Much has been quiet on the waterfront… which is what happens when the production crew has long since disbanded and the 44 locations around the city are silent where the sounds of “Action,” “Cut,” and “Let’s set the dolly up along here…” once were yelled.
Nowadays the movie lives in a single room on a couple of computers. Things are quiet, and unfortunately I’ve been silent on both this and the Daros blog… because there really aren’t many exciting things to report other than “Yes, we’re still in post.”
But, since there hasn’t been a “Yes, we’re still in post,” update in a while, I’ll give you the skinny.
Editing: We’re beginning the 6th of 7 edits before we lock. The 5th edit went out to industry professionals and editors for fresh pairs of eyes, and now we’re readying the 6th draft to start showing to focus groups! After we get that feedback, we’ll lock in on a 7th draft edit and move further down the road of post-production.
Sound: After we lock we’ll be laying down some ADR/looping for the few scenes that we just couldn’t get clean sound on while on location. After that we’ll be working with a studio to mix down and foley the audio.
Effects: We’re shopping around several effects houses to do the final color grading and effects work for the movie.
Beyond that, we’re getting closer and closer to a finished product! Runtime is sitting at about 1:49 for draft 5, and it probably won’t change too much for 6 or 7, but we’ll have to see.
Thanks for holding on!
-Ryan
RACHEL: You remind me of Michael.
OLIVER: That why you’re still here?
.:MLT
Wait, you mean we’re still making a movie? Weekly update 36 back in early January was our last major announcement, and so much has happened since then (I really ought to get someone to write these, shouldn’t I?) We are zeroing in the finish line. In fact, we’re so close, we’re officially WRAPPING on Friday, April 3rd. It will be a bittersweet end after 42 outings together, but there’s no rest for us as we’ll immediately move into pickups and a reshoot or two (we are classifying wrapping as completing at least most of every scene and we’ll be at officially 98% of what we need).
.:Chop-Shop
The rough assembly edit is 50% complete. As soon as we wrap, I’ll be devoting most of my free time into completing the assembly edit and picking out what we might be missing for inserts and reshoots. After that, we’ll be putting together a trailer and polish off a few key scenes to start shopping around to distributors. And then… well, we’ll just have to see what comes next, but we’re all very excited.
.:Credits
43 weeks ago… I mentioned a song I wanted. Without going into too much detail, the dream is now something of an obtainable goal with much thanks to the legwork of a few individuals. I’ll let you know more when I can.
.:Behind the Scenes
The blog needs some more pictures, and I’ll be putting some great production stills up soon.
Thanks for reading and supporting Greyscale! We’re incredibly close to finishing this leg of the game and it has been an absolute blast.
“Ever heard of Achromatopsia?”
February 7th, 2008 – The movie title Greyscale is imagined during a meeting at the Oklahoma Moviemakers group after it was pitched to have a local film festival.
A year has been invested in this project. 7.5 months of writing/pre-production, 3.5 months in production, 1 in post (thus far). 72 cast members, 20+ crew (on set and off), and a lot of people showing interest in the project… it’s come a long way and still has a ways to go… The last 15% of filming and 60% left to go on the assembly edit (and then the first actual edit, scoring, color treatment, sound sweetening, etc). But, as soon as the assembly is complete, the trailer will be put together and we’ll go to distributors and see who bites.
Whatever your level of involvement, I want to say a sincere thank you for being here with this project, no matter the level. Whether you’ve said a few encouraging words or been on set all 33 days of production thusfar, we wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for you.
While most people’s association with this project will be merely the finished product, I’m realizing the value that comes with a producing something like this. People are brought together, relationships are formed, stories and lives are shared, and win, lose, or draw, we have the memories and the experiences left behind. Yes, I am a very nostalgic person, and still can’t believe how so much has come together through the work of so many. Thank you for investing in this idea, this story, this chapter in my life that I will always look back fondly on. Yes, there is plenty more work left to be done as I’ve mentioned before, but we’ve hit a milestone, and too often they are forgotten.
