Vacant House - Trailer #2

The new trailer is here!

Festivals, Festivals, Festivals - (Submissions that is...)

10 Percent!

Apparently that's the magic number.  I've been told by several people who have traveled the festival circuit that the acceptance rate is about 10 percent.  We've submitted to seven film festivals so far, and we're still waiting to get accepted.

Right now we're waiting on word from The NewFilmmmakers Showcase at Sunset and Gower, The Catalina Film Festival, and The Oregon Independent Film Festival.  And, for at least two of these festivals, the notification dates are still a couple of months away. 

I recently told Vacant House actor, Jason Zahodnik that I now understand what he goes through as a actor when he auditions for a role.  He auditions, and then he waits... waits for word of whether or not he got the part.  Sometimes he gets a phone call, sometimes he doesn't.  Submitting films is very similar.  We submit, and then... we wait...  IT'S EXCRUCIATING!

We have at least four more festivals that we'll be submitting to in the coming month.  Several friends of mine in the festival world have watched the film and assured me that we WILL get in... we just have to keep trying.

I never thought there would come a day when I'd be writing about the END of this very long journey of filmmaking.  So many things I learned!  In fact, almost EVERYTHING I now teach about storytelling I learned by going through the very arduous process of writing Vacant House.  Some things I learned through discovery, some things I learned by working with writers who are more talented than I am, and some things (many things actually) I learned through mistakes.  But I am so thankful for the lessons learned, no matter how those lessons came about. (I would love to write a book just on the lessons I learned while making this film, if for no one's benefit but my own.)

It won't be long before I begin journaling about my next film project (you'll just have to wait and see!).

In the meantime, I am pleased to announce that this year, I will be co-authoring a book with my colleague, John K. Bucher, Jr.  John and I are writing a book about story structure for short films.  We hope to have it completed by the end of the summer.  This book is written based on over countless hours of personal filmmaking, five years of teaching film at The Los Angeles Film Studies Center, and workshopping well over 600 short films along the way.  We hope to bring what we've learned to the pages of our book for everyone to enjoy (details coming soon!).

In other news:

This past week I got to spend a wonderful eight days in Kiev, Ukraine teaching a group of fabulous students all about screenwriting and directing.  I was joined by a great team of people from Simplebulldog Studios.  One member who joined us on our team was the very talented Director of Photography, Joe Sindorf.  We had an amazing time working with students from all over the world (Ukraine, Syberia, Croatia, Estonia, Spain, Egypt, and Israel) who were VERY eager to learn filmmaking.  It reminded me of just how much I love to meet new people, experience cultures that different from my own, and TEACH filmmaking!  So, a BIG "Привет" to all of my new friends I met in while in Ukraine!

My Wonderful Class of Filmmakers in Ukraine!

On the plane ride home, I was fortunate enough to sit next to filmmaker Clay Jeter who's recent film Jess + Moss played at Sundance last year.  I got a few festival tips from him, so it was a providential meeting.

That's all to report for now.  I'm hoping to have many more things to write once this little film of ours hits the festival circuit.  I keep everyone up to date over on our Facebook page, so be sure to head over there and "like" us if you want up to the minute details about what's happening with the film. 

Thanks so much for all of your support!

Jeremy

The Languishing World of Post Production and What's To Come

It's crazy being so close to the finish line!  I am nearly days away from having the FINAL audio locked on the film (minus a couple new pieces of music that we'll drop in once our composer is finished).  I just need to sit down with my Director of Photography, Tom McCarty and color time the film.  There are a few "tidying up" things left to do (i.e., polishing the opening title graphics, smoothing out a few transitions, etc.), but all in all, I'd say there's about a week's worth of work left on the film.  And, so now, after nearly FOUR YEARS of laboring over this "bad boy," the finish line is an AMAZING site for sore eyes!

We had several scenes with completely unusable audio, so I've had to do a LOT of building audio tracks from scratch.  At first I was just going to live with some audio that wasn't great, but after doing some foley on a few scenes and hearing WHAT A DIFFERENCE a good audio tracks makes (compared to a not-so-good audio track), I simply couldn't ignore the other "lesser" scenes, and so I was forced to take a look at EVERY scene of the film to see how we can make the audio better.  I still opted to use some original production audio in a few scenes, but for the important ones, I've made the effort to go ahead and foley the heck out of them... Just trying to finish the film as strongly as we all started it.

