Crazy Film Shoot - Somehow it worked

I finally took Film Production 1 from the University of Utah. I've been meaning to take this class for years but I just never got around to it. However the years of knowing that I would eventually take this class gave me a long time to think of a concept and know exactly how I wanted it to turn out.

From WWI Shoot

As soon as I enrolled in the class I began pre-production. I gathered my contacts, finally wrote a script and began planning and scheduling. I blocked out three days in March to shoot in four separate locations. The first were both in Salt Lake and both took place on the same day. The second day was in Ogden and the third day was in Park City. Wow.

The story revolves around a young Soldier leaving his woman behind to fight for his country during World War One. Therefore I needed period looking locations, costumes and props, all of which were sourced from very nice people, made in my garage or in the worst case, rented. I spent two weeks before the shoot running all over the valley making sure I had everything I needed for the pivotal three days and eventually amassed a small warehouse's worth of items in my basement.

When the shooting day came I was ready. The first day went off so well that we were wrapped with our first location 2 hours early and wrapped with our second an hour early. That was especially nice because the crew and I got to go back to my house and view the rushes and make some important notes. The second day got off to a slow start but once again went completely smoothly. I ended up cutting shots from my shot list because I thought we wouldn't have enough time but we got done so early that I got to put them back in! That never happens in film. If I keep scheduling like that I'll have a job for the rest of my life.

The third day was met with and unfortunate lack of a Jib that I was supposed to rent but it turned out okay anyway. We got done 2 hours early which was good because with the reflective snow in Park City everyone got sunburned, if we had stayed any longer we'd all have cancer.

I then spent little pockets of time editing the film until finally last night I made a big push and managed to get a final version done before midnight (when it was due). I'm not completely satisfied with it yet but for purposes of the class it worked out just fine and the only real problems are very small.

Here are some screen grabs from the film. All ungraded currently but someday they'll have a look to them.

From WWI Shoot

From WWI Shoot

From WWI Shoot

Awesome photographer extraordinaire Tom Fleming took some great behind the scenes photos. I encourage you check out his Flickr page to see them all.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/in-aperto/

Burma VJ: How Connor made it to the Oscars!

From Plugs

Last year at Sundance I was presented with a unique opportunity. I was assigned to record the filmmaker interview series for X96's "Radio From Hell Show." Kerry, Bill and Gina were broadcasting live from Sundance on two days of the week and broadcasting recorded interviews the rest of the week. It was my job to put the interviews on video for broadcast on youtube.

Although none of the videos I made actually ended up on youtube, (I'm still not sure why) I got to fraternize with many filmmakers, actors and even some talent managers. The most important of them all however, was director Andres Ostergaard of the documentary film "Burma VJ" currently nominated for an Academy Award. The film was getting it's premiere screening at Sundance the day I met him and he was in need some some emergency services.

Before I get into the story however, if you haven't seen "Burma VJ," it's about a squadron of underground video journalists in Burma, a closed country in terms of media. Nothing goes in or out without going through a government censor. It is the job of these amateur VJ's to document real life in Burma and smuggle the tapes to the outside world to raise awareness of the oppression and violence within the country.

Apparently the festival cut of his film was not satisfactory enough for him, so Andres decided to make some last minute tweaks before the screening. Although he was happy with what his editor had put together, the previously recorded narration from the star of the film (his name must be kept secret to ensure his safety) did not satisfy the needs of the story. In other words, the images on the screen needed some explanation in order to make sense to the audience.

This is where I come in. Because we were a radio station, Andres assumed we would have recording equipment with which to record his much needed narration. We did, in fact, have the equipment he needed, but it was being used to record interviews and wasn't available. Luckily, I brought my laptop and my USB audio interface and upon hearing this, Andres and I began to look for a place to record.

Radio From Hell was broadcasting from the Harley Davidson shop in Park City, which is very open and echoey, but I managed to find a closet filled with T-Shirts that made a great makeshift recording studio. I set up my laptop and interface and gave the star of the film (The Burma VJ himself) a microphone.

Using GarageBand he recorded several takes of his new narration and I exported the files to my hard drive. Andres gave me his email address and I promptly emailed him the audio files. I'm not sure if the audio I recorded ever ended up in any subsequent cuts of the film but it was definitely in the premiere screening at Sundance which is very exciting.

Although "Burma VJ" did not win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the very fact that it was nominated and I participated in some way, however small, to the process makes me feel wonderful about the things I could do for any film from any part of the world.

FilmUtah Launch Party

In August I got an email that announced the arrival of an upstart film industry magazine unique to the state of Utah. Being a poor student I couldn't afford the advertising rates but I did reply to the email with a request to intern for the company. My request was heeded and I became: Connor Rickman, The Enthusiastic FilmUtah intern.