.:Conway Banks
I want to thank everyone that helped out during the screenwriting process of this. As I recently began writing a short story for the next project during some downtime, I forgot how much fun writing was… and how awful first drafts look. Greyscale started off as a simple tale of evening the score, Ocean’s 11 style… and has since become much, much more thanks to the many who slogged through draft after draft, killing a few small forests in the process of offering their opinions. This story was written by Conway Banks, which started as an inside joke of a pen name but I now am realizing that Conway is a collective of everyone that has put their time into refining this story, questioning the ideas and pointing out the areas that needed work.
There are points in the story that I’m discovering how connected everything is. How this is a story of forgiveness, of redemptions past, present, and future. How Greyscale may refer to the world being in black and white, but moreso how it is Oliver’s story of how he could have wound up in the position of just about any of the rest of the characters if certain events had happened differently (or if forgiveness had been granted or received at different points in his life), and thus can look at each person in their own scale of good/badness and see where he falls in the mix and why. It’s something I don’t expect many people to walk away understanding, but I hope it’s at least transparent enough to be noticed.
.:Ian Hamilton
I want to thank the actors who have breathed life into these roles. It’s an interesting experience to wrestle with creating a fictional person for so long only to have their character live for a day or two and then be forever nothing but images on a screen from that point on. It’s a humbling and beautiful thing for a writer to experience, and in the editing bay, I have been so proud of our cast. For the bits that I have shown around, I have gotten far and away more praise than critiques on how the cast is working well together. They say 80% of directing is casting, and I believe it.
.:Color-Wheel
I want to thank the crew for all the blood, sweat, and… well, no tears have been shed yet, thankfully. I could not ask for a better crew to work with. Most people that have come on set for a weekend have done nothing but rave about how hard working, patient, and loyal this crew has been. I won’t drag this message on too much longer, but I can only hope that you all have enjoyed working on this movie as much as I have had the pleasure of getting to know you and work with you.
Year one is done, my friends. 2008 was strong, but 2009 is where it all pays off. Thank you for believing in this project.
Sincerely,
Ryan Dunlap
“Hello little bird. Come to offer me fifty percent of nothing?” ~Jamison
First of all, many thanks to all of you for sticking around with us. So much has happened since our last update. Both Tim Russ and Doug Jones have come, delivered brilliantly, and headed back to the West coast. For those of you following us on Facebook, these aren’t anything new, but here are some screengrabs from some of the rough CC footage: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038030&l=5f47a&id=26400254
While we’re working on the new Greyscale website, feel free to go out there and visit to see the new 3-minute behind the scenes short film put together by our own Joseph Hutson (www.greyscalemovie.com).
.:Professionals
I’ve heard that a good portion of directing is the casting process, and I can’t say enough about our cast. From our LA pros (who have been directed by the likes of Speilberg, Burton, del Toro, Whedon, Shyamalan, Brooks and more…) to our experienced homegrown cast, I am incredibly proud of our performers and have found them all incredibly easy to direct.
.:Hiatus
We’re officially 85% finished with filming as of Dec 14th. Since then we’ve been on break for the holidays we’ve been regrouping to see what pickups/inserts/reshoots are necessary. Editing has begun, and we’re more excited than ever to get this thing wrapped.
Other than that, there isn’t much to report, but please check out the pictures and behind the scenes footage!
Gabe:There are just some things a person should know before they die.
Welcome back, race fans! It’s amazing how time flies when you’re in production and on limited sleep! I believe my last e-mail was back in Week 21, so apologies for not keeping you all up to date. We have some pretty big announcements to make, and some fun new ways to follow Greyscale through its production.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321390/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/greyscalemovie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=10771780212&ref=ts
Blog: www.darosfilms.com/blog
.:Triumvirates
When we set out to create Greyscale, we were looking at putting some money aside to get one recognizable name/face attached to the project. Well, it is my incredibly pleasure to announce that we have
THREE.
1) Anthony Tyler Quinn – Playing Jonathon Cole. We shot his scenes early on in October. You might remember him from his days on Boy Meets World.
2) Tim Russ – Playing Gavin Calhoun. He is flying in this Saturday to film all of his scenes on Sunday and Monday. You might remember him from Star Trek: Voyager or Samantha Who.
3) Doug Jones - Playing Jamison. He is coming in December. You might remember him from Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy 1 & 2, or playing the role of the Silver Surfer in the Fantastic 4 sequel.