I originally had no intention of doing the audio post on my film, but not being able to find someone to do it for me, and in keeping with the spirit of this ZERO budget production, I, yet again, grabbed a new hat to wear and officially became the sound designer/editor/mixer on this project as well.  To avoid being pretentious and listing my name a hundred times in the end credits of the film, I just made a title card that says, "Picture and Audio Post-Production: Jeremy Casper."  I never want to do that again, but I learned a ton!

A cold, brisk morning in Los Angeles.  Sound Editing by Candle Light

(NOTE: for those of you who don't know what "foley" is: Foley is any sound created by a human [excluding their voice] that is re-recorded in a studio or on location.  EXAMPLE: footsteps, clothes rustling, snapping fingers, creaking doors.  In most films, all of those sounds have been re-recorded in a studio and added back into the film... usually those kinds of sounds don't record well on set, so they have to be redone.  You'd be surprised at HOW MUCH of the final soundtrack you hear in a movie theatre was NOT recorded on set... even a lot of the dialogue!)

I've actually been giving some thought to what life is going to be like after this film is over.  The other night, I sat up in bed in a little bit of a panic!  Working on this film has been "my life" since the summer of 2008.  I started teaching at the LAFSC in the Fall of 2007 (which was right after I started conceiving the film), so I have been teaching at the center for as long as I've been working on this film.  I fact, I came up with the idea for Vacant House right before we moved up to Pasadena from South Orange County, so I literally haven't been in LA for a single minute when I wasn't working on this project. 

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER!? 

Sure, I've got more projects on the horizon, but I have been working on my all-time favorite passion (making a movie) for YEARS... What am I going to do when I suddenly don't have a SPECIFIC film project to work on?  When I think about that question, my stomach sinks a little... I know myself well enough to know that I was made to create things... I must have a creative project!  There's going to be an emptiness when this is all done.  I'm sure festival entries (and hopefully acceptances) will fill my time for a while... but still... it's going to be a strange feeling.

I'm doing a lot of writing, but I haven't written anything recently that I think would make a great second film.  And even if I did know what film I wanted to do next, I wouldn't want to do it unless we have some serious funding!  I'm definitely not wearing 20 hats on my next production.

I will give you a hint of what my next (non-film) related project is.  I'm working on a children's book!  And even though, at the moment, the story is not in screenplay format, I think it could make a really exciting animated film.  But more about that later.

I've been trying to sort of "beef up" our films online presence (hence this blog entry), and I have a producer friend of mine Melanie Hall, to thank for that... She's great at this whole social networking thing (check out her and her husband's film Sudden Death!).  So, if you're really interested in following us, be sure to checkout our Facebook pages and our Twitter feed:

Facebook: Vacant House Facebook Page

Twitter: Vacant House (2012) Twitter Feed

Well, ironically, now that the film is winding down, there's a distinct possibility that I'll actually be blogging MORE.  I'm such a "reflection" kind of guy... sometimes I can't really process an experience until it's nearly over and I can think back upon it.  So, if you want more info about the film, check out the above links... If you're more interested in the neurotic ramblings of a filmmaker who has no idea what he just wen through and what's next for him, then keep coming back here! :-)

Thanks to everyone for all of the support.

MORE TO COME!

Jeremy

The End is Near!

It’s been a while since I posted here, so I figured it was about time for an update.  I’m looking forward to the day when I finally get to share this film with the rest of the world (or at least with close family and friends who are willing to sit down and watch it).

The process of making this film has been one of the most amazing and enriching experiences of my life.  It’s not a perfect film (by far), but I’m ecstatic about what I’ve learned and can’t wait to take all of my “filmmaking lessons” with me to my next project!

But before I move on, I’ve got to finish this film.  

I am happy to announce that picture lock is probably about a week away.  In fact, as I type this, I’m exporting a cut of the film that just might be the final picture lock.  I’m screening it next week for a few people, and based on how that audience responds, I’ll determine if any more cuts are necessary. 

I feel like the major problems with the film (that came to light through many test screenings) have been addressed, and I’m pleased to say that every effort has been made to take what we have (very limited resources) and do the very best with it.

