Soufi Films

Our Trailer is Now on the Road

2007-04-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

NEW!

You can now view the trailer
for Road to Opportunity.

Click here to find the link to RTO's Online Video Trailer
posted at the Kids First! website

Vacaville Screening

2007-03-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

Festival Announcements

2007-03-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

When it comes to festivals, it is easier to find room for a 10 minute short than a feature, so it great to find a festival that will support a 90-minute student film.

The deReel Independent Film Festival is in Australia.

Kids First! makes selected films available on their quarterly US tour roster. (connected with the Coalition for Quality Children's Media)

Look for announcements of upcoming screenings as they come up at Soufifilms.com.

The Jury

2007-03-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

It’s also lucky when a filmmaker matches up with a festival’s venue--time and content. It costs money to apply to most film festivals, and usually there’s no money made in the process, so student filmmakers running on a tight budget try to select festivals that seem like good matches.

As independent filmmakers with no other means to distribute our film, we send our work out to the juries and wait.

. . . and sometimes we win.

"Road to Opportunity" is an official selection on a roster of films in a 3-month nationwide tour with Kids First! from the Coalition for Quality Children's Media. "Road to Opportunity" will join other films selected for screening at various venues from mid-April to mid-July. You can watch for tour dates and places as they come up (posted at our new, simple website http://soufifilms.com).

We were also selected to win the “Best of the Rest” award from the DeReel Independent Film Festival in Dereel, Victoria, Australia.

Screen time

2007-03-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Some festivals are non-competitive, but offer screenings for exposure and opportunities.
Even then, there is a competitive element to getting selected for this or any official screening. It's an award in itself. That's why you'll see laurels that state "Official Selection".

Those selections often then run for an award, but sometimes a film runs outside the awards competition when it is outside the official festival categories.For example, the Buckingham Independent Film Festival, which offers a competition for film shorts, will be running our feature after selected shorts, on one evening.Festivals have time considerations, so it's an honor when one chooses to give a longer feature film that much time.

Soufifilms.com

2007-03-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

"Road to Opportunity" now has this website that will grow as needed.

We plan to later link our trailer to the site and offer a way to order a copy of the DVD.

DVD ready

2007-02-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

Since last post, we designed the menu and chapter selections.

We also finished designing the DVD-box insert (pictured above), so we can begin packaging some "thank you" copies for those who worked on or supported the film. (to enlarge image, right-click it & select "Open Link in New Window")

Distribution? We don't know yet. It's a student work, which may be how it is initially defined, but we will see where this Road leads.

One Sheet and turning a page

2006-06-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

Here's our "one sheet" for publicity purposes. Some festivals ask for it, so we're preparing it along with other publicity packet materials outlined at festival sites and at Without A Box.

Road to Opportunity had a premiere showing and is essentially complete. We tweaked it a bit more and are sending it out to other film festivals to see where it might fit in and be screened. In case you don't already know Withoutabox.com, check it out. It helps fine tune your selection process (choosing festivals) and eases your effort to get a film placed. After you register your project at the WAB and describe it in detail, you can search festivals and click the "Qualify this Project" tab to see how well your film matches each festival's requirements.

One sheet, and many pages to go.

Still climbing the learning curve. . . even when the film is complete. . .there is more to learn and do.

Not Road to Perdition

2006-06-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

People keep asking us, "What's the name of that film again? Road to Perdition?"

Sometimes our own crew makes the error of calling the film "Road to Perdition". This confusion is probably made because Road to Perdition is the most commonly known "road to" film.

You might have seen the comedy road films of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. More recently there's: "Road to Eldorado", "Road to Avonlea" (TV-series) and "Road to Guantanamo".

If you google "road to" and "film", you'll also find "Road to Opportunity".

RTO's Premiere Film Festival Screening

2006-06-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

Road to Opportunity premiered at the Mondavi Center in Davis, California, May 27, 2006.

In April the Pacific Edge Film Festival accepted RTO in its rough cut form.

