ADR sessions

The last update for INTERSECT was December 13, 2011!

Over the past 3 years Black Chalk Productions has been busy with a number of projects, most notably the feature length documentary, THE UNBELIEVERS. Since then, we've made tons of new connections and additions to our team - all of which will help to make INTERSECT the best film it can be. This blog post chronicles the first few steps back into the world of sci-fi time-travel.

:::VIDEO BELOW:::

SITREP: The film has been edited, pickup shooting has begun, and ADR is mostly complete. ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) or "looping" is the process of re-recording dialogue by the original actor after the filming process to improve audio quality or reflect script changes, according to Wikipedia. ADR is generally a luxury afforded by big budget films, as it can be costly and time consuming, but we chose to take this step to make this film the best it can be. It gave us the ability to slightly massage certain performances in addition to creating a more even sound to the film throughout.

The video below details the process of recording ADR:

Intersect - BTS 16 from Black Chalk on Vimeo.

The purpose of this video, while fairly esoteric, was to illustrate the benefits of ADR recording and give some insight into the process. A special thanks to Thomas Amason, of FIT FOR RIVALS, for his tireless work as our ADR maestro.

In the coming weeks and months, we will be updating the blog with more regular status reports. We do hope you'll stay interested in our film.

-Luke (D.P.)

Intersect filming wrapped!!

Yes, you read that correctly... we're officially done filming! Sure, there may be a few pick-up shots to grab, or a building to shoot... but for all intents and purposes, Intersect principal photography is wrapped!

This blog post is actually a few weeks coming. We've been busy going over the footage and editing the first few scenes. I've been sort of slacking on the blog front. But here it is! And isn't it great? Let's start with a video. This is a bit of a departure from the standard Intersect blog video... it's less of a Fit For Rivals blasting, greatest hits from behind-the-scenes video... and more of a short-form docu-soap / road-movie bro-film about the last day of filming.

:::VIDEO BELOW::: (Disclaimer: because of the raw nature of this video, there is some sharp language.)

The video was shot in the same "from the hip" manner we shoot every video... so it's a little rough... but it felt like something that needed be put together in a way that would cap off the end of the long Intersect filming journey. It's a little insight into how Gus, Jason, and I work when left to our own devices.

We needed a new location. And that meant leaving Phoenix. Our road trip took us to northern Arizona, between the towns of Springerville and Alpine, in the wooded area recently destroyed by a massive forest fire. The stark, depressing landscape made for a uniquely desolate setting for the scene we needed to shoot.

We drove for 6 hours through the night, charged our RED batteries in the motel while we slept, and woke up early and got right to work. We we're fairly deep in the mountains when we started filming, and far from any power outlets, so the charge we had on our batteries had to last us the entire shoot.

We got very lucky with regards to weather and sun, and had very consistent light through the whole day. Granted, the temperature was in the mid-30's, and we we're freezing, but focusing on the work and keeping our bodies moving made it tolerable. We ended up getting everything we needed on the 2 batteries we had. Careful planning and conserving our shots saved us in the end. You can see in the video how close to the wire we really came as we filmed till the camera literally shut off.

In the end, we were all astounded by the quality and beauty of the shots we were able to get with such a small crew. We left feeling very relieved and secure in the fact that that we now have a complete movie on our hands. No matter what happens now, we have a solid film, and it's time to put it together.

It's worth noting that before this road trip, we overcame another large hurdle associated with filming in Phoenix... finding an attic. Finding any "filmic" architecture in Phoenix is hard enough as it is, then throw in the added difficulty of an attic, and it's a right tricky thing. Again, diligence and luck paid off.

After months of sticking our heads in all our friends crawl spaces, and asking everyone we knew, we found the most amazingly perfect attic in a slightly older part of Phoenix. The physical shape of it made for very easy camera placement, and gave it a very cinematic feel. The items that ended up in the scene were actually all handpicked and arranged by us, from the owner's cache of amazing keepsakes and furniture. (Aside from our props) We really couldn't have asked for a better location. By the end of it, we had a pretty epic scene on our hands.

I almost threw in some video of us arranging the items in the attic and placing our lights, but I didn't want to detract from the road trip video. Oh well, maybe something for the Blu-Ray. :)

Over the next few months, as we continue to edit and make new progress on the film, we will still be blogging and possibly throwing up some footage from the scenes we're working on. We'll also be more diligent with our Twitter usage... so be sure to follow us @IntersectMovie for more frequent updates.

Thanks for hanging with us this long! We're thrilled with the footage we have, and we can't wait to share it with you.

Stay tuned!

-Luke (D.P.)

That's a wrap! (Well, basically)

Another large chunk of Intersect filming is done as of this blog post... We've officially wrapped principal photography on all of our actors, except Jason Spisak! Wow! That's a great sentence to type. Why not take a quick look at what we've been doing over the past 5 weeks in this action packed video:

 :::VIDEO:::

Jason's involvement in this film as the lead acting role, as well as producer, will continue as we tie up all our loose ends and finish our pick-up shots. But having everyone else finished is, as you can imagine, a giant load off... for everyone. No more scheduling. No more long days in the hot Arizona sun. So much less to worry about now. It's a weird feeling, knowing your life is about to open up again. It's nearly time to dive full-in to the editing. It's already begun, but soon we'll be editing around the clock.

Abe Ruthless... what can anyone say? Abe has been with us from literally day-one of shooting. He's been the most hard-working, dedicated, and easy to get along with person we've ever met. From wardrobe, to makeup, to his extensive hair and beard work on this film, Abe has put up with a lot of torture from us. Not to mention the insane character arch he's had to follow. Seeing Abe develop his character and work through his vast emotional display on set has been truly inspiring to watch. Everyone has learned something from Abe by working on this film, and his phenomenal performance will be a joy to watch. We're all in for a serious treat.

