here's a video we made for the Your Memphis contest... if we get enough views, we could win! please take a second to look at this video, which is corny and silly. you will get to see a sneak preview clip of a scene from "What I Love About Concrete" and see some of the footage we've been working with. all of it is beautiful. the only problem is my voiceover. enjoy!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
so much to say
i don't even know where to begin!!
i suppose i'll start by saying THANKYOUUUUu to everyone who came to our shoots last weekend. you were amazing for putting up with the heat and our mania, and we owe you forever.
after a week of preparation, we shot at white station on friday the 13th, for the first scene of Black Swanson High. it is supposed to be a busy morning before school, which we managed to achieve in the shot of georgie's monologue. the opening sequence isn't perfect, but it looks great anyway, thanks to our amazing cast. we may end up scrolling the opening credits over that little bit... could be nice. i ended up filming both parts of the scene because they were walking shots and i am closer to morgan and claire's heights than katherine.
we got to meet lots of nice kids, who were all so willing to help out and do what we asked. justin campbell created a pile of rollies even though he had to leave before the shoot really got started; the band kids wore their uniforms despite the tremendous heat; robert sunburned and his flower wilted but his spirits were high; god only knows how many black & milds spencer smoked; geoff enlightened us all about robert johnson; the snapdragons were snappin along. claire's performance of her monologue went off without a hitch. what a pro!! she'll never admit it, but you heard it here first... by the end of the day, everyone was totally beat and covered in sweat. we told em to run off, but a few kids stuck around to kindly help us clean up in the cafetorium and move stuff to the cars. thanks again, wonderful cast, for acting AND performing manual labor.
after that, we moved into midtown and arrived at Pillowsham, where sally was making fruit cocktails with her juicer. we happily accepted these and prepared for rehearsal. in the meantime, brock become our gopher and was sent away to pho hoa binh for steamed veggies and lemongrass tofu.... mmmmmmm... our poor actors had to watch us eat, as usual. they always say they don't mind, but we know better. luckily, it is all part of our job as directors to torture everyone else with food we don't share. on the other hand, we got to see ryan for the first time in months, which was lovely. he had his lines down perfectly, and it was great to see him in action with morgan and claire. due to some sort of miscommunication, neimeyer wasnt able to be there, which was disappointing... but we made do.
after THAT, katherine drove out to skateland to borrow some skates for the party scene. i went home feeling ill and upset. then katherine and will showed up and made me come outside, where hte sky was exploding in constant, silent lightning. of course we filmed it... hopefully we'll be able to share that soon. i am sorry for anyone who missed it in person. we watched some footage and watched will's reactions to it. he was pretty astounded/disgusted by the birth scene. katherine and morgan think we need to reshoot it, but i am not yet convinced. perhaps one day when we have time, i can start considering it, but right now i'm barely capable of thinking about it.
saturday starts early, around 9, when katherine and i write a shot list and head to party city to acquire supplies. we buy a BLINKING HEART BUTTON which would probably have worked wayyyyy better on the bus than the one we built ourselves with cardboard... oh well. we will have to put it in a different scene somewhere... suggestions?
katherine dropped me off at home so that she could meet up with ben siler at our kings court motel room to shoot some things for his movie, before our rehearsal, shoot, and after party. between that time and when i dropped off morgan to rehearse while i found props, my mood took a serious turn for the worse. props became an impossible task and the road gathered up all my rage. i yelled at all the cars and went back to kings court, where katherine and i switched jobs, so she went on the treacherous mission for props while i rehearsed with morgan, ryan, martha, and neimeyer. katherine picked up tommy kha, who helped not only to calm her down, but to find everything we needed to make the scene perfect. i was astounded that they got all of our ridiculous props and made it back to the motel before all the extras got there. excellent work!
we began to get set up with all the props and things... we ordered a fucking dominos cheese pizza for my starvation. i lost my second piece when the extras started arriving, and found it cold and lonely way later. of course i tried to finish it. of course it was disgusting.
