The Making of "Dog sitter" - a short film

[Nerdcolony]

Dog Sitter Production Aftermath

Dog Sitter Production Aftermath

Now that I have had a day or so to recuperate, I'm ready to talk a bit about the shoot.

Day 1:

I wake up at 5:00 in the morning. Strange, but I slept like a baby last night. I was exhausted so I'm sure that helped. I start packing the car up with my equipment and drive over to the meeting spot a few blocks away where the rental place is located. I get there are 5:45, 15 minutes before we were supposed to meet and there are already 6 people waiting. Awesome!

when the bus arrives so we can start getting loaded up, another group was there first and it took longer to get all the stuff out. By the time we hit the road we were an hour late. We played catch-up for the rest of the day.

We arrive at the location and get our bearings. The two dogs meet for the first time and they are instantly friends. Perfect!

I look around and everybody is doing something and I think to myself "What do I do?" Very strange feeling to go from Camera crew or PA to Director. I went to move some stands and the Grips told me to put it down. I went to help with some Art Dec and they told me they have it covered. I went to check the camera settings and the DP said it was done. So I stood there, a little lost.

A few hours later we are getting ready to get our first shot. I call ACTION and I'm grinning like an idiot. I can't help it. After the first few hours I start to fall into a stride and by the end of the first day I'm working hard and completely comfortable at the helm.

The actors are doing great and we are getting some really good stuff. The dogs are stealing the show but the lead is doing so well it's making the crew pumped. The sun is shining outside and everyone is in good spirits. The owners of the house we were shooting in were so generous. They basically gave us free reign of the entire house and then left for the day.

We did have a small accident where somebody leaned against the oven and turned one of the top elements on and it burned a cloth to the oven. Woops. But we cleaned it the best we could and we'll let the owners decided how we can make it all better.

By the time we wrap for the day people are tired of course. We pack what we need (most equipment was staying behind in the location for the next day) and head back to Montreal. After driving some people home, I get in at about 1:00-ish. I'm out like a light!

That night I have dreams of shot lists and story boards and I wake up from time to time thinking about how to set up the next shot. My dreams are technical yet nonsensical. How can I get a more shallow depth of field if I use some diffusion over a Kino? HUH?? Is the dog looking at the proper eye line or do I need to use an HMI? WHAT?? Nothing makes sense and I wake up the next morning on edge.

 

[Charlie06]

I think that was the best post of all
Congratulations on a good day's shoot.
Hope mine goes as smoothly as yours

 

[MobFilmAddict]

Hey Adam...

Grats and mad props on your sucessful shoot. Your mom sent me your blog address last week and I've been catching up on the progress of Dog Sitter. Fantastic to read about all this. Keep up the hard work - it will pay off as I know you love what your doing.

Keep posting...you've got a lot of fans down here in FL rooting for ya!

P.S. If there's a sequel....got a role for Murphy?

Take care & keep kicking ass!

-Bram & the FL gang

 

[Nerdcolony]

More Production

More Production

WOW!! Bram! It's so good that you are reading this! I hope you guys are well and I can't thank you enough for your contribution to the film! Say hi to everyone for me.


Ok, here we go.

Day 2 went like this.

I get to the meeting spot early again and notice only one person there today. Everybody else trickles in. Meeting time is for 6:00 and by 6:15 we are still missing a few people. We start making some calls and realize one of the crew just woke up. We figure it will be easier to drive across town to pick her up in my car then to wait. Darn, this means we are late again.

We get to the location and we have two things to do. We have to set up for the dinner scene at a location next door while shooting an outdoor scene. It seems a like everything is going well but a little tension is building. People are tired from yesterday but still, spirits are high.

We manage to get these great dolly shots inside the kitchen and we only break one thing. A clock from the rental house. Oh well...that's why I have a contingency section in the budget. Art dec did feel bad but stuff happens.

After the kitchen shots we head back to the original location and set up for the next scene. The actor in this scene is fantastic. I gave her a lot of freedom to add lines here and there and some of them were gold! I think it's going to be a really funny scene. We all had to cover our mouths a few times to hold back the laughter. Even our lead actor broke character a few times because of the great things we were getting.

