All quiet on the.... everywhere

We have been in the midst of casting for a little while, and though it feels like an eternity, it truly hasn't been. At the end of February I made a post saying that I had posted our first casting notice - and that was a bit of a lie.

It seems that craigslist can be extremely picky about what it accepts - so it took me more than a few days to get it to actually post, and by that point the ad had been buried underneath a mountain of other acting notices. I will definitely post again, and now that I know the magic formula, we will have a better chance (don't ask me exactly how it works or what it accepts, I don't even think CRAIG knows). Other than that, though, I posted on a couple of other casting specific websites, even MySpace, and we've garned a number of submissions. With all of this, you'd imagine that there's alot going on here in pre-production land, but you'd be incorrect.

Originally we were planning on gathering any potential actors and then having a large open casting call. However, with the uneven casting post dates, the actor submissions have come in as a constant trickle, instead of a flash flood, so planning a large casting call wasn't a great idea. What we've been doing instead, however, has proven to be a much better route. We're meeting with potential actors in some relaxed environment, like a coffee shop, and seeing where things go from there. It's much more personal, and it let's us get to know the actor better - much more so than if they just come in and auditioned for us.

It has definitely been quiet, though, compared to the beginning. I first finished the script and then BAM we were off posting casting notices and shopping for suits and guns and really going strong and then....nothing. Not nothing, exactly, in fact we are hopefully meeting with a potential actor tomorrow morning, but things have at least slowed down since the initial rush. This is how movie making goes, though, especially when we don't have a studio or 50 people working on different aspects. From casting to costuming to location scouting, and a thousand jobs in between, every pre-production job is falling on the shoulders of Nick and myself, and so things can go slowly at times. I work and go to school full-time, and Nick works a 9-5 and has a wife - but our free time is devoted to Get Back. We may not be in rocket-fast mode right now (rocket-fast? I'm a writer??), but we are still constantly moving forward, even if we're trudging slowly through the mud.

Like I said before, it's only been about a month - but since the pace has slowed so much, it feels like it has been at least twice as long. That's probably just something that he and I are feeling right now, though, so I guess you can basically ignore this post :) Compare it to a special event that you are eagerly looking forward to - and it seems to take forever to arrive. That's where I am. I'm not impatient about it, just very very eager to see what's next!

Actually, I'm just trying to avoid some homework that I can't seem to focus on....so, um, now let me regale you with stories of my past loves........

"Just make me look good!" - The Cinematographer

Do I love to act? Yes.
Is acting the only part I love about making a movie? No.

The Cinematographer - Alex Meade

Acting always has, and always will be, possibly my greatest passion in life, but in the realm of movie making I love every aspect like my own children - I can't choose a favorite [no, I don't have children, it's a metaphor]. This past winter I enrolled in an 8 week cinematography class at my local community college, because out of every movie making role there is I have been more fascinated by the duty of creating beautiful images than anything. Cinematography simple amazes me...but what is it?

A cinematographer is the person who is in charge of how a movie looks, through the shots and the lighting. The term Director of Photography (or DP) is also used, but personally I've always preferred cinematographer - there's something more artistic feeling about it.

The class was very illuminating (not a pun), and I learned alot from the teacher. He's a professional, so I really got alot from his approach to things. But, beyond the few things I learned, there was an even better benefit - I met Alex.

The class was divided into groups, and we spend the short semester working with these groups on different types of lighting styles and situations. My group was fairly able, but there was one guy who really seemed to get it. Alex and I shared the same ideas many times, things the rest of our group wasn't focusing on. They weren't horrible, but he and I definitely shared the same mindset. We got to talking, and we've both been been in and around making small movies for a number of years. Neither one of us was producing anything at the time, but I told him that I'd let him know if I ever needed help.

Get Back was in the beginning of the writing process while my class was in session, but a few months later, when the script was finalized and Nick and I were starting to cast, I suggested we approach Alex for our cinematographer. Thankfully Alex was interested and very game to join. I haven't known him for years, like I have with Nick, but we all get along very well and even more importantly, we have the same ideas and hopes for Get Back. So, as much as I'm excited to finally act opposite some great and varied actors, and as much as I'm excited to finally see what Nick can do as a director, I'm just as excited to have Alex along with us and to see just how great he'll make this movie look.

