We're In!

Hey guys!  Tons of stuff is happening now!

We've moved into the location and we're starting to set up the art design to make the house look lived-in.

Tim and E.J. are down at Equipment checkout right now getting all of our gear and last nigh, E.J. and his 1st AC, Evan Ho, were testing out the RED and a couple of lenses.

Tonight is a mini-shoot night to get a couple of small scenes out of the way before full start tomorrow night.

~Catherine

Happy Post-Thanksgiving!

So, the Thanksgiving holiday is past.  I hope everyone had a great time and ate lots of great food.

I'm finally updating the blog but don't think that nothing's happened in this time.  

Some stuff we've done over the past few weeks:

• Photo shoot with "Young Agnes" (Stephanie BoWell).  A full day and then some but lots of fun with tons of different costumes and hairstyles.  Tons of credit goes to Stephanie and Liz, our Hair & Makeup Designer.
• A grueling, three-hour blocking rehearsal at the location.  We had a lot of fun with the cast and E.J. getting photos for the story boards and going through the blocking of the film.
• Several rehearsals.  Having actors working with Tim to set the right tone for the film and get to know their characters.
• Scheduling the film.  Just tonight, Tim, E.J, Ying, and I planned out the timing of all the shots and scheduled the shoot.

What's coming up, you might ask?  Well, starting Tuesday we're moving into our location, getting all of the production design pieces in place, and doing the final preparation for the film.  Thursday we get all of our equipment and start a first, abbreviated day of shooting with a skeleton crew.  Friday is our first full day of shooting!

I'll see about posting a few photos each day so that you can see what we're up too but don't think we're going to be giving much away!

Costume Fittings!

Hey all! We have some fun shots of some of the possible costumes we'll be using for the photos in Teddy's Cigar box.  Timothy, Yao, Stephanie, and I met on Sunday to play dress up and see how the period clothing from UT's stock would do for our needs.  We found a bunch of stuff that wouldn't work but we found some really great possibilities, too.  So, here you are:

A nice daytime/casual type dress.

Flowy cocktail dress with a subtle pattern.

Fancy evening dress, a bit long but really pretty.

So, that's just a hint of some of the costumes we've been looking at for the film!  Who knows if they'll be in or not and there's tons of other stuff we've not even shown you yet!

Update!

So, don't think that, just because we haven't posted anything that nothing's been happening.  Here's what we've been doing over the last few days.

Tim and I spent most of the day Tuesday driving around Austin.  We started off at Lucy in Disguise to see if we could find any interesting costumes for our upcoming photo shoot.  They were still pretty depleted from Halloween but we got an idea of what they have and took some photos to show to Yao, our costume designer.   

The rest of the day was spent driving all over Austin trying to find stores and restaurants and coffee shops that were willing to donate to our cause.  It was quite tiring.  I can honestly say that I've never been in so many food-type places in the same day.  Hopefully some great donations will come of it and we'll get some food to keep the cast and crew happy during the shoot.  If not, it's beans and cabbage stew for everyone... it will be a very... fragrant... set.

Then, Wednesday Tim, E.J. and I spent over an hour at the shooting location planning out shots, seeing what was possible in the location, and some general drooling.  It really is an amazing location and we're lucky to be able to call it the Atwater family home.

Immediately following the location visit, we headed back to my house to meet most of the cast for our first read-through of the script.  I made peanut butter cookies and we all had a great time looking over costumes and getting to know each other and the characters in the film.  Much fun was had.

Thursday I found out that Universal Music, owners of the publishing rights to the song Cinnamon as performed by the group Derek, don't need us to contact them about licensing until after we have the film practically finished.  YAY!  Something that doesn't need to be done now.

Today I went to a few more restaurants to see if they'd give us some lovely food and Tim met up with Yao to go through the costumes available through the theater department.

And, I think that was about it...  So, now you're up to date!

Oh, and we're up to  $130 on the Kickstarter fund!

Kickstarter is LIVE!!!

If you're here from the Kickstarter site, welcome!  We're happy to have you here.

I'm happy to announce that our Kickstarter project is now live on the Kickstarter site!  It's time to raise some funds.  Be sure to check it out even if you're not able to help fund the film as we have a nice little video featuring Jerry Turman, our Teddy.  He was super sweet to come in at late notice at a very late hour to film it and he was amazingly patient with us.  You'll get to see Tim and me and the work of our amazing cinematographer, E.J. Enriquez.  

We've also found out that E.J. is up for recognition by some large group of cinematographers and we hope he gets selected for the award, even if he doesn't get any cash out of it.

In other news, we've added all of the cast to the Our Cast page for your perusal.  I've not gotten all of their bios yet but I'll put them up as soon as I get them.  Feel free to look them over.  They're a lovely bunch of people.

I think that's it for now!  I'm off to a meeting with Tim, Yao (costume design), and Lindsay (production design).

Camera System

We've secured a camera for the shoot.  We'll be shooting on RED in 4K using Arri/Zeiss T1.3 35mm prime lenses .  This is going to be a good looking picture.

Costume Design!

