Scene Jeans

I had just arrived at today’s shoot when I saw the Infinity 9 Mobile Unit (Darrin’s car) pulling in.  The plan was to finish the last few shots for the trailer, and today’s scenes feature Tim Sowell (Sgt. Rob Mallevet) and Corey Monroe (Kyle Samuels).  Darrin, Kat and I arrived a bit early and started getting all the equipment unpacked and set up.  By now, we’re getting pretty good at this.  These scenes are all shot with the green screen (notice a pattern?), and it seemed like we had everything in place and lit properly in no time at all.  We did have to make some minor adjustments to the lighting in order to remove some shadows on the actors from time to time, but overall, we were technically sound.  Kat handled all of the audio recording for the day, and we received some new props that were created by an artist named Holly and her team that turned out great.  She’s doing a lot of prop building as well as providing the score for the film, and I think we’ll actually have a feature on Holly, her team, set design and prop building in the near future.

Corey and Tim, Razorwalkin’

One thing to keep in mind when shooting scenes that have already been partially shot is that you need to remember where and how you stood, how you moved and what you were wearing, down to the smallest detail.  Even things like shaving or not shaving, and haircuts matter for scene continuity.  Were you wearing a necklace or a different watch before??  Sometimes you have to check the old footage to make sure.  Portions of these scenes had been previously shot, so this is one of the challenges we faced today, several weeks later.  We had to make sure that Corey was wearing the hat he wore in the previous footage, that he and Tim had the same weapons, as well as the various other small props in the scene.  We even had an in-depth discussion about Corey’s pants, but ultimately decided that he was, in fact wearing his scene jeans.  Someone will need to keep an eye on those in the future.

Darrin’s view

After all of this was worked out, Darrin began shooting the scene from several different angles.  Corey and Tim would run through the whole scene several times, then reset at a different angle to allow Darrin to focus on each actor separately, and then they would run through the entire scene again.    There’s a part of this scene where Corey and Tim see my character, so I stood in place, behind the camera, so that they could both look in the proper direction and focus at the proper distance.  My parts were shot separately, so this will all be edited together to look like it happens all at once.

Darrin, giving Corey props

This scene, when complete, will only be a couple of minutes long (if that) and has taken several hours to shoot, on several different days, and will require even more time for special effects and editing…oh, and let’s not forget the score!  It’s an amazing amount of time and effort and planning, that requires contributions from several different people all working at the same time.  Darrin mentioned that when he watches films now, he watches them as a director would; trying to break down how they filmed certain things and how the special effects were done.  Now that I’ve spent some time watching a film being made, I find myself doing that same thing, and wondering how long it took to film certain scenes.

Kat…capturing some magic of her own

In case you were wondering, everything went well and I think Darrin got the footage he needs to finish the trailer.  We even had time for a bit of improvisation. Now, there still remains all of that other work to be done, but it’s moving steadily forward.  In the mean time, we have a new shooting schedule that takes us through January, including some additional scenes have been written and some roles that have been recast.  If all goes well, I will actually have scenes with other actors soon, which will be a nice change of pace…I’m so happy I could just choke someone!!  That will make sense later.  I will also have a trip to a tattoo shop – which I plan on showing you, and I have my bluesuit scene coming up – which I may not show you(!), all in the next few weeks.

Holly, getting a picture of her latest creations

It’s getting busy right before the holiday break, but more shooting days mean more blogs, so prepare yourselves!  I know you’ve been seeing a lot of green in these pictures, but the sets and locations will be changing in the near future and there will be plenty of new things to see.  Also, you’ve only seen a few of the actors so far, and there are big shoots coming up so you’ll be introduced to many more new names and faces.  As always, thank you so much for spending some time here…I appreciate it very much and look forward to the next one!  Hopefully, that will be very soon!

Darrin and Tim, near the end of all things

On Location: Leesburg, VA

It was a damp Sunday morning in November that found the Razorwalkers on location in Leesburg, Virginia.  Permission had been granted by Jason Kestler, President and CEO of Kestler Financial Group, to film in his Leesburg offices.  The suggestion to film here came from Dan Hall (yes…him again!) who thought that Jason’s offices had a unique look and feel, that were right for certain scenes in the film.  He was right and Darrin agreed, and so there we were, being greeted by Jason Kestler himself.  After carrying all of our gear into the building and setting up base camp in the offices break area, Darrin began mentally setting up the days shots.  This days shooting would be dedicated entirely to the trailers main scenes, which take place inside the office of James Angelton.

Many thanks to Jason Kestler!!

My character will not be featured in these particular scenes…(or will he?), so today I am a crew member.  A fly on the wall.  A rogue blogger, trying to get an inside scoop on the making of a movie.  In truth, I am all these things…trying to help when and where I can, anticipate Darrin’s needs as Director, stay out of everyone’s way and try not to ruin any shots!  Let’s just say that I was successful in most of these endeavors! Hey, I’m NEW!!

