Roamer - progress update 1

I've been getting to work on the sci fi short Roamer since getting some time to focus on my personal projects once again. So far, I am very close to a locked cut. There are a few pickup shots needed to get here and there, and some serious VFX testing to get under way. We already started some ADR and foley work. So far so good; I am very pleased with what we have in our hands and I am grateful to all of those who made Roamer a reality. I will be grabbing some still frames for you to check out soon.

For now, check out some pre-viz work I recently re-encountered. We used these before production began and I figured I'd share them:

This is 072 (Zachary Gossett). A soldier living in his element, hunting and tracking; yearning for the day when he can return home.

This is Oz (Chuck Phelps). An infected, 'roaming' person with secrets to protect and little time remaining.

This is a test of a perspective from our Drone (a hunting machine). There will be more composite and motion graphics work done to the perspective: a militaristic HUD. I can't show you the Drone itself yet, but it was built in 3D space by Mark Jeschke at OogaMedia and it is very menacing.

Here are some storyboards as given life by Aaron Jasper (illustrator and writer). What's funny is that these are almost identical to the shots I used in editing (without even referencing my boards) even though we shot two cameras and got tons of coverage. All the shots were usable and great, but I guess internally I know and feel what I need to see next and it doesn't change.

There's plenty more to come so stay tuned...

The Hush - Official Poster

Here is the final design for "The Hush" movie poster. As much as I enjoy the teaser poster, I wanted a solid and conventional movie poster that conveyed the atmosphere of the film, yet maintained the graphic novel feel of the teaser. Enjoy.

Roamer - halfway through shooting

 Vincent Cortez working with Chuck Phelps and Zachary Gossett

I am happy to say that we finished about 60% of the filming for the project.

We ended up focusing on shooting all of the INT. scenes our first weekend of production. The shoot went well, though I was a little over zealous with the scheduling. So we will finish off the rest of the film in two coming shoot days.

I am working with a really solid team of people and I want to make sure that we give everything it's due time. From our cast to our sound team, through FX and Camera/Lighting, everyone brought so much creativity and energy to the project. I thank them for their commitment and time.

Here is some behind the scenes imagery from the film. Thanks to Jesse Dana (Director of Photography), Anthony Lucero (2nd Camera Op) and Phil Velasquez (Special FX Designer and Artist) for taking the photos.

Zachary Gossett is Soldier 072. 

Chuck Phelps is Oz (with FX Makeup by Phil Velasquez).

Stay tuned as there will be plenty to come.

Sci Fi Short: Roamer

 Zachary Gossett and Chuck Phelps star in Roamer, a futuristic tale about survival and humanity.

Some time has passed since I took the full helm of a film project (the Hush was shot in the summer of '08) and while I was a co-Director on one film, a producer/DP on another and a writer/producer/2nd Unit Director on one more film, it feels good to be back in the driver's seat.

We've been hard at work putting this film together. I am working with some very talented and familiar people. We've spent loads of time crafting and designing the world and are very close to shooting. Stay tuned as there is much more to come!

Location Scouting for a new Sci Fi short

I spent a large portion of the day with Zachary (the 'Hush') Gossett doing some location scouting for a short we are working on. We were in my 'backyard' doing some exploration for a story about a futuristic soldier who patrols the borders of an infected shantytown.

If everything goes well, we'll be in for quite the adventurous shoot, braving the elements an tackling a very interesting story. Stay tuned...

Introduction to "Making The Hush"

This video was presented to the audience that made it out to the Hush's private screening. It was just an introduction to what will be a larger look at the making of a high concept, suspense film on a very low budget. This introduction focuses mainly on the mindset and approach to tackling pre through post.
Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions/comments.

