Day 10 Wrap

Chloe couldn't get enough of Parker so they picked up right where they left off the previous night. In the interest of getting through the scene without being made fun of again, I injected novocaine in my lips to squelch any alleged quivering. OK, I didn't inject novocaine, but I am now thinking about my favorite Pink Floyd song, Comfortably Numb. Check it out on iTunes or visit your local music retailer for more information.

The opening scenes tonight went well if not a little awkward in front of everyone. I couldn't help but laugh when I'd look up and see Jay (gaffer) and Mike (1st AD) sitting on the opposite side of the room watching us as if we were putting on a puppet show. I half expected them to don reading glasses and break out a notepad and start taking notes. I also laughed many a times at the replay of a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode in which Larry David reads a misprinted bulletin to a funeral crowd. A simple 'c' for 'a' substitution in the phrase "beloved aunt" leads to a hilarious result. For more information about Curb Your Enthusiasm, check your local television listings or DVD distributor.

The remaining scenes tonight were considerably more intense than lying on a bed. Yet I still got the impression Jay and Mike wanted to take notes on the action that ensued. Luckily for me, Amy (script supervisor) has been taking awesome notes throughout the shoot which will make my editing job a lot easier. How's that for a segue? For more information on how to spell 'segue' and other commonly misspelled words, visit dictionary.reference.com.

It's hard to believe tonight wrapped our big week of shooting in Hastings. We spent six days in the wonderful little city. Thanks to the Rosewood Inn and Country Inn and Suites for lodging us, The Green Mill for feeding us, Dunn Brothers for caffeinating us, and, of course, the LeDuc Historic Estate for letting us take her over for 80 hours. It's been fun and I know we're coming back in a couple weeks, but it's still sad to leave. For more information on sadness, consult your local psychiatrist or clinician.

~ Justen

Day 9 Wrap

Our first scheduled shots today were outside of the mansion. Scheduling exterior shots is like daring Mother Nature to prove she's in charge. Luckily for us, Mother Nature is on our side. The visual threat of rain failed to materialize and we were left with a predominantly cloudy sky which was ideal for matching shots. We used Amy's (script supervisor) cute little Saturn for the car in which the girls drive up to the mansion. Speaking of Saturn, watch for Emily and me in a couple Saturn television commercials.

Our first setup outside didn't work out the way we had hoped. After practicing a long tracking shot several times it became evident we couldn't frame the house in a way that made it looked completely isolated. Whether picking up the industrial building in the background or the modern addition, the shot would have given away the fact that the house in which we are shooting is no more isolated than the one moldy grape on a vine of perfectly juicy little orbs. I had a bad experience once with such a grape and I have vowed never again to eat grapes with my eyes closed. I like green, red, and black grapes equally. But I digress.

We improvised and got a second setup that worked out just fine and that setup setup a good setup for the third setup. We setup the setup and all setups ended up setting up on the up and up. I like 7-Up.

Here's a fun little secret to look for when the movie is released. As the girls walk up to the house you will see a very faint image of a person in an upstairs window. We threw that in there just for fun.

The exterior shots in the can, we moved inside and picked up some scenes with Anna that were scheduled for the night before. The professional she is, Anna knocked out brilliant performances and we moved up to the bedroom where the love story between our two lead characters finally begins to develop. That's right, kids. Parker was finally involved in some scenes today! Only problem is he had to kiss a girl. Ewwwwww. He got through it and somehow so did Chloe. But not before Chloe made fun of Parker's lips. Poor Parker.

~ Justen

Day 8 Wrap

Seriously, is Parker even in this movie? Another night without any acting for me. I guess I did give lines off-camera, but that's just not the same. Anna left us early tonight when she fell ill. I'm amazed she came in the first place and I'm sorry she had to drive home feeling the way she felt. I give her props for making the effort to come to set at all.

With Anna gone, one scene that involved her, Emily, Gary, Natalie, and me had to be shot over two days. We shot Gary and Natalie's side tonight and will shoot Emily's, Anna's, and my side the next night. Ah, the magic of movies. Last night we got little inserts for a scene shot 10 days earlier; tonight and tomorrow night we will shoot different angles of the same scene. When the movie's all edited, the audience will never know how they were shot. At least that's the hope.

