The Blog that came in from the Cold....

Hi everyone, first and foremost, our apologies for the really long gap in between posts.... there have been many developments recently including several of our production team lending their services to other films, most notably Simon and Norman on 'The Railway Man' recently in production up in the sunny climes of Scotland.  (Pictures below courtesy of the army of ever present paparazzi .)

The other actors and crew have also been busy and further details of their exploits will follow soon when the blog will receive a nice shiny update with detailed sections on pre production, principal photography and post production as well as a character profile page and a long awaited first film teaser trailer and some behind the scenes footage too.
Following this update the production diary posts will also continue shortly.

The beginning of the end... or the end of the beginning?

First of all hello to everyone and welcome to our production blog for the independent horror movie 'Paradise Ranch' - shooting on location in Arizona/Nevada/California.

So far we have shot in Las Vegas, Rachel, Tonopah, Boulder City, The Hoover Dam and good old Los Angeles (with a short stint in Hollywood) and will have soon headed off back to London to shoot the interior scenes... boo hoo!

It has been a hell of a journey up until now and over the next few weeks we will be telling the story of the principal photography of the film and posting progress reports on the post production process.

So if you are interested in the film as an actor, producer, distributor or just as a film fan please join us on here regularly and enjoy the ride!

What happens in Vegas....

...stays in Vegas. Or so the saying goes...

We arrived early in the afternoon and after a pretty smooth transition through customs, we left the airport by stretch Limousine. It cost as much as two taxis so was within our budget and we did arrive in style for our first port of call, the Stratosphere Hotel.

For those of you not familiar with this Vegas Landmark (or who haven't played the Fallout game), it is a giant (over a thousand feet high) observation tower, the tallest building on the strip that dominates the skyline, giving the guests an amazing view of the entire Las Vegas region and into the mountains beyond. It also has cheap, spacious rooms and a large pool with an amazing location for our first production meeting in Las Vegas; the hot tub - which was a hell of a draw for six sun starved Brits who had recently escaped the chilly confines of the UK.

Nathan was in like a shot, Michael & Robin dangled their feet as Normski entertained everyone and particularly a  rather elderly female guest at the other side of the pool with a frantic excited sun dance, warm weather in January being an impossibility in Scotland this time of year. After a brief interlude, it seemed he might have instantaneous sun stroke, but thankfully that was not the case and the happy lady's applause was gratefully recieved by the sun worshipping Scot.

As night fell, it took a few hours of settling in but pretty soon we were ready to head out and shoot the first scheduled scene of the film - a scene which involved drinking, partying and a healthy dose of debauchery.

To find out if we achieved all three you will have to wait for the film to be released but safe to say most of what happened in Vegas will probably stay there, isn't that right Normski ?...

Watch the skies!

When you wake up at 7am in the morning and get this to look at... you know you must be doing something right. There was a morning chill but with the sun rising over the hills from Callville Bay on the Nevada side, we were soon warmed up.

After a night in Boulder at the Lake Mead RV village where three of the crew (Nathan, Robin & Michael) slept in our grand caravan, two more (Andrew& Simon)in our 3 man tent & one brave soul (Normski) slept in the open air; awake half the night gazing at the numerous unseen stars in the crystal clear sky.

We then headed down to the shore line for the first day of exterior shooting on the low road next to Las Vegas bay on the shores of Lake Mead.

The results were fantastic, culminating in a low angle mounted car shot that defined the word 'epic'.
We shot for most of the day, both in the hills and outside the Haceinda Hotel Casino near Boulder, shooting some plate shots in the parking lot before heading up the long road to Rachel, stopping only to refuel and feast our eyes on some amazing metal sculptures by the side of the road.  After we cleared Vegas once more the fun really began, as we took the junction to Alamo, climbing several thousand feet an hour in the cold dark night ...

The Road to Rachel

After several days in Las Vegas and one amazing night and day shooting in Boulder, we set out for Rachel, the small Nevada Town where we would shoot most of the movie. 

Braving the treacherous mountain roads and the driving antics of our Scottish mad Max plus all the creatures of the night (including near invisible giant cows) and fighting the urge to rip out our sat nav (which was set to chinese for most of the start of our journey) and shoot it to pieces, we finally reached our destination just after midnight and settled down for a beer with our good buddies Ryan & Ken at the Little Al'e'Inn.  After a truly freezing night (everyone forgot/was too tired/drunk to turn on the heating) we rose bright and early for the first shooting day of the Rachel Locations. 

