http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0veKAVvnU8
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Hello friends and visitors alike. I admit that I have been a bad little director and not kept you entirely up to date. ALOT has transpired between my last and current post. so I will try and key point the happenings for you.
* An actor dropped out three days before the production was scheduled to shoot. The film was delayed a week while a replacement was scouted.
* A spectacular addition to the crew was found in Blake Waldock. This man is the brohemian love story of my life, a real doer on the set and provider of magical gifts and equipment.
* Shoot began swimingly in my back yard studio. I literally built a frame that extended my two car garage by three meters length ways then industrial wrapped the shit out of it like was Dexter. Day to night achieved!
* Horrendously underestimated the immense shot list, three days in the studio became five. I stuck to my guns and made it happen as such.
* Awesome stunt performed by the magical Kaitlin-Mary Hall went of without a hitch and provided probably the coolest shot of the film.
* Location shoot began in the Pines. A wonderful winding road through the trees was scouted there and provided some truly magical scenery in camera.
* three days later we again realised that we had horrendously under-scheduled the shoot. I made a last minute decision to dodge a potential drop in moral and put the production on a break. This allowed the crew time to work and do other 'real life' things. I myself took a little time off to spend with the lovely lady.
* I acquired a full time job to raise money again for the coming shoot. An action I compare to blood letting in penance.
* A date was discussed amongst the crew and a production meeting was held. The green light was given and our personal targets set. The final three days of production are scheduled to begin on the 21st of May.
* Stay tuned.
Here's a trailer to get your saliva going...
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1423899635261&oid=120801627934396
Stay tuned for more updates...
Lots of love and money
Nicholas Phillips
* An actor dropped out three days before the production was scheduled to shoot. The film was delayed a week while a replacement was scouted.
* A spectacular addition to the crew was found in Blake Waldock. This man is the brohemian love story of my life, a real doer on the set and provider of magical gifts and equipment.
* Shoot began swimingly in my back yard studio. I literally built a frame that extended my two car garage by three meters length ways then industrial wrapped the shit out of it like was Dexter. Day to night achieved!
* Horrendously underestimated the immense shot list, three days in the studio became five. I stuck to my guns and made it happen as such.
* Awesome stunt performed by the magical Kaitlin-Mary Hall went of without a hitch and provided probably the coolest shot of the film.
* Location shoot began in the Pines. A wonderful winding road through the trees was scouted there and provided some truly magical scenery in camera.
* three days later we again realised that we had horrendously under-scheduled the shoot. I made a last minute decision to dodge a potential drop in moral and put the production on a break. This allowed the crew time to work and do other 'real life' things. I myself took a little time off to spend with the lovely lady.
* I acquired a full time job to raise money again for the coming shoot. An action I compare to blood letting in penance.
* A date was discussed amongst the crew and a production meeting was held. The green light was given and our personal targets set. The final three days of production are scheduled to begin on the 21st of May.
* Stay tuned.
Here's a trailer to get your saliva going...
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1423899635261&oid=120801627934396
Stay tuned for more updates...
Lots of love and money
Nicholas Phillips
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Have Soundy - Can Make Picture
Hello lady and Gents
Time to to catch you up on what has transpired since my last rather melancholy post. Allot has happened since those dark ages.
I was introduced to a most wonderful FX Artist extraordinare, Freena Hamilton and her partner and assistant Mat who together are like the Bat Man and Robin of effects artists. Freena had a peek at my script and her eye's glazed over such lines as "It's fangs are long and razor sharp", "He tears away her mouth but she takes flesh with her" and "The skin on one side of her face has been ground away to bone" She gave me a call and in it was on donkey Kong.
Every now and again at a production meeting Freena shows me some of her work in progress and I cant help but get warm feelings inside. The calibre of the work is far superior to anything I could have done myself. I am most thankful for her presence on the production.
Production meetings started showing a healthy attendance around a week ago and since then crew and cast members have been walking in and out my front door almost daily. Loren Kenrick my head of Production Design has been going above and beyond the call of duty sometimes acting like a co-producer, introducing me to potential crew and attending casting sessions. A big thank you will be owed to her when all is shot and wrapped.
My actors have been selected with Daniel Tenni to play the role of Michael and Adam Dear to play Paul. Freena was also kind enough to introduce me to the woman that now holds the gory mantle of Clair, the great menace of the story. A beautiful actress who loves wearing practical effects about as much as Freena loves applying them. With all three of these actors I am confident that the story will find life on screen.
On another note. My Gaffer sent word via a medium that he would not be able to meet the availability of the shoot that has now stretched out to a whopping nine days of shooting to accommodate the massive amount's of shots, one hundred and twenty nine to be precise (not including cut-away's). And so, around five days from the start of production I was ringing around old friends and brief acquaintances trying to find someone to take up the mantle. But there was an even bigger worry on the horizon.