We spent time in the basement again tonight picking up some POV stuff for Anna's character. We were interrupted twice by the civil defense sirens. No tornado found us, but we were pelted (well, not us literally) by quarter size hail. Dings and dents on our cars and branches down in the yard, but we were all safe and the shoot was only minimally affected. I felt pretty safe in a house that has been standing for more than 150 years. I'm sure she's seen her share of storms and she has weathered them well over the years.

I can't believe we're already more than half way done with our week down in Hastings. I also can't believe I'm typing this as if it really is June 22. When I publish this post I will change the date to give the illusion I stayed on top of this blog during the shoot when in reality I'm typing this (and the previous 3 posts) July 7. Not sure if I'll keep going today or if I'll get back to editing. Only I will ever know...

~ Justen

Day 7 Wrap

Well, another day without any Parker scenes. For the second billed actor I sure haven't had a ton to do yet. Who wrote this screenplay? Parker should be in every scene! Oh, wait a second... I wrote it (with help). I've got plenty of scenes coming up. It's been kind of nice sitting back and watching the other tremendously talented actors do their things. And it's fun sticking my head in scenes once in a while just for fun. :)

We shot in the basement for the first time tonight. The lowest level of the LeDuc is amazing. Earth accounts for most of the floors in the basement and the natural stone walls and extensive halls and room arrangement give it a catacomb feel. Phil and the guys created a green-tinted hue down there that looked amazing. Pair the atmosphere with Anna's incredible performance and we came out with some more groovy footage.

In the above paragraph I used the phrases "green-tinted" and "groovy." I don't suppose anyone reading remembers a song by Mr. Big called "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind." Look it up on iTunes. I think I'm going to go download it now. I miss that song like I miss Frankenberry.

We had some dead bodies on set tonight. Nicole (makeup) and Kat (Asst. DP) paled themselves up and laid on the dirt floor in the basement. Casey (grip) was nice enough to sweep away the bat poop before they laid in it.

At the end of the night we picked up a couple inserts for the dinner scene that was shot 10 days earlier. Luckily I had cut the scene together and realized we missed a couple angles. We didn't have to set the entire room; we just needed to match candles and small portions of the background since the shots were so tight. We did, however, need to set up track and the dolly to stay consistent with the camera movements of the scene. It was worth the effort to get the inserts because the scene will now cut together a little better. Sometimes a little better can make all the difference.

~ Justen

Day 6 Wrap

Tuesday was packed. After Monday's wrap, I think I made it to bed around 5:00am and slept lightly until eight bells. A quick trip up to Minneapolis to shoot a Vikings promo with Emily and then back down to Hastings where Emily and I were interviewed on KDWA radio. Then back on set at 4:00pm for another 12 hour shoot. I loved it! Doing anything else for 20 hours in a day would run me ragged, but when it comes to acting and talking about acting, you don't need to stick a quarter in me to keep me going.

Tonight we shot our first death scene. It was intense! The footage we got was equally beautiful and disturbing. It certainly wasn't easy to get because of the cramped quarters and hot lights. I can't get much more detailed without giving away too much of the movie, but I think the scene we shot tonight will be one of the more memorable scenes in Horror House.

As short as the mentioned death scene is in the movie, it took us several hours to get what we needed. The only other setup of the night was a pair of kitchen scenes that equalled nearly 8 pages of the screenplay, and that footage was captured in just about the same amount of time. I was so impressed with all our actors tonight and it's due to their professionalism we were able to capture as much as we did in a 12 hour shoot day.

I'm lucky my itch to act was scratched in the morning because I didn't get to do any Horror House scenes tonight... except for a quick pickup shot with Gary right away when we got to set. The third take of the shot Gary improvised a ridiculous line and I proceeded to take my shirt off and run after him. Too bad Horror House isn't a comedy because that was my favorite take. :)

~ Justen

Day 5 Wrap

Though days 5 through 10 are somewhat blurred together, I will try to comment on each day individually, albeit a bit later than I had hoped. My goal is to have a trailer cut together by the middle of July so editing is a major priority right now. And the neverending paperwork. It's a sad day when I have to make paperwork a priority. But it's a happy day when I use the word 'neverending' because it prompts me to break into a chorus of Limahl's "Neverending Story." Look it up on YouTube.

