Busy, Busy, Busy

Looks like we've been neglecting the blog a little lately.

Well, you'll have to excuse us. The filming dates are coming ever closer. So, if you don't see as many regular updates within the next month or so, you'll know it's not because we're on vacation at Disney World.

But rather, we're swamped with schedules, and ordering supplies, and final casting decisions, and paperwork, and camera tests, and... well, you get the picture...

Auditioning Cold

Often when we conduct auditions, we have the actors come in for a "cold read". Which means that, prior to the audition, they are not given instructions or material. They just show up at the appointed place and time.

However... on Saturday, we held some auditions for background actors to be in our feature film Under Jakob's Ladder. And they were cold.

Not that the auditionees did not get the sides ahead of time. (They did). But weather-wise, it was cold.

And to make matters even more interesting, our audition room was a cold storage unit. (Not actually ON, of course!)

But the sun was shining. It was actually a beautiful day, even it was around 48 degrees outside.

Saturday's audition gave a whole new meaning to "auditioning cold"!

P.S. We saw some really good auditions... Had close to 90 people show up in the course of 3 and a half hours!

Blood in the Movies

Let's say you're making a movie and you need to show blood. What do you use? Maybe some ketchup?

For one of the most famous movie scenes that involve blood -- that'd be Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho -- Bosco chocolate syrup was used. (Hitchcock also filmed the movie in black and white, so it didn't matter that the "blood" wasn't red.)

Assuming you're not doing some sci-fi film where your dying alien happens to have chocolate for blood... what do you do if in fact you do need red blood?

Well, here's a recipe is from the Entertainment Weekly Guide to the Greatest Movies Ever Made (1994 edition)...

Recipe for Blood

-1 bottle of light corn syrup
-generous amount of red food coloring
-smaller amount of yellow food coloring
-1 dash of green and blue food coloring
-optional: heaping spoonful of titanium oxide (powder found in toothpaste); pinch of methyl-Paraben (a preservative)

(Now, here comes the best part of the recipe. The directions...)

Mix until bloody.

P.S. Of course, in a pinch, you can always use ketchup... Yum!

NKVD and Alphabet Soup

Chances are, you have probably never heard of the NKVD. (And if you have, well, that's a couple 100 points for you.)

So... What or who were the NKVD?

In Russian, NKVD stands for the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs. (That's a big help, right?!)

Okay, let's put it this way. Ever heard of the KGB? The easiest way to describe the NKVD is to tell you that they eventually became what we know today as the KGB. (We'll skip over some details about the GUGB and the GUPVO.)

By now, maybe you think you're swimming in alphabet soup. So, to make the answer even simpler, how about this... The NKVD were the Secret Police.

The Soviet Union in the late 1930s, under Stalin's reign, became a place of paranoia and fear. Neighbor turning in neighbor. Children enticed to betray their parents. The NKVD were the guys that knocked on your door at midnight to ransack your house and arrest you as "an enemy of the people."

The NKVD were the ones who ran the Gulags (forced labor camps). They were adept at using torture to get confessions, and infamous for their mass executions.

That's reason enough for why these guys were feared. In fact, they often didn't trust one another. It wasn't that rare for an NKVD operative to suddenly find himself a prisoner (or dead).

There's an old joke that goes like this:

Q: Why do NKVD men always come in threes?
A: One to write a report, one to read it, and one to check up on the two intellectuals.

So, why are we telling you this? Because the NKVD play such an important part in our film, Under Jakob's Ladder. In fact, come to think of it, if there had been no such thing as the NKVD... we wouldn't have a movie... Or at least, it'd have to be a different movie.

Slate Your Name, Please

Ah... Film jargon.

What do you do when you're in an audition situation, and the casting director asks you something like "Please, slate your name" -- and you don't know what they want you to do!?

Well, if you ever find yourself in that scenario, probably the best advice we've heard is to ask what the casting director means. That way, the least amount of time is spent on this and more time can be devoted to your actual audition.

But, to avoid the embarrassment, you may wish to do a little research as to what to expect at a film audition... before you go. (And if you're reading this blog post, then it looks like you're doing exactly that!)

Let's go back to the "slate your name" example.

So, what's a slate? It's that board that is held in front of the camera to identify the scene and the take number -- you know, when they yell out "Scene 17, take 52!" and then slam the clapper down? (If you still don't know what we're talking about, have a look at the photo!)

We're assuming you don't have one of those slates (or clapper boards as they are also called) hiding in your backpack. So, to make things go quickly, you are asked to "slate your name" -- which basically means to say your name aloud for the camera. (Sometimes you'll also be asked to slate your telephone number, or the character you are reading for. But wait for them to give you those instructions if they want you to do so.)

The purpose of slating? So the casting people know who you are and don't get you mixed up with some other actor!

(Oh, and by the way, if you do happen to have one of those clapper boards in your backpack... please leave it there. The casting folks really don't need to see an actual slate when they want you to slate your name. If they did, they'd provide one for you!)

The Trouble with Scheduling

Scheduling a film shoot...

This can be one of the more grueling--and dreaded--tasks in pre-production (those weeks leading up to the actual film shoot).

When creating a schedule, not only does the script have to be broken down and organized into scenes, but cast availability has to be taken into account. And what about locations? Remember you have to get the camera, lights, sound gear, crew, etc. to each new location.

And then there are the predictions as to how long it will take to film a particular scene. How many scenes can be done in a day? How many special camera shots need to be set up? Most movies shoot about 2-3 minutes of final footage in a day. (Note: On our film Dear J, we shot 10 minutes of final footage a day! Yes, we did it. We were exhausted. Is it any wonder that we're giving ourselves a little more time on this next film project?)

Take a look at the photo above and you'll see four schedules for Under Jakob's Ladder, all created within less than a week of each other. (And these are just the ones that were printed out!)

Each schedule is slightly altered as scenes are shifted from one day to another--and sometimes back again!. It's enough to cause a sustained headache.

So, take a tylenol. Go to bed. Wake up refreshed to go at it another day.

But, keep in mind, that on the film set, that schedule will probably change anyway!

On This Day: Death of Stalin

The photo to the right is the death mask of Joseph Stalin. Today is the anniversary of his death on March 5, 1953.

The BBC summed up his life in this way:

"One of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history, Stalin was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century. His regime of terror caused the death and suffering of tens of millions, but he also oversaw the war machine that played a key role in the defeat of Nazism."

One of our historical consultants on our feature film, Under Jakob's Ladder, put it this way in his blog today:

"[Stalin's] regime killed millions in man made famines, firing squads, labor camps and special settlements. Only Hitler and Mao had comparable records of mass murder in the 20th century."

Yes, Stalin was in power at the time when our movie, Under Jakob's Ladder, is set. He was the one who created an atmosphere of fear and paranoia that filled up the Soviet prison system. Our movie takes place in one of those prisons...

Camera Moves

For those of you who follow this blog, you already know we're gearing up to shoot our newest film project Under Jakob's Ladder in the spring...

So, that means we're also brushing up on our camera techniques.

We recently discovered this DVD set to help get our creative juices flowing: Hollywood Camera Work -- a 6 DVD "Master Course in High-End Blocking and Staging"...

The makers of this "master course" compile a lot of information in those 6 DVDs. They're very intense. In fact, these DVDs require re-watching several times over since there is so much information to digest.

"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." (Harry S. Truman, attributed)

And so we keep on learning. In fact, maybe it's about time to pop in one of those DVDs... right now...