Producer Update

I saw a final cut today and love it! Sound is amazing, everything is amazing! Producer is very happy!

I got an update.

Done.

Warning: Screw Spelling

I'm tired. I've been gripping on Lisa Cooks training video for the past three days and I'm tired.

I got good feedback from the test screenres. Actually I got great feedback. Most people seemed to grasp a general right idea about my film, and 0on top of that, they liked it too. Makes me confident about my film.

I just ate ome choclate..

Just met with my spound desginer. He had a rough cut. Some parts were perfect, some partts need work,. So I'm meerting again with him the next two nights. Also meeting with AShlee tomorrow morning to do the music. ALso going to classes. And unloading a eqiuipm,emt truck and editing and writing three papers before swensday.

And I ot to mee t again with marco on tuesday night to tweet the color correction. I also want to take out a smidget of the forrest scene with the general; concensous its too long, though maybe sound and music will help that.
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Post Edit

I have finalize my edit.

Spent 2 hours Monday, 8 hours tuesday, 2 hours wenesday and 4 on friday finishing it.

Gave the final to my sound designer and he'll have a irst sound cut sometime this week.

Meeting with Marco next week to tweak and finalize the visual effects.

And finally, soundtrack. Though I don't know when I'll be able to get that.
More to come.

Editing

I started editing on Monday.
I have a very rough cut.

Marco is a showoff with a camera. Everything looks amazing.

All I need now is stock footage, sound, music, and the visual FX (desaturating and saturating things).

Most of the scenes are finished aside from the above mentioned, however, two scenes (Man with tie driving, Man with Tie running through the woods) I still want to touch up.

My original cut ended up at 9 minutes.
Though I decided I wanted it to be shorter, so I think the final cut will be around 6 minutes (not including credits).


I met with my sound designer Stan today. I am extremely excited. I tried to explain what I wanted in context of sound and he repeated it better than I had tried to explain it. We seem on the same page. I can't wait to hear what he does with it.

I gave him the street 1 scene ( because it was more or less locked) and the final mugging scene to work with, meantime I'll finish the rest.

Woot.

My eyeballs hurt.

I appologize for not updated recently.

Truth is, I have not done anything for Urbanization in the past week, I have been working for the past 6 days on my frieds Mark, Eric and Lortir's sets. I have to say I have learned a lot and feel very confident on taking on 1st AD, Gaffer and Key Grip possitions in future films.

Anyways, thansk to Marco, I have everything captured allready, and I plan on starting editing during spring break.

Marco did an amazing job on filming, and showed me some amazing color corrections.

Done Shooting

The last two days have gone nicely.

The day we spent in Blachard park when excellently well. My actor Kenny was an amazing sport, getting hit over the head again and again until we had the shot.





So saturday went nicely. It was very relaxing.



My lovely AD at work.

Though in her defense, we probally didn't need her that day.



OMG LORTIR!
Here's Lortir being typecasted as usual.




And here's us looking at Superman.



Sunday went niecly too. The clouds played games with us every now and then, and two of our featrued extras ditched on us at the last minute, but I subbed Carla and B, and they did quite nicely. Aside from that, no problems.

Blocking was much easier than I thought it would be, it especially helped that we weren't worrying about sound, so I could call out ques.


Finally, on a disturbing side note...



This is the trail of blood we found that started on Magnolia, went all the way down Wall St. and ended disturbingly at a dumbster.

Day 2

I'm tired.
But we finished day 2. It went well. I'm sunburned.

Drive By Shooting

Today was day 1 of filming.
Marco, B and I drove around downtown filming out the side of the car.

It was awkward, and yet, fitingly helarious.

Imagine a slow moving vehicle driving by with a camera pointing out of the tinted window while other cars drive around it. That was us.

B, who was driving, kept putting on the emergency lights and tried to get people to drive around us. Every now and then B would pull over to the side and curse in spanish at stupid people. Some of it was in english.

She told someone to suck her ass. Grose.

For the record she wasn't upset, she just learned how to drive in Miami.

Marco, dedicated, cool and collected, kept telling us to ignore the cars behind us. As a car approached, he simply said, "Just keep going slow, let them do whatever."

I just kept my best to avoid eye contact with any of the other drivers, and at the same time hide my laughing. I wished that we had a decoy old lady behind the wheel so there was at least some tangible escuse for us going -5 MPR.

I felt as if we were a combination of a creepy spy cam and a sneaky sniper assination team.

Marco says we got some good footage, so I'm excited to watch it while I import it's hour-long-of-driving-around-goodness.

Suprisingly nobody honked at us.

Progress

So Idris and I went shopping for props and craft services for the weekend. It all came out pretty cheap too, so yay! We have had 2 small setbacks regarding a couple of our featured extras. So we will be quickly searching for the promiscuous woman extra and the fighter extra. Other than that we are ready for the weekend. We are still talking to certain extras about wardrobe but it should not be anything difficult and we should have it all ready by Friday. Marco, Idris, and I go out shooting the B Footage on Friday and then practicing with the steadicam-like thing (I always forget the name), so Marco can be familiar with it for the weekend.

