change location (not possible in this case) or to abandon the shoot altogether so as not to turn in shit work. This ALMOST had to be the case. But, when the heavens opened, instead of sitting on our asses and doing nothing, we got prepped ready for if it stopped to get shots fast. And I also took this time to work with our actress for today, Emma, to go over the approach to her lines and delivery.

Which brings me to the second highlight of the day....the ACTORS. It is a blessing to have enthusiastic and talented people today and I would like to give 3 examples of difference today. Lee (in lead role) knows this character and dialogue like the back of his hand....so his work today was EXCEPTIONAL! It really is a joy to see him exporing his character and adding flourishes not possible to write on the page. And he stands up well to my need for reshoots! A true genius and talent at work.
Then we have Andy, playing a vicar. Now Andy is a very talented guy with much experience on the stage. But he has never done film before so this was something in my mind that I may need to be on Directorial duties if the performance was more stage, than screen. I had no need to. He shined today in his role and again brought a real flair to the character. He may have been thinking more about this being his first time in front of camera for acting like this, but in terms of his delivery, he really delivered! I was watching magic happen before my very eyes. He also stood well to some physical work....key point here. If you are putting an actor through some physical challenge, you MUST put them in control. I made it quite clear to all involved that if he said STOP, we stop. No question. You cannot abuse and treat actors like cattle just to get your shot. Give them the control to stop filming...again, leave your ego at the door. They are not there to work FOR you...you are there to work together.
And the third contrast was Emma, playing a role she had shot before, but not with dialogue. Now Emma is not an "actress" (she is now..obviously, she is in a film!). So my challenge here today was to get her to deliver a performance when she has no teaching on the matter.
She was such a trooper today and of all 3 took the biggest step! While the rain came down we worked on how best to deliver her lines. It is easy to take for granted on a shoot like this where people are working for free, that someone who is not an "actor" and yet has been thrown into a role with acting abilities needed can deliver anything you give them. You have to be ready to coach and...well...direct. That is what a Director does, no?
So we really worked on ways to deliver lines that meant something, trying out different approaches. She really challenged herself and took her first step into loosening up on screen and becoming an actress! It was inspirational to see someone overcome their fears!
Overall.....extremely pleased with todays work all round and I cannot wait to get into the editing!
Another point of note which I have mentioned before. We take a camcorder along for "making of" style material for later use. This came in particularly good today for a reason I had not considered before. To break up monotomy. We had two guys playing hard-man, bouncer, security type roles today and due to their action coming later in the shoot...they did have lots of waiting around and watching to do. So three quarters of way through the first section of shooting, when we had been at it for a few hours, I heard mention that they wanted to get involved soon and I felt it being a tad restless for us all. So we held up main shoot and used the camcorder for some "spoof" making of material involving them breaking up a fight with our main actors having a temper tantrum fight. All good fun, great for later, but most important broke up the waiting which can always be a chore.
Awesome scenes today, great visuals...I am a happy filmmaker and I live for this!

18/08/06 - READY TO ROLL ON SHOOT DAY 2!

2006-08-18T16:11:00.000+01:00

Just a quick update to say that we are hours away from starting a full weekend shoot.
One addition to the second day of shooting will be extra hands who are coming to help for their CV, or just for fun. Others coming to watch. All are welcome as if they are interested, then they will be excited and enthusiastic, and that can only spread!
I have sorted out some catering and also some extra jobs that can be given to anyone willing to help. I don't care what anyone says....anyone can hold a damn boom mic!

The Saturday shoot is still weather dependant...but once again (see previous post) I have multiple backup options! Rain, snow, hail, or the apocolypse will not stop me getting some awesome shots this weekend! I am 100% adaptable (the rain may even make for some stunning shots!).

I have some new props...you'll be amazed how much a toy BB gun can look like a real one on camera! So many things have happened or are in place that are really covered in principle by previous posts...so wont bore you.

So....night before...maybe this is just my work style, but I treat it like a sportsman the day before a big match or event. Get in the zone...get organised...check your camera gear, check your props, run over your shot choices again, check the script again, think through the pacing, think about your cast and crew, how each works best, who is doing what.....leave NOTHING to chance! The more prep you can get done day before....the more fun you can have on set!

Let's roll! See you on set!

15/08/06 - BACKUP!

2006-08-15T13:33:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note prior to this weekends filming.....

You MUST have some back up plans in place for when things are not in your control and COULD change. For example I have 3 possibilities that may change.

Issue 1: I have some script issues that may need to be resolved on the day if the actors or mood dictate it will not work as written.
Resolve: Have some backup dialogue ready, or what must change on the day (like reduced lines or story alteration)

Issue 2: I an addition to a scene we have already shot. It was a glorious sunny day and is NOT likely to be sunny this time. Some things I can fix with digital effects, but you cant really hide a totally different climate.
Resolve: A change of place. Instead of the grand open shots I had planned, I will plan some closed in shots in a place that will not matter. Like a car interior, or a secluded doorway. So long as it does not affect the tone or pace, have a back up plan for location issues.

