MY CHARLOTTE - a production blog

shibby555

shibby555

Well-known member
I haven't seen many of these on here, and thought I would share my on going experience with anyone interested in doing the same. I am shooting a short film called "My Charlotte". I don't live in L.A. I haven't been doing this for a long time, but I know what I'm doing.
First off, I live in London, Ontario, Canada. I have created and shot an international network commercial for one of the biggest conglomerates in the world. I have also done a couple of music videos on MuchMusic, and a few other smaller projects.
I have a great idea and a good script, but want to to maximize its potential without spending a boatload of cash. So here's what I did...(and am doing)
I wrote the script out and some people read it. Everyone loved it. I have a talented friend in Toronto who I got to do the storyboards ( I will reveal why later ).
I called up an old friend of mine who is an actor in Hollywood. His name is Matthew Currie Holmes, and you can check him out on IMDB. He is a visceral, talented guy with a lot of emotion, so I knew he would be perfect for the part. Unfortunately, he couldn't fly to Canada as his visa is being renewed. So I booked a flight for 260.00, flew down 3 days ago and am staying with him (money saved). I did a lot of research before coming down, and negotiated prices for EVERYTHING.
I needed a crew and equipment since I couldn't bring my stuff down here without spending cash to do so. Through someone I know in L.A. , I got in contact with a DP who owns all of his own gear (HVX 200, redrock, jib, dolly etc.) His name is Nick. I got him to do this for free as he is a friend of a friend of a....anyways, I just confirmed this yesterday. One of his friends is a lighting technician for the NKOTB. So I know this guy knows his stuff. I got him too. Same deal. I'm pretty ecstatic about both of these guys since they have great resumes and experience!
Now of course I believe in Karma, and will give them deferred payment on any Net profit plus credit!
This is geting long so I will continue later...
 
...so I come to California, and rent a cheap car to scout things out, get props etc. I know exactly what I want, so I don't need a props master. Part of this is being resourceful, right?
I needed two pianos which i was originally quoted $1000.00 including delivery. Well that's insane! So I kept calling around until I got a really nice girl on the phone and tried to talk her down. She gave me the cell number of the owner whom I called and got down to $440.00 all in. I drove to the place in Glendale and talked to the guy. He has some cool stories and things to say, and after I signed off, we had a beer in the store. It's nice when you run across people who are genuine...
 
...so the props and gak are taken care of, my actor has been secured, I have a place to stay and a car. I scout a couple of locaions that I had set up and secured an art galery in North Hollywood. It's perfect. 20 foot plus high ceilings, and brick walls. Plus I can shoot there at night FOR FREE. If it's one thing I have learned over the years ( I am 35 by the way ) , it's that you can do anything if you know people. I happen to know the gallery owner, who is also suppying me with some of my props and art...
 
...so I met the 1st AD and 2nd AD and art director yesterday. We met at the location and went over shots and set design. Nice people for sure, but better still they seem like they know what they are doing. I have seen some of their work, but it feels better meeting them in person. Most of my props are at the location, and today we shoot. I'm pretty excited. I think I have taken care of everything, although I didn't hire craft services, so i need to get food and drinks. In the past I have always stayed away from pizza and carbs and gone with sandwiches and caffeine as well as juice and water. I want an alert crew. My crew is small, so only about 7 or 8 people at the most.
I figure with set up today will be about 10 hours. Then there is Monday....
 
It's the natural order towards a much higher goal. I started by teaching video editing 10 years ago, and personally this film is an idea I had that I just HAVE to complete.
I intend to have this short film in festivals AND use it in my portfolio. I have had offers to shoot feature documentaries but I think that may be a little premature yet. I have 2 shorts I want to shoot first, and then go from there. :)
 
You might be ready to shoot your first feature. What do you feel is missing in your arsenal as a filmmaker?
 
Why do you think that? I really would like to have some more creative pieces under my belt before I jump into features, although i wouldn't say "no" if the right project came along. It's funny, but I love logistics and planning.
 
Ok, now I understand.

The reason I asked is that when I was 27 I was offered to direct a feature and I said I wasn't ready. I never got another chance like that.
 
So last night we prepped the set for a few hours and shot in 7. The P2 transfers took some time unfortunately. We shot with HVX and Redrock which was cool for me as I have a Brevis 35 and will be anxious to see the difference. Everyone on set was a pro, and the AD, actor and I are going to shoot some B roll today out in the city. By the way, I mentioned he was the lighting designer for NKOTB. That was a mistake. He's the Video designer. He had some good gear for sure and no-one got hurt or destroyed anything :). The last thing I wanted to do on my first trip here was have to make an insurance claim.
 
Today we shot all of remaining B roll. We shot at and on the Hollywood Bowl. No one seemed to mind. The DP was nervous but I had researched it and reassured him. It was a trip for Matt and I to be on that stage. Gorgeous. We shot on Mulholland, and a few other places as well. I am going to take a few days away from it, fly home, begin editing and shot the rest in Toronto...
 
We used a great painters work in our shoots for free. His stuff is really gorgeous, and I can't wait for permissions to place some of the production stills up ( I took a lot of them ). I got back into town today and contacted the crew to thank them all again (8 others in total). I have a portable hard drive that I stored all of the footage in and tonight I will transfer it over to my Mac Pro. I will then attempt to assemble all of the clips in FCP. In the meantime, I am doing the preproduction for my second short and writing my third...
 
The content has all been transferred and today I started sorting them. There is over 42 Gigs of footage ( we shot HD ) and I made it about half way through. So far it looks good although there is some slight bokeh on a few clips that I hadn't noticed before for some reason. I am alotting a certain amount of time each day to this so that I won't burn myself out on it early and get lazy. I have found that that is how bad mistakes get made...with me anyway.
 
Since this piece revolves around music, I am taking an unorthodox editing approach to it, like I would in Logic. I assembled a rough edit today and tried a few quirky things which look like they work. I have completed my editing schedule and My Charlotte should be finished by the 6th of December. (I'm pretty good with time management and am used to deadlines, so I don't think this is being unreasonable) While I am editing, I am also looking towards shorts 2 and 3. Both are written final draft and in preprod stages. One is scheduled for late November, and the other...is a logistical nightmare.... in the meantime I am curious - how many people out here are using particle emitters?
 
So either no-one here is using particle emitters, or no-one is reading this post. Haha. Editing continues...
 
I haven't decided if I will post before, but will definitely have production stills. In Canada, many film makers get grants from the government or agencies which is what I am attempting to do. The problem is, it takes months and months and you "can't" have entered into production or you forfeit any chance you might have had.
The premise is this: A polymath of sorts awakens to what we believe is the sound of a woman's voice. He realizes that "she" is not actually there. He decides to "draw" her. We realize what "she" actually is....sort of...until he plays her, and subsequently through no control of his own - forgets her....like all of the others before.
It's an experimental drama with multiple reveals about a man who gets lost in his own emotions.
I expect this to be finished in 8 weeks.
 
i have finished editing and begun on special effects and titling. One of shots involves Matthew drawing in the sky. He leaves trails from where he was writing. I am using a particle emitter to show this effect, and am still tweaking it. It will track his movements and eventually show the third and fourth reveals. Since it is of pinnacle importance, I want to be meticulous about the outcome of this effect. Once I have this in place ( I give myself one month to perfect it ), I will need to color correct, then voiceover, and finally master sound and credits...but for now, let me work on the special effects ;)
 
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