Not the Vlog

So I am Jodie who happens to be the only character who resembles a zombie as my hair is matted with leaves and blood and my eyes are classic spanish soap opera. All the guys are really nice to me on set- except for Dave who is Brittish and I think this may be his biggest fault- that and knocking holes in strangers walls. The Canadian- Pearce- isn't at all like Dave so I can scientifically say that it is in fact a continental issue that Dave has. But seriously Dave is really cool and so is everyone else on set. We are goofing off like crazy and I am sad to leave. I think we have all bonded over a short time and I can't wait to collaborate with all again ( I would have gotten the chance sooner rather than later if Asher would have included me in his upcoming short film, but don't worry I won't hold a grudge- maybe). This is my last day of shooting and as I do not have Megan's camera to Vlog I thought I would take the time to get on line finally. If gas wasn't so expensive I would drive down to Orange and just hang on the set. I will always have the memories though- Cody (or whatever he calls himself on a given day; honestly he has like 15 names that sound pornographic) pressing his sweaty face into my cleavage as I drench him with tears of Clear Eyes/Visine. Dave making fun of my geography and the fact that I didn't know Cleopatra presented herself to Cesar rolled up in a carpet (cause everyone knows that right?). Beth constantly staring at my boobs through the lens of her camera to "focus" the shot. Chris almost decapitating me with the boom. Doc stroking my ego (in a non sexual way). Karen demanding respect. All of us yelling at Lauren to finish her A.P. homework already. Pearce's attempt to murder Marissa and me with his carpool antics (I thought we were going 120 mph- what the heck is a kilometer???) Marissa's incessent advances to bed me. Bossing Kelsey around because Daniella said we could. Megan and Shannon and Beth always shouting "I couldn't hear you". Kevin doing everything to make it happen. Bill yelling at me every second for touching his "HOT SET!!!" Cole and Chris blocking me out of scenes with their crazy sound movement. And everyone talking about Twiligth , with me being the only person not to know what that book is. I love you all!!! See you at the screening.

Hi

Hey everyone...
I'm David. I play Matt, the father of Molly. Not to be confused with David, Molly's (Lauren's) real dad or David, who is the youth pastor, not a father, who's real name is Brian. But not the Brian who plays Doc. The other David, William, goes by Dave so nobody is confused.

I have had the priveledge to work with Megan, Chris, Beth, Caryn, et all before in a little short film from the Jossington Falls series. What a great group of people!!! I really enjoy the work that goes into making movies, and when you can have an immense amount of fun doing it, that's what she said, it's the best thing in the world!!!

I have worked with 2 cast members before in other projects: Lorn & Brian R. The rest are new to me, and take some getting used to. That's deadpan, folks! Seriously, the cast is amazing. I am continually surprised and excited about their talents and working with them. I can't wait to get back on set.

Lauren, earmuffs!
Don't worry, Caryn. I'm sure "plugging the hole" conversation will fulfill your need for constant perversion.

David Scott
"Although it's the 'End', it's really the beginning."

Weekend two!

hello everyone sorry for getting started with the blogging so late. I just wanted to first of all thank Megan and Chris for allowing me to take part in this wonderful film, So far it has been an awesome experience and Im having a blast on set! I wish the days were longer and I wish we filmed everyday.  I am honored to work with all of you cast and crew. I know Im quiet on set so i'll let you know just a little bit about me here. My name is Ashton Reese Trujillo, I was born here in California. I have been making films since I could remember . Freshman year of highschool i discovered my passion for directing. i directed many short films and continue to work on more. I am currently also working on my first couple features. Not having access to many actors I began casting myself in my films and It opened my eyes to my TRUE PASSION- Acting-To perform and make people believe, All my inspiration comes from my Lord and Savior as I live each day for Him...And there you go:)  Thanks guys for your time and see you soon.

-Ashton

Shenanigans

Wow. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. A hole? In a wall? Is this what happens when I'm not on set? You put holes in walls?! I tell you now: there will no more of shenanigans and tom-foolery this coming weekend! We will be back to inappropriate sex talk or you'll hear about it. ...Actually, you'll probably hear about it regardless as inappropriate sex talk kind of comes with the package when I'm on-set. But I mean it about the holes in the walls!