Not only had I not yet secured any sound equipment, but I hadn't even found a competent operator. to put things in perspective, the pool of film makers in Perth is vast, they populate the water like tiny minnows if not sometimes blind to each other and the opportunities that float past them. Soundy's tho are like a rare albino of albino minnows. They are few and very far between, to know one is to have opportunity in reach for without sound you cannot have a picture, to know one who has his own equipment and will work for you for little to nothing is a blessing but very few of these little albino albinos ever get to reach that stage of maturity and few who do posses a giving and compassionate state of mind. Many of them are bittered by experience or blinded by there own rarity and uniqueness. It is imperative that a Director if not knowing a friendly old albino, knows how to beg. Because in this game of cards, the albinos hold all the aces.
After much searching, and I do believe I rung and emailed to the furthest reaches of my tiny web I found myself on the screen west film directory going through names of sound recordists. It seemed every one had a list of experience that towered far above my tiny back yard film and that invoked the sounds of falling dollar coins in my ears. I was loosing hope and then suddenly I saw a name I recognised and old fellow TAFE student from my studies years prior. I gave Simon a ring and told him of my plight, he listened and agreed to have a look at some of the dates and then later that afternoon sent me an email with a green light on it. Have soundy... can make picture. I rang another old TAFE'y who had some sound equipment agreed to hire it from him at a greatly reduced price and walla! Problem solved.
My gaffer situation is without solution but to mainly a fault of my own, that being that I don't think that I necessarily need one any more. between myself and my DOP Garth Austin I believe the job is very much catered for and in safe hands. And so I now claim the title of Gaffer on the production also. Whether or not I choose to credit myself as such is still undecided.
Speaking of catering. My unit I now firmly believe will be the greatest ever known to a film production, because its being managed by the greatest cook ever to hold a knife and spatula, my Nanna Margaret Weaver. I visited her yesterday for a unit meeting and the recipes she so casually waved about in front of my face made me so hungry I almost took a bite out of her pine wood table. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the look on the crews faces when dinner is presented this Wednesday. All animal friendly of coarse but I will be happy to point any complainers towards the local shopping centre. No money out of my pocket.
And so the shoot begins this Wednesday (the 10th) and then breaks abruptly afterwards before continuing again before repeat... all in all, the final day of production will take place on the 28th of this month (March) so where in for a long ride. But to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Peace
Nicholas Phillips
Time to to catch you up on what has transpired since my last rather melancholy post. Allot has happened since those dark ages.
I was introduced to a most wonderful FX Artist extraordinare, Freena Hamilton and her partner and assistant Mat who together are like the Bat Man and Robin of effects artists. Freena had a peek at my script and her eye's glazed over such lines as "It's fangs are long and razor sharp", "He tears away her mouth but she takes flesh with her" and "The skin on one side of her face has been ground away to bone" She gave me a call and in it was on donkey Kong.
Every now and again at a production meeting Freena shows me some of her work in progress and I cant help but get warm feelings inside. The calibre of the work is far superior to anything I could have done myself. I am most thankful for her presence on the production.
Production meetings started showing a healthy attendance around a week ago and since then crew and cast members have been walking in and out my front door almost daily. Loren Kenrick my head of Production Design has been going above and beyond the call of duty sometimes acting like a co-producer, introducing me to potential crew and attending casting sessions. A big thank you will be owed to her when all is shot and wrapped.
My actors have been selected with Daniel Tenni to play the role of Michael and Adam Dear to play Paul. Freena was also kind enough to introduce me to the woman that now holds the gory mantle of Clair, the great menace of the story. A beautiful actress who loves wearing practical effects about as much as Freena loves applying them. With all three of these actors I am confident that the story will find life on screen.
On another note. My Gaffer sent word via a medium that he would not be able to meet the availability of the shoot that has now stretched out to a whopping nine days of shooting to accommodate the massive amount's of shots, one hundred and twenty nine to be precise (not including cut-away's). And so, around five days from the start of production I was ringing around old friends and brief acquaintances trying to find someone to take up the mantle. But there was an even bigger worry on the horizon.
Not only had I not yet secured any sound equipment, but I hadn't even found a competent operator. to put things in perspective, the pool of film makers in Perth is vast, they populate the water like tiny minnows if not sometimes blind to each other and the opportunities that float past them. Soundy's tho are like a rare albino of albino minnows. They are few and very far between, to know one is to have opportunity in reach for without sound you cannot have a picture, to know one who has his own equipment and will work for you for little to nothing is a blessing but very few of these little albino albinos ever get to reach that stage of maturity and few who do posses a giving and compassionate state of mind. Many of them are bittered by experience or blinded by there own rarity and uniqueness. It is imperative that a Director if not knowing a friendly old albino, knows how to beg. Because in this game of cards, the albinos hold all the aces.
