Jakob or Jacob... What's in a Spelling?

Under Jakob's Ladder vs.
Under Jacob's Ladder...

Can you spot the difference? (You actually might be wondering, Is there even a difference?!)

Well, one is the name of our movie. And the other is not.

Jakob is the name of our protagonist. Jacob is not.

This movie is based on a true story. And yes, the character of Jakob (played by Jeff Stewart, probably best known for his role as PC Reg Hollis on the ITV hit show The Bill) did indeed spell his name with a "k"...

(While from Ukraine, Jakob belonged to a minority group called the Germans from Russia. His ancestors settled in Ukraine after Catherine the Great issued her manifesto and invited settlers to cultivate the land, kind of similar to the pioneers in the United States settling the American west.)

So, you see, there is a difference. Even if it is just a difference of one letter of the alphabet. And just in case you haven't been paying attention, or you're new to this blog, the title of our feature film is Under Jakob's Ladder.

That's Jakob... with a "k".


P.S. If you've been following this blog and you're waiting for more photo updates regarding our film shoot, don't worry! Next blog post, we'll put up more photos from Film Week 3...

Film Day 10 -- In the School

Date: Saturday, May 2, 2009
Location: Schoolhouse
Film: Under Jakob's Ladder

We filmed a few different scenes on this day. But one of those scenes was the one that takes place in the schoolroom -- flashbacks to when Jakob was a teacher.

Here's a snapshot of Jeff Stewart (role of Jakob) preparing for a take with the schoolkids.


Another angle on Jakob (Jeff Stewart) and the students.

One thing we had to be very aware of on this date was making sure we got all of Oigen's scenes filmed before 4:00 pm. So, we had quite an early start this day. (Not only did we have to wake up when it was still dark outside, but it was also raining!)

The reason for the early start? The actor playing Oigen had to be back in the City for his call-time for a theatre production.

Oigen (played by Ken Jennings) confronts Jakob at his schoolhouse.

School is dismissed! (Actually, we filmed this shot before the school interiors...)

Film Days 7-9 -- Some Prison Interiors

Dates: Wednesday, April 29 to Friday, May 1, 2009
Location: Interiors -- Prison
Film: Under Jakob's Ladder

Finally, we're inside the prison. Actually, a good portion of the film takes place inside these walls. This location was pretty cool, temperature-wise; but it was also quite dusty -- Dirt floors and straw didn't help matters much. The poor Red camera didn't like the dust at all. (Who ever heard of a camera with a dust allergy?!)

Let's see... The main things we filmed on these three days? A couple of arrivals (including the arrival of Jakob [i.e. Jeff Stewart] at the prison cell)... a disappearance... a thunderstorm... an argument involving a spoon.


Here's Bruno (played by Sal Rendino), our prison bully, "welcoming" Jakob (Jeff Stewart) to his new life in prison.


In a later scene, Bruno does what he does best... cause trouble for his fellow inmates.

Here we are, preparing for the shot. We measure focus to Ivan (played by Philip Willingham) as he sits at the chess board.


We watch the monitor during a quick rehearsal of a scene with Yasha (Quentin McCuiston) and Karl (Matthew R. Staley).

Note: Just one more day left in Week 2 of our filming schedule. And the next day -- Saturday, May 2nd -- we have an early morning start. Plus, we have another location change. But, not to worry! We'll be back in the prison before you know it.

Film Day 6b -- In the Cemetery

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Location: Exterior -- Cemetery
Film: Under Jakob's Ladder

We had to make a quick location switch in the middle of the day to film these cemetery scenes. Fortunately, the location for the Jakob house interiors and the cemetery were relatively close together... in fact, just down the road from each other.

Jakob (played by Jeff Stewart) speaks words of comfort to Emma (Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff) who is mourning the death of her brother.

It's so hot on this day in April... Does Jeff Stewart really want to wear this winter coat in this weather?!

Oh, and by the way, it was quite windy that day -- a very warm wind, we might add. However, because of the wind, the footage actually looks like a cold day. (And partly thanks to some great background actors who kept those shawls wrapped around them pretty close!)

Marta (played by Chloe Roe) is supposed to be watching the funeral from a distance, hiding behind these tombstones.

Film Day 6 -- Very Hot Interiors

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Location: Interior -- Jakob's House
Film: Under Jakob's Ladder

Ah... Tuesday. After our two days "off". We begin a new week of filming. In another new location. And this day, of all days, was hot. In fact, they were predicting close to 95 degrees. And what did we have planned for the day? A nice cool prison set to film in, perchance?

