First film wrapped for me - Jesse Chapman's APL.

In short, the shoot went great. I know that sounds the like the generic typical description for almost all shoots - but it honestly did (minus a few technical problems with my adapter) because putting it simply, Jesse runs a great set. He's fun to be around, he keeps things moving briskly, he knows when to play and when to focus, his actors and crew are well taken care of - its just all around, a very enjoyable experience. Thats why I opted to accept his offer again, after doing his other film "P.S" - because I had such a great time.

Our first day was a cake walk. My HV20 and Brevis worked like a charm, and the actors were all very prepared. Allie K was extremely helpful as AC, and we made our day right on time.

Day two even more simple, because we were using the DSR which has no interchangeable lenses to worry about. Each shot was accomplished with ease, and the actress was well prepared. Some pretty phenomenal takes were grabbed toward the end of the day - that I cannot wait to see on screen.

Day three encountered a few problems. Primarily in my department. My Brevis unit died on me halfway through the day. Ironically, I called my friend Reid for assistance - only to find that HIS Brevis died as well on Phil Atlas' shoot. Practically in tears, I called the Godfather (Marco). He helped me resolve the issue - but everytime I got one thing working, another aspect of my Brevis seemed to malfunction. After about 9 calls for assistance - Marco helped me iron out all my issues, and we were back on track.

1 hour behind back on track.

We combined a few shots together, and ran through scenes with fewer takes - and then we made our day. Everyone packed up and solemnly left the set with bittersweet feelings about the film. Sad to go, but happy to be done. Special note to John Heppe, who came on the last two days of the shoot to provide EXCELLENT lighting support. He took care of everything and made set ups pretty easy. He also was the set photographer, and took an amazing amount of production stills that I will post here, once I get them.

The one thing that is strikingly odd about this shoot - was that the entire thing was shot to look bad. Ironically, this required more work than one might think. Making a film look bad is actually pretty tough! There were multiple occasions where Jesse would approach me and say "Cris, this lighting actually looks too good - You've got to make this whole frame look flat. Make it look worse." and then walk off. Several times, we made "mistakes" on purpose, like leaving boom shadows in the frame to play on the fact that most instructional videos (while produced well) have very uninteresting visuals that feel awkward and soul-less.

Most of the shots we got looked fantastic (for the aesthetic we were going for) and working with great friends made the experience even better; at the end of the day, it all helps remind me why I cannot even fathom doing anything else for the rest of my life.

Okay, an update.

On Jesse's film - We've had our three production meetings and I performed a camera test to see which camera would suit the film better. I shot with my Canon HV2o - in both HD and SD, using the Brevis 35 adapter and not, trying various shutter speeds and framerates. We also shot on the schools DSR250. The end decision from Jesse was mixed format; to use the DSR for the narration sequences and my HV20 on Standard Def - WITH the Brevis for the reenactment scenes.

Apparently the mixed media decision was influenced from a corny TV show that Jesse had on DVD - something about "Life and Beyond" that had a very bad "Unsolved Mysteries" look to it - where the narrator was clearly shot on one camera (not film)- and the reenactments were shot on (what looked like) film.

Now that we know what camera's were using, I guess It's just a matter of getting ready for the shoot this friday. I need to find out what the situation is with the school's DSR's - battery wise. Or if the camera has a power cable (since we'll be in an apartment the whole shoot).....

Lastly, I just finished a shotlist for Jesse's film.


On Joe's film, we have had a few meetings - traveled to the house where we're shooting and started to get everything ready. A lot of people have been brought on board as techies, grips and P.A's - and Mark Shapin's has actually been hired to do sound on the film.

I will be shooting with Reid, so that will be nice - since we worked so well together on "The Grinder".

The equipment we will be using is rather extreme - to say the least. 40 feet of dolly track (in any given shot), a 30 ft + crane shot (with a platform for me to operate on at the top), and a two camera setup (both with Brevis adapters and flip modules!). In other news here, I just finished Joe's shotlist as well - and am gearing up for this shoot - which will start on the 29th.

Strangely enough, Enrico Marcellino - my main actor from "The Grinder" has been cast as the "Man's" role in this film. And Craig Calamis is coming on as first A.D. Its like my old set all over again.

Two Films Chosen!

Two offers came down the pipeline from Jesse Chapman (on an intriguingly nameless entry) and from Joe Dietrich (on his film "The Cycle").

I've also been asked to act as the Store Manager in Jonathan Hamilton's D3. The character, from what I understand, is a just a really fantastically nice guy. I mean, handing out money, reads to the elderly nice.....So that should be a blast.

Casting on Joe's film is currently under way, and I'm going to be heading to our primary location (the entire film nearly takes place in one household) later this week to do some pre-planning. This will give Joe and I a chance to talk about visuals and what kind of film he wants to create. He'll plan out his shot list, and this will be followed by our first production meeting, so everyone can get on the same page.

As for Jesse's film, we never meet directly. His plans for the film are sent via courier pigeon during the night hours to a unknown relay agent, who then telegraphs the transcripts on very small pieces of torn paper which are delivered to me under my door when I'm never home. I think John Heppe may be involved in this circuit of communication but I can't say for sure.

In other news, don't go see "Untraceable". Its worse than rotten. Just to give you an example, in the film Diane Lane works for the FBI CyberCrime Division. Theres a scene where she walks up to her boss, who is the Director of the (dont forget) FBI CyberCrime Division. After she promptly explains how she was able to track down a hacker using a backdoor trojan virus, he responds "Now, Jennifer - I don't understand all that techno Mumbo Jumbo you just said - but ... get that sounds like good work. Now for the rest of you -back to work!"

Awesome.