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