Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
I'm having auditions/meetings this Saturday. I'm so excited! I have three of my four leads cast already. It feels like everything is finally falling in place.
Romantic Misadventures - Feature Film
- Thread starter Billy Pilgrim
- Start date
Herman Witkam
Well-known member
Looking forward to hearing more!
Brandon Rice
Distributed Producer
Great news! I feel the pain of casting, it takes a long time to get the perfect people. I hear ya.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
I have most of my cast now. I have all of the principle/lead characters, there's just a couple of supporting characters that I need. And I already know people who I want to play them, I'm just waiting to hear from them. Mr. Tom Marshall has also joined the cast, and will be shooting with us for a day or so.
So the cast as of now is:
Roscoe Myrick as Elliott
http://imdb.com/name/nm1698987/
Kathryn "Fred" Brunett as Helena
This will be her first feature film role.
Caroline Clark as Christine
This will be her first film as well.
Jacob Wolber as Max
This will be Jacob's first film as well
The supporting cast:
Andrew Hood as Rick
Tom Marshall as the Professor
Morgan Roy as Billy
So the cast as of now is:
Roscoe Myrick as Elliott
http://imdb.com/name/nm1698987/
Kathryn "Fred" Brunett as Helena
This will be her first feature film role.
Caroline Clark as Christine
This will be her first film as well.
Jacob Wolber as Max
This will be Jacob's first film as well
The supporting cast:
Andrew Hood as Rick
Tom Marshall as the Professor
Morgan Roy as Billy
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Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
So I had to make some revisions in the cast. Two actors dropped out, one to focus on school, and the other is doing some TV work that conflicts with the schedule. I have cast Caroline Clark, who was originally going to play Gretchen, as Christine. I need a new Alex, Gretchen, and a Peter. Since I have my leading cast, and most of the supporting cast, I'm going to move on with the same schedule. We're going to audition some more people during rehearsals this week.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
Tomorrow, February 25th, 9:00 pm I start shooting.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
Day One went very, very well. Surprisingly well. The actors were great, the crew was great, everyone just immediately took a shine to one another and have good working chemistry. We didn't finish the scene today, but I'm kind of happy about that. Usually, when doing short films, I would only shoot a few takes and kind of rush through things, but instead we took our time, we rehearsed quite a bit before shooting. It's great being able to just give a little direction and just sit back and watch the actors take it to town. I was afraid I'd be fumbling or very underconfident, but somehow, having those actors, and the crew, did something to me. Maybe it has something to do with the idea of making a feature film alone. The short films were just experiments for me to quietly screw up, but this time, I was confident, I knew what to say and what I wanted, and it all just went smoothly. I'm actually happy with what we shot today, even if it wasn't a whole lot. I woke up this morning, unsure if I really had it in me. Now, I'm charged to finish this film.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
Did some rough grading tests:
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Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
Day two was a disappointment. There were two big scenes I was going to shoot, but one actor flaked, so we tried shooting some smaller scene, which led me to discover it's not a very good scene. We were all kind of bummed out about it. I never realized until yesterday why everyone says you should start with the big scenes. Yesterday was such a great day, and we were shooting an important scene. It really felt like we were doing something. None of us were feeling it last night.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
UPDATE:
So we hit a lot of snags, and the rest of last week had to be canceled, due to scheduling conflicts (an actor had to go to work, the owner of the location is gone all day, etc). I'm looking into a few new replacement locations--ones I have better access to, more reliable locations. Because one of the leads will be leaving to the air force in a couple of weeks, and one of the lead actresses is extremely busy with a play right now, I've made the decision to re-cast them in supporting roles. I'm having auditions this weekend. Hopefully I'll meet actors who won't be leaving town and have more free time. I just called the actor and actress, and they both seemed to be as relieved as I am. It was like a big sigh of relief. Now I just need to find two new good actors to take their original place, and hopefully they'll be more available. I was stressing, but now I feel much better. We're not in the clear yet, but I feel close.