The day continues... after lunch things start to slow down. I'm not sure why but we had so much to shoot and we just could not keep up. At one point I find a quiet spot and hide. I'm looking at the story boards and I'm trying to cut out what I absolutely don't need. I have to take a few key scenes and rework them. This is really tough of course because I'm moving things around to make it work but I can't see big picture. I'm staring and staring at these story boards and looking at the script.... I'm sweating. I need to cut some stuff but what?

Finally, it hits me. In fact it came to me in such an exciting wave that I became really pumped to get this new way on film. Less shots and more punch! Perfect. It's great because this is the climax of the film and I was really worried.

Everyone slowly trudges along and we get shot after shot. Then comes time to film the big finale. It involves "something" in the oven and we need smoke. We are basically burning newspaper under the camera to get smoke effects but when it comes time to film the actual oven, we need there to be more. So we make this tin tray and put it in the oven, throw some newspaper in there and light 'er up!

Now let me just say that nobody thought there was much in there. We start rolling. The flames look great on film. The smoke is great. The flames or looking really good, nice and big. Big flames....uh oh....

Now I'm thinking to myself: If I call cut, we won't be able to get the shot, If I keep rolling we risk a fire.... The shot is good so I keep rolling. I can feel the crew staring at me waiting for me to call cut. I'm still rolling....

Finally I call "Cut" and the crew get to work, they drag the tin tray out of the oven and into the sink, smoke fills the house, the fire alarm goes off! Everyone grabs flags and opens all the doors and windows and starts fanning out the house. Oh yeah and it's probably 10:30 at night now so neighbors I'm sure could hear this all and are wondering if they should call the fire department.

After the excitement I decide we need to have a meeting. Things are getting late and we only have this location untill we leave for the night. We have to be elsewhere tomorrow. so I explain we have 2 options. We either Finish shooting tonight what we need or I have to organize another at another time to come back and finish the job. If we finish tonight, it means we won't finish before 1:00 AM. The crew are clearly spent and completly exhausted as am I. The crew talks a bit and come back. They tell me they will stay to fiish the job provided I get some beer and choclate. DONE!

We shoot till about 1:00 AM and start loading up the bus. Now the issue is once we pack up the bus and head back to Montreal, we have to stop by my place and bring everything inside so we can leave the bus outside for the night. Then in the morning pack up the bus all over again and head out to the new location. This blows! I'm thinking about how to avoid this when the bus driver comes to see me. He tells me he is going to just sleep on the bus.

This guy is going to sleep on the bus to save everyone two painfull hours. Maybe cause I was tired or maybe cause I was releived but as soon as he told me that I started to well-up. I could not beleive that he was willing to do this for the production.

we get back to montreal and it's 3:00 in the AM. I drive people home and as I get to my last destibation (Faisal the producers house) I say decide to sleep over which will save me a half hour drive home plus another half hour drive back there in morning. I think I get to sleep around 4:00 am. Faisal is still working on call sheets when I crash. My dreams are even stranger than the night before's.

The next morning I wake up, turn my cell phone on and hear this from the bus driver:
"ADAM!!! I've been trying to call you all night. This is not a joke. we have a huge problem... The radiator from the bus has a huge leak in it. I've been trying to fix it but it just keeps spraying. It's thanksgiving Day at 6:00 AM and I can;t find a mechanic... we may not have a bus today!"


I feel my teeth clench.

 

[Nerdcolony]

Day 3

Day 3

How do you rent a trailer at 6:00 in the morning on thanksgiving day?

I could see the budget in my head clicking high like the numbers on a gas pump. The bus driver says: "I'm going to pour water into the radiator and see if it holds. I'll call you back in ten minutes and let you know what's up"

Faisal and I decide to start heading to the first location. It's outdoors so we can shoot it without any equipment if we have to. We get in the car and 20 minutes later the bus driver calls. He says "I'm on the way! I don't know how long it will stay but I'm moving now!" Relief!

Everybody is late today. With only a few hours of sleep, the cast and crew are tired. It's a wonder anybody got up at all. People are so dedicated to their jobs! Even Craft service!! I wanted to mention that The night before, our caterer made a turkey dinner for everyone in honor of Thanksgiving. That is a ridiculous amount of work but WOW!!

We get to the first location of the day. We are shooting behind a high school. What's amazing is that everyday has been beautiful outside. Sunny and warm! The one time we need it to be nice, it rains. And of course, we shoot for 3 hours and when we pack up, the sun comes out and stays sunny the rest of the day.

