"Blood Money" Film Journal

[iMatt]

Like I did with my 35 minute short film "Drown" I am once again creating a shooting journal for my work on "Blood Money" (working title). Please read and enjoy.

1-22-11
Today was the first day of shooting. For those who don't know "Blood Money" is a short film written by our own Maxx here on PWS. I'll be directing it, and am working with an impressive crew. Today we started at noon shooting with me. Playing one of the lead females is Haven Nutt and she was the first to arrive as Robby DeVillez the lead actor playing the role of "Blood Money" arrived a bit later as he was bringing some camera equipment. Andy DeBurgh Sidley who plays the role of Darius Declan and also acted in my other short film "Drown" also came early. He didn't need to shoot anything until 1pm but he came early to help with audio. I had forgotten some props at my house which was literally across the street from the shooting location so I had to run and get a coffee mug and laptop. This scene is supposed to take place on a coffee house patio, there is a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean right behind the actors. The scene is the first meeting between the characters and a pivotal one. I wanted to try my best to make this scene work. Talented crew such as Megan Baker, Dante Carr and Jessie Joliff were all at hand to help me through the process and man was I so happy to have a crew.

Because we were shooting with a high-def DSLR Canon Camera we had to use different lenses for each kind of shot. We used a 50, 17 and 28 lens. The 50 lens was my favorite to use, everything was close up. It made the subjects look great and had beautiful composition against the scenic backdrop. The 17 was more for wider shots and the 28 for the middle of the road shots. We didn't use the 28 very much, I didn't like its compostion with most of the shots, though with the 28 lens I could zoom, but the zooming noise was too loud. Robby Devillez who is quite honestly a far better cinematographer than me, and really most students gave me a crash course on how to use the DSLR, after all it is his camera. Devillez also is fresh off a big win at the Pepperdine Reel Stories Film Festival. Two films he worked on came up big at the awards "City of Widows" a documentary won the "Reel Cause Award" a movie which Devillez edited. Also another short film "Eleven Eleven" written and directed by the talented Austin Chapman was made thanks largely in part to Devillez, I also had a role in the film serving as crew as one day. It was nice to see my credits in the film, especially after "Eleven Eleven" won the Grand Jury Prize and Audeince Choice awards. So as you cna imagine the crew for this project knows what they are doing.

But its not just the technical side they are skilled in. Jessie and Megan both offered great acting isnights to Haven and Robby as they acted their scene, and while working together we were able to help them both fine tune their work into a satifsying scene. Haven and Robby have good on screen chemistry and take good instructions. I'm not one of those directors at this point that moves his actors around like chess pieces, probably because I'm not paying them. I let the actors develop in their mind their character's persona then I try my best to hone that in and focus it for the scenes. It took longer than we wanted thanks to a few unforseen delays but we wrapped around 2pm with the scene. We then took about a 45 minute break, ate some food and got ready for the 2nd scene of the day: The opening scene of the movie. I know not chronological order, but sometimes you have to shoot what makes sense in your mind. And that's what works for me.

Lighting has been big in this film, with my previous drama venture "Drown" I felt the lighting was too sporadic and didn't flow, I'm now no longer just relying on natural light. We are using a kino flow, a special light fixture that can really brighten up a room, we are also using the reflectors to bounce off light and give a nice feel. Scenes with Haven outside we reflected the gold reflector on her, to give this kind of shine to her, and really convey to the audience that her character is attractive and warm. With scenes where Blood Money is alone we really put in the blues and grays to show solitiude and lonliness. We used the silver reflector as Robby explained that silver reflectors would bounce off the white walls of the apartment better and create a more cold feel in the room. We used the 50 lens a lot for these shots, which can sometimes cause problems as I had to constantly refocus the lens, but it was worth it. The exhchanges between Robby and Andy first started off a little stiff, I think Andy was struggiling a bit with his character's motivations. Something that is rare for him, he is very much an actor who gets engulfed in hsi character and studies him inside out, so he was very frustrated for a moment. But Jessie and Bobby Forestal really helped me center Andy and get him into the role. One thing we decided to do was no longer having his character sit down during a conversation with Robby. We thought he should stand and exert power. Jessie came up with this idea and it really worked, Andy instantly got into his character. I also gave him this note to slap soemthing out of Robby's hand, really show he was in charge. I used some high angles to make Andy look even more powerful and that really worked.

Lot of great shots, a relaly great crew who were dedicated enough to even keep shooting scenes while I had to walk my aunt's dog. They really are committed, Jessie originally just came on as an extra and maybe to help crew one scene but she helped the entire night with the acting and technical side of the project. I want to keep her on for as much of the film as possible she is a valuable woman, and I never knew she had these skill sets in her head, but I'm glad I found out now. It is a weird experience directing someone else's script, I think you lose the passion about the script itself, but become more focused on directing the story and conveying the writer's vision while still adding your voice to it. I think in some regards like this one its a good thing, it makes everything work and I'm starting notice stuff I dont always notice. In short I'm sure this will be a project I and everyone involved will be proud of. Pictures of the day to come soon.

[Maxxy the Franchise]

I can't wait to see the first bit of footage man... I'm seriously excited about this man...

[iMatt]

1-25-11

So today I decided I'd share some pics with you from the set. We aren't shooting this weekend because I have to get thing done for "The Randumb Show" a college sketch comedy show I work on and also me and some of my friends are going on a road trip over the weekend. But next week we should be wrapping up the shoot.

Some technical notes to share first. Robby and I will be editing using his copy of Final Cut Pro and in his dorm which will actually allow more time o edit, Robby is an award winning editor and has gotten high marks for his work editing so he will for sure be helping me edit.




















So those are some of the pics. Really looking forward to everything else.

[DramaShark]

Whatever happened to this Matt? You have more you can show us?