We made a Movie Yo (Part One)

THE SAVING

PRINCIPLE PHOTOGRAPHY 

DAY 1

Friday September 10th, 2010

Lessons Learned

1. Early call times are a divine gift from heaven. So is Coffee.

2. A faithful creative gutsy crew is the back bone of any successful film. Nail them, love em, and treat em right and you've got yourself a prime situation for STELLAR filmmaking. I am one blessed Director.

3. Stephanie knows WAY too much 80's music and I think its safe to say, she's rubbed off on me. Now only if we could remedy my slight lack of respect for established institutions :)

4. I hate trains. I hate miniature trains even more. I hate old train conductors named Murphy. Forget "Pardon me Mr. Train Man."

5. The prize for raddest most hard working PA has to go to my BFF Katie Payne. She worked her rear-end off and I believe my producer Rebecca is pretty much in love with her OCD note taking and faithful slating at the beginning of every take.

6. There are few things more exhilarating then beating the obstacles, accomplishing all your set out to do in 12 hours, and still have your cast and crew grinning like morons. Tired, warm fuzzy feelings most wholeheartedly ensue.

We pretty much lived on that blasted creek bank for 5 hours.

"All the moments where you could see how well we all worked together and how dedicated each of us was, stepping in to fill spots without questioning or needing attention or thanks for it, being willing to try again and again until we had it right, and laughing all the way through."

- Katie Payne (PA & Script Supervisor) 

We are making a movie, I promise.

Catch Phrase of the Day: 
"We got this."

"While the camera was rolling, I WAS Skye. That was an incredible feeling."
- Stephanie Ibbotson (Skye Mattheus)

IN CONCLUSION:  We rocked. We shot. We didn't kill each other. Mission Accomplished. Now onto Day 2.

How it went down (The Making of THE SAVING)

Broadcasting from MJ's nerd abode (aka the corner office in the garage) an intro vid just to whet your guys' appetites. 

Photo Shoot FTW!

Drualt & Filmmaking: A SAVING UPDATE

ONCE A UPON A TIME...


In a land way way down south more 8 months ago a young woman came up with idea that would change the course of her life forever. 9 more days and that idea will exist in more then the realm of her mind. The groundwork has been laid. 

Step follows step. 

Hope follows courage. 

Set your face toward danger. 

Set your heart on victory

So begins the stanza of a epic poem written by Gail Carson Levine for her lovely children's book "The Two Princesses of Bamarre".  I highly doubt Mrs. Levine would have guessed that some random 17 year old filmmaker in SC would adopt that as her working creedo, but it perfectly summarizes my approach and attitude to the crazy journey I'm on known as THE MAKING OF THE SAVING.


Step Follows Step.


That's how its gotta work. You have to take one day at a time. Be prepared for the next but never overwhelmed. Pull up the bootstraps, lean on those around who care about you no matter what and go for it. Never look back.


Hope follows courage.


I consider independent filmmakers pretty courageous individuals. We don't have money coming out our ears, and the odds are largely stacked against us but yet we're still hopeful...and maybe a bit crazy but you know, in a good way. We hope in the fact that we know we have stories worth telling and that there are people who are out there who want to hear/watch them. 


Set your Face toward Danger.

I've realized that very few things in life that are worth having come without some form of suffering. There's nothing safe about making an indie film. Its a risky business, full of long nights, heartache, rejection, and sometimes even failure.  You need a tough skin and a strong support system. Face the danger of failure, misunderstanding and hardship straight on. 


Set your heart on Victory.


Never let the goal out of sight. Sometimes when the going gets tough I forget why I'm striving so hard in the first place. It seems totally absurd but any artist whose ever worked and worked and worked at something has fallen into this trap. As much as its about the journey, there wouldn't be one if one didn't have a destination. Sitting in that theater, surrounded by those who have labored with me in the good times and bad and watched the titles FADE IN: That is my victory. My heart, my mind, my very being is ready for that moment.

CONCLUSION

Like so many of my friends have said, I should have been born in a epic movie. :)

Demistifying Indiegogo

Many of you have been asking "Really, what is Indiegogo!?!"

Well who better to answer you then the official IndieGoGo website.  I'm gonna break it down by popular FAQs and tailor it to "THE SAVING".

Before you sit down at your computer and watch my pitch going up this weekend that includes THE SAVING teaser trailer, professional endorsements galore, and my passion for this film bursting at its seams: The Lowdown.

