Marlon Ladd
Veteran
More updates, Tommy! What's your deal??
"Invocation" - a Tommy Merry/T Studios Film
- Thread starter TMerry
- Start date
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Updates Tommy. Updates nownownwownow
TMerry
Well-known member
Captains Log: Day 1 & 2
Captains Log: Day 1 & 2
Well okay, I added some updates to our News section at the beginning
of this thread, cast members and shooting etc., but here's the expanded version:
The weekend shoot was fantastic. I felt a little rocky on my first few setups,
getting used to the fact that the camera has to go to the shot, not the other
way around as it used to be in the old days before using prime lenses
(EG., frame and zoom as needed). Our local sound mixer from DVXuser
Alan Chang was on set, so that's the first time I've use a sound man.
I always set a fixed boom in the past. So it was cool to have him on
crew and one less thing for me to focus on.
Day 1:
great talent! I spent a lot of time casting and it paid off in the shoot. All
the actors were on their game and brought a lot to the table. It was
probably a 14 hour day, and the last actress (our main role for Claire)
stayed on late into the night when it was just dwon to me and my leadman
Brian Shearn on crew. I decided to add some ad hoc scene to the last of the
film which will hopefully enhance it big time. Lots of laughs, great food and
hard work, the best elements that any production could hope for
DAY 2:
Shot scenes of the two kids, the realestate agent and the young mother.
The young mother was cast by photo over the phone, because she was such a
great match to the kids I had cast in person. She was the only wild card but turned
out a breeze to work with and very pro. The Realestate agent was an actor I had
scene in a horror film years before and have been wanting to work with Judy for some
time.
THE KIDS!
They were a lot of fun to work with. Mitchell and Lexi, 11 and 7, and both consummate
professionals. Amazing, I don't know how they have that much focus
at that age but they did. They brought an unbelievable realism to their parts and
were fun to work with. I started with them and shot out of sequence to make sure
their energy levels were still up and strong. We needed to come back to them many hours
later and they were still focused and ready to go. We finished off the day with a late
family style lunch my wife had catered of Teriyaki chicken and Smoked salmon
orzo salad. YUM!
GEAR:
Much of this is new gear and I'm still getting a feel for it.
I still haven't been able to adjust the flange on the RedRock M2,
so infinity focus is still not working correctly, so wide shots were a problem.
The new smallHD monitor was fantastic, vibrant and clear. I was using the
Omni-tracker Dolly on a custom made platform with adjustable legs so I could
go from 24 in to 5' in a snap. I really love it the more I get used to it and would
recommend it to any friends looking for an alternative style dolly in an instant.
INVOCATION is very drama/dialog driven, so while all the shots aren't going
to be breathtaking, they suit the story strongly, and support the believability of the
possibility that this could really happen to someone. And perhaps the dark side
is just past the surface of our conscious, waiting to emerge if given the chance..
SFX
I did a lot of preplanning for the special effects plates for this film, and while I won't
know how precise they sync until I start adding the SFX, I think we will have a nice mesh.
If there is anything I need to reshoot for the SFX plates, the location is still available to
me day or night.
So you asked for an update.. and there it is
More to come soon....
Captains Log: Day 1 & 2
Well okay, I added some updates to our News section at the beginning
of this thread, cast members and shooting etc., but here's the expanded version:
The weekend shoot was fantastic. I felt a little rocky on my first few setups,
getting used to the fact that the camera has to go to the shot, not the other
way around as it used to be in the old days before using prime lenses
(EG., frame and zoom as needed). Our local sound mixer from DVXuser
Alan Chang was on set, so that's the first time I've use a sound man.
I always set a fixed boom in the past. So it was cool to have him on
crew and one less thing for me to focus on.
Day 1:
great talent! I spent a lot of time casting and it paid off in the shoot. All
the actors were on their game and brought a lot to the table. It was
probably a 14 hour day, and the last actress (our main role for Claire)
stayed on late into the night when it was just dwon to me and my leadman
Brian Shearn on crew. I decided to add some ad hoc scene to the last of the
film which will hopefully enhance it big time. Lots of laughs, great food and
hard work, the best elements that any production could hope for
DAY 2:
Shot scenes of the two kids, the realestate agent and the young mother.
The young mother was cast by photo over the phone, because she was such a
great match to the kids I had cast in person. She was the only wild card but turned
out a breeze to work with and very pro. The Realestate agent was an actor I had
scene in a horror film years before and have been wanting to work with Judy for some
time.
THE KIDS!
They were a lot of fun to work with. Mitchell and Lexi, 11 and 7, and both consummate
professionals. Amazing, I don't know how they have that much focus
at that age but they did. They brought an unbelievable realism to their parts and
were fun to work with. I started with them and shot out of sequence to make sure
their energy levels were still up and strong. We needed to come back to them many hours
later and they were still focused and ready to go. We finished off the day with a late
family style lunch my wife had catered of Teriyaki chicken and Smoked salmon
orzo salad. YUM!
GEAR:
Much of this is new gear and I'm still getting a feel for it.
I still haven't been able to adjust the flange on the RedRock M2,
so infinity focus is still not working correctly, so wide shots were a problem.
The new smallHD monitor was fantastic, vibrant and clear. I was using the
Omni-tracker Dolly on a custom made platform with adjustable legs so I could
go from 24 in to 5' in a snap. I really love it the more I get used to it and would
recommend it to any friends looking for an alternative style dolly in an instant.
INVOCATION is very drama/dialog driven, so while all the shots aren't going
to be breathtaking, they suit the story strongly, and support the believability of the
possibility that this could really happen to someone. And perhaps the dark side
is just past the surface of our conscious, waiting to emerge if given the chance..