So we hit a lot of snags, and the rest of last week had to be canceled, due to scheduling conflicts (an actor had to go to work, the owner of the location is gone all day, etc). I'm looking into a few new replacement locations--ones I have better access to, more reliable locations. Because one of the leads will be leaving to the air force in a couple of weeks, and one of the lead actresses is extremely busy with a play right now, I've made the decision to re-cast them in supporting roles. I'm having auditions this weekend. Hopefully I'll meet actors who won't be leaving town and have more free time. I just called the actor and actress, and they both seemed to be as relieved as I am. It was like a big sigh of relief. Now I just need to find two new good actors to take their original place, and hopefully they'll be more available. I was stressing, but now I feel much better. We're not in the clear yet, but I feel close.
mentatDUKE
Veteran
Glad you're rolling with the punches, Billy. Really liked your last film (I made it to your sig didn't I?), so I'm looking forward to this one. 
Don't stress too much over all the production headaches. I've noticed that things have a way of working themselves out. Usually for the better. I've got several war stories from a 20min short film I shot last year. Allow me to indulge:
On the 2nd day of shooting it was revealed that two of my lead actors had history. They used to date. And it ended. BADLY. After we all arrived on set, everything was fine for like 20 minutes. Then they started arguing. It was horrible. The actress was in tears and the actor was enraged. I had to let them go, recast their roles, and reschedule the entire production. I thought the movie was doomed. It wasn't. The actors I ended up using after recasting were PERFECT. I look back at the small amount of footage I shot of the original actor playing the role and thank my lucky stars. I can't imagine the guy playing the part anymore. It would have been a completely different film. Same for the girl. Did I mention that the original plan was to shoot the entire film in one weekend? The crisis forced me to step back, wake up, and be more realistic. Definitely a blessing in disguise.
Second story. I lost my lenses, batteries, and power adapter on the last day of shooting. We had one more location to shoot before we wrapped. I was DEVASTATED. I pictured the scene so clearly, but the show must go on right? I had to shoot it a different way.
Sure I lost a lot of money in lost equipment, but losing my toys forced me to shoot the scene a different way. I used stock DVX for some parts, and an actor's Sony Handicam for other parts. It work brilliantly. I NEVER would have thought to use a Handicam in my movie. I HATE Handicams. How can using one help me create great cinema? So naive...
I learned so much from all those unforeseen losses. Not only did I pay my dues, but I was forced to create on the fly. In addition, I learned one valuable lesson: Don't worry.
That's it. Just don't worry. The film will get made. You're not the only director of the film. Reality and circumstance are. Being a director is all about how you manage reality and circumstance.
So yeah.... the cherry definitely got popped on that shoot. Good times....
Now back to YOUR film. Is this going to be a 90 min feature?
Take care and good luck!
Don't stress too much over all the production headaches. I've noticed that things have a way of working themselves out. Usually for the better. I've got several war stories from a 20min short film I shot last year. Allow me to indulge:
On the 2nd day of shooting it was revealed that two of my lead actors had history. They used to date. And it ended. BADLY. After we all arrived on set, everything was fine for like 20 minutes. Then they started arguing. It was horrible. The actress was in tears and the actor was enraged. I had to let them go, recast their roles, and reschedule the entire production. I thought the movie was doomed. It wasn't. The actors I ended up using after recasting were PERFECT. I look back at the small amount of footage I shot of the original actor playing the role and thank my lucky stars. I can't imagine the guy playing the part anymore. It would have been a completely different film. Same for the girl. Did I mention that the original plan was to shoot the entire film in one weekend? The crisis forced me to step back, wake up, and be more realistic. Definitely a blessing in disguise.
Second story. I lost my lenses, batteries, and power adapter on the last day of shooting. We had one more location to shoot before we wrapped. I was DEVASTATED. I pictured the scene so clearly, but the show must go on right? I had to shoot it a different way.
Sure I lost a lot of money in lost equipment, but losing my toys forced me to shoot the scene a different way. I used stock DVX for some parts, and an actor's Sony Handicam for other parts. It work brilliantly. I NEVER would have thought to use a Handicam in my movie. I HATE Handicams. How can using one help me create great cinema? So naive...
I learned so much from all those unforeseen losses. Not only did I pay my dues, but I was forced to create on the fly. In addition, I learned one valuable lesson: Don't worry.
That's it. Just don't worry. The film will get made. You're not the only director of the film. Reality and circumstance are. Being a director is all about how you manage reality and circumstance.
