STRANGE DAYS OF JOEY DAVIS - a flyin monkey films production

[Rodney V. Smith]

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=754

VIEW THE FILM NOW!
(http://www.dvxfest.com/questfest/index.php?id=3300576)
Tagline: Not every door needs to be opened...

Synopsis: Joey Davis and his girlfriend Ari are obsessed with the mysterious door on their front lawn.
This obsession leads to a search to find the right key to open it.
What is behind the door may be more than he or Ari are prepared to handle...

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1443

Screenplay: Rodney Smith & Andrew Stoute
Composer: Damian Sanchez
Post-Production Sound/Sound Designer: Brad Semenoff
Director/DP/Editor: Rodney Smith

Location: Apple Valley/Minneapolis, MN
Location Manager: Andrew Stoute
Production Dates: June 12th-15th 2009





PODCAST #2: The Obsessive
Thursday, June 26, 2009
7a9cddb51714e2c3f5
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/7a9cddb51714e2c3f5
Featuring: Melizza Man
Music by Damian Sanchez - http://www.damiansanchez.com
Edited by Rodney Smith - http://www.flyinmonkeyfilms.com


PODCAST #1: The Tragic Hero
Friday, April 10, 2009
3097d3b11b1de0c4be
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/3097d3b11b1de0c4be

Music by Damian Sanchez - http://www.damiansanchez.com
Edited by Rodney Smith - http://www.flyinmonkeyfilms.com

[Rodney V. Smith]

Jaimyon Parker is "Joey Davis"
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1006


Melizza Man is "Ari"
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1162

SCREEN SHOTS from DAY ONE
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1180

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1179

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1178

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1177

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1176

[Rodney V. Smith]

PODCAST #2: The Obsessive
Thursday, June 26, 2009
7a9cddb51714e2c3f5
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/7a9cddb51714e2c3f5
Featuring: Melizza Man
Music by Damian Sanchez - http://www.damiansanchez.com
Edited by Rodney Smith - http://www.flyinmonkeyfilms.com


PODCAST #1: The Tragic Hero
Friday, April 10, 2009
3097d3b11b1de0c4be
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/3097d3b11b1de0c4be

Music by Damian Sanchez - http://www.damiansanchez.com
Edited by Rodney Smith - http://www.flyinmonkeyfilms.com

[Rodney V. Smith]

LAWN/HOUSE LOCATION
Location photos by Andrew Stoute
Apple Grove, MN

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=995

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=994

THE DOOR

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1161
Cropped, no touch-ups.


http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=992


PROPS & STUFF
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1091
The book: picked it up from a store in the airport as in impulse buy... kinda like what Joey may have done at some point.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1092
99 Keys: Ebay and craigslist are amazing for random junk...


BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOS

On facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=88331&id=89219546394


Enjoy

[mattspat]

Haha....BAM first out of the gates is puck the mad

[Blaine]

And the award for first QuestFest - Individual Film Discussion thread goes to....:beer:

[Dustin R. Rogan]

Show off!

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

you guys crack me up. I was waiting for this.. I got inspired last night and I'm on a hell of a ride now with this script.. at page 4 and it's a good ride. I feel really good about this one.

[Darkline]

wow. Go for it puck. you pounced!

[Horncastle]

Wow Rodney - a "hog wild" thread! :)

[Sarah Daly]

My lord you're quick off the mark dude!!! Kudos!!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

You are one crazy mother poo pooer!

[Rodney V. Smith]

just claiming my stake before Forsman beats me to it. :grin:
Gotta find out the rules so I can start with the marketing campaign and get moving on this puppy. If I could, i would shoot next week, but gonna have to go through way too many script revisions and rehearsals. actual development of the script and making sure all holes are covered...

[Dustin R. Rogan]

My lord you're quick off the mark dude!!! Kudos!!
Thats what she said

Rogan


ps no really thats really what she said... :D

[jasonthewho]

Haha, Rodney you are crazy. Love it. That title definitely gets my approval.

[Blaine]

script revisions and rehearsals. actual development of the script and making sure all holes are covered...Excellent ideas, all.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Excellent ideas, all.

Well, can't sneak anything past you guys you know. I've tried and paid dearly for it.

[armisiano]

Jesus dude! What's it been, an hour!?!?

Anyway, like the poster.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Jesus dude! What's it been, an hour!?!?

Anyway, like the poster.

Thank you sir! That's a great compliment coming from you.

I'm shameless to say it: not even five minutes after they opened the category....

[Chris Messineo]

I'm digging the poster as well. Very cool.

[MrKilloran]

You don't waste any time huh?

[Rodney V. Smith]

You don't waste any time huh?

Hell no. :grin:

I told you guys I was addicted to shooting.
Right now is the time to make a plan and get a team of dedicated individuals. Besides, planning this early I can plan to buy (yes I'm actually paying for stuff) some of the more expensive props and get my house in order. I'm planning on having a small budget this time so I;ve got to really make it count. remember 80% of filmmaking is planning (and this time I have a solid plan for good on set production sound, plus alternatives, thanks ot Shawneous)

[Rodney V. Smith]

So the pitch is off to Jason and the Moderators (should be a rock band with a name like that) and now it's all about waiting to see if I've been approved...

Since I'm an optimist, I'll just forge alogn here with my plans. Trying to hammer out the last 2 pages of the first draft of this script tonight and then forward that onto Andrew Stoute (my co-writer) and maybe Mike Horrigan will pitch in again with his unbiased opinion.

Andrew and I have spent the past week hammering out the script for a werewolf short that we're producing aimed at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. There is some serious in that festival, so we've been trying to hammer out the script line by line.

I suspect we'll be giving the same treatment to the scrpt for Strange Days of Joey Davis, so I'm looking forward to that aspect... taking the script and then tearing apart and asking the ever important question of "why". I've been riding off of the high from the creative process with Andrew (frustrating at times, but worth it since we rejected so many stock or cliche solutions and we're really comign up with something original).

The story for "Strange Days..." is an original one and our treatment of the concept and the characters will be very detailed, so here's hoping you guys still like my characters once we've made them whole and not just paper cut outs.

Anyway, gotta get back to writing.

[Sid Barnhoorn]

Nice going, Rodney. :-D Looking forward to it.

[RodThompson]

:beer::crybaby::Drogar-Love(DBG)::thumbup:

[Chad_from_Chad]

You are definitely on it man, I've sent something that might resemble a pitch for an idea that hit me after the announcement, but damn, you're half way done! I'm hoping to collaborate with a sketch group on mine or it may not happen, they like my basic idea, I'm just stressing to much on what tone I want to give it cinematography-wise. You are an inspiration to us all.

[Tim Joy]

Do you have a good sound-person yet? :) :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

Do you have a good sound-person yet? :) :)

I've already met with one dude who was referred to me by another director here in Toronto. He does production sound and has his own gear and seems pretty cool. Plus I have my own gear here now so there will be a little bit of redundancy. We'll be using a combination of shotgun mic and lavs.

First test of the full unit, including sound will be on the "Flower" the werewolf movie I had previously mentioned. That's set for production in 2 weeks.

[Sprocketboy]

Incredible. You are faster than light. Its about 10 hours later, since I've checked the forum, you already made a pitch and have a thread going. Poo Pooing all over town. You have some serious momentum.

When is the After Dark Film Festival?

[Rodney V. Smith]

Incredible. You are faster than light. Its about 10 hours later, since I've checked the forum, you already made a pitch and have a thread going. Poo Pooing all over town. You have some serious momentum.


I never stopped so I'm riding the energy from Lossfest. During the past couple of weeks, I've been working on post for both "Falling Up" and "Keeper of the Lost", and also produced 2 music videos, one of which was supposed to be a tie in to "Falling Up", but there was difficulty with the timing of that, so it didn't quite get completed in time. A LOT frustrating there.

So this story came about because I was already in creative mode for writing "Flower" and once they did the poll on Questfest or Crimefest, my mind started to roll and I started the basic guidlines of the story. What needs to happen, how I see it ending, how it begins and then how it fits within the parameters of Questfest.



When is the After Dark Film Festival?

After Dark is actually coming up pretty fast. We're going to have to make the late deadline of May in order to handle post-production, but I have a fast turnaround on the edit, plus we'll be getting an advanced edit together on set.

There's still a lot of work to do on post sound for "Keeper of the Lost" and I've mixed back in the original sound for "Falling Up", but "Keeper of the Lost" is the one we're really focusing on for the festivals. I'm handing over the mix to someone more capable than myself and for the next week or so they'll be tackling that, leaving me free to either be bored... or be productive and get another film rolling.

Besides, busy time is starting up again, so I'm really going to have to be juggling schedules now. The more I have planned out in the early, the better.