I gotta say, I'm loving the set and people. I wish I could be shooting everyday. It has to beat the constant search for the end of the internet and job hunting. Pearce, can I borrow your gun? There are some wiley beasts out there.

And I won't even complain about the heat as it has NOTHING on "The Apartment." Compared to that day, last weekend was a day at the beach. And major plus- No one is in sleeping bags!

Weekend Two Coming Soon...

So in March I was forced to buy a new car because my beloved but acursed Monte Carlo blew up on me...literally. A pop, lots of things happened, then smoke and the car was dead. So I coped, and got a pretty little Nissan. My first new car.

From the day I bought it I was was terrified that I would wreck it or otherwise make it unpretty. It really was a major stress factor as I am that OCD.

Yet, when Beth and I were out finding classic movie locations and I scratched the paint of my pretty car down to the metal and I didn't freak out - not because it was in front of Marty McFly's house, but because the stress was gone. I had spent two+ months waiting to do something stupid to my car and I had finally done it.

The same thing was going on with moving End from pre-production to production.

Chris and I hurried into this shoot faster than we did with our short films becuase we knew we needed to get it done while we had the energy, the passion and most importantly - a minor who was not in school. This gave us about two months to plan our biggest project yet.

So all through pre-production I was stressed and worried about everything that could go wrong durring production. I wouldn't use the word terrified, but I'd definitely say that I was wary. Planning is key in making a film, but it's such a big endeavor that things ususally go wrong, it's expected.

So along came our first weekend, and I was so worried that everything in the sun would go wrong. And a lot of stuff did go wrong. We exploded a bulb before we started filming, ended up with three less lights than we were supposed to have, fell behind the first day, and on the second day we broke a wall in the house.

Just like with my car, that stress has been lifted off of my shoulders. Stuff went wrong. But we fixed it.

While I know the rest of the shoot is not going to be a walk in the park, and I know that anything can still happen, I feel much better prepared for it knowing that I have a cast and crew that can deal with it and still rock it out in the end.

Here's looking forward to weekend two!

A word on Pearce's gun..

Okay, so reading his last post, I just laughed when he said he missed his gun. He always has it! I think he would sleep with it at night if they let him take it home. Always walking around with that rifle on his hip, ready to shoot a blast of air at any Walker that wanders by..

Pearce, my gun-toting hero!

Shits and giggles

Ok ok I just got up and running on our beautiful blog. Now I must say things have been great. Especially our beautiful hole. My beard has grown a mind of its own as with daves blood work. Set conditons are hot and steamy but full of real. Independant is wonderful and I truly embrace the cast, crew, and the hole. But honestly our group is fun. Many more weekends and projects to go. Customs almost didnt let me in the country but Im glad I found a way. Cant keep a Canadian down. Or a black one at that or a half scottish one at that as well. But with all seriousness aside...lol.....I miss my gun

Hole? What Hole?

Before

Photo by Pearce

After

Photo by Lauren

Full length feature, baby

Well I'm back again (David aka William) As I'm sure you've all gathered I managed to throw a fellow cast member into a wall... I was so gutted when it happened and I felt very bad, but I'm glad that the damage was fixable and want to thank the David and Susan for being so cool about the whole thing. 

So what I wanted to focus on was the heat! MAN was it hot!!!! The first day was much worse than the second but really the whole weekend was like a working in a cooker! I always feel guilty about calling acting working but let me tell you it can be pretty tough... Sure its not like we are Fireman or Nurses but this weekend was definitely a challenge, yet somehow it was still the most fun I've had in ages... I say somehow - It was 100% down to the people I was with. Whilst it might sound like the obvious thing to say, the cast and crew on this film are all just amazing people. 

As I said before (and this is where my title starts to make sense) on my previous projects, I would be finished by now... but this is feature length baby... we've got loads more fun left to have!