RTO's final cut wasn't complete in time to enter the competitive portion of the festival, but being selected for screening (as one of only two feature films) was a prize in itself . Being screened at such a venue helped get this film off to a good start.

We are glad that it could open so close to home. Congratulations, Pacific Edge, and thanks Mondavi Center. It was a good event.

Thanks to everyone involved. Thanks to everyone who attended the premiere of Road to Opportunity.

Post production post

2006-06-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

Post production: Editing, sound and sound editing, music, visual effects, voice overs (or AVR which stands for Additional Voice Replacement).
These were much of what we worked on in April and May.
Hundreds of hours. Now I see how the film industy employs so many people.
Check out the credits on many films and you'll see a long list due to so many people employed in post production.
We couldn't have afforded to pay for all the post production we did on our own. There are a lot of student filmmakers who don't get around to learning the programs involved in post production. It ususally ends up being a bigger-budget item.
Films are indebted to a lot of software these days, including things as simple as color correction and editing, to things more complex, such as visual effects, which we experiemented a lot with.
It was our first feature and hard to judge the time it would take to tweak the earlier rough cut we sent in to the Pacific Edge Film Festival. When they notified us that it was accepted, we got to the point where we were working around the clock without sleep to come up with a suitable cut.
We had a good premiere screening, but we are using the time since to tweak it further prior to submission to other festivals.
Thanks to everyone who came through for us during those deadline-crunching days.

Location, Location, Location

2006-03-22T13:09:00.000-08:00

Location scouting has been a major aspect of the filming process. Our cast and crew have traveled hundreds of miles from deserts to urban overpasses, lush hillsides and cluttered construction sites. We have mounted cameras to vehicles as we film on some of the nation's largest freeways. We have been questioned by pedestrians, but no matter how much attention was drawn, some locations have proven indispensable. The production of “Road to Opportunity” has been loaded with experiences, many of which couldn’t have been anticipated at the drawing board. Now, with our film 90% completed, we look back on 9 months of work with good memories of the people and places we came to know during the production process.

The Other Los Angeles

2006-03-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

Diego continued his adventure through Los Angeles in Fairfield, CA.The government district of Fairfield has a "Socal" appearance that looked authentic on camera. As these images demonstrate, we had to position the camera (and DP) in awkward locations to get the shots we were looking for. Doing everything from running through the streets of downtown Fairfield to driving a motorized scooter thought parking lots and sidewalks, Diego probably walked five miles and scooted another two miles during the entire filming day. We also filmed a few quick scenes at a major grocery store and near a small orange grove. All in all, it was just another day in the production of “Road to Opportunity”.

World Wide Web Indeed

2006-03-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

The internet has proved to be a powerful tool in the exposition of the Road to Opportunity production progress. Already, AB FILM BLOG has received hits from 48 countries throughout five continents. All countries in red (above) have accessed this bog. (Click on map to enlarge)

Scene 1 - "por que tiene espinas?"

2006-03-19T23:04:00.000-08:00

Scene One presented a new set of challenges. First, how do you get a person who doesn't speak Spanish to act like someone with a Spanish mother tongue? It's difficult but, as Isaac proved, possible. Isaac acted the role of Julio as a child, for the first scene in the film. Victor acted as the father (before he went to Mexico). This scene was recently added to the script, but it added a lot to the dynamics of the plot. Another challenge was filming the entire outdoor scene after sunset before it became too dark. Fortunately, Ian came to the rescue once again, allowing us to utilize his property for filming the orange trees. In fact, the Fisher family even allowed us to use their home while they were gone—a critical contribution to our filming process. Several cast members traveled over 35 miles to arrive on set that afternoon. Despite a vast array of challenges, the cooperation of our cast and crew members along with the support of Ian’s family enabled us to successfully complete the first scene of our film.

Road to Opportunity -

2006-03-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

Still shooting our film, "Road to Opportunity".
Still working on that road.
Still going down that road.
Thanks for everyone who traveled down that road with us.
Thanks to everyone who cheered us on as we went by, ran by, looking a bit tired.