Filmmaker's Journey: Reflection PART 2

LIVE THE PROCESS -
What's funny to me now is thinking back about my 'blogging"/"online buzz" building plans before production began. I guess it would have been easy to do if I were an avid blogger/twitter-pated/facebooker but I have never been one for that type of thing. I had planned to write weekly journals and post information on how things were going, that seems to be the route of most digital film maker's these days (and for some it pays off). But one thing I realized is that it did not really work with my style: I get so engrossed in the process that it becomes my life; there was never an open window to step into a third person and analyze what I was doing. Besides, I like to let me work speak for itself. I did not have a team of people to document my journey; my time was spent being a filmmaker. My family life was engulfed by filmmaking (that's why we shot during the summer). My wife and super-producer Sofia, my daughter and I were living and breathing the filmmaking process. We slept on a set that we turned our living space into. Shoot on a weekend, backup footage and do rough assemblies to make sure I was getting what I wanted on a Monday, Tuesday was spent relaxing with the family, then Wednesday and Thursday we got back to the production coordination and gathering just in time to shoot on Friday. It was crazy, fun and demanding but in a weird way it was symbiotic. It took my energy but it gave back two-fold; I was living my dream no matter what.

SACRIFICE -
Another thing to touch upon is how much one is willing to give up in order to fulfill the needs of tackling a feature film. Granted everyone is different but I think that one thing is for sure: you have to give up a certain part of your life/career to work on a film. Everyone has different living situations, day-to-day needs and so forth, but when you are making a film, time becomes your worst enemy. I had to give up working for nearly a half-a-year. In and around that time I turned down some work, just so that I would not rob my project of the necessary energy. I checked my savings account and prepared to live as frugal as humanly possible for the coming months. It was scary; but for me, it was necessary.

WORK WITH YOUR FRIENDS -
An enormous boost of confidence and energy for me was the fact that I trusted my cast and crew with our work together. I run my sets like a big family and I think everyone felt that. Some of the best compliments I've ever heard came from people taking in the 'welcoming' 'hard working' 'humble' nature of a Mitchell Street Pictures set. To me that made a great deal of difference. Also I knew everyone who was on set from the actors to the crew (the majority I had already worked with in various capacities). Zach Gossett (the Hush) and I spent a year working as director-actor that really turned into a friendship: he trusted me with the story and the journey I was putting in front of him, and I really could not envision anyone else, after all of the work and building we'd done, playing my lead. Ashley B. Eberlein (the Director of Photography) was also attached to the project at an early stage. We were able to create our visual language and certain story characteristics over various meetings and test shoots. We pre-visualized every shot in advanced and I knew that if she saw something she liked on set she would be able to capture it while still maintaining that visual language. Finally, and very much worth mentioning, Sofia L. Cortez, my producer and Assistant Director, was there from square one. She was involved with the script writing, listening to me read pages to her late at night, working on production breakdowns while I organized myself creatively. She was the technical brain while I was the creative know-no-limits madman, she was my secret weapon, she was my alarm clock and wake up call when she needed to be.

SPECIAL FX -
The mask up top and the majority of the appliances we used were created by Phil Velasquez of FreakShop Fx. Phil is always a pleasure to work with: his technical skills and abilities are matched by his creativity and ability to work on the fly when necessary. This was our 4th collaboration. We met months in advance to bring various characters to life. Working from some of my designs, Phil's and some improvisation here and there, we set out with specific ideas in mind and those grew as people began to embody the characters. I used some CG/Visual effects work by the talented Mark Jeschke. He built VFX "appliances", worked some amazing Roto and guided the rest of the visual effects. Overall we sought to create subtle FX work that never tries to steal the limelight from the story itself. I've seen to many films that begin relying on VFX to 'carry' their piece and as much as I admire well done VFX, I did not want to make an FX heavy movie.

In a month, I've written about making this film more than I did after an entire year of production and post. It's funny how things work out sometimes.

Filmmaker's Journey: Reflection PART 1

*Disclaimer - The opinions, experiences and beliefs you are about to read are that of a strongly independent filmmaker. If you seek technical info let me know - but it all starts with the right mindset.