Not much to say today, we've almost got the film cast, which is exciting but what I want to do here is introduce you to Yao, our costume designer extraordinaire!  I can't possibly post her entire portfolio here but, trust me, it's amazing.  I'll just give you a hint of one of the pieces she's done in the past.  Here's the design for it, and the actual finished piece.  We're really happy to have found someone so talented!  I'll be posting her bio in the "Our Crew" section soon.

 

Also looks like, after weeks of looking, we've found a person to head up our production design team.  I'll keep you updated on that, as soon as I have more info.

Also, on Sunday, Tim and I had some fun driving around town looking for homes that were decorated with Halloween stuff.  We were surprised by how little we found but we were able to spot a couple of really nice places and left them a letter explaining the film and how we'd love to borrow their decorations if they're willing.  Hopefully, we'll hear from them soon.

We're filming our Kickstarter video on Thursday.  Just a quick intro to the film so people can see that we're serious and have a chance to see that we are real people.  Hopefully that should go smoothly so we can upload it and start the project as scheduled, on Halloween!

Oh, keen-eyed visitors may have noticed the added "Our Art" section... if you don't have the keenest eyes, check it out!  We'll be posting some images of production design, costume design, and actual art by local artists that will be showcased in the film.

I think that's all for now!  Until next time!

So Much to Do, So Little Time!

We're busy, busy, busy!

Right now we're still in the final stages of casting.  We've seen so many amazing performers it's very intense to whittle them down to the best choices for our cast.  We love them all but we have to pick the person who best represents the character he or she is chosen to play and who brings a unique interpretation of who the character is and what their motivations are.

To any of our auditioning actors, you've made our job very interesting and complex, we wish there were roles for all of you and, honestly, if you aren't offered the part, it's not because you lack the talent and drive to perform.  You are all very talented and, given the right part, could act anyone's socks off.  I especially appreciate your willingness to put up with my last-minute schedule changes.  You're all very flexible and that's definitely a great trait.

So, what else is going on?  We're applying for a Austin Film Society Fiscal Sponsorship that, if we get it, will allow us to accept donations from friends and family are considered a tax-deductible donation.  We're still planning to do the Kickstarter project, which will be a great way to reach out to people around the world but, if we get the sponsorship, it might be an added incentive for those closer to home.

And, speaking of Kickstarter, we're still planning to start our project on Halloween, so get ready to check that out and all of the great "prizes" you'll get for donating to our cause... DVD copy of the completed film plus some extra shorts by the director anyone???  That and so much more will be available to you if you'll help us get this film off the ground.  And, if you're wondering what the money's for... well, our amazing location, the Atwater home is putting us a bit over budget, so your donations will help house the Atwater family for the five days of our shoot.

 

Pre-production planning is moving along, the meeting with E.J. last week was informative and interesting.  Tim has another meeting with him tomorrow to decide what equipment we need to request from equipment checkout at UT.

In the next few days, you'll be seeing some new names added to the Our Crew page.  We've got our AC, AD, and Costume Designer lined up and we'll put their info up as soon as we have it ready for the site.

Meetings and Auditions

Today we're having our first visual direction meeting, or whatever you want to call a meeting between the cinematographer and the director to discuss the shooting style of the film with yours truly coming along for who knows what reason since they'll probably be off talking in jargon I don't understand but it should be tons of fun.  I'm guessing I'll be able to act as a bounce of sorts, giving a tertiary opinion on their plans and forcing a bit of realism into the conversation... "No, guys, I don't think that shooting this scene under water is going to work at all!  I'm pretty sure the RED is allergic to water even if I am scuba certified."

It will also give me my first insight into how much time I need to give for each scene so that we can get the film shot in the time we have.  With about fifteen scenes, that means we need to try to get three or four of them done per day which is actually pretty low but we're working to have a very technically and visually beautiful film, so we need to take advantage of every minute we have.

Tomorrow we're having call back auditions.  Seven hours of round-robin auditions for the people we've put on our short-list.  Our goal is to see how the different actors interact with each other and find the best ensemble cast.  With such a tight-knit story, it's imperative that all of our cast members have a connection so we can make these six leads really seem like a family, even if it is a bit dysfunctional.  

We had a really difficult time selecting the twenty we've called back from the more than sixty who came to our auditions.  I (and I'm sure Tim) have a great deal of respect and admiration for all of the actors who came to our casting call last weekend.  We thank you all for your time and we sincerely wish you the best. 

Welcome to the Atwater home...

Cinnamon now has a home, literally.  Welcome to the Atwater house.

Exterior, from street.

Living room.

Teddy's bedroom.

Dining room.

What a great round of auditions!

I'm so pleased with the first round of auditions.  Thanks to all of the talent who came out and read with us!  Thanks to Catherine for scheduling the smoothest casting session I've ever been part of!  I'm looking forward to all of the actors who are coming in tomorrow.  Cheers - Tim.

Auditions Tomorrow!