Our list of remaining shots is pretty short now.
Some require sunshine, so that will take another week (according to the weather forecast which we keep checking).
Meanwhile, the post-production moves ahead rain or shine, day and night.
Music will follow. Our musician-composers are standing by.
We look forward to writing up the credits (there are a lot!)
and watching them roll the night of the film's premiere screening.

We'll let you know when we have a confirmation that our film will be shown, when and where.
Thanks!

Props

2006-03-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

When you have a tiny crew, everyone does a bit of everything. That's one of the advantages of starting on small projects. Lots of hands-on experience.

Recently we had to build some things. Burgers. Fifteen.

First we had to come up with a name for our fast food restaurant chain, (how?)
then we had to design a logo.

then we had to create the burger wrappers.
The owner/manager of
Hamburger Stand
helped us with this.

We then set up an assembly line at home where three of us packaged 15 "burgers". Everything was edible but the burger itself, which was wooden!

We didn't want to buy real burgers that would have to be thrown away at the end of the day, but they couldn't be fake, because the scenes call for unwrapping real burgers. So we took real buns, real lettuce and a circular slice of wood to fill it out. Looked good on camera.

Two scenes call for the main character, Julio, entering a fast food place. We called it Dwiddles.
In one, he orders all the Big Dwiddies he can get for $60.

Call the Props Department!
We need about 15 burgers!

Now that's a Big Dwiddie!

Branding a Fictional Product

2006-03-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

Like our dilemma with choosing a name for a grocery market, we had to modify the name for our fast food chain. We tried McWendles, which, during a film shoot was accidentally spoken as McDwiddles. It made us laugh--we liked the sound of it, but we dropped the Mc, to keep us clear away from any unintended connection with other chains.

Our "Props Department", furnished logos and items to make it look more real.

Big Dwiddie

2006-03-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

Two scenes call for the main character, Julio, entering a fast food place. We called it Dwiddles.
In one, he orders all the Big Dwiddies he can get for $60.

Call the Props Department!
We need about 15 burgers!

We didn't want to buy real burgers that will hae to be thrown away at the end of the day. But we couldn't simply stuff the oackaging with foam, because the scene calls for unwrapping the burgers. So we took real buns, real lettuce and a circular slice of wood to fill it out.
Now that's a Big Dwiddie!

Aisle see you

2006-03-05T01:24:00.000-08:00

At the "Bucks Mart" location.

Checking the aisles for good angles.

"Prop"erly Labeled

2006-03-04T23:26:00.000-08:00

A carton of juice

was to show prominently in one scene.

(click photo on the left to check out out the ingredients on the nutrition label)

To avoid involving a brandname
(no product placement in this film),

we had to get a design for all four sides of a carton.

We should have added "do not drink--this is only a prop". (a prop that sat for days without refridgeration. No one drank from it--we had a "stand in" of fresh orange juice for that scene.

An actor can inspire the lines

2006-03-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you write some lines in a script with no particular actor in mind. Afterwards, when you find an actor, and you can imagine them well, it inspires new lines. That's what happened when we found Mr. Bruce Jones to play our Bucks Mart manager.

When we imagined him in the role, we wanted to keep writing more lines. During rehearsal and shooting of scenes, he also improvised with smart humor, so we have lots of "takes" to choose from in the editing process.

We also have him to thank for finding us this office location at Hearn Construction, thanks to Mr. Gordon Stankowski, president.
Two busy business men who have already worked all week, came in to the office on a Saturday to help two student filmmakers!

Bucks Mart - finding a name that doesn't Google

2006-03-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

We had to come up with a name for the business where our lead character gets a job.

We couldn't use the name of an existing business, and we preferred avoiding something too close, such as "All-Mart".

We finally designed a name (and slogan) that even a "Google" search didn't find:

We attached this logo to some props,including stationery and a pen.