Expecting the desert sun, we were in for a shock and a very swift lesson in the way the weather can change pretty fast when you are 5000 feet up...

Area Fifty Whaa?

Following a hearty breakfast of frozen milk and cereal, we gathered our equipment, cameras, props and winter woolie's then packed the car and drove down to the first location, the Old Fallout Mine just outside Rachel (courtesy of Bob and Penny thank you again!).
  As mentioned previously, the sun and sand we had expected was replaced by sleet and snow and after consulting local weather experts, (Pat, Ryan and Betty) the bar keepers at the Little A'le'inn, we knew we had to make a choice - wait a few days and risk running out of time, or embrace the new weather and work around it... We chose the the latter and a few minor tweaks to the script later, we were shooting in the snow.
 We also met with our new cast member; a character actor we affectionately call 'The Hillbilly'.
The results of the morning were fantastic, other worldly even. It was mentioned by
Andrew, our director & A Camera operator, that had 'The Thing' not been remade so recently we could have had a great snow themed horror movie on our hands... but that would have been too easy. There were many more surprises to come.

The Gate that Lets You In

The first surprise of the day was that rather than thinning out - the snow just got thicker and thicker ...

Deciding once again to embrace this strange phenomenon, we continued the next stage of shooting where the boys actually made it to the back gate of the Area 51 base just a few miles away from Rachel, Nevada.

Before we began, we prepared the location, careful not to leave visable footprints in the fresh snow, this being a difficult shoot strategically as our set could only be accessed a few times before there would be too many prints in the supposedly 'isolated' area.

After several hours at the location, the snow eased up leaving a heavy and spectacular carpet of mist across the desert floor.

Gradually, as we shot the later scenes the mist cleared until, by the late afternoon, we were in brilliant sunshine for the first time in Rachel.

We shot for the whole day by the old windmill and then headed back to the Ale'Inn for a bit of a room reshuffle and the first production meeting in Rachel.

Then it was sleepy time. Or so we thought.....

Dreamland...

After a hectic days filming, you expect to get a bit of a rest even if just for a few hours. We all know those films where we have came back to the base sorted out the next day's shoot and collapsed into bed.
After unpacking and checking camera and radio batteries and making sure everything was on charge for the following shoot, food was the next order of the day and a hot shower too, or so we thought.

Although we were treated to an air show by some of the strange craft that inhabit this area of the desert nothing prepared us for the night extravaganza we were about to hear, see and feel.


By late evening most of us had our eyes firmly closed in slumber, however our ears were in for a treat as unexspectedly our living quarters shook to the thunderous roar of the unidentified flying objects tearing through our atmosphere up above.
In a crazed rush, pots and saucers went flying as we all ran outside hurriedly pulling on jackets, cameras in hand, lifting our eyes to the sky once more, we saw the reason for the near earthquake experience we just went through.
The sky was filled with the lights and the roar of hyper sonic aircraft shooting across the darkness above leaving trails like tracer bullets, dropping flares whilst strange hovering satellites to the north & south were in synchronous orbit,  almost in line with the Extraterrestrial Highway running alongisde the town.

To the south west, above Groom Dry Lake within the complex of the famous Area 51, the mountains were lit as though a distant city existed in the mountains beyond, illuminating the peaks in the night.
Many unfamiliar aircraft of varying speed, size and colour signature were inhabiting the air once more.

Nothing, not even our new friends at the little Ale'Inn, had prepared us for this.

Not the strange interference on our crew radios nor the Area 51 guards that took coffee at the Little A’le’inn each day, not even the sound of constant air traffic that interupted us during filming would get us accustomed to the strange and wonderful world that is Rachel,  Nevada. 

The Red Menace or шелцоме руссиан фриендс

 

The following morning, after a very sleepness night caused both by excitement and the relentless air traffic above (or possibly someone's snoring), we prepped for the next major part of the shoot, the follow up to the guy's arrival at the back gate and the start of the first action sequences.

After the morning coffee ritual at the inn, we were all set to head off when, like a highly trained Spetznaz team, a Russian film crew appeared from nowhere and asked the director Andrew L Phillips for an interview... So, not being one to turn down the possibility of some free promotion and always eager to test his language skills (he speaks limited Russian) - he agreed.