Issue 3: I have a park in mind to shoot in. All my shots have been planned with it in mind. But it is a public park and I am told there may be a Fair in it. Cannot shoot with a fair in the background!
Resolve: Look for another park! I am scouting tonight on some more secluded spots in case location 1 is not available. So have a secondary location in mind if you are not in control of the first!

07/08/06 - MAKING CONTACTS

2006-08-07T18:21:00.000+01:00

A recent development from out of the blue occurred that shows the power of contact making and fortunate events.
Lee has landed a role in a short horror film. During a head casting for prosthetic make-up he mentioned to the make up artist about our movie and that one of the scenes featured a mock/spoof on The Exorcist and how we intended to do some make up effects. I was planning to do as I normally do if i don't know a craft...and learn it from scratch with my own research.
But the guy was an up and coming make-up effects man and he and Lee agreed that for payment of materials only, he will come and do some "proper" make up effects on Amanda for the role. Result!
We moved schedule on shooting to acommodate Lee taking this role too, and if nothing else, it is worthwhile for the fact that we now have the enthusiastic services of an effects artist to work on the show! He wants exposure and his name on the credits of work, and we want some cool make up effects. Win win....once again!

01/08/06 - IT'S A GROUP THING

2006-08-01T16:10:00.001+01:00

One quick note about working as a creative group. When we finished Jester's Tale, on which myself, Lee, and Amanda were very much the core of, we started crafting the next project, which was quite dark and serious, we could not agree on where to take it. THAT IS OKAY! The pull and push of ideas is a healthy creative thing and should be encouraged! Do not see this as a bad hing for the group. Gaylon was very much an offshoot which Lee created a character for and I have spearheaded for writing and direction.The next likely filmable project is being headed up mainly by Lee on the writing, who is developing a film based around an idea I wanted to do, and starring a new member of our extended cast who we are using for a small role on Gaylon. So that is a healthy extension of the process. Amanda will be working on a few ideas she has had and we had talked about before which likely will for the next project after the next one etc. So it is OKAY for each of you in a group to do your own thing and develop in the group. It is healthy and encourageable for anyone to bring ideas into the group, and if you follow my previous advice and LEAVE YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR, then it will result in a boost in confidence all round and some really cool ideas!

01/08/06 - "WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU GOT?"

2006-08-01T16:10:00.000+01:00

We are now all set up ready for the next weekend of filming so not much to do till then on this front. But this does bring me to another aspect of how we work and which I feel is vital for any would be production crew. HAVE MORE THAN ONE PROJECT ON THE GO. As we are working on Gaylon Peglegg, we already have a new project that is well into development phase (and will likely be next project we film). I also have detailed ideas for a Jester's Tale TV series, should the TV deal lead to morework for us. VITAL to have something else to offer up. Any interest in your work will surely have the question attached..."What else have you got?". You better have something ready! I also have story outlines, ready to (quite easily and quickly) develop to final script form for two more Gaylon Peglegg episodes. And we have/had several concepts to develop to story form from a project we began on BEFORE Gaylon took over. So all in all we have about 5 or 6 projects, one of which is in big development phase and two others which given a need would be ready to film in no time at all! So....HAVE SOMETHING UP YOUR SLEEVE! If you wait until someone expresses interest in your work, you better have something else to back it up and show your talent...not "well, we can think of something?!" Also, we have learnt that if you do things properly, with attention to detail, then the development phase of a good film can take several months writing and pre-production. So if you wait to start another when your current piece is finished, you are adding extreme time to your work and your creativity may just get impatient! Our ideal is to overlap constantly, so by the time we have finished shooting Gaylon, we will be straight intothe filming on the next project.....which is shaping up to be very very exciting. Let's get ready to rumble!

29/06/06 - 2 BECOMES 1

2006-07-31T20:48:00.000+01:00

We had two weekends coming up for shooting two seperate scenes. This was to make the schedule less hectic and not take up everyones entire weekend with work on the film, very important if you have been 9 to 5'ing it all week (not for me...I couldn;t care less and would be filming 24/7 if I could...but you HAVE to be respectful of other people's lives!).
However, an opportunity for a decent role in a short came up for Lee, right on the weekend that i had just lined everything up for the School Room shoot!!! Goo dopportunity and Lee was more than willing to turn it down if things were too booked up. Good man!
But no need as I knew he should not turn this unforseen opportunity down. So we both thought about how to work round and wondered if we could indeed get two days work in instead?
Quick texts and calls around set it up that not only was everyone able to do this, and on the relevant days needed, but the schedule meant some cast who appear in both scenes we would have access to for one weekend so was less of an issue for them too!
AND on top of that, one of our cast, Emma, who has quite irregular and demanding day job hours is actually more available on the day we now want her for and so we can shoot an addtional mini-scene without having to ask her to come back again! Triple bonus!
So once again, thinking on feet and being flexible means that we can put 2 scenes into play in 1 weekend without stress to anyone involved. Can't wait!....