I know we are all going to make a great film together and I can't wait for next weekend... I'm going to close now because I really could go on about the shoot for ever... Maybe mid week something will pop into my head that I just HAVE to share... lol now that I have you all on the edge of your seats I'll close.

Film for the First Time!

If you had told me just last year that I would be filming a movie in my house with a crazy cast, my friends Megan[the director], and Christopher[the writer], and an awesome crew, I would have laughed uncontrolably and walked away. Never in a million years did I dream I'd get the chance to do something so...indescribable.

But before I go on, let me introduce myself. I'm Lauren Dunacheck, and I play the role of Molly, in END. I've grown up in Orange, California my whole life. And let me tell you, disregarding the theater troop shows I've done, this isn't exactly the 'land of opportunity'. I've been performing in musicals since I was 5 years old. It has basically become the focus of my life, except school of course. Which, by the hovering of my mother, whom me and my grandmother call 'hitler', I have done exceptionally well in.

Now you would think that if I was this involved in thearter that I must surely have most than just a list of over 15 shows that I have performed in. Something that would give you an idea of the seriousness and deserving-ness of a role in END. Well, I dont. I never thought about doing anything like this perfesionally until a year or two ago. Of course, everyone involved in the arts says 'i want to be on broadway', even myself. But my interests couldn't even be contained to 1 category...so up until awhile ago, I never really thought about it.

Going back to END, I never thought I'd get an opportunity like this. I basically owe Christopher and Megan my life for giving me the chance to experience something this amazing. The cast I am working with is intimdatingly perfessional[and no, im not just saying that because they can read this] and very entertaining. Each of them has qualities within them that only heightens the greatness of which this film will reach. I would go into detail, but we'd be here all day.

We just wrapped up the first weekend of filming, and let me tell you, it's been crazy. From the constant cracking of jokes, to the chills of when we have nailed a scene, it's just...wow. Some....[let's say] unique things have happened on set. From the completely...'PG14' to 'R' comments that keep us laughing, my depravation of the Twighlight series due to an AP History book I must finish[which has being quite depressing] to Dave and Ashton caving in our drywall. No harm done though, Ashton isn't in pain, and hopefully Dave is done feeling guilty!

Through everything that has happened so far, I must conclude that I am looking forward to continuing the filming process. And that I will be sad when it's over. I can not express the amount of gratitude I have for the cast, crew, director, writer, and my parents[because the set is indeed my house]. You have all been wonderful and extremely entertaining thus far.

So this wraps up my first post in our END Blog...

With much gratitude,
Lauren

"We Can Fix It In Production"

I've never been a Production guy.

I went to a film school that emphasized indie-style filmmaking: they taught you how to do it all on your own, on-the-cheap, beginning-to-end. For this I am eternally grateful, because it forced me to learn what it is I love most about filmmaking: writing, planning & organizing, editing, and finishing. Notice I did not say shooting.

There's something about the chaos of the film set that has always driven me mad. Perhaps it's just unrealistic expectations I've had with filming, but I've always found that Production tends to say, "hey, remember all that planning you did? It's out the window. This is MY game now," and then you run. Scramble to find a way to salvage the situation and hopefully maybe get that one shot you had envisioned in your head so you can "fix it in Post." It can be heart-wrenching. This is why I'm an editor by trade, having steadfastly avoided the set for the last few years of my life. But can I share a secret with you?

I've missed it. All that stress, all that uncertainty, but also that camaraderie. That beauty of watching everything (and everyone) come together for that one moment on screen. Those heightened senses fueled by adrenaline and caffeine. And that burning passion to put down on film (or video) the idea or story that is consuming your consciousness. So when Megan and Christopher asked me to be the script supervisor for their feature, I saw my chance: I was going to step back into those uncertain waters and see if the graces of Production could overcome the trials.