DECISIONS

It was not an easy decision to potentially give up two years of my life to make my first feature film: I had really nice 'career' opportunities knocking at my door and it seemed like I could fall gently into some secured day-to-day film industry work. On the other hand, I had a great idea and some very talented people that saw something and believed in me as much as they did the idea. Also, I had been increasing the scale of my projects over the past few years; with every short I kept raising the bar for myself (testing myself as a producer and director). All signs pointed to making the movie, or taking the plunge. It was a commitment that I could not back out on and I knew that I would become something of a one-man-army in order to finish the film. The film would be a showcasing of lessons learned, relationships formed, resources both built and acquired and finally determination. The strongest drive came from a supportive artistic family who took part in the filmmaking process -  and  of course my daughter.

Before making the film (when still in consideration), I read an interview with Francis Ford Coppola where he said the biggest boost he had as a filmmaker was having a child: taking his life and dreams more seriously. For me, my daughter represents many beautiful things, but I also realized that this project was not going to be a camera test, a 'fun' weekend shoot or anything less than a serious professional endeavor. I'm not telling you to have children - just treat what you do with the utmost respect and professionalism.

BACKGROUND ON MYSELF:  I've been making movies since I was a kid so I've learned things about storytelling over time. I've learned to envision something and try your best to recreate that vision working with other people and solving problems that arise. I've also done just about every crew position you can imagine, so I know what it's like to be in the other person's shoes. I don't have tons of money, I'm not some somebody with loaded parents or anything like that nor was I going to go so deep into debt that the movie became a 'problem'. Money has never meant 'good movie'. Creativity is the answer to not having a giant budget. Use a combination of your 'freesources' (people, places and things that you have at your finger tips) and set a budget that is manageable. For me it was under $10K. A final note - Over the years I've acquired and purchased solid gear. I've been lucky enough to be given sound equipment and lights from generous people, but I also am on the look out for the best bang for my buck so I've picked up a few useful things here and there.

BE YOUR OWN FILMMAKER - I don't personally make movies that are trying to be other movies or heavily modeled after the flavor of the month. Yes, there are influences but I strive to have my own voice - You will not see me trying to make the next Blair Witch Project or the Matrix. If you like those movies and their elements, I'm not saying too shy away from the 'found footage' angle or loose the 'bullet time', just know that people can easily tell when your biting directly from something. Be inspired, don't imitate, and do it for the sake of storytelling, don't just showcase a hot actress or some cool After Effects trickery.

QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE FILM:
Budget: $8,000 USD
Script Pages: 82pgs
Essential Hardware: Canon HV20, Letus Lens Adapter, Two Nikon Primes, BlackMagic Intensity Pro
Equipment - All of the equipment was owned by myself and the DP. We rented nothing.
Days of Shooting: 20+
Crew: 6 - 10 depending on the needs for a particular day. Sometimes 3-5 if things were small scale.

1.) BE PREPARED - Put as much time as you can into your planning. Whether it's storyboards, script breakdowns or creating a shooting schedule/shot list (or maybe doing all at one time), being organized helps out big time; even if it's so convoluted that only one or two people get it, that's better than no one at all getting anything. We never slowed down when shooting 'The Hush', we could not afford to fall behind. We had detailed lists of costumes, props, set design, effects, characters etc. for every single scene and a dedicated person or people (depending on the day) looking at all of those things. The entire movie was boarded (200+ boards) and cut together in my head before the first day of principal photography; there was also an abundance of lighting and 'look' tests completed months in advance. Plan your project! If you know that a particular scene involves complex things then plan one day for just that scene (whether it's an intricate scene with multiple actors pushing themselves to their limits or a sequence with lot's of angles).

I've been on too many sets where nobody knows what the hell to do first, including the director. Most of that precious time and energy is sucked up slowly while the director, producer and DP stand around trying to figure out what to do. The more momentum you bring to the set, the more organic and flexible you can be.

 2.) BE A STRONG LEADER - I've worked in all sorts of different jobs, the best experience was working at an auto parts store in a really rough area in my hometown of Oakland, CA. If you can stare a 200 pound man in the face while he threatens your life over a car alternator without flinching, being scared, running and hiding or getting irate yourself - then you can handle helming a film crew without being a punk or a pushover. Exercise good communication skills, that is after all how the work must get done. Try to be as clear as possible and be patient - Remember, no one can read your mind, it's part of your job on a film set to communicate. Make decisions and don't be afraid to collaborate. If you're asking your actors to get into a trunk, then make sure you can lay in a trunk.

