Date Night

…and dusted with Date Night now :)

After getting the opening and closing credits done its now time to call it a day and get the film out to festivals

So keep an eye out, Date Night could be coming to a screen near you very soon

It has been a tremendous journey! now on to the next one…

Liam

First cut of Date Night has been completed, yay!

Its all coming together very nicely. Quite a lot of rendering to do as i have been using the optical flow feature in motion to get some really nice, smooth slow motion shots.

In terms of grading I’ve been utilising the presets in Magic Bullet’s Looks, a very very handy tool for the no budget filmmaker.

I’m currently waiting on some titles from an Animator friend of mine, and once they’re in place everything should be wrapped up nicely and I can start on a Film Festival plan :)

I would kill to be able to do this for a living!

Day 3 (again)

…and finally we’re done :)

The sun was out, as well as the odd member of the public who would oh-so- kindly pop by every now and then to have a nosy!

The shoot went brilliantly, we snagged the remaining 21 shots in just under three hours. A massive improvement on our first efforts

Although it would have been better to get the whole thing done in the one evening we had planned to do it in, there has definitely been a learning curve felt here, and the extra time between shoots allowed me to adjust certain things gave me a bit more confidence.

Having a superb team behind you makes it all worthwhile, and fun, which means its never work :)

Now i must edit this epic!

…until next time

Day 3.

Well, what was SUPPOSED to be day 3…

In actual fact it was, just a Sunday. A very drizzly Sunday that caused us to call of the shoot.

Then a few hours later the sun decided to show its smug face! Grinning like a cheshire cat, knowing full well what it had done!

Sods law, but again, such is life.

Day 2 went, less smoothly than i would have hoped.

Four shots in an hour, not bad. If it wasn’t for the rain pelting down then i could be writing this now having all the footage in the can, and i would at least have a smile on my face.

However, as filmmakers we are always at the mercy of the elements. Which can be unfortunate, but such is life.

Its like been handed a plate of time, and someone saying take a little longer on it if you want.

Again, the shots we did get were great.

The shoot is now being postponed for a few days, while we wait for better weather and everyone to be available again…

Theres certainly an opportunity hidden in this somewhere. I think.

Stay tuned…

Day 1 went pretty well. We began at 5pm.

Working with professional actors was a dream. The pair in question had definitely done their homework and were asking all the right questions. Making my job much easier. I salut them!

Also, having a very talented and conscientious DP at my disposal proved to be a very valuable asset. When you have someone on your side who is dedicated to getting that ever elusive ‘perfect’ shot, and who offers honest and constructive suggestions and criticisms - the job seems to do itself. Kind of.

The only hitch came in the form of my optimistic shooting schedule, and my optimism when it came to lighting set-ups. Take any educated guess you make about how long something will take, and when lighting is involved, times it by 10. At least.

I had intended about two hours to shoot the interiors which consisted of about 14 shot, then we’d move outside to shoot the rest. We ended up spending the full 4 hours just getting those interiors! But, looking at the rushes, I can happily say it was worth the tardiness.

The exteriors called for a decent amount of light, and as it was nearing nightfall we thought it best to postpone the shoot for two days and resume shooting during daylight hours…

So stay tuned :)

I was leaving a room when my ears JUST managed to catch a news report on the radio. The story wouldn’t leave me. I was left with a plethora of questions and possibilities. It just kept naggin’ at my noggin’.

Naturally, the next step in this new obsession was to make it the subject of a film.

I began writing and writing and writing, not with any particular goal. Just exercising.

The story took many different roads. Changing genres, lengths, perspectives and styles.

I ALMOST managed to snag five grand to make it from the guys over at Ideas Tap, but didnt quite make the final cut.

It was out of this frustration that i decided to shape something that I knew I could make myself, something very small and self-contained. A film that would require minimal EVERYTHING. Except effort of course.

We were very fortunate enough to have all the elements required pretty much fall into place, without having to make many compromises…

…and so the adventure begins!