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I got it figured out...

Back

After a several month hiatus from the independent movie scene, I am heading back into the game. I stand in the on-deck circle observing the pitcher and contemplating how I am going to handle my next at bat. Currently, I just completed a feature length romantic comedy that I'm very excited about but don't want to be rash in my decisions regarding its production. I also shot a short movie with my little boy as the lead character and am excited to get into editing that project.

Unfortunately I lost several hours or original footage from Devil's Vein, my horror movie shot in the woods this past March. I think the extreme cold made the camera do unfunny things and sadly with the hectic shooting schedule, we didn't have the luxury of examining the footage until after the shoot was over.

I feel my options are clear. One, I can ditch the effort. Not really an option. Too much has been put into it by cast and crew and myself and besides, it is too damn good to toss. Two, put it together with gaping holes in the plot and accept that it will be accepted as shit and drunken writing and editing. No, not really an option, just thought I'd toss it in there. Three, shoot with dummies and any available actors who are willing to do at the very least, voice-overs. My preference. It can be salvaged with 'a little help from friends.'

I am still ironing out my financial situation so I suppose I will pursue the latter option when the time is right. I'd prefer to do re-shoots but schedules might conflict or whatever so I think I might be able to pull it off with some voice-over work.

Regardless, I will soon tackle this and play out whatever options are afforded to me.

 http://www.DevilsVeinMovie.com

Devil's Vein Update

It's been busy lately. Along with editing, writing, and planning to shoot the flashback scene now that the leaves are back out, I've been meeting with other filmmakers, discussing their projects as well as Devil's Vein. I'm considering making the rounds to numerous horror film conventions to promote our movie and that's exciting. Not only do I believe in our movie but I love to be on the road, meeting new people, experiencing places I've never been. There are contacts to be made.

Lately, in post production, I've raised more money for our movie than I did in pre-production. I guess the fact that we have most of the principle photography behind us is a major attraction to those looking to support an independent movie. It's a reality as opposed to a dream.

I'm very optimistic regarding the potential of the movie. I really believe we could get a distribution deal from a horror distribution company out there once we get it into the world. But I want to be patient and be certain that it's all it can be before giving it legs. Rushing any piece of art into the world is not only counter productive to your original creative vision but bad management of a product also.

I continue to raise money for post production and film festivals, and look forward to releasing it when the time is right.. 

A month ago we wrapped...

Here we are a month after the curtains closed on Devil's Vein 3-day movie shoot in the woods on WNC. I've had a lot of time to reflect, determine what worked and what didn't, and why. Obviously, more time would have been ideal, translating to more money, of course, to buy more time.

I continue to schedule pick-up shots and scenes or shots here and there that could not be acquired during our 3-day shoot. I have a lot more to shoot. It's tricky with Spring springing but since most of the shots are at night, it can be accomplished. We still have a flashback scene to film but I prefer waiting until Spring for a different look and feel from the core footage.

It's a dreary day and I'm coffee-shopping at the local bean dive. Nice day actually. I'm not opposed to a drop or two of rain here and there. I'm still working on cleaning out our 3 extra bedrooms to make an imminent move easier when the time arrives. It's a long process deciding what I might or might not need for future productions but at the same time, it is liberating to get rid of all the crap that has collected mysteriously over the years.

I just emailed a friend/colleague regarding the ins and outs of producing a production because I will probably go that route with my next movie.  Regardless - I love it all.

3-day shoot in the books.

This past weekend we had our 3-day horror shoot in the woods of WNC. The cast showed up extremely prepared and the crew was as efficient as any crew could possibly be. We busted our butts for 3 days and completed what we had to have with just minutes to spare before sunrise. I won't lie. I didn't get all the shots I wanted. In the end I had to cut corners to ensure all scenes were represented.  I plan to see what I can do to patch up spots here and there where I feel that we were unable to spend the time necessary to capture what I originally had in mind. But all I can say is if I didn't have the wonderful, talented cast that I had, there is no way in hell we would have gotten this thing this close to completion. And the crew deserves equal credit. They hustled around setting up locations, placing lights high into trees, cutting bramble and such, problem solving, and simply were there whenever I needed them. Cast and crew were amazing. This  was my first production with a production manager and I must say that I can never go back now. Terry, serving as my assistant director also, was a diamond during this three days, I shutter to think what might have transpired without him on the set. He allowed me to focus of the cast only, ensuring that I got the dialog delivered as I needed.

On the set my fingers were numb from the cold and the tips hurt like hell. I fell I think a total of 3 times, once when running backwards with the camera, another time when I tripped into a culvert and a third time when I was just so tired I'm not sure what happened but suddenly I was rolling around on the ground like a drunken fool. Camera was never harmed.