Just our luck that the location for this day had to be on the second floor. (Heat rises, right?) So, not only were we working in stifling hot weather, but our camera had to work in the heat. And the Red camera didn't really like the added degrees in temperature. So, we had to have a fan on the camera between takes to keep it cool.

Rachel (Victoria Bundonis) speaks with her father Jakob (played by Jeff Stewart) in this flashback scene in the house.

Here, Emma (Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff) is speaking with Rachel (Victoria Bundonis) in her kitchen.

Enter Jakob's granddaughter, Marta (Chloe Roe), to the surprise of poor Emma.

And finally, darkness fell. Out came Eyepatch (played by Igor Litwinowicz) and our NKVD secret police, all ready for the big arrest scene. And while it was a bit cooler for this particular scene, it was still warmer than we would have liked.

Who would have thought a day in April would be such a hot, hot day? (Air conditioning would have been nice...)

P.S. We even haven't told you of the scenes we filmed in the cemetery on this day. Oh well. We'll deal with it in the next post...

Film Day 5 -- Chess!

Date: Saturday, April 25, 2009
Location: Interior -- Bunker
Film: Under Jakob's Ladder

The final day of our first week of filming. Yet another location change. Which means packing everything up once again.

This whole day pretty much concentrated on this one scene, which involves a chess match. Back in January, we were looking for someone to create a chess end-game for this very scene. We sent an email off to chess grandmaster (and former world champion) Susan Polgar... Not knowing if she'd even get back to us.

But, guess what! She did and it's a pretty cool end-game that she gave us, too. (Details of which we can't give away, of course, since that would be giving away too much of the movie! But we can tell you that it does involve some kings, and queens, and pawns, and rooks, etc.)

The empty set, complete with tripod, and camera/lighting equipment. Okay, we're ready to starting filming here!

The prisoners come together behind Jakob (played by Jeff Stewart).

And on the opposite end of the room are the NKVD guards behind Nikolai (played by Christopher Elliott)... (Plus a whole bunch of equipment that we need to keep out of frame when we shoot this angle. You can even see the boom mic in the shot.)

Editing in Progress

Just a quick update on the status of our feature film Under Jakob's Ladder.

Quite a few people have been asking about how things are coming along and how long it will take until the movie is finished. Well... if our last feature film is any indication, that took one and a half years to edit! (Of course, we're hoping for a little quicker completion date on this project.)

We're currently in the middle of editing the rough cut. Things are going as well as can be expected as we piece together each scene from the raw footage. We must say that we're particularly impressed with the images we got from the Red camera.

Once the rough cut is finished, though, the movie will go through several more cuts until we're happy with the result. And there's still the sound mix, foley, and soundtrack. Plus, we're working on a movie trailer...

Stay tuned...

P.S. If you haven't watched our pre-trailer yet, check it out here. Although, like we mentioned above, we are working on a new one.

Film Day 4 -- Filming at Jakob's House

Date: Friday, April 24, 2009
Location: Exteriors -- Jakob's House
Film: Under Jakob's Ladder

On to yet another location in the first week of shooting.

As you can see by the photo below, the weather was quite a bit warmer. No need coats on this day!


Here we are, setting up the shot with Jeff Stewart (Jakob) and Victoria Bundonis (Rachel)...


Also, on this day, we had to film a scene, without one of the actors present. Victoria Bundonis (Rachel) and Chloe Roe (Marta) stand in the doorway. The crew checks to make sure the lighting will be okay. After all, we have to match this look for another day when we shoot the reverse of this scene!

Film Day 3 -- Prison Hallways

Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Location: Interiors -- Prison Hallways
Film: Under Jakob's Ladder

Our third day of filming. Our third change in location.

This time, we had to haul all our equipment across the river (to an old monastery) where we were scheduled to shoot our interior prison hallways.

No weather troubles this day. Due to the fact that we were at a monastery also meant it was very quiet. The greatest disturbance was a group of tourists who walked through the set to get to the dining room. Fortunately, we weren't shooting quite yet.

Below is a sequence of photos; Jeff Stewart (playing the role of Jakob) is working out the details of the best way for the NKVD guard (Jim) to escort him down the corridor...





Next... on to Day 4... with yet another location change!