Welcome to the house of Fun....

Funhouse

    The short horror film I have been working on for the last couple of months has now Wrapped! I have been so busy I have not had chance to update this blog.

I has been an amazing experience and an extremely fun project to work on. The best team I have had the pleasure to work with so far, by far! 

The Location was amazing, and even tho we had some trouble with the 2nd ext location last min, we managed so sort something out in time so not to disrupt the shoot. Post production is now in full swing an we are aiming for completion in time for Fright Fest ~ The make-up, set design and actors have been brilliant, making this a short film to watch!

Here are some sneak peeks from the set:

FUNHOUSE

A couple enter a trashy scare attraction on Halloween, unaware of the bloodthirsty creatures that await them inside...

Some of our amazing Sets:

Welcome to the Funhouse!

The Cast:

Our Villains ~ Ghost, Surgeon, Mr Giggles, Cannibal, Zombie.

The full cast with Rachel (Writer/Director) & Myself (Producer/1st AD) in the middle.

Funhouse Facebook Page

The end, or is it?

Dead & Awake:

      So the last week of film for 'Dead and Awake'. Few easy going days at the studio and around London, then back to Kent for one more night shoot! Which turned out to be the most challenging night of them all. 

So after filming most of the beginning of the film this week, which is the end of the shoot we now have a rather cool image of what it could look like all together! The exciting thing is it could turn out looking completely different from how I imagine once it has been through post production. 

The experience from this film has been so valuable I could not have hope for a more enriching project to work on :D 

Now to look forward to the behind the scenes video's and movie trailers that will be appearing over the next couple of months.

 Helping hand or Trouble!?

Filming in the Pub! ~ 'Nice to meet the local community...'

One of the very few photos of myself: with Leo the Sound Guy after a long night shoot ~ Still smiling!

What's Next:

    Although I hope nothing more than to work on the next Zed Resistor production, for now I will be working on a couple of interesting and very different projects. 

One as Production Manager of a short film, a dark comedy called 'Childhood Lost'. This will be a small but important project that will hopefully make it's way around film festivals galore! 

The other I am waiting to attend a meeting to hear more about, hopefully be taking the role of Production Manager. It will be another indie feature film due to film end of august! 

The more productions will mean more experience, more contacts and more FUN! :D (and of course another step closer to leaving my part time retail job!)

Spooky goings on...

Dead & Awake:

    So the 3rd week was a week of night shoots, scary stories, very cool lighting and all round fun!

A lot was going on and I got to learn a hell of a lot about lighting. As our lighting guy disappeared in the first week, thankfully our Director is experienced in many areas, and a fab tutor to learn from! 

Our amazing location was a big help in bringing the right atmosphere to the cast and film, especially after hearing all the spooky happenings that go on in the house from the owner. It made it all the more fun! Secluded in the countryside and consisting of a spooky priory, stables and acres of land, it was perfect for both the production and the cast's leisure time in between scenes. 

This week felt like the last week as many of the cast finished their filming and some of crew were leaving as no longer needed. I am lucky to have met and had the pleasure of working with such a brilliant and professional team. 

 What are they looking at? 

 We even had the pleasure of adorable puppies, kittens and foals on Location.

 The Kent location: A lovely country house next to St Augustine's Pirory, Ashford, Kent.

We were allowed to take over the conservatory as our production base!

 Some of the crazy but lovely Cast & Crew after our last night of week long night shoots!

Find out more here -> Official Dead & Awake Facebook page!

Creating Crazy...

Camberwell Beauty 

     As soon as all the props where gathered, it was time to start making the crazy scenes of Camberwell Beauty! Our studio in Bermondsey will accommodate three of our sets, a Hospital scene, a Backstage Band scene and a Socialite Party scene. After the challenge of gathering all of the props needed on a zero-low budget, dressing the set was the best part! Seeing it come to life in front of you and being apart it's creation is the most rewarding part. 

Thought I would share with you some pic's, taking you to the three sets... all in one studio!