Since my volunteer efforts with the company began I have been involved in selling ad space, brainstorming ideas for the future of the company and assisting with the events hosted by the organization.

My crowning achievement, however, was the article I wrote about film schools for the premiere issue.

From Plugs

If you can't read the article from the picture above, you may use the link below to see the whole magazine. Then look for the page that looks like the picture.

http://www.filmutah.org/flipping_book/index.php

The official launch party was at the 3D lounge on Main Street in Park City during Sundance. The music was playing, the tequila was flowing and the picture on the TV's were all jumping out at you. Everyone who's anyone (and a lot of people who are no one) came to the party to mingle with Utah's film industry professionals. Over the course of the night I met several directors, talent managers, producers, costume designers and a lot of aspiring actors. If there's anything of which Utah has a surplus, it is aspiring actors.

From Plugs

This is the only picture I have from the whole night and it's impossibly small. Use your imagination to see how much fun I'm having. The people from left to right are: Jim Heiner, Victor Rickman, Connor Rickman, Sarah Young, Colin McDermott and Katie Stazskow.

I managed to keep working the whole night and only got sidetracked a couple of times to talk to important people and get myself into trouble with the local talent. I should be an intern for everything because if the parties are this good, there's no way I could be unhappy.

Crazy Sundance Day, Possibly the Best Ever

Ever have a day where everything goes terribly right? I did during the Sundance Film Festival 2010, it was the perfect day to have it.

From Sundance 2010

Here's Sarah in front of the "step and repeat" that's what it's called I guess.

A gentleman named Walter Harris who was my group leader last August while I was in Los Angeles with American Pavilion said he had a volunteer job for me. The job in question was at a party for the Jefferson Parish Louisiana Film Office. Anyone who is shooting, has shot or is looking to shoot a film in Jefferson Parish (New Orleans area), comes to this party.

Some past participants of the American Pavilion program were volunteering as well but Sarah's job and mine was to hand out flashing LED Mardi Gras beads to the guests. Two open bars and a buffet full of Cajun food and a huge dessert table made the volunteer effort a major win.

Sarah and I talked to a lot of industry professionals from Louisiana but one in particular was a gentleman named Alan Donnes, whose name tag said he was from National Lampoon. Apparently he was the writer/producer of the new National Lampoon film premiering at the Slamdance film festival just up the street. Because they had shot the film in New Orleans he was invited to the party, which was incredibly lucky for Sarah and I.

After chatting a bit about the film and what he does, Sarah and I were invited to continue our job of handing out beads at Alan's film premiere. Alan said they were understaffed and could use some extra help.

As the Mardi Gras party came to a close Sarah and I packed up the remaining beads and began to trek up Main Street to the Treasure Mountain Inn, the site of Slamdance. Upon entering the Inn we were immediately intimidated by the large group of people present but eventually they all entered their respective screening rooms and Sarah and I sat down and waited for Alan's premiere to start.

As we were waiting Alan walked by and said,

"You don't have to sit around like idiots. Not that you are idiots but come with me."

Alan took us to the Slamdance main office and gave us both all access passes to the festival. This opened up the possibility to enter the filmmaker's lounge which we promptly did. The lounge in question was sponsored by Pravda Vodka and Monster Energy drink so there was an unlimited supply of both. Copies of IndieSlate magazine and bags of popcorn were present on the few tables available. We sat down and talked to Alan about trying to be actors, trying to make it in the entertainment world and all the things we were up to. We also had a surprise visit from a Japanese journalist who hung out with us for a long time and was very nice, probably because he though we were important.

From Sundance 2010

We got free sunglasses and "House Jam" CD's upon entering the exclusive Filmmaker's lounge.

Alan asked if Sarah and I wouldn't mind taking tickets at the door of the theatre because he had gotten a message on his phone that the venue was quite small and the tickets were overbooked, it was our responsibility to make sure the right people got in.

It was at this point that I found out the stars of this film, entitled "Snatched," were some semi-famous actors. People like Johnathan Silverman, Andrew McCarthy, Ernest Borgnine, and Jay Thomas who you may recognize from "Cheers."

Suddenly I felt much more important than I did when pretending to be important around the Japanese journalist. As I was going over the list of people I was supposed to let in Sarah taps me on the shoulder and says,

"Look, it's Bob Saget" and it actually was.

Bob Saget had come to see the film as well and now I would be taking his ticket at the door, what an honor. Eventually everyone sat down and Sarah ventured into the screening room to deliver a message to Alan and, according to her, Bob Saget smiled at her. She came back very excited.

Eventually everyone had filed into the screening room and Sarah and I took our seats on the front row with Alan. Imagine the two of us sitting with the producer of a National Lampoon film. So yeah, he wasn't James Cameron but it was still cool.