We got some amazing shots here, some of my favorites so far. Roberto, who is playing a guy getting beaten up (and is also are Art Dec man!) took so many hits to the face (willingly and against my wishes) that he had a swollen face for the day.

We finish at the high school and head to the last location. Everyone is sluggish and moving with anti-gusto. The first shots take hours to set up and now we are late. The issue with this location is we have to be out by 11:00. Not wrapped but packed up and cleared out. I can literally feel every muscle in my back tense. I'm staring at the story boards and shot lists and I'm cutting things left, right and center.

The room we are shooting is supposed to imply cleanliness to a sterile degree so we are shooting in a white room. This was the only place the DP did not see and I clearly made a huge mistake. DP's don't like white rooms. Check, gotcha, in the vault.

Things trudge along. I give myself time limits to complete a series of shots and I'm pushing everybody to go faster. A smile and a thank you go a long way. We keep getting closer to 11:00 and we are pushing along when all of a sudden it hits me; nothing I have shot over the past few days is going to fit. Nothing is going to make sense. OH GOD!!

We break for dinner and I need to get out of the location. I tell Faisal, "I'm going out and I'll be back in about 20 Minutes. Only call me if it's an Emergency."

As I walk around the neighborhood, I feel drained. My movie is going to suck and I just threw away thousands of dollars. I should have just stayed as a 1st AC. This is going to blow so hard!! I can feel myself loosing control and I want to run away.

I find quiet back street. As I'm walking down it, I start to visualize my movie filled with every shot we have done. I am editing the movie in my mind. I'm really concentrating and focused. When it's done I've gone from panic to relief and from relief to excitement. This movie looks pretty cool!

I get back to the location and I'm feeling much better. We get the rest of the film in the can. We push each other and nip at each other and get on each others nerves but we get it done with out anybody taking it personally!

By the time we finish packing up, bringing everything back to the rental house and I finish driving people home, it's some time in the A.M again.

The next day I go to work. I'm a Zombie at best. But every time I feel myself slipping away into sleep or craving my bed, I just think about what I did that weekend.

I directed a movie...That I wrote...and Produced!

I'm 28 years old and I can't remember the last time I felt so good about something I worked so hard on.

Next stop: Post production!

 

[dalethompson]

How long do you expect the movie to end up being? What are you going to edit the footage on (computer and program)? Is this too personal of a question but what did the shoot cost (minus equipment)?

Sorry, I ask a lot of questions sometimes, but I love to pick people's brains too

 

[Charlie06]

Glad you continued with it, Cheering all the way from Chicago.
I thought you were a lot younger lol
When will post start for the dogg sitter?

 

[Nerdcolony]

How long do you expect the movie to end up being? What are you going to edit the footage on (computer and program)? Is this too personal of a question but what did the shoot cost (minus equipment)?

Sorry, I ask a lot of questions sometimes, but I love to pick people's brains too

Pick away!
I think the movie might be about 12 minutes although I would really like it to be closer to ten. I think the closer it comes to ten minutes or less, the better chance I have at getting it into festivals.

I'm going to edit on Final Cut and probably some After effects. I don;t know much about color correction so if I don't think I will do that myself. I use a Macbook pro.

To be honest, I don't know how much the film cost yet because I haven't tallied it all up yet. I imagine just production is about $7,000. With everything else I might come in at around $10,000. We'll see.

I would love to start editing but I have 2 other projects that I have to start. These are projects I've been hired to do and are extremely time sensitive so I have to put Dog Sitter on hold for a little while. I hope to have a rough cut by December the latest.

Stay tuned. I will be puttingpictures up very soon. I promise!

 

[dalethompson]

Adam:

Very cool indeed! The reason I asked my questions is that I'm in the process of trying to put together a budget right now but I'm finding it rather tedious and a little hard to do. The project I want to do will last a calender year, so it's hard to figure out how much it will cost in the end. I'm applying for a few grants and bursaries and one of the questions I have to answer is how much I think I'll be spending on my project. After my camera, new imac and other accessories, I'm guessing my budget is already up to $8,000 without even shooting one scene yet.