Here and not now: later

2006-03-02T00:49:00.000-08:00

It's not so fun to think ahead when all you see is a big deadline.
Even so, we are thinking ahead.

we have to live in the present and future simultaneously to get things done

Even after we wrap the filming part, we have the sound track to work on. We are looking forward to working on this because of the original music being composed for it.

I wonder what inspiration (and loss of sleep) it will require to get it all together.

3 months per mile

2006-03-02T00:40:00.000-08:00

It took three months to drive this scooter scene to the finish line.

We started the early days of December. Since then, we had to find a scooter that anyone could actually ride.

Several people had scooters that "used to work". We finally settled for one of those.

Then we had to repair and service it.

Then we had to find a new actor (in the scooter-kid's role). Thanks to Kyle's cousin! (we are indebted to lots of people's relatives: cousins, uncles, nephews, brothers. . .)

Then we had to find times that fit everyone and get the sun and shadow continuity right.

Then, we somehow ran out of gas (maybe it evaporated while waiting).

This was the most "jinxed" scene to get everything to come together. But it worked well in the end.

Rain, Dollars and Time budget

2006-03-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

Rain means shoot the indoor scenes. Some days the rain was falling so hard and LOUD that it didn't even allow us to do that. It was too loud to record the dialogue.

When the rain stops, we hurry to see who we can get together to shoot the remaining outdoor scenes. Sun is in low supply, so we watch how we spend it.

In the real film world, we'd be losing money every time we aren't filming.

We don't have a big dollar budget (it's mainly costing time) but we have a time budget, and we are running low.

Los Angeles Unit

2006-03-02T00:27:00.000-08:00

Someone who studied filmmaking at our high school is now in Los Angeles. He agreed to shoot some pickup shots of LA scenes. Hope he gets them done for us in time to wrap this film.

Blake Borchers--our Los Angeles unit.

Home away from home

2006-03-02T00:21:00.000-08:00

Gustavo generously offered his home to shoot some indoor scenes. It took nearly two whole days! How do you thank someone for this?

He's an accomplished professional musician, specializing in percussion. We're hoping we can film him and his band sometime and create a DVD that he can use as a promotional DVD.

We can't think about that until this film is fully wrapped.

Meanwhile, we are thinking of and thanking the good people we have met through this film project. One of the best things about this experience.

We hadn't had experience asking people--people we don't even know--for favors, help, advice and ideas. Filmmaking doesn't allow self-suffiency. You need people. That's how you end up meeting and getting to know them. And because there is often problem-solving involved, you feel like you have been through something together.

Equipment is what you make it

2006-02-14T20:54:00.000-08:00

Make it work: bend it, lift it. . .

When you don't have the budget or special film equipment, you modify what you have.

At this same film shoot we also bent a wire hanger to hold our microphone from our tripod.

It was perfect. We should always carry hangers, clips, assorted adhesive tape, string. . . who knows? Might need it. Ever watched "MacGyver"?

Special Effect

2006-02-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

Special effects doesn't always mean using CGI (Computer Generated Imaging) or high tech devices and engineering. Sometimes you can achieve an "effect" by watching for and using the simplist things, including glass, mirrors, lighting, positioning.

With room darkening, strategic lighting and positioning of actors on either side of this window, we found the effect we wanted for this prison scene.

You can check here for a simple glossary of Film Terms.

You can compare the terms "visual-effects" and "special-effects".

Location, location. . .

2006-01-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

ANOTHER LOCATION:
Fortunately, there are still family-run businesses who can make the decisions on the spot, without having to refer to other authorities. One of our primary actors (and musician) Juan Rodriguez, was able to offer us his family’s Woodland restaurant, El Charro, which has been in the family for generations. They are always closed on Sundays, so they offered it to us for as long as we needed that day. And because we were nearby extended family and friends, we had enough (if we wanted) to fill every chair in the café scene.

It was a long day---for the generous and patient crew, actors and extras.

____________ Click to enlarge photos.___________

Assorted shots:
Adjusting lights, filters, boom, audio. . .
and actors.

Seek, find, ask. . .