onwards and upwards.... we almost got in trouble for having more than six people in the room, and the manager had to call us and tell us to make some people stand outside. very funny, trying to make us abide by the law and all... we did it for a minute at least. overall, i think we had about 20 extras, and in that tiny room, we managed to make it look like a pretty happenin party, if i do say so myself. the main blow of the shoot was that neimeyer had to leave at 5pm, which neither me or katherine was aware of before about 3pm. we started shooting as soon as we had some extras in there, around 4pm, and finished the newton sequences only a few minutes after 5, which was extraordinarily impressive, if you ask me. neimeyer was really prepared with his lines, so he did a great job in every take of his confrontation with georgie. a few of the shots look really good, and i definitely think we'll be able to pull a scene out of what we got, although i was very nervous and discouraged about it at the time. in my terrible state, i made katherine do almost all of the shooting, which i hope she is not annoyed about. after neimeyer left, we moved on to georgie's parts, since claire was dressed up in a freakin trenchcoat, hat, and mustache, and she was burning up without the air conditioner on.... it was pretty loud and we had to turn it off so the boom mic wouldnt pic it up and ruin all the dialogue. so our poor cast had another miserable day in the heat, although at least this time we could stop and take breaks to cool off. slowly, slowly, we crossed the shots off our list and the extras trickled away. the last stuff we shot was with molly and emmeline with their marshmallow castle, which took way longer than we expected. martha has never done film acting, which i think she was a little nervous about doing, but she performed really well, and the shots look great, with brock's bubbles floating around in there. so that was that, and martha took some pictures when everything was said and done.
the king's court: beautiful place, beautiful people
i suppose i'll start by saying THANKYOUUUUu to everyone who came to our shoots last weekend. you were amazing for putting up with the heat and our mania, and we owe you forever.
after a week of preparation, we shot at white station on friday the 13th, for the first scene of Black Swanson High. it is supposed to be a busy morning before school, which we managed to achieve in the shot of georgie's monologue. the opening sequence isn't perfect, but it looks great anyway, thanks to our amazing cast. we may end up scrolling the opening credits over that little bit... could be nice. i ended up filming both parts of the scene because they were walking shots and i am closer to morgan and claire's heights than katherine.
we got to meet lots of nice kids, who were all so willing to help out and do what we asked. justin campbell created a pile of rollies even though he had to leave before the shoot really got started; the band kids wore their uniforms despite the tremendous heat; robert sunburned and his flower wilted but his spirits were high; god only knows how many black & milds spencer smoked; geoff enlightened us all about robert johnson; the snapdragons were snappin along. claire's performance of her monologue went off without a hitch. what a pro!! she'll never admit it, but you heard it here first... by the end of the day, everyone was totally beat and covered in sweat. we told em to run off, but a few kids stuck around to kindly help us clean up in the cafetorium and move stuff to the cars. thanks again, wonderful cast, for acting AND performing manual labor.after that, we moved into midtown and arrived at Pillowsham, where sally was making fruit cocktails with her juicer. we happily accepted these and prepared for rehearsal. in the meantime, brock become our gopher and was sent away to pho hoa binh for steamed veggies and lemongrass tofu.... mmmmmmm... our poor actors had to watch us eat, as usual. they always say they don't mind, but we know better. luckily, it is all part of our job as directors to torture everyone else with food we don't share. on the other hand, we got to see ryan for the first time in months, which was lovely. he had his lines down perfectly, and it was great to see him in action with morgan and claire. due to some sort of miscommunication, neimeyer wasnt able to be there, which was disappointing... but we made do.
after THAT, katherine drove out to skateland to borrow some skates for the party scene. i went home feeling ill and upset. then katherine and will showed up and made me come outside, where hte sky was exploding in constant, silent lightning. of course we filmed it... hopefully we'll be able to share that soon. i am sorry for anyone who missed it in person. we watched some footage and watched will's reactions to it. he was pretty astounded/disgusted by the birth scene. katherine and morgan think we need to reshoot it, but i am not yet convinced. perhaps one day when we have time, i can start considering it, but right now i'm barely capable of thinking about it.
saturday starts early, around 9, when katherine and i write a shot list and head to party city to acquire supplies. we buy a BLINKING HEART BUTTON which would probably have worked wayyyyy better on the bus than the one we built ourselves with cardboard... oh well. we will have to put it in a different scene somewhere... suggestions?
katherine dropped me off at home so that she could meet up with ben siler at our kings court motel room to shoot some things for his movie, before our rehearsal, shoot, and after party. between that time and when i dropped off morgan to rehearse while i found props, my mood took a serious turn for the worse. props became an impossible task and the road gathered up all my rage. i yelled at all the cars and went back to kings court, where katherine and i switched jobs, so she went on the treacherous mission for props while i rehearsed with morgan, ryan, martha, and neimeyer. katherine picked up tommy kha, who helped not only to calm her down, but to find everything we needed to make the scene perfect. i was astounded that they got all of our ridiculous props and made it back to the motel before all the extras got there. excellent work!
