One Last Emotional Entry

I plan to switch gears in this blog and try to lean more towards an insider's look into making a low-budget feature movie. Upcoming entries will hopefully offer tips and advice for up-and-coming moviemakers like myself. I have learned plenty from my mistakes and I hope to help others avoid those same mistakes.

First, however, I am going to once more compliment my cast and crew. This movie would not have been made were it not for the contributions of each and every one of the cast and crewmembers. I whole-heartedly recommend each and every one of them to any local filmmakers in need of hard working, professional, and friendly additions for their movies. I certainly hope to employ them all again in future projects.

As important as they were as professionals, the friendships gained with each of them is even more important to me. It was an honor to be on set with the cast and crew of Horror House for 15 days, many of which were more than 12 hours long. I miss them and I miss the production phase of Horror House. I love you Chad, Nick, Jim, Lion, Amy, Mike, Kat, Phil, Jay, Amanda, Kari Jo, Casey, Nicole, Emily, Anna, Gary, Natalie, Kari Ann, Aaron, and all the others who were involved in smaller capacities.

Enough gushing. Sheesh.

~Justen

Day 15 [The Final] Wrap

How fitting that we wrapped the Horror House shoot with a 16 hour day! We did what was necessary to get all the footage needed. Our time was split today between the attic and the basement, two close locations separated by probably 20 degrees of temperature and relative humidity. One of our biggest FX shots was saved for this final day. We got that shot first knowing it may be one of the trickier shots of the entire shoot. It was. And we got it. Then it was on to more chasing. As much chasing as we've done it almost feels like the whole movie is nothing more than a chase scene. I assure you it's not. Setting up for the fast moving chase scenes is much more involved than setting up for an average dialogue scene. These last few days have exemplified the oft quoted movie phrase of "hurry-up and wait."

We wrapped around 7:00 Tuesday morning. After a teary champagne toast it was back to the Rosewood for a quick shower and a slightly longer nap before gathering at Green Mill for an informal pre-wrap-party party. It was sad leaving Hastings Tuesday night, but the most exciting part still lies ahead. When this movie is finished and ready to show, we'll all be very proud of ourselves. Especially the fact we were able to put this together with only 15 shooting days!

In the coming weeks I plan to update the progress of the movie as well as offer tips and ideas I've learned throughout the process of making this movie. I can't, nor did I ever, promise this blog would be a succinct well of pertinent information for budding filmmakers, but I hope the ramblings will prove entertaining and at least mildly insightful. Thank you for joining the ride. It ain't over yet!

~ Justen

Day 14 Wrap

Back to Hastings for the final two days of shooting. Driving into town across the Highway 61 bridge felt so good and seeing Pam at the Rosewood Inn made me feel right at home. Hastings has been a wonderful place to shoot a movie and I hope to one day return to shoot another.

There was a tour going on at the LeDuc when we first got there in the afternoon so we couldn't start setting up right away. Once inside the crew worked double time and had the house looking exactly like it looked the last time we were there. The museum plaques and artwork were taken down, the exit signs and security lights were covered up, and the beautiful interior of the mansion was uglied up again for the purpose of our shoot. We had an extra lighting package with us this trip so we could handle a longer shot from an upstairs bedroom all the way to the basement stairs. Fine tuning the lights proved to be a lengthy task, but we got everything the way it needed to be, including blacking out all the natural sunlight from outside. Three hours of set up for a scene that lasts a whopping 30 or so seconds in the movie. It was worth it, though.

The rest of the overnight shoot was spent with more chasing scenes. I got beat up a little, but that's all part of the game and well worth it for the end result. I sure didn't get to stretch my legs as an actor much, but all we did tonight was still very necessary for the movie. I apologize for being vague about the scenes, but getting too detailed would spoil the movie.

We were visited on set by a photographer from the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He got some great photographs for an article to be printed in the East Twin City's paper. Look for it online under our publicity heading.

After wrapping around 2:00am (wow, an early night!), we went back to the Rosewood for some deserved rest before the final day of principal photography. Smile and a tear.

