Day 1

One day down.  21 to go!

Our first day is finished.  I can't really figure out where to start on describing the day.  It was tiring, and exhausting, though extremely exciting.  I think our volunteers did an awesome job their first day on a set.  Surprisingly, things went fairly smooth for the first day.  Most of the times, things are rough at first - which they were - but it is nothing that cannot be ironed out.  I have pictures that I would like to post from the day, but I actually forgot to grab them on to my computer.  I'll see if I can upload them and give a more detailed report of the day tomorrow.  Until then, I am going to bed!

We start shooting on Tuesday.  

Allow me to let that sink in a bit.  

Ok. 

So, things have been pretty crazy around here lately.  I have been constantly either on the phone, or emailing people.  Life has been a bit hectic lately.

One thing that I think people don't think about are all of the tiny details it takes to put on a show like this.  For example, we have food that was donated to us for lunches for the crew.  Now, that's great.  It's fantastic really.  However, we have to figure how in the world to get that food to the set.  And then someone has to set it up.  And then we eat.  That's not so much of a minute detail as the others - but it is important none-the-less.  

Anyway.  I, along with Lisa, the production coordinator, have been trying to take care of every minute detail before they come up.  It's been quite a challenge that has kept the both of us ridiculously busy.  

On another note, Kevin Max came in to town today.  He arrived this afternoon, and Jeff went to go pick him up.  Soon, he will be immersed in the craziness as well.  I will hopefully get to meet him sometime tomorrow or Monday in the midst of all of the meetings that we have.  

Sunday night, the producers are getting together to go over any huge last minute details that have not been taken care of.  Then, on Monday, we have a big production meeting in the morning.  All of the crew come in later Monday afternoon.  Basically, because most of the crew have never been on a set before, we are having a "get to know the equipment" meeting.  We want to make sure that everyone is safe and knows what is going on before we start shooting on Tuesday.

Oh, right.  We start shooting on Tuesday. 

Monday night we will have a table read.  All the actors will come in and we'll all sit around a table and read through the entire script.  This is a chance for the actors to get to talk to Dan and understand some of his vision of what he wants to get out of them before they start actually shooting their scenes.  I actually have never been to a table read for a feature, so I am looking forward to this.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures later on.  

Well, once we get rolling into production, I'll try to keep things updated every couple of days or so.  Again, if you guys have any questions, drop by a comment and let me know!

And in case you forgot, we do start shooting on Tuesday.  

comments

Hey guys.  If you have something about the process of making a movie that you would like for me to cover,  please leave me a comment and let me know.  It can be about making movies in general, or specifically about making this movie.  I'll be happy to answer most of your questions if you have any.  

Oh, and also, be practicing your Guitar Hero - specifically "Carry on Wayward Son".  We might be having an online tournament or something with high scores.  I have no idea how that would work, but I'll figure out something.  :)

casting

We have been casting a few of the other parts of the movie the past couple of days.  I thankfully was able to sit in on the casting sessions with the Casting Director, Jeff Rodgers.  I find this process to be strange.  We, as the production company, have an idea of what the characters should be according to what Dan, the director, has explained to us.  However, in the few sessions that I have had a chance to sit in on in the past, I am always surprised by the different choices people make with the characters.  Some of them have completely blown me away.  Some of them have made me cringe.  Which is what we deal with.  

Actors are strange people.  Just by definition alone.  They are judged immediately by the way they look.  They are constantly rejected in life.  A normal actor will be rejected 50 times before possibly finally getting a part - a part credited as "Screaming Woman #2".  If anything else, for those who do get their "big break", it never lasts very long.  They make a living essentially pretending to be someone that they are not.  It is very difficult to be an actor and not only know who you are yourself, but also deal with all the rejection in your life.  Those that can act successfully, as well as live life successfully, are the ones that I think are the best actors.  

I am the type of person, that really gets wrapped up emotionally with characters in TV shows or movies.  I can so easily transport myself to the place that these characters are, and I love just getting to know certain characters.  The best movies to me are ones that are driven by the interesting characters, not all the explosions and special effects.  As I've watched each of these people show us their own take on these characters, I realized something.  There were a few times, that I was completely drawn into their character.  I know the story, I know the script, I even know the way it's supposed to sound.  But sitting there, looking through the camera lens, with bad lighting, a terrible background, no props, wardrobe, music, nor a real character to read against, a few of these people completely drew me in to their characters.  It was pretty cool.  So kudos to those people.  That takes talent, if you ask me.  Those are the people I want to see in the movie.  

exciting news - Kerry Livgren!

