Deuceofspades
Veteran
the mailing list is primarily to let people know once the film is done. but maybe I shoud start sending out a monthly update
. Now that i have a hair bit more time on my hands (yeah, right!) LOL...
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FEATURE: DEUCE OF SPADES - How I made a period full feature film all by myself on ZERO budget
- Thread starter Deuceofspades
- Start date
the mailing list is primarily to let people know once the film is done. but maybe I shoud start sending out a monthly update
. Now that i have a hair bit more time on my hands (yeah, right!) LOL...
Michele Seidman
Well-known member
the mailing list is primarily to let people know once the film is done. but maybe I shoud start sending out a monthly update
Not a bad idea actually. If time is tight, maybe every other month?
Michele Seidman
Well-known member
Faith
Just checking in to see if you have any fun updates for us. How goes the film?
Michele
Just checking in to see if you have any fun updates for us. How goes the film?
Michele
Deuceofspades
Veteran
dude, you made me laugh my head off!!! that was funny :thumbup:... Actually I was thinking about running for President, so now I know I have at least one vote guaranteed... HAHA!
Good one, good one ...
Deuceofspades
Veteran
Hi Guys!
Well, I have been one busy bee preparing my jail cell set and picking the perfect props and wardrobe for it (that alone too an entire day :thumbup and finally got to ROLL for three full days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (I took a vacation day from work).
I got to say that working out of my garage ROCKED. It was soooo convenient, no driving to the location involved, access to my usual comfort (kitchen, bathrooms, etc..) and nolocatoin owner to tell me that I have to be done in 1 hour cause they have to go pick up their kids from judo. :furious3:
In short I was SPOILED.
I did Saturday's shoot with a crew of ZERO (just me and my actor). The footage came out phenomenal. I could not believe how REAL the set looks on film and how very confined, depressing it came out. Just what I was aiming for.
Sunday and Monday I had a crew of two. It was neat because we "hollywooded" some of the stuff (hand hold lights, flags and prison bars)
I kept moving the small section of prison bars (which I built) from corner to corner. I had just enough to fill my frame. Each shot has either the shadow of the bars or the bars themselved in the frame. This results in the feeling that Johnny is like a caged beast, which, at that point of the story, he pretty much is.
My two prison guards were two buddies of mine who are full stunt men. They coordinated a real awesome beating with my actor which was then executed flawlessly and looks so damn real it is borderline disturbing to watch. Heck, I know how we filmed it and I was disturbed when I first watched the edited scene. I can't imagine how people who are watching the film for the first time are going to react to that section of the film.
It was great to see my two stuntmen friends transform from normal modern day Joe Shmoes into 1955 prison guards. They look so real. the uniforms looked great. Paul did a phenomenal job as the really tough guard (you know, the one you don't ever want to mess with - or else...) he looks so damn mean I don't think I will ever look at him the same way again.
The three day shoot ended up with my experimenting on blood splatters on the set walls, which got messy very quickly. I kept missing the frame and we had to wipe a lot of blood off the walls. It took over an hour. I thought to myself: If a neighbor sees my garage right now, they will CALL THE POLICE, thinking I have killed someone in it. There was blood everywhere (cause I kept messing up the shot, so had to do it again and again, on different section of the 3 walls LOL)
As you see a very eventful and cinematographically satisfying 3 day shoot. The scene is, IMHO, one of the strongest and most dramatic in my film. It came out exceeding all my expectations and was shot inside my garage with a set that cost me nothing since as you know HOME DEPOT "paid for the supplies", and my buddies and I built it ourselves.
I will post stills ASAP - I think you will agree with me that the cell looks NARLY. I'll post comments with photos. Sorry, no behind the scene photos, cause I had noone there to take some.
Well, I have been one busy bee preparing my jail cell set and picking the perfect props and wardrobe for it (that alone too an entire day :thumbup
and finally got to ROLL for three full days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (I took a vacation day from work).I got to say that working out of my garage ROCKED. It was soooo convenient, no driving to the location involved, access to my usual comfort (kitchen, bathrooms, etc..) and nolocatoin owner to tell me that I have to be done in 1 hour cause they have to go pick up their kids from judo. :furious3:
In short I was SPOILED.
