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...