[Rodney V. Smith]

You are definitely on it man, I've sent something that might resemble a pitch for an idea that hit me after the announcement, but damn, you're half way done! I'm hoping to collaborate with a sketch group on mine or it may not happen, they like my basic idea, I'm just stressing to much on what tone I want to give it cinematography-wise. You are an inspiration to us all.

Good luck to you with that. It's interesting using sketch actors in longer more narrative pieces than a one-off joke that's over in 2 minutes. Just remember that someone has to take the lead and hold the vision clearly. Stress the cinematography and if you have doubts go ahead and shoot it, and then edit it (really early on) That can serve as a storyboard of sorts as through editing you'll see where you want to do cutaways, closeup, etc... and where your story lacks punch and how you can improve it. Its useful if you have the time and will lead to a much more cohesive film. much more realized than putting a camera ona tripod and hitting record.

[Marlon Ladd]

Jeez, Puck! You're quick. LOL.

[Richard J. Johnson]

Welcome back My friend. I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

[Norm Sanders]

Awesome, Puck, looking forward to updates! :thumbsup:

[Rodney V. Smith]

the "Studio" has greenlit my pitch. It's officially a go so I can heat up my jets now. woo hoo

[Postmaster]

Dammed, where do you get those ideas so quick?

....and Yeah, welcome back and good luck.

Frank

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dammed, where do you get those ideas so quick?

....and Yeah, welcome back and good luck.

Frank

Thanks Frank. Lend me the plans to your Uber fantastic Crane/Jib?monstrosity, and maybe I'll let you in on the secret...

[Postmaster]

As i promissed, as soon as I got some time on my hands I make a DIY PDF how to build that crane with material list pictures and all.

So everyone can get some inspiration or bluntley copy it.

Frank

[Rodney V. Smith]

As i promissed, as soon as I got some time on my hands I make a DIY PDF how to build that crane with material list pictures and all.

So everyone can get some inspiration or bluntley copy it.

Frank

now THAT would be totally sweet. I was looking at one of the shots I had written in the script last night and was thinking that I really need a nice crane shot in there.

Of course, the shot as I picture it involves a nice long 20ft crane, so that might not be entirely feasible unless I rent one. Still, for shorter shots, nothign can beat the stability of your crane, especially with a fully loaded HVX and Brevis on the top of it...

[Norm Sanders]

If you wanted to pay for shipping to/from, and promised to take care of it, I'd let you borrow my 12 ft Kessler.


now THAT would be totally sweet. I was looking at one of the shots I had written in the script last night and was thinking that I really need a nice crane shot in there.

Of course, the shot as I picture it involves a nice long 20ft crane, so that might not be entirely feasible unless I rent one. Still, for shorter shots, nothign can beat the stability of your crane, especially with a fully loaded HVX and Brevis on the top of it...

[Rodney V. Smith]

If you wanted to pay for shipping to/from, and promised to take care of it, I'd let you borrow my 12 ft Kessler.

yeah.. there's that whole Canada thing that works against me there Norm... thanks though. Time for me to get a new build going...

[Norm Sanders]

True, after all said & done it'd probably be 10x cheaper to just rent one vs. international shipping costs!

[Rodney V. Smith]

My flight to Atlanta is now officially booked. March 30-April 19th. I'll be travelling light but will definitely see about meeting up with some of the Atlanta DVXUsers. Looks like I'll be doing a bit of pre-production stuff over the next 3 weeks. Now I gotta get the camera working so I can do some podcasting on the road.

[Richard J. Johnson]

I will be in ATL the week after. Damn it would have been cool to link up. I love Atlanta. We are moving there next year. I can't wait.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Well damn dude. Well I gotta see if I can at least meet up with Champloo and anyone else who's interested.

[J. Erik Reese]

Wow! I'm excited already! The poster looks really intriguing.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Wow! I'm excited already! The poster looks really intriguing.

thanks. right now i may go all Michael Bay on the script so a fireball or two might make an appearance on the poster as time goes on!

kidding of course....

[Rodney V. Smith]

The venerable and talented Damian Sanchez returns to score this one for me.

Damian is already thinking of a feel for music based on what he's read of the script so it will be interesting to hear what he comes up with. He's got a good feel for my work now after 3 films (Act 2, Keeper of the Lost, Falling Up) so I'm excited to see what he brings to the table this time around.

Welcome to the team Damian and glad to have you back.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Checklist for Atlanta: pick up Glidecam V-8

[Rodney V. Smith]

Writing in a vacuum never works. I can only ever get so far and spend some time banging my head against the wall. Once I get Andrew involved, he quickly tears down my house of cars and we begin to rebuild.. funny thing is that it's similar to what I already have, but the questions he asks and make me ask myself, are what lend heart and a sense of history to each scene.

in other words: the script is shaping and changing for the better. We've just raised the stakes.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Writing in a vacuum never works. I can only ever get so far and spend some time banging my head against the wall. Once I get Andrew involved, he quickly tears down my house of cars and we begin to rebuild.. funny thing is that it's similar to what I already have, but the questions he asks and make me ask myself, are what lend heart and a sense of history to each scene.

in other words: the script is shaping and changing for the better. We've just raised the stakes.
Get a solid script down and you will be golden. :beer:

[Rodney V. Smith]

It's already become more solid/ We're going through line by line now and reshaping the rest of the script. From page 3 to the end is now completely different... and the end is looming... going to be much bigger than I had anticipated....

[Rodney V. Smith]

Jessica Sinclair (you guys know her from FALLING UP and KEEPER OF THE LOST) will be returning to play the role of Ariane/Ari. We'll be playing around with her look, but she's ready to wow you guys again.

[Sprocketboy]

Jessica Sinclair (you guys know her from FALLING UP and KEEPER OF THE LOST) will be returning to play the role of Ariane/Ari. We'll be playing around with her look, but she's ready to wow you guys again.

Are you kidding? Re-cycling the same old actress.

I hope you realize I'm joking. :) I know. Its lame.

I'm glad you are holding onto her. She is very good and lends credibility to your stories. :thumbup:

[Rodney V. Smith]

Are you kidding? Re-cycling the same old actress.

I hope you realize I'm joking. :) I know. Its lame.

I'm glad you are holding onto her. She is very good and lends credibility to your stories. :thumbup:

I strongly support Jessica and if you challenge me, then you'll have to wrestle her in a pit of jello and marshmallows! To the victor the spoils!

[ZazaCast]

...then you'll have to wrestle her in a pit of jello and marshmallows!!

... I normally have to pay extra for that!:beer:

[Rodney V. Smith]

... I normally have to pay extra for that!:beer:

speaking of which: how's Miss Laid coming along?

[Sprocketboy]

I strongly support Jessica and if you challenge me, then you'll have to wrestle her in a pit of jello and marshmallows! To the victor the spoils!

Okay, I'm ready. I have my speedos on! :Drogar-Evil(DBG):

[Brian Parker]

Man, you're quick. Looking forward to this one man. Glad to see Jessica is back as well.

[Richard J. Johnson]

Okay, I'm ready. I have my speedos on! :Drogar-Evil(DBG):

LMAO! Dammit i just pictured that.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay, I'm ready. I have my speedos on! :Drogar-Evil(DBG):

you sad sad man... bring the jello and Jessica will happily kick my ass. I don;t think this is in her contract... (note to self: hire new contract lawyer. second note to self: pay new contract lawyer)

[Rodney V. Smith]

LMAO! Dammit i just pictured that.

picture this instead, for the love of all that's unnatural:
http://www.thedctraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/jello-wrestling-1.jpg

[Rodney V. Smith]

Sometimes all of this backstory that we go through just to find the correct entry point takes us to dead ends. Other times like now it grows and grows and continues to grow some more.

We hammered out a LOT of details today, character outlines, behaviors and motivations. None of this actually happens in the script of course, but it does have a direct effect on their interactions with each other. Our bad guy is not a one note character, but actually has a need for something and a method of carrying it out... or protaganist has an actual goal and he is taking an active role and not just letting things happen.. he's not reacting, but taking action. In any adventure, this is a must, especially in a quest.

But the fact remains that because of our entry point, so MUCH has happened before we get here, and I mean a LOT of good stuff that I wish I could film and show you guys. When Andrew was laying out some of the supposed history based on the rules we'd established, I just sat here shaking my head saying "it's too much for a short... this is a feature you're talking about.." But the important thing was just to hear the entire story, the backstory and see where it all fits int.. where that vital entry point is that all of this history can be conveyed in a subtle fashion without doing any expostition.

I'd considered doing a voiceover for this, but quickly threw that idea out lest I be trapped in exposition for the sake of exposition. Good voiceover is possible and it's something we may revist, but right now Joey is interacting too much with the world for it to work effectively.

He has a goal. A quest. And he's not going to rest until it's complete.