27/06/06 - BACK TO SCHOOL PART II

2006-07-31T20:42:00.000+01:00

A props excercise today too.
In order to dress our school room set with relevant props, we want to use posters etc of a religious nature, but aimed specifically at youth. Such things exist for sure, aiming to be "trendy" and appeal to younger generation to get into the church.
We had bid for some posters on eBay but not got them. So we did what we should have done in the first place....we MADE THEM OURSELVES!
What great fun! A trip to a local art and craft shop later, armed with paper, pens and paints, we set about making posters. It's ok if they did not look too good because they are supposed to be done by youth offenders. Not Picasso or Rembrandt!
I looked on the internet for grafitti art designs I could use and me and Ruth set about creating some really cool posters for use in the background. Including Ruth covering her hands in paint and making shapes like a primary school child! Was great fun and we now have some awesome props for background use. I will try and feature them in cutaway shots, but is not really important as it's all about attention to detail! I have seen this in many student films, where a hall or room is used...but not dressed!
Whatever your environment you should make a concious effort to stop and look at it before aiming a camera anywhere near it. If it's kind of ok, what can you do, no matter how small, to make it look better and fit the scene more! Rich detail, not blandness. And cheap too! Make your own!

27/06/06 - BACK TO SCHOOL

2006-07-31T20:28:00.000+01:00

OK, an update since the first day of shooting. We have needed the use of a school room in order to shoot a scene where our "hero" is discussing biblical matters with a class of children.....or so I thought. Awhile back in production we realised that the subject matter of this piece was religiously controversial, and also vulgar in places (not for the sake of it, it's part of the story and character). I had great ways of shooting things out of sync, or in long shot to dub later that would mean that the vulgarities and controversial elements would never be done while the children were actually present. Could have done that easily....however, someone pointed out quite rightly that if we are getting cast and crews kids to be in the film, SURELY they will want to see it later! And it is not family material by any means.
So....back to school in more ways than one. For starters, we rethought it, again looking for same effect / impact but in a different light. So what was decided is rather than have a classroom of children being "taught" religion...why not make it a classroom still, but for a Youth Offenders group. This means we can still use non-adults, but not so young as to offend. And justify it in the story by citing that they are being taught religion as a way to correct their behaviour. Still works just as well and causes less problems later!
We also went back to school by ...well...going to school! We needed a classroom and to build a set was going to be costly and time consuming. So how about an ACTUAL classroom? No school would ever allow us to use one though, again due to the nature of the film. I remembered that near where I used to live was an old school building that had been converted for use as a community centre. The reason I remembered it was due to the fact I knew "The Full Monty" had been shot their, and the scene they shot (in a job centre mock up) was kind of what I was looking for. So I found the place out, and not only did they have actual school rooms to lease...but they used them for Youth Offenders meetings! And at a cost of £15 for 4 hours I would not argue!
Is this fate playing a hand again? Maybe Gaylon Peglegg himself has summoned the hand of God to assist in the making of this film?! Before booking this however, I felt it was again important to see it for real before filming. So we asked if we could come and look and the veyr nice caretaker was kind enough to not only let us in, but also to tell us that whatever we needed to use in the building (chairs, boards, lights etc) were all at our disposal.
Now you may think it was lucky that such a place existed on our doorstep, but I bet if you need a place, don't want to build a set, and want it cheap...a bit of creative thinking will find a way!
And as a bonus, not only is this place IDEAL for the scene, but the whole building and complex has so much more in there for our future use too. A room that has a bar kind of set in it, or cafe set, yards, corridors, halls, studios. So check out your loacl facilities and see what gives!

