Fight Training: Round 2

Ever since the end of August when Ben Banks and I decided to go full steam ahead on One of the Good Guys, the first thing we needed to get working on was to get Benny into fighting shape. Ever since then, every weekend has been spent training for a few hours. This training has not only turned Ben into a fighting machine, but has added depth to his character.

Like a boxing mountain man.

Lately our trainer, bad ass extraordinary, Robert Savala has had us working with another fight trainer. His name is John Goff and he has been a God send. His knowledge of martial arts is deep and expansive. Ever since we have been working with John, Ben's fighting skills have gone to a whole other level. It has been amazing.

He don't take no nonsense.

Certifiably Bad Ass.

John Goff has taught us a style of fighting called 52 Blocks. It is a style that was developed in prison and made for close quarters fighting. It is the perfect style for the fight we are aiming to film. The fight we are going to film is what is called The Irish Stand Down. Irish Stand Downs were done in the late 1800s by Irish fighters in places like New York. The stand down, as the cool kids call it, is where two men fight, but are not allowed to move their legs. It is basically an endurance test to see who can take the most punishment. The winner was the man who could last longer. It was pretty brutal and something that would make our fight scene stand out a bit.

They faster then lighting!

I finally got a camera out to record some video of our training. One thing special about the training is that John and Ben actually did some bare knuckle fighting. It was pretty great. The video makes it look like they are slapping each other, but it was a lot more painful then it looks. Ben was definitely feeling it in the morning.

Adventures in Casting: Don't Kill Yourself Yet. Hope is Around the Corner

I spend a lot of time in pre-production and for that I am sorry. The reason being is I really want this project to turn out well. Another thing I must apologize for is casting. Casting is one subject I spend A LOT of posts blabbing about. It probably is not the funnest thing to read about. Again, I'm sorry.

Any who, this post is again, about casting.

Stop smiling. Ass.

One of the major characters in OotGG is a man named Two-Bit. This is a character that our protagonist spends a large amount of the film with. Two-Bit is the man who tempts Caleum into the world of underground fighting and into a life of crime. Their relationship is tumultuous. Two-Bit is poison. Caleum trusts him in the beginning, but as the story progresses. Two-Bit is a complicated man. He lures these vulnerable people into this life and uses their weaknesses against them. Although he is not a mustache twirling bad guy. He whole heartily believes in what he does. Two-Bit does not view himself as a bad person. He is helping these people. Two-Bit is akin to Lucifer. He tempts these people, gets them to commit the acts, but never himself gets his hands dirty.

To sum up, Two-Bit is really important. I have no idea who could pull off this performance.

I looked around. Trying to find an actor who could play this role and as the time rolled by and I didn't find my Two-Bit, I was getting really worried. None of the actors I have found could really capture the character that I had envisioned in my mind. In my opinion, Two-Bit is JUST as important as Caleum. This was one moment when I actually thought about giving up. Then, I was recommended an actor who might work. He was a good friend of my buddy Guy's and when I asked Guy about him, I got glowing praise. His name is Frank Bryant.

Hello ladies.

I sent him the script and he told me he really dug it. We then decided to get together for a read. It took a while to get our schedules lined up for us to meet. He worked and had school the times when Ben and I didn't. After about a month of playing tag we finally got together in Studio C to do a read through of the scene.

In the scene, Two-Bit takes Caleum on a Training Day-esque ride along in which Two-Bit explains King James' operation and what he does. Two-Bit has Caleum collect some money from a junkie. Caleum has never done this and is thrown into the deep end. They find the junkie and Caleum confronts him. The junkie runs and Caleum chases him down an alley. Caleum than puts the boots to him and asks about the money. The junkie does not have it. Two-Bit shows up and tells Caleum to break the junkie's finger. This is an important scene because it puts Caleum on the point of no return. Caleum makes a decision and than breaks his finger. The scene ends there.

It is a pretty intense scene and I was nervous and excited about doing the read. Frank and Ben were ready and we ran through the scene.

Frank was brilliant.

Here is Frank acting the SHIT outta Hamlet.