we began to get set up with all the props and things... we ordered a fucking dominos cheese pizza for my starvation. i lost my second piece when the extras started arriving, and found it cold and lonely way later. of course i tried to finish it. of course it was disgusting.
onwards and upwards.... we almost got in trouble for having more than six people in the room, and the manager had to call us and tell us to make some people stand outside. very funny, trying to make us abide by the law and all... we did it for a minute at least. overall, i think we had about 20 extras, and in that tiny room, we managed to make it look like a pretty happenin party, if i do say so myself. the main blow of the shoot was that neimeyer had to leave at 5pm, which neither me or katherine was aware of before about 3pm. we started shooting as soon as we had some extras in there, around 4pm, and finished the newton sequences only a few minutes after 5, which was extraordinarily impressive, if you ask me. neimeyer was really prepared with his lines, so he did a great job in every take of his confrontation with georgie. a few of the shots look really good, and i definitely think we'll be able to pull a scene out of what we got, although i was very nervous and discouraged about it at the time. in my terrible state, i made katherine do almost all of the shooting, which i hope she is not annoyed about. after neimeyer left, we moved on to georgie's parts, since claire was dressed up in a freakin trenchcoat, hat, and mustache, and she was burning up without the air conditioner on.... it was pretty loud and we had to turn it off so the boom mic wouldnt pic it up and ruin all the dialogue. so our poor cast had another miserable day in the heat, although at least this time we could stop and take breaks to cool off. slowly, slowly, we crossed the shots off our list and the extras trickled away. the last stuff we shot was with molly and emmeline with their marshmallow castle, which took way longer than we expected. martha has never done film acting, which i think she was a little nervous about doing, but she performed really well, and the shots look great, with brock's bubbles floating around in there. so that was that, and martha took some pictures when everything was said and done.
the king's court: beautiful place, beautiful people
you may not know it from this picture, but will is on our team.
Clover passes out alone at his own party.
Martha/Emmeline loitering in devestation
the face of angerkatherine shoots on the bus, by brett:
Saturday, June 7, 2008
mostly good
JoJo missed our 5pm rehearsal because he was hungover, so we kicked him out of the movie. Too bad for him. Khy played the stranger and also wore the blinking heart, but it was so bright on the bus, I don't think it showed up in the picture at all. Alden was brilliant again, and working with Khy was wonderful. The bus was extremely crowded this time, since this was a daytime shoot, and we almost got kicked off for filming. Luckily, Brett was there to talk some sense into the MATA people and got official oral permission from their public relations people over the phone, in the middle of the ride. He told us to just keep shooting and that it would all be fine, and amazingly, it was.
Since then, we've had a couple great rehearsals and a shoot with Claire, who is now playing Georgie. (Last summer, we had Jessica, but she stopped returning our calls, etc.) Claire has never acted before, but she's amazing! I think our shoots with her can only get better, and I can't wait.
Also, here are some photos from our May 15 shoots with Morgan and Michael Neimeyer as Newton Fig. The pictures were taken (mostly) by the lovely Laylee, who was our PA that day.
getting some cover shots as school lets out
Since then, we've had a couple great rehearsals and a shoot with Claire, who is now playing Georgie. (Last summer, we had Jessica, but she stopped returning our calls, etc.) Claire has never acted before, but she's amazing! I think our shoots with her can only get better, and I can't wait.
Also, here are some photos from our May 15 shoots with Morgan and Michael Neimeyer as Newton Fig. The pictures were taken (mostly) by the lovely Laylee, who was our PA that day.
getting some cover shots as school lets out
neimeyer takes one (or 10) for the team and eats a mustard sandwich
laylee feeds me hot fries while my hands are occupied
mix it WHAT day?!
she's like a commercial!
i am either very pensive with my shot or trying not to laugh.
Monday, May 26, 2008
fallen through the cracks
After a very successful first shoot with Alden and Morgan on the bus the other day, we had less luck this morning. The shoot ended up falling through due to the memorial day bus schedule. We decided to shoot the scene on Friday instead. Khy will play the man with the blinking heart and Jo Jo will play the stranger.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
warming up
Last night was so hot that I had a hard time sleeping. I better get ready for the heat of the summer.