Kinda reminds me of Falling Up in the way that the world around is so complete and with a real sense of what has come before.... lets actually get to the end of the first draft and hope to God it's not 10 pages again.

[ZazaCast]

A little too much coffee today Puck? Damn, my head hurts from reading all this.:)

[Rodney V. Smith]

Sorry, I had my coffee late and it was STRONG. :grin:

[Rodney V. Smith]

Got a call from my favorite Texas actress last night. Jennifer Todoroff, completely natural, drop dead gorgeous and totally off-limits. Sigh. Anyway, she asked me to dig up the DVD of a short we did together back in 2003 and I came across this goody, which eventually became my first feature film.

Jennifer took the role of Lana and breathed new sexy life in to.

http://vimeo.com/2163233

oh memories and a little perspective of how much has changed, especially in terms of style and story telling.

[Blaine]

Ooooooooooo...you've got me at jell-o wrestling...:cheesy:

[ZazaCast]

What? ...no BTS pictures yet? Slacker!

[Sprocketboy]

I'm totally in for the jell-o fun. But can we make it grape jell-o instead? Green kinda makes me yak....and yes...the speedos are required for jell-o wrestling. I will wear the required and stereotypical white tank top, no bra and booty shorts a-la Hooters girl. A few rules...no hair pulling and no crying when you get your butt handed to you by a girl. :P

My lower lip may quiver, but I will never shed a tear. :crybaby:

[Rodney V. Smith]

hijack? ha! this is the jello wrestling tournament to defend your honor!

[Tim Joy]

How is it the same group of folks manages to hijack the threads? What is the matter with us? I think we all have ADD. How did we get to talking about jell-o wrestling anyway!? There isn't even any jell-o in the script...I don't think...I blame Puck for everything, it's almost always his fault anyway.

I think you should coax him into adding some jello into the script.

isn't this movie shot and edited and finished and already on a dvd for sale and stuff already? Jeesh, what's taking you so long? :D














no, seriously, where can I see it?











The jello wrestling that is.

[Rodney V. Smith]

yeah, we shot and wrapped today! excellent shoot. Just wish the actors had had a script.... or for that matter had been there... but we got some excellent shots of the door.. so the star of the movie is now just the blue door. We'll have to rename it "The Strange Days of the Blue Door", but thats a small price to pay for art. We'll have to composite Jessica in doing jello wrestling and I'm sure thats gonna be an awesome scene where she tackles the door...

[Luis_]

Looking forward to checking out your stuff.

In case it helps you or anyone,

I created an online sharable agenda for my crew that outlines all the dates of all the events that are going to take place throughout the project including casting dates, shooting dates, and all other meeting dates.

It's a Google share doc in excell format. I also use Google docs for my script so my writers can help me with it from any location in the world.

I use this often for a lot of other things so thought it would be nice to share the info.

If it helps you or anyone else with your project, here's how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA&feature=PlayList&p=372A76C86AF35D52&index=12

(here's a note that you won't see in the video. when someone types something in your document from another location you won't see the change on your screen for about 30 to 45 seconds, and you don't have to refresh to see the changes, they automatically populate onto your screen.) Enjoy!

So anyway, I haven't posted my thread because I can't decide between 3 titles. After my first meeting on Tuesday April 7th with the crew I should have a decision.

So how's that script coming along Puck?

_

[mattspat]

Looking forward to checking out your stuff.

In case it helps you or anyone,

I created an online sharable agenda for my crew that outlines all the dates of all the events that are going to take place throughout the project including casting dates, shooting dates, and all other meeting dates.

It's a Google share doc in excell format. I also use Google docs for my script so my writers can help me with it from any location in the world.

I use this often for a lot of other things so thought it would be nice to share the info.

If it helps you or anyone else with your project, here's how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA&feature=PlayList&p=372A76C86AF35D52&index=12

(here's a note that you won't see in the video. when someone types something in your document from another location you won't see the change on your screen for about 30 to 45 seconds, and you don't have to refresh to see the changes, they automatically populate onto your screen.) Enjoy!

So anyway, I haven't posted my thread because I can't decide between 3 titles. After my first meeting on Tuesday April 7th with the crew I should have a decision.

So how's that script coming along Puck?

_

Luis....That is unbelievable! I am defiantly going to use this!

[Rodney V. Smith]

I'm surprised more people don't use Google Docs. That and IM are how Andrew and I collaborate on the scripts. If you haven't yet, check em out.

UPDATE: I'm currently in my airport waiting for my flight to O'Hare, which connects to a time portal leading to ancient Greece, and from there to Mars, before having to spend a week in Guam and then finally heading over to Atlanta.

sigh. long day.

[Richard J. Johnson]

If you stop in ancient greece please pick me one of those smokin, hot greek goddesses, I will pay you next week.


I'm surprised more people don't use Google Docs. That and IM are how Andrew and I collaborate on the scripts. If you haven't yet, check em out.

UPDATE: I'm currently in my airport waiting for my flight to O'Hare, which connects to a time portal leading to ancient Greece, and from there to Mars, before having to spend a week in Guam and then finally heading over to Atlanta.

sigh. long day.

[Rodney V. Smith]

And I'm BACK in the USA. woo hoo! I just had the MOST BRILLIANT idea too... like blockbuster worthy :grin:



N

[MrKilloran]

Okay...what now?

Isn't it obvious ... COMMENCE OPERATION: JELL-O!!!

[Rodney V. Smith]

I have now written into the script: a JELLO SCENE!

muahahahahahahahahaha!

[MrKilloran]

BRILLIANT! :thumbsup:

[Tim Joy]

When can I expect my residual check? :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

When can I expect my residual check? :)

right after you appear in the movie to wrestle in jello with Jessica. hope you don't mind getting your ass kicked by a girl.

Love the new edit of Again to Return, btw

[ramsaur]

Glad to see you back and good luck! Already interested in what this "jello scene" is going to be.

[Rodney V. Smith]

So I'm in Atlanta and trying to get settled in... but had a few problems. CS4 kept crashing on me, and then horror of horrors: blue screen of death! about 5 times in a row. So I reinstalled Windows and CS4 last night. Took a long time, but it's back on and now I gotta get back into the groove and get a move on with writing the script. Thankfully I keep everything important on an external drive.

now on to draft 657... maybe the Jello scene will survive intact...

[ZazaCast]

Puck... I don't think I officially welcomed you to the fest...so...WELCOME! I'm looking forward to seeing what you come-up with (jello), the artistic direction (jello) you follow & the talent (in jello) you cast.

Cheers!




jello, jello, jello.....

[Rodney V. Smith]

Puck... I don't think I officially welcomed you to the fest...so...WELCOME! I'm looking forward to seeing what you come-up with (jello), the artistic direction (jello) you follow & the talent (in jello) you cast.

Cheers!




jello, jello, jello.....


.... and this is the point when everything goes all banana shaped...

[Rodney V. Smith]

i'm scared now. I just wrote an action sequence. looked at it and then asked myself: "REALLy Rodney? I mean REALLY?"

[ZazaCast]

careful...pretty soon you'll have to "re-pitch" the whole project! Don't second guess yourself.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dude I ALWAYS second guess myself, why do you think we go through 7000 drafts of a script? t's like music... getting all of the beats right. The trick is staying on point, on message, follwing the basic principles that you set up in the first place.

One of those principles now just happens to be involve green jello...

[ZazaCast]

That's one way to look at it I guess...

[Tim Joy]

right after you appear in the movie to wrestle in jello with Jessica. hope you don't mind getting your ass kicked by a girl.

Love the new edit of Again to Return, btw

I'm there! Wait... I might need to ask my wife.



ME
Honey, can I wrestle Jessica
in Jello?

WIFE (O.S.)
What flavor Jello is it?

ME
I don't know. Cherry, maybe.

(beat)



WIFE (O.S.)
OK...only if it has those
little slices of banana in it.

Me jumps excitedly in his chair and furiously types on the computer.



DUDE I CAN DO IT!





WIFE (O.S.)
Promise me one thing though.

ME
What?

WIFE (O.S.)
That you won't cry when
Jessica beats your ass.

ME
Ok.

ME (V.O.)
Never! No woman could match my
Judo Jello wrestling Skillz. Plus, I'll
bring a poodle to distract her... the
Mods seem to like dogs lately and maybe
Puck will get a top 3 out of it.
it's win win.

I'm good to go. :thumbup:

When is the shoot, and what should I wear? I don't look that good in a Birthday suit. :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

hmmm.... a poodle you say?

[Tim Joy]

yeah, with one of those weird shave jobs... you know.

[orchidsofwrath]

I have a buddy named Joe Davis!

[ZazaCast]

I know a poodle named Joey Davis!