I only got 2 hours of sleep the night before the production began and then only a couple of hours per day until it was all over Monday morning. Each day when I got home I had to prepare props and such for that day's shoot and then I was at the cabin until after 5pm Monday cleaning.

The following day I visited a coffee shop in town with my wife and kid and when my wife took the little one to play on the stairs at his request, I moved from a table to the plush area. Probably not a great choice because I ended up falling asleep reading a magazine article. I awoke ten minutes or so later to a teenager in an opposite chair watching me from the corners of his eyes. I don't know if I was drooling or what but apparently he was intrigued.

Then today at my little boys favorite toy store I sat on the floor like I always do while he played with the large train set. Again, somehow, I fell asleep, this time sitting on the floor. He awoke me when he ordered me out of his way as he was navigating a long succession of train cars around the track so I figured I must have been out for only a minute or so. And no one was staring at me this time.

After he and I got home today my wife met us at the door for hugs then asked him what we did today. I wanted to listen to his version so I sat on the floor and listened just inside the door. Soon I decided it was more comfortable to lay down and the next thing I know I awoke about an hour later lying with the shoes and door stopper.

I've watched some of the footage and am mostly pleased with what I saw. I still have a lot of footage of review. My camera had been acting up from time to time during the shoot and someone said it was probably due to the extreme cold. At times when it acted up, apparently the footage kind of weirded out so fortunately I took a number of takes during each scene.

Now comes the very long task of editing. It is one of my favorite parts of filmmaking. Just me and my computer, piecing together another cool project. I am not sure when I will actually begin that stage of the process, but it will be when I'm fully refreshed in mind, body and soul. That is what it deserves.

Just over 2 days before we begin...

Here it is already, around 9pm on Wednesday night. This coming Saturday the cast & crew of Devil's Vein will assemble at 9am, head to the cabin, rehearse and have a meeting at noon. Then at 12:30pm I head out with the core 6 to begin filming Devil's Vein, kicking off a 3-day film shoot.

I have scheduled little time to breathe during the production, realizing that this 3-day shoot won't afford us the time for a lot of casual conversations, elaborate shots setups, and casual food breaks as a team. It will be hustle, hustle. The cast will have times when they can relax, talk, eat, rest, or whatever between their scenes and the crew will be able to alternate at times.

We will not shoot all scenes during this 3-day shoot. Remaining will be a few minor shots that will take less than a day to capture. Practically none of the special effects will be shot during this weekend. The setup for each effect would take too long and since time is so valuable I plan to use it on the talent present and not a bunch of dummies, as in stunt double dummies for some of the actors.

My back is beginning to hurt somewhat and I'm very tired. I have a lot to do tomorrow and Friday. A lot. I'll be glad when I have a prep team to work with because I should be concentrating entirely on shots and aesthetics at this point in time. I definitely won't post again until after the shoot.

It's time to set sail.

Less than 3 weeks...

Today I got into gear and made progress on a stunt dummy double for the movie. I think 'she' will work just fine for the movie. Regarding a different matter, I had to cut a key actor from the cast today for lack of responding to requests regarding his availability for rehearsals. It was not really a tough decision even though we are less than 3 weeks from production because I had given every opportunity for this individual to contact me. He gave a great audition but failed to reassure my mind that he would be prepared on day one. I couldn't risk it. I have too many wonderful actors on this project to let any one person let them down.

We may now have a cabin for the movie. I checked it out briefly the other day but plan to walk some of the property in a day or two and take notes. I feel confident about this location.

I meet with an actor tomorrow regarding the role of Mr. Canton. I feel good about this lead.

I ordered an extra battery for the camera last night, and some master tapes, then today I ordered a couple of rolls of film stock for some of the flashback scenes to be captured on an older film camera. I think the contrast in appearance will be interesting for the movie.

I have a lot to do before March 3rd. I'm a little nervous. I mean, I have a LOT to do. I will be prepared to do each special effect once. If it doesn't fly, I will re-shoot it at a later date. I won't have time to re-shoot a shot over and over. Especially when you're dealing with blood. It's messy. It's time consuming.

It's late, I'm tired, but I will inevitably lie in bed and wonder how the hell I will get all this stuff done before March 3rd. A couple of day ago, I had to go to Greenville, today to Hendersonville, tomorrow to Asheville, the next day back to the cabin. How can I get things done when I'm running around all day. I really need an active pre-production crew to delegate some of these tasks too but don't have the budget.

Perhaps next time.

First rehearsal.