Well it is official.  

We have signed on Kerry Livgren to be a part of the cast.  

You know Kerry.  He wrote the classic songs "Carry on Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind" as part of the band Kansas.  He actually wrote them.  

I'll be honest about something here.  I do not claim to be a music buff.  When my boss had originally mentioned his interest in signing on Kerry - I nodded along with him and figured that I would find out who he was eventually.  Within seconds, Dan realized that I had no idea who Kerry was and set me straight.  "You've never heard the song Carry on Wayward Son?!".  He then proceeded to sing the first few bars of the piece.  Like the old cliche of the light bulb coming on, I immediately realized who it was.  I had not only heard the song, but I knew the words.  I even knew how to play it on the guitar.  Well, the guitar in the form of a Guitar Hero controller.  

And thus I show my young age.  

But!  Thanks to the wonderful Guitar Hero game, I not only know who Kerry is, but I am super excited that he is part of the cast.  Now I can really appreciate him in a completely new way.  

So, our cast is rounding out to be quite fantastic.  Kevin Max and Kerry Livgren.  Who would have guessed?

recording studio

Well, let me tell you.  My job is way cool.  I would go so far as saying that my job is cooler than yours.  This can be debated, but I'd probably win.  

Last night, Dan called me and asked if I wanted to go with him to see some of the songs from the soundtrack get laid down.  Naturally I said yes.  So I grabbed my camera, and off we went.

 

Recording this soundtrack is a little bit different than for most films.  Most of the time, you will have a composer take the final edit of the film and match the music to it.  The director will normally note where the music cues should go, and the composer goes from there to create the score.  To me, music is a very important part of a film.  I love some of the movies that I do solely because of their soundtracks.  For this film however, because the story is essentially about a rock star, we have to create a few of the songs that the band will sing ahead of time.  There are scenes where we show music videos as well as some concerts and such. Because we are actually showing the characters as they are playing the music, most of the scoring is done beforehand.  Once the film is finally cut, then we will go back in and put the rest of the music cues in.  

Basically, in the script, Dan wrote out some lyrics that were important to him - leaving the job of composing and "melody-izing" (you like that word?) the song to the professionals.  I've had this really awful version a song in my head every time that I've read the lyrics in the script.  To be quite honest, I have been really nervous about the songs because of that.  In my head, it's always come out to be this terrible rap/reggae type thing - which is ridiculous because I don't even like rap nor reggae.  And the two should definitely never be correlated in one song.   That would just spell disaster.  But I digress.  This is once again why I am not the one in charge of this area.

No, that honor goes to Josh Goode

Josh wrote the soundtrack to Dan's last film, Striking Range, (which can be found in most Blockbusters - if you are curious).  Josh has not only won an Emmy for some of his work, but he is also a musical genius.  Basically, Josh takes the lyrics that Dan wrote, finds a melody and then writes it, arranges it, plays it, and then spits it back out to Dan - who then makes his notes for Josh - who then makes the necessary changes for Dan - who then is amazed at the final product.  Yup, that's pretty much how it goes with them.  It was very cool for me to see Josh in the studio working his magic. 

The best part is, that now I have Josh's version of the song in my head - not my version.  Thank goodness.  I really can't wait for you all to hear it in the movie.   

Now for more pictures.  

Troy Baker - this picture may look posed, but it's not.  

Me - a picture of me filming behind the scenes stuff

  

 

This is a very multi-dimensional picture.  Josh is on the guitar and notice Troy, Me (bright orange shirt) and Jeff Rodgers in the reflection.  That is art.

  Wider shot of the studio

the scary board

Hanging on two C-stands right outside my office is a huge, menacing, although quite colorful, white board.  A white board that we have lovingly dubbed, "The Scary Board".  Ah yes, the constant reminder of all of the most pressing and "scariest" stuff that we have to figure out before we start the cameras rolling on the 15th of January.  That date is coming fast, and our board keeps getting more full.