Day 5 went very well. I was thrilled to have more than three lines of dialog in a scene! We spent the entire day in one of the second story bedrooms. Thank goodness for Heidi's fan! With all those lights pointed down on us in the scene it got awfully hot in that room. Troopers that we are, we got through everything and even wrapped a little early. At least I think we did. After going nearly 14 hours 3 out of the first 4 days it was a nice break to wrap early. With a bigger budget it would have been great to be able to spend 8 hours a day and spread the shoot over a couple months. Future projects, right?

We were able to leave all our equipment at the LeDuc overnight which saved us a great amount of time. Most of the crew spent the night at the Country Inn and Suites where Mark Larson took care of them, and a few of us stayed at the Classic Rosewood Bed and Breakfast where Pam Thorsen cared for us. Without lodging in Hastings this shoot would not have been a reality, so I am thankful we were able to make arrangements that worked.

The cast and crew worked hard on Day 5 and we got some great footage. All the scenes shot today were tame. No blood or scares today, unless you count my look in glasses a scare. Speaking of those glasses... they are actually prescription glasses and they would really hurt my eyes if I looked through them at distant objects. Ironically, they were fine for reading the magazine I was holding in the scene. It probably would have been healthier to buy fake glasses, but for $2.00 at Goodwill I'll take what I can get. :)

~ Justen

Day 4 Wrap

The good: Grabbed a great shot of the Minneapolis skyline at sunset
The bad: Most of the other footage will need to be reshot
The ugly: Forced to improvise our location because of one unflexible person

Plans were made to shoot Emily (Chloe) and Anna (Jazz) walking along the sidewalks of this tight dead-end warehouse block in Minneapolis. A good friend of mine had offered his studio to shoot the skyline at sunset and he assured me we'd have no problem shooting outside the building. We started unloading and mapping the area we had scouted weeks earlier when the building manager forced us to pack up shop. Liability was the biggest concern which is the very reason I spent the money to get production insurance. The manager thought I'd created a fake insurance policy on my computer. Who does stuff like that? Instead of trusting me and showing some heart for a producer on a tight budget and schedule, she pushed us away without batting an eye.

Don't get me wrong; I understood her liability concerns and I agreed with them, but there comes a point when you just throw your concerns out the window and show some compassion for someone working his butt off to try to make a living to support his family. Never did I raise my voice with this woman and never did I treat her with anything but respect, and even now I don't hold any resentment toward her as a person. I simply disagree with her decision to allow herself to remain so uptight about a relatively harmless situation. My grandpa always tells me he raised his family in the greatest time back in the 50s and 60s. In situations like these I tend to agree with him because, from what I understand about that era, people were more willing to help each other. It seems today we are scared of others and the biggest concern is "what's in it for me?" We are so egocentric today and it's only getting worse.

Wow, I've sure digressed here. My underlying point in this rant is that more compassion is needed today. I felt very hurt by the manager of the building Monday night and there was nothing I could say or do that would even convince her to consider letting me shoot outside the building. A wise man once said, "The mark of an educated mind is to entertain a thought without necessarily accepting it." Had this woman at least entertained my proposal I would not have been as hurt as I was. Saying no is one thing, but backing it up with flimsy reasoning is such a slap in the face.

Once more I will say (or type if you will) that I never raised my voice and I never lost my cool. I'm not patting myself on the back by announcing that, but it's important for the two readers of this blog to understand that anger does not fuel this rant, but rather hurt feelings and disappointment in the mentality of many people today. Rules should be followed, but helping your brother man should trump the rules you think you need to follow.

Then again, I may be wrong.

~ Justen

Day 3 Wrap

The good: More outstanding footage
The bad: More overtime
The ugly: More bad jokes

Our first day of shooting at the LeDuc was a treat. The bulk of the movie takes place at the location so it really felt like we were getting into the meat of the shoot, even if it was just for one day this weekend. Yes, it ended up being another 14 hour day, but the cast and crew were all willing to go the extra mile and our gracious hosts at the LeDuc were accomodating even at the end.

Chad and Nick designed some great shots for the dinner scene in which PZ sets the stage for his movie. I don't think we used any static shots during this scene. Lighting and setup takes a little longer to get these visually appealing shots, so that adds up to extra shooting time. Fortunately the actors were all wonderfully prepared and they all delivered on cue. My hat goes off to Gary (PZ), who had a huge amount of dialog. I don't recall cutting once at his fault. What's more, he had memorized a completely different monologue a couple weeks back, and then we completely rewrote this scene and he had it nailed right away.