It was very important to me that my first feature MAKE money.  Time will reveal if that is to be the case.  I haven’t crunched the final numbers, but just based on memory (and some quick arithmetic in my head), I’d say that the final budget on this film was anywhere from $4,800-$6,000.  And that includes EVERYTHING (meals, plane tickets, etc.)  If you JUST tally the production costs, the budget is probably more in the realm of about $3,000.

The latest test screenings have gone exceptionally well; they’ve revealed tiny (but extremely important) details that needed to be addressed.  In one case, a SINGLE line of dialogue ruined the film for one viewer.  After examining this viewer’s argument, it made sense!  So we cut that one line, and the film plays better because of it.

The greatest lesson that I’ve learned through this process about writing and making films is the fact that NO detail is too small to ignore!  If something doesn’t work on the page, it WILL NOT work on the big screen.  It’s very easy (especially for writers who are good with words) to gloss over structural and story problems in the script by using eloquent verbiage.  In fact, some writers are so good at “hiding” structural problems with their artistic verbosity, that even seasoned readers don’t notice them at first glance.  But let me assure you, if there is an issue in the script and you don’t address it, it WILL come back to haunt you.

I recently attended a seminar put on by Hollywood script doctor, John Truby.  His words and lecture were invaluable.  I typed over 15,000 words (44 pages) of notes!  Even though my film had already been written, shot and edited, I still took his insights and looked at the structure of my film to see if there was ANYTHING that could be fixed or improved upon by cutting scenes or moving things around.  And sure enough, by taking a look at basic story structure I recognized scenes that just weren’t advancing the story and could be cut.  Next week's screening will reveal if those cuts helped.

Right now the total running time of the film is 80 minutes exactly.  That’s a good, healthy running time for a low budget feature film.  The second act still drags a bit, but at this point, there’s not much more I can do about that.  I wish three years ago I knew what I know now about story structure.

The biggest weakness of the film (in my opinion) is the fact that there is no clear antagonist in the story.  There are several characters that step in and serve as antagonists at various points in the narrative, but there is not one, clear opponent to the main character, Cameron.  A true antagonist WANTS the same thing as the PROTAGONIST.  Cameron is searching for the bones of Uncle Rusty.  To add pressure, tension and FUEL to the story, I really needed a character that wanted the same thing as Cameron… someone who ALSO needed to find the bones of Uncle Rusty. 

If I ever revisit this story with a bigger budget (which I can’t EVER imagine doing, but “if”), I might introduce another sibling to the story, maybe an older brother to Cameron – a brother to whom Uncle Rusty’s assets would pass if Uncle Rusty died.  However, since Uncle Rusty’s bones are “lost” and his death could not be proved, this brother would have to find the bones to get his inheritance.  The film would then become a race.  Cameron would need to get to the bones before his brother.  The pressure would be on, and the story would then have fuel!

Lessons learned!

I’m hoping in the coming months, while finishing up the audio post-production on this film that I can start working on my second feature.  I’m still toying around with ideas, but I’m leaning towards either a UFO or a GHOST story.  Either one would still be a very “human” driven story, very much like Vacant House.

I tend to gravitate to stories of the supernatural that are still deeply rooted in the human condition.  Writing dramas is VERY hard; it’s easier just to go for the scare, or to "wow" people with special effect, but those aren’t the kinds of films I want to make.  I want to make films that address the human condition.

“Solitude in Isolation” is a theme that I’m drawn to in films, as well as father/son stories, and forgiveness.

I never thought, when I first started writing Vacant House, that I’d end up writing a story that was so deeply personal.  I originally intended this to be a “one-off” – just a quick film that I made so I could tell people that I wrote and directed a feature film.  But when I started pouring my life into the process (and I realized how much time it was going to take), I decided that I didn’t want to waste time writing something that didn’t resonate with me.

Vacant House is FAR from perfect, but as a filmmaker, I said what I wanted to say, and for my first feature, I am proud of the end product.

More to come!

Test Screenings:

Hey everyone,

I know it's been a while since I posted, but I figured I'd go ahead and give you all a heads up on where we stand with the film.

Over the past few weeks, I've been conducting a few test screenings.  (YES, the film is nearly edited).  Each test screening has produced invaluable feedback,  I'm in the process now of sifting through all of the notes, and looking at the film from a "story structure" standpoint, after which I'll make any final changes to the picture, lock it, and be done!

We are literally days away from a locked picture.  It's been THREE YEARS since we started this crazy process, but we're nearing the finish line.