[Luis_]

LOL!!! I just read the last 3 pages!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
I almost fell out of my little avatar

[Rodney V. Smith]

Poor Jessica. We've now started the Green Jello Wrestling Federation(DVXUser Edition). Funny enough, Jessica is feeding me ideas of what to do... she's already scoping out kiddie pools for the match-up and she's ready to kick some ASS!

She's actually been hitting the gym pretty hard recently in preparation for another physically demanding role. With her tattoos and all she plays a pretty good ass-kicker chick.

[MrKilloran]

Jessica better be prep to Jell-o Wrestle, I hear poodles show no mercy.

[Rodney V. Smith]

We need a pic of you and your tattoos and looking all tough Jess. Show em what you;re made of.... all 5'2" of you....

[MrKilloran]

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/9639/jellol.jpg

Couldn't resist.... :grin:

[Rodney V. Smith]

just for you guys: Bad ass Jessica
http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/16643/1238639395.jpg

[RodThompson]

Puck, thanks for supporting the cause! :thumbup:

I look forward to the healthy competition, but I must warn you...I'm thinking about starting a petition to see if Christopher Walken will be in my film.:Drogar-Smoke(DBG):

[Rodney V. Smith]

Jessica will gladly wrestle Christopher Walken in a tub of green Jello!

[MrKilloran]

Jell-O Dome ... two actors enter, one actor leaves.

[Rodney V. Smith]

ACTUAL UPDATE:

Rewrite #9
I think we're on to the final gist of the storyline now. We;ve had the basic scenario laid out, but the main thing we were missing was the WHY of the quest. That one question motivates everything for us. WHY is he looking for it. WHY is she looking for it and what's at stake if she fails? WHY is she trying to stop him?

I think we finally nailed it tonight and the answers are good. Most of all the answers feel RIGHT, instead of being forced into shape.

It's a more organic approach and it has allowed us to really explore the characters and their motivations and more than anything else: their relationships. We're on track now to the final first draft of this current draft... the one that we will eventually call...

THE REAL FIRST DRAFT... but which is actually #9, or possibly #12...

woo hoo

[stinkpot]

Stopping by to wish you welcome to this fest.

I liked falling up by the way... so I'm looking forward to what you bring this time.

:beer:

[KTOOFRESH]

:beer:Love the poster... I can't to see what you have this fest

[Rodney V. Smith]

I'm not lurking your facebook page. I'm sharing you with the world! subtle difference. at least i'm not installing hidden webcams in your apartment. geez.

*** whoa.. that just gave me an idea for the script... ***

[ZazaCast]

installing hidden webcams in your apartment.

Webcams..... EXCELLENT!

[MrKilloran]

Hell no. No friggin' webcams. Geez...jell-o, webcams...this is turning into a WHOLE different kinda movie....I be scareded.....

Be afraid... very afraid :grin:

[ZazaCast]

O.K., ...lets see, Toronto... I can drive there in about 6 1/2 hours...give me another 4 hours to install the webcams...2 hours for the tub of jello to start setting...30 minutes for the beer to chill and 1 minute 29 seconds for the popcorn.

13 hours.......It's show time!

[MrKilloran]

O.K., ...lets see, Toronto... I can drive there in about 6 1/2 hours...give me another 4 hours to install the webcams...2 hours for the tub of jello to start setting...30 minutes for the beer to chill and 1 minute 29 seconds for the popcorn.

13 hours.......It's show time!

Don't worry Zaza I'll save you some time, I already got the beer chilled and the popcorn is good to go.!

[Rodney V. Smith]

i'm speechless.

[MrKilloran]

i'm speechless.

That's called pure joy... just let it sink in :thumbsup:

[Rodney V. Smith]

is that joy? wow. i thought joy would feel so much more.... "joyful"...

[MrKilloran]

is that joy? wow. i thought joy would feel so much more.... "joyful"...

Hmm, sounds like something you should bring up with a shrink. :happy:

[Rodney V. Smith]

Page 5, end of act 2 and now heading into Act 3 and the conclusion.

Some parts took a little longer timing wise than I would have expected, so I'm going to have to pace the shots when we do a test run to see how much coverage and establishing shots we;re going to need. Judging from how I shot both "Falling Up" and "Keeper of the Lost" some shots are going to be more about establishing the mood, setting the tone of the scene and those bits usually eat up a fair bit of screen time. if we end up with an 8 page script, then I know we're going to have issues.

Already we're keeping the conversations short, but adding character growth iand traits into each exchange, as well as a tiny bit of expostion, but it's extremely subtle. So subtle I dont think anyone will notice unless I tell them.... wait: i just did...

oh well. In any case, we're close to a a full complete first draft. We're happy with he way the story has shaped and developed and we;re really lookign forward to tomorrow when we write THE END.

Then we strip it down and work out the kinks, get some feedback and get it as solid as possible.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Oh and the infamous jello scene is now going to be part of the climax!

Jello will spatter!

Jessica will kick ass!

Yeehaanow will get his ass kicked!

Zazacast will delight in the sheer brutality of it all...

Mr Killoran will be astounded...

.... and I'll be selling green jello. a special limited edition green jello...

[Ryan E. Walters]

Not wasting ANY time I see! Congrats on being the first out of the gate. I like how you incorporated the tag line into the poster & release date.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Frakk! Damn endings. Frakk!

[SMarston]

im interested to see what you do this fest. i watched both entries for lossfest and they were both really well made and kept my attention. im sure you'll pull out another fine movie. good luck in the fest

[Robert Eldon]

From the poster, title, and font, this looks like it could be good fun! Looking forward to what you come up with this time around.

[Rodney V. Smith]

From the poster, title, and font, this looks like it could be good fun! Looking forward to what you come up with this time around.

Well thanks for the vote of confidence in my font. :grin:

we're getting jiggy with it this time, you can be assured.

[Rodney V. Smith]

We have reached consensus on the final script. Currently tweaking some relationship and motivation stuff to make sure it's utterly clear, but the script is essentially complete.

I'll have to get started on collecting props in the next couple of day, since the Art Department is going to be very important this time around.

I have to buy and make a whole bunch of keys, different shapes and sizes, different ages. So looks likeIi'll be boning up on my craft skills.

I also need a leather bound journal where I'll be making drawings and other quest related stuff for the movie. If I could pick up a leather cover that's already aged, then that would be cool, but we need a level of authenticity.

Anyway I also have to re-pitch, but that wont be a problem wince we havent veered that much off course.... just self- corrected and found the true heart of the story.

Fun times and almost time for a new podcast.

[Dustin R. Rogan]

we're getting jiggy with it this time, you can be assured.

Oh no you didn't...i no longer know you mr. smith...hang your head in shame!
:banned:

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

yes i did and I am ashamed. my head is hung low.

[dsto]

At least he didn't Bust-a-move....

[Rodney V. Smith]

At least he didn't Bust-a-move....

i almost did. i wanted to, but I knew it wouldn't be kosher.

[Rodney V. Smith]

The re-pitch is in based on the completely rewritten script. A few elements remain from the firt draft, but it's essentially quite a different story at this point.

Polish tonight and then it goes out for review.

[Rodney V. Smith]

synopsis updated.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Getting some crucial feedback here and using it to fix some outstanding issues that I completely over looked. Also changed the ending. Just one line, but it makes such a huge difference.

I like this script alot. Rogan says it's a close second to the script for "Keeper of the Lost" (which is his favorite of my scripts), but I think the filming of this will push it way beyond anything that KOTL could have been....

We'll see.

Time to start securing locations and getting props in place. Dollar store time.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Podcast #1 is up on page 1

PODCAST #1: The Tragic Hero
Friday, April 10, 2009
3097d3b11b1de0c4be

[Robert Eldon]

Dang! Good to see all of this involvement so early in the fest. Very well done. Keep 'em coming!:thumbsup:

And Rodney, will you be using the Brevis for your shoot? How do you like the Brevis if you don't mind me asking?

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dude I LOVE the Brevis. It's so damn quiet I have to remind myself to check that it's actually turned on. It's a great unit and it's definitely doing to be in use on "STRANGE DAYS..."

I'll be fooling around with a new 24mm lens on the shoot especially for some of the shots I have in mind and good DOF is going to be needed for those shots...

Dunno when the next podcast will come. I'll probably do one on story structure and quests though...

[Rodney V. Smith]

The Evolution of an Idea
So this movie, this "Strange Days of Joey Davis" is another stab at getting one of my oldest and fondest stories... and characters, into movie form.

My first script EVER was about Joey Davis and through Joey I met Ari. She was called Annie at the time and eventually became Ariel, then Ariane and now finally we just call her Ari. But they were there all along. Joey and Ari were always there.

I've attempted a few rewrites over the years, but I was in a different place then when I started and the fantastic now seemed so mundane, forced into place as it were. Now I'm in a place to truly understand the characters and their quest and get it into production.