So yeah.... the cherry definitely got popped on that shoot. Good times....
Now back to YOUR film. Is this going to be a 90 min feature?
Take care and good luck!
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Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
Thanks for the encouragement, duke!
Today, I went over to Bakersfield College and met with a teacher who's helping me secure permission to shoot there. We walked around campus, I showed her all the little spots I wanted to use, and took some stills of them as well. We talked to the next higher up staff member, who will then take it to the board. We agreed on a little lie, that I'm still a student there (I have been in the past, on and off) and that it's a student project, represented by this professor, and the theatre club. They seemed pretty relieved when we told them it was mostly exteriors, and a student project, otherwise, there would have been a ton of paperwork and fees apparently, and no one really knows the process for outsiders filming, since no one ever does film there. We might get access a lot sooner than I thought. Since it's mostly daytime exteriors, they seem to be more willing to let us shoot, since we wouldn't be using any utilities or anything. Once we have official approval, they'll notify security, and all the other proper people to the shooting, so as to avoid any disturbances from staff. The last thing left will be to arrange schedules, of the actors, crew, the professor, who will be there to supervise, as a formality, and the hours we're allowed.
I'm excited/anxious for the auditions this weekend.
Today, I went over to Bakersfield College and met with a teacher who's helping me secure permission to shoot there. We walked around campus, I showed her all the little spots I wanted to use, and took some stills of them as well. We talked to the next higher up staff member, who will then take it to the board. We agreed on a little lie, that I'm still a student there (I have been in the past, on and off) and that it's a student project, represented by this professor, and the theatre club. They seemed pretty relieved when we told them it was mostly exteriors, and a student project, otherwise, there would have been a ton of paperwork and fees apparently, and no one really knows the process for outsiders filming, since no one ever does film there. We might get access a lot sooner than I thought. Since it's mostly daytime exteriors, they seem to be more willing to let us shoot, since we wouldn't be using any utilities or anything. Once we have official approval, they'll notify security, and all the other proper people to the shooting, so as to avoid any disturbances from staff. The last thing left will be to arrange schedules, of the actors, crew, the professor, who will be there to supervise, as a formality, and the hours we're allowed.
I'm excited/anxious for the auditions this weekend.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
I'm still toying with new titles. The current one on my mind is "Lonely People". I can kind of see it on a poster. I'm going to let that one bounce around my brain for a while.
mentatDUKE
Veteran
I like "Lonely People". It's the best title yet. Reminds me of a Beatles song....
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
No one showed up to the auditions this time. But it's my fault for not advertising properly. We're going to schedule new auditions for two weeks from now. I'm going to ask the other theatres in town to post audition notices on their websites.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
Things are tough. I'm dealing with a lot of flaky people in this town. But I'm not about to throw in the towel. Although I am considering taking one more pass at the script--a major one, in fact--like a completely new draft/approach. I'm also debating myself between the titles "Lonely People" and "Kiss Her"
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
I'm now seriously considering the title "Asleep at the Wheel". I figure, the characters aren't really aware of their own feelings or desires, but they continue to go through life, oblivious of what they really want, and need, until they have a major wakeup call in the film. So, in a way, it's as if they're Asleep at the Wheel. Their eyes are closed, they're unconscious, unaware of what they need to be doing, but they continue to move in the same direction, occasionally straying and swerving, without realizing it. I hope that makes sense to other people. I'd like some feedback on this title, if possible.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated. I've been struggling with a new draft, exploring tons of different ideas and possibilities. My problem with writing is having too many ideas, and not knowing where any of them go. I'm going to hopefully hold more auditions in May to find the rest of the cast, which is much smaller in this new draft. I have a basic outline for the new draft of the script, which is pretty similar to the last draft (I decided that changing things heavily wasn't the solution, but rather to build and add onto what I already have) and now it's just a matter of vomiting it out onto the page.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
I've been contemplating some technical aspects of the film for a while now.
