The Three Rules...

Well, the biggest news this week has to be our location scout. We received permission to walk the property of one of our neighbors, looking for good places to shoot this summer. This one field definitely stood out, because every angle presented a new location, including some suited for down and dirty medieval conflict. Plus this oak makes for a striking backdrop.

 Sunday the stunt team worked on marching and maneuvering as a unit. I'm very grateful for my veteran team members who ran most of the drill themselves. 

Monday, Elijah (aka. "Mike") came in for some one-on-one training. Mostly we worked on precision drills with the spear. Next week we'll move into specific fight choreography.
Materials orders are slowly trickling in, the office is beginning to fill up, and we're all a flurry of activity as things kick into high gear.

That's about all this week. Until next time!    

"It's All Knife Work Down Here"

This week has been generally full of good news. In spite of the fact that there have been no cast practices, we had a rousing stunt training session that focused on the knife and short sword.

Bows also arrived this week. They are of a simple, rustic design, with a Flemish twist string. I am quite happy with their look, and I think they'll compliment our actors and extras well.

 

Also, after months of grappling with it, we finally were able to successfully cast the ear tips for Anelryn. Now that we have them, we're moving on to Gwynmareth.

Before blending and coloring.

 

All in all a good week.

Thanks for reading! Until next time.

Shaking It Up

 This week was one of changes and new experiences, both small and great. With a new quarter upon us, the practice schedules are undergoing a major realignment. We met for a brief practice session on Monday. As you can see, the meeting location was a bit unusual. Great acoustics though.

The focus of this practice, after an initial sad scene, was on the interaction between Gwynmareth and the mute Mike. Wordless communication can be fun to direct, and we made some expansions to the script based on the oddities in resolving that form of communication.

 Since I was occupied again this Sunday, my stunt guys worked with some new people, teaching them what they had learned. I look forward to seeing how successful they were. Also, our resident metalworker has completed another axe and a new knife design.

 Our custom cutlery collection continues to accrue on a circuitous, yet cumulative, course. (Sorry, after "custom cutlery collection," I just couldn't resist.) 

 In other news, an avenue to more locations has opened up, courtesy of newly introduced neighbors. It turns out that we have many of the same friends, and at least three of them were in our promotional short. Their grandfather also owns a field that I've had my eye on (as a location) ever since we moved into the area. The phrase "providential" is not used very often these days, but it seems fitting in this case, as the odds of that connection goes well beyond "crazy random happenstance."

Have a great week, y'all!

Until next time.

Special Blog Update!

The test shoot we mentioned previously is now up and ready for viewers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_D4ZUuMjlM

Enjoy!