After what seemed like an age later (the film crew didn't stop asking questions and the director can talk the hind legs off a donkey) everyone went their separate ways, the production vehicle was loaded and we were off to the old windmill to shoot. We thought that would be the end of the Russians, but we were wrong ...

Death from above

When we arrived at the old windmill, where the set of the boundary fence was built, the snow had almost melted away and the desert mud and sand that this region is normally known for was reclaiming the landscape piece by piece.

After several rehearsals and some amazing scavenging by the production designer Robin Chiu and Producer and Villain Norman Rees, the set was ready and the scenes were good to shoot.

We spent most of the day at the location, interrupted only by the odd desert patrol and some of the test pilots pushing their futuristic aircraft to the limit in the skies above,  causing us to stop filming when, just like the night before; it seemed like we were under an artillery bombardment for several minutes as the space planes re-entered the atmosphere.



We finished the afternoon with an impromptu snowball fight in the desert (as odd as it sounds) and some behind the scenes shenanigans ( that can be viewed below)  before heading back to base to reset for the next scene and have another encounter with a certain film crew...

Behind the scenes silliness (Bad Language!!)

The last of the Snow (or the Red Menace Part 2)

As the last of the snow gradually thinned out, we set up for the first shot of the evening, an earlier scene with the guys arriving in Rachel.
All was well for a good half hour before, out of nowhere once more, the Russians were back!
Having decided to stick around for the night's activities, they were seemingly stuck for something to do and so, for lack of better entertainment, they chose to chase us around for some more footage for their show.

Now, whilst it can be said that all publicity is good publicity and should we ever see our Soviet friends again we will thank them for it, it is another thing when we have a rogue camera man running in front of our action vehicle as it maneuvers in and out of a very tight space with our cast and crew on board!

Words were had and soon we had reached an understanding, they could film us all they wanted, as long as they didn't become road kill in the process ...

That Spielberg look

The first shots of the evening featured the guys arriving at the Little Ale'Inn, before their journey begins. It is a lighter moment, without the madness of the cat and mouse chase that follows it.

We have nicknamed it the Spielberg look, the little sense of awe and wonder that you get when you see the lights of Rachel for the first time ...

Paul Schmaul

Before this segment of the diary can be told, we will first tell a story of something that happened before.

Once upon a time there was a film starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Seth Rogen. 
They called that film 'Paul'.

In the beginning of the film there was a scene where the two protagonists, at the start of their quest, head to Rachel, Nevada and to the Little Ale'Inn for some fun and games with Pat and a few out of towners who give them a hard time. 

So far , so good right?  

Wrong.

Unfortunately, Pegg and Frost did NOT head to Rachel but to a set somewhere in movie land, furnished with all the little things you would find in the bar (including a fictional Pat) - built without their permission and supplied with merchandise bought and rented under false pretenses. Hell they even used the damn menus!

What followed was something that sadly happens in the film world where a big studio takes advantage of the little people that helped them out and without whom it would not have been possible to make the movie....

To this day, Pat, Connie and none of the other people associated with the bar have received a cent in licensing or have been given any promotional material linking them to the film in any way.

Apparently Mr Pegg and co. were unaware of this, but they still haven't lifted a finger to help...

We on the other hand, did not make the same mistake they did. (That would be the mistake of being scumbags)

There is a scene in our film set in the Inn. 

We shot it in the Inn.

With the people IN the Inn.

And it looks fantastic, better than any set would have done and has the authenticity that sets apart a quirky little film like ours from all the other ones out there on the market.  We have a code - if it's in the script and it's a real location - then we will shoot it come hell or high water!

Of course shooting on a real location with local background artistes can have it's challenges and we will expand upon that in the next entry...

Lights! Camera! And...

... Action?

Whilst having a real location that you can shoot inside and out is beneficial to the film, sometimes the quiet confines of a sound stage where one can control every aspect of the production can be good too ...

We were very lucky to have the Little Ale'Inn to shoot in and even luckier to have found local actors such as Betty Miller to play the parts of the bar keep and the town of Rachel's fictional inhabitants. 

We were also lucky that the bar was empty enough to shoot in and that we could record sound there... most of the time.