SFX
I did a lot of preplanning for the special effects plates for this film, and while I won't
know how precise they sync until I start adding the SFX, I think we will have a nice mesh.
If there is anything I need to reshoot for the SFX plates, the location is still available to
me day or night.
So you asked for an update.. and there it is
More to come soon....
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
Nicely done. Congrats. Now: grabs please!
Alan H. Chang
Veteran
:crybaby:
reading...
reading...
Alan H. Chang
Veteran
Got a hold of my music director today and he's interested. Actually, he's very excited about this kind of thing. He asked about compensation because he have to schedule this on top of all the other events that are happening in the next coming months.
I also told him about our fallback plan of recording your mother's choir. He was happy that there are now 2 groups of choir to work with. So give me a holla.
I also told him about our fallback plan of recording your mother's choir. He was happy that there are now 2 groups of choir to work with. So give me a holla.
Alan H. Chang
Veteran
EQUIPS:
Just so everyone knows, used a couple of Schoeps CMC641, an SD302, and a SD744T. Brought more than enough. Didn't bring out the wireless because there was no need for them. Just from reading the screenplay, it looked like I had to cover lots of people at the same time. Turned out diff. than what I had expected.
DAY 1:
My allergy kicked in bad when nightfall came. So I had to leave at around 10PM to get home in time for my rest. Church the next early morning. Tommy and Brian, you guys ROCK! I also called DVXUser Huy Vu to drop by since he was around the area. Great team effort.
DAY 2:
Right after church, I drove like a madman to set. After arriving, I was delighted to actually see the kids there. Short stuff happening here and there. Finally the family food. Those Teriyaki Chicken were the best I've ever had in my life. Yes, I do eat a lot of teriyaki chicken from all kinds of restaurants and these are just unbelieveably delicious! Ohhhhh, the smoked salmon orzo salad. Words can't describe, only tastebuds can.
Just so everyone knows, used a couple of Schoeps CMC641, an SD302, and a SD744T. Brought more than enough. Didn't bring out the wireless because there was no need for them. Just from reading the screenplay, it looked like I had to cover lots of people at the same time. Turned out diff. than what I had expected.
DAY 1:
My allergy kicked in bad when nightfall came. So I had to leave at around 10PM to get home in time for my rest. Church the next early morning. Tommy and Brian, you guys ROCK! I also called DVXUser Huy Vu to drop by since he was around the area. Great team effort.
DAY 2:
Right after church, I drove like a madman to set. After arriving, I was delighted to actually see the kids there. Short stuff happening here and there. Finally the family food. Those Teriyaki Chicken were the best I've ever had in my life. Yes, I do eat a lot of teriyaki chicken from all kinds of restaurants and these are just unbelieveably delicious! Ohhhhh, the smoked salmon orzo salad. Words can't describe, only tastebuds can.
Sprocketboy
Well-known member
You are lucky with the kids. They are hit or miss. In rehearsals, they look and sound great but once they are on location with lights, camera, action... they don't give you the same. Great news!
TMerry
Well-known member
Yes, you're right. Their part in my film is critical, so I was blessed with a good performance from them. Plus, since they are a brother sister acting team, they had great rapport.
TMerry
Well-known member
Oooh, the cat is out of the bag. :grin: Okay Alan, sounds cool. I'm stretched budget-wise now, but I'll see what I can come up with. The score I'm writing needs a big choir to pull off the sound I want.
PS, Listening to the sound files off the FTP server of the mixing you did on set, nice quality and notes my friend!
Marlon Ladd
Veteran
Your story just sounds more and more interesting the more I read. You had an omni-tracker, huh? I can't wait to see what shots you got with that. Looks like you did real good pre-production and it's always great to have a sound guy on set, so you don't have to focus on that. Kudos to you, Alan. Even though this is a monsterfest, I'm really interested in the drama-type pieces, like yours, Tommy.
Alan H. Chang
Veteran
Yup, we really have 4 weeks for this. Usually with my church's choir, we can do about 35-45 members full. The music director sometime asks other choir members from other churches to join, including kids, tennagers, and adults. Thus making the numbers larger. If you're looking for a large reverberant space, we might have to book elsewhere as my church isn't as wide as you'd expect.
Take a look at the the picture on this page:
http://burlpres.org/index.asp?p=30000
That's how wide the Sanctuary is. Approx. 30' wide by 50' tall. I'll measure it tomorrow when I'm down there for the weekend event.
BUDGET
If we need to stretch it more, I might as well have to join in. One thing I am worried about is airplane flybys and car passbys. That's it. Or, maybe I should contact Leslie from Skywalker Sound for their recording stage. haha, I think that's out of the question.
Rodney V. Smith
DVXFest Promo Guru
what he said.
Patrick Sweeney
New member
Looks great, Tommy!
Rustom Irani
Active member
Great production pics Tommy!
Advanced FCP, eh? Editing is always fun.
Advanced FCP, eh? Editing is always fun.
TMerry
Well-known member
Hi Rusty,
Thanks! Yes, and its kicking my butt. I've been editing on FCP since version 2, but I had no idea of what I was missing, and the streamlined workflow techniques, till I started this training for my certification.
Anyone who is in shot of California here this: If you want to learn to OWN on FCP editing, take the beginning and advanced FCP classes a BAVC, worth every penny.
Got to get sleep more now... one more grueling day ahead of training
Thanks! Yes, and its kicking my butt. I've been editing on FCP since version 2, but I had no idea of what I was missing, and the streamlined workflow techniques, till I started this training for my certification.
Anyone who is in shot of California here this: If you want to learn to OWN on FCP editing, take the beginning and advanced FCP classes a BAVC, worth every penny.
Got to get sleep more now... one more grueling day ahead of training
