the mission:
make a short film (write, shoot & edit) in 48 hours
5.24.7 it's on
pre-production - it's what's for dinner. met with the esteemed devin burnam to discuss our team & where we stand in getting what we need to make a short film in 48 hours. trying to see who we know that owns a decent camera, editor, and since it's a talkie...someone to do sound. devin suggested we resolve to use only what we can collectively bring from home or buy in a dollar store to make the film - the only two exceptions being camera & mics. i seconded that emotion and off we go.
learn more about the 48hr film project here.
http://www.farfromalright.com/upd8s.htm
5.26.7 why, god?
trying to line up a dp for the shoot. posted an ad on craigslist and got exactly zero responses. obviously a sign that god hates us and wants us to lose. we'll show him/her. avianna roped in mila khalevich to AD the project. She's good people and comes with lots of on set experience.
even the fetish people on craigslist get responses. wtf.
5.29.7 smote bait
posted another ad on craigslist - this time for someone to help us mix sound on location. we got a response (finally). wrote back to confirm it was all volunteer which sucks but it's part of the rules. let's set up a time to talk i said. no response. l8r...
5.30.7 erica livingston i presume
we roped in the way talented erica livingston to act in our film. thankfully she's got a week off with the neofuturists to come play with us. neofuturist basically means she's from the future. she probably already knows if we won but is just keeping it to herself.
6.6.7 nine days & counting
in re-reading (some may say reading) the rules of the competition - we're allowed to use prerecorded music to score the film. very exciting as this is this one area we know some people. erica's husband andrew is a classicaly trained rock/jazz musician who does amazing stuff. erica also has a good friend from mississippi, will myrick who's music we're going to use cause he's real damn good. add to that the fact that lillie is in a supergroup & maybe god doesn't hate us after all.
6.9.7 beginning of the end
with less than a week left of pre-production looks like we've lined up a camera, mic, boompole and audio mixer from a rental house willing to rent without production insurance. hopefully nothing goes horribly wrong or i'll be the proud owner of a not-so-gently used XL-1S. also took a chance and ordered a $50 steadycam. check it out here. the plans are available for $14 but i'd definitely mess it up.
it won't fit the XL-1S but hoping to do some shots on a Sony Mini DV camera that I plan on borrowing from the 'rents. take that spielberg.
6.12.7 theory vs. reality
ok, so we're deep in the throes of pre-production and revised our spartan approach to include a tripod and exta batteries for the XL1-S. we've also wrangled ourselves a DP, jason guerrero. you can check out his work here. in speaking with jason it turns out that we're probably ok without renting a sound mixer given we don't have anyone who knows how to use the equipment. can't argue with that. also made the executive decision to include a tripod. also found out today that due to paypal and the way it processes echecks (though i used a credit card), the steadicam we ordered won't be here till after we wrap. with three days till we get our assignment and five days till we hand in a completed film - just waiting for someone or something to catch on fire or dissapear.
got the rental agreement back from Du-All camera. they'll rent to us without insurance. yeah, cause if anything happens to the equipment we're on the hook for the cost of replacing the equipment - new. in the meantime they'll just go ahead and put a hold on the full amount of all the equipment on my debit card. actually the du-all people seem really nice and god willing, nothing's going to get fubar. still, anything happens to the camera and i'm going to need a place to stay and a divorce lawyer.
6.12.7(a) woo freakin hoo
we got ourselves an editor! woo freakin hoo. i was seriously sweating the whole we got raw footage now what we gonna do with it dilemma. michael latchman joined the team today, super psyched to have him aboard. check out his work here. do it or you don't love freedom or america. certainly not american freedom.
6.13.7 here we go again on our own
with little less than 24 hours to go before we get our genre, line of dialogue & prop we're in full pre-production mode. gotta source some last minute stuff - foamcore, tapes, printer cartridge & muchies for the crew. got the final word back from the rental house and our kit is reserved.
Our kit:
-canon xl-1s
-senheiser me-66 mic
-sachtler dv4 tripod
-two xtra camera batteries
-boompole
-25' xlr cable
6.15.7 hot damn
avi spoke with jason (our dp) and we made some last minute changes. we went with the xl-2 for the 24p mode as well as the built in nd filters (simulated ,modes anyway). also added a wide angle lens to the mix as we're probably shooting in some tight spaces. the du-all people rock & we love them.
telemundo cameras rolling, we drew superhero as our genre and off we go. devin hosted a creative jam session as the team worked on story. we were we lucky to have all actors & our set designer, editor, ad and dp (plus lots of other two letter combos) shaping the film. we eventually peeled off for some rest as devin set out to pen/keystoke us into the history books.
kudos to everyone for being super awesome. for realz. no matter what happens in the next 36 hours, it's already been worthwhile. xoxo to team far from alright.
required elements for 2007
Character: Tetley or Tessa Fairfax, Writer Prop: a conference badge Line of Dialogue: "If you must know, my father told me." 6.16.7 fin
three locations, five super heros & sixteen hours of shooting - all in a days work when you're Far from Alright. can't say enough good things about our team and what they accomplished. michael, devin, avi and I are meeting up tomorrow to work on the edit and finish up our paperwork. from what i understand these things pretty much edit themselves....maybe not. either way, trying to write anything lucid at this point seems impossible.
6.17.7 omg
we've got ourselves a movie. with 25 minutes to spare we handed in our film, Will You Love Me When I'm Gone? michael, devin, avi and I crammed into michael's booth as we watched michael work his magic. if he was alive a few hundred years ago he'd definitely be burned for witchcraft - yeah, he's that good. dog tired but so damn proud of our team for their commitment and dedication to the project. surrounding ourselves with way talented people seems to have paid off. super excited with the results. so far only avi, devin, mila and I have seen the movie - can't wait for the rest of the team to finally kick back and enjoy. very thankful to everyone for their energy and support. completely rambling and going to crash...
6.21.7 we done did it
got to see Will You Love Me When I'm Gone? on a real-live movie screen at the sunshine theater. definitely felt like a proud parent seeing everyone there together. still amazed everyone was able to be so supportive and creative with the lack of sleep and intense pace of production. i'd have bet on at least several meltdowns, freak outs & screw you guys I'm going home(s) from avi & me alone. but nada. just want to say again how totally freaking great it is to be FAR FROM ALRIGHT - sumsabitches are aces in my book.
