CG, reshoots, and mouse poop.

We're deep into post world and inching towards the finish line. We've been staring at and fussing over this movie for what seems like years now. Having shot and edited another movie in the meantime, we gained a lot of perspective on Intersect and decided to capitalize on that experience.

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Over the past few months, we organized a few key reshoots to jazz up existing scenes and to add a bit of value or visual interest in between others. One that was particularly rewarding was to finally bring Miskatonic University to the screen. The use of MU in Intersect is a reference to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, which was only a less than explicit nod up to this point, but we decided something more overt was called for. So we took over a portion of the ASU campus and brought it to life.

Having secured funding to complete the CG, we also needed to shoot a variety of items and animals on green screen to help illustrate some of the important scientific experiments that take place in the story.

Once the edit was locked with the new reshoots and green screen footage added in, we engaged the help of the amazing, Emmy award winning CG company, Tomahawk Visual Effects. (Or TMHK for short) These guys really took the ball and ran with it. Eventually we all realized that sports based idioms were way out of style, and instead, they just went to work.

TMHK blew us away with their hard work, their designs, and their ideas for this movie. Finding the right people to gel with your project is difficult thing, but these guys 'got' the movie right away and continuously impressed us with the art they delivered to us.

Tune in next time when we discuss music, foley, and the final mix!

-Luke (D.P.)

Intersect Portal Roadtrip

It's a good thing time is just a human construct, because you could be tricked into thinking we've been working on this movie for years and years... but actually, especially from the standpoint of the history of our planet (earth), we just barely got started.

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So, welcome back! Let's go on a little trip. We've packed up our time machine and hit the road so we could introduce it to a sampling of different environments. We even pointed a camera at it while we were out. Maybe it will end up helping us promote the movie in some way.

First step, crank up the jams. We stuck to tradition and went with Fit For Rivals, full f*cking blast. We dragged the portal out of retirement and gave it a wipe down... it was hidden under a tarp, constantly battered by the unforgiving Arizona weather, including what appeared to be a few lightning strikes. We found the 120º temperatures to be the perfect setting for a scene in the snow. And who's gonna know we WEREN'T in the actual snow, am I right?

We eventually threw the portal on a trailer and showed it what the woods and streams are like up in the Tonto National Forest of Northern Arizona. We clambered up the scorching sand dunes of Tatooine Yuma, lugging the portal behind us, before attempting to roll it back down and the end of an exhausting day. And finally, we all had a day out on dog beach in Del Mar, California, until the tide started pulling the portal out to sea.

We returned home, necks burnt and shoes full of sand, confident that we had shown the portal a rewarding couple of days.

Coming soon - What the hell else have we been doing on this movie!?

-Luke (D.P.) ((I'm the goober on the left))

We're gonna need a bigger blog

It's been a long time with no blog. But it's not for lack of content... we've been ridiculously busy with Intersect over the past few weeks. This is actually the first lull we've had, and it's given me a chance to finally throw up some new stuff! Let's start with a new video... check out what we've been doing over the last 10 days of shooting...

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As of this blog, we are in the very final stages of principal photography!! With what we finished last week, we have about 95% of the film accounted for. You cannot know how thrilled we are to start editing! To start looking at all the work we've done over the past year, and finally get to see it strung together. Plus, there will probably be some sort of massive wrap party for everyone involved. That should be enjoyable too. :)

Debby Rosenthal and Randy Messersmith

So, in this blog you get to meet a few new Intersect people, and say goodbye to a few people that are wrapped on this film. The fantastic Debby Rosenthal was the first to go. Debby of course played our lead character's troubled mother. We had a great time exploring the vast array of emotional ticks of Mrs. Winrich with Debby.

Mike Lawler, the Dean of Miskatonic University, also got to say goodbye to Intersect this week. Mike came back for his final scene with Jason and Leeann's characters, and floored us with his nuances and ability to add just the right amount of darkness to the character. We always had a great time working with Mike, we'll be happy to see him on screen!

Leeann Dearing was the next to wrap. Leeann, of course played one of the lead roles, the character Dr. Caitlin Webb. Leeann definitely earned her wrap... we spent a very long, hot and sunny day in a cemetery spraying her with hoses. Despite the 110+ degree temperature outside, the cold water from the tap actually kept our actors shivering most of the day. It was definitely a physical day of shooting, and we were glad to see it done. Leeann left to a small round of applause wrapped in a towel, soaking wet... a fitting end to anyone on this film.

A few fresh faces this week as well; Randy Messersmith, Jared Spishock, and Michaela Dean. Randy gave a very startling performance of Dr. Matheson, the stoic family friend of the Winrich parents. Randy brought a great new variety to the film, and was an amazing addition to the cast.

Jared Spishock portrayed Ryan's father in the film. Ryan's mental state and unhappy childhood were partially a result of the situation with his father. Hmm... that has to be intriguing!

Michaela Dean

Young Michaela Dean came on set and surprised everyone with her incredible acting abilities as well as her sharp knowledge of the source material. She knew the script forwards and backwards, and on a number of occasions I could hear her explaining very complex parts of the story to the other people on set. Michaela was a joy to work with, and we're all really looking forward to watching her part in this film.

But let’s not overlook our veteran actors who are still on board! There were some command performances by Abe Ruthless, Jason Spisak, and D’artagnan Driscoll as well! We filmed some things with these guys that will make you shiver in your snuggie! So what did we actually get done? We shot all of young Ryan's childhood memories at his parent's home. To which we owe a very giant thank you to Shelly Adelson (and the entire Adelson family) and Zack Johnson, who both very graciously let us take over their homes for a number of long days. Thank you both! We wouldn't be where we are without your help!

We also filmed inside of a chapel, which was a pretty amazing thing in itself... Gus, with the keys to a church. Filming inside of a church was a lot like filming inside of a cave... very difficult to light properly. We had a heck of time getting the light the way we wanted it, but in the end we all said "we got our chapel!" and that said it all.

Abe with Jubes, finally

As I said previously, by the time of this blog post, we're WELL on our way towards wrapping this film. By my math, we should be able to count on one hand how many full days of shooting we have left! Hopefully, by the next blog I can finally announce that we're finished.

Stay tuned!!

-Luke (D.P.)