If anyone has a sunroof in their car and wants to help out on Friday with the B Footage please let me know!

Other than that I think we are ready for production and I believe we will have a great shoot!

Test Footage

Sunday Marco and I went around to all our locations to get some test footage, and so Marco could become more familiar with the location and blocking.

While we were there I came across the pwefect weapon to use on my actor Kenny. I promptly hid the small log in a bush for next saturday.

I have to say I am getting both nervous and excited about our upcoming shoot days.


B and I are sending out call sheets today, as well as getting all the props and wardrobe materials we need.

Woot!

I'm pretty excited.
We officially have permission to film in Blachard park.
For those of you who are unnaware, Blanchard Park does not have a reputation towards being film friendly. If you want to film at Blanchard Park, I suggest trying to permit process at least 3 weeks in advanced, because they require not only a permit, but a cover letter before they give you permission and the facility use aplication. In other words, there's a little effort required getting permission to film there.

But it's all done, and we're set with our locations.
So now all we have to worry about is weather and people getting into our shots.
And getting all the props and wordrobes set up.
... And choreographing the getting hit in the face log bit twice in a oner.

Also, Erin apparently has tons of stock footage she's willing to let me use, so thank you Erin!

Almost done Urbanizing

So I thought I finally had it all done with pre-production, then Blanchard Park decides to add some more to my list. So now I have to fill out a cover letter with an application, including the permit I recieve from Orlando Film Commission in order to film in the park. They need to know everything we are doing. So if you ever want to film in Blanchard Park get ready for lots of paperwork. I should be sending all that in on Monday. Other than that, things are rolling!

Producer Update

I finally sent out the permit application to Dale Gordon and I am now awaiting her approval. I am also awaiting cast deal memos to be sent in from our cast. Other than that, our production book is coming along fine. We should have everything ready by Friday, if all goes well. IDris and I are planning a cast meeting a week before shooting so we can get them wardrobe directions and a better understanding of what they will be doing. That's it for now!

Casting

This is what Beatriz wrote in her Blog

Urbanization:

We just finished casting this weekend with the help of our 1st AD and Casting Director, Carla Tamma. On Monday we are going to review the video of the actors and choose who we want. Idris and I already drove around downtown and found 2 streets to use for the film. I am in the process of obtaining permits for those locations, as well as for Blanchard Park. Other than that, we will be having a crew meeting shortly and a cast meeting probably on Saturday.
Shooting begins February 23 and ends on the 25.

I would like to add that we have all our actors picked out.

Location Scouting

Last thursday, me and Beatriz went location scouting.
We were looking for two streets (with minimal green foilage),
Two different alleyways,
and a forrest.

I found the forrest by chance last Saturday went I went to a birthday BBQ in Blanchard Park. We went there first.

It's Perfect.


It doesn't look as warm as it normally does because these photos were taken while the sun was setting, but the forrest looks a lot warmer when the sun is high. There are lots of small winding pathways through the forrest which can easily because invisible if shot in the right way. Also there are several different kinds of woods within the forrest, such as a pineoues region, a swampy region, and a more oaky/grassy region.






This is the open area in the woods that the mugging will take place. Once again, it will look much brighter and warmer with the sun in the sky.

This is Pine Street between Magnolia and Rosalind, it will be the first street we film on. I plan on filming at the other end of old DMAC and try not to film too much the green building.


The second street is Wall Street between Magnolia and Rosalind. It's behind the library and one of the very few streets downtown without trees on it.

Damn those trees.

Pre Production Begins

urbanize

verb
1. make more industrial or city-like; "The area was urbanized after many people moved in"
2. impart urban habits, ways of life, or responsibilities upon; "Birds are being urbanized by people in outdoor cafes feeding them"



Urbanization is an idea I came up with in Cinematography 1, so most of you are familiar with the idea allready. The idea revolves around a man going to work in the city, and experiencing Urbanization at it's worst. He witnesses humanity in it's lowest form. Finally fed up with the city, he goes into the woods and surounded by the innocent forrest he at last is happy. Until he gets beaten to death and mugged.

I find the irony helarious.



I plan on using some strong artistic elements, focused mainly around the use of color. During the city scenes, I want everything to be desaturated and off color. And no greens. Then in the forrest I want everything to be supersaturated and bright, full of life and color. Finally with the introduction of the mugger, things will suddenly lose most of its color again.

What I'm trying to convey (through a dark comedic manner) is Urbanization. Allready the forrest is losing it's innocense to humanity. Urbanization is the spread of humans, the spread of their cities, their population, their technology, their waste, their lives. So far, Urbanization has had a primary negative effect on our planet. For the sake of this short, humans are viruses. The kicker is that the forrest has allready started ti urbanize, however unfortinately for our protagonist, it has started the Urbanization process with muggers.


I have not yet written the script though I expect to have a rough draft by the end of today. Beatriz Gomez has agreed to produce my project.