The Adventure Begins!
Well, the time has come. In a few short hours our journey begins to the other side of the world. The bags are packed and we are ready to set sail!
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Online Journal
Reasons for Wanting to Travel
As you may or may not know, I'll be leaving the country in six days to travel South-East Asia for the most part of next year. As this secton of my site has predominantly been a 'Film Diary' it will shortly become a 'Travel Diary'. But why have I felt driven to go?
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I WORK: The Premiere
It appears everyone loves the film. Not that I had any doubts. Everyone laughed in the places I expected, everyone left with a smile, I had really positive comments regarding story, style and acting, and I feel proud of the film. Thanks again to Sebastian Moody for the music and being a much-loved, much-needed part of Quandary Productions, to Alec Albury for his dedication and sleek camera skills, to Naomi Haughton for putting up with my bald head and our flat being a film set for a few weeks (again), and of course to everyone who was in the film. I couldn't have made it without you all and I am forever grateful.
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Filming 'Taking the Michael'
My first forray into acting without writing or directing in a long while, and I'm having a whale of a time! We've finished two of seven long days and I'm ignoring my fatigue, because I'm having a ball (slang for fun).
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'I WORK' Poster
The official 'I WORK' poster is here! The image is by Bernard Hugh-Kong, and the design is by Michael Henry (me).
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'I WORK' Premiere Announced
I'm pleased to reveal that the first official screening of my third feature film 'I WORK', will be taking place 7:30pm at the Cargill Lecture Theatre, University of Lincoln, on Friday December 9th.
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The Third Cut and Future Projects
It's been a while since I updated you on the progress of the film, so here it is - The third cut saw the film all colour corrected and the visuals finished with. So it's just the audio which needs some minor tweaks. My intention is to have the film finished by the start of December (half the time it took to edit Restless Dust, and the quickest I've ever edited a feature film), and hopefully have the much anticipated premiere Friday December 9th.
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'I WORK' First Rough Cut Complete
The first rough cut of no-budget masterpiece 'I WORK' has been completed (by me), exported (for two full days), burnt (to DVD), and watched (by me); and I'm more than pleased with it. The pacing is masterful (if I do say so myself), the acting is flawless, the story engaging, the camerawork holds strong, the audio...sketchy as mic audio still needs to be added, the music is superb (and more than fitting) and the director is fantastic...
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I WORK: Rough Cut Progress
40 minutes into the first rough cut, and it's looking absolutely fantastic. Camerawork is flawless, though sound isn't at the moment because I haven't added the microphone audio, acting is impeccable (especially Mr Tom Bridger, who has amazed me yet again with his versatility), and the music fits perfectly. All of this is making me very happy. I hope to have the first rough cut by September 20th, and aside from tweaking the microphone audio once it is in place, it seems like post-production is going to run smoothly and rather swiftly.
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Ways to save a budget for a film
1 - Cut your own hair. I bought a pair of thinning scissors two years ago for £8 and I've been cutting my own hair since. Numerous compliments have followed. One woman was so impressed she even tearily said "thank you". The result of cutting one's own hair for two years? I've saved £200+ which is almost the budget of my third feature film alone, and I have my hair exactly as I want it.
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I WORK: Nostalgia
I've been editing together the outtakes, and they're currently a staggering 16 minutes long and I'm only two thirds through the footage. Looking back through the footage has brought on nostalgia and I really miss filming. But, I won't be bringing on the only negative I can think of (that it's over), and let you know more positive news. More music has been made, and it's brilliant! Sebastian Moody has got his computer fixed and we are already half way there with the soundtrack, which is great, as I can now edit to the sounds instead of overlaying them after cutting the footage together.
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I WORK Production: Day Nineteen
That's a wrap! As they say once a film has been finished, in the production stage, before someone starts to edit it (in this case me).
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I WORK Production: Day Eighteen
I WORK Production: Day Seventeen
Kissing, kissing, awkward kissing:
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I WORK Production: Day Sixteen
I WORK Production: Day Fifteen
We are now officially three quarters of the way through, and on to the home stretch!
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I WORK Production: Day Fourteen
Day fourteen. The day I was dreading. The day which I thought would be destroyed by fierce downpours, forceful wind and constant agitation from all angles. A day which when it came to filming, did have its problems, but none were what I anticipated.
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I WORK Production: Day Thirteen
Day thirteen was a short day with two mini heart-felt scenes (evidence above).
