PRODUCTION:
The principle photography was shot over 4 days (including my birthday) in December 2006.
My 40-minute script included lockdown effects, chromakey and dogs. One "dangerous" element I didn't use was kids. Truthfully, the dog gave me very little trouble. He was impressive in his acting (always totally believable) and reasonably good at hitting his marks.
I had pulled all the favors possible for the principal photography, including producers Stephen McCurry and Sara Messer. They did a great job and were very happy to work on an elaborate, fun production. The camera department was awesome: Cliff Jones and Brandon Lippard are two up-and-coming Dps. Special thanks to Cassandra Fuote and Karine Grigorian for production design.
We shot at Fortitude Studios in Burbank, CA (now called Stereoscope). This was an excellent choice because we needed to shoot in the different offices that were also available there. Shooting in such a contained location saved us much time.
We used a Panasonic Varicam package from Marker Karahadian at Plus-8/Panivision and an impressive grip and lighting package from Arri/Illumination Dynamics, thanks to John Gresch, An Tran and Ron Sill.
At the end of 4 days of shooting, I did come away with a complete movie. But, we didn't have time to shoot many of the "wants," including some close-ups. Azlac the Li-OG (played by Franklin B. Dog-my Staffordshire Terrier) is the "money" in the film and I found that there was not nearly enough of him. I also wanted to go back and shoot in the overcrank mode at 48 and 60 fps to ensure breathtaking canine slo-mo.
On day 1, we started shooting in the boardroom while the crew built the forests of Hernia in the 40X40' studio. I used 17 cans of white spray flocking on 20 Christmas trees (Big Lots) and $120 worth of snow blankets that look like the real thing on camera. It was cheaper to buy (vs. rent) the snow, and now I have a set to use at the party/screening coming up.
LESSONS:
I would start pre-production way earlier. We were ready, but another week or even a day would've made us so much more efficient on the set.
I used LA Casting and many friends' networks for casting, but it is very hard to do your own casting. I would have hired a casting director to free me up.
INEXPERIENCE:
Some of my actors developed conflicts 4 days before the shoot. One in particular started a finger-pointing game about what the schedule was and what it became. When they bailed on rehearsal, I fired them.
They never thought I would fire them so close to the shoot, and I REALLY didn't want to. But, this person had shown the beginnings of an angry, contentious spirit in rehearsals and I know that can spread like wildfire. The replacement worked out nicely.
Suggestion for volunteer/inexperienced crews: have a crew meeting beforehand and ask for their cooperation AND common sense. This is the best you can do.
PERSONNEL:
You must be prepared to fire someone right up to the shoot. It is also a GREAT idea to have understudies for key roles. Some of my actors developed conflicts 4 days before the shoot. One in particular started a finger-pointing game about what the schedule was and what it became. When they bailed on rehearsal, I fired them.
They never thought I would fire them so close to the shoot, and I REALLY didn't want to. But, this person had shown the beginnings of an angry, contentious spirit in rehearsals and I know that can spread like wildfire. The replacement worked out nicely.
I want to learn to get more than 3 or 4 hours sleep a night when I'm in production. One reason for the lack of sleep is one of the best parts about the process: the raw adrenaline and excitement for the miracle to be. |
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