Abe... wrapped!

One interesting night with Abe took us from shooting inside the hallways of a school, to Mesa's bustling downtown area at 2:00am. We filmed a few cutaway shots with Abe as he was leaving a restaurant from an earlier scene, then we waited as Gus hailed us a cab. For some reason it took an incredibly long time for a cab to show up, so I decided to take a few long-exposure photos while we waited. I'm particularly keen on Abe's "Hear no, speak no, see no evil" shot.

D'artagnan... wrapped!

What about this D'artagnan cat? Yes, sir... He's completed his tour of duty as well. D'artagnan Driscoll has been put through a particularly tough time on this film. Not only is his character emotionally flawed and severely conflicted, but his wardrobe has caused him more angst than anyone else on the film. D'artagnan's most prominently featured costume had been dubbed "Warmy", on account of it being comprised of an orange under shirt, a dark flannel sweater, and a red and black hooded sweatshirt over the top. Every time we needed that costume for an outdoor shoot, it was well over 100 degrees, with no cloud cover. We never once caught a break from the sun. But D'artagnan suffered through right to the end. Of everyone in our younger cast, he's endured more rough schedules and long days than anyone. We were glad to finally wrap him, and can't wait to showcase his abilities.

Warmy

Leeann... re-wrapped!

We brought Leeann Dearing back for a short day of one or two pick-up shots, and even wrangled in Garrett Boyd for one scene! Garrett, you'll remember portrayed Geoffrey from the Event Chamber lab scenes. And on our very last day of shooting, we even had Slade Hall back on set! It was a very long night of shooting, but we got some incredible footage with Slade and Abe inside a giant power station. Slade's performance as snarky science reporter Larry Fincher, and his run-ins with Abe's character provide a bit of comic relief to our serious time-travel, sci-fi, action movie.

Slade... napped! And wrapped!

Well, you're up to date again! Sorry for the long delay, and thanks for checking back. We'll be posting more entries as we completely wrap up filming, and along the way throughout the editing process. Also, be sure to follow us on TWITTER ( @intersectmovie ), where we will be posting more frequent, up-to-the-minute updates in the coming weeks. This adventure is far from over, so keep an eye on us. We're planning something special for the next post....

One last nugget... these are actual fortunes we got during the filming. One was from a chinese restaurant we ate at after our last day of filming in the lab. The other I found on the ground during one of our last outdoor shoots. Insert Theramin sound effects now...

-Luke (D.P.)

You have to know where your towel is...

Every few days, whilst being on set filming this movie... I'm reminded of the importance of the standard, garden variety bath towel. It got me thinking.... can a movie actually be made without one? In a word, I don't think so. (Ok, a few words) But read on, and decide for yourself... it's an election year after all, better start thinking about these sort of issues!

Also... here is a VIDEO wrap up of the past few weeks:::

I think the best place to start is with the innovations the towel has been responsible for on this specific movie:

"Towel Dolly"

The first one that comes to mind is something we invented on set in the laboratory... the "Towel Dolly". Tried and true, the Towel Dolly got us through some tough shots in the past. Namely focusing on one of our actors staring at a mouse sitting on a desk, and having to dolly around it to make the shot more dramatic. Our dolly was either too high or too low, and we couldn't 'reach' over the desk itself... so we plopped the RED on a folded towel and started pulling. Sounds simple, but it worked brilliantly.

"Towel Dash RED Mount"

This weekend we shot some of our in-car chase footage. Jason's character needed to rush to the lab in panic-riddled scene and we needed a tight, front-on, steady camera angle inside the car. Again... in this low-budget indie film, we couldn't afford a caged up vehicle dolly with a crane attachment. So we disassembled the RED, spread the pieces out over the dashboard, wadded up a towel around the body, and jammed it between the windshield and the dash. Looked great, worked great, and probably saved $5k. All because of a towel.

"Under Dash Pillow Towel"

Same situation, needed a low angle shot inside the car, didn't have a small/heavy duty tripod to support the RED... why not contort my body under the dash, use a towel as a pillow, and rest the RED on my chest? Worked perfectly.

"RED Towel Guard"

Or, how about for the POV from the chase vehicle? We dangled the RED over the side of a pickup truck, but didn't want either item getting scratched... stuck a towel in between the two... Done! And even used another towel as a knee pad for resting on in the back of the truck, and one around my waist when I was being tied in.

Now... I know what you're thinking... "Yeah, but Luke, those circumstances you listed are ridiculous... what about in a normal movie?" Well. How about I quickly just list of other uses? Shoulder pad for under the RED when shooting hand held... something for the child stars to lay on while shooting on the hot ground of the alley... cushioning the fall of breakable props... cleaning up pools of semi-coagulated fake blood...  makeshift knee-pad for kneeling/low angle steadicam shots... and how about as simple as a dust cover for the camera? Douglas Adams pegged it when he wrote of the importance of the towel, and the crew on this movie won't soon forget it.

All the towel talk aside... this blog marks the last day of shooting for Jacob Lacy, our lead bully "Abner". Jacob really brought something dark and slimy to the role of Abner. On a number of occasions we were shocked how creepy he made the character! We can't wait to edit his footage... it's just teeming with wickedness. Thanks for all your hard work Jacob!

This post also meant a return to the much loathed, incredibly dirty, insanely hot alley in south Scottsdale. Neither kids nor crew were happy, but after a look at the dailies we decided we needed one more day down there to make the fight scene really pop... and we got it! It looks great. The kids really beat the crud out of each other! We couldn't have asked for better.

Stay tuned for the next post... we're approaching an epic milestone! And always remember where your towel is!

-Luke (D.P.)