We have been immensely blessed with a wealth of talent here, and I can’t wait to see what Tim and Doug will bring to Greyscale (Tony already knocked it out of the park). Also, many thanks to Calix Reneau and Brandon Rice for helping us out with getting these greatly talented actors!
.:Stats
Some statistics that might interest you:
-We are
57% finished with shooting the movie
-
74 pages of the script has been shot, covering
97 scenes
-We have been on location for
166 hours, over
22 outings
We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are incredibly excited as a cast and crew to keep bringing this story to life. As a little bonus, we have an unofficial teaser trailer for you to take a peek at if you haven’t already: http://www.vimeo.com/2177494. It is just temp music, but it provides a little taste with the visual style we’re going after.
Day 1 was frought with nervousness and excitement as we were let in by security to use the main lecture hall I spent many an hour in during my time in the film studies program at my alma mater: The University of Tulsa. The first scene shown chronologically in the movie’s timeline was the scene where Oliver (our protagonist) meets his wife-to-be, Julia in a classroom.
After seven months of pre-production, gear acquisition, screenplay revisions, and logistic wrangling, we yelled “Camera’s up! Quiet on the set! Action!” for the first time. It was a surreal moment as I thought, “wait… this is actually going to be in the finished product…” Currently the first time we rolled is what’s sitting in the rough edit as the best of the takes, and I hope it stays in.
Scenes filmed:
-Oliver & Julia’s meetcute @ The University of Tulsa
Oliver: You’re brother’s worried about you. Wanted me to give you a message if I could find you.
Roger: Why isn’t he looking for me?
Oliver: Who says he isn’t?
.:Excitement
This Saturday we bring all of our equipment out for the first time to shoot something that will be a cornerstone of Greyscale and most likely will make it into the trailer: Oliver and Julia meeting in college. We’re shooting at my alma mater, and even in the room where I spent many hours taking the night film classes. It’s fitting. And we even have the head of the film studies department standing in as the professor in the classroom.
John (our brilliant DP) and I went to the location and blocked out every single setup for the day. It’s quite an experience to go from 7 months of imagining the scene in one’s head to being on location and visualizing how things will run. I’m sure seeing the footage and then editing it will being other new levels of excitement over the project.
.:I’ll be in my _______.
Due to the generous donation of time and effort of Dave & Lory Dunlap… we now have a trailer/motorhome. Mostly for when weather gets bad, or we need cook something… or an actor is feeling persnickity… Just another step that makes this feel more real.
.:Casting
We’ve finally made our selections for the roles based on those that came out to the casting call. Calls and emails should go out this week.
.:Pictures
You’d think I’d have more to say 2 days before we start principle photography… I’m mostly speechless (excepting for above sentences…) and can’t believe Greyscale is finally coming to life. It is a humbling and awe-inspiring feeling and the feeling is the undeniable payoff for all of these months of anticipation.
I’ll leave you with a few screenshots from last Saturday’s equipment test/callback for one of our roles.
Oliver storms over to a drawer, shuffling some art supplies.
RACHEL: You’re not looking for this, are you?
He turns back to see her holding a pistol.
RACHEL (CONT’D): You should probably lock this thing up.
Never know who might get their hands on it.
(tosses Oliver the pistol) You’re going to need that where you’re going.
OLIVER: (leveling the pistol at her) I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where she is.
RACHEL: (sauntering forward, pushing the gun aside) Oh, I think you are.
In fact, I think you’ll go wherever I tell you to go.
You see Oliver, people pay very well for secrets.
So the question is: will you pay for yours, or hers?
.:10 Days…
We’re currently set to begin principal photography in about 10 days. We’re cleaning house on paperwork and are excited for when we get to hit record for the first time. Each weekend has been filled with equipment tests, rehearsals, and we’re just about to extend offers to those that came out to the casting call here pretty shortly.
.:War Room
I’m not sure what else says “War Room” than a large whiteboard marked all over in various colors and with various checkboxes to note the progress of the movie. Well, we have one now, and it is a beautiful thing. No longer do I have to juggled what we have to do next with what has been done with all those other pesky “real life thoughts” (in fact, I think my lawn is in need of a good mowing, but such thoughts are distracting).