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I WORK Production: Day Twelve
Eight days left to go and the bruises are now out in full bloom from my day of exemplary stunt work. Although, as I mentioned yesterday, I'm very tired, it has dawned on me how much I'm going to miss filming. It has reinforced my belief that filmmaking is my raison d'etre and that comedy is the way forward for me. There will be many great memories. Also I feel really good about this film (have I mentioned that yet?)
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I WORK Production: Day Eleven
Day Eleven was the longest day yet, and I started it with the finest motivational speech ever. To paraphrase - "We're half way now. It's all going great. Don't slip onto auto-pilot and assume it'll be fine. We have to keep pushing on and making this the best we can". The reactions I got were a mixture of bewilderment and overwhelming excitement (as I had planned).
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I WORK Production: Day Ten
Day Ten was another day which I anticipated would present some complications as we had quite a lot to get though, at several locations, with people having to leave by certain times. But again, we had a great day (still shocked by how well all is going). The only problem we had was with sound, as we shot a scene outside at the end of the day, during the peak of windiness. Luckily everyone was patient and we managed to plough through (special thanks goes to my Grandad for stepping in as boom operator - much appreciated).
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I WORK Production: Day Nine
Day Nine was a day that appeared as if it would present numerous issues, namely weather as we were shooting outdoors, and the sheer number of scenes we had to get through during the day. Added to that we were working with someone who can improvise brilliantly, causing a great deal of corpsing (Chas Rodgers), and add on top of that, the fact that some of the scenes were supposed to be the funniest/most shocking of the film and we have a recipe for disaster, right?
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I WORK Production: Day Eight
Day Eight saw us working with another of the twenty-odd cast members. We managed to have the biggest improv session yet with some brilliant results. Unfortunately, due to the weather we had to postpone one scene to later in the week.
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I WORK Production: Day Seven
Anxiety prevailed during the first half of the day, as we fell behind schedule, the heat combined with standing on the spot for hours left me tired, and having too many things to think about led me to overload.
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I WORK Production: Day Six
Day Six: an average day and a simple scene, which resulted in a rather bizarre ending. Insanity seems to be a key word for my character this week. The ending in question won't appear in the film but will most certainly be part of one of the many DVD extras (looks like they may end up longer than the film!).
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I WORK Production: Day Five
We are now a quarter of the way through the shoot! Yesterday got a little out of hand. I'd scheduled the day to be quite relaxed, so we could take our time with smaller scenes, leaving plenty of room to improvise. I took this a little too far in character, shouting at the top of my lungs in excitement. To say it appeared insane is an understatement. I guess, you'll have to wait until the DVD before you can see those incredible outtakes (and film).
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I WORK Production: Day Four
Day Four was a day full of tension and unexpected outcomes. I wasn't looking forward to yesterday's shoot as there was a good chance we were going to get removed from the place we wanted to shoot, the weather looked poor so I wouldn't be able to shoot outside as a replacement, and the shots which I had already planned to get outside would also be unfilmable in the likely event of a downpour...
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I WORK Production: Day Three
Day Three: Ah, what a day! A day to boost one's confidence. Yesterday produced a ridiculous amount of uncontrolable laughter, mostly thanks to my on-form Grandad. As you'll see from the image above he did take part and, I must say, he delivered his finest performance yet. Better than the 'Best Friends' sketch? I'm afraid so (if you haven't seen the award-winning sketch show yet, shame on you. Buy a copy now!). Added to the greatness of performances so far, the quality of camera and sound has been excellent so far, without a single unresolvable technical slip up.
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I WORK Production: Day Two
Day Two saw us continue an exciting shoot (evidence above); with a range of different scenes including heart to hearts, awkward moments, a bit of banter, and one rather emotional scene. All is still going well.
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I WORK Production: Day One
The first day of the shoot got us off to a swinging start yesterday. So far no major problems have ocurred. The security guards hadn't unlocked the door and I'd forgotten to bring the script along but nothing major.
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New Beginnings
It's that time of year again! I'm shooting another feature film. Today is the first scheduled day of production and I cannot wait to get started. 'I WORK' will see my triumphant return to comedy, only this time on a larger scale. What with the hair being removed and a new approach to how I make films, what could possibly go wrong? I'm confident that production will be a blast. I'd also like to welcome Lincoln Media Production student Alec Albury on board, as he joins Quandary Productions as cinematographer.
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Ready to Roll
Not only are we ready to roll, we are "on a roll". With everyone cast, the schedule set, and the costumes and locations fixed, all that remains is the completion of the final storyboards. Shooting begins July 2nd.
