D'fwago Productions

Gonna keep this short and sweet as I want to do a full breakdown post when we have a video to give you!

However, no video yet, and here’s what happened in brief…

We got our assignment, I can give you that much. The random plot generator gave us a theme of a ‘rubber chicken invasion’. Ok. Our three props (of which we are going to use at least two) were a romance novel, a chocolate donut and a sleeping bag. And our quote that we must work into the dialogue is the phrase ‘Let It Rip’.

Pat puts his bad-ass paint skills to work

Ok, no problem…and everything was going along swimmingly. We developed a script, we did some prop shopping, we were shooting, hell Eric was editing and creating effects shots when we suffered our first loss of a crew member.

But that was planned, we knew it would happen.

The weather was being mildly co-operative and even when when Pat (who was crewing and acting) and I went out to get some final shots…under powerlines, with metal rods in our hands, during a warning thunder storm…I got my shots and then the battery died.

These things happened but I wasn’t prepared for the return to HQ (Eric’s apartment). The battery was a harbinger of doom, and the power went out in the building.

No editing gear, the laptop would only get us so far…and we were only 24 hours (basically on the nose) from our starting point.

Eric crashes on a couch during the blackout

We debated and waited…and finally after an hour, we decided to postpone the final 12 hours which really sucks. Yes, we were dead tired but it sucks to stop the momentum.

So, now, we have decided, August 8 will be the follow-up. However, will update this site with pix in the next couple of days.

I wanted to do another 48 hour film shoot but Ed Video isn’t having one this summer…and Paul isn’t available…and Eric isn’t available for 48 hours straight…

So.

Tomorrow (Saturday, July24, 2009) we will attempt a 36 hour film using a Nicolas Cage internet plot generator as our guideline.

Our current crew is small but mighty and hopefully we will have something fun for all of you to peruse in the next couple of days.

I’ll at least get some nice snaps posted by Monday.

Paul French asked me if I was interested in doing the 48 Hour Film Contest in Guelph at Ed’s Video. (more below the video)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8Bz7TFzecw

Despite my pre-existing condition of slothness, I said, sure. I got Eric involved…and then we started using Craiglist to recruit actors. And we received a pile of headshots and resumes. One guy even sent us like 20 pictures of himself on different shoots.

So cast wasn’t going to be an issue… we thought.

By the time we were picking up our assignment at 7 pm on Friday, none of the actors were going to show – (D’fwago Actor Tip #231 – You need to learn to drive and/or find a way to beg/borrow/steal a car).

We brainstormed for several hours, came up with basically everything that is in the short and called our one lone actress who was willing to throw herself into cahoots with three guys she has never met. Thanks Aimee.

Paul volunteered to be the lead…which I was a little unsure of at first but the final result is excellent, played in a way that neither Eric nor I would have done and much more likeable too.

The next morning, instead of getting right into shooting, we spent the time hunting down a cheap microwave we could destroy and location scouting. We eventually found a Wal-Mart deal for $30 some odd dollars whereas a used one at some hole-in-the-wall wanted over a $100. I hate Wal-Mart and avoid it all costs…well, obviously not all costs, $70 was enough to change my mind.

We grabbed some quick lunch and shot Aimee’s scenes at Guelph University. Wrapped Aimee and grabbed the shots of Paul in the wastelands and in the video store before heading back to Paul’s place for the interiors.

A flurry of editing…Paul and Eric on the laptops as I went back and forth between the two.

Paul grabbed some sleep, Eric toiled away on the effects before he finally burned out at 6 am and had to get an hours worth of sleep before Paul and I went out to grab a couple of pick up shots where he destroys the microwave.

More editing, more effects, more sound etc..some mild tensions…and eventually we have a film submitted with an hour to spare.

I know, I know…history in the making right there, huh folks? Still, overall, pretty pleased with the final result.

New online digs for this site, the old one purged.

I’m gonna try and be a little bit better about the updates, the projects and the what-not with the hey-nonny nonny and the ha-cha-cha.

The good news, there are a whole slew of on-going projects at D’fwago Productions along with 416films. The bad news…well, none of them are finished.