After much searching, and I do believe I rung and emailed to the furthest reaches of my tiny web I found myself on the screen west film directory going through names of sound recordists. It seemed every one had a list of experience that towered far above my tiny back yard film and that invoked the sounds of falling dollar coins in my ears. I was loosing hope and then suddenly I saw a name I recognised and old fellow TAFE student from my studies years prior. I gave Simon a ring and told him of my plight, he listened and agreed to have a look at some of the dates and then later that afternoon sent me an email with a green light on it. Have soundy... can make picture. I rang another old TAFE'y who had some sound equipment agreed to hire it from him at a greatly reduced price and walla! Problem solved.
My gaffer situation is without solution but to mainly a fault of my own, that being that I don't think that I necessarily need one any more. between myself and my DOP Garth Austin I believe the job is very much catered for and in safe hands. And so I now claim the title of Gaffer on the production also. Whether or not I choose to credit myself as such is still undecided.
Speaking of catering. My unit I now firmly believe will be the greatest ever known to a film production, because its being managed by the greatest cook ever to hold a knife and spatula, my Nanna Margaret Weaver. I visited her yesterday for a unit meeting and the recipes she so casually waved about in front of my face made me so hungry I almost took a bite out of her pine wood table. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the look on the crews faces when dinner is presented this Wednesday. All animal friendly of coarse but I will be happy to point any complainers towards the local shopping centre. No money out of my pocket.
And so the shoot begins this Wednesday (the 10th) and then breaks abruptly afterwards before continuing again before repeat... all in all, the final day of production will take place on the 28th of this month (March) so where in for a long ride. But to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Peace
Nicholas Phillips
Thursday, February 18, 2010
My Chariot of Snails
My Chariot of Snails
An image from the Pre-visual shoot Day to Night conversion
I'm travelin atop a chariot pulled by a team of snails. This is not a metaphor for my crew but just a general observation of the production so far. With every sluggish tug a little more of my by-polar depressive other self bubbles to the surface. My draining bank account has become my ticking clock and its ticking like it needs a few less batteries.
But I have come to accept this most brutal truth. I am a nobody in this industry. I dived in the deep end thinking to make friends with cats chasing each other around the pool, but instead I received the awkward glances and cold shoulders of those who don't understand how a grown man can wear speedos at a public venue. i was out of my depth and out of my understanding. I've been in the fast track class of wizening since the first days of announcing the production and here is where I now stand.
Almost three weeks since project commencement I am only just filling the final positions on the crew. I am still without a Soundy and minor assisting roles like Best Boy and Boom Swinger. My first AD has just disappeared to South Australia for a week and a half, my Gaffer for two. My DOP is yet to give me any rough storyboards and so I continue to sketch them myself and my first round of auditions for the roles of Michael, Paul and Un-dead Claire proved to be unfruitful.
But I re-eco the words of the great Calvin Coolidge 'Persistence and determination'
So long as I continue to strive onwards I will continue onwards, and so long as I continue onwards this film will come to fruition.
This is my test, and I will not fail.
Stay tuned readers and read-ets
Nicholas
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Potency of Success
Dearest readers.
The %100 percent New Zealand competition did not bare the fruits I had deeply hoped for yet I bowed humbly to the five most worthy selections of the resulting One thousand and eighty film makers who submitted entries. but in every failure there is new opportunity and if I may quote a portion of the words once spoken by an old US President (Calvin Coolidge):
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
You cannot fail if you never give up, and so I continue to strive forward, with this motto in mind.
There is a new project in the works, something I began before, but placed on the back burner during my work on the Peter Jackson submission. Now I'm reviving it (quite literally) and it has arisen even more glorious than before.
Lady and Gents, it is my great pleasure to introduce to you my new Film and first project of 2010
Life Under Shadow
There is not much I can tell you about this project just yet as it is only in the first week of Pre-production, but I will leave you with some pre-development tasties to keep you in the area until the oven really starts cooking and I can begin to slip you larger pieces of the production pie.
Synopsis -
Life Under Shadow is a film about growing up. Two friends
Michael and Paul are driving home late a night from a friends wedding in the countryside.
The wedding has been a ‘slap in the face’ to both men who are beginning to
realise that their days of careless youth are soon to leave them. They quickly find
themselves in contention with each other over their different desires for the
future of their own lives. Little do they know their night will take them on an
adventure, an adventure they might not live through at all.
AND
These are some mock story boards in the fashion of a comic strip, that I have been scribbling for my Director of Pornography Garth Austin, look at them close enough and you'll find a nice little give away or two as too what has imperilled our two heroes:
Keep checking in as I inscribe you through the production process.
