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.)

Day 50 of shooting!

Well folks. It happened. We've made it through 50 days of shooting on the Intersect film! Don't celebrate too much just yet tho... there is still another hefty chunk left to do yet. But celebrate a little... jeez!

Here's a video to fill you in on what you've missed...

:::VIDEO:::

This blog adventure, while short, chronicles a couple crazy days.... and a few milestones for us. Firstly... 50 days of shooting!! Which, is pretty serious. A bit boggling to think back on... and looking at the terabytes of footage that is stacking up for this film is seeming quite daunting. But we're getting so close to the end! We cant wait to start editing this thing!

Ryan Adelson, wrapped!

This week we wrapped two acting pros: Kelcey Bligh and Ryan Adelson. Kelcey is, of course, the younger version of the film's blond starlet, Dr. Caitlin Webb... and Ryan plays the role of Dr. Nathan Beaumont's younger self. Both have been great to work with, and a joy to watch on camera. These kids are going to stun people! Working on set with young adults has been full of surprises, but it always struck me how much energy they have! We're shooting in Phoenix, Arizona, in the sun, in the summer, with temps of 100+ degrees... and Kelcey is doing gymnastics between takes... while Ryan and D'artagnan (in a sweater) are slap boxing and chasing each other around set between camera set ups. That fact definitely kept the crew on our toes.

Kelcey Bligh, relaxing on set

D'artagnan is still tied in for a few more days of shooting. But we've moved to the indoor section of the film. Something we're all quite happy about. But for one scene, we did have to jam a plastic syringe up his nose and fill it with fake blood. He wasn't thanking us for that. But like a trooper he took his fake blood with a snort and a smile.

The next 4 - 6 weeks are going to be crazy hell weeks for us. There will be a lot of shooting going on any time we can squeeze it in.We'll be dressing sets in between work, and driving all over town to different locations. Should be a lot of fun, when it's done. The finish line is getting so close... keeping the engines pumping men! I'll try to keep the blogs coming during the shooting... but just be patient.

Gus and Luke...we know how to sit!

-Luke (D.P.)

A celebration, a protest, and a bomb scare...

Abe Ruthless... just a man, with a beard... and a sign

Welcome back loyal listeners! Phase 2 of this giant Intersect project kicked off this past week... and we knocked out the first 3 days of our remaining 24-day shoot.

Check out a little wrap up VIDEO:::

Miskatonic University

All 3 days took place on Arizona State University campus. We were able to get some amazing footage thanks to the use of the brilliant architecture, and to Keith Jennings and all of the ASU staff that worked with us on the shoot, and a very special thank you to all the background artists who gave us hours and hours of their time over the weekend for nothing! You guys were awesome!

Being out of our cold, safe laboratory was an interesting change for our crew. The outdoors provided a new set of challenges for us, not the least of which being the intense Arizona sun! But we pushed through... and a lot of new film making gear was also debuted, including my personal favorite, the Steadicam!

I'm going to keep this post fairly short, there is a lot of work to be done for this week's shooting schedule... I'll let the photos and video do the talking.

Oh yeah... PS... we have some ridiculously exciting news... for the next post!

Watch this SPACE!! (Oh... you'll see why that's funny soon enough!)

-Luke (D.P)