He portrayed Two-Bit EXACTLY how I pictured him. It was amazing. This was one of the instances where it felt like the page was coming to life. I am so happy with Frank and cannot wait to get this scene in the can. More and more I feel this movie will be something special. 

Adventures in Casting: When Taking an Acting Class Pays Off

In the last episode, I talked about the new scene I wrote and ended with searching for the lucky lady who would play the Ice Queen, Aunt Pam. Well, after a relatively short search and a lot of luck, I found her. The actress who will play Aunt Pam and she is perfect!

 I know Ami from an acting class I took (which I recommend all aspiring directors take). She was always really great in all the scenes she was in and is heavily involved in the theater productions. Needless to say, she knows a thing or two about acting. I loved working with her and even have a bit of experience directing her. She was great. Always brought a lot of energy and class to every scene she was in.

Pictured: My acting class. I'm the one with no shirt.

I got a hold of her from the acting teacher Varlo Davenport and told her about the project. She was in and we quickly got together for a read. Ben Banks and I were blown away. Ami was AMAZING! She channeled a over privileged rich bitch so well it was scary. I joked with her because I felt bad about thinking of her for this part because she does play a horrible person. She told me not to worry because she lives for these kind of roles.

A directing choice I made was to only have Ben work with her once because I want to keep that vibe of the two of them not knowing each other very well. I am so happy about her role in the movie because she will knock it out of the park.

Ami Porter. Girl be sizzling.

Like Herpes, Rewrites Keep Coming Back

After the high of filming our first scene, I realized that there is still a lot of work to do. My two writing confidants, my professor Ben Braten and local Native American Judea Runs Through, and I talked about the story for OotGG. One aspect they commented on was they felt that Ben Banks' character, Caleum, while in deeply in debt seemed to fall into a life of crime rather easily. I reread the script and realized they were, like always, both right. This meant one thing:

Rewrites.

Spoilers

After thinking on it for a bit, I figured out what to do. In the story the audience does not really know of Abby and Caleum's family. It is basically the two of them. There is a mention of a mother who passed and an absentee father. Nothing more. I knew that they were right and to add to the story I added a scene where Caleum asks for help with the debt from his estranged aunt. I than wrote the scene and was pretty pleased. It clears up the concerns that Ben and Judea about giving him other options so Caleum does not just instantly turn to this underground world and gives the character a little more depth.

In the scene, Caleum visits his aunt Pam to ask for help with the medical bills. Aunt Pam turns out to be a giant ice queen. She revels in the fact that Caleum has come to her for help and she refuses to help, even though she is affluent. Caleum swallows his pride and begs. Aunt Pam does not budge and than insults his family. Before he does something brash, Caleum leaves. Once in his car, he lets out a scream of frustration.

I gave the scene to Ben Banks and he agreed with Ben Braten and Judea. It was a great addition that would add more to not only the story, but the character of Caleum. I am glad to have collaborators such as Ben and Judea because they push me creatively while also being honest in what my works need. They are great to have on my side.

Professor Ben Braten, caught in the act of voyeurism. Again.

Judea pictured here disappointed by something.

Lighting: It's More Than Just Being Able To See

As with color, another aspect of this production I would like to try is a lighting scheme. Lighting is an important angle to film and one that I have not really gone into detail with. Most of the shorts I have done were lit in a utilitarian purpose. It got the job done and that was about it. I never really played with lighting, save for one short I did a long time ago that was noir-ish. On OotGG, I wanted to change that.

I came up with a lighting scheme that matches the color motifs I created for the characters and correspond with the feelings of loss of home and family. Same with the rage that Caleum feels in fighting and collecting. Here are the schemes I came up with for the scenes we plan on shooting.

Abby's Hospital Room - 

The scenes in which Caleum is with his sister Abby in the hospital will be lit warmly like a cozy home. It is because that Abby is Caleum's last connection with his family and home. Even though she is in a sterile hospital room, the lighting will be very homely like a cozy cabin. Abby will be dressed in a white gown that is clean. Almost angelic in a way. The room will be white which is a color of purity, which in Caleum's mind, Abby is the one pure thing in his life. 

