BARN DANCE - John LaBonney

Shoot in Nelson

Shoot in Nelson

The Barn Dance shoot in Nelson, NV was more than awesome. Jerimiah, Pauly, Kevin, and Dennis were incredible. The expertise they brought to the set was unbelievable and they worked so hard to make sure every shot was absolutely perfect.

Our cast, John Hoffar, Aaron David Johnson, and Jana Roberts, were great! It is so hard to believe that this was the first time that Aaron and Jana were on a film set.

It was hot! At mid-day the temperature was 105 degrees. It was hot! And the flies were atrocious! They were everywhere! We had a tent set up for crew services and it was fly heaven. They dissipated by nightfall but were replaced by a slew of other flying insects. We could not get away from the bugs!

The location that we shot at is an old mining site, which they have turned into a little tourist stop. They give tours and they have a country store, etc., etc., etc. Well, we didn't really think anything of it...at least not until the Harleys Riders showed up. Just as we were about to start shooting for the day, a group of bikers roared up to the site and parked their Harleys right next to us. I went into a panic. Even though the bikers' stay was short and quite uneventful (except for the noise), I worried for the rest of the day how many more groups of tourists would stop by. Thankfully, the heat kept the tourist crowd to a minimum with the exception of a troop of boy scouts and three guys looking to rent a kayak.

We broke for lunch around 1:30 pm. The owners of the store next to us were gracious enough to allow us to eat lunch in the comfort of the air-conditioned lobby. And then it was back to the heat, although we were we able to move out of the sun into the interior of the barn. It was still hot, but no direct sunlight.

I was told that the interior shots went well, but I had to leave to get the 19 teenagers we brought in for the barn dance. Now that was fun! The last time I was around that many teenagers at one time, I was one of them! But they are a great group of kids. We were very lucky to have Ott Ashton and Arveta Nolan from Dream-Casting, a local casting agency, to help us find our cast and all of the energetic extras. We loaded them all up on a bus at 5:00 pm and promptly landed on set at 6:00 pm. Even though they had to wait around quite a bit, when called to duty, they outdid themselves and had a great time doing it!

While I was off rounding up the extras, our BTS photographer, John Neis, did a great job in capturing on-set interviews with the cast and crew for the DVD.

The barn dance scenes were a little difficult to manage because of the number of people involved and the different shots that we had to get. But we were determined to finish on time. And we did! At 11:00 pm, we wrapped shooting for the night and began packing up to leave. With just one minor scare of a missing teenager, I was able to get everyone back on the bus unharmed and still excited.

I have to say, even though I was completely exhausted by the time I got home, I would not have missed this experience for the world. I can not wait to see the finished project. With just the little bit of footage that I have seen, it is going to be a "do-not-miss" on the Twilightfest list of entries. And I am not just saying that because I am the wife of the writer/director. Speaking of John, he promises to fill you in on the experience, just as soon as he is done editing the first 20 shots. (Tee hee hee. Just kidding.)

BTS photos are coming soon (just as soon as I learn how to upload them), so check back in a little while.

Thank you so much to the crew and cast of Barn Dance. And thanks so much DVXuser for the opportunity to share our little story! We hope that you like it as much as we do.
 
Hi Michelle,

I agree with Simon - great production journal. I am looking forward to see "Barn dance". :thumbup:

Best wishes.

Susanne
 
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Talk about the "indie" way...more weight had to be added to the crane so we made do with some bricks found at the location.

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John and Pauly consult over technical aspects of the film.

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A whole team effort...even the talent gets involved in production.

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Kevin helps in adjusting the green screen.

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Jana...just being cute!

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Jerimiah checking to make sure the shot is absolutely perfect.

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Our leader and director carefully watching the action and wondering, "What time is lunch?"
 
A huge thanks to Paul Condon, Jeremiah Rounds, Kevin Chacon, and Denis Bosnjakovic. These guys were unbelievable. They worked harder than farm animals and I never heard even a whimper. The HVX can give some awesome images if you know how to use it, and they did.
 