As always, tell your friends about the film.  You can visit the film's Facebook page at the following link (I update the Facebook page QUITE regularly):

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Vacant-House/136278793052070

Thanks all for your support!
Jeremy

The Final Shoot Days (August 4th and 5th, 2010)

The final two days of shooting went exceptionally well.  In fact, I can honestly say that we haven't had a single disappointing shooting day since we began –  my my expectations continuously exceeded, far above and beyond!

This past Wednesday and Thursday was no exception.  We had originally hoped to shoot everything in one day, but we couldn’t get our actors’ schedules to vibe, so we divided up the days.  Which ended up being a blessing in disguise.  I spent a good 8 hours each day shooting what I needed.  I’m glad I wasn’t rushed with either actor.

I was very nervous about the first day.  With the exception of a few shots, EVERYTHING we had to shoot was PIVOTAL in terms of the story, so the performances, the photography, the directing… EVERYTING needed to be as good as it could be.

Also, the nature of what we were shooting was thematically intense, so that added to the nervousness I was feeling about the day.  But, as always, my team rose to the occasion.  TJ Maxwell tackled the scene like a true champ, and Tom McCarty’s lighting was just as prominent of a character in the scene as TJ – some beautiful work.

It was all shot in slow motion, so I’m interested to see how it all looks once we run the footage through a few filters and play it back the way we intended.

We then packed up our gear and made our way out into the woods.  We had to reshoot a couple of Uncle Rusty’s scenes plus a new, rewritten scene to correspond with the new ending.  TJ Maxwell hit a homerun with his performance.  In fact, we were all floored.  We (the crew) noted to each other that it seemed like duing the past year (since we shot TJ’s first round of scenes), he’d gone to acting school and become a pro.  Not to discredit what he'd done before; I was so pleased with his performances from last year, but his scenes this time around went from good to cinematic!  TJ brought a level of honesty to the character that I hadn’t seen before; I’m really excited for you all to finally meet Uncle Rusty on the big screen.

We wrapped up the evening with burgers and fries from Island’s.  What a great day.

So that night, after shooting all day, I stayed up for hours trying to map out my shot list for the next day.  I was having trouble figuring it all out because I needed my actor, Jason Zahodnik to perform some stunts.  But I didn’t want to impose any sort of precarious scenario on set without having discussed it with Jason first.  So, to play it safe, I came up with a list of shots that sort of “did the stunts” for Jason.  With a few quick shots and some fancy editing, I figured I could get what I needed in order to make it APPEAR like Jason was doing the stunts.

So, the next day we all trekked back out into the woods, only this time further than the day before.  I carried a 40lb bag of props around my neck (which included a rotting corpse), so needless to say, I got my cardio in for the day (and threw out my back)!

Once we got to the location, I started to explain my shooting plan to my DP and to Jason.  And, that’s when my producer, Walker Haynes stepped up and reminded me that he does professional stunt work and could coordinate some pretty cool looking (and safe) stunt scenarios if Jason was up to performing them.  I can't believe I'd forgotten that Walker did stunts!  So, Walker went to work!

I’m so glad Jason is 24-years-old (and apparently has bigger balls than me)!  He JUMPED at the chance to LITERALLY throw himself into the scene, and before I knew it, he was lobbing himself (safely – just in case MOM Zahodnik is reading this) down rocky embankments, falling off of ledges, and performing some fantastic looking feats!

I tried to pull some stills to post here, but none of the pictures do the stunt work justice.  You just have to see it in motion!  Good work, Jason and Walker!

The rest of the day was MUCH easier in comparison, and it was great to finally get to see Jason act.  He’s got a great look, and he’s a very honest actor.  He’s only onscreen for a few minutes in Vacant House, but there’s a good chance you’ll get to see a lot more of Jason in my next project (unless he makes it big before then, which is a distinct possibility)!

The day ended with a trip to The Yardhouse for good food, imported beer, and some much needed chill time after our exhausting day.

The big test, however is always reviewing the footage after everybody else goes home.  I’ve been on shoots in the past that SEEMED like they went well until I reviewed the shots at the end of the day – I've experienced some very DARK DARK days!  But once again, Tom McCarty’s footage looked phenomenal, and I have to hand it to Tom.  He must have pretty big balls too for being able to stand completely still, with camera in hand, while Jason tumbled down a mountainside heading directly for him.  The stuff looks great.

