TREE

Aging

Trying to lock down crew for next week at the moment, but its not easy when you are dependent on big favors.  People have got to live, and if paying work comes up, then understandably that takes precedence over our film.  This means as a few of the crew have dropped out, we call round contacts and refill the positions.  Nothing that any other short low budget film faces, but it has still caused more than a few new gray hairs to sprout from the side of my head.  As of this moment however, I would say we have 97% of the crew in place. 

But that's not the only aging that been happening this week.

Spent most of last weekend trying to make a very new and shiny metal box look very old and rusty, and if you squinted, tilted your head at the right angle it sort of looked ok.  But there was still something about the box that looked new. There were no dents!  So I took it round to my folks places where there was more room to swing at it with a hammer, in the hope that softening its straight lines might help to generally distress and age the box.

"You need an old Metal Box?" my dad says on seeing my efforts. "Hang on, I got a box up the back of the garden"  a minute later he produces a completely authentic old rusty metal chest.  But not just any old rusty chest, no, a first class specimen.

I'm am not surprised by this discovery.  Pleased and happy yes, but not surprised, and if you knew my father, you wouldn't be either. 

Just wish I'd thought to ask him earlier. 

Birds Eye View

Just doing the movement orders at the moment and found our tree on google map. Thought I'd share.

A path well trod

We have been back to the locations quite a few times just recently and will be back there a few more no doubt before the shoot begins.  You plan, plan, plan, and then plan some more, striving to think of every possable thing, worrying that there's something you've missed, and desperately hoping that if things don't go to plan, you can adapt.  Which I'm very confident we can.

But like all short films, even funded ones, we don't have much leeway for error.  Our shooting days are limited, so we have to maximize the daylight hours we have.  Liz has done a sterling job in getting the many different permissions we need from all the trusts, foundations, and councils responsible for the locations to let us shoot.  I have to say a big thank you to each of them for helping us, and a roll call will be given at some point.

The stress of assembling, and then coordenating all these small details is quite intense at the moment, and I'm sure Liz is feeling it too, ten fold.  So we need to stop and focus on why we are doing all this. 

To make a fantastic, intriguing, sad, poetic piece of cinema, that's why!

Dangling

Location Found!!

The sun was shining as Producer Liz Chan, and D.O.P Peter Ellmore accompanied me yesterday back to the Tree location I'd found in the week, and both agreed it was perfect.  It is good from a logistical point of view too, with vehicle access if we need it, and a good amount of light around the tree.  It was well worth the long search, I'm so pleased.

After a morning in the woods, we trekked back into the center of town to have a meeting at ONEPOST, where they showed us what they could do with their DI system.  I have to say it was really impressive.  They grade in a very comfortable viewing theater, on a large cinema screen, via a fantastic digital projector.  It is such a great way to grade. 

All in all it was a very encouraging day.

A great day...

...just to tired to blog about it now!  Will post more tomorrow.

Could it be we've found our TREE

Just as the first pangs of panic were setting in about ever finding a Tree, I think we have!!

Went back to a wood I had scouted before, just to make sure I hadn't missed anything, and it appears that I had, this magnificent lady.

Now we just need permissions.

Cast in Stone

Auditions are over, we have made our decisions, our cast is chosen, confirmed and booked for the shoot!
As I have said before, we saw some great people for the two parts, which made the decision process an agonizing one.  I don't like having to let people down, but that is what you have to do unfortunately.   In the end I am really pleased with our choice, they feel so right for the film, and they are both very good, professional actors, but I can't say who they are just yet.

Now we just need to lock down a dog.  Animal handlers keep telling us that the breeds we are after are not as trainable. It might explain why they don't have any on their books.  Instead we keep getting sent pictures of the same looking cute and cuddly dogs,  but I want something with a bit of character.
At the same time I don't want to waste precious daylight hours filming a dog that don't do what its told, so some sort of compromise maybe on the horizon.

Not even going to talk about the Tree.

Scribbles

As hard as we search there is still no sign of this elusive tree location, came near to perfection with this old oak tree.  But it did not have the low overhanging branch!

We still have time to find it, but part of me was hoping it would nailed down by now.

In the meantime I've been busy storyboarding.

Two nice Ones

My work life got a whole lot busier just lately.  Between animating a Pink Elephant for a Germany shoe company, I also landed a commercial job directing a cool TV spot for HMV.

But the real good news is that fantastic guys at ONE8SIX have agreed to help us with a complete 35mm film kit for the Tree shoot, which is just brilliant news.

But then on top of that, One Post have also said they will help to do our digital color grade. (See this link for more info DI )  This all means that there should no reason for TREE to look anything but stunning.

Really can't thank these two companies enough, and in truth there is no way we could afford these things on our budget, so there faith in the project and support is appreciated.

Oh and BIG gold stars to my producer Liz  who organized it all!