Hey guys got back about 6:30pm this evening and let me tell you We had quite a day. Despite the heat, flies, Taratulas and interruptions the day went well. We left CA at 5:30AM and got on set just before the call time thanks to not a freaking soul being on the road at that time. We got there and John had everything all planned out and did an amazing job of directing.

Although at times it seemed like we were never gonna get all the shots some how Jeremiah found a way, and between He, Denis and Kevin they pulled off some amazing stuff. (I have got to get an HVX BTW). Anyway Michele and John took very good care of us and had plenty of water and great craft services. It was a joy to be able to help out on this one and I am happy to say we wrapped right on time and got everything John wanted on that set done.

The talent was awesome and despite having to entertain the troops, and by entertain I mean let them loose on the Red Bulls and watch them run about like chickens with their heads cut off and keep them from taking off into Red Bull space. It was a blast to have so many talented kids working on a set, however if you ever ask me to work with that many kids again John I will have to insist that you see someone and get the help you would so despertly need.

I would also like to say a great big thank you to Johns wife Michelle. Michelle you ROCK. You had everything so well planned out it was a pleasure helping you guys out. And Jeremiah is "The Man" he took hold of this and didn't let go. He is a truely amazing cinematographer. Kevin as usual was right there to do whatever is asked of him and got a ton of BTS footage which will John will be getting here real soon. And Denis is a cool cat nice to have meet you Bra.

OK so I will shut up know and give you guys your thread back. I am warning the rest of you DVXusers watch out for LaBonney cause this is gonna be an amzing film.
Pauly
 
Top Ten Things I Learned So Far About Directing While Working on Barn Dance

Top Ten Things I Learned So Far About Directing While Working on Barn Dance

The Top Ten Things I Learned So Far About Directing While Working on Barn Dance



10. Those 5-in-1 reflector things are super-cool and I have to get one of my own.
We used one during the filming of Gun for Hire but I didn't really understand how useful it could be or get the hang of using it properly at the time. Now I've got a better grip on it and I'm getting one, like it or not. I might even get two.

9. You can't make a film without gaffers tape and spring clamps.
Simply can't do it.

8. DIY stuff is fun to make and a cool way to save money, but the pro version of equipment is probably worth the rental cost when it's important. I built a DIY dolly which we used on this movie which works pretty well, but it isn't user friendly. Denis and I discussed this on the way home and he said he thinks that even though it costs some money, renting a solid professional dolly for the day is worth it, for the sake of time, ease of use, and quality of the shot. After all is said and done, I agree.

7. You have to take command, even if you don't feel right doing it.
There were times that important, but totally unglamorous jobs needed to be done. I would certainly be willing to do any of them myself, but it meant that I would have had less time to concentrate on directing the talent and communicating what I wanted to the DP. During the day I asked Denis to set up the crew services canopy, John to police up empty water bottles and soda cans, Paul to take command of doing BTS interviews and entertaining the parents that visited the set, and our production assistant Nick to make sure the cooler was loaded with bottled water (by the way, they were all very gracious and willing, and I appreciated that very much). Everyone was there to help make a film, and I didn't want them to think that I was asking them to be the maid or servant or mover of heavy objects. But I had to have the resolve in me to say, "Hey, can you do [whatever menial/unpleasant/yukky task needed to be done]?" even though it made me a little uncomfortable to do so.

6. An impression of making progress is important.
There's a lot of hurry up and wait on a film set, and often it seems like there's not much progress being made, which can be discouraging. It took us two hours from arrival until we managed to get the first shot. That's just the way it goes. I found myself trying to find ways to keep people busy with tasks and jobs just to keep them from feeling like they were doing nothing. At some points I set an arbitrary deadline to keep us on schedule: "Okay, five more minutes to set this up, then we're rolling!" That did seem to help in some cases, but I haven't figured out how to create this feeling of "yes, we're making progress here" just yet. Or at least how to spread that feeling to the cast and crew. But I do think that creating an impression of making progress is important and gives everyone on set a feeling of confidence.