I am so excited that we are having our auditions tomorrow and Saturday.  It's going to be a great chance for us to talk to a variety of actors and find the ones that will be best for our project.  If you're coming tomorrow, I very strongly suggest you leave yourself a good amount of time to get parked and into the building.  It would be great if you could all be there fifteen minutes early so we can get some paperwork done and so we can keep the scheduled auditions moving and on time.  

Just as a reminder, the large parking lot across Dean Keeton is now closed because they're putting a building there, so plan to park in one of the other lots, like the pay lot next to Mellow Mushroom, or to find on-street parking at a meter.  I think most of them stop charging at 5 or 5:30 pm, so it shouldn't be that big of a cost (if any) if you can find one.  Alternately, there are tons of bus lines running to campus or consider riding a bike or having someone drop you off.  Also, don't forget that, with ACL going on this weekend, traffic is going to be crazier than usual and many of the bus routes may be running late.

Some of you may have noticed that we now have a cinematographer/DP.  E.J. Enriquez has a ton of experience working as a DP and has a great eye for beautiful shots.  I'm sure this film will look amazing!  Check out the "Our Crew" page for his bio blurb and a link to his reel on Vimeo!

I guess that's all for now.  For all of you coming tomorrow or Saturday, I look forward to meeting you!  I'm off to bake cookies and prepare for the auditions.

See you around!

Casting Moving to Auditions!

We've had an amazing week of casting calls.  The posts that were put out on various sites got a great collection of responses and I'd like to thank everyone who sent in their headshot and resume for their response to the film.  I wish we could use you all but we don't have that big of a production.  I'm really excited to meet them all.

We're having our auditions on Friday and Saturday the 8th and 9th of October and I hope you've all scheduled your auditions because the slots are filling up fast!  We're also offering some few people a slot the following week if they're out of town this weekend.

We now are able to announce that we have a Cinematographer, EJ Enriquez.  His blurb will be appearing in the Crew section in the next few days.  Welcome aboard, EJ!

We're still working on finding a Production Designer, Costume Designer/Wardrobe Manager, and  Makeup.  Additionally we're working on nailing down our location for the shoot without too high costs although the nice places we're trying for could cost us a pretty penny for the week we'll be there.

We've decided to start our Kickstarter Project on Halloween in honor of Agnes Atwater's favorite holiday.  It will be up and running for the month of November and will close on December 1st.  We'll be posting a video about the film there and I'll post a link to the project in the blog as soon as it goes live.

I think that's all for now!  See you at auditions!

Casting and Other stuff

Well, things are moving forward.  We now have a likely candidate for costume design and we're on the road to casting this film!  I've contacted a bunch of the local talent agencies and put up a notice on CraigsList and AustinActors.net.  We're already getting some responses from interested people.

Hopefully, in another two weeks, we'll have some cast to put up on the cast page for you guys to see.

We are still looking for a production designer but hopefully we should be able to find someone relatively quickly.

We're working out our schedule and budget and we're deciding on gifts for the Kickstarter project which will be going live on Halloween in keeping with the theme of the production.

We're also trying to find the perfect location for the shoot and we're checking out places in Austin and Bastrop to see if any of them fit our needs.  Since 90% of the film is taking place in the one location, it's really important that we find the right place.

I think that's all for now!  I'll keep you up-to-date as things progress!

We're In!

Although the Kickstarter site warns of 3-4 day response times due to high volume of project requests, we've heard back and been accepted in under 24 hours!  After submitting our project proposal at 12:23 this morning, we've been notified this afternoon, at 2:58 PM that we've been given the opportunity to create a project on their site!

It will probably be a week or so before we can get everything pulled together for the actual project to go live but as soon as it does, we'll let you know!

Finding Funding

So, despite getting assistance from UT in the form of equipment use, there are still a lot of incidentals that need to be paid for including renting a truck to haul our gear, the cost of renting the RED digital imaging camera, cost of food to keep people happy and fed, location fees, maybe even being able to pay some of our actors... everyone in the film industry should be trying to get to a point where they can afford to pay their talent and crew!  There are tons of little things we need to be able to pay for to help make this film happen.

So, last night we applied to be a project on Kickstarter.  It's a really cool site where people with creative ideas can go to share their plans for their projects and get pledges from people all over the world.  It's an all or nothing set-up, though.  We'd only get the money pledged if we meet our goal and if we don't get the goal, your pledged money stays yours.  Because they're still in a beta test, they only accept so many projects but, hopefully in a few days, we'll know if they're going to help us out.  If they do, you'll be able to pledge money to the film and, if we reach our goal, you'll get a cool bonus gift depending on your pledge amount!

First Post!

Hey! This is Catherine and I'm very happy to open this blog about the film I'm producing for Timothy Edwards.  I welcome you and hope you enjoy this experience as much as we do. As we move through pre-production, production, and post-production Tim and I will be posting weekly updates so that you can stay involved and see how we're doing.  You'll know when we find locations, actors, and crew, whether we got free food from which restaurants, and be able to watch our production fund (and our list of associate producers) grow as people donate to the film.  We'll be tracking our progress in written posts, photos, and maybe even the occasional video.

So, again, welcome and enjoy!