Darrin, checking out the view from above

The cast and crew that were present were, Darrin and Kat Archer; the actors in today’s scenes, Alexis Johnson and Raoul Anderson; Dan Hall, special effects master, who also helped setup shots and do some additional filming; Samuel Jones, sound engineer, who was assisted by Kat Archer.  Kat does a bit of everything, and perhaps most importantly, keeps the mood light and happy on set.  I’m sure Darrin would agree with that!  Oh, and myself.

Talking through the shot. It’s mandatory for the Sound Engineers to wear stripes, by the way…

So far every shoot that I’ve been a part of has had its own set of challenges.  This one was no different.  It required a combination of still shots, overhead shots, green screen wizardry, and traditional actor/dialog shots from several different perspectives.  If Darrin described this scene to you, it would sound pretty simple, but when you shoot it…it becomes a different animal altogether.

Darrin, trying to locate crew members…I assist by photographing him

Once Darrin makes the decisions on how the scene will be shot, it’s just a matter of setting up and filming each step in the process.  Having Dan on set is a major plus.  This scene, like so many in this film, will depend heavily on special effects and having Dan there ensures that we will end up getting the takes that he needs to make it look awesome.  It’s always a question of lighting and angles and distances…and a great number of other variables that don’t occur to me!

Dan, getting extra overhead shots

Overall, things went quite smoothly.  We didn’t break anything, no one was injured, and I think we got everything that we needed to get on film.  There are other scenes that we need to complete for the trailer…and I will actually get to appear on screen with other actors for once!  This will be a huge treat, unless I end up laughing too much.  Once you learn more about Cory and Tim you’ll understand.  I’m really looking forward to it though, and you should all look forward to the trailer!  I know many of you already are…and it’s going to be very cool.

Dan and Alexis. What is that green thing!?

If you’re interested, you can check out the films website – http://www.infinity9films.com – or ‘Like’ the Infinity 9 Films page on Facebook.  We appreciate your attention and enthusiasm!  Trust me, we are always talking about new and awesome things we can do to keep people excited about the film…so please stay tuned!  Until next time…

This Blog is dedicated to my new friend, Muggles.

We were left alone with candy. I call this the Tower of Shame

Ghosts Don’t Cast Shadows

Hi again.  Today was a somewhat impromptu shooting day.  We’re trying to complete everything we need for the trailer and making use of our time together to shoot as much as we can for other scenes.  I got the call from Darrin a couple of nights ago to see if we could get a few hours of work in.  I did not say no.  This was my first day of filming.  Ever.

Lighting the Green Screen

 We met in a house that is currently uninhabited, but has lately become our green screen studio.  After loading the equipment in we went about the business of assembling and hanging the green screen, and then lighting it properly.  Darrin and I were joined by Kat and their daughter Katrina.  (Katrina is the very first Koblin, but more about that later!)  Lighting a green screen essentially happens in two layers; the first to light the actual screen, and the second to light the actor that will be positioned in front of the green screen.  This way, the actor casts no shadows on the green screen behind.  In this case that’s very important because, as Katrina pointed out, ghosts don’t cast shadows, and well…I am a ghost after all.  

Still Photos…Mug Shots

Once set up, we began shooting still photographs to be used for various things, like mug shots and movie posters.  (Yes, mug shots.)  We also filmed some pieces of scenes with and without audio, using dialog that was created through some improvisation.  Darrin is good at allowing improvisation and I think I would be better at it if I could keep from laughing and/or smiling.  I do both way too easily and often.  One thing I discovered today is that it’s hard to combine a smile with a scowl.  I thought that just the dialog recording was a challenge, and today felt a bit like that with the added presence of the lens of a camera, about a foot away from me at times.  (And lights.  Did I mention lights?)  My fear is that by the time I feel completely comfortable in front of the camera, all of my scenes will be finished.  What will I do then?

The 360 Degree, Katrina Powered Swivel Device

I should also mention that there were other things around me too that will never be seen in the finished shots, like the digital audio recorder that Kat was holding on my left side, and Katrina, who provided the power to the chair I had to swivel on to get a 360 degree head shot that Dan requested.  You remember Dan…he’s the special effects magician that is going to make me look other-worldly, and who gives Darren a list of things for me to do on film that I’m still not sure have a purpose beyond making me feel foolish.  It’s a great thing that I enjoy feeling foolish.  (And of course, I trust them both) You could even talk me into letting you put dots on my face with White Out to provide a reference for digital makeup effects.  I probably wouldn’t say a word.  In fact, I would probably appear to enjoy it.

Hey, Will That Wash Off? Oh…Who Cares!

For the last portion of todays filming, we shifted the green screen to the other side of the room to give us more room for filming with a jib that allows for sweeping ascending or descending shots.  We filmed various angles of those types of shots, as well as more dialog pieces.  Finally, I had to do some running and jumping.  Running to the left and to the right…and then taking a running jump onto some pads.  That was actually much more fun than I expected it to be and I’m sure I was smiling during those shots too.  Maybe I should just wear a mask?  Anyway, I do know one thing for sure…there were no shadows in those shots, because ghosts don’t cast shadows.

Setting Up A Shot

Thanks to Kat for taking great photos throughout the day and to Katrina for inspiration, and to Darrin for the most fun I’ve had on a Sunday in a very long time.

A Flying Leap