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.

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.

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.

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.