Alright, before I really get going
I probably should apologize for nothing anything for almost a month… nope, Chuck Testa. I don’t feel bad at all. I was on vacation in Mexico. Then I was going
crazy finding new work, and building my portfolio… this blog just
fell to the way side.
But Alan Wake is why I’m writing to
you now. It’s the first in a series of projects I’m working on. It was a very
ambitious fan film for a videogame by Remedy Studios. After my accident (which
I’m recovering from quite nicely) I played the game for the first time.
Finished it that day. Bought all of the Downloadable Content. And played it
until I had 100% completion for it, the DLC and it’s little sister sequel
American Nightmare. I knew I had to make a fan film.
Plus, the game’s stellar use of
noir style lighting was going to give me a chance to try out all these lighting
ideas I had.
I wrote the script, tracked down
props, had a nightmarishly stressful prep week (considering this is a fan film,
and the general idea is supposed to be FUN) as people bailed and equipment
wasn’t available. But I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and said “I’ve done
all I can. The prep work is finished. If this fails, it’s not because I wasn’t
ready.”
Then the phone rang the guy who was
letting us use the property said he couldn’t be there. And also the light kit I
was borrowing, was no longer available. And more people bailed. And the cable
for the monitor was broken.
It’s ok… you still have this.
And we did. Despite a plethora of
on set SNAFU’s, we pulled it off, only going over time by 45 minutes. Things
like failed lights, unable to use green screen, bad mosquito bites, and other
small issues didn’t stop us from getting decent quality footage. All that prep
work allowed me to change and salvage the project. Some crew didn’t even notice
things were falling apart. They said all in all, it was a very smooth shoot.
This was also my first time really
using the Canon 5D. And let me tell you, that girl can sing. Reviewing the
footage… so many shots are useable because of it’s low light capabilities. And the
lack of noise at high ISO (relative to the 7D, which is what I own and normally
use.) is incredible.
This prop Bourbon was aptly named "Apple Sauce" By Tim Lundy because we used Apple juice and Soy Sauce to get the coloring.
I’m very excited to release this
project in October. Until then, thank you for all the love and support.
James