I'm trying to learn Final Cut Pro as well, so I can save on editing costs along the way. It's a pride thing too... I'd rather edit my own video than having someone else decide what they think should be in the final cut (no pun intended). I learned on a manual camera years ago, so the color correction for me is fine, I've been trained to look at color in many ways and with this new imac, it's beautiful to work on (24" screen).

I look forward to seeing the final cut of Dog Sitter for sure... make sure you keep on posting news about it

-Dale

 

[Nerdcolony]

Hey Dale,
I think it's great that you are planning a project that will take a year. I'm intrigued and would love to hear more about it if you can.
I think that a year long project has costs attached to it that I didn't. I mean right off the bat is the camera, It was cheaper for me to rent the camera and all the accesories then to go out and buy it, you on the other hand don't have that choice.
Also, I decided I wanted to pay people, even it was a small amount. Depending on how big your team is that might be really REALLY hard.
I think you are totally on the right track by aiming for grants!
Also, just in case you don't know, You should register a production company and keep all of the receipts so you can use them as tax write-offs. Get an accountant and you can see some money back at the end of the year.

Keep me posted on how things are coming. I'll keep posting here with updates as well!

 

[Nerdcolony]

Pics pics pics!!!

Pics pics pics!!!

Here are some production stills from the shoot!
All photos taken by cornershopstudios.com

 

[Charlie06]

those look great

got any stills from the camera you can sharE?

 

[dalethompson]

Adam:

Nice still pics... you shot with a 35mm adapter for the entire film? If so, how did you find working with it? How did it perform in low lighting situations?

My film (I will disclose it later after I start shooting it) will take the rest of 2008 and most of 2009. Ambitious for sure, considering it's my first time shooting. I'm a journalism major, so the writing part was the easy part. I learned on manual and digital cameras too, so getting an HVX200 didn't leave me totally confused, although, there's lots to learn about it.

I ended up buying all my equipment in the end. I worked for a law firm here in Toronto and got a severance package (my job was phased out in September). With the awesome support of my wife (who's a total film buff and a damn fine actress), I took some of the money from my severance and got an HVX200 (from someone on this site). I also got a manfrotto tripod as well (again, from someone on this site). I bought a new 3 GHz imac with a 24" screen to edit the film on and I'm in the process of getting a external HD to store all the footage on (I'm guessing a 1TB drive will suffice lol). I wanted to get a red rock 35mm adapter too and a matte box but, in the end, since this is a documentary, I really don't think it's necessary. Besides, I should learn the in's and out's of the HVX200 before getting too artsy with it.

I'm cashing in my RRSP's as well for funding. Yes, it's not a wise financial move but considering my investments have lost about $1000 in the last month or so, cashing them in right now before they are worthless isn't a really dumb move either. I'm in the process of finding another job too, so that will ease some of the financial aspects (I hope). My days will then be working and shooting, resting, shooting, quality time with my wife, taking my dog for walks, shooting, working etc. The odd shower and watching the Leafs lose might be snuck in when there's time

I now understand the dedication it takes to make a movie. I mean, you just don't grab a camera and, viola, it's done. It takes planning, strategy, more planning, lamenting (usually over money or getting more money), panicking and then losing lots of sleep. Even then, your movie still isn't shot and when you eventually get around to it, it probably seems like the most euphoric and surreal event, yes?

Congrats for doing your film, honestly, it's a nice inspiration for someone like myself, it really is. Like you, I've gone through bouts of some depression and feeling down and out. I always knew film was my passion though and I was supposed to do it. I did the corporate thing for a while and, yes, it was good to me in terms of money and being spoiled. But, in the end, I felt no satisfaction from it at all. I'd trade that time in for a lessor paying job in film any day. Some people may think I'm totally crazy or stupid for cashing in my savings to finance some of this project... I say this to my doubters: I don't drink, smoke, do drugs (although, I probably should haha), gamble or waste any money on other vices. Movies are my vice in life and I'm really investing in myself, not the equipment.

While I'm getting ready to do my movie, I will continue to watch for more updates from your thread. I wish you the best of luck in other projects you are doing too, I hope you get lots in the near future. Continue to inspire yourself and you will inspire others (like me), it really is a domino effect. Film needs people like you and I (and the countless others on here) to make the industry full of life, hope and above all, great entertainment that makes people smile.