Our first rehearsal is behind us. It went well. I shot some casual tripod footage of some of the rehearsal to include in our behind-the-scenes feature for our DVD. I wasn't too concerned with perfect delivery this afternoon. This was the first time the cast and crew had been present together in the same room so it was much about allowing each piece of the puzzle to discover and get comfortable with its place in the big picture alongside the other pieces. I include myself in that analogy. I too am but a small piece of the larger picture. Each piece is important. Each is needed to deliver this project across the finish line.

I appreciate everyone's willingness to set aside time from their busy lives to come together to create something - with me - with each other. The cast and crew of Devil's Vein is not merely a group of talented individuals but wonderful individuals too. I am honored to work beside them in this fascinating and challenging process.

I can't wait to progress down the tracks with them.

March 3rd gets closer...

Last night I made a prop bear trap for the movie. I will finish painting and aging it over the next few days. I still have to finish the prop machetes and knives also. They have been started but other things have drawn me away from their completion.

Today I've been a little depressed and unproductive. It happens sometimes. This evening I watched Finding Nemo with my wife and little boy and that lifted me a lot. I enjoy lying on the couch with my 2 favorite people in the world and just chilling. Little guy is sound asleep on our bed and Amy is at her computer doing business related work. It's a typical night for our household. We usually end the night watching an episode of something on Hulu, usually near midnight or after.

This Saturday is our first rehearsal and I'm excited about it. It will be nice having everyone in the same room discussing our movie. It's hard to believe that we will begin shooting footage one month from tomorrow. I have such high hopes for this movie. Anyone who hasn't checked out our bios on the http://www.devilsveinmovie.com website should drop what you're doing and go there now. We have lots of talent. Lots and lots of talent.

It concerns me somewhat that the last cabin location went down the tubes like brushing water in a late-night sink. Couldn't be helped. I have other leads that I am exploring but time is ticking so I have to nail down a location, like now.

What we need, what our production needs, is someone to step up to the plate with a substantial contribution that will ensure we have everything at our disposal to produce the best movie possible and to get Devil's Vein into the right hands at the end of the line. I take full responsibility for the screw-up with our IndieGoGo campaign. I thought I could ease my way into it since I was campaigning for 2 months or so. I didn't know that you HAD to have a donation within the first 3 days or they take you out of the general search meaning ONLY people with the actual link can donate. I had never used these sites before, always for the most part funding my own productions. This is so new to me. I should have done more homework and then I would have been prepared on day one of the campaign to send out links, advertise it, etc.

Regardless, we are where we are and it will go forward, produced, and sent out to distributors and film festivals. It will be a great little horror movie, no doubt. With a break here or there, it will get in the hands of someone who can move mountains.

Productive meeting...

Today I met with my Production Manager, Terry Nickelson, regarding the Devil's Vein production. It proved to be very productive couple of hours. We discussed the inroads that will lead to day one of principle photography. We determined that a rehearsal or two will have to be attended by all cast members in order to bring the proper preparation to the set on day 1. There is too much at stake to gamble that everyone is on the same page. We have to be on the same page by day 1 or we will grind through the production like the gears in a rusty grandfather clock.

I was faced with some tough decisions this week regarding my cast but feel confident that the correct decisions were made on all accounts. I still have one of the leading roles to cast and two minor roles. I am reviewing video auditions from prospective cast members and will decide early in the week who I want to meet face to face.

I'd like to narrow and nail down the location this week and begin capturing some test footage at the site. We might even shoot some movie footage before March 3, B-roll footage and the like. At any rate we are moving forward. If you are reading this please forward it to your family and friends, let everyone know about this project. Refer them to our website. Get them excited. Join our team. 

The beat goes on...

I have asked for video auditions from several actresses. It's necessary to fill two female roles before we can move forward. A rehearsal is planned at the end of January and I'd like to have the cast locked by then. I am so excited by this cast and crew. This team has more depth and experience that previous teams and come March 3, we will get off to a running start with a long, fun day of filming.

I have tested some shots in a tent I set up in our front yard, concentrating on lighting and positioning of actors. Anything that I can figure out beforehand is a minute saved and a minute saved times many might make the difference between completing principle photography in three days or having to extend the shoot another day or two to whenever everyone can synchronize their schedules. The latter is certainly not a preference.

I am still acquiring props. I will soon have to purchase clothing for the cast, two sets for anyone requiring a stunt dummy double. That could be tricky and expensive. We'll see. There's so much to do but so little time to do it. I need 16 hands and 50 hours in a day. But...

Making an independent movie is not for the weak in knees, heart and spirit. It is grueling hard work but fun and rewarding.

