Production Diary: Stockholm Santa

It's very exciting times, folks! Stockholm Santa is marching steadily toward production! In this thread
I'm going to document our journey from pre-through-post-production. As tempting as it is to just talk
up the project and make myself sound all super-professional, I'm gong to be as honest as I can here
about how this film is actually getting made.

At best it will be a place for some people to learn something, even if it's what not to do. At worst, well,
there will be a record so that the world will know how and when we died, and what we died fighting for.

Let's start with the basics, for those of you who aren't familiar with the project.

StockholmSanta.png


Download and read the full 8-page script here: http://www.sammigirl.com/santa/StockholmSanta.pdf

Brief Synopsis:
After briefly encountering and falling in love with a mysterious girl, young Brady goes on a mission to
find out who she is and where she came from. His yearning to find her leads him to do something he
never thought he would do: kidnap Santa Claus.

Who's on Board so far?

Sammi Stephans - Director and de-facto Producer

Ernest Worthing (yes, THAT Ernest Worthing!) - Director of Photography
http://http://www.ernestworthing.com/

Mike Farnham - Assistant Director

Joseph Weindl (aka CrackerFunk) - Editor

Dan Scott (aka Wheatgrinder) - Special Effects

Catering and Kraft Services - My Mom

What's have we got done?

The budget has been made, not met, and slashed. All props are either already bought or will be borrowed/donated.
My parents have agreed (to my wonderful surprise) to kick in a little cash plus pay for the food. Everyone
listed above is a volunteer, and the actors will be, too. Most of the meager budget I've got is going to pay
a sound person $50/day.

The script has been broken down and scheduled for a two-day shoot. However since the lead and one of the
other three actors are children, we're going to have a crew call for the day before to get the shots planned.
This way (fingers crossed) we can keep the hours for the kids to a reasonable amount.

schedule.JPG

Day One of shooting we've got 3 5/8 pages; Day Two we've got 4 7/8

[more to follow...]
 
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What, no options for a *real* cola:
31yi1Im%2BeiL._SL500_AA300_PIbundle-12,TopRight,0,0_AA300_SH20_.jpg

The current Jolt on the market in the US is an energy drink, but the cola still tastes cola-y, and the nasty energy drink aftertaste is kept to a minimum. Do miss the classic stuff though. That and a bag of skittles were all you needed!

Also I *really* miss:
royal.jpg


Also, on a less topic-derailing note, hooray for IndieTalk collaboration!
 
Josh, you get 5 internet-demerits for using the word 'cola.' I'm from the midwest and it's called pop here ;)

"soda" where I grew up (central new york) and "pop" here (pittsburgh). I'm using cola as a literal description here...the type of soda|pop we're talking about. Of course, go down south and it's all "coke". Why, yes, I do spend too much time thinking about this stuff!

Either way, I'll take my -5 points to Ravenclaw ;)
 
Quick update. Talked to my AD about our ideal location (his grandpa's place) which is looking like a bust so far. He's retired from a career as a camera-man/producer/director for the news and he's got some serious union loyalty. Which I totally respect but is making him very reluctant to agree to letting us shoot at his place :(

Luckily plans B and C are in motion while we try and come up with a good argument why it's ok to be non-union when you're just starting out...

And our MUA got denied the days off work :( But she's gonna give me a little training in how to do the fake beard and other stuff.

Ahh pre-production hiccups. Don't you love 'em?
 
Good luck with this, script looks promising! 8 is a little young for a stalker though, wouldn't you say? I think it exists in its own little universe enough for you to get away with it though :)
 
Good luck with this, script looks promising! 8 is a little young for a stalker though, wouldn't you say? I think it exists in its own little universe enough for you to get away with it though :)

Thanks a lot! :)

I shall composite to your specifications.

It's a deal.
shakehands.gif



This project is like "The Avengers", but for Indietalk. Dready is Nick Fury, Ernest is Iron Man, Wheat is Captain America, and I'm pretty sure I'm the Hulk.

Yes, you're the hulk. Now where do I buy a director's eyepatch?
 
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