The last rewrite of the feature length script was completed sometime last year and it was a complete reinvention of the entire story. The characters now made more sense.... but they left so many questions unanswered. I never finished the rewrite and polish of that script.

Bringing Andrew Stoute into the writing process for Questfest was the best idea. We'd just finished the weeklong collaborative process of scripting our werewolf script "Once Bitten", and with Quest Fest in the works, I decided it was a good time to bring Joey Davis back to life.

The first thing out was the poster and it was a recreation of a painting I'd done when I was 17... of a lonely door in a broken wall in the middle of a field. This mysterious door was going to be my "MacGuffin"... my mystery... and the quest was going to be for the door.

At the time I simply churned out a script, but reaching page 3 was always a problem. It was always... "and what happens next?". Writing for me has always been a lot like opening myself up to seeing a story... like opening a window and writing down what I see. A stream of consciousness. However when I write and I don;t understand what's going on, I'll end up making up details instead of understanding the WHY of it and just writing to suit. When you CHANGE the intent of the story you change the entire flow and before long you're off the tracks.

So bringing Andrew in forced me to take a step back and explain the story, explain what it was and answer those annoying "whys" that he has a habit of asking. But it's useful, that process and we went through it, back and forth. He'd do a plotline, and I'd script it and eventually one of us would always ask "why".

So that let to several rewrites... some where we scrapped the entire storyline and started fresh from a brand new blank page. Google Docs were actually really useful to the process and we have 4 documents in existence right now with Andrew's bullet points and maybe a few scraps of script here and there. Some even have the almost complete scripts up to the point a question was raised that trumped us completely.

We had several characters show up, only to die or be thrown away. We even had a nemesis show up until it was decided that he wasn't useful to the story and only complicated things. Made everything muddy as it were. In fact with the "Tall Man" there we actually ended up with 3 quests. One for each main character and with a 6 minute timeline there just wasn't enough room for 3 quests. Sure they all converged on the door, but for character development, story progression and a statisfying ending... well we were at page 8 (1 page = 1 minute) and no good ending was in sight.

So we killed him.

Had no other choice.

And the story came alive. It became something new, and it was based on Ari's and Joey's relationship. The backstory was all there easy to see and we could finally understand how they had gotten to this point of their lives where a chance discovery led to an interesting hobby/past-time... and eventually an obsession.

My characters had finally grown up, evolved and are ready to come to life.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Sorry guys, Jessica is not able to commit to this film as we previously hoped she would. Apparently some other directors are taking note of her talent so looks like she'll be in for a busy summer.

Guess this means I won't be flying her down to Minnesota after all...

[Rodney V. Smith]

So with that one announcement out of the way, here's another one:

We'll be shooting in Eden Prairie, a town north of Minneapolis, MN. This is the hometown of my longtime writing partner and collaborator Andrew Stoute.

Right now I'm looking at my production schedule to see when this trip would be most financially viable. I have a couple of music video shoots over the next couple of months and now it's time to juggle schedules once again. So still sorting out schedules.

In the meantime we'll be auditioning in Minneapolis and scouting locations there.

[ZazaCast]

You've been Bobbled!!!

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=776

[Rodney V. Smith]

You've been Bobbled!!!

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=775


what is the "o" stand for?

[ZazaCast]

D'OUGH! (not enough coffee this morning...here you go!)

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=776

[Rodney V. Smith]

Apparently Andrew moved. Now we're shooting in Apple Valley, MN. sigh

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Apparently Andrew moved. Now we're shooting in Apple Valley, MN. sigh:huh:

Crazy. Good luck!

Nice bobble head BTW. :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

:huh:

Nice bobble head BTW. :)

It's my favorite Bobble Head. Damn Zaza and his bobble-heading ways...

[Tim Joy]

No Jessica? But... our Jello wrestling plans are still on , right?


I can't WAIT for my Bobblehead!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Just posted an advert on Craigslist for MN actors, so I guess it's time to meet some new people.

Andrew is looking for an audition space and we'll coordicnate so that he can audition the actors and video tape them so I can make the selections. Maybe we'll record AND I can also view via webcam. Either way I'll be able to get auditions out of the way within the next 2 weeks so we can move on to rehersals.

Hope my luck with actors runs well, becasue I'm going to have to take a beautiful girl make her not perfect... make a real person that everyone can relate to on some level.

Joey doesn't get so much of a makeover. He is after all the Tragic Hero...

[Rodney V. Smith]

No Jessica? But... our Jello wrestling plans are still on , right?


I can't for my Bobblehead!

I'm as devastated as you about the Jello contest. Maybe we can arrange that as a sideshow type of thing. If Jessica can schedule you in of course. She's finally getting busy so others are finally seeing what you guys saw almost immediately.

[ZazaCast]

I'm as devastated as you about the Jello contest.

Yeah... but we still get the webcams...right? :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

Yeah... but we still get the webcams...right? :)

only of me and nobody wants that

[lyonfilms]

Looking forward to this one!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Looking forward to this one!

thanks dude. hope to deliver

[MrKilloran]

wait... so its a no-go on the Jell-o?

[Rodney V. Smith]

well i still have the jello... just need someone to wrestle in it..

[MrKilloran]

Yeah, you wouldn't want a pool full of jell-o to go to waste.

[Tim Joy]

Since it sounds like Jessica is out, I will be holding auditions for my Jello wrestling opponent.

We're low on jello here in VT, so we'll have to use a substitute for the auditions... something we have a lot of.

Creamed Corn it is!

[Dustin R. Rogan]

Just dropping by to say "hi" to my favorite Canadian/ATL'er film maker, Rodney you truily are a friend and a pro. Keep up the good work, your dedication to your craft is a beautiful thing!

Good Luck and Thanks!

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

Thanks for the support Dustin and I just have to say that I'm sorry for saying that you're not funny anymore. You're still a slacker.. but at least a funny slacker.

[Dustin R. Rogan]

*cough*

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

fine: you're the funniest guy i never met.

happy now?

[Dustin R. Rogan]

I officially call a truce, my good man. Good Luck with the film and heres to meeting your ass one of these days :beer:

Rogan

[Sarah Daly]

Awww -you guys are cute!!

Ps. Love this concept Rodney - can't wait to see how this progresses!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Awww -you guys are cute!!

Ps. Love this concept Rodney - can't wait to see how this progresses!

Thanks Sarah. It's shaping up quite nicely so far. We're collecting a whole bunch of keys via EBAY and garage sales and Andrew's already started in the door, so things are coming together. Production design is going to make or break this film.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Looks like it's time for scheduling conflicts! This is good news on one hand because it means more shoots are coming up (music videos so far), but it also means we're going to have to push the dates for production into the end of May, and at worst, early June.

One of the downsides of living in Toronto and having my workbase in Atlanta and New York is that I have to try to schedule shoots in blocks so they all occur around the same time. These blocks ensure that I stay on schedule especially in Post-Production, but also leave other productions cold if the timing doesn't line up.

Not ideal, but it is workable. We're sinking some funds into this production so we're going to have to work around the schedule a lot. I may have to subcontract at the worst, or eat the cost of travel at some point, but this film is getting made.

Still looking for our "Ari" though. Still looking...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Jaimyon Parker has been cast as Joey Davis

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=859

We worked together on "Ex-Collection" and the feature film "Mort" in Houston and he's since moved to LA to pursue his career. Since he's been dying for a chance to work with me AND he's got the chops for a serious performance, well, now is the time.

[RanRanBobandyMan]

There are lots of really epic sounding entries. This almost reminds me of the narnia series in a way

[Rodney V. Smith]

Nothing like Narnia... yes, there's a strange door, but that is about it. If anything I expected more comparisons to Stephen King's "Drawing of the Three" from Gunslinger series, than anything else.

And it's only fantasy because... well because it's not exactly horror or sci-fi...

[RanRanBobandyMan]

hey, theres a sweet idea.

stephen king meets narnia. dark, gritty narnia. that would be pimp.

but yeah, looks sweet, good luck. i won't be participating this time. maybe next time

[majikfraug]

hey, theres a sweet idea.

stephen king meets narnia. dark, gritty narnia. that would be pimp.

but yeah, looks sweet, good luck. i won't be participating this time. maybe next time

The Dark Tower saga is a bit like that :)
-even has a talking animal or two!

[Dustin R. Rogan]

stopping in to see if you're staying out of trouble...

Rogan

[RanRanBobandyMan]

I haven't read the dark towers series yet. maybe i should do that soon. i've heard great things.

[Solomon Chase]

Rodney, you are an unstoppable freight train of movie making madness!

Looking forward to watching this.

(also looking forward to using your camera dolly I still have for my questfest film... *evil laugh* )

[Rodney V. Smith]

Rodney, you are an unstoppable freight train of movie making madness!

