Some Stills from Anniversary shoot

DP James Young (right) and camera operator Greg Stanford (left) confer while I am checking out something to the right.

Still waiting for footage

One of the drawbacks to shooting on the Red is you really need a newer computer to work with it. Mine is too old and I don't really have the money to buy one right now.

So my footage is being processed by another person and I have to work around their schedule. I hope to have it by next week. They are burning dv copies for me with timecode so that I can edit the film and they can conform it later.

I am going Tuesday morning to get my audio transferred to digital form. Not going to be too expensive.

I am also still waiting for behind the scenes photos so I can put those up here.

So two weeks after I shoot my movie, I haven't even seen it yet. Nice.

This will probably be my last time shooting on the Red so I won't have to go through this in the future.

Actors

The lead roles were played by Dan Reed and Melissa Haas.

And we had Donald Meyers and Deidra Tolliver playing the smaller roles of the manager and detective.

All of the actors did a great job. It is so hard to find good actors in Memphis and needless to say, it is kind of hard to get ahead without them. And too expensive to bring them in from L.A. just for a short.

There were a handful of people who also auditioned and did a great job, people I hope to work with in the future.

But back to Dan and Melissa. Although there is a big age difference between them, I feel like it worked really well. Both of them looked great on the reference monitor we were using. The Red camera is a 4k digital cinema camera which delivers a high resolution image. But we were using Russian Lomo superspeeds, which in my opinion deliver a softer, more film like image. Much like Cooke Series II/III lenses.

Not only did they look great, but they brought great performances along with them.

Melissa brought a vulnerability to the character, along with a sadness that what she once had is over.

And Dan brought the frustration and pain of a man torn between two loves.

I think the audience is going to feel this, so mission accomplished for both of them.

I am really proud of the cast, from top to bottom, the best I have put together. In combination with the production values we achieved, this is going to be another great showpiece to show potential investors.

Anniversary finished

So we shot yesterday and today. We were on schedule Monday, and ran over an hour tonight, but it is in the can.

Not sure what I am still doing up at this hour writing a blog, but there are many stories and pictures to come.

DP James Young and camera operator Greg Stanford did a great job, the film looks fantastic. And this was definitely one of the best crews I have worked with in my life. But more on that later.

Anniversary update

We went through blocking tonight for a couple hours so that I can make adjustments to my shot list. I need to make my shot list more detailed. I have too many different things to look at: script, shot list and camera diagram.

I need to get it all consolidated. Another lesson learned. Always nice to learn something.

Other than that, things look great, I have a good crew put together, four solid actors (so thankful for that!) and a great location. I feel like it is coming together perfectly and it is going to be a great film.

Teen Angst Script

I continue to work on this. And it continues to get better. Which is a step in the right direction. In fact, just today I changed the character of Emily. Well, she hasn't changed but her function has.

In the original script, she wanted to hook up with the lead character Kevin and in the end he turns her down. This was meant to be show that what Kevin had wanted throughout the story (to get laid) had changed. Well, more specifically, he still wants to get laid, but not by one of the girls who hangs out with the straightedge crew. In the end, he realizes that hanging out with them was a bad choice. And she is one of them, so boobs or not, he doesn't do it.

I was thinking of changing it a love story subplot. I already had one of those before that got cut out, so.... I wasn't too keen on adding a new one in.

But I have been thinking lately of making Kevin a stronger character. After all, it is a character study, so it would probably be a good idea. LOL. So now, Kevin has a crush on Emily and he thinks that she digs him too, but he is mistaken. He has read her wrong. And towards the end of the film as we are getting close to the denouement, he makes a pass at her.

And ends up making an ass out of himself in the process. Good stuff, I think.

Anniversary Shoot Dates

So we have scheduled the "Anniversary" shoot for July 13th and 14th.

We are loading up equipment and pre-lighting on the 12th. Since the movie all takes place in one room, that makes things nice.

We had auditions last Saturday. Dan Reed did a great job bringing in a nice range of people to look at. That is always nice.

I will be making the final casting decisions this weekend.

And I have found an excellent location, we are shooting in the historic Hunt-Phelan home on Beale Street. One of Memphis' last remaining treasure homes, it now serves as a bed and breakfast.

huntphelan.com

The staff down there, Vicki in particular, have been extremely gracious with me. It is much appreciated.