~ Justen

Day 13 Wrap

Thursday night was added to the schedule when our first attempt at capturing the 'walk and talk' scene failed. We convened not far from the location from where we were expelled a couple weeks ago. True guerilla filmmaking was the theme this evening. No grip truck. No lights. No sound. Smaller crew. The scene itself is basic exposition, but we still wanted it to look good visually. The natural sunlight made it both beautiful and difficult to shoot, but I think we came away with something that will work. Anna and Emily, of course, were spot on in their performance. So was Chad as the peeing bum, but I don't know if I'd even call that a performance as much as just a behavior.

After the shoot, several of us coasted to Elsie's for some bowling. My first bowling excursion in 5 years yielded mixed results, but my turkey in the tenth frame left me with a sense of accomplishment I have not felt in many years. Few feats are more impressive than throwing a polished sphere down a greased aisle and obliterating 10 stiff rednecks with a symphonic echo of reverberation. Bowling is fun, too.

I bet a movie about bowling would be cool. Especially if Bill Murray was in it. Maybe someday.

~ Justen

Day 12 Wrap

After a peaceful day's sleep at Country Inn and Suites in Cambridge, we were scheduled to begin shooting at 4:00pm today. Mother Nature couldn't hold out any longer and just had to drop some rain on us today. No harm, though. The rain let up by 4:30 and we got the rest of the driving sequence under a consistently overcast sky. Emily was kind enough to get lost yesterday and stumble across a great little road canopied by trees. Nick and Chad followed Emily, Anna, and me to the spot a couple miles away from the Gunderson home. I sat in the backseat and got some footage with one camera while Nick and Chad set up alongside the road and in the woods where they slapped at mosquitoes and shot the car from the outside. The driving sequence is pretty straight forward, but I want some footage to give me time to lay a cool track by the band Viscious Aloyscious.

For one of the driving shots, Nick set the camera tight on a puddle through which the car would drive. Knowing I wouldn't be seen at all in the backseat of the car, I decided to give Chad and Nick an early glimpse of the full moon. That footage won't make the DVD extras. :)

The night before, Emily and I were the only actors on set, but tonight we got to welcome back Anna and Aaron. Aaron had to perform a delicate scene of self gratification. I couldn't help but laugh as Jay and Mike sat nearby taking notes. And making recommendations. And performing along with Aaron behind the camera... Oh, what's gotten into me? My better judgment has been trumped by the desire to make jokes. First time that's ever happened to me. The scene described above is definitely not gratuitous, so fear not, you will not need to bathe in tomato juice after watching this movie.

We wrapped shortly after the sun reached the foggy, misty horizon. It was another very long night of shooting, but everyone was great. Let me remind you again how amazing the cast and crew is for Horror House. This movie would not be a reality without them all.

~ Justen

Day 11 Wrap

On to the exterior shots. Aside from the shot of the girls driving up to the house, all our exterior house shots are being filmed north of Cambridge. It's funny to shoot scenes 100 miles away from where they supposedly take place. Maybe not funny, but amazing. Maybe not amazing, but crazy. Maybe not crazy, but extraordinary. Maybe not extraordinary, but Kit Kat.

Tonight we had action, blood, gore, and horse flies the size of sparrows. It was a fun night. Maybe not fun, but enjoyable. Maybe not enjoyable, but pleasurable. Maybe not pleasurable, but satisfying. Maybe not satisfying, but Jenga.

Mother Nature was again very kind to us. We got started at 8:00pm and wrapped shortly after the sun came up, which this time of the year, is before 5:00am. Special thanks to the Gunderson family for letting us take over their yard, woods, house, and power, and still inviting us back for the next night. I am absolutely indebted. Maybe not indebted, but beholden. Maybe not beholden, but obliged. Maybe not obliged, but grateful. Maybe not grateful, but Meatloaf.

I am unable to go into detail about tonight's scenes because because that would blow the whole movie. Maybe not blow, but, blow.

~ Justen