As the scene came at the end of the day, on what had been a long day's shooting, both the actors and crew were eager to get the shots and hit the hay. 

Safe to say it took a little longer than expected and we didn't get to sleep until the early hours but hey, that's the film business for you and when all was said and done, we had a great looking scene with brilliant actors in a unique setting.

And you can't ask for much more than that.

Cops! Cops! Cops!

When we awoke bright and early, two things were instantly apparent. It was bright. When it was early...
Much to our appreciation, the snow clouds and grey shroud that had enveloped the town previously had gone and were replaced by beautiful blue skies and glorious sunshine.

And as we headed out into the town we spotted something else that was new... a massive convoy of police vehicles!

Seeing as we had a scene with the highway patrol, something that would previously have been done on a green screen stage, we jumped at the chance to film the boys in blue in the desert setting for real. Luckily, they were up for the idea too and after a quick negotiation and the nod of approval to film being granted, we set up for some fantastic shots.

Just a still of a police car won't do the scene justice but hey, we can't show the best bits yet can we? You'll just have to wait for the film..

Pistols at Dawn

After the fantastic luck we had with the police cars, we rolled right onto the next major set up - the first confrontation with the villain...

Setting up a sequence of shots that involves human stunts, reverse photography, dummies, composites and visual effects is complicated at the best of times but when you are out in the desert without any equipment and reference material it is a wholly different affair..

The most important thing of course when shooting these types of scenes is preparation - lots of it. Now whilst the pre-production budget didn't quite stretch to pre viz, the director had a very good idea of the sequence and what would be involved and so shot by shot we set it up and ended up with a great little scene by the end of the morning.

One advantage of shooting low budget independent film is not having hundreds of crew working hard and production assistants running around when there are large set ups to be done. Had we been shooting this in the studio style at home it would have taken us three or four days instead of a few hours....
(but would have been nice to have Craft Services every now and again...)

Mounting a resistance

Following along the path of the previous entry, here are a few pictures to illustrate one of the low budget 5D Mk2 car mounting systems we used on the main Dodge vehicle in the film and several point by point descriptions of how we achieved the in car action shots.

Rather than going for an 'on rails' system where the actors do not drive the car - we just made sure they could drive and had them drive the car. Much easier.

As we were using miniature tripods mounted like steady cams to make the hand held shots more stable (instead of a shoulder rig) it was always going to be easier to use them as part of the car mounts too rather than having to change to an arm or suction system.

To keep the tripods locked down to the door frame (and to avoid damage to the door) we first made sure they had durable but soft rubber caps on the ends of the extendable feet.

The next step was to add elastic bungies (with plastic coated hooks) to strategic places on the tripod and balance it by attaching to corresponding places on the door and interior panels. Luckily the Dodge Grand Caravan has a million and one attachment points and so this was not a problem.

The final step and one which, while not strictly necessary, was to doubly secure the camera and lens by way of the shoulder strap.

Looking at the finished rig... it sure isn't pretty. Not next to the likes of a go mobile or a nice camera car but, it cost less than fifty dollars and it served well; providing us with really smooth shots for for three weeks of filming and didn't break the bank.

For more info on the 5d system and ways of using it creatively (and from an expert cinematographer) head to http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog

It's a desert out there...

After several fantastic driving set ups with our principal cast and some great supporting actors (Thank you Pam and Vance!) we continued shooting the journey of our protagonists as they head further into the wilderness to escape the Man In Black.
As an independent film shooting on a very small budget, we were always going to favor the 'found locations' approach over building expensive sets. One of the main reasons for shooting the film in Rachel and the rest for Nevada was for precisely this reason.
Aside from the outrageously talented local cast being a big pull, there is also nowhere else in the States with the combination of this kind of scenery, the freedom to shoot on it and the helpful and kind nature of the owners and proprietors to let us do so.
Their willingness to let us use these wonderful locations and their eagerness to support our film, for which we are eternally grateful, is why this kind of film can be made over there and not in other places such as the UK where money mad location managers and the arts hating government have spoiled the film making experience.

In the world of independent feature films, it is a desert out there; but one where with the support of good people, a sense of adventure and the eagerness to succeed, you can accomplish a great deal.

Stay tuned for further adventures as we get ready to leave Rachel and head out into the wilds of Nevada and the Silver mining town of Tonopah for an epic showdown that will leave only one man alive...