The film itself was about a man who goes to donate a kidney to his brother and accidentally gets a sex change instead. It was very National Lampoon. After the screening ended there was a Q and A session with the audience and nobody asked any questions to the actors or director. After a long silence Sarah finally asks,

"What kind of research did you do for your role?"

Everyone laughed and Johnathan Silverman whose character was wrongfully given a vagina in the film said,

"I don't know...I saw one once."

From Sundance 2010

The cast and director.

From Sundance 2010

Alan Donnes the producer.

After the screening we had cleaned up the theatre and Sarah and I began the journey out the door when we were confronted in the hall by Bob Saget.

"I'm Bob, by the way" he says.

Stunned the two of us went to talk to him and it turns out he's just a great guy. I told him how I saw him perform stand-up at the Olympics and he said how great a show it was. He also asked what it is we did and seemed genuinely interested in us. That Bob Saget is dirty but very personable. Sarah got a picture.

From Sundance 2010

We hit the road soon after being invited to stay in Andrew McCarthy's condo, because he wasn't going to be using it I guess. We decided to drive home in the worst snow storm ever rather than risk rape by Hollywood types.

At the end of it all, Sarah and I ate Taco Bell and laughed together for a long time. It was a ridiculous day but also a great one.

Real Estate Videos

Being a poor student, a poor actor and a poor video producer means looking for work wherever you can get it. Luckily an enterprising gentleman named Stu Miller had use of my talents.

Stu owns a condo in Kimball Junction, just outside of Park City UT. I found him through craigslist when he was asking if anyone was available to shoot some video of the property. I headed up there last summer and put together a quick highlight reel to showcase his condo to potential renters.

A few months later Stu called me again and had me do 3 more! Real estate video was never a career option that crossed my mind but it's worked out pretty well so far. I wonder how many side gigs you need to get before it becomes a main gig? Perhaps realtors will be knocking on my door someday for some cheap publicity of their properties. It's seemed to work pretty well for Stu.

If you or anyone you know wants to rent these condos, you can find all the information you need at www.parkcityskiplaces.com.

Don Giovanni Updates

Here's a new clip from the film. So far only this and the Ghostbike teaser have been leaked so check it out. This guy is a mad biker and appears to be riding faster than most rocket powered sleds.

Gary Riding for the Don Giovanni Movie from Dada Factory on Vimeo.

Awesome Props! Great Minds Think Alike.

This BAMF has a huge gun!

From Plugs

This shot from The Asylum's Gone Fishin' caught my eye not because of the largeness of the weapon but of its origin. Colin McDermott and I purchased the same Nerf gun, on which this gun is based, a few years ago just for fun. However, when Colin entered film school and made his first short, The Golden Rule, our Nerf gun was spray painted black and repurposed as a sniper rifle. It looked not dissimilar from the one this action hero is holding.

Furthermore, when Colin and I worked on Halcyon (48 Hour Film Project Winner, Salt Lake City, 2009), we gave the gun a dusting of silver spray paint in order to make it look more worn and weathered. The gun never appeared in the film and was lost sometime afterwards never to be found again. It will live forever in our hearts and minds.

Also, if you're not familiar with The Asylum you can check them out by clicking on the title of this article. The Asylum is a production company in Burbank CA that specializes in low budget Novelty, Parody and slightly abnormal content. They were the ones who brought you Snakes on a Train, Sunday School Musical, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, and Megapiranha. The speed at which they are able to produce films is incredible. Most have a turnaround time of only a few months and several are produced each year. They cater to a very niche market but are definitely worth checking out. No heavy stories or political undertones, just guys having fun with cameras and big guns.

"For Robbing the Dead" and "42nd Street" Disappointing Audition Experiences

I'm first and foremost an actor. Despite most of this blog showcasing my exploits in video production I am and always will be an actor.

That being said in the month of January I had two major audition opportunities for large projects. The first was an independent feature film entitled "For Robbing The Dead." The film was given SAG status and Aaron Eckhart was slated for the lead role. I auditioned for a character called Wood Reynolds who's a bit of a cowboy and required a southern/frontier accent. I studied the accent for about a week before the audition using Robert Blumenfeld's "Accents: A Manual for Actors" and listening to Robert perform the accents on his CD. On the day of the audition, I went in, read the part and was told "very good work today" by the director. This made me feel good.

A few weeks later my Agency called to announce that I had been called back for the role of Wood and that I was the only actor from the Agency who was called back for any role! This made me feel even better and I set off to memorize the script I had previously auditioned for. This time I made a some more apparent character choices and attempted to refine my accent further. By the time I had arrived for the callback I was feeling very confident.