I did Saturday's shoot with a crew of ZERO (just me and my actor). The footage came out phenomenal. I could not believe how REAL the set looks on film and how very confined, depressing it came out. Just what I was aiming for.
Sunday and Monday I had a crew of two. It was neat because we "hollywooded" some of the stuff (hand hold lights, flags and prison bars)
I kept moving the small section of prison bars (which I built) from corner to corner. I had just enough to fill my frame. Each shot has either the shadow of the bars or the bars themselved in the frame. This results in the feeling that Johnny is like a caged beast, which, at that point of the story, he pretty much is.
My two prison guards were two buddies of mine who are full stunt men. They coordinated a real awesome beating with my actor which was then executed flawlessly and looks so damn real it is borderline disturbing to watch. Heck, I know how we filmed it and I was disturbed when I first watched the edited scene. I can't imagine how people who are watching the film for the first time are going to react to that section of the film.
It was great to see my two stuntmen friends transform from normal modern day Joe Shmoes into 1955 prison guards. They look so real. the uniforms looked great. Paul did a phenomenal job as the really tough guard (you know, the one you don't ever want to mess with - or else...) he looks so damn mean I don't think I will ever look at him the same way again.
The three day shoot ended up with my experimenting on blood splatters on the set walls, which got messy very quickly. I kept missing the frame and we had to wipe a lot of blood off the walls. It took over an hour. I thought to myself: If a neighbor sees my garage right now, they will CALL THE POLICE, thinking I have killed someone in it. There was blood everywhere (cause I kept messing up the shot, so had to do it again and again, on different section of the 3 walls LOL)
As you see a very eventful and cinematographically satisfying 3 day shoot. The scene is, IMHO, one of the strongest and most dramatic in my film. It came out exceeding all my expectations and was shot inside my garage with a set that cost me nothing since as you know HOME DEPOT "paid for the supplies", and my buddies and I built it ourselves.
I will post stills ASAP - I think you will agree with me that the cell looks NARLY. I'll post comments with photos. Sorry, no behind the scene photos, cause I had noone there to take some.
Deuceofspades
Veteran
I forgot to post some screengrabs of my previous desert shoot. This is from raw footage by the way, nothing has been done in terms of color correction, filters etc.
Johnny Callaway walking away from it all at the end of his ordeal.
the Deuce of Spades, 1955 - shot at sunrise (believe it or not)
Coca Cola who was the stapple soda of the fifties, finally finds a spot in my flashbacks now that they have signed the official release that gives me permission to depict their brands in the film and in any promotional material associated with the film. Here the footage came out a bit soft, I had a problem with the lense and it was so darn bright on the lake it was hard to see the problem. I did fix it though. I found that different lenses need different focal adjustment on the HVX200 to be in perfect focus. I am not longer taping my focus ring on the camera and instead, readjusting as needed, each time I change lenses. Not sure whether you guys are having the same problem, or if it's just me LOL. At any rate, this specific lens, which happens to be one of my favorites, has a velvety "softer" look to it, so it never lookd so "sharp" as does, say, my 35 mm lens. But that day it was way softer than I wanted.
Johnny Callaway walking away from it all at the end of his ordeal.
the Deuce of Spades, 1955 - shot at sunrise (believe it or not)
Coca Cola who was the stapple soda of the fifties, finally finds a spot in my flashbacks now that they have signed the official release that gives me permission to depict their brands in the film and in any promotional material associated with the film. Here the footage came out a bit soft, I had a problem with the lense and it was so darn bright on the lake it was hard to see the problem. I did fix it though. I found that different lenses need different focal adjustment on the HVX200 to be in perfect focus. I am not longer taping my focus ring on the camera and instead, readjusting as needed, each time I change lenses. Not sure whether you guys are having the same problem, or if it's just me LOL. At any rate, this specific lens, which happens to be one of my favorites, has a velvety "softer" look to it, so it never lookd so "sharp" as does, say, my 35 mm lens. But that day it was way softer than I wanted.