2006-01-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

LOCATION PERMISSION:
We approached a business (a franchise restaurant) with the request to film a scene in one of their locations. We started by talking to a local office representative, who listened to our presentation and took our information. Later, we heard from a regional rep, who reminded us how difficult it is to obtain permission. However, she asked me to send more information that will be forwarded to another corporate office for a final decision.
Even if we don’t obtain permission, we learned more about business.

What's in a name? Check your tagline.

2006-01-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Here’s a fun article and list of “Great Film Taglines”: http://www.filmsite.org/taglines.html . Tim Dirks, the author of this copyrighted website, wrote the following explanation:
“Introduction: Taglines (often called slogans) are catchy, enticing short phrases used by marketers and film studios to advertise and sell a movie, and to sum up the plot, tone or themes of a film. Many films have multiple taglines. Composing ad copy for posters and trailers is generally the first step in marketing a film and setting a strategic direction for the product. These 'sound-bite' epigrams are often placed on either film posters (above or below the film's title) or on the merchandise itself (DVD or video cassette box, etc.), to reinforce what the film is all about. Some films do not have a tagline at all, and instead choose to provide evocative images to convey the meaning, mood, symbolism, or setting of the film (i.e., Chinatown (1974)). Some taglines are quite obscure, unrecognizable and forgettable. Often, the best taglines are for very inferior films.”

Here’s a list we have drawn up for our film, Road to Opportunity: Do you have a favorite?

Rain time-- what to do

2006-01-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

Culture effected by weather.
And so it is here in California. We forget rain for so many months of the year, that when a few drops fall, and then a month of rain falls, we wonder what to do.
Here’s a list of some things we did:

Rain— time to do CG (which means composite generator). There is software that allows the user to create 3-D objects and environments. We will need this is many instances (link to more details).
Rain— time to do music. We had been putting this off as a post-production matter, but being we couldn’t film, we had a few good sessions creating original music that we plan to develop for the film (link to more details).
Rain— time to watch some movies (as we aren’t able to edit our own now). Our film teacher Mr. “C” (Carillo) told us about the documentary “Lost in La Mancha” that describes the making of a film where everything that can go wrong does.

RAIN— time to rain some more. Flood watches and then evacuations. It didn’t include us, but it but a serious tone on things.

Rain— time to review our script. Rain storms good for brain storms.

Rain— time to review our tagline ideas.

Info on a card

2006-01-03T17:45:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, in filmmaking, our film industry-experienced teacher, Mr. C, reminds us of the business aspects. It’s integrated into all the work, including permission forms.
We have been keeping a lot in one binder, so that there are less places to look for things—less loose sheets to lose. We didn’t yet have a simple way to give out our contact information to people we meet, so after many times writing our number on a scrap of paper, we designed a business card.

Business aspects

2006-01-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

SOUFI FILMS

2006-01-02T23:40:00.000-08:00

New Year, new blogsite.

We have an easy-to-remember blogsite set up. It simply links to this site. It's easier for some to find us this way. .

SOUFIFILMS.blogspot.com.

I have jotted down notes--lots of news--and I'll be posting more pictures, too.
Soon!

Winter break---time to work? If we're lucky

2006-01-01T17:08:00.000-08:00

Winter Break—and time (we hoped) to catch up with our film production schedule.

It was also a time to catch a cold, go on vacation, and watch the rain fall. Everyone did one or more of these. We all watched the rainfall and there was even flooding in some areas.

We used to live in a place known for rain—the Pacific Northwest (Washington State) though we lived in the dry interior. We lived a long time in Beautiful British Columbia which was both beautiful and rainy. It was so rainy that a mere drizzle called for a walk in the park or a chat on the street corner with a friend.

Rain on the RTO

2005-12-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

Rain on the Road to Opportunity.
Besides filming chase scenes, we have been chasing the shortening hours of daylight and the changing season that brings more clouds, rain and cold. We have been lucky. Until last weekend. We had a big crew signed on for some outdoor filming, but the weather forecast and then the rain, forced us to quickly rewrite our shooting schedule--and move it all INDOORS!
Finally, we had to postpone all together. Meanwhile, we gained some more crew--including actors--for upcoming scenes.
No one said the Road to Opportunity would be easy!