Lighting like this. Even though this isn't a hospital room, I really like the color. This golden hue gives the room a comfortable and cozy look. 

Caleum's Home - 

The home of Abby and Caleum will be very minimally lit. Single lamps or back rooms to give the house a dark and cold look. This is because, to Caleum, this is not his home anymore. Since Abby, the last of his family, is gone he has no reason to be in this place.

This lighting scheme is how Caleum's house should look. It has a very cold and distant look. Signifying that it is just a place Caleum sleeps, eats and bandages himself up. Not a home.  

Fight Scenes - 

The Fight scenes, while taking place in different locations, will be have flashes of red and intense emotional colors. Whether it be in the spectators or the opponents and of course the blood. This is to show that the only tie Caleum is really feeling any strong emotion is when he is fighting.

It was a little harder to find some pictures that would show the intensity that the fights bring. They are still a bit dark and moody, like Caleum's new world, but puncuated with bright and intense colors that represent his emotion. His rage. His suffering. Caleum reveals his emotions during these fights or scenes of violence. 

Restaurant Scene -
When Caleum first meets King James it is in his restaurant. It should be lit warmly, but with a sense of menace. King James acts as a surrogate father and wants to appear inviting. Almost like a dining hall of a great castle.

 

 Both these lighting schemes work really well for the scene I had in mind. They are a mix of warm and dark. Creating that foreboding look. Places where you would be glad to get out of a storm from, but maybe not a place you would want to stay for long periods of time.

Those are the lighting schemes I have chosen for the scenes we are shooting. I hope we are able to replicate them. Even a bit. As stated, OotGG is becoming a in depth process. I have put in a lot of hours into Pre-Production that I hope pays off.

Family Matters: Adding to the Characters

As stated many times before, Caleum and Abby are brother and sister. One thing we wanted to accomplish was to create a bond between them. We did a number of reads together. Even though it was just one scene, we ran through it a number of times. There are shots that take place in the home that Abby and Caleum live in and we wanted the house to maybe feel like they lived there. I than thought of an exercise that would kill two birds with one stone.

Family pictures.

Something like this.

I decided to do this for two reasons. One, to create a chemistry and bond between Ben Banks and Darcee Warner. Give them a brother and sister feel. Second, we needed prop pictures for their house and one in Abby's hospital room.

Once I got Ben and Darcee on board, I called my friend Judea Runs Through to act as photographer. Ben and Darcee brought multiple sets of clothing and we ran around taking pictures in different settings. While taking these pictures, I would give them directions. Basically, directing them to be a brother and sister. It was a bit weird. Then something happened. It started to click. They started to fall into this brotherly-sister relationship.

Ben acted like an older brother. Teasing Darcee and joking around. Darcee would then snap at Ben and the two of them would joke around. I wanted to get a serious family portrait of the two, but I pulled Ben aside and told him to bother Darcee and ruin the photo. Ben agreed and did just that. Darcee was getting a bit perturbed. I think the best moment came when she told Benny Banks:

"Imma cut you!"

I died. It was great. They were really acting like siblings. This was a fantastic exercise and I believe, helped in filming their scene together. Here are the best photos we got from this excursion.

Darcee don't give a SHIT!

Although we didn't really film anything, I feel that doing this really helped my actors and myself as a director. We really got to explore who they were and what they are like. I highly recommend this exercise. Besides, we now have props when we shoot interiors of Caleum's home and a prop for Abby's hospital room.

Location Scouting: It Doesn't Have to End with Bullets

The first scene that is looking to be shot is the opening with Caleum seeing Abby for the last time in her hospital room. Since OotGG's budget is roughly $1, renting a hospital is out of the question.

"How are we going to get the look we need?" You ask.

Well, this is where the magic of being polite and asking come in. I recently got to meet with the head of the Coral Desert Rehabilitation center, Tony Wrigley. He was nice enough to give me a tour of his facility and let our crew film there when need be.

This is where all my dreams will come true. Or die.