On a personal level, this day had an extra appeal to me because I finally got to play a more significant part in a scene. Acting is still my favorite part in this whole game and I'm happiest when I get to step in the shoes of a completely different person.

Between takes the cast and crew kept each other entertained by quoting movies and telling jokes. Aaron (Tad) is always good for a few jokes even though they're the same jokes over and over again... :)

~ Justen

Day 2 Wrap

The good: Accomplished all we set out to accomplish
The bad: Went over schedule again
The ugly: That was one creepy dude in Chloe's bedroom!

Another very successful day on set. We started at an apartment in Eden Prairie where we picked up a scene with Chloe (Emily) and Jazz (Anna) packing their bags. If I didn't know better I'd swear Anna and Emily have been friends for years. They have great chemistry and perfect timing, which is key to selling the realism of the movie.

After the packing scene, we got a quick shot of a very creepy image. Just a quick scene in the movie, but thanks to Jay's (Key Grip) great lighting idea, the image is sure to cause some uneasiness in the audience. Not in a gross or supernatural way, but just a general creepiness. I got goosebumps when I saw it!

After packing up at the apartment we moved on to Edina Grill where we ate a wonderful meal, chewing between stories, laughter, and singing. Every time Chad orders the meatloaf I can't help but break into a chorus of Paradise by the Dashboard Light. He loves it when I do. (Where is the sarcasm key on this keyboard?)

Then the crew got to work and set up for one of the trickier shots in the movie - a slow tracking shot through a crowded bar that ends at the booth where Chloe and Jazz sit. Kat (First Assistant Camera) positioned herself on the dolly and pulled off a great shot! Several setups and hours later we wrapped in time to beat the morning rush hour.

The Edina Grill treated us very well and fed our entire cast, crew, and 15+ extras through the night. Many thanks to Amy, Jason, Steve, and the rest at the great restaurant at 50th and France!

And again, many thanks to the outstanding cast and crew that are bringing Horror House together. I am undeniably blessed by you all!

~Justen

Day 1 Wrap

The good: Got the shots we needed.
The bad: Went over schedule.
The ugly: Andy Kraft in a toga.

Actually, Andy looked quite nice in his wardrobe, as did the other actors and actresses darning said attire (even when the togas fell off). Day 1 was a great success. No major complications. No meltdowns. No irreconcilable problems. I attribute the success of day 1 to our fantastic cast and amazing crew. Even in the wee hours of the morning, people were working hard with smiles still on their faces. It's a labor of love for all of us.

I have to thank Gary and Natalie for staying several hours past their proposed wrap times and not raising any fuss whatsoever. Anna and Emily, too, stayed late and performed flawlessly at the end of the night. Katelyn, Keri, Boima, and Andy were patient and upbeat even as their call-times proved to be 90 minutes too early. Bob, battling significant lower body pain, was spot on in his performance. Rachel, Kelly, Loren, Katie, and Brooke all performed wonderfully as well. And, troopers that they are, Kari, Mary, and Cliff stayed later than expected to get the audience scene nailed.

If I took time to praise each crew member individually, I'd write a small novella, so I will thank them as a whole for their upbeat, eager attitudes. Even at the end of the night when eyelids were heavy and voices were raspy, I had willing bodies around me doing everything that needed to be done. Have I mentioned that the cast and crew of this movie are absolutely amazing?

With day 1 behind us and great footage the result, I am more at peace about moving onward than ever before. We have some very busy days ahead of us, but if yesterday set the standard for the Horror House shoot, we are going to have a marvelous time making this movie.

I hope to get a quick nap in now before heading to Eden Prairie for an apartment scene and then onto Edina Grill for a middle of the night shoot.

~Justen

And away we go...

Saturday night. 9:00pm. Principal photography begins in exactly 15 hours. Overall I am relaxed and confident things will go smoothly. That's not to say my head isn't swimming with every little detail, but the way things have come together thus far I have no reason to believe they would all of a sudden unravel. Besides, if things do unravel, I'm surrounded by a talented group of people who will help spool the thread back together.

I can't say I feel 100% prepared, but I'm awfully close. Close enough? I guess I'll find out soon enough. :)

~Justen