GORE

I went to a Splatter FX workshop last weekend, hosted by Leigh and Mike who were responsible for the zombie make up and special fx on BTTD. It was good fun and we learnt some great stuff (i was joined by rowan).

They started with the making of blood using thier own recipe, then a talk about bruising and why the skin changes the colours that it does. They gave us demonstrations of a bite, a bullet hole, burns and vampire teeth marks showing us how to mold wounds from dough and apply latex. Then it was time for us to use our newly accquired skills to create whatever we wanted.

The whole workshop was rushed becuase rowan was an hour late (thinking back to Dream? shoot) but it was still well worth it. We even walked away with a splatter showbag with some blood, latex, stipples and dough so we can continue to create the macabre.

This is the first demo Leigh did for us of a chunk bitten out, he usually blends colours with air brush which i think is much more accurate but for our sake we were using make up

This is a slit wrist i made on Leigh when it was out time to shine, i was pretty happy with the turnout, tried to make it look a bit gangreen for added effect..

Well thats about it for now.. still waitin for the trasharama shortlist to be up, they've done it but there's a problem with the link to it, so now that will be fixed after 9 tonight apparently, and the festerval starts tomorrow night. So we can only hope the few maps films that were entered made it in..

Good Journey

Been a while... A long while...

Well after about 4 months its about time for another post. Plenty has happened over that time including the rest of the MAPS shoots, and the majority of the edit.
The edit has come along nicely, the cut is locked off and audio work has begun. We have alot of sound FX to record still, i mean alot, i might have to get started on that during the holidays to ensure it gets done in time.
I've made up a trailer for the film, well it was all set up by Skeer i just made my adjustments.. but it came out great, and here it is! (in 4:3 unfortunately)

I've also uploaded it on youtube with the screening details in the info with the hope of attracting more people on the big night (which is locked off by the way 29th of november at the palace). Having almost reached 200 views i hope someone from adelaide has read the info...

Well thats about all the BTTD news for now, my other edits are going great too with Danny Steel's 'Chambers' basically done except for music. Me and Dan worked on the colour today and it came out looking great, very dark and eerie, and with the new voice over it works incredibly well. I can't wait to hear his final music as it is a vital component to give the piece the mood he's after. And Clearys 'Defender' is moving along at a snales pace but it is looking great and we've managed to get it under 20mins... The cut is pretty much locked off, (i'll say it'll stay 'pretty much' locked off too for as long as peter allows it) now we have the job of attaching news reports to moving shots and the 'superman' head to a angled wall.. it's proving to be difficult but we'll get it, it's the challenging stuff i enjoy the most so i have no problem sitting for hours at a time working on the same thing. Defender too is waiting for music and as we're getting used to John Williams as his theme, it better be good.

Anyway thats enough for now..

heres a few more vids i have on the tube

Little Billy

Back Yard Rally

Isn't it nice when things just work

Well after months of preparation Back to the Dead was a success, and it all came together in the last few days. Only days before the shoot i had to re-cast Megan and find a make up artist, a feat that was looking impossible. However, i pulled through finding a young dancer/singer/actress named Deanna Carbone to play Megan, and through the owner of the house we're shooting in i met Leigh Madden who is a brilliant make up artist.

The shoot went off without a hitch, the actors were all perfect for thier roles and were so easy to work with. The crew worked together like pro's, i think if even Peter would've been impressed if he'd actually showed up.. The vibe on set was like a dress up party with good friends, there was no time to be bored, and no reason to get agitated; except when people leave cans and bottles laying around after cassie's dressed a set.. Tuesday was the one worry as we were shooting outside at the graveyard and it wouldn't stop raining. We were running back and forth between our shelter and our set all day. Eventually we had to settle for umbrella's over the camera and lights and we all just had to deal with getting wet.