And this past weekend was a trial at times, certainly. When the size of the crew is small enough to match the size of the cast it's always tricky. But, despite the difficulties (delayed starts, no A/C, and a busted wall to name three) everything that needed to be shot was shot, the camera and lighting crew got some really beautiful setups and angles, the actors gave brilliant performances, and no one lost their head. I think these achievements were due in no small part to Megan's example: she never lost her cool (even in the heat of the "hot set"), was always ready to take suggestions and change her plans to accommodate conditions on the ground, and yet she never lost the vision she had for the film moving forward. The set was a place for ideas and action: there weren't any problems we'd need to "fix it in Post"-- if there was an issue we could fix it right there, at that moment.

So when we finished shooting on Sunday, I stopped and thought about the weekend's experience. We'd had a few gasps and lots of laughs, some tense situations and some exhilarating moments, some technical issues and a plethora of creative fixes, inspiring performances from the cast and total dedication from the crew. We'd had an adventure, and I realized that I couldn't wait to do it again next week.

...

I guess I am a Production guy, after all.

Blood, Sweat, and Drywall

Filmmaking is a complicated thing with all the small pieces having to come together just right. To do that is difficult; to do it and stay on schedule (or at least catch-up) is a feat.

We made it through the introductory phase. You have to realize that a film set becomes a bit of a fraternity, a crew, a dysfunctional family. I mean, when you're sitting there with your hair and clothes sticking to you as sweat runs down your face and you know you must smell two houses down.. it's nice to know your fellows in the trenches are suffering equally and not judging just as equally.

Forget the classic office setting of water-cooler conversations and polite professionalism. On set, it's blue, dirty, sexually-explicit and completely lacking in PC. If you can't take a jibe, joke or innuendo, it might not be the place for you.

For me, the weekend was uncomfortable, mainly because we were shooting in a hot, suffocating atmosphere and I was walking around with a steady cam that only got heavier as my eyes began to droop and my stomach began to turn from the heat. I'm from the North. Heat and I have never gotten along. Take away air flow and I'm done for.

Not that I haven't been in pain on set before. On set for The Apartment, I nearly broke a toe; for A Hit to the Heart, I had to peel the camera strap off my badly burned neck; Last Days, I lugged coolers full of ice and water up a mountain in high heat. But the show must go on.

It's a fact of the biz that you have to be prepared for all conditions. Whilst on bigger sets, the actors and top of the line folks might get carts, assistants, tricked out trailers; but down here at the up-and-coming level, we fight through whatever the Universe throws at us and we do it for free and we do it for the love of doing it. Even when it seems like the love is gone, once you find yourself back at the day job and all you want is to be back on set.. well, then you know.

But, forget the heat. Truth is, I laughed my ass off this weekend. I laughed until I cried; I got to be silly; hell, I even sang out a tune or two. All the things people in the office setting would have referred me to HR for. There's nothing like being around a bunch of other creative people equally as crazy as you to endure this.

It was a tough first weekend, there's no doubt. But Megan likes the footage; we didn't jump the 180 line; the actors knew their lines and were a ton of fun; Shannon, Porshe, Caryn and I are already working on a spin-off of the film; the blood covering Dave was all fake (and freaky looking); and we only damaged a chunk of drywall.

Not too shabby for a day's work.

August 10, 2008 – The Day That Will Live in Infamy

Sunday was going really well on set. We were on schedule, things were jelling just right. My actors and crew were giving me 110%. I knew things were going too well.

We shot scene 40 yesterday, which I am not going to spoil here as it is one of the most pivotal scenes in the movie. The scene involves two characters arguing and to stop one he pushes the other against a wall. I think it might be the only physically violent stunt in the film and it’s not really that violent.

So we shot the scene for one actors coverage and I kept freaking out thinking we were actually hurting Ashton but he swore he wasn’t hurt and was actually controlling the action. The acting was amazing. I was blown away. I was so excited about the scene. So we switched to do coverage on Dave and go through the entire scene again.

I don’t even remember if it was the first or second time that we did the shot on Dave. The way the camera was set I could not see the wall on my monitor – only Dave. The way the actors were blocked I could not see the wall, or Dave and Ashton.

So the scene played out, the violent moment comes, the image on my monitor is tight on Dave; the push happens and suddenly Lauren (the homeowners daughter) turns to me with a look of horror on her face and I can see several other people with an aghast look as well.