ESTEBEVERDE
Veteran
WOW!
Just..... Wow....
This looks absolutely fantastic.
I can't wait to see the finished product!
Just..... Wow....
This looks absolutely fantastic.
I can't wait to see the finished product!
Xtopher
Well-known member
well if you need a running mate.... 2020!
Deuceofspades
Veteran
That makes two of us LOLOL....
Last night I worked once again until the wheee hours, editing my jail scene. I added the splatter of blood into the footage and I was amazed at how much drama this one little shot added to the already dramatic section. Funny how one little shot can evoque so much and trigger so much emotional response from the audience.
I must admit the scene is so intense and emotionally charged I was completely drained after watching it no less than 30 times while editing. I found that each time I watched the section I felt the same emotions. The scene has exceeded all my expectations in all ways.
Ironically, playing with soundtrack, I found that the violent beating section was most impactful when left without any music at all. So there is dead silence while Johny is beat to a pulp, the only thing you hear are the actual sounds made by the three people involved and the sound of the hits. It feels more eery that way. And so much more real. It really is hard to watch, but you can't help but want to watch it, sorta like a phenomenal car wreck by the side of the road you are driving on.
I think I may have to make two versions of the film, one more "general public" friendly (without the beating) to be played at car shows (where family and kids might be present) and the other, the full version, for DVDs, festivals, drive in theaters etc...
Deuceofspades
Veteran
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My server is finally back in order and I was able to upload screengrabs so now I can share some with you.
This is my 1950's prison cell set. I built it with the help of a volunteer and my lead actor Tim. We all worked on it together and erected it in my garage in such a way I coudl still park my hotrod inside it.
I know an old hotrodder who went to Lincoln Heights Jail, which is where Johnny was sent in my story. So I really picked his brains about every detail about the cell, wall color, bed, prison clothes, guard clothes, etc etc... I then created the set and got the wardrobe to match to the T his description. For ex, he reported that the bunks had a very thin mattress, no sheet and no pillow, just a thin grey blanket. You will see that in all the shots. The bars were grey, while the wall were grey with a slight greenish tint to them. I match that as well. The toilet and sink were white porcelain. You will see that as well. The prisoners wore blue denim shirts and pants, made of thin material. They also wore brown high top shoes/boots. You will notice I matched that as well. The guards wore light beige uniforms, so I matched that too.
When looking at the shots you would never be able to tell this is in my garage and that the bars are not steel. IN fact they are just PVC pipes and wood.
but see the results:
THe set was built in such a way that I had partial outside walls, so I could actually do a great travelling opening shot from the outside of the cell (showing he is in Block D cell 532) and then reveal the cell lay out in the same shot.
the reminder of the shot:
I wanted to cell to look very confined, dark, somber, depressing and most of all wanted to give Johnny that "caged beast" feel. To achieve that I made sure that in every shot, we were either seeing through the bars or seeing the shadow cast by the bars. Or both.
the color of the cell worked in my favor, because everything in the cell is a cold color, except for Johnny's flesh. He is the only human aspect of the shot, everything else is inhuman. Below: Johnny attemps to walk again while in prison.
the cell was "grunged" thanks to my hotrod. I took all the engine goop I could find on it (and there is lots of that under my hotrod's belly) and rubbed it on the walls, sink, toilet etc... To "age" the cell and make it look borderline unsanitary.
Below: Johnny, about to puke his gutts out
We made fake piping for the toilet and sink and I added some rust to them to make them look older and more real.
More shots and details tomorrow.
My server is finally back in order and I was able to upload screengrabs so now I can share some with you.
This is my 1950's prison cell set. I built it with the help of a volunteer and my lead actor Tim. We all worked on it together and erected it in my garage in such a way I coudl still park my hotrod inside it.