As much fun as it was i am glad that the shoot is over with as it is a stressful time with sleepless nights. I think because everthing was going right i was expecting something to go drastically wrong. Now i can't wait to begin the edit and try to mold four hours of blood splattering into a 10 minute film... and then begin the next journey

Cast Complete

I held auditions today and i'm happy to say i may have found both Lincoln and Megan and a number of zombies. Now i just have to find out for sure that these two can work the hours we have scheduled and we're laughing.
So far tonight i've been going through my schedule working out exactly how many set ups there are going to be in a bid to prove to the evil Mr T that my film can still be made. It is looking quite promising but i'm still thinking about losing a scene for my own reasons... Suddenly; a week before shooting, a wild samurai rampage in the lounge room just doesn't seem as do-able as i had anticipated. We'll just have to see if i can pull myself together and forget about the doubts.

Thats all for now, it's time i go get drunk

check out this cool zombie flash game
http://artscool.cfa.cmu.edu:16080/~lee/deanimator.html

Update

Just a quick update..
I have found a goldmine of Lincolns. Today i went with Phil Tom and Cass to the AIT Tafe in the city to overlook Phils auditions, where i found alot of people interested in my film. So i'm now going back there to do auditions tomorrow. I have five Lincolns and two Megans, and i'm pretty certain i will walk away with a full cast.. Yay!
I've also had a few calls from actors that have been given my number by Dale Ross of Young Australia Productions, so i'll try and get them in too.
Other than that i've just bought a mannequin torso which will be used in a scene when Beck rips off a zombies head and smashes it against a wall.
I bought some Latex yesterday to play around with, only to spill half the bottle on myself and my kitchen. I know now that alcohol is a must for removing latex as i must've ripped off at least 10 layers of skin trying to get the shit off.
Lastly i'm arranging a rehearsal for next week sometime, as i need for everything to run like clockwork on the shoot days... Yeah right..

Till Next Time

Hap Hap Happy Again

A quick update on everything - I've had a few auditions and have locked off my Gary character and am very happy with him. I'm pretty sure i've found my Lincoln aswell, which only leaves the two girls. I've been debating whether or not to go with a girl i had audition for Beck, she's not the size i'm looking for but she has a good look and i'm not having any luck finding a alternate option.. but i still have no acceptable candidates for Megan.

I have both my locations now and both agreement forms are in the process of being signed. The cemetary looks good and even has power we can use for lights.

I am waiting to hear back from someone about make up, who i will call tomorrow if i haven't heard back. This is a seperate party to Media Make Up who are still yet to get back to me.

The stage shop have agreed on a 10% discount on make up for a credit, my credits are going to be littered with symbols and slogans.

I have finacial support from Sure Search Locations that will cover the cost of make up (another credit). Domino's have agreed to cater for one day and provide extreme discount for any others, i'm still waiting to hear back from Subway. I also have found a Harley Davidson for Gary.

The storyboards are underway and will be finished off tomorrow, then all the rest of the paperwork can be done.

Finally, we went to the YAP awards night on friday where i was awarded the prize for 'excellence' which was a huge surprise as there were no nominations, so i was not prepared for it at all. Ironically the prize for excellence is private coaching... I'm not at all ungratefull i just find it amusing. The coaching is with Lisa Ormenyessy (pictured)

Anyway this quick update is now huge so i'll only leave ya'll with this

Pirahna Suction

The kind lads at Ausvac have donated me this bagless vac which actually works (don't let the boss know that). Now the window is only small and it's clouded which sucks.. but if i shine a bit of light through it we should be able to see the red blood, or at the very least we'll see something splat against the window. Something i didn't think about is the exhaust, which comes straight out the back. This could work out good as i might be able to get blood and brain chunks to shoot out the back, if i can hollow out all the filters that is. And since these vacs aren't made for liquid/blood it probably won't work twice.. so that means no test runs. I might have to take it apart and see if i can shield the motor somehow so it doesn't get soaked. As it is the vac runs like a 4 cylinder with exhaust problems, i've never heard a vacuum cleaner backfire before, it sounds tough, for a vacuum (if thats possible).