Same place, same time?

2005-12-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

It only appears that way.
Three actors:
the main character Julio (played by Diego),

SWAT officer 1 (played by Basil)

and SWAT officer 2 (played by Tom).

The chase: involving all of the above.

The film shoots: on three different days.
Julio on November 27,
Basil December 4th and 10th,
and Tom on December 10th.

Post production: will have all three at the same place at the same time, thanks to editing.

Film editing: something of a Rubik's Cube experience, itself.

Dolly with an engine

2005-12-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

We have tried dolly shots before, using a simple dolly (used for moving furniture) but it was too bumpy. For these running shots in the chase scene, we used a car. We had to drive over 20mph to catch up with the SWAT guy. That would have been too fast for a dolly.

We set up a tripod in the back seat, rolled down a window and shot as we tried to match the speed of the runner.

In this case, the SWAT actor, Basil, probably ran a few miles because it required many takes, trying to match his speed. We'd either get ahead or fall behind. Finally, we got a print, and Basil could hop into the car for a break and some behind the scenes shots.

Sometimes things work out (even with the Rubik's Cube factor)!

Our second SWAT officer, Tom, was on standby for his turn in the SWAT gear. We had to take turns, because our budget only allowed us to buy one uniform. In case you're wondering what we collected to piece together this uniform, we will post something on that later.

Filmmaking burns calories

2005-12-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

. . . if you have to run up and down a hill like our SWAT actors (and crew) did

--about 20 times.

And to avoid worried attention from bypassers, we had a sign that clearly indicated we were making a film.

We were right behind a movie theatre, so people arriving for a film were also seeing one being made.

No problems. We have gotten to know the security guard at the top of the hill, and he is cheering us on!

.

Chase scenes - action and reaction from the public

2005-12-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

Running in a SWAT uniform brought in a lot of phone calls to the police station!

More on this, along with photos, a little later tonight!

Later:
Despite the "Filmmaking in Progress" sign, and efforts to notify the police,
and talking to neighbors, etc., people were calling into the police station--45 calls! So several police officers were dispatched to check it out.
More later.

Turns out,
after the initial serious approach, they noticed our "filmmaking in progress" sign, our camera on a tripod, and our friendly hello's. The officer chatting with us took an interest in our project, asked questions about the uniform and said there was nothing illegal about what we were doing. It was simply causing so many people to call in to ask what's going on, so they asked that we choose more discrete (or indoor) locations.

It was another Rubik's Cube moment.

Media Attention

2005-12-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

Our Film Production process was recently covered by "The Reporter" newspaper published an article in yesterday's paper regarding our current production "Road to Opportunity". There was a photo and caption on on the front page with a story on the cover of The Word section.

Film Industry

2005-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Just in case you're asking if one can actually work in the film industry, the answer is yes. Our teacher, Mr. Carillo, works in the industry, and explained that it employs so many people in everything from carpentry to cinematography. Click here here for more information about the film industry. It's wide open.

--Alex

Sounds familiar. . . in India

2005-12-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Just got a note (posted in the comments link, Dec. 6) from a filmmaker in India who said he (or she?) could relate to our descriptions of what we are running into while filmmaking.

Most of this blog's readers will be local or from the west coast where there's a lot of filmmaking. The note from India, though, reminded me that anyone might read this. Clicking on the small site meter at the bottom of the page shows me where people are viewing from.

Film Festivals

2005-12-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

People ask where and when they will be able to see our film Road to Opportunity.
Every year our school enters its student films into the Buckingham Independent Film Festival (click the link here or on the links column).
Most of the films screened are shorts, but if some longer films are allowed, maybe we'll have a chance to show ours. The competition is open to shorts only, so we probably won't be able to enter as a competitor, but it would be great if there's a chance to screen it here at Brenden Theatres. If not, there are many other film festivals. It takes time to find the right festival that matches one's work. There are also online sites where independent filmmakers can upload their work for online downloading/viewing. We'll let you know when it is showing somewhere.
Meanwhile, we just have to concentrate on getting our Road to Opportunity paved!