Some of the new footage will be added to the new trailer that will be completed by the end of August, so keep checking back here, our Facebook page, and our Twitter page for updates.

So, picture-lock in two weeks!  Can’t wait to write more about that!  Okay all; more to come soon enough!

Now, off to the editing suite!

-Jeremy Casper

Facebook Page and Twitter

If you want immediate updates on the status of the film, be sure to "LIKE" our facebook page.  You can find the page by clicking here.

Or follow us on twitter.

Prepping for Shoot #5:

I had lunch today with Jason Zahodnik, a good friend of mine and a bit player in Vacant House. Jason's scene was shot last summer, but (as has been the case with a lot of scenes in my film) I've rethought it just a bit, and so we're going to reshoot it... just to beef it up a little. It should be fun.

I had a great discussion with Jason about characters and different mediums, and after reading several recent articles about television surpassing recent films in terms of compelling storylines and developed characters, I now want to produce a TV series...

But, maybe I should finish THIS film first!

Discussions like the one I had with Jason, the "psychological" input TJ Maxwell gave to the story, and Cris Cunningham's countless notes on character and dialogue have made this whole process such a team effort. This film has had a "family" feel since the very beginning. All of the cast and so many members of the crew to some degree have influenced the story, provided immeasurable encouragement, and unflinchingly devoted their time to getting this thing done.

In a couple of weeks we're shooting Jason's scene, reshooting two of Uncle Rusty's scenes, and adding two new Uncle Rusty's scenes. Then... (drum roll)... we should be done with production.

The end is near!

AND PLEASE SHARE THIS BLOG WITH ANYONE YOU THINK MIGHT FIND OUR LITTLE INDEPENDENT FILM INTERESTING!

Uncle Rusty:

Of all the lessons I've learned in this process, continuing to learn more about the "nuts and bolts" of storytelling has been one of the greatest!

The most interesting "discoveries" in the VACANT HOUSE writing process was the development of the character, Uncle Rusty.

When I talk about Rusty, I usually describe the experience of discovering him to the way in which astronomers discover new planets and black holes. An astronomer can look to the sky, and JUST by observing HOW other planets and celestial entities interact with each other, they can deduce that SOMETHING ELSE is out there. They can discover a planet before they even SEE IT just by how everything in neighboring space is reacting.

That is how I discovered Uncle Rusty.

From the very beginning I think I (and my characters) were aware that Uncle Rusty was in our story; I just hadn't discovered him yet. There was a force in the script... something that was compelling my characters to react the way they were reacting, and slowly, over time, Uncle Rusty was DISCOVERED just like a distant planet in our solar system.

In an early version of the treatment, dated 2007, the character of Uncle Rusty was a nameless individual only mentioned once in a line of dialogue.

At that point, I had no idea that this "off-hand" character was going to grow into one of the most important characters in the whole story! In fact, I can go as far as to say that Uncle Rusty is the WHOLE REASON the story of Vacant House even happens.

After Cris took an initial read of the treatment, he too gravitated to this nameless character. He wanted to know more. And from his own experience as a writer and an actor, he knew this character was important. Just for the purpose of discussing the character, we quickly gave him the name "Rusty" and the name stuck.

Without divulging too much of the story here, Uncle Rusty became the catalyst that the whole story was lacking. He became the REASON Cameron does all of the things he does. In fact, in retrospect, I'm not even sure how the story worked without him.

So the character of Uncle Rusty was born.

But, Rusty's development into a full-blown character wasn't over.

He now had a name, and his roll in the story was made more prominent, but Uncle Rusty was still just a character mentioned in dialogue. We never saw Rusty; we just new he existed.

And so we started shooting the film. (The entire process of writing this script and shooting the film, I will save for future posts - it was unconventional to say the least!)

We shot the first summer and knocked out about 60% of the film. We returned the next summer and shot (what I thought at the time was) the remaining 40% of the film. We were fluid in our storytelling, and the script developed as we shot.

After that second shoot I cut all of my footage together and realized...

...we still don't have a film.

Over the course of these two summers, Rusty had grown into such a prominent character, motivating and influencing Cameron, our main character, that the next step in the script writing/filmmaking process seemed obvious.