I can’t see anything, I was afraid that Ashton was hurt, but the actors kept going, and no one in the scene stopped, so I assumed that the hit just looked really bad but it was fine. Not hearing “cut” from me my actors kept acting.

Suddenly, one of the actors shifted and I saw a mark behind Ashton’s head. I knew it wasn’t blood, but I didn’t know what it was. Then they moved more.

I saw my entire future in film disappear before my eyes and I imagined one of my best friendships dying with Susan’s eventual seeing of that wall…I really thought I was done for.

But I didn’t call cut so my actors kept acting. I don’t think I was capable of calling cut. I was told by those that could see me that the look on my face was priceless. My camera and sound people were as oblivious as I had been.

The end of the scene came and I managed to choke out the word “cut” and everyone on set exploded with the shock and surprise they had been holding in and Beth, Christopher and Cole were still oblivious. I don’t remember saying anything, but I probably did. Then I managed to shout for Christopher to come “right here right now”.

I don’t even remember his reaction but it was good I am sure, as was Beth’s and Cole’s.

So I immediately had Lauren get her mother on the phone and broke the news to her – we caved in the drywall on her wall.

This is where I have to praise Susan and David, my wonderful friends and the homeowners. They didn’t get mad. They didn’t cancel my movie. They still have not felt the need to blame anything on me. The response I got once they got home was “It’s not like you meant to do it” from Susan and “Shit happens” from David.

These are fabulous people and they deserve my praise, and a giant gift from me and Christopher.

With that drama, we still managed to completely catch up to schedule, and end our day early.

I tell you that God is good.

rockin' it out

first, i gotta say that ashton and dave rocked it out yesterday, and we have a hole in the wall to prove it! ashton blew me away (all his quiet preparation definitely paid off, n i have great respect for him and his commitment to the art) and dave stepped it up to match him to bring him down...and  break a wall. i can't wait to see the final product of that scene. awesome job you two!

my name is marissa merrill, and i am playing angela in this awesome film. i grew up in salinas, california and started my journey in the acting world with dance and theater when i was two-years-old. as soon as i was 18 (2 years ago), i moved out to los angeles to fulfill my dreams in film. 

this is the third project i have worked on with this general group of amazing people, and i am so honored to have worked with them multiple times. i gotta say thanks to christopher and megan for thinking of me for this project, and giving us actors all a chance to really show what we can do. christopher did an aweome job with the script and megan is doing an awesome job with directing and everything else she's done and does. it feels so amazing to be on a set where every single person is there because they want to be there and are passionate about the art. everyone is working their butts off and doing an excellent job. beth works tirelessly and never ceases to amaze me, and shannon is the chillest, most professional, and efficient AD. this cast is hilarious! they cast the goofiest people they could find and told us to be serious and stressed out...and everyone's really pulling it off well. i gotta say, sam's commitment to the look of her character is stunning. i can't wait to see the video blogs!

this weekend made me really proud to be a part of this project. i have a lot of faith in this film and can't wait to get back to work this weekend and keep rockin' it out. 

you all are wonderful!

Weekend One

I promise to blog more tomorrow, but I wanted to get my initial thoughts about the first weekend of shooting down today.

Saturday my stress level was crazy. I know the day went slower than I would have liked, but I do know that a large part of that stress level was the heat, and the fact that there were sudden and shocking layoff's at my day job this week and several people I adore were cut and that hit hard. But I know first days are first days, and when I got home and looked at my schedule and through about my footage I realized I was really happy & we were really not that far behind on saturday. We owed one scene and a shot for another.

We got a late start on day one and still shot about 10 pages. Insane.

Today was smother because we were getting our rythm down, but also because everyone rocked it out of the park, from our "titleless" people that do everything asked, to our homeowners...because we broke their wall today.

Yes, we broke a wall. I swear it was an accident, and I will tell you all more later.

However, I am jubuliant. My footage for the entire weekend is beautiful. My actors and crew are marvelous.

Peace out.