Here goes nothing!

indieGoGo in 1 sentence (ok it might be a run on sentence so bare with me lol)

• A website that ANYONE can access and allows ANYONE to donate money to projects (like my film) and receive some really neat VIP perks ("Team Patrick" t-shirt anyone?) in return and that lovely warm feeling in your heart that you get when you know you're helping make my dreams a reality.

Q. What is indieGoGo? 

A. indieGoGo is a collaborative way to fund ideas.  Anyone with a project - creative, cause or entrepreneurial - can raise money, offer perks and rock my vision for THE SAVING hardcore.

Q. How do fans (Of THE SAVING) contribute?

A. All projects can accept payments via credit cards and PayPal.  Also, projects with a U.S. bank account can accept payments via Amazon Payments. Plus, you can send checks directly to me if you prefer that route ;)

Q. What are VIP Perks?

A. VIP Perks are my project's way to engage you as fans, build your trust and provide an opportunity for you guys join in on the awesome experience.  They're a great way for me to offer one-of-a-kind experiences, and truly connect with the people who have really feel the passion I have for this production.


Just a few examples of perks I'm going to offer:

Your  name  (Or your companies' name ) in the credits as an Associate Producer! 

A 1 on 1 Skype session with me,  MJ Slide, THE SAVING's Writer/Director and one member of the cast or crew of your choice. Ask any questions you want, nothing is off limits.

“Movie only” copy of the film (DVD or digital download) and THE SAVING official movie poster, signed by the cast and crew.

Exclusive first  access to “The S. Mattheus Sessions” A series of therapy video segments entirely improv-ed by THE SAVING cast. 

And for those who really wanna send this film to the top...

A VIP pass (Travel expenses and lodging not included) to dinner with myself and the cast, followed by a private screening of the film upon completion, and my undying gratitude forever.

So with all that said, you might be wondering "Ok Cool MJ, I wanna donate to your film but what the heck are you using all the money for?!"






What the money will be used for: Renting of high quality equipment, specifically sound and lighting related. Securing locations, costume/make up design and Post-Production editing. Plus a generous craft service table (My people gotta stay energized and hydrated) and I’m sure my cast and crew would appreciate a hot meal during the long days of shooting







Well there ya have it! I hope I've covered all the questions you might have about the how one can get involved with the film and donate to it.



If you do have more, just ask. Bang out a comment or you can hit me up directly at thesavingproduction@gmail.com 

I'm all ears.

Thanks for reading!

PS. I apologize for the odd spacing between the paragraphs, Blogger is being weird.

PRODUCTION UPDATES: Rehearsals, Pitching, & all sorts of a jazz...

August is here and its safe to say, I'm freaking out, both out of excitement and nervousness

The shooting days have been locked. The second weekend in September is our target. Yes, I am very much out of mind.


So lets get you guys all caught up to date....

1.  Teaser trailer is officially edited and almost ready to send off to the composer to get the dang thing scored. That whole process was probably one the best learning experiences of my life. From shooting to editing. Talk about trial and error. Mental notes galore, how I'll carry myself on set, interact with the fellow crew members and one of the major highlights was furthering my confidence in coaching actors. I've got a great cast, so willing to take instruction but also own the characters for themselves.  Again, I'm straight up spoiled. Once scored the trailer will be viewable on our Indiegogo crowdfunding web page. And for all those who have absolutely no idea what Indiegogo or crowndfunding is, no worries, I'll be blogging about that tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to cover any questions about how you can help support THE SAVING. ;)

Side Note: I hate money, it makes everything uber complicated. Thank God for a producer whose as amazing as Rebecca is. 3 Cheers for my Steampunk rocking, kicking awesome Producer!

2.  Speaking of Indiegogo, I wrapped my pitch video a few days ago. First off, I pretty much hate being on camera, not so much when I'm acting cause heck, you're not supposed to look like you're aware of the camera anyhow but when I gotta stick a Flip Cam on a tripod and talk at people, it just feels weird. Vlogging is one thing, trying to convince people that my film is worth supporting financially is all whole other matter. It takes a special sort of grit and determination. The right amount of openness and tenacity to convey  the passion I have for this film and to complete it with every part of me person giving 110%...Lets just say, I'd make a really sucky used car salesman. ;) Basically I went at it with the approach that people wanna see someone genuine.  I'm gonna leave the final verdict up to my readers/viewers. Please check out the pitch when its posted. Did I win your hearts? I sure hope so.