In other news my make up artist has handballed the job, so i'm yet to find out who is doing it.. Serenity now.......F@*#¿♪@

Talking with Fiona today however was a huge help. Even if i don't have an artist yet i have a general idea of how i'm to do everything, and what to use. Now i've got a big list of ingredients to buy though.. I'll just call it my Zombie Recipe (if i was a nick i'd draw me mixing up some zombies but i can't draw so use your damn imagination).

Tomorrow i shall try to find some food aka catering for the shoot days, which are all over dinnertime so i'll try to get a few different types of food, it's nice in theory so lets hope it works.

As far as actors go i've been trying to track down an actor who was in a 2004 Adv Maps film called 'Suburban Hitler'. His name is Maris Caune and he looks like my Gary character. Typing his name in google i found a Aussie actor named Maris J Caune who has been in a few feature films now and has recently directed a Theatre production. I don't know if this means he's gone past the student film days or not, but i'll definately keep trying.

Props, Actors and Make Up

Too start things off with good news i have found someone to supply a vacuum cleaner for the film. Ausvac in Gepps Cross are supplying me with the bagless vac but can only give me one that doesn't work, which kinda sucks but i'll think of something to mock it up.

I have scheduled actor auditions for next wednesday, with four people booked in so far, i'm hoping to get some more. I've still no candidates for 'Gary' turns out it's quite hard to get actors that look like bikers, so if anyone knows a large 25-30 year old male actor with a beard let me know please..

Also i now have a make up artist named Eileen. She put forward a few changes that needed to be made with the script, so i've made some revisions but i kept a few of the problematic shots in, i just don't think a zombie movie is complete without at least one decapitation...

Well thats all the news for now.. apart from my new blog title which i actually made a few weeks ago but have had problems posting, but here it is in all its GIF glory (thats a whole 33KB of glory)



Peace Out




If my zombies look anywhere near as good as this dog we'll be laughing..

YAP awards

I'm happy to announce that 'Sqeaky Clean' from last year was accepted in the Young Australia Production Awards, which are coming up on May 11. Also, D.O.P David Gregan has a category nomination for his camera work, which was on 16mm. I know that Sqeaky Clean will be joined in the awards by 'Cathy's Tree', and i dare say there's a few more maps productions that've been accepted.

This scone depicts how happy i am

i'm walking on sunshine... whoa

Location, Location (and other crap)

I've spoken to the owner and have permission to use the location i was after for the Finley Residence, which will be knocked down after the shoot. However, the destruction has already begun out the back of the house which means i'll have to re-work my ending, as it was originally going to end out the back on the patio that is no longer there. This is only a minor hiccup however and i doubt it'll be the worst.. I haven't taken any photo's of the place yet which is why i thought i'd chuck in a picture of the greatest real fictional character from the 80's... or at least he say's he's from the 80's. I just need to find a creepy looking graveyard and i'm set to rock and roll.

Also today i was looking in this cool retro shop called purple haze, and aside from getting stuck talking to a hippy for 15 minutes about the intelligence of rats and cockroaches i did see a 80's glam rock leather jacket which i would've bought for my 'Gary' character if it was black. I'll probably go have a look again another day and make up my mind. Not too sure if it will fit in with my colour pallette as it was a dark brown. Bit of a tangent but the store had a really cool fish tank made out of a retro tv. $300 and it came with two goldfish named starsky and hutch.. if only i had money to splurge.

The eagle at play... This is my 'special' friend Eagleman, he will be lending his musical 'talent' to the Back to the Dead soundtrack. The theme song is progressing slowly, and as soon as the eagle stops fucking around with kettles and gets the pick ups on his bass fixed we can add a bass groove to to pot.

Thats about all i can think of for now so that'll do it..

A quick reminder cassie's birthday is this saturday (21st of April) and all MAPS associates are welcome to my house that night for drinks