I think I'm going to have to make that my unofficial slogan now...



(also looking forward to using your camera dolly I still have for my questfest film... *evil laugh* )
Someday I will came back for that (May 23-30) but I think it has a good home with you Solomon. You'll definitely put it to great use. Have you started drinking yet? We need to grab a couple of beers!

[NoDice]

holy how is this thread so huge?

[ZazaCast]

holy how is this thread so huge?

Lots of Babble....I mean bobble....
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=776

:happy:

[Rodney V. Smith]

Right then: I've decided how to do auditions for Ari.

We've got a number of women to interview and we've selected only a few who look the part. Personality is going to count for a lot, especially for this role. It's a brutal role acting wise and in the end the character is not going to be looking her best, so the prissy misses are going to have to take a walk from the get-go.

but the clincher here is the answer to this question: will they be willing to wrestle in GREEN JELLO????

one girl has already said yes...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Talking to a Sound Designer from Minnesota about coming on to do some production sound for us. I've got most of my gear taken care of in terms of sound, courtesy of ebay, so feeling more confident about getting great on location sound. The more specialized crew we have, the better.

Sound gear so far consists of:
Audio-Technica AT835b Shotgun Mic
Shure M267 4-Channel Microphone/Mic Audio Mixer
Bescor BMW-PRO Wireless Lavalier
Tensimount Shock Mount (http://www.tensimount.com/)
Portabrace Mixerbag
3x 25' XLR Cables
Micover Furry for the AT835b

For my stationary mixing needs I have a Samson Mixpad9
http://www.samsontech.com/images/productimages/m9.gif

Came within SECONDS of winning a Blimp on ebay, but alas it eluded me. Might end up just buying a brand new one if my bidding goes on like this.

Still looking for a good Boom Pole that's not going to break the bank. Or my wife is going to have a fit. So far I've only spent $200 on sound gear so I'm doing pretty well...

Shawneous had suggested a few other tools which I ordered, but they arrived in Toronto while I was here in Atlanta so I'll have to refresh my memory of exactly what I ordered when I get a chance to play with it.

But so far sound department is looking good. Just need to get some more cables and adapters and I think I'll be loaded for bear.

[Rodney V. Smith]

holy how is this thread so huge?

Jello. Lots and lots of it.

And Jessica.

Combine the two and you have instant thread boomage.

[Rodney V. Smith]

By the way, if anyone is interested, the place I got my mixer from are selling about 18 more of them for $74 plus $10 shipping. I'm not affiliated with these guys, and I've not heard any bad reviews of the mixers, so trying to pass on a good deal.

Shure M267 4-Channel Microphone/Mic Audio Mixer
Link (http://cgi.ebay.com/Shure-M267-4-Channel-Microphone-Mic-Audio-Mixer_W0QQitemZ330325855193QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item330325855193&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1234|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|2 93:1|294:50)

[AmyO]

Wow, I'm late to his party, but I heard there was Jell-o. . .

Seriously, cool to see you in this. Can't wait to see what's behind that blue door. :)

[MrKilloran]

but the clincher here is the answer to this question: will they be willing to wrestle in GREEN JELLO????

one girl has already said yes...

IT's BAAAAACK!:happy:

[Rodney V. Smith]

Muhahahah... I have plans for the Jello... and as for that blue door... well there's gonna be a whole podcast on getting the door ready.

[jessicalsin]

Okay okay...I'll do the Jell-o....hehehehe.

[Tim Joy]

Does that mean IT'S ON again? Jello... no Jello..... Jello.... No Jello.... Jello.. I get so Confused. :undecided

[Rodney V. Smith]

I promise you this: even if it's me in a Bikini (and it won't) THERE WILL BE JELLO!

[ZazaCast]

Okay okay...I'll do the Jell-o....hehehehe.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=960

[Rodney V. Smith]

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=960


LOL
dude you've got WAAAAY too much photoshop time on your hands.

[ZazaCast]

True....true....

[Rodney V. Smith]

Diner Location has been locked down. Trying to get permits to film in the State Park now.

Always fun trying to get permits. In this case definitely required since we have so much equipment and props to bring in. We ave to construct the door to be free standing, without having to dig at all, so sandbags and leaves are going to be our best friends to stabilize the door. I'm now regretting not putting the door in a more accessible location that doesn't need approval and avoids red-tape.

No more guerilla film-making.. at least not on this one...

[Rodney V. Smith]

I officially hate the Minneapolis State Park.
http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=27

So much for keeping location budgets low. PLUS Andrew reports that the tick count is pretty high in the area, so not too thrilled about that.

Currently the closest person he knows with a cabin in 6 Hours away.
Practically in Canada.

Time for Plan B....

[AmyO]

Sorry about that. Makes me glad I live in Oregon where all our State Parks are "Fee Free" for filming (still need to get a permit.)

Maybe Kurt (Kurtmo) can help you find a suitable location? http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=170443

[Rodney V. Smith]

thanks Amy. PM sent and I've got Andrew looking at alternate locations. Last thing I want to do is compromise the location like I've had to do for several other films. It's good when you can get exactly the location you had in mind all along.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Need new strategy. My shooting dates in Minneapolis are set to be the same dates as the Minneapolis/St Paul 48 Hour Challenge. Getting crew and additional equipment on that weekend is now going to be more complicated than I had anticipated.

[Susanne G.]

Need new strategy. My shooting dates in Minneapolis are set to be the same dates as the Minneapolis/St Paul 48 Hour Challenge. Getting crew and additional equipment on that weekend is now going to be more complicated than I had anticipated.

Don't give up - I like your films and looking forward to this one. There will be for sure an other shooting weekend. BTW - I like the poster.

Susanne

[Rodney V. Smith]

Don't give up - I like your films and looking forward to this one. There will be for sure an other shooting weekend. BTW - I like the poster.

Susanne

No worries: I almost never give up. We're definitely going through with it. I plan to be in Minneapolis for 2 weeks and we just came up with a couple of changes that will make filming go a hell of a lot easier.

I'll announce the changes as soon as we finish this one last re-write....

[Rodney V. Smith]

Video auditions are the weirdest thing I've done all year. Don;t ask me about the weirdest thing I did last year or that will get overly descriptive. This year the video audition via Webcam and speaker phone, definitely tops the list.

It must have been weird for the actress as well and I can imagine it only made it more awkward for her, but I suppose with the right talent that doesn't matter at all. Some people just have the ability to shine through regardless of the situation. In most auditions it's a cold room with a camera, a few lights and a table of people staring at you, so this really shouldn't have been that awkward for an actor.

Still it did give me a first chance to see the actor. I'll do callbacks once I get my feet on the ground and meet her in person so this is more homework than anything else.

However I do know that she's not Ari. She has potential to be, but the gut feelign I have is that the right person for Ari wouldn;t be intimidated by anything and that would shine right through.

We'll see...

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Webcam auditions.... cool!

Good luck in your quest. :D

[Rodney V. Smith]

this is turning into the "Strange Casting Habits of Rodney Smith"

[kurtmo]

Glad to hear you're still charging ahead with this one! Keep me posted if you have anything I can lend a hand with.

[Bro. Stephen]

Cool, Can't wait to see this one.

[Rodney V. Smith]

I love Ikea. I've purchased a number of their china balls for soft lighting as well as some practicals and now that I have some time to sit and plan for this new location... well I might need a whole string of them and for the nighttime shots it should look totally super cool.

The biggest thing is this: in a line? Or in a circle...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Glad to hear you're still charging ahead with this one! Keep me posted if you have anything I can lend a hand with.

Definitely charging full speed ahead! I'll be in touch as we get more stuff planned out. Stil trying to sort out equipment moves... I hate to be without my full kit but because I'm flying in I'm going to have to choose carefully and use the 2 weeks to DIY a few things.

[dsto]

Can't wait. Circle

[Dustin R. Rogan]

I know I've pretty much abandoned you my friend, but I think you understand my current situation. The winds of Change are a'blowin, and I'm coming back full force! You're still my hero :D

Looks like things are going great!

Rogan

[Rodney V. Smith]

Can't wait. Circle


I have to weeks to try out the lighting schemes so I'll test them both out. The circle gives good even illumination without any hard shadows so it's tempting go that direction... but the intent of the scene may discourage that kind of lighting.

This is for the climax so pretty can only go so far... gonna need harsh shadows somewhere along the line.

I'm excited to get started in this shoot since I'm going to be trying out some lighting schemes I've never attempted before. I'm also going to attempt shooting some of the night time shots at sunset so we have more color in the sky for those wide shots.

And for the first time in about 5 years I'll be using Home Depot worklights again but for a slightly different purpose... Some of you may be able to guess the reason for these harsh lights...