16/07/06 - FIRST DAY OF SHOOTING

2006-07-30T21:59:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was the first day of shooting. What a great, great day! It was a perfect days work and fun and I will remember it for many years as how things in film making ought to be.
One thing I must stress as important is an early start. May not be your ideal thing on a nice Saturday when you have been doing the 9 to 5 all week, but you should never underestimate how long things can take. Well, to put another way, I knew upfront on this project that in order to give it the look I wanted and be a more thought out shoot, much time would be needed to set up for shots. Now fortunately for the cast and crew I had done so much work before hand on shot choice and overall vision that I was able to quickly get in position and set the camera up. And those long hours of practicing all manual apsects of the camera paid off too. I knew they would!
One point for any readers looking into gear, I used the Sony Z1 in woodland environment with NO external lighting at all, 100% natural lighting (which was thankfully on a glorious summers day) and it performed amazingly well. The shots are stunning. Well done Sony!
The thing I was very concious of on the day was keeping people waiting, so my mind was buzzing with remembering 6 million functions to hand on the camera so I was drawing a balance between taking my time to remember the functions, check shots, keeping everything in good spirits (on set vibe being the thing I feel will save or sink your days shoot)...and oh...a small matter of...directing!
The cast were amazing, contributing to the characters and taking the job seriously while also having fun with it. Crew people were superb too, and I think I was more demanding on them than the cast (not barking orders but certainly being less, ...well, less nurturing). I must work on this on the next shoot as one must remember taht they are again there for free, are friends, and don't have the excitement of being on camera! But everyone was on hand and enthusiastic despite being dragged through the woods on an early Saturday morning.
ONE MAJOR POINT: Even though the cast and crew are working for free and you are having fun as well as making a movie...you should NEVER settle on a shot if you did not feel it was right. The average number of takes per shot today was about 4 or 5. Don't be an over indulgent Kubrik style egotist though, getting more shots for sake of it. But DO have the honesty to get another take if it was not right.
HOWEVER, you should do this in a well mannered and thougthful way. My approach was to be totally honest and positive by saying "one more take", but explaining exactly WHY we needed another one, AND telling them what DID work on the last one, and giving further direction.
Lee and Ruth both commented later that they noticed my approach was both professional and thoughtful and in no way took away from the fun side of the work.
Another element that I feel will be KEY later for both entertainment and fondness was the inclusion of a camcorder on set to shoot various "making of" material. We watched some back later and it will be really cool to add for both gag reels and a making of show. So if you have access to a second smaller camera, and someone free to shoot with it, do it. If nothing else it will serve to help you relive a great day!
Adaptability came into play once again (did I mention this one or two times already?).
A couple of occassions where a cast member was not comforatble with a script element, or where a planned shot would not work due to lighting or reflections etc meant quick script revisions or improvised shot changes. be prepared to do this rather than get a sub standard shot or piss off your awesome cast for a minor issue taht the script CAN bend to.
The day was topped off by an amzing vegetable chilli and rice that the welcoming cast made for us all and we all sat and watched back the footage, raw and unedited.
This was really interesting, enteraining and fun for all involved. They actually get to see what you were seeing behind the camera. Even in this format it got massive laughs.
I felt so proud of my work and everyone else's at the same time. There were some obvious errors that need addressing later (like boom mics in shot or reflections or mic shadwos) but my philosophy as always is to see what happens in the edit. I am a magician in the editing area and am super positive I can either digitally fix things (another skill you should learn...you should learn ALL aspects if you ask me) or better still use the good footage to maximum advantage. That starts today...watch me go! this is where I feel the magic happens. in the editing which I will go into in detail another time....till then, I leave you with the beautiful face of Gaylon Peglegg: Exorcist (as created by Lee Civico-Cambell)............................

12/07/06 - SHOT STYLES

2006-07-30T21:31:00.000+01:00

Here is an idea I am going to implement that I have conceived in order to be able to better and more quickly adapt to changes.
THIS IS ANOTHER TOP TIP IF ANY FILMMAKERS ARE STILL WITH ME!
Rather than quickly think of whole new shots to plan when plans change, I am going to concentrate on the STYLE of shooting to have in mind more. I don't just want to make up shots willy nilly, but don't have loads of time to intricately design new shots on paper, computer, or in my head as I have been doing the past few weeks. I don't want to slip into a fast documentary style shoot, it's not that kind of piece and will looked rushed and out of place.
So I will spend the next few days concentrating on the structure of the film, where this scene fits into the pace of the film, and make sure the shooting STYLE is in mind for this scene.
That is to say, I can have some shot ideas, but more so have a general grasp on the pace at this point in the film, the overall style ideas (lots of slow moving push in shots for example) and how pacey this scene should be. So at least any shots I do grab on the fly will be to an agenda I know belongs in the final piece, and at this time in it.
So I will know what TYPES of shots I need, rather than actual storyboard shots themselves. I have some definite shots in mind but the rest (on such a short notice change of location) will work to a style ethic I will be creating.
I cannot really explain lots of this to Amanda and Lee as they are not actual film buffs and my language would be that of films I have loved and studied for years. I cannot simply say to them "Oh, we need like an ET style shot here" or "This should be in Carpenter style". The best way is to SHOW them that they can trust my vision.
Oh, one last lesson on flexibiltty and adpating to challenges. One sceen planned for this weekend in the script involved a supermarket interior. In hindsight, for a no-budget film this was ambitioius to start with. Well, kind of. I reckon I could get the use of a supermarket by doing it guerilla style! To just turn up in one with minimal equipment and just do it before getting asked what we were doing, or being kicked out. But there are other issues with this. You see, no major supermarket would allow us to make this film for free if they knew the subject matter. No chance! And no time to discuss.
But my major concern was more the background people staring at camera etc. So we had to think about a new location for this too. It had to have some distinctions.
A character is follwing Gaylon from a distance. Which is why supermarket aisles sprang to mind. Secondly, it had to be visually interesting and varied. But it didn't HAVE to be a supermarket in terms of the story. Which is why it could be changed.
The initial thought was a park....but it's a cop out! We have a park in the script already (that HAS to a park) and its too easy an option anyhow.
So, in order to do tension, and long shots, and have some visual variation (for a grander scope you see)....I decided on the woods. The characters can cat and mouse around trees etc, long shots will work and we decided to do a morning shoot so (weather permitting) we should get some cool light through the trees etc.
So with some amendments to the script (they are now out rambling as opposed to shopping) we should be on for something quite visually exciting. I have some great shots in mind that will utilize trees and build some tension. So I will be out tomorrow in the woods I know well, to find a good spot for Saturday.
Ironically, AFTER deciding on these particular woods, I learned that our new location for the interior scenes is about 2 minutes from one entrance to these woods. Spooky? Fate? Who knows?
Lessons here for would be filmmakers:
Once again, BE ADAPTABLE!
I cannot say this enough. Challenges come up and you have to be confident in your abilities to QUICKLY rethink and apdapt. I hope the above examples show some ways you can do this. Again, try to imagine you are being paid by a studio to make your film. If a loaction is unavailable, ask yourself, can I do it somehwere else? Without comprimising the show of course!
In some cases, as with the above example, our location is actually BETTER for the story and characters to be in. AND I feel the cast themselves are now a better choice. Prompting more thought next time to really think even longer about your number one choices. Would a studio allow you to sit on your ass and wait for the original location to be ready? Maybe....but what great training now to show you how to be ready to move on and adapt.
So be prepared to rethink your story or tweak to what you CAN do. Look at what in your script will be affected and ask "what is the essence of the scene?" Like with the supermarket. What were the reasons for choosing a supermarket? Are there any other locations that hold the same elements that in no way compromise the story? Are they cheaper? Are they more controlled? Don't hang on to what you thought was the number one choice of location / writing / cast. You may be very pleasantly surprised with a "why didn't we do that in the first place?" moment.
So...looking on to Day One of shooting now. Can't come soon enough.