3.) BE PASSIONATE - Be genuinely in love with your project and material. If you think it's not strong, work on it till you feel confident. If you want to do things differently, make sure your not forgetting to tell a story. Remember that passion for an artistic project can be infectious.

4.) KNOW YOUR NEEDS - My job as a producer was to make sure that I got enough to tell my story without compromising the safety and well being of those around me. Work efficiently, sometimes work quickly and other times slowly. Unless you've got money to burn or your crew doesn't mind giving you hours upon hours, you can't waste time on a set (sometimes if there has to be downtime, I'd send a few people off to the next location to start prepping). You have to get enough footage to tell your story and sometimes (especially on a low budget) that means moving very fast. Sometimes that means not having an enormous group of people on your project. Sometimes trying to fine tune a kicker light is a total waste of time. I'm IN NO WAY saying that lighting is not important. I am, however, saying that people are more likely going to dislike a movie because of terrible acting or a crappy story than they are if there's no rim light or a dim key light. If you know that you need at least 4 shots for this scene: don't waste time lighting one shot to useless perfection.

Here we walked up a rolling metal staircase and put a lightstand on it's side to get the light at the right height and angle. Then we tossed a gang of sandbags on it and used it just like that. We did not have cardellini clamps or big jumbo stands. We made due with what we had as quickly as we could. On the flip side of that: things do take time, not everything can be done super fast. You have to slow down for particular things but it's up to you and your project where to ultimately make those decisions.

5.) THE EDIT IS THE KEY - The edit of a film is wear everything really comes together. Of course you have to put 100% of your effort in everything else, but when it comes to editing: magic can occur. You can totally rewrite a story with just editing.  You could change the effect of a particular scene on an audience based on the way you cut it - things that would normally be dull can become rather interesting. Think about it: You could have shot beautiful cinematography, and pulled great performances out of actors, but if your edit of the film is bad, none of that has as strong of an impact.
I spent a month and a half on the rough cut - then I spent another 6 months refining that, cutting out 15+ minutes and tweaking actor performance choices. Editing requires a voice or language, you develop a pace or as I like to think of it... you lay down the roller coaster track. How long does the movie take to build, and is the drop able to punch enough for people to feel rewarded? Do you have lot's of ups and downs. ASK FOR FEEDBACK - Make friends with a good editor or refine your editing skills. I've cut all of my short films over the years and consider myself an efficient editor, but I still made sure I asked for a very good editor's feedback - that was crucial. Get feedback from everyone: nitpickers, Hollywood types, general movie buffs, people who don't watch a lot of movies and fellow filmmakers...

Color and The Hush

These are two frame grabs from "The Hush". Color (or lack of it) in this film plays a large role in setting the tone and atmosphere of a dark and gritty world. I began by doing loads of testing both before and after production. I wanted the story to feel like a painted graphic novel that had no restraints in terms of the 'colors' journey. It would serve the stories emotion rather than trying to 'photographically' represent any true color or any pleasing print ad type visuals. To put it simple, it was the best way to tell the story.

Here is a shot of Zach Gossett (aka. The Hush) before my color pass.


The odd white balance stained my image as we anticipated so that when I did my color stylization work I would be left with a very rusty, dirtier image. So, here is the same shot after having gone through a two stage color pass.

I wanted to see bold highlight (when necessary) and very deep shadows. Notice that his skin tone holds the interesting 'rusty' texture I referred to above.

Next we have two frames (not the exact same one but within the same instance) of a fearful character (portrayed by Chuck Phelps).


So there are already lot's of grays and neutral color tones here. And there is a very harsh light coming down at a 90 degree angle.

Here are a few frames later but more or less the same shot. I've increased the intensity of the highlights, gotten rid of certain mid-tones and enriched my blacks.

Spending that time to test and think things through really paid off. Once again these are things that work well with this particular story; your needs could be completely different but putting in that time will certainly pay off.