We need to SEE Uncle Rusty. And so, with the vast majority of the film already shot, I added an entire new character to the story/film, I wrote new lines, cast a good friend of mine (TJ Maxwell) in the role, and we set out for shoot #3.

Uncle Rusty's scenes added a new life to the film. In fact, some of the initial feedback we received suggested that Uncle Rusty's journey in the film is the most concise and clear storyline. I was excited about the encouragement, but something STILL wasn't working.

I was so tired of my film, and the idea of shooting anything more wasn't an option at the end of the second summer. But after discussing the film's problems with TJ, it became obvious... once again... that there was STILL more to Uncle Rusty that needed to be uncovered. And so, after a few pep talks from friends, I decided ONCE AGAIN to pick up the cameras and schedule TWO MORE shoots to finish up my film.

These final two shoots will round out the character of Uncle Rusty even more. One of the main problems with that initial cut of the film was the ending. I had a specific ending in mind for the character of Uncle Rusty, but I didn't shoot it. I chickened out. I shied away from the direction Uncle Rusty's character was heading. The ending didn't resonate. The film didn't end where it needed to end. And the result was a flat, two-dimmensional ending.

So with these final two shoots, I'm delving even deeper into the character of Uncle Rusty... and hopefully giving the film the end it deserves.

Is it all going to work??? I guess that's still left to be seen.

But the process of discovering, developing, and writing the character of Uncle Rusty has been one of the greatest writing lessons I've ever experienced. LISTEN to your other characters. What are they telling you about the world they live in? Are your stories just sitting there, not moving forward? Chances are your story lacks conflict or your main character doesn't have a clearly defined goal... and in the world of storytelling, the most interesting goals and conflict come from other people. And the closer your characters are to those people, the more intense the drama will be.

Uncle Rusty is the blood line of Vacant House. He's the "thing" that keeps the story moving.

Thanks Uncle Rusty!

Vacant House Update:

Well, I haven't done a very good job of blogging during the production of this movie, but let me make another attempt at doing so.

Well, here we are, three summers later, and the film still isn't complete.

HOWEVER...

It will be, and I am very excited about the recent progress.

I have to laugh a little as I sit back and read previous posts... The one entitled 95% done makes me chuckle the most. Since that post, there have been two more shoots (the most recent was completed just this week), and one more shoot scheduled for the end of the month (June 2010).

I'm not very good at "blogging as I go," and my hand-written journal is another reflection of that fact. But, I am good at reflecting.

So, here goes... where do we stand now with the film, what were the little hitches that caused some bumps and bruises along the way, etc.

At the end of last summer, I screened an assembly cut of the film for some friends of mine... Let me stop right here and explain to you the valuable lesson I learned during THAT process. The artist in me never wants to show my work to anyone until I think it's "perfect." But the film student/professor in me has been trained otherwise. It's almost a knee-jerk reaction for me to just "put it all out there" for people to criticize. As a result, I have a tendency now to invite people into the creative process a little too early.

And, let me just say... when all you have of a film is JUST an assembly cut with absolutely NO temp music or sound effects you are NOT ready to start soliciting feedback. It's actually OKAY to guard your "baby" for a little bit.

As a result, the initial feedback I received was pretty heart wrenching. I just assumed that my friends would have the same vision as me and be able to see the potential of the film... but they were not.

I walked away from the film for months; I couldn't bring myself to even THINK about the film, let alone finish it. I was starting to believe that my film was going to go down in my personal history book as an EPIC failure.

Nearly five months passed after that screening before I was able to even open up the editing files and look at the film again. I started forcing my way through the film, and as sickening as it was to be reminded of my friends' feedback, I just couldn't help but BELIEVE in my little film.

Yah, it's no masterpiece, and it's barely good enough for me to even wanna put my name on it. But as I screened it again after separating myself from it for those many months, a little voice inside of me kept saying... "you've got something here. It might not be GREAT, but it's something..."

As I scoured over the film again, I realized, much to my dismay that we were NOT 95% of the way done shooting the film. There were still bits and pieces, transitions, and even entire scenes that were needed to make this a complete film.

So, once again... as I have every summer since I started this project... I continued WRITING my film.

Yah, you read that correctly. The story just wasn't DONE. The ending wasn't working, and we still needed more.

So I called up Cris and asked him if he'd be willing to fly out to Southern California just ONE MORE TIME to make the film better. He agreed without hesitation.