12/07/06 - FILM SOON....FILM NOW!

2006-07-30T21:10:00.000+01:00

The last few weeks have been a non-eventful time. Due to people's other commitments and annoyances like the World Cup Football to contend with, it has been a "I need to film NOW" kind of time. Lee has been great by putting "film soon" at the end of all his text messages. My usual reply has been "film NOW!". I have planned every shot, style, costume, soundtrack, line of dialogue etc in my head so many times it's not even funny. All I want to is get a camera rolling and get realizing the film. And....guess what?
.......
We are only a few days away from filming!!!!
It's all in place. It is Tuesday night now and we film on Saturday. All cast confirmed. Location in place. Long life camera batteries charged. Call times confirmed. Shooting schedule for the day confirmed. It's all ready to roll.
A few updates since my last entry.............
Chiefly, the two enthusiastic people whose roles got bumped up are fantastic! They are absolute stars with a refreshing can-do attitude that I am loving.
We all met at their house for a discussion about the roles and our general ideas and I was so pleased. We explained that the original cast choices pulled out because they "didn't get it" (the humour). Magi, our new Vicar's wife said, "Well I don't get it either, but I'm still doing it".
The discussion was frank to the point of her even saying we are obviously talented people but she feels we are misdirecting our talents with this material. Such honesty and yet such commitment to get involved are a real treat for me to see and hear.
And her husband, George, our new Vicar....well....what a guy! He is so willing to have a go at this just for the fun of it. And it will feed the fun factor too. He's a great guy and will be awesome on screen. Actors or not, the task of getting a performance to suit the script has been made ten times easier from their enthusiasm to do it for the experience..."something a bit different" as George put it. They WERE in "A Jester's Tale" but they will get much deserved bigger roles in this one. And will definitely be on the list to call in future.
So...hark back to previous entries where I spoke of getting people who really WANTED to do the work (for free!)....well, this is one such pay off for that attitude.
Another update was the fact that our location choice became unavailable for the weekend when everyone was free to shoot. The number one plan (and heh folks, here is another TOP FILM TIP for micro-budget filmmakers) was even though the location was unavailable, change the schedule and get some shots anyway. Filler shots and less intensive scenes.
This is where Lee's great attitude comes in. this is exactly what he did when shooting "Jester's Tale". Whenever time was free, and people were ready, even if not able to do the original planned shots, he would always say "well, can we get some other shots?". He has a real eye for seeing a gap and saying "Well, let's just do SOMETHING!". Great stuff.
So...as we talked about the roles, it became obvious that the very house we were in would make an ideal location. If was vastly different to original choice so we had a quick rethink on the script and story to see if it was justifed to use it. It most defenitely was.
Due to change of location, some of my original shot choices have changed. This however, is for the better.....more on that soon.

28/06/06 - ADAM SANDLER? WTF?!

2006-07-30T20:42:00.000+01:00

Small glitch on casting today. Two potential cast members who have been good before decided to pull out, or rather not want to be in it in the first place. This would normally be fine if one of the two had just said so. Instead they decided to go around the houses with various excuses and false reasoning which is time wasted. The peak of which was an attack on the content of the piece, stating that for them the central character and style would not hold up to the 3 episodes we had planned, that the humour was not right for them (that's ok!), and that the show was similar to a shitty Adam Sandler film....which it just happens to be NOTHING like!
I don't mind at all someone discussing or constructive criticising the character or role, or even just plain saying no....I am not easily offended and would move on....but to criticize the whole film and my writing was a little too much for me. As always, I wanted to control and prodcutively use this frustration and dissapointment (I would have liked them both in it!).
So we all agreed that we don't even discuss the matter with them. While they were finishing the umming and erring...we made the decision to cut them out anyway! The biggest joke in this?....one of them had not even read it! So they were commenting on it based on some comments made by the other?! Read the damn script if you are gonna shoot it down! Crazy!
This is what they were looking for anyhow, just not knowing how to really say it.
Furthermore, the decision was kind of made not to approach them for future parts either, even though they are friends of Lee's. Not that may seem harsh but let me explain the reasoning.
We want enthusiastic people! People are working for FREE in front and behind the camera for fucks sake so the paramount thing should be that everyone have some fun! We have some awesome people involved and don't want nay-sayers, time wasters, partly commital, critical, or out-of-line people creating bad atmospheres of doubt or uncertainty.
So we moved on very quickly! The most amazing aspect of this is that they could not see what a really fun project this was, and did not appear to be grateful of the fact that something we were going to spend a passionate amount of time on, AND to push to production companies for broadcast again was going to include them! What an oppotunity to umm and err over!
You have enough to do to get your cool project going without such slow moving obstacles. In other words film fans....if you have anyone slowing the process or casting ANY doubt...no matter who they are or how much you wanted them.....fuck em!
You don't need em. You need the cool people who really WANT to do it!
Further point of note; we filled their roles in a matter of hours. Two other potential cast members who were non-actors and were lined up for a smaller role, but were HIGHLY enthusiastic about the project got bumped up to bigger speaking roles. So all we have to do now is fill their original roles with some of the other enthusiastic people. On that we have many options. So again, enthusiasm rewarded! Onwards!

