Transitions at the End of the Year

Greetings, one and all! I hope you all had a good Christmas, and wish y’all a Happy New Year!

Other than moving an entire production company worth of materials, nothing film related happened this week. Granted, between moving and Christmas, that’s hardly surprising. Doing the above for the first time with a very small child… well, that makes even “semi-functional” a win.

We’ve decided to take this week off so we can recover, and the team re-convenes on the first Sunday of the new year, so maybe I’ll have a think piece or retrospective coming next week. We shall see...
Y'know, it's becoming clear hat, when I decided to write a production blog every week as a personal discipline, I never considered moments like this. Specifically, the fact that I may one day need some time off. Ah... the optimism of youth.

Well, that’s about all for this week. Until next time!

'Twas The Week Before Christmas...

Greetings, one and all! As this is the blog week preceding the holiday, I want to open it by wishing you all a Merry Christmas! As this week was also the last one for the stunt team before the new year, they met yet again and finished off the dagger play basics.

We’ll be revisiting the close-quarters action in the new year, and hopefully start getting it more fully integrated into their choreography skills.

As can be imagined, moving an entire production company is no mean feat. Our personal possessions are dwarfed by the walls of prop and costume boxes. That said, we’ve been gradually moving for weeks, so at least that has taken the edge off the literal mountain of work. Still, each day ends with me questioning whether or not I’ll be able to pick up my kid, or if I’ll get stuck half way up.

Well, that’s about all for this week. Until next time!

Daggers in December

Greetings, one and all! So… I guess it’s a good thing that we don’t have a composer yet…? The other side of most of my life being forced into packing and moving is that, when I do get a chance to review the edit, I now notice some new timing issues. When you’ve worked on a project for so long, some shots and scenes can seem a bit slow, but when you come back to them after a nice long break, they can seem exactly the opposite. Too short, too quick, not enough time to focus. As a result, I’m now compiling a list of timing issues that need to be fixed, and those will likely be at the top of my to-do list, once we get settled.

In stuntie news, as the rainstorms raged on, a judiciously placed tarp allowed the team to practice their dagger plays…

It’s a technical and precise discipline, and even experienced stunties needed a good refresher, as slip-ups happen very easily.

Well, that’s about all for this week. Until next time!

Entering the Season

Greetings, one and all! First off, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to the members of the team who have been working on the parts of the current short in which I have no experience. David in particular, as he has been learning a bit of Blender recently. This has allowed things to keep rolling along while I take on the ever fun-filled job of moving house. Specifically, moving my stuff, an entire production company worth of stuff, and the stuff of someone who has never moved before. So… progress is slow.

That said, it does afford me some time to contemplate story and characters, so hopefully I will be able to come roaring back into action once this whole process ends.

The stunt team met again amidst a torrential rain shower and flood warning to pick up where they left off last week. Each pairing choreographed a couple short hand to hand fights before swapping partners and repeating the process.

The results were solid, and each of the less experienced hand to hand fighters showed a significant improvement in technique before the day’s end.

Well, that’s about all for this week. Until next time!