So, last week the cast and crew reconvened for yet another shoot. We recorded about 5 pages of voice over, and shot about 3-4 pages of new scenes, including a completely rewritten ending.

We have one more day shoot scheduled for the end of this month, and then after that... we TRULY are done. The film still might not be that great, but it's time to finish this film and take what we've learned and apply it to new projects.

But, for the first time in over a year, I am once again excited about this film.

There's more to report, but I'll save that for future blogs.

Hope all is well with everyone, and be sure to keep an eye out for announcements regarding the film.

Jeremy

LOTR

Just finished watching the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. That's what I do when life starts to feel uncertain, when my way seems directionless, when I'm not really sure what the heck I'm doing anymore. Watching the LOTR trilogy sort of hits my RESET button.

I feel sort of renewed...

...and reminded...

...reminded why I wanted to make movies to begin with.

Aragorn and Farmair have always been my favorite characters, but with this viewing, it was Gandalf who really struck a chord with me. It's one thing to want to be the mighty warrior, it's another to want to be a person of great wisdom. Gandalf is both.

Wathcing LOTRs is like going through an intense, week-long discipleship programs. so much better than most of the sugary sermons I get on Sunday mornings.

I'm still not sure what it is that God has me on this planet to do, but at the moment, filmmaking remains strongly on my heart. It seems like such a lesser calling in light of the dark realities present in the world. But I've tried to walk away many times, and every time... I wasn't allowed to.

So, for the time being... FILMMAKING it is... I have to keep pressing forward.

I've got a goal... much bigger than the goal of completing VACANT HOUSE, but completing VH is step one. So as tiresome, overwhelming and daunting completing VH might seem, it is the crucial, unavoidable step necessary to make it to PHASE #2.

Okay, enough personal pep talk... time to go edit.

95%

I keep telling everyone that I'm 95% done with shooting the film. But maybe I'm closer than I think. I've got to get this project manageable or I'll never finish!

So, here's the plan. I'm going to cut the film together with what I have in the can so far. I'm going to do my damnedest to make it work with what I have. Whatever we shoot from this point on will only be the ABSOLUTELY crucial stuff.

The point of this project is to shoot a feature. That's it! It was never my goal to make THIS film my life's work. I want to move on so that, hopefully, this project will open up doors for FUTURE projects.

Gotta get this thing done!

Right now I'm having trouble getting everyone's schedules to align to finish this shoot. The earliest we could do pickups is June 22nd I believe. So until then, I'll be working overtime to edit this film into some sort of cohesive story!

Well, obviously I haven't posted anything since... well... since I set up the blog... somehow PRODUCTION took precedence over blogging, which I guess is a good thing.

I'll probably have plenty to share after we finish shooting. The first half of the shoot went well. If you want to see some pics from the first week of production (July 2008) click on the following link:

VACANT HOUSE PRODUCTION PICS, JULY 2008

We will shoot the remaining 40% of the film in about 10 days! Production resumes on May 6 and concludes on May 10. There is one more section of filming that we probably won't complete during that week, but it doesn't involve our main actor (who is flying in from Nashville), so I'm not too concerned about that.

The production has been crazy, and I'm really feeling the pressure to have everything ready in the next 10 days. I brought on a producer, Kelly Erickson (a former film student of mine) to help with the producing responsibilities, so having her on board has been a great relief.

Last summer we just shot in one location, but that location required EXTENSIVE production design... This year, we don't have a lot of production design, but we have LOTS of locations... none of which have come together yet... DEEP BREATH JEREMY!

Here are our location needs:

- PRISON (or a location that could substitute as a prison)
- PRISON YARD (or equivalent)
- AN OLD HOUSE (family oriented, old fashioned looking, homey)
- WOODS (looking for wooded land on a privately owned property where we would be free to roam)
- PAYPHONES (several different locations - again, a private location, easy permission, etc.)
- ROADSIDE DINER or CHEAP MOTEL

Also we need two vehicles:

- PICKUP TRUCK from the 1980's or earlier (preferably yellow but will take what we can get (see previous blog post)
- UTILITY VAN (White, no windows, lived in, full of junk - someone's work vehicle)

We are casting next Thursday (April 20th). We'll take submissions from anywhere! Send inquiries to:

cornfedpictures@gmail.com

Here are the character breakdowns:

REVEREND RUSSELL JOHNSON – White male, late 50’s to early 60’s. Russell is a retired pastor, acquitted of child molestations charges 20 years ago. He is a compassionate man with caring eyes who longs for a relationship with his estranged son. 1 scene.

