Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Did I bring the funny or what?
"FALLING UP" a Flyin' Monkey Films production
- Thread starter Rodney V. Smith
- Start date
Did I bring the funny or what?
Dustin R. Rogan
Silent Bob's Evil Twin
It was well balanced both funny when it needed to be funny and serious when it need it to be. Well crafted sir!
Rogan
Rogan
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Locations, locations, locations...
So I did the reports from Final Draft after locking the script today. I've got my location report, scene report, and I;ve finally started tagging the script so i can get over to Budgeting and Scheduling. I still use Movie Magic Scheduling after all of these years, and it's amazing to me how resilient the program is. Biggest problem so far for me though is the fact that it doesnt work on Windows Vista, so I've been considering using Gorilla for my production needs... after all Gorillla does combine everything in one package that a Production Manager could want...
Anyway, I digress: I've now got the ornerous task of tracking down these locations for my film, one of which I may have to do a trade for, and two of which are more likely than not, to be snow covered and cold.
APARTMENT INTERIORS: BEDROOM, BATHROOM, KITCHEN, LIVING ROOM
Hope I can get a house instead of an apartment because I see the potential for art direction budget to go up. If the location doesn;t have interesting walls, we'll either have to paint or put up some of the ugliest wall paper I can find... either that or some really inventive lighting...
APARTMENT EXTERIORS:
Most likely I'll use a completely different house than the one we'll be shooting in. better visuals that way.
COFFEE SHOP, INT and EXT:
Second Cup around the corner. Gotta go by and take photos and talk to the owner. Its a franchise but not like a Starbucks where they have stricter policies.
BANQUET HALL:
I dunno why I wrote this scene the way I did, but getting this location would bump up the production value in a huge way, especially since it's the opening scene. There are 2 locations I'm lokign at, which are actual Banquet Halls, but they'll probably want money. One alternative I'm considering is using the school my wife teaches at and wrangle some of the teachers and parents in as extras. I'll probably have to sell my soul or trade some valuable time.... maybe shoot their Christmas Pageant, but it would be well worth it.
We'll see how negotiations go... next week is the last week fo school after all. I just don;t want to have to wrangle with the school board for permission...
So I did the reports from Final Draft after locking the script today. I've got my location report, scene report, and I;ve finally started tagging the script so i can get over to Budgeting and Scheduling. I still use Movie Magic Scheduling after all of these years, and it's amazing to me how resilient the program is. Biggest problem so far for me though is the fact that it doesnt work on Windows Vista, so I've been considering using Gorilla for my production needs... after all Gorillla does combine everything in one package that a Production Manager could want...
Anyway, I digress: I've now got the ornerous task of tracking down these locations for my film, one of which I may have to do a trade for, and two of which are more likely than not, to be snow covered and cold.
APARTMENT INTERIORS: BEDROOM, BATHROOM, KITCHEN, LIVING ROOM
Hope I can get a house instead of an apartment because I see the potential for art direction budget to go up. If the location doesn;t have interesting walls, we'll either have to paint or put up some of the ugliest wall paper I can find... either that or some really inventive lighting...
APARTMENT EXTERIORS:
Most likely I'll use a completely different house than the one we'll be shooting in. better visuals that way.
COFFEE SHOP, INT and EXT:
Second Cup around the corner. Gotta go by and take photos and talk to the owner. Its a franchise but not like a Starbucks where they have stricter policies.
BANQUET HALL:
I dunno why I wrote this scene the way I did, but getting this location would bump up the production value in a huge way, especially since it's the opening scene. There are 2 locations I'm lokign at, which are actual Banquet Halls, but they'll probably want money. One alternative I'm considering is using the school my wife teaches at and wrangle some of the teachers and parents in as extras. I'll probably have to sell my soul or trade some valuable time.... maybe shoot their Christmas Pageant, but it would be well worth it.
We'll see how negotiations go... next week is the last week fo school after all. I just don;t want to have to wrangle with the school board for permission...