18/06/06 - LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

2006-07-30T20:24:00.000+01:00

Went on a "location scout" last night. That is to say we went to Ruth's parents house which had been suggested as a possible for the Sunday Dinner scene. Excelent dining room and garden areas and Lee and Myself started planning shots straight away. Seeing the actual location is ESSENTIAL as early as possible as your ideas for shot choices may need to be addressed and changed.
80% of how I imagined I would shoot it will be achieveable, and the rest is easily adapted to suit the location limitations. If it was the other way round, with much not achieveable, then obviously I would not want to adpat so much. You have to remain as close to some kind of vision you had when you wrote it. You can't use just anything if you want to be a professional. But if most elements are in place, with a little set dressing, go with what you can afford and what you have available.
This did get me thinking about a recent post to a film makers forum I saw. The site in question, to which i am a member, is a great community resource for questions and tips etc.
Now, I will try not to get too negative with this but I feel it is an important point to make.
It would appear to me that many filmmakers out there enjoy "playing" at being filmmakers too much. A recent post (and it is not alone) was requesting "Audition Space" for casting. The person was obviously on a micro-budget (like myself) and yet was requesting audition space that had waiting areas and the likes and a professional look / nice decor.
OK...it's like this.....
If you are on a micro-budget, don't waste your money on luxuries like this! Do you really need to play it like you are on a Hollywood budget? Do you really need to rent a swish audition office with waiting areas? Get down to earth, trim the fat, and concentrate on the FILM, not the luxuries of a film lifestyle.
Get a cheap hall....better still, don't get everyone round to wait. Select applicants and invite them round to your house! How much would that cost? NOTHING!
This is not an isolated kind of post / occurance either. Many many times I see peoplle looking for things that clearly state they are on a mini-budget (as most UK independant film makers are) and yet are wanting to play the game of filmmaking and looking good.
We all love the film world, and it's all very exciting. But change your approach, you are not a Hollywood mogul! I got just as much of a kick from home auditions / readings as I would if I were in a classy space with a whole bunch of actors waiting outside. That would only build nerves for them anyway and surely affect the performance. Keep em relaxed!
I got just as much of a kick sitting down with Ruth and drawing up props lists and costume ideas as I would if I were in a "production meeting" with my "wardrobe and props department".
I got just as much of a kick going to someone's parent's house to "location scout" and plan camera shots as I would if i were on a "real" location scout with a crew (who would have to be paid to be there on a fully funded film!).
So the point I am making to any budding, low (or no) budget filmmaker out there who may be reading this.....bring it down to earth. the making of a film should be FUN...not an extravagant ego trip!!! No wonder a 10 minute short can run up a few thousand pounds budget.
Keep it improvised, flexible, adaptable, cheap and down to earth. I feel this approach is effective for moeny and will no doubt serve me later when someone else is paying to make a film! How cool to already know how to keep it tight and cheap!

14/06/06 - ACTION!...OR RATHER LACK OF!

