Last year, Rob Long from the Smash or Trash  Indie Filmmaking Web site, shot 5 interviews with actors, producers, and filmmakers (including me) in the Maryland area. After some delays, the segments are finally posted for viewing. I think they turned out really well. Check them out below, or go to Rob’s post.

Smash or Trash TV Episode 1: Interview with Lee Doll

Click here to view the embedded video.

Smash or Trash TV: Episode 2- Louanna Lee & Victoria Lynn

Click here to view the embedded video.

Smash or Trash TV: Episode 3- Mitch Klein Interview

Click here to view the embedded video.

Smash or Trash TV: Episode 4 – Leanna Chamish and George Stover Interview

Click here to view the embedded video.

Smash or Trash TV Episode 5: Brian St. August and Alfred Guy Interview

Note: click on the above link to access episode 5. I couldn’t embed that one since it’s on Facebook.

Joe, Mitch, and Zig on the set of segment 3: Man's Best Friend

We just updated our Facebook page for Sealed Fates with a bunch of production photos–everything from auditions through shooting the three stories. I do wish more of the actors were represented, but at least we have some shots of all the leads. Take a look, and don’t forget to “like” the page. 

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Timewarp Films is pleased to announce that Brian Anderson, the owner and operator of ADF Studios, has joined the post-production effort for the long-anticipated Crawler.

Anderson brings a fresh perspective, and a much-needed dose of enthusiasm to a project that has been on the back burner for longer than I care to admit. But Brian is hitting the ground running, which allows me to shift focus to completing the final edit, sound design, and other post-production activities — confident that his VFX tasks will be completed.

On Sunday, we had our first production meeting. We watched the rough cut of the film in order to assess the scope of tasks involved. What immediately struck him while watching was how the film has an X-Files feel to it; something I never noticed. We brainstormed about the potential for additional scenes for the creature that will help round out the story. This was something Don and Joe had hoped for during pre-production.

After viewing, we discussed the workload. There’s a lot to do, but we agreed it’s well within our reach. We will start with an updated creature design. Much of the original concepts will remain, but given the improved technology, and Brian’s fresh take, I think we hashed out some great ideas. More on that in a future post.

I’m very excited to have Brian on board. He brings to the table an extensive resume of freelance work, including the visual effects for two feature films (Ninjas vs. Zombies and Ninjas vs. Vampires), as well as a reputation for speed and quality.

One additional piece of news. When we discovered several gaps in the musical score, Justin Timpane, who composed the original score, offered to add additional tracks and re-mix existing ones.

The venerable horror host Count Gore De Vol has posted an interview with me conducted by veteran Timewarp actress Leanna Chamish. It was conducted at Horrorfind this summer.

Take a look at the video, then go over to Count Gore’s unique Web site,

Meet Effects Artist Mitch Klein from Gore De Vol on Vimeo.

From John at videokitchen.tv:

We are proud to announce that videokitchen.tv has signed
with Troma Entertainment, Inc. to distribute Blood, Boobs & Beast on DVD.
The DVD is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com and will be
officially released on February 24, 2009. The DVD will come as a 2-disc Double
Feature and will include Dohler’s 1983 masterpiece Nightbeast! Additionally,
the set will include special features for both films including audio
commentaries with the filmmakers, hilarious deleted scenes, trailers and tons
of tromatic extras!

Since today’s shoot was canceled due to hurricane Hanna sweeping through our area, it’s a good time to post a bit about how we’re shooting our latest feature.

There were several choices to make before the cameras rolled on the first day. Should we shoot in 24p or 30p? SD or HD? and what camera should we use? We already had 2 cameras available: the Canon XL1s and the Canon GL1. The XL1s is a solid choice, with manual control over every setting, but it shoots in SD and in 60i or 30p only. The GL1 is pretty much the same, but not nearly as versatile. I had also purchased the Canon HV20 last year. It shoots in HD, has a Cinema mode that can be converted to 24p in post, and a beautiful picture. But it doesn’t have the manual control of the XL1s. Ultimately, I chose control over format and went with the XL1s.

Then there was one other decision: should I use Canon’s Frame mode (30p) or shoot 60i and convert to 24p in post? I grabbed the trial of DV Filmmaker, a program that converts 60i to 24p, and did a few tests with both formats, using the same subjects¹. While the 30p footage approximated the film look, the 24p conversion had softer light and appeared more film-like. So, I purchased DV Filmmaker and decided to shoot in 60i.

So, the first day of shooting came and after the 4th or 5th take of the second shot, we get the infamous “Remove Cassette” on the XL1s. Anyone who uses that camera will probably know what I’m talking about. The problem is, it wouldn’t clear no matter what we did. The drive assembly was dead. Ugh! Luckily, we brought the GL1 as a backup.

But we soon discovered that had flaws of its own.

A few takes into the next shot, we discovered 2 bad pixels on the CCD chip–not on the LCD, but the CCD, so it recorded the bad pixels. Okay, it’s an easy fix in After Effects, a minor inconvenience we decided to live with.

Fast forward to the second week of shooting, or, rather, the capture session after shooting the second week. I noticed a few sound drop-offs and, worse, digital breakup on the tape. Luckily, we generally run a lot of takes of each shot, so the glitches were easily avoided in the editing room.

Until week three.

The glitches were getting worse. I was now looking at masking and cloning out glitches. The sound, fortunately, was mostly okay.

Then I discovered, or remembered, a solution. Adobe Premiere CS3 (my editor of choice) comes with a program called OnLocation (OL), which allows you to connect the camera to a PC and capture the signal directly–bypassing the tape. Well, shit, let’s try that.

Holy crap, OL was easy to set up! I had purchased a 500GB external capture drive and planned to use my laptop to run everything. The XL1s (yes, we went back to the better camera since we weren’t using tape anymore) plugged right in and was instantly found by OL. OL’s interface has a nice monitor for our director; it even shows the zebra lines. And, perhaps best of all, no capturing. Each take goes right to the capture drive, and can be labeled as needed.

We were rolling smoothly now. The only real–shall we say…inconvenience–is the camera’s wired connection to the computer while shooting, which makes camera moves somewhat limited. Add to that the signal loss when the cable length is too long², and you have to be really creative in how you shoot. But we use sticks more often than not, so we’re managing. We’ve even established a rhythm when moving the whole rig (camera, laptop, drive, etc.) from one shot to the next.

In the future, of course, I intend to purchase an HD (probably HDV) camera that can shoot in true 24p, so we get the best cinematic look possible for our budget.

Stay tuned for more behind the scenes stories and pictures.

¹I used my daughter’s Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals, the battery-operated ones that move and talk, and staged a scene as if they were talking to each other. Silly? Yes, but it worked for the test.

²I’ve seen several references that say a firewire cable can be 14′ without a signal loss, but I used a 10′ cable and noticed some degradation in the image. It works, but should be use sparingly. I use it for hand-held shots that require a lot of movement.

We’ve been chomping at the bit to film a new feature for over a year now. We’re finally getting our chance this summer. The cast is set, the locations (sort of) secured — any micro-budget company knows what I mean — and the shooting schedule is done (for the next couple of weeks, anyway).

Now, we start rolling.

This is the first time I’ll be behind the camera, other than for the Horrorfind commercial in March. So, I made a checklist for the set:

• Charged battery…check.
• Tape in, queued up…check.
• White balance set…check.
• XL1 set to interlaced mode…check (we’re converting to 24p, but that’s a whole, upcoming, post in itself).
• Subject framed…check.
• Lights set properly…check.

And, um, anything else?

Oh yeah,

• Focused? …check. Whew!