In the scene, Caleum enters the hospital and walks down a hallway. He is stopped by a man, Paul, who he has a small chat with. After he is finished he enters Abby's room. After they have their scene, Caleum returns home. Later that night, Caleum gets a call from the hospital informing him of Abby's passing. Caleum returns to have a doctor tell him the news. Caleum is in Abby's room, her possessions in a bag and her bed stripped. He is clutching her rosary and is left alone with no family.

Tony opened up the building to us. He started by asking what the scene was going to play out like. I gave him a quick rundown and after he got over his depression of the sadness of the scene, he had some ideas of where we could shoot. 

*NOTE* ALWAYS bring a camera with you. This is so you can show your crew about the space you will be shooting in and to help you visualize your scene. Also, if you are story boarding these pictures can help your artist create custom story boards that fit exactly your scene.

Here are the areas that I believe would fit perfectly for our scene:

This is one hallway that Tony showed us. It is carpeted with artwork hanging on the walls. The coloring is very warm and almost comforting. The lighting is a very soothing color. Almost looks like a home. Looks great. Only problem being that patients are housed here and we couldn't use the entire hallway. Tony was courteous enough to block off a section of the hall for us to film in.

Here is the 2nd hallway Tony's facility had:

The complete opposite of the other hallway. Sterile. Clinical. Almost dead. This is a service hallway that the employees use for things as maintenance, dining and laundry. The walls are blank and one color. The lighting is a fluorescent and flat. The bonus to this hallway, after 4PM, it is cleared out. There are no patients to disturb and it is clear of people.

Both hallways have their pros and cons. Shooting in each can change the scene dramatically. In the warm hallway, the scene could have a look of home. This is Caleum's home because Abby is here. The cold hallway has the uncaring, clinical aspect. Someplace our characters don't want to be. I think either will be great to use. I lucked out by having these options.

There is also the rooms we need to shoot. The rooms at Coral Desert come in two sizes; big and small. Tony made no promises on which will we could shoot in as patients are coming and going. Hopefully a big room will be open, but that may not happen. Either way, I'm stoked that we can even get into a place like this.

Small room.

Big room. 

I personally like the smaller room because it has that cozier feel, but I need to remember that getting gear in there would be a pain. Both rooms are great though and I would not hate either one.

Here is a desk in which Caleum can greet a nurse. Nothing fancy, but it adds that little bit more.

So that was our magical trip into scouting this location. I learned a lot and got a better feel for the space and the scene. A huge shout out to Tony and Coral Desert Rehabilitation center for allowing us to film in their location. All it takes is asking. The worse they will say is no. Most people are interesting in film making and would love to help out. We will probably knock the scene out within the next two weeks as I am going to give Tony a weeks notice so he can prepare everything.

Color Motifs: How to be a True Artist

A goal of mine with OotGG was to really push myself. One of the ways I wanted to achieve that goal was to actually put a lot of thought into the film. Movies are, obviously, a visual medium and my plan to give depth to the script by adding visual themes and cues. I figured that this would help me become a better filmmaker and artist.

This is how much of an artist I want to be. 

I wanted to create a "look" and a "feel" to the movie. The story of OotGG is about Caleum having a mix of sadness and rage within him that he keeps deep inside. He locks these feelings away. Suppressing them until they explode out of him during acts of violence. When he is fighting or collecting money from a poor soul who borrowed from the wrong people. A storm rages through Caleum and I need to find a way to capture it on camera. To capture the feelings and emotions of the characters, other than acting, was to create a color palette and a lighting chart.

Caleum's fall from grace is like that of a approaching storm. I found a color palette that I feel would work as a "look" for the movie. The palette is called, appropriately, Incoming Storm. 

Storms a brewin.

The colors are, what I fell, capture that feeling. Now I know that I cannot make the whole movie have this look because the budget is, effectively, nothing. Which is a post for another time. The plan is to incorporate these colors in as much scenes as we can. I wanted the movie to look like it is perpetually in a oncoming thunderstorm. We'll see if it happens.

I also designed color motifs for each of the main characters. Again, I wanted to add a little more depth to the project. I know I haven't talked much about the other characters, so I will give a brief run down of each one.

Caleum -
Caleum's colors will be dark, neutral colors. Grays, blacks, dark browns. The color of a approaching storm. In the epilogue, he will be in dark colors, but will have a slight purple. This is to show that he has accepted the life of a criminal and is in line with King James. 