2006-07-30T18:26:00.000+01:00

OK. I have been getting frustrated recently due to the lack of action on the film. I am fully aware not to rush a process as you may lose a creative feel, making it too work-like. And although we are not off the boil, I still feel there should be more we can do, more we COULD do to move this along. In order to get out of this I again wanted to adpot the same attitude you would HAVE to have on a "real", studio paid-for film. Would the financers or producers simply let you idle along without results. No way. So I decided to try and move things along. I expressed a little anxiety and unrest in an email to Lee and Amanda. Saying what we needed to get on with. I don't enjoy pushing it as I do not want to appear like I am running the whole thing. I am not.
So I did this conciously and suggested an obvious course of action. When things are all coming together, but not fast enough, there is only one thing to do in my opinon......get the cameras rolling!
I decided to propose we get shooting. We start on one scene at a time, the more practical and less props driven stuff first. So i suggested the Sunday Dinner scene and said let's make that the focus of our efforts. The reason being is that the whole finished picture stops being the obvious goal. We narrow the goal down to shooting a scene. Bring the focus in.
And I am now confident Lee has taken the drive and we will now start working towards getting some footage down. Once the camera starts to roll and I get editing, I know it will snowball from there.
ACTION needed....we've talked enough to know where we are going.
Also, in the same way as using the theme to set a tone....I decided to finish one of the props that would be some fun for us all. Gaylon will produce a photograph of himself as a child, to a vicar in one scene. In it, we see him as a child, with his Dad (Elvis) and his mum (A Voodoo Priestess) and is sat on a donkey (which sports a huge erection). This is all on a beach at Blackpool. CRAZY!
I knew it would fall to me to do this and I knew it would be another driving element, and good fun too. To say, look how stupid and funny this film will be. They all liked it and it also got Ruth involved as I was showing her things as they were done via email. So she got a bit of insight into the work, not just the finished thing. It was really cool and I am so happy with the result. It is sure to get a big laugh in final show!
So...any lessons here?
If you are at the stage of getting last bits sorted and the whole process is slowing down some, focus in on what you CAN get done soon. Focus on one particular scene, just to get the cameras actually rolling.
Lee has been reading the script on the tram on the way home from work and things. What a guy. Taking his craft seriously and still having fun. I know all his time will SHINE when we get him in front of the camera again....where he belongs!

07/07/06 - LEAVE YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR

2006-07-30T18:17:00.000+01:00

I had a recent props and wardrobe session with Ruth. This was really key for two reasons. Firstly, we went through each scene, point by point, to discuss exactly what was needed. From ID badges, to shoes, to photographs....anything we needed on or off camera. This was paramount in really getting things moving because for each scene we knew EXACTLY what we need to have, nothing overlooked. Even trivial things on a characters person. So now we will finish getting the stuff together. Instead of just looking for cool things to use, in a general "that would look good" fashion....it quickly becomes, from the creation of a list, a motivator. Forms the direction and gives everyone else something to look at. (By the way...cheap props, make em or use the wonder that is eBay!)
Secondly, and MOST importantly, is the fact that this really uncovered a talent in Rith. Normally she will contribute but to other people's ideas. But with just me and her, pen and paper, she was on fire! She was actively creating ideas. New angles. New ideas. And it was a pleasure to see because I wanted to get her more involved and I had suggested this props and wardrobe meeting for that very reason. To get her involved, in order to spread the workload, have a change of face for me to work with, and to get some fresh perspective.
She was being so creative that I hardly had to "direct" things at all. She seemed to have clear ideas about what was needed.
The lesson?
If you see someone has an interest or talent in some respect fo your work...USE IT!
Do what you need to do in order to unlock or encourage it, and bring it to the fore.
And MOST importantly, give them credit for for their talent. There is nothing more rewarding for someone than to be praised and recognized. They will also feel respect for you for the encouragement.
As a director you are NOTHING without the talent like this around you.
You are NOT top of the tree....you are the centre for proceedings.
Have NO ego in these issues. Don't think that YOU should have had those ideas. Just make sure those who have them are allowed to use them. Win win situation again.
Final note: In my opinion, if you want to be a successful Director....LEAVE YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR. It has no place in a creative group. Ego kills creativity.

24/05/06 - SOMETHING TO SHOW

2006-07-30T18:13:00.000+01:00

Using the video shot at the read through I was able to create a DVD for cast and crew use. Mainly for Lee. This should work on two fronts. One, it gave me a chance to put the entire read-through down on DVD for Lee to review and look at his performance. This makes such a difference to him just reading in a mirror as the camera shows you how others will see it. It also gave me chance to watch back the read through without distraction and concentrate more. Lee was amazing. I had read all the other parts (quite badly!) but Lee was on fine form and his characterisations were really coming through. Thirdly, I cut a 5 minute highlight reel of some of his best lines and performances. This will be great to show to cast members up front so they can see what they are in for. And also, it gave me an oppotunity to try out the audience laugh track. I think it worked brilliantly and gave a real feel for how the finished thing will play, with laughter in places that there should not be to work a joke. It was very exciting and the whole package DVD can now be used to show newcomers, for Lee to perfect his character, and also to just start defining the whole feel of the show. So....video your read throughs and rehearshals!

24/05/06 - VIDEO!

2006-07-30T18:11:00.000+01:00

Had a read through session with one of potential cast members which went very well.
Gave Lee a chance to demonstrate his character. For many reasons I was not concentrating on the performances too well, but employed a technique I cannot recommend enough. VIDEO YOUR READ THROUGHS AND DISCUSSIONS! Tape your session. Amanda shot using MiniDV the entire hour long read though (which involved some general discussion too). This gave me a unique insight AFTERWARDS into the performance Lee was giving as well as "hearing" the script from a third person. Invaluable.

