Ryan’s 35mm depth of field adapter has arrived! Here’s some behind-the-scenes footage of us shooting lighting and lens tests with it. We will definitely be shooting with it, which means we’re down to needed just one more piece of gear: our second AT835b shotgun mic. Should be getting that in the next week.

Just finished writing out a ten day shooting schedule. We’re also finishing up one last piece of DIY equip on Wed, then its more camera and lighting tests on Friday. Ryan has purchased a 35mm depth of field adapter for his XHA1 but it hasn’t arrived yet, so the question is: do we wait for it and lenses to arrive, or start shooting without it?

I’ll keep you posted.

Yesterday we finished building our second piece of equipment: the dolly. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look!

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the building of the camera slider. Once we get the real camera on it and get the counter weights calibrated it will roll much smoother, but for now here’s a look at how your donations will improve our film!

Finished the first iteration of the Camera Slider today! Tested with the Flip and took some behind the scenes videos (which will be appearing here shortly); we’ll have to re-adjust and work out the counter-weights once we start using the Canon XHA1, but so far so good! That’s one piece of equipment built, and one more to go, thanks to everyone who has contributed!

Storyboards are complete! 45 scenes, 280 shots. Onward to more detailed preparations and equipment building!

Shot lists and storyboards are 3/4 of the way done! We started building our camera slider yesterday; we’ve got it 80% done and will be finishing next week. Tomorrow is a busy day: our first rehearsal on location followed by a recording session for the score. Stay tuned for video updates!

This week I have been focusing on finishing converting my shot lists into storyboards. Using Celtx to write out shot lists from my script, I then use Google SketchUp to compose the storyboard and export a rendered image with IDX Renditioner. For this project, I am going to make a page in my production binder for each storyboard. That way I can keep track of the shot, any camera movement required, and the section of script it covers all in one location (being low budget means not having a script girl or assistant director and making everyone multi-task!)

What Productivity Looks Like

Here’s the first of many behind the scenes updates: planning and shooting the conceptual trailer.