.:Soundtrack
Before I became a filmmaker, I was a musician. Which is to say that I am very much a proponent of having fitting music for the project, be it a score or background music (or credit music). We are currently in the process (and by “we,” I mean Calix, our LA producer) of tracking down talented acts that would have an interest in putting a track on the Greyscale Soundtrack. The songs would either appear in one format or another in the movie or in the credits, and we would have a CD we would put together aside from the movie itself. If you or someone you know has a musical act with a great song that you might think would be an asset to the production, let us know and we can have a listen. We’re currently looking for 12 tracks, by the by.
.:Marketing
We’re also looking to explore any local media connections in regards to Greyscale, be it radio, television, internet, flyers, tattoos… ok, ok, not flyers… so if you know anyone that is in the news or radio business, we’d love to explore that connection as well. One reason we have these “weekly” updates is to create a general awareness of this project before we have it in the can. Nothing worse than finishing a movie and nobody knowing about it.
Speaking of “weekly” updates, we should be on Week 20 for all accounts, but we’ve been fuzzy on what a “week” is…
Things to look for as we progress:
-A new website
-A professionally done poster
-Behind the scenes footage
-Interviews, and more!
Oliver and Rachel come to an open area and cautiously look around for any signs of Calhoun activity.
Suddenly, a shot CRACKS next to Oliver and the pair duck away and find cover behind a piece of large machinery, firing shots back.
OLIVER
(dryly)
RACHEL
Oh yeah? What makes you say that?
Oliver pulls his shotgun around and fires a couple rounds off, hitting one henchman. He pulls back and loads up a couple more shells.
OLIVER
Just a hunch.
.:Delays
As we mourn the loss of the missing Week 15, I thought I might treat you all to one of the newer (read: expanded) scenes that we put in after the enormous casting call response. Needless to say, we’ve been incredibly busy, and unfortunately the reporting of how the project has been progressing has fallen by the wayside. Fair warning… this will be a longer update…
.:Volition
Some of you have been with these filmmaking endeavors from the very beginning, so when I tell you that the newest LLC that will be running Greyscale is named “Volition Motion Pictures,” you might crack a smile at the reference. Then again, it might not be that amusing. One might ask themselves what happened to “Daros Films.” It’s still there, but conventional wisdom suggests a 2nd LLC to handle the movie separately for legal protection of assets (read: we don’t want to lose all our equipment we have in Daros if something happens to Greyscale).
.:$
We’re in talks with another big actor at the moment, which blows me away. What’s even more exciting is that we might be able to speak with an actor that is a personal favorite of mine… whom I actually based one of the large roles in Greyscale off of (yes, I just ended that sentence with a preposition…). In other exciting news, we’re in talks with some potential sources of funds. While we have enough to go ahead and begin production later this month, more money would be more than welcome on just about any independent feature…
While I’m not legally able to solicit any funding from anybody I don’t personally know, I will say that I am excited that it appears that we’ve discovered a way for just about anybody to contribute/invest in the movie at just about any level. We’re still working out the paperwork, but no longer is movie investing solely in the hands of people with large amounts of money (granted, we wouldn’t turn them away by any means…)
.:SAG
Minor delays since we switched from Daros Films to Volition Motion Pictures, but things are churning along swimmingly and things are firming up… and we will be killing at least a small forest with the amount of paperwork we’ll be sending in. After that, we should be able to begin making offers for those that attended the casting call.
.:Meetings
Last Sunday we had our largest meeting yet with about 17 people meeting to discuss the movie, where we acquired new crew members and discovered some great potential locations. Many thanks to everyone who came out!
.:Mr. Producer from LA
Lastly, I’d like to send a big thank you to our new producer from Los Angeles, Calix Reneau! He has been an incredible resource to Greyscale from the beginning and has been hooking us up some excellent LA connections (remember aforementioned actors). Well, we are proud to announce that we have officially brought him on as a Producer.
Well, that’s about it for this week. We’re hurtling toward the beginning of production, and it feels like we’re just getting started. If you’re interested in any aspect of the project (cast/crew/etc), feel free to let us know and we can talk.
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