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
aw shucks! thanks dude. good to know I'm finally hitting the right notes. I haven;t spent this much time on a script in a long long time.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
New podcast coming tonight, but as of right now my leads have been cast! Progress! Yay and hurray and all that jazz.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
new podcast up. Introducing Mark Rivard and Jessica Sinclair.
Casting the leads, podcast
PODCAST #5
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1192d2bc1619e49a
Casting the leads, podcast
PODCAST #5
http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1192d2bc1619e49a
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
Nice podcast. I'm really digging these.
Cheers,
MAH
Cheers,
MAH
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
YouTube link to the podcast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXZgZwCQ0Ko
So we met the actors and as you can tell, it was a blazing success. Jessica (even though I blanked on her name a couple of time) was perfect for the role. She has the enthusiasm and optimistic attitude that really breathed life into the character for me. Made me realize for the first time that I had written the Rachel character as an eternal optimist.
It's kind of nice when you can get such good energy and feedback from an actor about a character, and it's better when you can just find yourself sitting and talking to your actors, just hanging out. The better and more engaging they are as people, the more of that energy and joie de vivre they can inject into their characters. Jessica did just that for me and got me excited to see the character on film fully realized.
Mark was good as always and was pretty much what I had expected. He was the Frank character to a fault and that was good to see. Both of them together had such good energy too.
I had some trouble with my printer earlier, it being in Atlanta and me in Toronto, and my attempts to use my father-in-law's printer ended in an inky disaster brought on by Dell and their stupid inks. So I was scriptless. Jake had printed one copy of the script, but I at least brought along my laptop. Hence our first table reading had me actually listening to the actors, and hearing them and what life they were breathing into the characters.
Oftentimes I read along and as a result I'm only able to hear the words as I wrote them.
This is a bit of a fallacy and in my experience, a bad auditioning technique.
Actors are more than movable props and good ones have so much more to offer than a pretty face and somewhere to point the camera and yell action at. Give them some direction and just listen and let them shine.... nudge them a bit, but all in all just listen and you'll hear the script in ways that you had never imagined.
That was what happened to me tonight. I listened and I really liked what I heard.
These two are the leads I was looking for and the fact that they so easily made the words their own and didn't just act... that made it all worthwhile...
So we met the actors and as you can tell, it was a blazing success. Jessica (even though I blanked on her name a couple of time) was perfect for the role. She has the enthusiasm and optimistic attitude that really breathed life into the character for me. Made me realize for the first time that I had written the Rachel character as an eternal optimist.
It's kind of nice when you can get such good energy and feedback from an actor about a character, and it's better when you can just find yourself sitting and talking to your actors, just hanging out. The better and more engaging they are as people, the more of that energy and joie de vivre they can inject into their characters. Jessica did just that for me and got me excited to see the character on film fully realized.
Mark was good as always and was pretty much what I had expected. He was the Frank character to a fault and that was good to see. Both of them together had such good energy too.
I had some trouble with my printer earlier, it being in Atlanta and me in Toronto, and my attempts to use my father-in-law's printer ended in an inky disaster brought on by Dell and their stupid inks. So I was scriptless. Jake had printed one copy of the script, but I at least brought along my laptop. Hence our first table reading had me actually listening to the actors, and hearing them and what life they were breathing into the characters.
Oftentimes I read along and as a result I'm only able to hear the words as I wrote them.
This is a bit of a fallacy and in my experience, a bad auditioning technique.
Actors are more than movable props and good ones have so much more to offer than a pretty face and somewhere to point the camera and yell action at. Give them some direction and just listen and let them shine.... nudge them a bit, but all in all just listen and you'll hear the script in ways that you had never imagined.
That was what happened to me tonight. I listened and I really liked what I heard.
These two are the leads I was looking for and the fact that they so easily made the words their own and didn't just act... that made it all worthwhile...
Last edited:
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Thanks Mike. glad to see you're back. thought you'd abandoned me there for a while. :dankk2:
Tomorrow's podcast will be on shot lists and storyboarding... ooh exciting!