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Pre-production progress
There is just one last character to be cast for the third feature film 'I WORK', and it looks like we are well on our way to making a great comedy. All improv sessions so far have been fun to do, with some great output. Warmups have left us all feeling flexible and wiser. I can only hope this comes across in the film.
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Crowdfunding Mistakes to Avoid
Interest in crowdfunding continues to skyrocket, thanks to the record-breaking success of campaigns like the Pebble: E-Paper Watch, and Double Fine Adventure. The recent passage of the JOBS Act and the popularity of websites such as Kickstarter, RocketHub and IndieGogo have only reinforced its popularity.
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Getting Better Audio
Audio is the bane of every low-budget and independent filmmaker's existence. It's the one thing most filmmakers have the least amount of experience with, but also the least of amount of time to deal with properly. If you want the best possible audio on set, it takes just as much work as getting a good image. Since this is a visual medium, there's no question the moving images should be the best they can be, but often the quality of the audio matters more than the quality of the video.
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What to expect from 'I WORK'
Above: three clues for you to ponder. Below: five statements to consider.
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Interview with Trisickle Magazine
I've been interviewed recently for Trisickle Magazine, regarding making films and whatnot. Interested? Of course you are.
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Another Feature
I am proud to announce that Quandary Productions will be shooting another feature film this July - the existential comedy 'I WORK'.
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Zero Film Festival entry
'Restless Dust' has been entered into Zero Film Festival - London, the first of three film festivals I intend to enter the film into. Zero Film Festival is 'the first and only festival exclusive to self financed filmmakers and the authentically independent films they create'. Of all the festivals I plan to enter, I'm most hopeful with this one. Micro-budget feature categories at film festivals allow films made from up £15,000 (Restless Dust cost just £500), so competition is often tight. But I'm still hopeful, nonetheless.
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DVDs/What's next?
DVD sales are doing well. The first batch I made have all sold out so I need to get printing more covers and writing DVDs. So far all the feedback I have recieved has been really postitive which is obviously a good thing. Restless Dust DVDs are currently selling at £4 (inc. P+P) - to buy your copy please email quandaryproductions@googlemail.com
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How to Make a Film with No Money - Part 2
6. Be prepared
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The Premiere
Friday March 25th, a day which will be remembered for years to come, was the first public screening of 'Restless Dust'. Much to my relief, everyone really enjoyed the film, and bought a DVD after for good measure. Even some of my harshest critics considered the acting to be 'brilliant' and 'memorable', whilst the story was 'very engaging'.
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The Final Cut
Last week we had an engineer come to fix our faulty fridge, as I was exporting the final cut of Restless Dust. In repairing the fridge, he managed to blow something and had to retrip the switch for the electric to the whole apartment. Which meant that I had to restart exporting the final cut again. It had got 20 hours into it and had another 55 to go. Not best pleased. Suppose it could be worse. He could've come later in the week, nearer the end of the export.
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Restless Dust Premiere
The room is booked, the final cut is almost ready, and everyone is very excited. I'm just waiting for one more piece of music and it will be ready to export.
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Restless Dust: Almost Done
For those eager to find out when you can see 'Restless Dust' all together and alive and whatnot, fear not, as I will be revealing the premiere date in the next few days (hint: you have less than four weeks to wait). So how is post-production coming along? Absolutely brilliantly; I'm just waiting on a few more pieces of music and have a couple of bits left to fine tune, but we are almost there and it's looking and sounding good. Suffice to say, I'm very pleased with it. Although (again) I feel I could have done better, it is the best I feel it could be considering the given limitations.
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How to Make a Film with No Money
1. Soak up as much as you can before you begin
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Short Film Competition
Competition Information
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The Importance of Backing Up
Ever lost important footage because your backups failed, or maybe you didn't back up at all? Well how about losing an entire feature film and a year's worth of work? While this isn't a new story, as it was featured in the special features on the DVD, the tale of the failed Toy Story 2 backup is fascinating. It just proves that even when you're spending millions of dollars, a few mistakes can be disastrous.
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Restless Dust Official Trailer
Here it is! The Official Restless Dust Trailer (Best viewed in youtubeHD).
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A Look Forward to 2011
2010: Well I made the three viral ads for rural dating site KissingGates.com, made the Modern Waste Short Film Trilogy, filmed my second feature film 'Restless Dust' (I'm almost done with the post-production), I became uber-fit (changing my diet and blasting the gym) passed on some sage advice to undergraduates at Lincoln University on 'Meet the Graduates' Day, visited Rome, and won the National Royal Television Society Best Undergraduate Entertainment award for 'Best Friends That Love Each Other'. So why don't I feel like I've done enough?
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