Must remember to call up the rental houses there and see what gels they have lying around....

[Rodney V. Smith]

I know I've pretty much abandoned you my friend, but I think you understand my current situation. The winds of Change are a'blowin, and I'm coming back full force! You're still my hero :D

Looks like things are going great!

Rogan


You just want me to shoot in Tejas. "winds of change" indeed.

All kidding aside, good luck with your situation dude. And good to see you're planning for a full force (and not moon) return...

[Rodney V. Smith]

first set of location pictures are finally up thanks to Andrew. Finally got him to upload them. He's taking pictures of the interior tomorrow as well as the Diner in the next few days.

I've got enough right now to do a previz of the area I want to shoot and how I'm going to set it up. I've definitely decided to do the circle of China balls and we're going to shoot around sunset... mainly because the HVX hate low light situations and tends to get a little grainy in the blacks. We'll have to see how well we can light the entire area.

Thinking of placing the door pretty close to the water but we'll see once I get my feet on the ground...

[ZazaCast]

If I were you, I'd plan on a few slider shots...and for God sake, I hope you don't backlight the door with those worklights.
Next thing you know, you'll be talking about the fog machine too!
:):)

[Rodney V. Smith]

Ooh: fog machine!

Nah, not planning on back lighting the door with the worklight. I have much more sinsiter things planned for them... so much so that I actually have to do some pre-shooting before the real shoot, just so I can get it perfect....

[ZazaCast]

EXCELLENT....I'm looking forward to it!

[Rodney V. Smith]

It may even involve the Zaza-Slider and a motor to crank it if I can get it running in time... we'll see how much time I have to build extra toys.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Storyboard are nice for setting up the IDEA for a shot, but digital camera are so nice to get the movement all set up. I'm not on location yet, but I went location scouting with Jake today for a music video and we were discussing some crane shots on his Kessler Crane. The original idea was to do some stills.. but we threw the camera into video mode and faked some crane shots, pretty much simulating what we'll be doing tomorrow so we both knew exactly what the other was trying to describe.

Now I'm back to work on my storyboards and I shot an email over to Andrew to give me a video walkthrough of the house and the exterior location. The door isn't in place yet, of course, but the video he sent over proved extremely useful in visualizing some of the shots... including some I hadn't thought of... more to come.

[ZazaCast]

Now that you've figured out how you're going to hang your balls....any other updates?
How goes it?

[Rodney V. Smith]

It goes well. Ramping up for a busy production cycle here and just trying to get some work out the door so I can focus on the important things.

We've begun purchsing out props via Ebay and craigslist (keys and lots of keys). Apparently people sell just about anything on ebay including old keys that nobody wants anymore.

Andrew is on the hunt for a snazzy looking door handle... not the round one, but one that we can actually SEE turning... and then he's got to find a way to mount it as per script and production design...

Andrew did get the door sanded though so he's feeling very confident in his use of a beltsander. Next will be painting it and then mounting in it the frame. The actual mounting of the door will probably take place while I'm there, as well as any accessorizing. We've got pictures of the door, but it's very ugly right now.. Will take more as it gets accessorized.

I also started on some base sketches and I'm playing around with storyboards.

Oh yeah: the Minneapolis leg of the 48 Hour Project is on the weekend of the shoot. We're actually shooting earlier in the week and then doing the 48 Hour on the weekend, so it's going to be one hell of a weekend.

UPDATE: I just bought a new jib for use stateside...

[Rodney V. Smith]

Jib has been delivered. 4 Bank DIY Kino is ready... china balls next.

[Ryan E. Walters]

Sounds like it is coming together! That has got to feel good. :)

Great job on the BTS / updates & location pix. I also like how you've done a pod cast. Do you ever sleep?

I'm looking forward to seeing this one.

[chaconkevin]

location and all the posters and other pics look real good. like the whole feel

definetly will check in

good luck, can't wait to watch the film.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Sounds like it is coming together! That has got to feel good. :)

Great job on the BTS / updates & location pix. I also like how you've done a pod cast. Do you ever sleep?


Sleep is for the unwary! or just the sleepy... or those who don't have super-active 1 year olds to keep track of...

I have to pull more pictures out of Andrew, but he's been busy not cutting his lawn and taking photos of tattoos for his Enduring Ink project. The more pictures he takes, the more backlog I get... but I gotta sometime refocus him on location pictures. 1 week until I get on location, so I'm excited.

More updates and blogs will be coming once I get there and get my head wrapped around the whole thing. Maybe i'll even document my battle with the geese...


location and all the posters and other pics look real good. like the whole feel


Once the main prop is in place things will start to get really interesting...

I've got "the book" now and I've started to fill the pages, albeit slowly, but it's getting there. I'll have to eventually beat the shit out of it to give it that authentic feel, but it's all part of the process... and probably the subject of yet another podcast...

Exciting things coming along...

[Rodney V. Smith]

first field test of Jib yesterday. I officially hate it and now it's going right back on Ebay. This is the point I really begin to miss Jake's Kessler Crane. Considering a DIY Kessler, just for this shoot... I mean I've already got the tripod head and everything in place for the jib... and it's kind of critical for this movie to have the jib available.

Time to hit Ikea for their solid aluminum uprights and see if I can find a welder in Minneapolis... or just a machine shop with tools and the like...

Too much DIY going on here with so little time. I've decided against the DIY kino at least, and we're going the route of Soft Boxes for my tungstens. Soft boxes travel better anyway and I'm waiting for those to be delivered.

Anyway, enough of my ranting. I have some editing to do.

[Rodney V. Smith]

New pics added: props have been purchased andmore are coming...

PROPS & STUFF
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1091
The book: picked it up from a store in the airport as in impulse buy... kinda like what Joey may have done at some point.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1092
99 Keys: Ebay and craigslist are amazing for random junk...

[Ryan E. Walters]

Sleep is for the unwary! or just the sleepy... or those who don't have super-active 1 year olds to keep track of...

LOL! Well I do not have a super-active 1 year old, so I guess I'm in the unwary category. :)


More updates and blogs will be coming once I get there and get my head wrapped around the whole thing. Maybe i'll even document my battle with the geese...

OOOO - Puck The Mad Against the Geese- who will win out? That could be a questfest entry of all its own. ;) Keep up the great work, I'm looking forward to following all of the BTS action!

[Marlon Ladd]

Any updates, Puck?

[Rodney V. Smith]

I'm currently in Atlanta running myself ragged with shooting and editing, trying to turn these projects out as fast as humanly possible, while prepping for "Strange Days..." Man, what a week so far and I'm not even on location in Minneapolis yet.

I'm attempting a DIY build today on a little project for this music video tomorrow and it's going to be a little useful tool that I can use to great effect on "Strange Days..." I have all of the parts and between renders I'm going to see how much sense I can make of it.

In Atlanta for one more week and no time for fun: just work work work, but Minneapolis is just one week away so excitement is building....

[ZazaCast]

...so what are you doin' hanging around here... get to work!
(and it would be nice to know more about the DIY project you speak of...)

[ZazaCast]

Well....?????

[Rodney V. Smith]

DAY ONE
Wow. I mean seriously: wow. I have never seen so much of the mid-west (from above) as I have today, and I tell ya: that's a LOT of space out there.

Finally here in Apple Valley MN, and we've pretty much hit the ground running. Andrew and I have a couple of projects in the works and the production of "Strange Days..." is the grand kickoff. Of course this was AFTER we got lost in the airport parking lot looking for Andrew's car which he swore should have been right there.... but it wasn't. If I'd had a camera, that would have been a good QuestFest documentary right there.

We dropped the equipment off to the house, took a look at the entire house and found some hidden gems that Andrew hadn't seen fit to tell me about. I'll have pictures of those later... some good locations just in the house and on the property.

We've been scheduling auditions for tomorrow at the library, and we had to make a choice of people to audition for 'Strange Days..." and for the 48 Hour Project. There's going to be a bit of crossover there, so no worries at all. Next I'll have to meet with crew members on Friday/Saturday.

I brought the dollywheels with me, so we headed off to the hardware store to pick up some supplies and I found the most useful thing ever: this store "Menards" sells PVC pipe, schedule 40, perfect for dolly track, already pre-cut to 5' sections. Perfect joins all the time. No more fussing. So I picked up enough for a 40ft run as well as the connecting pieces. Got the platform for the dolly and some tools and then headed back to the house.

Also got a look at the diner location and now have more questions since the windows are so huge and there's no way I have enough ND to cover a window that size. We're looking at alternate sections to shoot in, or failing that, after hours since sound is going to be an issue. We'll have to see what they say about that. But I took pictures and those will also be uploaded later.

Right now I have to do some editing to finish up one of the music videos for the ATL trip. But here we are now at Day One...