The movie is going well. We are shooting the Lilly Latchkey scenes with Alden (Linley's daughter) on Saturday evening and Monday morning. I'm excited about the scenes. Alden has been doing a great job in rehearsal and we also found some awesome props for her character.
We are rehearsing with Ms. Kitts today. Should be fun.
Tomorrow, we are shooting some closeups with Morgan at school. And the 'sea of heads.'
Also! After calling libraries at random in small towns in Mississippi and in Arkansas we have finally found a library with a card catalogue in Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, it is also the oldest public structure in its' county, so it's bound to be a pretty building. Apparently, the interior of the library is looks old-fashioned as well. We are driving to Helena on Friday to get the shot of Molly with the card catalogue, and we may scout it out as a possible location for the rest of the library scene. We may use Cossitt instead, though. Cossitt is apparently beautiful, though I have yet to go! I should probably go today.
So, things are slow and steady, and I think they will be okay.
Annie, Sally's puppy, chewed up my mic cable, but how can I even be upset?...She's just too cute. I'll have to get a new one soon. bleh.
The movie is going well. We are shooting the Lilly Latchkey scenes with Alden (Linley's daughter) on Saturday evening and Monday morning. I'm excited about the scenes. Alden has been doing a great job in rehearsal and we also found some awesome props for her character.
We are rehearsing with Ms. Kitts today. Should be fun.
Tomorrow, we are shooting some closeups with Morgan at school. And the 'sea of heads.'
Also! After calling libraries at random in small towns in Mississippi and in Arkansas we have finally found a library with a card catalogue in Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, it is also the oldest public structure in its' county, so it's bound to be a pretty building. Apparently, the interior of the library is looks old-fashioned as well. We are driving to Helena on Friday to get the shot of Molly with the card catalogue, and we may scout it out as a possible location for the rest of the library scene. We may use Cossitt instead, though. Cossitt is apparently beautiful, though I have yet to go! I should probably go today.
So, things are slow and steady, and I think they will be okay.
Annie, Sally's puppy, chewed up my mic cable, but how can I even be upset?...She's just too cute. I'll have to get a new one soon. bleh.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
on a dead swan
To preface this post, I love animals...alot.
The dead swan has been on my mind a good deal lately. I just don't know what we should do. It's not like we would have had any part in killing the swan. This decoy maker just happens to have several swans in his freezer to take out when he needs a model for his decoys.
Would we still be able to say that no animals were harmed in the making of the film? it seems that we would, because we are just using a swan that is already dead. It's not like we would be supporting some dead swan industry. How would using a frozen swan be different from using a taxidermied swan (which is one thing we were considering before.) I don't think there is much of a difference.
I guess I should do more of a survey on whether or not using a real dead swan would be considered cruelty to animals. Alanna and I have always wanted to make a controversial film, but an animal cruelty controversy and PETA protest is not what we are hoping for.
Right now, I think that if we were to film with this swan, we would be using a small tragedy (the killing of a swan) for the good of a piece of art. A high and mighty statement, perhaps, but also, I think true.
Alanna and I need to talk about this a lot. We will keep all of you loyal blog readers posted. I really want to know what y'all think! Please use the comment box as a floor for a great debate.
<3
Katherine
The dead swan has been on my mind a good deal lately. I just don't know what we should do. It's not like we would have had any part in killing the swan. This decoy maker just happens to have several swans in his freezer to take out when he needs a model for his decoys.
Would we still be able to say that no animals were harmed in the making of the film? it seems that we would, because we are just using a swan that is already dead. It's not like we would be supporting some dead swan industry. How would using a frozen swan be different from using a taxidermied swan (which is one thing we were considering before.) I don't think there is much of a difference.
I guess I should do more of a survey on whether or not using a real dead swan would be considered cruelty to animals. Alanna and I have always wanted to make a controversial film, but an animal cruelty controversy and PETA protest is not what we are hoping for.
Right now, I think that if we were to film with this swan, we would be using a small tragedy (the killing of a swan) for the good of a piece of art. A high and mighty statement, perhaps, but also, I think true.
Alanna and I need to talk about this a lot. We will keep all of you loyal blog readers posted. I really want to know what y'all think! Please use the comment box as a floor for a great debate.
<3
Katherine
Friday, May 9, 2008
swanin' around!
We had shoots at White Station this Wednesday and today with Ms. Regan's theater classes. The kids were great. Really funny and co-operative. Ms. Regan rocks. A lot of the kids signed up to be extras this summer, which really made me happy.