23/05/06 - THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC

2006-07-30T18:00:00.000+01:00

Update on casting.
We have more or less decided on who is best for which parts and tomorrow we begin the process of getting them in, one at a time, to have a read through. the idea is simple, give them all they need to develop the character and KNOW the character themselves. So when we come to shooting we can pull key points from the script and they can then NATURALLY deliver the rest. For me, this is the future of comedy. See HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" for this at it's very best.
Amanda made the best point when she said that to deliver written lines in different styles comes with quality actors and experience. But if someone has more free reign, they can deliver lines that THEY create, sticking only to a few key points from the script, and some direction. So we begin this casting call in process tomorrow.
Also, I must stress the importance of MUSIC! Not just to the finished film but as a tool to inspire and give creative direction early on. I started work on a theme tune for this film, for the simple reason of setting a tone.
For Gaylon I wanted to create something as messed up and wild as the character itself! So it has church organs, choir, rock drums, voodoo congas, police sirens, 50's style surf guitar and B-Movie UFO sounds. And it went down really really well with Lee and Amanda and straight away got Lee thinking about the title sequence. ideas for cop show parodies and so on. And immediately the project took another leap forward in comedy and creativity and style. All from setting the tone with music.
I am fortunate that music is one of my talents so it comes natural to me. I would recommend to any filmmaker out there who does not do the music themselves...to get the score writer in EARLY. Get it as part of the development process and you could just change the course, or raise the bar when the universal language of music is in the mix. Up front, not just to enhance your film after. Still needs work but not until I have some images to put to it.

18/05/06 - CASTING

2006-07-30T17:55:00.000+01:00

OK. So we started on the casting. Here is how. Lee is part of a drama group and this is such a great untapped source for actors. Think about it. It's a mutual deal. you get free actors and they get film experience. Win win. We have worked with some of them before and they are really good and also excited and will bring skills to the table. And improv etc. So i am really looking forward to working with some of them again. (Get yourself to some amdram shows and see if anyone stands out....I just got someone lined up for another project doing this!)
Lee gave me the email addresses of of those who wish to be involved. Well, most of them. I thought it should be really important to speak to them directly and personally. Not just a bulk mail that says "wanna be in our film". These people are important, we have no film without them. So it is vital they feel important as they will be more keen. Also, I get a real kick from being peronally involved in discussing where we are, what we are doing, and what their role might be. Vital! A big kick for me as last time I didn't really get to know some of the people.
So, two things. Introduce yourself fully, up front. And make sure people are thanked for theri efforts later. Win win for all involved. Feel good about this. Await responses, two in already!

18/05/06 - IT STARTS!

2006-07-30T17:33:00.000+01:00

We had our first read through of Gaylon Peglegg:Exorcist last night.
It was really awesome and also really strange.
What started with a crazy character from Lee, undefined but hilarious, has now formed into a workable piece. I still cannot believe how well I wrote this film from nothing! This was initially a filler project while waiting on a deal for "A Jester's Tale" to become fruitful. But it is not a filler project at all now. It has crossed the line into a workable film.
I am not sure if Lee and Amanda realize this but this project will actually take more dedication, organization, attention to detail and commitment than "A Jester's Tale" did. It's going to be challenging and wonderful.
Lee has moved some of his drama group priorities around so that he can commit more to Gaylon and that is such a cool move. Part of me feels guilty that he has, but that is just me being silly. He knows what he wants and he knows what is important to him. If he went the other way I would respect him no less. So that's cool.
Amanda surprised me that she got into the reading without question.
It's always a little awkward to start these things as you are not playing to anyone, and you are reading directly from a page for the first time so it feels staged and read. But I was very impressed she just went into it. And very well too.
I tried to keep it entertaining for them too. I realize now that my role of Director on this one is going to need to be a polished job. I intend to develop my skills here for later in life and will concentrate on some NLP principles to obtain a top job. I must be a leader for people so it all moves along well.
It is easy (and tempting!) with one project under your belt (especially one that at the time of writing sits with a TV company awaiting a deal having being declared "definite broadcast potential") to sit back and say we did a good job on the last one, this will be easier. No way! It's going to be a great great challenge. The style is vastly different. It will be less immediate. It is dialogue heavy in the script (which I intend to open up to improv at all opportunities). I realized on "A Jester's Tale" just how important it is to have people who contribute and create.
So no being over protective on the script, no sticking to letter, no ego. Let everyone feel free. I know the material so well having written it that as long as I can see it is heading in the right direction, I will steer it without fear, slightly left of course, slightly right.
Lee was awesome with the reading. I knew he would be and I need to declare it here. he was awesome doing the reading. First time out doing the lines I wrote was 80% perfection. I knew within a page or two that he was going to nail this character he made. And nail it big time! I got very excited watching him work.
And then he was trying costumes on, which looked great and he had an inspired moment to quiff up his hair, Elvis style (the character is after all the alleged son of Elvis!). Genius! It looked good and the character layer was added. He will add more to the role I know, as he practices more.
What I find most amazing is that neither Lee nor Amanda questioned the script at all. Fine tuning of dialogue, yes. Of course. And some funny additions made last night. But 99% no question. I was very proud of that! Especially as Lee would know what is funny and what is not, and both Lee and Amanda know the written word well.
So we started last night also to discuss casting and came up with some initial thoughts. We have so many people expressing interest that the choice is huge, from actors to non-actors. And I want them all! We are unsure on people's acting abilities so we will start a casting process now. I have some definite favourites but will remain totally professional.
My motivation here is to imagine a full blown Hollywood epic with tons of money behind it. You would have to be very careful on your choices! It is actually more important than that anyway....it is my future in sight and so must be done right!