[Rodney V. Smith]

DINER LOCATION PHOTOS

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1150

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1149

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1148

BUILDING THE DOLLY
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1147

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1146

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1145

[Rodney V. Smith]

Auditions today. Wish me luck.

Remember: auditions usually = podcast!

[ZazaCast]

Good luck!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Good luck!

[Rodney V. Smith]

DAY TWO
Mein gott! What an unmitigated disaster that was!
Okay: Just kidding. Auditions actually went pretty well. We got some good talent coming in, and good looking people. I of course always try to look beyond the obvious and try to see underneath a reading. Not all actors audition well and are in fact, completely different people on set. Confidence tends to be lacking in auditions and maybe that's why I hate them so much. The actors tend to forget that we're rooting for them to be good and not waiting for them to fail.

My favorite for Ari was just that. She was nervous and running late, so of course that made her more nervous. But damn she looked the part and just in conversation with her beforehand, I could tell that her personality was strong and she was someone I'd like to work with. The read however was almost exactly that: a read. It wasn't until I gave her a line reading that I noticed a huge improvement and realized something about this one particular actor. She was a mimic.

Some actors can take a scene and impart their personality on it, really make it their own (one of the reasons I liked working with Jessica Sinclair), while others need a little more guidance, a nudge... because they lack the confidence or the experience. Melizza lacks the experience in acting but she was able to take the line reading and not parrot it back to me, but really get into it and then make it her own.

So we have a callback scheduled for tuesday (which is actually rehearsal, but she doesn't know this yet) and she has the weekend to sit with the script and memorize her lines. Hopefully her raw talent will win over the nervousness, especially since she will already have more time to prepare and just make adjustments.

We'll see come Tuesday... In the meantime, I have more pictures to upload.

[Rodney V. Smith]

DAY THREE
Finished the dolly build today and started to do some photos of the angles I want for my storyboards. Andrew's girlfriend Gen was gracious enough to be a model for me and we took a couple of shots.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1155

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1156

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1157

Of course this process has made me realize that because of a variety of reasons, the basement is possibly the best location for the scene where Ari has her little "moment". I'm going to start printing out all of the drawings and information and maps to dress the set with, and prep it for the final push next week. I'm staying down in the basement and that's command central where we're staging most of the equipment and actors... so I'm essentially sleeping on set. So dressing the set is going to have it's own challenges while I'm living in it, but it's not insurmountable.

The big Jib build is this weekend and that's going to be a fun one. I've made adjustments to the plans from last week's build, and version 6 will be solid as a rock... not as much a monster as Frank's (postmaster) jib, but still pretty hefty. Dave is shipping up my tripod and heavy duty Manfrotto Tripod head, so they'll be arriving on monday. Hurray and all that jazz.

Oh yeah: decided to make use of Andrew's soft boxes for some of the shots. I only have 4 lights with me (1x600w, and 3x 300w) so I'm not running at full strength, but I've lit with less lights and really bad lights, so I can be a little creative.

Doing one more rewriting session tonight just to fix some details, but we're pretty much ready to go. Now we just have to decide between Melizza and possibly this other girl (I forget her name and I'm too lazy to look) who we're auditioning on Sunday. Jaimyon gets in on Tuesday and he's excited as we all are, so I'll be able to walk through the scenes with him and the camera and really plan the blocking and camera movements down to the last detail.

Pictures are coming in a bit.

[Rodney V. Smith]

STORYBOARD SHOTS #1
Lens set to 28mm, f/4.0 (adjust settings in camera),
Lighting: 300w tungsten, patterned gobo in front.

Genevieve is our on set photographer and she's standing in for the actress.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1154
Scene 2, Set Up #1
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1153
Storyboard #2, Set Up #2, 50mm
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1152
Set Up #3, Lens change lens to 85mm
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1151
Setup #1 on Dolly, 24mm

[Ben Sliker]

nice prep work rodney. I took a bunch of shots with a D70s to help with Desideratum, It's a really helpful tool.

[Rodney V. Smith]

nice prep work rodney. I took a bunch of shots with a D70s to help with Desideratum, It's a really helpful tool.

I'm using the Rebel XTi with a couple of primes and a zoom to try to match the lenses I'll be using. I just have to be careful with the light since it plays with lowlight so much nicer than my HVX will manage. Great tool to prep though and once the actors are all here I can do a real walkthrough on location to see what works... this kind of prep is so nice to have right now. I'm loving it.

[Rodney V. Smith]

THE DOOR

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1161

Cropped, no touch-ups.
I'm excited.

[conrad_johnson]

You shooting this stuff in Apple Valley?

If you guys need anything, let me know. I'm close and have a bunch of useful shit.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dude, that would totally rock. I was only able to grab some select gear to fly out here and my tripod is still supposed to be en route. If you have a good sturdy tripod I may have to ask you to marry me.

[conrad_johnson]

When do you need it? And its for the HVX right?
I can probably hook you up... I also have great sound shizz.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Damn dude: you're a recording engineer. Thought you were just a filmmaker like most of the rest of us. I've got some basic sound gear with me, the Shure M287 mixer and my Audio-Technica 835b. That's most likely nowhere near as good a setup as what you've got, so I'm definitely interested.

We're shooting this thursday and friday... then going straight in to the 48 Hour Challenge so that's gonna be a hell of a ride.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay, time to go freak out the neighbours with the weird door in the middle of the lawn...

[Brandon Rice]

Good luck on the shoot coming up!

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

THE DOOR

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1161

Cropped, no touch-ups.
I'm excited.
The door looks great! :thumbup:

[Rodney V. Smith]

The door looks great! :thumbup:

wait till you see the Ground Effects Kit I'm installing. Add some flames and some pneumatics and this door is gonna be kicking.

[AmyO]

Love the door. This is gonna be fun!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Well the process of watching me make it will be fun... as for the movie... I;d have to do yet another rewrite to bring the fun in...

[AmyO]

There's funny fun and then there is the enjoyment of a movie that is a bit out of the box, I would say. I would call a big blue door in the middle of the field out of the box. :)

[Rodney V. Smith]

you make a compelling argument Amy. I'll have to agree with you on that... and now realize how much pressure is on me to make this compelling. Dammit. Another rewrite! Always time for one more!

[Rodney V. Smith]

Okay, our prop-master/firearms expert has agreed to come on and make sure everything is completely safe. She will be providing a Sig Sauer with blanks (but we only see the gun actually fired once) and will be going through a brief training session with the actors on Thursday. While it's kind of cool to have that kind of realism to the film and the safety precautions, it's also kind of scary. Good to know that the actors will take it as seriously as he rest of us are. You guys know how silly actors can get with props.

I think this is the one she said she will be providing, The P250®, a modular pistol that allows the shooter to change caliber and size at will....
http://www.sigsauer.com/upFiles/catalog/product/P250-F-Nitron-detail-L.jpg

[Rodney V. Smith]

Diner scene got cut in the last rewrite and is now occurring at the house. HOWEVER, there are a bunch of new locations, so we're going to be having a nice variety of scenery going on.

Also welcome Melizza Man on board as "Ari"
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/picture.php?albumid=108&pictureid=1162

She's a model primarily and a first time actor so I'll be putting her through the wringer on this one. Poor thing. Jaimyon (who has worked with me before) feels sorry for her, but you gotta ask yourself: If I'm so bad, then why is he here all the way from LA?

Actors are strange people.

Anyway, been up all night doing rewrites with some interesting input from Jaimyon, so Andrew and I have finally LOCKED down the script. NO MORE CHANGES

Until shooting day... but we all know how that goes.

Anyway, more equipment to pick up tomorrow thanks to Conrad_Johnson (seriously: thanks dude) who happens to live very close to us, so we'll be having one HELL of a sound kit. If I don't get my sound right on this one... well... I'll have no damn excuses.

More later. And Maybe finally the next podcast.

[dsto]

keep it up! Door is great! I now have time to check out your podcast. gonna go take a gander

[Rodney V. Smith]

Just so it can be said with no musunderstanding: CONRAD_JOHNSON FUCKING ROCKS.

Just picked up a Manfrotto 503 Head and sticks from Conrad, so I feel much better about my own tripod arriving late. But that's not the really cool thing, although it was cool of him to lend it to us so readily. The extra cool stuff lies in the sound gear bag he lent us this morning.

Sound Devices mixer, boompole with internal cable, hypercardioid mic, rycote blimp... I look at this bag of most excellent gear and am partly celebrating becasue we have such great gear. Thanks to the DVD I got for my audio flubs last festival (great DVD by the way, go and get it now: "Sound for Film and Television") I have a much better idea of how to get the most out of the gear. While I won't be handling sound, I do have a much better idea of what we should be getting.

Huge thanks to Conrad_Johnson for the gear.