Alanna and I were really prepared for both shoots--shot lists, prop checklists, alarm clocks--the whole nine yards. None of the on-the-fly shooting that we did last summer. (Though, there is something to be said for that sort of shoot as well, of course.)
One of the reasons the shoots went so well was because of our PA the LOVELY MS. LAUREN DUNN! Lauren worked on a real movie set over her winter term, and she brought a ton of knowledge, humor, and calming energy to the set. We love her love her love her.
Other exciting news: UR A DUCK DECOY returned my call. I had called about renting a decoy to use as our dead swan. However, the man at UR A DUCK, suggested that we rent on of his REAL DEAD SWANS. He said he would freeze it, ship it, then we would thaw it for four days in the refrigerator. (But who the hell is gonna let us use their fridge?!?) Then we would use the swan in our scenes. It's neck and wings would be thawed and flexible, but its body would still be frozen. He suggested having a cooler on the set. Then, we would send the poor dead bird back to him.
I am not sure how I feel about this yet. It will also cost a good deal of our tiny budget. It would certainly look real, though...
<3
Katherine
Alanna and I were really prepared for both shoots--shot lists, prop checklists, alarm clocks--the whole nine yards. None of the on-the-fly shooting that we did last summer. (Though, there is something to be said for that sort of shoot as well, of course.)
One of the reasons the shoots went so well was because of our PA the LOVELY MS. LAUREN DUNN! Lauren worked on a real movie set over her winter term, and she brought a ton of knowledge, humor, and calming energy to the set. We love her love her love her.
Other exciting news: UR A DUCK DECOY returned my call. I had called about renting a decoy to use as our dead swan. However, the man at UR A DUCK, suggested that we rent on of his REAL DEAD SWANS. He said he would freeze it, ship it, then we would thaw it for four days in the refrigerator. (But who the hell is gonna let us use their fridge?!?) Then we would use the swan in our scenes. It's neck and wings would be thawed and flexible, but its body would still be frozen. He suggested having a cooler on the set. Then, we would send the poor dead bird back to him.
I am not sure how I feel about this yet. It will also cost a good deal of our tiny budget. It would certainly look real, though...
<3
Katherine
Monday, May 5, 2008
things and things to do
Sometimes, it is hard to stay motivated through all of these trials and tribulations, but I am optimistic. We have been hard at work editing scenes with Coach Kumquat, Clover Fox, Mom, and John Beifuss. Of course, the illustrious Morgan Rose has been lighting up the screen. The gym class scenes, though shot in only a few stressful days are looking great. Markus Seaberry just does a great job as Coach Kumquat. We should probably work harder and stop taking so many breaks to drink Dr. Pepper.
Alanna and I have been milling around White Station most days after school, talking to various people to set up our shoot. We are planning to shoot there this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Ms. Regan and Mr. Mansfield have been ever-so helpful. Also, Sarah Fleming and Christopher Reyes are helping us with our shoots this week. They are the coolest!!! The many people who are so helpful and enthusiastic about this production give me great hope for its future.
The camera was the scariest purchases ever. AHHHHHHHHH! However, I can't think of anything I'd rather use my savings on than this movie. Maybe I should feed hungry children instead...shoot...
Alanna and I have been milling around White Station most days after school, talking to various people to set up our shoot. We are planning to shoot there this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Ms. Regan and Mr. Mansfield have been ever-so helpful. Also, Sarah Fleming and Christopher Reyes are helping us with our shoots this week. They are the coolest!!! The many people who are so helpful and enthusiastic about this production give me great hope for its future.
The camera was the scariest purchases ever. AHHHHHHHHH! However, I can't think of anything I'd rather use my savings on than this movie. Maybe I should feed hungry children instead...shoot...
Thursday, May 1, 2008
alas, alack
yet another week of no shooting. will we ever finish this film?
WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT of course we will, katherine just ordered a sweeeeeet camera from b&h. $3000 is great motivation.
so we should be editing some more stuff tonight, hopefully. maybe we will post a scene soon? that is, if you are interested....
in other news, become our friend on facebook! it's the latest craze... duh!
WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT of course we will, katherine just ordered a sweeeeeet camera from b&h. $3000 is great motivation.
so we should be editing some more stuff tonight, hopefully. maybe we will post a scene soon? that is, if you are interested....
in other news, become our friend on facebook! it's the latest craze... duh!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
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