Ohh..man... 14 people on set... all of them twice my age... zomg.. when i have time i'll fill this post with what went down, and hopefully some helpful tips on driving a production well

Pre-Production

WisconCinema's Grave Remembrance Script Concept Sept. 20th

I was on a feature film that dealt with... dream sequences, and thought that would be a good place to start. I know I wanted to make a "tweaked" out film with lots of things happening right in a row to throw the audience for a loop untill the end of the short.

Originally I thought I was going to be producing this on my own, but I ran into a couple friends who were interested in producing with me (Melissa Schaefer + Robb Thompson) and they happily agreed to help produce this monster ^. -

So we set out a date (That tuesday) and came up with all these really bad.. and really good ideas.. basically just spat out w/e came to mind and kept what was good, on one note.. we eventually decided we wanted a pig heart... yes.. a REAL pig heart, and of course one would think "OMG theres no way we can feasably get a pig heart" ... not the case! .. one quick call to (John Aguilera) and we had ourselves a gutted pig (which later actually turned out to be a lamb's heart.... but whos caring?

The Scripting process was rough... we sat there for 3 hours the first attempt... then another 3 the next week... than another 6, just finalizing the dialouge... (keep in mind its only a 6 min film)

So finally, we had a workable script. After that, I enlisted help from fellow classmates (Annie Clift, John Aguilera, Sylvia Gunther, Leah Bennete + Boyfriend) to Storyboard out The Script... 32 pages and 130 drawings later, we had oursleves a working board.. W00t *

* On a side note I must say how amazed I was to see like 5 people write out board after board with me just throwing myself around the room acting out each shot.. but hey! it worked!!!

Okay... so we got a script.. we got a Storyboard ... were set right? .... AWWW F***!! I Forgot Actors!!

So here we are.. 2 weeks before the shoot with only 1 actor... Robb Thompson as "Pete Taymes"... we still had like.. 14 other roles to fill... and these people had to be like.. ages 30-45 .. for EVERY role... where the hell do i find 14 35 year old's in 2 weeks...

(angels singing noise)

****CRAIGSLIST!!!!****

Gods gift to filmaking... seriously... only one problem.. I've never used craigs list before! Damnit!! So that was a hurtle to jump over... I mean... i know it sounds easy, you know... write an ad... but writing an add on a site never before visted is a nerve racker, beleive you me... so i wrote a basic add, explaining each role and gave a little back history to each character: Ages, Ethnicity, Gender.. the works.. now for those reading let me just cite something quick here...
POSTING AN ACTORS CALL ADD

Easy Right? Wrong there are several issues you NEEd to consider when posting an actors call.. like.. heres and example of what NOT to do...

Actors needed, will provide lunch, great for resume reel. Contact durstry@hotmail.com

seriously... i've seen these adds all over the place on Craigslist and likeminded sites.. IF YOUR GOING TO PLACE AN ADD SPRUCE IT UP A LITTLE AND ADD KEY INFORMATION!!!

Try This:

Actors needed for a short film being entered for the Twilight Fest, a DVXuser.com Film Festival

Theme: Something bigger is going on, things arn't as they seem (think Twilight Zone Style)

We will be shooting Saturday October 11th, from 7am-4pm lunch is provided

Pete Taymes: Age, 30-35 (Male) Pete just left his family for the war overseas, this decision weighs heavily upon him, Pete is part of a 4 man commado Ops. Team and normally functions as the teams Point Guard man.. armed with a Assault Shotgun. (Ethnicity: ANY)

.......

Ahh, isnt that much better? some actually information to the character roles needed... okay so back on topic.. i posted the listing.. i got like... 40 responses on day 1.. seriously..no joke... the add must've been good.. **woot** so i had actors, Lots of actors... to manny actors.. ....

Now I'm not normally a mean guy... so telling people who are eager to help me "No i dont need you in this film.. you just dont look the part" Was VERY hard for me.. i had never done it up to this point and it was very stressful.... but oh well.. got over it... told alot of people " NO!" and moved on...

Okay... Script, Actors, StoryBoards, Equipment........Props? F**k! ... alright fine... shouldnt be too hard right? in 8 days i just need... 1 shotgun 1 sniper rifle, 2 assault rifles, 4 9mm handguns + holsters, 6 complete army uniforms, a complete doctors outfit, a nurse outfit, and surgeon scrubs, a pig heart, military cots Ect.... OMFG...

Long story short... 1 day before the shoot.. everything was secured... not w/o a few gray hairs however... oh well Next blog i'll go over the actual shooting day.. give a few tips of what i learned on the set.

Peace-