Scooter kicks

2005-12-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

The scooter scene will have to wait until we find a scooter that one can ride
without getting kicked off.

I guess if something mechanical had to go wrong, it's better it was the scooter and not the camera!

Another Rubik's Cube moment.

Rolling. . .

2005-12-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

Cameras rolling.

Oranges rolling.

We had a large crew on Sunday and met at a friend's home on a hill.

Thanks, Fisher family!
It was cold and windy, so our actors wore coats between scenes.
We featured orange trees and oranges, as written in the script.
Try to get an orange to roll down a hill just as you wish, and you'll be rolling all day!
We got it, though, after lots of takes and laughter and improvised engineering: How do you rehang an orange on a tree after it has already been picked?

How do you make (on cue) an orange fall, or appear to fall, off a tree?
How do you get it to roll down a hill right past the camera and stop--rolling!

Archives & posting notes

2005-12-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

From the archives link (see Archives in right column margin) you can check the postings (back to November 4th) for more pictures and words about planning and how things keep changing.

You can also click on comments if you'd like to post a comment or question to us. Some will be posted on the website. The film crew (or other filmmakers) might like to post their own notes about filmmaking here.

PS: the photo above is of our cat, Moka. We wrote a scene for her to appear in, but she didn't show up at the film shoot, so a friend's cat, Tux, got the part. Well, even I am not in the film. --Alex

SWAT

2005-12-04T23:49:00.000-08:00

How do you run around town, dressed like a SWAT officer, and not attract attention? That was our question. More about this later. . .

Chase scene

2005-11-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Our actor, Diego, got a good workout on Saturday. He did a lot of running for a chase scene which involved lots of different locations and angles. In one shot, we found a quiet road where all traffic lanes would clear from time to time, where I could stand on the center divide with my camera while Diego waited for a safe moment to run across several traffic lanes. He was running toward a block of housing, but in the editing process I will digitally turn that scene into a gas station.

Nevada-Mexico Border

2005-11-20T23:05:00.000-08:00

Diego, Alex, and I (Basil) caravanned four hours to arrive in the middle of nowhere (Lyon County, Nevada), but it was worth it. We scouted the region south of the middle of nowhere and located the perfect place to film our “border-crossing” scenes. I built false border markers replicating the real signs used in the Sonora Desert, along the U.S.-Mexico border. The temperature that morning was a mere 18 degrees FAHRENHEIT, but by the time we started filming, the weather was more reasonable (around 62 degrees). Based on the dailies (raw footage), our trip to Nevada appears to have been a success.

Planning an Interstate Excursion: Nevada

2005-11-18T00:14:00.000-08:00

We have scouted (via internet) for sites that could resemble the desert border crossing to California. In order to film these false border scenes, we will travel three hours to Nevada, where desert is plentiful. Our lead actor, Diego, can drive and is willing to drive there too, so we're going this weekend before it gets any colder. The temperature was 24 degrees this morning, but by afternoon it gets above 60 degrees. Diego is supposed to be crossing the hot Sonoran Desert in in a t-shirt--hope nobody catches pneumonia. We'll shoot extra footage, including extra scenery in case we need to do some compositing work in post production editing.

Night Shots

2005-11-17T23:55:00.000-08:00

The day was short, but we worked with it, using the fading light, and then the darkness and traffic lights. We made the most of what little light there was to work with.

Back to Work

2005-11-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

Our film is back on schedule! We had two weeks of uncertainty over the availability of our main actor, Jorge. Jorge is a seventeen year-old resident of California who originally came from Mexico with his family in search of a better life. His story was the inspiration for our film, "Road to Opportunity". Although he is no longer the main actor, we will continue to stay in touch as he has been a vital asset to our project.