I know an old hotrodder who went to Lincoln Heights Jail, which is where Johnny was sent in my story. So I really picked his brains about every detail about the cell, wall color, bed, prison clothes, guard clothes, etc etc... I then created the set and got the wardrobe to match to the T his description. For ex, he reported that the bunks had a very thin mattress, no sheet and no pillow, just a thin grey blanket. You will see that in all the shots. The bars were grey, while the wall were grey with a slight greenish tint to them. I match that as well. The toilet and sink were white porcelain. You will see that as well. The prisoners wore blue denim shirts and pants, made of thin material. They also wore brown high top shoes/boots. You will notice I matched that as well. The guards wore light beige uniforms, so I matched that too.
When looking at the shots you would never be able to tell this is in my garage and that the bars are not steel. IN fact they are just PVC pipes and wood.
but see the results:
THe set was built in such a way that I had partial outside walls, so I could actually do a great travelling opening shot from the outside of the cell (showing he is in Block D cell 532) and then reveal the cell lay out in the same shot.
the reminder of the shot:
I wanted to cell to look very confined, dark, somber, depressing and most of all wanted to give Johnny that "caged beast" feel. To achieve that I made sure that in every shot, we were either seeing through the bars or seeing the shadow cast by the bars. Or both.
the color of the cell worked in my favor, because everything in the cell is a cold color, except for Johnny's flesh. He is the only human aspect of the shot, everything else is inhuman. Below: Johnny attemps to walk again while in prison.
the cell was "grunged" thanks to my hotrod. I took all the engine goop I could find on it (and there is lots of that under my hotrod's belly) and rubbed it on the walls, sink, toilet etc... To "age" the cell and make it look borderline unsanitary.
Below: Johnny, about to puke his gutts out
We made fake piping for the toilet and sink and I added some rust to them to make them look older and more real.
More shots and details tomorrow.
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mvansomeren
Well-known member
Maybe it's just me, but I can't see the images. Just place holders. I can see the images that you've posted previously in this thread, just not the ones (i guess from your server) on this post.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
It's you, they show up fine for me. Have you tried refreshing the cache on your browser? (shift>reload on Macs, not sure about PCs).
Dan
Brandon Rice
Distributed Producer
Can't see the images.
eugene presley
New member
me neither
Deuceofspades
Veteran
that is sooo weird.
I create a page, pasted the photos in it and uploaded to my server. I then did my post and placed the links in it. I could see the photos. Now I can't. Further more, I just looked at the files sotred on my server I see no trace of that page I created this morning. It is as though they restored a previous backup of my site today and zapped my latest updates. I am puzzled. My site has been down for 3 weeks now and yesterday I had to really get nasty about it. And THEN they fixed it
(or so I thought)
I have never had this kind of problem before, and I have been working with this website for over 10 years now.
OK, I will redo the same process when I go home today and post he links again. Let's see if they get zapped again.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I create a page, pasted the photos in it and uploaded to my server. I then did my post and placed the links in it. I could see the photos. Now I can't. Further more, I just looked at the files sotred on my server I see no trace of that page I created this morning. It is as though they restored a previous backup of my site today and zapped my latest updates. I am puzzled. My site has been down for 3 weeks now and yesterday I had to really get nasty about it. And THEN they fixed it
(or so I thought)
I have never had this kind of problem before, and I have been working with this website for over 10 years now.
OK, I will redo the same process when I go home today and post he links again. Let's see if they get zapped again.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Weird Faith, I see the images fine also. Wonder why some of us can and some cannot? I would HATE to go back to web design, trying to get pages to look right for all of the different OS and browsers is a nightmare.
They look good!
Dan
They look good!
Dan
Jeff Anderson
Custom Title!
Yeah I seem them just fine... Look GREAT btw! But weird that some can and cant see them.
Douglas Villalba
Well-known member
I can't see them.
G5 Quad OS 10.5.5
G5 Quad OS 10.5.5