BARTHOLOMEW GIORDANO – White male (or olive complexion), late 50’s to early 60’s. “Bart” is a hard man with a weathered face. He is a Vietnam Veteran who spent the majority of his adult life after the war battling posttraumatic stress syndrome. His estranged son, Al wants nothing to do with him. NO DIALOGUE – 1 scene.

AL GIORDANO – White male (or olive complexion), mid thirties. Al is a handsome CEO of a major corporation in New York. He is in-shape and well groomed, but underneath his polished exterior lays a raging temper fueled by years of hurt over a strained relationship with his father, Bart. 2-3 scenes.

PRISON GUARD – Male (any race), mid thirties. He is solemn and disengaged. 1-2 scenes.

Well, that's about all the update I've got for now. No promises I'll post anything new before the shoot... but once production is over, I'll be able to sigh a big sigh of relief... I know post is going to be HUGE on this production... The story is really going to be constructed in the editing room... There will be additional V.O.'s to write, and I'm sure the order the story unfolds on screen will change even more drastically from the nonlinear script from which we are currently working.

I just can't wait for May 12th to get here!!!

MOVIE MAKING SHOULD BE FUN -- Right? Right????

-Jeremy

PS - oh yes, and one more thing...

PEOPLE, WE NEED YOUR MONEY!!!

It's actually happening:

I recently returned from a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam; pretty amazing experience, but I'll save the stories from that venture for another time.  As it relates to this screenplay I'm writing, being in Vietnam was an eye opening experience.

One of the characters in this screenplay is a Vietnam veteran, so being in Vietnam, walking through the very fields US soldiers trod was awesome and humbling all at the same time.  It was a matter of coincidence that the story I'm writing coincided with this trip.  Though the Vietnam element in the story is minor, it helped me understand my character just a little bit more.

My laptop broke just days before we left town... It wouldn't operate on battery power, so I could only type when I had a wall socket to plug into.  This of course severely limited my writing time.  I hoped to come back from the trip with a solid draft of the script, but instead, I returned with nothing.

What's Cornfed Pictures:

Cornfed Pictures is going to be the name of my production company... or at least the name of the LLC that will produce my first feature film.  But no one reading this probably cares too much about that.

This blog is the place where I'm going to vent my frustrations, share the joys, and organize my thoughts as I go about writing, directing, and producing my first feature film.

My name is Jeremy, and I've wanted to make films since I was about seven years old.  I've shot a lot of short films, have a masters degree in filmmaking, and currently teach film at a school in Los Angeles.  

But, that MOUNTAIN called "A FEATURE FILM" is one I've yet to climb.  At the age of 27, I made a promise to myself that I would shoot my first feature before I turned 35.  Well, I'm 33, and I guess if i want to see this thing happen I'd better get started.

Last year, I was preparing to shoot another short film when a friend of mine suggested that I make it a feature.  I laughed it off at first, but the more I thought about it, I realized that my concept for the film (one character in one location) had the potential of not only being a feature, but being an AFFORDABLE feature as well.  Couple that with having access to a lot of free equipment and a pool of talent who are willing to work for next to nothing, it just made sense to give it a shot.

So, here I am, 5 weeks out from the shoot.  

But looking around me, you'd never know it.  I'm still pounding away on the script, NOTHING has been done in the way of production design, and I don't even have a camera secured yet.  In addition to all of that, I'm leaving the country today for 2 whole weeks on a complete unrelated project.

I'm hoping for some quality writing time while I'm away... We'll see if that pans out.  

So, for those of you out there who'd like to join me on this journey, feel free to!  I'm going to journal as often as I can, post pictures of the progress, and maybe upload a few video clips once cameras actually start to roll!

The shooting schedule is one week... Yep... you heard me... ONE WEEK!   If I'm able to pull this crazy thing off, I'm hoping it will inspire other filmmakers out there to grab a camera, get out there, and JUST START SHOOTING!

On my next posting, I'll give a little one paragraph synopsis of the story we're shooting.  So, that's it...

Enjoy!

Jeremy