Yesterday, November 12th, 2005, our crew met with Diego (our new main actor) to film various construction scenes in rapidly developing Solano County. The goal may seem over ambitious: Make "Norcal" (northern California) appear to be "Socal" (Southern California). However, with fastidious location scouting, the director sees this goal to be feasible.

Location Scouting

2005-11-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

On 9 November, 2005, Alex and Boss scouted out various locations throughout the region (Solano County). We were transported by Kathy and her son, Vinnie, who have provided valuable connections for our Production. Their acquaintance with the region also serves our ambition to find the best possible filming locations without driving to the actual Los Angeles, CA (the implied location of our film).

Main actor lost!

2005-11-10T21:29:00.000-08:00

It's about as big a change as we could foresee:
we lost our main actor, who has too many other obligations. But he will stay on as a consultant.

A big twist in the Rubik's Cube! A twist in the plot of our filmmaking story!!

Audio clips

2005-11-08T23:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a sample audio clip of me knocking. Later we might also post some voice-clips from a scene. I would like to post some original music being composed for our film. Stay tuned. . .

Current Project: "ROAD TO OPPORTUNITY"

2005-11-08T23:15:00.000-08:00

AB and team are currently working on a feature independent film project. Our movie, “Road to Opportunity”, is a comedy-drama about a Mexican illegal immigrant who crosses the border into California with high hopes and naive expectations. The film is currently in the cinematogaphy stage. Completion of the project is set for January, 2006.

Trip to AFB

2005-11-08T22:34:00.000-08:00

Our film team took a trip to Travis Air Force Base in October, 2005, during a special “Air Fair”, in which we received full access to the military aircraft on display. Our main actor at that time, Jorge, walked alongside the largest Aircraft in North America, the C-5 Galaxy. Garret (in black) and Kyle (in beige) provided technical support in that event. This scene was not in the existing script, but the director, Alex, saw it as a special opportunity. As a result of switching actors, we may not be able to utilize the scene after all.

Meanwhile. . .

2005-11-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile. . .
I'm a student. . .
and homework happens.
By Sunday night--like now--it better happen.
And so that is where I'm going--right now.
trig.
an essay.
the school broadcast prep.
now.

Snap Shots - Action

2005-11-06T21:10:00.000-08:00

Scene one, take two. . .action!
Cut. Check that again. . . what about. . .
Yes.

Snap shots.

Trying to capture behind-the-scenes action.

Lots of that is spent sitting, standing, watching, listening, waiting. . . problem solving. It's not what you first think of as "action".

Lining Up Cast and Crew

2005-11-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

It has been fun to work with a larger crew this time--we have about a dozen crew members and a cast of students and adults--but it takes a lot of phone calls--and several phones--to line up even a few to be at the same place at the same time.

So much for planning. . .

2005-11-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

Planning. That's probably good for lots of things. Even filmmaking. Even when nothing goes as planned.
It's like having a script--you're glad you have it, even if you have to keep changing it.

Rubik's Cube

2005-11-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

Have you ever played with a Rubik's Cube? You have to twist the segments to line up all like colors on each side. Just when you think you've got everything lined up, you turn it around and see it's not! That's what happens to film-shoot plans. You've got all your film crew lined up and then the main actor can't make it. Or the actors are lined up but a location plan falls through. Or it rains. Or. . .
So you have to like playing the game--the cube--for the times things line up and even for the times when they don't.

AB

2005-11-04T22:41:00.000-08:00

A (as in Alex) and
B (as in Basil)
We will both be posting to our weblog.

Media School

2005-11-04T22:37:00.000-08:00

It's good to be part of a media school that has film production classes. It gives us other crew members who have an idea what they're doing.
Our instructor is Mr. Leonard Carillo. He's been making films for years.

Looking back

2005-11-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

My brother and I started brainstorming our screenplay last summmer. We planned to shoot it as an independent project, but brought it into our film production class to work on as a group project there.
I feel like I'm halfway between the end of this film and the beginning. While I'm looking ahead, I'm also looking back. It's time to review what we've done til now.