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.

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...

My 1st Date with Storyboarding

This is the first film project I have worked on that I have used storyboards which I never used before. Not because I have anything against storyboards, but because I am terrible at drawing. With OotGG I wanted it to be more thought out than my previous projects. With the help of amazing artist, Andrew Mitchell, I dipped my toes into the story boarding pool.

Not only a great artist, but he looks like Nicholas Cage.

On a camping trip with my friends we got on the subject of OotGGs. A buddy of mine, Andrew Mitchell, was very interested in my idea and wondered if he could help out in any way. I didn't know what he could do, but told him why not. I have no budget and could use all the help I could get. Andrew mentioned helping with story boarding. Having never using them, I figured this would be a fun and new adventure. We made a date and planned on story boarding one of the most critical scenes in the movie:

Abby's Death.

A few weeks later, we met at the Holland building and quickly got to work. The thing about Andrew is he is an AMAZING artist. He has had many galleries in the area show his art, he is always top in his art classes and he recently got hired by a slot machine company to do the art for their newest wave of slot machines. Yeah, he is out of the league of this project. As previously stated, I have never worked with an artist to story board. I brought a whole bunch of things I thought I would need; the script, a book on camera angles, paper and pencils, and most important of all, Funyuns.

Essential for ANY film.  - Martin Scorsese

We talked about the characters and what their dramatic needs were for the scene. Motivations of both Caleum and Abby and what the ultimate point of the scene is. All the while, Andrew is drawing on his tablet. Getting a feel for who Caleum and Abby are. After about an hour of talking about the characters, we got to work breaking down the scene. It was a bit difficult because I had not locked on a location for this scene, but Andrew assured me that it can be tweaked once we find the location.

I have to admit, doing a story board was really eye opening. Story boarding really helped me get a feel and look of the scene. In my head, I can see it plain as day and it is sometimes hard trying to explain it to others much less show them. Working with Andrew was great because he knew what I wanted, added his own little touches and together we created a great foundation for the scene. If time and scheduling permits, I would love to story board the rest of the scenes and the entire film.

Here is what we came up with. 

Caleum at Abby's bedside, brushing her hair and keeping her company.

The two of them sharing an intimate moment.

Caleum makes a crack about the staff.

Time for Abby's pills. Abby is trying to bring up a tough question.

Abby is trying to get a promise out of Caleum. Caleum, wanting to get out of the uncomfortable situation, agrees.

Caleum leaves Abby. This is the last time he will see her.

I know it will most likely change especially once we get the location locked down. Even though changes will happen, story boarding has given a huge boost in my confidence.

Saturday Night IS Alright for Fighting

One of the main aspects of OotGG is that the main character Caleum gets involved into the criminal world by making money as a bare knuckle fighter. Now, on paper this is really bad ass. Who doesn't like to see two guys beat the living piss outta each other in some dank back room for glory and a few bucks? I'll tell you who.

No one.

The reason I put this in my script was that I remember my dad telling me who use to bare knuckle fight for money when he was younger and in the Marine Corps. He would tell me stories of chumps he would fight and even about the losses he took. I was captivated. I fell that since I was told these stories at such a young age and they were about my father, I have this romantized idea of the bare knuckle fighter. Even when I tried a couple fights when I was a younger and fitter lad. They hurt. They were brutal, but a part of me felt something primal. My fighting career was short lived, but it was something I wanted to try. To walk in the footsteps of my dad.

Actual picture of my dad in his Marine Corps day.

Which brings us back to the fighting of the movie. When Ben Banks agreed to play the lead, I was excited because Mr. Banks has the body of a fighter. I knew he had done martial arts for many years and had expeirence fighting. This was a plus. I wanted the fights in this movie to look better than most fight scenes I see in student films and low budget productions. Now I know they still may look not up to par, but at least I tried. I wanted to really work on the fights. Make them something special. To try this feat, I looked up an old friend of mine.

Robert Savala is an amigo I've known for years. He has always been into MMA and trains fighters. A few months back, mid-August, I decided to shoot him a message and ask if he would be interested in training and choreographing fights for this project. I was surprised to have him come back with a yes. It was something he has never tried and figured he would give it a go. I sent Robert the script and we discussed the break downs of the fights. Robert suggested that he work with Benny to get him a little conditioned for the fighting. I then informed Ben Banks about our plan to put him through a boxing "boot camp." Ben was stoked and agreed. Two weeks later, we were on the mats.

Robert Savala. Mas chingon.

Every Saturday, for the next few three months, we would get together and start training. Robert would start with the basics of boxing and do light sparring with Ben. He would also invite some friends over to spar with Ben. Nothing to heavy. Just enough to keep Ben moving and on his toes. Robert would also throw in some jiu jitsu to take Benny out of his comfort zone. Even though we have been sparring and practicising for months and have not yet choreographed anything, I feel that this training has been invaluable.

We are still working on the fighting and will be for a while. The next step is to start heavy sparring. Robert's philosophy is that training is great and teaches one a lot, but all that can change the second a real blow is landed.

Example: this one kid Robert trains is an amazing technical fighter. This kid can work a bag, has some of the best foot work and in a light sparring session, can dance and fight his way out of any situation. In one heavy sparring match we watched, this kid came out doing all his technical know-how. Robert took a few jabs, bobbed and weaved, and gave this kid a false sense of security. This is when the hammer came down. Robert gave this kid a hard left that took the kid out of his game. Once the shock of the hit wore off, this kid loss all sense of technique and rushed Robert throwing wild hay-makers.

These are a few of the pictures I snapped over the course of our first few sparring sessions. I, being a dumb ass, forgot to bring a camera or anything to document the journey. 

**EDITORS NOTE - NO ONE PICTURED IS AN ACTUAL UNDERGROUND FIGHTER. This is all normal MMA training and this location is not a school/training ground for bare knuckle fighters. The training is for a movie. It is all for make believe. Thank you.**

It is on. 

Robert handin down the knowledge bombs.

Throwin down.

This kid, Francisco, was great. Lightning fast and Mexican. The opposite of Ol' Benny.

Don't let the smiles deceive you, they are killers.

These are from the first couple times of our sparring. I will update with pics or video of all the times we spar just to show how much work we are putting into this project. These pictures are just the tip of what we have been doing and hopefully show the time and effort we are putting into this project. Choreographing a good fight scene takes a lot of work. Even though our budget is basically zero, I believe that we can make OotGG look a lot better than it actually is. By putting in the time to train and focus the actors off-camera, the hope is it will translate on-camera.

Movie magic.