Abby-
 While only in the film in the beginning, Abby is one of the most important characters. She will be dressed in light blues. Light blue is the color of honesty and speaking ones mind. She is the one who tells Caleum what she thinks and how it is. The colors will also be muted as she is on her death bed.

Toby -
Toby is Caleum's old friend from high school.
Representing friendship and Caleum's one chance at getting out of the violent path he is taking, Toby will be dressed in yellow. Yellow is the color of friendship. Not an obnoxious shade of yellow, maybe a dull pastel. In the three year epilogue, Toby's color will be gray, which is to represent him being indifferent to Caleum. He has no more emotional attachment to Caleum, as he now knows the life he leads.  

Two-Bit -
The man who inducts Caleum into his life of crime. 
Two-Bit is the poison that infects Caleum. Dressed in fake and flashing clothing such as leathers, jerseys and etc. Two-Bit has created this image of what he is because he is hollow and fake. The clothing should be obnoxious to represent his show boating type personality. In the final scene in which Caleum confronts Two-Bit and murders him, Two-Bit will be dress in simple undergarments. To show that in this moment, he is a real and truest moment. Which makes the death more atrocious. Caleum kills Two-Bit when he is at his most base and human. 

Raymond 'King' James -
The father that Caleum always wanted who is the head of a small town criminal institution.
Not only is King James dressed in dark, gothic colors, but accentuated with purple. Purple is a color of royalty and what kings would be robed in. King James fancies himself a king of his empire. Along with his royal coloring, he will have a couple of jeweled golden rings. 

All the colors still have a bit of the original storm palette, but with their own colors to make their characters unique. These are my thoughts of coloring the characters of OotGG. I really enjoyed doing this exercise. I felt that it helped me get more invested into the project and was more than just getting a group of actors together and going through the scene. Gave a little more depth to the characters I've created. Hopefully we will be able to accomplish this in the final product. Basically, I wanted to validate all my worthless film knowledge that I have accumulated over the years to make myself feel good.

There are other ways to make myself feel good...

Descent into Writing: It Never Ends

I wrote OotGG about two years ago in a few days. I felt really good about it. The story just flowed out. In some ways, it felt like magic. The only problem was that I wanted to shoot OotGG, which meant one thing:

Rewrites. Endless rewrites.

I am not a big fan of rewriting.  I have written about five full length scripts. When I finish with one, I get a feeling of pride, print it out and than never really look at it again. Probably not the best attitude to have. Lord knows I'm only human.

Even though I wanted to be a Lizardman. Thanks a lot, God.

This was a time that I couldn't just write the movie and leave it. I had to do rewrites. Even if I didn't want to, but as I said at the start of this production log; this project was pushing my limits in many different aspects. Over the last couple years, I have been rewriting OotGG on-and-off. I would pick it up, read through it, make a couple changes and then put it back. It wasn't till about August of 2013 that I really amped up my rewriting game.

That summer, I knew I had to pick an idea for my capstone as my time as a student was getting shorter and shorter. With the help of my professor, Ben Braten, and my good friend, Judea Runs Through, they convinced me that OotGG was a great project and that I should commit to it. Once I did, I started rewriting like mad. The script started to morph and to change. Which was a interesting phenomenon. Ben and Judea were always there to read my rewrites and offer great feedback. They are great to have in a writers corner because they will speak up when the writing is sub par. I am eternally grateful for the two of them. Even if they are the worst people I know.

The rewrites get more frequent to more I work with the actors. When Ben Banks agreed to be the star and to proceed full steam, we would talk about his character and throw ideas back and forth. The character of Caleum begin to evolve after every discussion we had. When Darcee was cast as Abby, her scene was rewritten to fit how Ben Banks and Darcee interacted with each other.

When we started to train with Robert Savala little elements of the fights were rewritten. Robert had a great idea to have the character's fights progress through out the film. It changed from Caleum showing up to a fight, beating the guy and getting paid. The fights now have their own arc. It starts with Caleum's first fight being wild and chaotic. He is unsure and rusty in his fighting abilities. The 2nd fight is in a very tight and claustrophobic space which means Caleum has to adapt and learn. The 3rd fight is on uneven ground and against a fighter who is superior. Caleum must use everything he has learned from his previous bouts and really dig deep to win.