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
That's it: I finally broke down and bought a new printer.
When the ink for your old printer costs more than buying a new printer, you've got some serious issues, and guess what? I had some serious issues.
This is one of the cases where I wish I had taken the camera with me to record it for the podcast, but as it happens, more often than not, I forgot the bloody thing on the desk. It wasn't until I had battled my way through the deathtrap of ice and snow that is now the street to the mall, and I had finally reached the corner without breaking my icy cold neck... that I realized that I had forgotten the camera.
I know, I know: today I'm supposed to be storyboarding. Well You can't storyboard without paper, at least if you're going to draw. I've had the drawing bug for a little while now (caught a minor case during summer when I bought a new canvas and completely failed to paint anything on it; said canvas is now sulking behind my desk beggng to be used) and was determined to actually commit pencil/pen to paper and take my time doing it. I had no paper, so I said: time to go to the mall. It's only 1/4 mile away, right?
So i set out with the intention of spending $5 and returning home quickly so I could exercize my agoraphobia a little more. Yeah... didn;t work out that way. One chinese food lunch and trip to the "Source" and I had spent over $60. From $5 to $60 in no time at all.
The printer was on sale for $30 (regular price $80) so I HAD to buy it right?
So I'm back with paper, printer and now it's time to unpck them all and get storyboarding....
When the ink for your old printer costs more than buying a new printer, you've got some serious issues, and guess what? I had some serious issues.
This is one of the cases where I wish I had taken the camera with me to record it for the podcast, but as it happens, more often than not, I forgot the bloody thing on the desk. It wasn't until I had battled my way through the deathtrap of ice and snow that is now the street to the mall, and I had finally reached the corner without breaking my icy cold neck... that I realized that I had forgotten the camera.
I know, I know: today I'm supposed to be storyboarding. Well You can't storyboard without paper, at least if you're going to draw. I've had the drawing bug for a little while now (caught a minor case during summer when I bought a new canvas and completely failed to paint anything on it; said canvas is now sulking behind my desk beggng to be used) and was determined to actually commit pencil/pen to paper and take my time doing it. I had no paper, so I said: time to go to the mall. It's only 1/4 mile away, right?
So i set out with the intention of spending $5 and returning home quickly so I could exercize my agoraphobia a little more. Yeah... didn;t work out that way. One chinese food lunch and trip to the "Source" and I had spent over $60. From $5 to $60 in no time at all.
The printer was on sale for $30 (regular price $80) so I HAD to buy it right?
So I'm back with paper, printer and now it's time to unpck them all and get storyboarding....
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Soundtrack update: Mr Justin Ewart, whose music I used for the trailers a couple of weeks ago, has agreed to let me borrow one of his tracks "In My Dream" for use in the montage scene of FALLING UP. Great music and I'm sure the scene will match perfectly. Plus it gives me something to edit to.
Also making an appearance for the closing credits music, will be an as of yet undetermined track from the Toronto based band: My October. Mark Rivard, who will be playing the lead role of Frank is the drummer in the band so he probably just pummelled them into submission.... either that or he just asked...
In any case: we have music!
Also making an appearance for the closing credits music, will be an as of yet undetermined track from the Toronto based band: My October. Mark Rivard, who will be playing the lead role of Frank is the drummer in the band so he probably just pummelled them into submission.... either that or he just asked...
In any case: we have music!
Robbie Comeau
Como's back. back again
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Well you know what I mean.
How's your schedule looking these days Robbie? We're ramping up for production here. I'm almost done with storyboards and getting equipment into place.
Robbie Comeau
Como's back. back again
Pretty good.
Doing storyboard now. Got a couple pages in for it.
Deciding if I want to do this on the DVX or the A1.
Hopefully we can get use of your dollly!
Robbie
Doing storyboard now. Got a couple pages in for it.
Deciding if I want to do this on the DVX or the A1.