3. I'm also pleased to announce that a local artist has joined the production department for THE SAVING. Emily Satterfield is a talented teen artist who is well on her way to making it big and I'm just glad to have the chance to snag her to do some concept art and official marketing material for me film. You can check out her art work in her gallery here :D

  August 4th.

4. The first rehearsal for THE SAVING took place a little over 2 weeks ago. 4 hours of really hashing out the characters, discussing back stories, working out the kinks in a few really tough lines where perfect delivery is critical and I feel like we're really starting to make some major headway. Stephanie and Patrick are just, well FANTASTIC!  They're all in, open to discussing anything and everything about their characters, digging into their heads. Nothing is off limits. They wanna be Skye Mattheus and Paul Connel. Period.  It would be an understatement to say I'm merely blessed. We're all pretty new at this so there are very few expectations except for the hefty ones I place on myself.

5. On the topic of acting, in two days my cast and crew are locking ourselves away in a library conference room and undertaking what I'd like to call the ultimate in method improv. For all those who follow me on twitter, and are a friend of mine on Facebook, its the Super Secret Mini Film Shoot I've been going on about. Aptly entitled "The S. Mattheus Sessions" (and if anyone wants to accuse me of being a HUGE Joss Whedon fan girl by all means do so, ITS TRUE) this "Mums the word" collection of therapy sessions will be one of the many awesome incentives that one can receive for supporting THE SAVING through Indiegogo. Let me tell ya, its gonna be EPIC.


6.  Yesterday I camped out in Panera from 9 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon. One. Massive. Production. Meeting.  Running on green tea mints and pure nerdom Rebecca, Apryl, and I banged away at our pre-production goals, from nailing down the press kits and other marketing tools, editing the VO in the teaser trailer, getting stared out by creepy waiter who somehow knew Apryl's name (For Stephanie "STRANGER DANGER!"), and costume design to delving deep into the psyche and back story that makes for a very complicated but  Skye Mattheus.  Its these type of meetings, labor intensive and mentally draining though they that really capture for me the essence of what indie filmmaking is all about. Its a collaboration of different minds, ideas, emotions, and talents. Everything and everyone brought together for one goal, to make the best film we could dream of with the resources at hand.

I think that about sums up all I've been up to these past couple weeks. I promise to blog tomorrow about Indiegogo and how that whole thing works.

Off to keep doing the things I love, screenwriting, drinking coffee, nerding out and not thinking about money, Ha.

Sweat. Blood. And DV Tape.

Tuesday Morning dawned, bright, early and HOT! Ha, who would have thunk it!? *eye roll*

Myself and a skeleton crew headed back to a city park to do pick ups for THE SAVING teaser trailer. INSERTS were the shots of the day. Close Ups galore!

Two hours later we wrapped, with sweat running down our backs, blood on our pants, and a DV tape chocked full of great shots.

FORWARD MARCH!!

Lessons Learned

1. Confidence is infectious. People know when you sure in your position as a Leader and they can smell a fake from miles away. The dogs weren't called out on me. SUCCESS. :D

2. My whole cast and crew do not dig the Nick Cage.

3. I don't think I've ever met a actress so willing to die:

EXT. PARK BRIDGE - DAY

MJ and Stephanie stand at the edge of the bridge, heads craning over the stone lip.

STEPHANIE
MJ, when are you going to kill me!?

Beat. MJ cocks an eyebrow, dryly amused.

Stephanie suddenly looks sheepish and grins.

STEPHANIE
I don't know if I should be this excited about it?"

Shout out to Steph, you make me smile and my job so much easier.

4. FYI if your ever looking for a good laugh, carry an authentic samurai sword strapped to your side around a public park. On second thought, don't but I will say this, its wacky fun!

5. Since we're on the topic of provoking odd looks. When using homemade blood, be prepared for stains, STAINS fa dayz! Props to Apryl for rocking the tupperware container and paint brush dripping with the messy stuff.

6. My Canadian friend is right, us Americans say "Epic" way to much.

7. The world of filmmaking is quite often very surreal.

8. I'm a workaholic and drink too much coffee.

9. Apples are my BANE!

10. There is really nothing better then the feeling that you have grown as artist and collaborator. Sets my heart soaring.


IN CONCLUSION: BOOYA! Filmmaking is for crazy people who can't think of anything they'd rather do. Yay, I fit the bill! ;)