5. Directing is in many cases gathering talented people in different areas with skills and experience far greater than your own.
There's simply no way I could get some of the incredible images that we got if I was handling the camera. No freaking way. I just don't have the experience or knowledge that Jeremiah and Kevin have. I learned a tremendous amount from watching them, and I expect that my own shooting with the HVX will be much improved from this. But the fact is that they're much better at it then me. I've received a huge amount of compliments on the poster for Barn Dance (and I think it's a great poster), which was created by the very talented Mike Manning. I can hardly get around Photoshop, but by getting Mike to do the poster, I've got one that is much better than anything I could create. There were about a hundred and six questions I asked of Mark Johnson and Carleton Torpin when planning this shoot, and they knew all the answers. By getting them to contribute their knowledge to me, we were able to keep things on set much smoother and the movie that much better than it would have been had I tried to answer all these questions myself. Point is that the movie, however it turns out in the end, will be far better than I could have made it had I tried to do and know everything myself (and my sincere respect and compliments to all you filmmakers out there that are a one-man band).

4. Location, location, location.
Location can add production value and really make the visuals that sell the story of the film. We had a really hard time with getting a location for Barn Dance. The first barn we found was awesome, and we were really excited about shooting there. But regardless of what we said or offered, we couldn't get permission to shoot there. "We'll pay a location fee." No. "We'll have insurance." No. "We'll bring in our own porta-potty." No. "I'll give you credit in the movie." No. "I'll give your second cousin credit in the movie." No. We thought the situation was hopeless. So I went on a search of Southern Nevada for barns. And I became the barnmaster: I now know where each of the hay barns within an hour of Las Vegas are (there are five). We managed to find the incredible five-story barn at Eldorado Canyon and strike a deal with the owners. It cost us a location fee, and we were required to have insurance (which was ridiculously expensive), and the remoteness of the location forced us to shell out considerable funds for a charter bus, but considering the uniqueness of this location and the images we were able to get there, it was totally worth it. While it may be much cheaper, easier, and simpler to shoot a movie that's set in the living room, a cool-looking location is worth it.

3. Food is hyper-critical.
We took this often suggested piece of advice very seriously and feeding everyone was our number one expense. We didn't skimp. I wanted people to know that we cared enough to get the good stuff. We got name-brand drinks and snacks and restaurant prepared food. I got individual bottles of water instead of big gallon jugs. You could have invaded a small country for what it cost us but was totally worth it. I felt good about having decent food for people to eat, and had we tried to cut corners here I think that it would have haunted me through the whole day of production.

2. Casting is really important.
I can't remember where I heard it said, but I remember the phrase, "Ninety-percent of directing is casting." I'm not sure I agree with this, but I can tell you that I went to what a lot of short filmmakers might consider ridiculous lengths to cast Barn Dance. We had three separate casting sessions. I looked at untold numbers of headshots. We struggled on the final decision for each part. I didn't settle on actors for the lead roles just because I had to have somebody. I didn't rely on friends or relatives to star in the film. I made a serious effort to get people that had decent acting ability and really fit the part. None of this work we did trying to cast the right people guarantees that Barn Dance won't suck. But I think it gives us a leg up.



and number one thing I learned so far....




1. Family support is essential.
Even if my wife wasn't a participant in this project, it couldn't have happend without her support. I couldn't have spent the time, the money, the effort, and suffered the heartache if she wasn't 100% in agreement with me doing it.





and REALLY the number one thing I learned so far.............





1. Fear must be conquered.
I had to conquer all the fears that I had about taking on this project. And there were plenty. Fear that it wouldn't come out right. Fear that I would look inexperienced. Fear that I would look like a dork. Fear I would piss somebody off. Fear that I would spend too much money. Fear that I didn't have enough equipment. Fear that the story wasn't good enough. Fear that there would be dissension on the set. Fear that people wouldn't show up. Fear that I would forget something critical. Fear that my movie will finish dead last in the fest. Fear that I would appear fearful to others. Fear of the unknown.



:Drogar-Mark-04(DBG)
 
Congrats John! It seems to me you did a great job & this is a project you should be VERY proud of. Support IS key and it looks like there was plenty of that (I'm jealous...although my cat is very supportive).

This is sure to be a HIT... can't wait to see some grabs!

Kudos to you, your wife, the awesome crew, talented cast...and everyone that pulled together to make this a successful production.
 
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