Things changed however as I entered the room. First of all, the callback wasn't done standing up like the audition was. I was to be seated in a chair with the camera aimed at my face and not at my whole body. This made me nervous because I'm such a theatre person and therefore the standing and moving audition that I had first done was much more preferable. However I performed the scene and did a pretty good job while seated. Unfortunately the director informed me that I had made the wrong character choice and instead of playing the role angry and betrayed as I had practiced, I now needed to play it frightened.

If I may now share a quote from my acting teacher Mark Fossen: "If you're acting and you suddenly forget your lines, chances are you're doing something right."

In other words, focusing on your character causes you to lose your lines, which is exactly what happened as I performed the scene with this new emotion. As I thought in my head about how I became frightened and how it affected me differently than being angry, I missed my second to last line and ruined the rhythm of the scene. I was told "good job" by the director and I left. Haven't heard from them since and I never will.

My second audition experience comes from a desire to perform "42nd Street" at Pioneer Theatre Company. Six weeks ago I couldn't sing at all but thanks to David Schmidt from GottaSing vocal studios I was in shape and ready to nail the audition. I went to tap class with Janet Grey as much as possible in the weeks leading to the audition, and doubled up on voice lessons for two weeks in a row in order to get my song perfect. I have never prepared this much for an audition in my entire life, but then again, I have never wanted to be in a show so bad.

"42nd Street" is my dream show because it features lots of tap dancing, a skill of which I have a surplus of experience. I was determined to make it the best audition ever. I walked in as confident as ever with my song in a black binder for the pianist and my resume clearly demonstrating my dance experience. I sang "Stairway to Paradise" in the best possible way and was expecting to be released from the audition room when the choreographer asked if I could demonstrate a few tap steps. I did a time step and then transitioned into some rhythmic improv, none of which were very good because I was dancing in my sneakers. I recounted some of my dance background and left the room with three smiling judges.

I told everyone about how good I felt and how I would be surprised if I wasn't called back. To make a long story short however, I wasn't called back. I have no idea why but I guess I didn't fit into their idea of the show somehow. I have never been more disappointed in a director's decision not to cast me simply because I have never worked so hard for an audition and as far as I can see I did nothing wrong. Such is the nature of the business however. I may never get another shot at "42nd Street" and if I do, I may not be in a position to pursue it anyway. I know I did my best and all that cliché B.S. but it doesn't make it hurt any less. In fact it makes it worse because there exists no reason in my mind why I wouldn't have been called back, and now my six weeks of intense preparation seem like a waste of time and money. It's going to take a while to recover from this one, especially because I'll never know what decision was made to not make my phone ring at all last night...

This is not the end however. This is just the beginning. There will be many more auditions like this one and yet there will be many more that turn out well. The only thing to do is try harder, do better, be wanted. Perhaps this is a minor setback in the coming age of Connor, but it is by no means an end.

Smog Lake City, the triumph of DSLR's

My friend Colin just purchased a Canon 7D for his digital photography class. The great thing about this camera for me however is that it shoots full 1080p video! Colin and I have yet to shoot any video on it but we did set up the camera for optimum video acquisition thanks to Philip Bloom.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Philip Bloom he's the pioneer behind DSLR cinematography. Recently he had a contest on his website where readers could submit limericks about DSLR cameras for a chance to win a DSLR training DVD. Of the five winners I was not one but I did receive an honorable mention and therefore was given a discount. Furthermore I was cited on the Canon 7D page of Philip's website for praising the training video after I had gotten it. An added bonus is that I'm right at the top of the list! Check it out here:

Despite not having shot anything on Colin's 7D my friend Davey Davis took his Rebel T1i out to Salt Lake City's Main Street and shot some beautiful images in the nasty smog we've been having here recently. I love this video because it really shows what DSLR cameras can do even without proper video lighting and lengthy exposure setups. Also, make sure you stay tuned for some great DSLR cinematography in Davey's upcoming film "The Tale of Don Giovanni: That Indomitable Hipster" produced by yours truly.

Smog Lake City: Main Street from Dada Factory on Vimeo.

"A Joyful Christmas" Now on DVD!

That's right, Utah Light Opera and GottaSing! Vocal Studio's choir concert of "A Joyful Christmas" is now on DVD. It's available for purchase through me for $20, but if you mention this post in your email I'll give you a 20% discount!

The concert features amazing soloists as well as both high school and college students, a few of which I've worked with before. They're all amazing give a dazzling performance.

To order your DVD, just send me an email to connor.rickman@gmail.com. I'll make sure I get back to you with my paypal information or we can perform an in person transaction as well.

DVD's can also be purchased from David Schmidt of GottaSing! or Shalee Schmidt of Utah Light Opera. You can contact them on their website at www.gottasing.com.