Hospital

Backstage

Socialite Party

48 Hours...Ready, Set, GO!

     The 48 hour film project is the largest short film contest in the world. Filmmakers write, shoot, edit and score a film in 48 hours, then see it up on the big screen!
This was my first 48 hour project and I'm hoping to do it again!
It all started Friday 21st September when we gathered in out teams at the Prince Charles Cinema in Lester Sq. Here we registered and collected our individual genres from the bowl and were told the character, prop and line we must all use:

Character: Charlie or Charli Cipriani, Minor Celebrity

Prop: Cream

Line: "Let me tell you a secret"

Our team, Fold Up Films, headed by Stephen Riseborough picked out 'Western/Musical'. Of course it has a comedy element in it too! The script was written over night ready for filming at 9am Saturday morning! We had so much fun, and it was total madness. Talking dogs, sombreros, mad chases, fake blood and even a fire alarm incident. Wrapping at 11pm it was a long day but so worth it!

As soon as I get the final edited film I will post it here :D

Here we are waiting to register - Group A: Fold Up Films

Our Clapper for the weekend! :D

 Charli Cipriani & the Bounty Hunter

 

The Villian

48HourFilm Website

Blooooooood...

    While working on the Terrorbytes promo trailer, I got the chance to learn many new things. One important one that every film maker should know - how to make really good fake blood!
So here is the recipe to use/share:

Fake Blood Recipe:

 

Golden Syrup

Chocolate or Coffee Sauce

Red Food Colouring

Blue Food Colouring

Mix together. If you want it lighter add more red food colouring, and for darker blood add more blue, keep mixing till you got the right colour and thickness. - EASY! :)

Summer fun...

    So many productions went on this summer. Unfortunately I have only just had time to start blogging again. - I know right! So I'm thinking of just Hi-lighting a few extra cool ones.

Terrorbytes - Film Trailer
Sunday 26th - Monday 27th August

    Ok, so due to promotional factors to get funding for the feature film, I can not post photos or information about the film until we are given the clear. All I can say is, what a film it will be!
We had a weekend of fun preparing the trailer, tackling through all sorts of weather!
A Thrilling script & cast, brilliant scenes & locations, plenty of blood and a killer rapper on the lose!
Full production starts next year.

Watch this space!...


Two in One - Short Film
Friday 24th - Saturday 25th August

    Two in One is the epic story of a confused man named John, who creates another side to himself named Sean and cant seem to get rid of him. John and Sean go on an thrilling adventure, but which side will survive this journey.
This was the first production I co-produced, and it went swimmingly! :D Staring the talented Joseph Ogeleka who also wrote the film. Currently in post-production!
Below is a sneak peak...

Thats a wrap for 'Earnest'! or is it?..

    So we got threw 2 intense days of filming, hot sunny weather, camera blips, miggy bites and many bottles of water...

Filming wrapped on Sunday around 8:30pm with still one scene to go!

We decided to add another day to the schedule in a few weeks to finish the final scene of 'Being Earnest'. A lot was learnt, and i can safely say that all cast and crew had a fab time to set and location on this short, creative film. Here are a few pics of the action...

Sunshine in the Park...

    Today was the perfect weather for location and shot placement, on the short film, 'Being Earnest'. The sun was shinning and the Locations looking good, in particular 'The Tarn Bird Sanctuary' in Mottingham, where we will be filming the 3 flash back scenes. The weather is said to continue throughout the weekend, making shot planning a lot easier. Last auditions took place and we now have the full cast ready for tomorrow's rehearsals.

Thought I'd share with you some of the sights of today's locations.

Below: Director Laureline Garcia & DoP Simon Shen planning shots on location.

Project from the Past...

     Very rarely have I had chance to take photos on location. Now its much easier and I know what I'm doing more, so I can get a few snaps in here and there. To start this blog off I want to share some photos from a past LFS film I worked on as a Runner , 'Long Tail' - A silent, action adventure.

Using an Old Distillery Building as a location, this scene went down a treat.