This is but a small taste of the rewriting that has been going on and it won't certainly be the last. This story is a living, breathing animal that is growing and learning. I figure the rewrites will stop when the movie is finished. This idea is both exciting and a bit disheartening. Exciting to make a story grow and change from what I originally envisioned. Disheartening because I will always be looking back and wondering if I made the right choices.

It's especially difficult because I write with ye olde pen and ink.

Location Scouting Blues: When Things Go Wrong

One of the main aspects of OotGG is the bare knuckle fighting. I needed a location for an underground bare-knuckle boxing match which needed a setting to match how bad ass it was. Luckily, Ben Bank's pop owns a gravel pit. The idea of shooting in a gravel pit had me watering at the mouth. Benny told me to meet him at the Costco that Saturday and he would drive us out there.

Saturday rolls around and about 11 in the AM, I meet up with him. We hop in his jeep and away we drive towards the gravel pit. The whole time, we are talking about the movie, as Ben Banks is my main actor, and we are both thoroughly pumped. We arrive at the barred off gravel pit entrance. The two of us get out of the jeep, jump the bar, and start exploring. Needless to say, the pit is fantastic. There were so many places that would be great to stage a knock-down-drag-out-fisticuffs session that every Irishman from here to Dublin would be dancing a merry ol' jig.

Actual screen shot from our movie.

After about a half hour of exploring and imaginations fitting to burst, we decide to head out. While walking back, we see a truck racing down the hill towards our general direction. The two of us think nothing of it and keep walking. Soon the giant Ford screeches to a halt in front of us as to cut off our path and, with a thud, steps a man that is basically a dime store knock off Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Get off my lawn.

Ben and I say hello, but are quickly interrupted.

“What the hell are you two doing here?”

Clay Freeze Sven Ashton barks. Ben attempts to talk, but Clay Freeze Sven Ashton keeps barking the same question and promptly informs us that we are trespassing on private property. Benny tells Clay Freeze that we are film students just location scouting and that Ben's step dad owns this here gravel pit and all Clay Freeze needs to do is call him. To bad logic and reasoning only anger Clay Freeze Sven Ashton who than tells us that he can legally shoot us if he wanted.

The joke was on him. We can't read.

Benny again says that his step father owns the gravel pit. Clay Freeze, frenzied by the thought that he may be able to legally kill us, asks Ben which pit is own by Daddy Dearest. Mr. Banks answers that where we have been walking is owned by his pops. A wry smile peeks out from Clay Freeze's mustache as he waves to us and utters a low:

“Goodbye.”

Ben and I look at each other and start walking away. Behind us we can here Clay Freeze Sven Ashton calls Step Dad, gets a voice mail and demands that he call him back to tell him what the hell is going on. I ask Benny if his step father usually employs psychopaths and wannabe wrestlers in which Ben responds with a shrug. 

That is when the gun goes off.

Kind of like this only way less awesome.

We both turn around and see Clay Freeze pointing his .44 magnum at us and fires another round in our general direction. What this raged filled mongoloid does not know is that Ben and I have been shot at before by people scarier than he. The two of us shrug our shoulders and keep walking slowly at our normal pace and let out a chuckle at the idea that Clay Freeze probably has a below average sized wiener. Looking back, insulting a man with a large hand canon was probably not the smartest idea, but who said that Benny and I were ever that smart? Well, our mommas say we're smart, but that is about it. 

The two of us strut back up the hill to the jeep as Clay Freeze Sven Ashton fires the remaining five shots at us. A couple of the bullets even whizzed by us. We finally arrived at the jeep and got in. Up from the pit barrels Clay Freeze's truck who than stops at the gate. While backing out, Clay Freeze points the gun at us the entire time we are leaving. We drove away and went to get lunch. The two of us laughed about the whole ordeal over burritos after wards. Film making sure is fun.

A great cure for PTSD