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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Bummer

Shooting was supposed to start today.

How bummed out am I???

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Art Dept Progress

There was a quick meeting on saturday night with David, Roy and James - our beloved art department - about some designs for the film. There were a lot of great ideas flowing and everyone is on the same page.

Also, we discussed some extra scenes that may come out of the viewing of the location on Wednesday, so that is pretty exciting.

We're still missing two fundamental cast members, but we're planning a readthrough of the script this week in which a few try-outs will be attending.

We may also have access to an HD camera for the shoot, but we'll hear more about that shortly.

It's certainly a very busy time for us all!

Moving Onward

Ok, first of all, some great news regarding the film. Brian and I are going to be given a tour of the location on wednesday, and if all goes well, we'll be using it for the film.

Let me just explain why this is so important. When we were writing the film, we wanted to come up with something that just used one location. Within that location is where all of the development and action will take place. The reason for all of this is to cut down on costs and transportation. Once we start earning the big bucks, then we can charter flights to Australia and such.

I watched a video on YouTube about the location, and I am 99% sure that it will be our primary location.

Also, the other night Brian and I discussed what format we were going to shoot the film on. It basically boiled down to two options: Standard Definition and High Definition. The problem we have is that we do not currently possess an HD camera, but we could always hire one which would drain the budget somewhat. I already have a high-end SD camera - the Canon XM2 - and it is fantastic. It has a 58mm lens and enough settings to shake a stick at. The quality of its output is fantastic, if I do say so myself.

Here's the issue we had - would the film look that much better in HD? Yes and no. Filming in HD would give us a bigger resolution to play with, no doubt there, but would it tell the story any better? We decided that it wouldn't. At the end of the day, we are going for a DVD release for "Red Harvest", so HD wouldn't add that much to the production. There is also a lot of rubbish films out there that have been shot in HD, mainly because the people didn't know how to use the equipment. I suppose the only thing that matters is the quality of the script. As long as we light the scenes right, and use decent lenses, then the film should be of excellent quality. Also, editing HD footage would inevitably take longer.

HD is all well and good, but the simple fact is that we can't afford it, so SD it is. It'll be the best damn SD film that we can make it.

Third Draft complete

Well, Brian and I finished the third draft of the script last night, and I can safely say that the feature will benefit from what we did.

First off, there was a general concensus from people that read the script that it was a tad too short. To address this, we added a few extra scenes, one of them called the "Jurassic Park opening". The new scenes certainly add more depth and explanation to an already rich script, so it will be very exciting to get them storyboarded.

Also, there was a feeling from a few people that some of the story wasn't explained enough. When we originally came up with the concept of the film, we didn't want too much exposition as we felt that we wanted people to come up with their own conclusions as to what was going on. This didn't work. We added some tasty new dialogue to a few scenes that sets the scene more clearly, as well as the already famous "Jurassic Park opening".

I truly understood the meaning of the word "compromise" last night as well. Brian felt that a fight was needed for part of the story, and I disagreed, but we managed to settle the issue like the mature adults that we are.

Once our scratches were treated with Savlon, we settled on a great compromise that not only provides yet another iconic moment to the film, but also breaks horror conventions as well as giving yet more meaning to the film.

I think all in all we have created something quite special that will ensure repeat viewings, which is never a bad thing.

First Production Meeting

Brian and I held our first production meeting tonight, and it was a corker!

Through Lesa, we managed to use a function room at Dukes Hotel, which certainly added an air of professionalism to the proceedings. Once everyone that was invited arrived, we handed out the treatment to the film, some preliminary character drawings, a funding letter and a funding form.

I should really talk a little about how we are intending on gathering the money for the making of the film. We have went through the script and tried to budget (or overbudget as the case may be) the money we think will be needed to bring all of the elements to life. We excluded equipment and payment to actors and such as a) we have everything we need, and b) everybody involved in the project will be working for nothing. We came up with a ballpark figure, and added some extra for contingency, and came up with..... not very much at all. We were always planning on self-funding the film, but we have been overwhelmed with the response from friends and family who wish to contribute to it.

Anyway, I digress. The meeting was a success. We gained the following: a costume department, an art department, a sound engineer, an online editor, some smoke machines and a few extra departments that my tiny mind has not been able to take in as yet. We also now welcome to the fold Kieran Majury and Hugh Yeaman as part of our main cast, which is absolutely fantastic.

The ball is well and truly rolling.

Second Draft

We completed the 2nd draft of the script, and did what we had never done before - we let other people read it.

The general concensus was that it was a cracker of a script - the dialogue is sharp and funny, the characters are well-thought out and humanised, the horror is sickening and the twists and turns unexpected.

There has never been any negative comments about the script, but some people thought that it could have been longer. Roll on the third draft!

It was at this stage that we decided to cast some of the roles. Our good friend and colleague, Michael Smyth (http://www.michaelsmyth.co.uk/), has always been in mind for the bad guy, mainly because he is built like a brick shithouse and wears contact lenses (probably means nothing to you now, but wait until you see the film). Michael has played numerous roles in both mine and Brian's films.

Brian also had his long-term girlfriend, Lesa Gillespie (http://www.lesagillespie.com/) in mind for a role whilst writing the script, so we asked her if she was up for one of the roles after she read the script, and she said "HELL YES!", so happy days! "Red Harvest" has two confirmed cast members!

Introduction

My name is Bill Taylor, and I am a film maker. My colleague and all around good guy is called Brian Mulholland. We are both from Northern Ireland.

Bill (left) and Brian (right)

Together, we created a series of short films for Halloween, and we named the series "Screaming Room". We also created a website at http://www.screamingroom.co.uk/ to showcase all of the videos.

Something happened after Halloween. We became despondent and restless, wondering why everything was so quiet. Why weren't people knocking on our doors congratulating us on our efforts? After all, we had accomplished a lot: all of the films on Screaming Room were made with no money, and were different from normal horror cliches.

After some discussion, we decided "to hell with that" - our egos were not that delicate that we needed people to stroke them. We knew we were capable of doing much, much more. We also knew what we were capable of doing with no money, so we decided to attempt something with a little bit of money.

Thus over a series of long winter months, "Red Harvest" was born.

"Red Harvest" is a horror film about four people who decide to relive their schooldays, when horror ensues. The title is very misleading as it is not the final title of the film, but a project codename, derived from "Blue Harvest", the production codename of "Return of the Jedi", and the colour red, which symbolises blood.

The purpose of this blog is to let the public know about the progress of the film, and to gather momentum on the project.