Nicholas x
Monday, January 18, 2010
%1000 New Zealand
So it appears that I have disappeared off the face of the film world, but it is not true for I have been busily working away behind closed doors and shut curtains! I have been working on a script for a world wide competition designed as tourism marketing for our neighbour New Zealand. The company went by the name %100 percent New Zealand.
The premise of the competition was this. Write a three minute screenplay and submit with a sixty second video pitch explaining your piece, then wait. Of the resulting (One thousand and eighty) submissions five will be selected, four by a panel of judges and one by a public vote. Those lucky five will be flown to Queenstown in the south island of New Zealand, whereby they will meet their producer Barrie Osborne of Lord of the Rings fame, given a budget of One hundred thousand dollars, a small crew and two days of shooting at any location around Queenstown, then afterwards access to Peter Jackson's own post production facilities. At the end when all is cut and edited, Peter Jackson himself will judge the resulting five and select a single winner who he will then give as reward, the key to the fucking universe!
As you can understand the ramifications of winning said competition would be unbelievable. Something similar to inserting a rocket in your bum, lighting it and pointing yourself at the gates of Hollywood.
And so I started to work... then I reworked, worked again... deleted and started over... reworked, lost my mind, regained my composure and reworked... then finally I had an early draft of my current script.
With this early draft I began to pull in a little outside help. Starting with the most brilliant, the most fan fucking-tastic, Jeffrey Phillips!
Jeffrey is a graphic artist as his neat little business card so proclaims. I met him briefly at the networking function a month or so back (see older post) and had heard of him through his work with the well known Wade K Savage. If one is to visit his web-site one will see that this kids got talent. Through contact with him via email I told him of my plight, my inability to draw above sub par and he agreed to do some storyboard images for me.
A few days later Jeffrey emailed me the work and payment was agreed upon. All said and done I never even saw him face to face. The wonders of modern communication mediums!
The second wild card I drew was an old friend turned successful son of a gun John Sullivan! We studied together back in film prison where he developed a nack for editing systems and I developed.. well not much at all. He now works for the Television Program Fishing WA as camera man, soundy and editor. With his help and Jeffrey's work I was able to construct a most superior video pitch to sell my story.
The work completed I submitted my script and pitch on the buzzer. A submission I am truly proud of regardless of the outcome. But it would not have been possible without the help of those mentioned above. Great work guys...
Follow the link below to see the submission in its natural habitat:
The premise of the competition was this. Write a three minute screenplay and submit with a sixty second video pitch explaining your piece, then wait. Of the resulting (One thousand and eighty) submissions five will be selected, four by a panel of judges and one by a public vote. Those lucky five will be flown to Queenstown in the south island of New Zealand, whereby they will meet their producer Barrie Osborne of Lord of the Rings fame, given a budget of One hundred thousand dollars, a small crew and two days of shooting at any location around Queenstown, then afterwards access to Peter Jackson's own post production facilities. At the end when all is cut and edited, Peter Jackson himself will judge the resulting five and select a single winner who he will then give as reward, the key to the fucking universe!
As you can understand the ramifications of winning said competition would be unbelievable. Something similar to inserting a rocket in your bum, lighting it and pointing yourself at the gates of Hollywood.
And so I started to work... then I reworked, worked again... deleted and started over... reworked, lost my mind, regained my composure and reworked... then finally I had an early draft of my current script.
With this early draft I began to pull in a little outside help. Starting with the most brilliant, the most fan fucking-tastic, Jeffrey Phillips!
Jeffrey is a graphic artist as his neat little business card so proclaims. I met him briefly at the networking function a month or so back (see older post) and had heard of him through his work with the well known Wade K Savage. If one is to visit his web-site one will see that this kids got talent. Through contact with him via email I told him of my plight, my inability to draw above sub par and he agreed to do some storyboard images for me.
A few days later Jeffrey emailed me the work and payment was agreed upon. All said and done I never even saw him face to face. The wonders of modern communication mediums!
The second wild card I drew was an old friend turned successful son of a gun John Sullivan! We studied together back in film prison where he developed a nack for editing systems and I developed.. well not much at all. He now works for the Television Program Fishing WA as camera man, soundy and editor. With his help and Jeffrey's work I was able to construct a most superior video pitch to sell my story.
The work completed I submitted my script and pitch on the buzzer. A submission I am truly proud of regardless of the outcome. But it would not have been possible without the help of those mentioned above. Great work guys...
Follow the link below to see the submission in its natural habitat:
One of Jeffrey's storyboard images that didn't make it into the final submission due to a fundamental change I made in the script. here it shall live forever as the alternative ending.
More of Jeff's work here : www.jeffreyphillips.com.au
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