In-World War

Married and Movies

I'm getting married this weekend. It's like a feature film, all the details and production logistics (to say nothing of the cost).

Been focused more on that (though, of course, my fiance is the producer and director on that one), plus working a ton to save up more money to finish the 2nd unit work.

I go on my honeymoon in Europe immediately afterwards next week (hat tip to my grandpa who left me just enough inheritance to go on a nice honeymoon -- I miss him terribly and wish he could be at the wedding). And then my new wife flies back to the states while I stay there to shoot a few 2nd unit IWW scenes.

I go back to the places where shot the original footage (now what I am calling the "test footage") in La Roche, France (near Geneva) and in Dublin, Ireland. We've got cast and some crew in both places, from the original shoot plus new people we've gotten connected with.

Should be an amazing time. Just got a wedding and honeymoon to get through first.

Getting married and shooting a feature film in the same summer. Not recommended.

Let me know if you know any crew in or near Geneva. Still have room for team-members there.

Principal photography stats

I can't believe it's been nearly three weeks since we finished principal photography.

The time has flown by. 2nd unit work is now in heavy pre-production mode, so the grind is starting again.

So much for rest and recovery.

Also, I'm getting married in two weeks and that is no small project on its own (thanks to my lovely and patient fiance for being the lead producer on that little production).

Yes, I'm making a feature film the same summer I'm getting married. Me = loco. Big time.

Anyway, the footage is looking great. The RED camera is amazing, but the real amazing came from Donavan (our DP), the crew and the outstanding actors on the project. Together, they made the footage look so damn good.

Principal photography was crazy. Long long days. Not long enough nights (except the nights we worked -- that were too long for sure). It seems like a dreamstate now, looking back on it. Was it even real?

Here's a quick look through some of the stats on the production. These are ballpark figures, so don't nerd out on me if the final needle moves on any of these numbers:

Production days: 17 (out of 19 days straight -- we had 2 days off)

Hours: Most days were 12 hour days, some went well beyond that (I think we maxed at 15 or 16 hours on one painful day). But that didn't include total breakdown and travel time. Add two hours a day for  that, minimum. It was grueling.

Cast: approximately 60 speaking roles (we have another 10 or so during 2nd unit work)

Most extras on any one day: 100 (according to our craft services coordinator, "they ate like locusts")

Crew: Between 20 - 25 people every day (a few people bailed when the pressure got too high and they got fed up, unfortunately).

Locations: about 38 (plus about six more will be shot during 2nd unit work)

RAW media files: 2.25TB of video

Takes: over 900 (a bit better than four takes per production hour)

Interesting props or on-set effects: custom-made resin phones, a smoke machine, a homemade virtual reality eyeband (with sequenced LEDs, electroluminescent wire and more), a body bag, white viscous goo (with eyelashes), family photos featuring Erin Gray and faux blood.

These details only start to tell the tale. It was insane.

Principal photography was a huge undertaking. But we're not even close to being done with production work. We have 2nd unit in three different cities coming up over the next few months:

Dublin, Ireland
La Roche, France (near Geneva)
New York City

Plus pick-up work to do yet in the Bay Area still (these are scenes we messed up and need to redo. Or just didn't get for some reason in the first place).

All of this done on a shoestring DIY budget, if you can believe it. (Your tax-deductible donations are still needed, to say the least.)

So far to go -- and yet it seems we've been in the Valley of Pain so long already.

Onward.