Whatever happens, it'll be okay. This is after all, independent filmmaking. And I embrace every challenge with enthusiasm. At the end of each long, sleepless night filled with worry and anxiety, a new day begins and in that new day there is opportunity and where there is opportunity there is hope.

I can accept that. Wholeheartedly.

Oh wonderful !!! (sarcasm)

I just found out that our movie Devil's Vein is not showing up in a basic search on Indiegogo, whether you type in devil or devil's vein. Nothing. Not even in the advanced search. That means no one can find it unless they have the precise link sent to them. I've contacted Indiegogo to see what was going on and hopefully I will hear from them soon.

Hopefully this will be resolved soon. At least I discovered it now instead of a month or two from now.

Other than that, I've invited 3 more individuals onto my cast and await their decision.

Bio's are in & site will soon launch

Moving forward on our website. Will soon post biographies and set it live. Want to thank everyone for getting them to me. I will be working with a fabulous and talented cast. I have to secure a location in Asheville for a rehearsal within the next 10 days or so. I look forward to it.

I still need a couple of actors and an actress to round out our cast.

Spent some time this afternoon watching backhoes, skid-steers, and dump trucks with my little guy. It was cool. One of the backhoes had a jackhammer on it and was pounding the sidewalk. He loved that. I think there were 4 backhoes going at once and we stood in the cold watching them like we were at a World Series game 7 in NY.

Tomorrow I am checking out a cabin, maybe two. 

Thanks for all the support, mostly local still, but support. I posted an ad in a national filmmaking magazine and that should garner some attention for our project soon. Things take time. It's a seed that will grow. Just needs a little nurturing and that's where we all come in. Make Devil's Vein YOUR film and spread the word.

Busy day

Had to shoot over to Greenville today on business. Had a nice day.  Tomorrow I am scouting a nearby cabin for a potential location. The one I intended to use might not work out because of nearby neighbors and other factors. I would be seriously shocked if the Sheriffs Department didn't show up at least one of the nights we are shooting. Even if you tell the neighbors that there will be a lot of screaming in the night, one is bound to call the cops and what choice do they have but come out, even though I will touch base with them before production begins. They really can't take chances.

My midnight deadline for cast and crew biographies nears and I still haven't heard from everyone. Tomorrow I will begin to seek replacements for those who hasn't responded by midnight, even though given a two-week notice to do so unless I hear from them soon thereafter. I really like everyone I've met thus far so I hope they remain on board the Devil's Vein Express.

I also have to send a script to a potential cast member from Greenville. I'll see where that goes. He gave me a really convincing video audition about a week ago.  I think he would be a great addition to the cast. I'm looking forward to meeting him.

That's really about it. We are inching our way toward production. Let's see where the road leads and how many potholes will lie between its shoulders.

Prop list complete

Just finished compiling my prop list. It is near 150 items, not including items that will naturally be in place for the shoot. Some I have, others I do not, but will soon begin to shop to fulfill the list.

On Monday after receiving hopefully everyone's biography I will plan a rehearsal.

Next week I plan to experiment some with special effects. I have about 4 scenes that will require 'special attention' to gory detail. If time permits, I may shoot some of these during principle photography, if not, I will capture the needed shots at a later date.

Our movie website is still offline but being constructed. Sometime next week I will plug in my actor's and crew's biographies. And soon, thereafter, launch it.

What's really cool about this production is the fact that it is horror, the easiest and quickest genre to gain recognition in the independent film industry with hundreds of festivals just for horror. Not only that, but when I had my coffee shop I met a representative for a semi-major horror independent movie distributor. Which, in itself, is no guarantee of anything but it is better than nothing. I will send Devil's Vein to him as soon as it is complete to see what happens.

I'm very excited and a little nervous as usual at this stage of pre-production. I know one way or the other it will turn out as always but not knowing where the bumps and rocks are in the road makes a production like this challenging. But all I can say is bring it to hell on.

New Web Site

Hi guys. Just wanted to let you know that I just purchased the DevilsVeinMovie.com domain and will be building a website this coming week. This new site will be solely for movie related postings and updates regarding our upcoming movie. We appreciate you visiting often and supporting our endeavor.

I also want to wish everyone a happy new year, hope that it is healthy and prosperous for each of you.

I've been asked about additional help on the set of Devil's Vein. If you would like to contribute your time and expertise to the project I will gladly talk with you regarding the possibilities. However, all paid positions have been filled at this time so all additional help will be strictly volunteer with the only forms of payment being an end movie credit, a copy of the movie on DVD, and great experience on the set. Contact me if you wish to further explore your options.

This is an exciting project and I can't wait to get behind the camera.