Hopefully we can get use of your dollly!
Robbie
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
We'll have to coordinate schedues so there's no overlap. When are you guys expectign to shoot? I'm looking at within the next 10 days here.
Robbie Comeau
Como's back. back again
Oh, maybe the next month.
Robbie
Robbie
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
If it's in January I can just leave my Toronto dolly with Kegan with the tracks. When I head down to Waco all I'm taking is another set of wheels and we're hitting the hardware store hard. You should be all set for this.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Storyboarding
Storyboarding
There is a point in storyboarding where the artist side of me clicks off. his happens around frame 4, page 2 where I look back over the first page and go: "dude, it's been 30 minutes and you only did 3 frames". Reality tends to kick in at that time and the gears start to turn. The filmmaker gears that is, the gears that say: "there's a production coming up and we need to have visuals, not a comic book" so quality and accuracy are often sacrificed.
This time around the care and accuracy got chucked right out the window. Frame 1 I realized that I still had quite a few frames to do and a lot of pre-production work to slog through including finding locations and scheduling at least one rehearsal. Christmas is fast approaching and I'd prefer completed storyboards over perfectly drawn and LATE storyboards. Their purpose is to provide clarity of vision to complement the shotlist anyway. Everyone can take a look and get an idea of the flow of the film from looking at them. They don't have to be Frank Miller perfect. We just dont have the time for that.
So I'm continuing to slog through the storyboard whenever I get a free moment. I've got my shotlist all done including the shots I listed for coverage. The "Nice-to-have" shots that so often add that additional level of perfection to a shot.... instead of just serving as a cut away. You know the ones I mean: the shots that are stylistic rather than a cover-my-ass shot becasue I shot this one angle wrong and the next cut doesnt match, so let me throw this in instead...
Anyway: progress is progressing. Now I need to lock down the dates.
SHIPPING UPDATE: Turns out there is a problem with UPS and customs. My lights and grip gear won't be delivered until Monday/Tuesday. They're clearing customs today, and if I'm REALLY, REALLY lucky, I might have them tomorrow. This last was spoken by the UPS agent and I coudl swear I heard a smirk in her voice when she said it. It IS Christmas season after all....
Storyboarding
There is a point in storyboarding where the artist side of me clicks off. his happens around frame 4, page 2 where I look back over the first page and go: "dude, it's been 30 minutes and you only did 3 frames". Reality tends to kick in at that time and the gears start to turn. The filmmaker gears that is, the gears that say: "there's a production coming up and we need to have visuals, not a comic book" so quality and accuracy are often sacrificed.
This time around the care and accuracy got chucked right out the window. Frame 1 I realized that I still had quite a few frames to do and a lot of pre-production work to slog through including finding locations and scheduling at least one rehearsal. Christmas is fast approaching and I'd prefer completed storyboards over perfectly drawn and LATE storyboards. Their purpose is to provide clarity of vision to complement the shotlist anyway. Everyone can take a look and get an idea of the flow of the film from looking at them. They don't have to be Frank Miller perfect. We just dont have the time for that.
So I'm continuing to slog through the storyboard whenever I get a free moment. I've got my shotlist all done including the shots I listed for coverage. The "Nice-to-have" shots that so often add that additional level of perfection to a shot.... instead of just serving as a cut away. You know the ones I mean: the shots that are stylistic rather than a cover-my-ass shot becasue I shot this one angle wrong and the next cut doesnt match, so let me throw this in instead...
Anyway: progress is progressing. Now I need to lock down the dates.
SHIPPING UPDATE: Turns out there is a problem with UPS and customs. My lights and grip gear won't be delivered until Monday/Tuesday. They're clearing customs today, and if I'm REALLY, REALLY lucky, I might have them tomorrow. This last was spoken by the UPS agent and I coudl swear I heard a smirk in her voice when she said it. It IS Christmas season after all....
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Robbie Comeau
Como's back. back again
I'd check, but I don't want to ruin the surprise 
Robbie
Robbie