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I’m currently wading through the DEADWOOD PARK raw footage and making my paper edit (choosing, by time code, what footage to put on the Avid for assembly).
Some of the most impressive footage I’m seeing on the window dubs is our World War 2 battle shots. I knew going in that this footage would be used montage-style, so our lack of budget (for big time Hollywood explosive effects) did not concern me too much. I figured we’d set up a bunch of shots with soldiers and explosions and maybe I’d get a few half-seconds of battle footage that didn’t look too fake. However, pyrotechnic effects creators John Specht and Patrick Hensler (Royalty ‘N’ Exile Productions) delivered explosive effects that greatly exceeded my expectations. The footage will still be used montage style... and the three days of shooting we did for these shots represent maximum effort for minimum screen time... but the excellent work John and Patrick pulled off gave me much more useable footage than I thought I’d get.
The battle shoots were pretty big. A lot of cast and crew were on set. Each shot was complex and required much planning and choreography. The potential for injury (or worse) was high. But John and Patrick not only delivered explosive cinematic spectacle, they did it with safety at the top of their priorities. Nobody got hurt.
This is a good time to point out that John Specht has done much more for me than just blow a lot of stuff up. John has directed a few movies that I was executive producer on. John and I worked closely together when we shot the opening video for THE SEVERED HEAD NETWORK VOLUME 2. But best of all, John has always been there when I needed help out of a jam. Being a professional independent movie director does NOT yield a life of wealth and smooth sailing. It yields a very difficult life of financial troubles and other bumps in the road. When things are going especially shitty for me, John has a way of showing up and helping me get through it. I won’t detail my “low points” here... frankly, because I’m embarrassed about having to accept handouts when times are tough. In fact, it makes me nauseous. But when financial problems, vehicle problems, or any other problems have come up, John Specht has always done his best to pull me through it. He is a generous soul.
***
In addition to going through all the DEADWOOD PARK raw footage, I spent a few days this month recording voice actors for the movie. Various background radio-babble voices were recorded; commercials, interviews, sports announcers, etc.
We also recorded the voice performances of two key characters who are only heard on tape in the movie. One voice is an FBI agent, played by Todd Tevlin. Todd played one of the leading parts in ICE FROM THE SUN and he often works behind-the-scenes on Wicked Pixel Cinema projects.
The other character we recorded was the pivotal part of creepy old hick farmer, Harold Evrett. Playing this part was Mark Dodson who has a very rich career as a voice performer. In fact, I consider us lucky to get him for DEADWOOD PARK.
Mark Dodson currently owns a successful audio production company that creates comedy programming for country radio stations. His work is heard on radio all across the U.S.
But Mark’s film credits were of more interest to us. Mark played the cackling voice of Salacious Crumb, Jabba the Hutt’s rat-like side-kick in RETURN OF THE JEDI. Mark also voiced many of the gremlins in both GREMLINS and GREMLINS 2. My wife is a HUGE fan of the GREMLINS movies, so she had poor Mark autograph about a million vintage GREMLINS toys from her collection.
Mark Dodson was very cool. His performance was great and we all had fun working with him. It was very encouraging to see someone who has worked for industry legends (Joe Dante, Ben Burtt, Spielberg, Lucas) work on our set and take us seriously. He never acted like he was doing us a favor or like we should be eternally grateful for his participation. Instead, Mark Dodson seemed to respect us and respect what we were doing. He actually WANTED to be there working with us! So we must be doing something right. Thanks, Mark, for that encouragement.
***
The DEADWOOD PARK cast and crew wrap party was this month. Jeremy set it up at a bowling alley in Imperial, Missouri. Cast and crew were treated to five hours of free food, free bowling, and free beer. Because the number of people involved in this movie is so large, and because everyone’s shooting schedule was slightly different, some of my cast and crew were meeting each other for the first time at the wrap party!
Usually, the more booze I drink, the better I bowl. But my scores were pretty poor this night. Maybe I drank too much this time...? Everyone seemed to have a good time and I thought the party was a fine reward for everyone’s efforts in making DEADWOOD PARK.
***
The month of July was a transition month here. It was supposed to be a “break” for me, between shooting and editing DEADWOOD PARK. Instead, (despite all the positive stuff above) July was rather traumatic.
Jeremy left for his week-long honeymoon in Mexico (approximately 13 years after he and his wife got married). We all thought Hurricane Dennis would ruin the Wallaces’ trip. Instead, it was us, back here in St. Louis, who experienced a near-disastrous week (while Mr. and Mrs. Wallace only endured a few light rain showers).
All of our problems were of a financial sort (not inclement weather). But the financial problems were so stormy, I was nearly catatonic from the stress. A big group of us got together for my wife’s birthday, and I could barely move. (Jim Wayer and Jason Christ kept feeding me barbeque and alcohol until I could participate in a conversation.)
I had already sacrificed and suffered about as much as I could stand... and I thought it was all paying off... but then one seemingly insurmountable obstacle dropped right in front of me, threatening to undo many years of arduous work, and stop us cold in our tracks.
It was the closest I’ve ever come to shutting this whole ridiculous filmmaking machine down and walking away from the stress and the bullshit forever.
Details on this tense point in Wicked Pixel Cinema’s history to come in the next entry...
Thanks for reading.
-Eric Stanze
August 1, 2005
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