Monday 1 June 2009

Bad News

This is a statement issued earlier today regarding the production.
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All,

It is will deep sadness to inform you that the project of “Red Harvest” has been regrettably cancelled.

The film production had been stalled for quite some time, and due to financial constraints, the difficult decision has been made to cease the project.

I appreciate that this may be a major shock and disappointment for you all, but the fact is that there is simply not enough money to fund the film despite exhaustive attempts at raising the cash, and it was unfair in retaining you all in the background, with ever-changing dates that could not be realised.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you all for your hard work, dedication, and most of all, professionalism with regards to the project. You all played a major part in the project, and for that you should all be extremely proud and I am forever grateful for your support.

Some of you have invested time and money into the project, for which you will be fully compensated immediately.

Again, I wish to offer my sincere apologies and my heartfelt thanks.
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Monday 18 May 2009

Bummer

Shooting was supposed to start today.

How bummed out am I???

Thursday 14 May 2009

Status

It's been a while, people, but I can inform you of a few things.

We were supposed to be shooting this month. Starting next monday to be exact. But we're not. We've had to postpone shooting until August for a few reasons, which I will go into.

The main reason has been location. I feel we've been messed around, passed from pillar to post, and generally been given different information every time we try to get the location finalised. This is why I have appointed my good friend Alison as a Production Assistant on the film. Her role (which she is doing great in) is to find a suitable location, at a suitable cost. She is in contact with different people and is working very hard to ensuring the film shoot will commence in August.

The other reason has been money. We have some money towards the budget, but not enough. We desperately need more money (and we're not talking thousands here) to make the film as good as it can be. The money is needed for insurance and quite probably, location use.

It's very frustrating indeed, but perseverance shall win!

Oh yeah, go see Star Trek. It's a great show.

Monday 30 March 2009

Progress

Well, last week was quite an eventful week for the production.

On Monday night, I, Brian and Roy journeyed through the streets of Belfast to visit David, who is going to build our bad guy costume. What struck me as I entered his house was two things: the amount of movie memorabilia, and more notably, the sheer size of his DVD collection! I was in absolute awe at the number of titles on his shelf. Fantastic stuff!

After a great cup of tea, provided by David’s better half, Jo, we got down to business.

David and Roy began comparing drawings they had done. I call them drawings, but they call them sketches. Yeah, right. If I could sketch like that, I’d never put a pen down, but anyways. It was amazing how similar and on the ball they both were, so after some talk about logistics and whatnot, Brian and I settled on a design based on both Roy and David’s designs, and away we went, very happy and enthused in what progress was being made.

On Tuesday, there was a cast meeting for a fourth draft read-through, which was great. Everyone brought a sense of professionalism to the lines, and we came away with yet more changes and amendments, but more importantly, the confidence in that the relationships between the characters are believable.

Our budget at the minute is coming along nicely, so that’s good news. It wouldn’t hurt to be coming along that little bit faster, but beggars (that we are) cannot be choosers.

I’ve just filled in the forms for the use of the location, so all being well, the next update will be full of goodies, and I don’t mean the comedy threesome.

Thursday 12 March 2009

Busy, busy, busy

It's been a few days since the last update, so I think it's about time to let you know what's been happening.

On Tuesday, Brian and I met a great guy called Michael about the possibility of using his equipment for the shoot. He has a pair of great top-end HD cameras, and we managed to strike an accord.

This sorta brings us back to the SD-HD debate. I think we've pretty much settled on shooting in HD, so if anyone reading this wants to buy a top-end SD camera, give me a shout!

Anyways, we had a meeting with NI Screen yesterday to discuss the production and what they can do for us. The meeting was primarily about getting contacts for insuring the production, so that was a complete success. The meeting was very informative and NI Screen are very supportive of us and what we're trying to schieve, so that was very inspiring. One phrase that I heard struck a chord with me, mainly because I've heard it again, but also because it makes sense to think about it and try to get something sorted - the phrase is "route to market".

The main definition of this phrase is the supply chain that a product follows to get to the final consumer. So this means that we need to think about how to promote the movie before it's made and how to get the movie to the people that want to see it. Hopefully we will have something to show the public soon in the form of publicity shots of the main cast, so watch this space!

Friday 6 March 2009

The Circle is Now Complete...

It's very early in the morning, I'm sitting here in work, and I'm so tired that I keep seeing what looks like my work colleagues in clown attire.

I'm tired because I got in last night from the first readthrough. I may be exhausted, but my body is producing a lot of adrenalin as I am even more excited about the film.

The readthrough was fantastic. A complete success, from start to finish. Everyone was professional, and the dialogue seemed to flow off the page with ease. Also, it was great to hear the interactions between the cast and to put faces to characters that we envisioned.

Also, more important than all of that, we got our final two main cast members last night. We welcome to the cast Chris and Sarah, who fitted the parts like a familar pair of jeans.

I have to say that both Brian and I were extremely impressed with everyone's performances last night, and our thanks go to Hugh, Kieran and Lesa as well, who were stellar as usual.

"Red Harvest" is now chugging along at great speed, and everything is coming together quite well. We plan to have meetings next week with our production crews, as well as with Northern Ireland Screen to sort out insurance for the feature, but until then, fourth draft is looming closer and closer.

Thursday 5 March 2009

Exasperating Stuff!

Brian and I visited the proposed location yesterday morning, accompanied by Ta who is filming us making the film, and to say that we were impressed is a complete understatement!
The place has everything we need to make the film as convincing as it can be, and the shoot will be an absolute pleasure!
I have began formal procedures in acquiring the location for May, but I foresee no problems.
Tonight is the first readthrough of the third draft of the script with the prospective cast, so that should be great - it'll be weird to have voices for the characters that we had in our heads for quite some time, but preparation is the key to success.
As I mentioned, the script is on its third draft, and I can safely say that after visiting the location, the fourth draft will be much better.