I want to shoot the film in 2.35 scope. I have two options, both with some serious trade-offs: I can crop it, of course, but lose about 40% of the resolution (shooting with the DVX in SD) or shoot with an anamorphic lens I have (not the anamorphic adapter, but an old scope lens intended for 35mm cameras), which would mean being on z90 just to eliminate the vignetting. I'm going to be shooting in real locations with a lot of natural light. With the anamorphic lens, I'd be limited to shoot mostly medium close-ups to close-ups, whereas I like shooting in a much wider way (hence why I like scope so much) and just letting the actors act in the frame together. If I were cropping, I could really run the gamut of shots, from wide to close-up, but of course, I'd be losing lot of resolution from a relatively "low-res" format. Aesthetically, I love the anamorphic look: the sharpness, the out-of-focus distortion, chromatic abberation, lens flaring, etc. But of course, focusing becomes a problem. While it's not difficult to focus the lens I have, I have to always be five or more feet away to focus it, and it makes moving the camera difficult, since I'm basically by myself and have no focus pullers to work with (I'd probably need two--one to focus the camera lens, the other to focus the anamorphic).
I've decided to go with cropping it. The photographic advantages far outweigh the loss of resolution. The resolution whores here will probably think I'm crazy. The real decided factor, however, is that even if the film looks like crap, if the story and characters are engaging, people will forgive the bad picture quality. I really need to focus on the important part: the script and performances. All the technical stuff will come later. I need to focus on the story, the acting, the mood, the pacing--the important part of storytelling. I realized I was getting too technical about everything (perhaps a product of coming onto this site all the time?) that I almost forgot about the important parts of what makes a good film. I want to shoot scope for artistic and photographic (framing/composition) reasons and the easiest and most giving way is to crop it.
I want to shoot the film in 2.35 scope. I have two options, both with some serious trade-offs: I can crop it, of course, but lose about 40% of the resolution (shooting with the DVX in SD) or shoot with an anamorphic lens I have (not the anamorphic adapter, but an old scope lens intended for 35mm cameras), which would mean being on z90 just to eliminate the vignetting. I'm going to be shooting in real locations with a lot of natural light. With the anamorphic lens, I'd be limited to shoot mostly medium close-ups to close-ups, whereas I like shooting in a much wider way (hence why I like scope so much) and just letting the actors act in the frame together. If I were cropping, I could really run the gamut of shots, from wide to close-up, but of course, I'd be losing lot of resolution from a relatively "low-res" format. Aesthetically, I love the anamorphic look: the sharpness, the out-of-focus distortion, chromatic abberation, lens flaring, etc. But of course, focusing becomes a problem. While it's not difficult to focus the lens I have, I have to always be five or more feet away to focus it, and it makes moving the camera difficult, since I'm basically by myself and have no focus pullers to work with (I'd probably need two--one to focus the camera lens, the other to focus the anamorphic).
I've decided to go with cropping it. The photographic advantages far outweigh the loss of resolution. The resolution whores here will probably think I'm crazy. The real decided factor, however, is that even if the film looks like crap, if the story and characters are engaging, people will forgive the bad picture quality. I really need to focus on the important part: the script and performances. All the technical stuff will come later. I need to focus on the story, the acting, the mood, the pacing--the important part of storytelling. I realized I was getting too technical about everything (perhaps a product of coming onto this site all the time?) that I almost forgot about the important parts of what makes a good film. I want to shoot scope for artistic and photographic (framing/composition) reasons and the easiest and most giving way is to crop it.
Billy Pilgrim
Stye in my eye
My mind is a mess right now. I feel I'm going through both a personal and artistic crisis. I have a ton of ideas for the new draft, and there's a lot about the old I still like, but something about it doesn't sit well with me anymore. I have a lot of ideas, but no idea where to put them, or how they work together as a narrative. I'm even thinking of throwing everything out and writing as we go along, maybe even incorporating improvisation. I really don't know. I'm trying to be honest, yet everything seems either too real or too fake. I don't even know what I'm trying to say in this film anymore. I'm a bit depressed, as I've gone through a rejection in the middle of trying to do all this. And the one who rejected me happens to be one of the leading actresses in the film, and a friend. That was a big mistake. I don't know what to think of anything anymore. There's life, and then there are these little stories we tell with words and images, and none of it really means anything. I don't really know what to do or where to go now. All I know is that I need to make this film. I need to get it out of me.