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..