Man - this movie's exciting!

"Please stop yelling at me." - The Director

Does the director really yell at me? Yes.
Is it all in good fun? Yes.

The Director - Nick Reiber

Nick Reiber and I have been friends for about 7 years now, and making movies together for just as long. The first two movies we worked together on were never finished, but the third was a success - something we still love and talk about today. All of our initial collaborations together found him as the director/writer, and myself as the actor, but as time went on and we worked together more often, the balance began to find a slight shift. To this day, I still have not directed my own project (yet, I say I am a director - sweet, painful, bitter irony), but for Nick's movies I have become more than just the actor. We are good friends now, and we both love movies, so we're often discussing plots and characters, and always talking about our next project. He still has his own movie ideas, and I have mine - but as friends we're always discussing things and getting the other's opinions. With Get Back, we've reached an even more mature level of movie making.

For the first time in our long and un-illustrious movie making careers, we have taken definite roles. Get Back was Nick's story, but I wrote the script. We have found a cinematographer, and both Nick and I are producing this movie together, but once we're into production I will be solely the actor - and he will finally be able to just direct. But, I hear the audience say, is he any good?

Many times, I have told Nick, "You've got the mentality of a great director - I've just never seen it in your movies." Now, that sounds like a jab, but it's not. I know he's good, but for all of our previous projects, there have always been other distractions or hindrances - truthfully, though, that's just how learning goes. I'm not speaking from a pedestal, because there is video evidence of myself being a less than amazing actor in the past. As with my own learning process, however, I have seen Nick grow a lot over the years, and that's not a weight joke (haha, sorry Nick, I couldn't resist). In all seriousness, though, for the first time I think we're all going to get to see what this guy can really do with a movie, and I really can't wait to see what that is - as his actor and as his friend.

P.S.

As I said previously, the past couple of weeks have held a number of distractions, some school related others more personal, so the next few posts are going to be a little after the fact. I apologize for that, but I'll be back on a better post schedule after the catch-up.

A Suit and a Gun - What more do you need?

The Suit:
A few weeks ago, Nick, his wife, and I went out in search of a suit for Paul, my character, to wear in the movie. The pre-production teaser features me in one of my own suits - and since we were after more of a mod look, and since I don't really like the idea of roughing up and getting blood stains on my own suit, we realized a different suit was necessary.

After weeks of looking online, our trio set out to rummage through thrift stores. After what was supposed to be a great vintage store was a let down, instead of wasting more time, Nick's wife suggested we just run over to Burlington Coat Factory. It ended up being a wonderful decision...

Personally, I've always worn my clothes large. Why, exactly, I couldn't tell you, but the basis of it now is comfort. This is the first time I have actually owned a suit that fit me properly - and it does feel a little strange. I guess this is how suits are supposed to feel though. My world...it's turning upside down! The sky is falling!! All in all I'm just another brick in the wall!!! AHHHH!

Sorry.

So, after a few weeks of distractions, I finally got to taking some pictures of me in Paul's suit the other day. Of course, being the theatrical nut that I am, I couldn't just take a dull picture, hence the dramatic take. It's a real smart looking suit, though, and it was a perfect find!


The Gun:
Ah, harmony. Peanut butter and jelly (honey for me, though), eggs and bacon, movies and guns.
Some things just go together.

Nick and I, sans his other half this time, met with our cinematographer (post coming soon) for lunch two weeks ago, and then proceeded to a number of hobby stores looking for the perfect airsoft pistol for the main character.

The reason a gas-powered airsoft gun is our choice over a gun that fires blanks is simplicity. When there is a blank-firing gun on a movie set, no matter how small the gun or the set, there are a number of legal restrictions on who needs to be present and how it needs to be handled. With the airsoft route obviously those laws don't apply. Also, I can tell you from experience that a plugged gun firing a blank cartridge sounds exactly the same as a real gun firing a real bullet - and that isn't a great idea for a movie production that will be trying to maintain a low profile when in public.

After a few in store searches proved futile, I convinced Nick that we'll have better luck online, even though we won't get to see the gun in person first. He found a perfect gun - small, compact, but great looking - and made the purchase after I concurred on it's loveliness.


Happiness is a warm gun - even if it's shooting air!