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I can see an even mix of panic and excitement in the eyes of my Wicked Pixel Cinema team... I also see it when I look in the mirror. We are about two weeks from officially launching the biggest production in Wicked Pixel Cinema’s history. It’s our biggest budget, our largest cast, and the most logistically complicated shoot. ICE FROM THE SUN was a huge endeavor for us, back in 1996. But DEADWOOD PARK makes ICE FROM THE SUN look simple by comparison. Throughout the months of DEADWOOD PARK pre-production, many of us have anxiously awaited the day we actually begin SHOOTING (the fun part). Now, that first shooting date is right around the corner. A very positive electricity is in the air.
But life at Wicked Pixel Cinema is not ALL joy and excitement...
THE NEGATIVES:
Everything negative impacting this production is money-based. We don’t have the full budget yet. We don’t have enough donations/investment to make it through the entire 8 month shooting schedule. Money still trickles in... so I’m not worried about it yet. But it’s still scary to launch a production before all the dollars are in the bank. In the past, on smaller budgeted projects, I would not even set a first shooting date until enough money was collected to get us through shooting. But on this movie, with a more substantial budget, that tactic is not as realistic.
Worse yet, the Gov’ment just took a BIG chunk of money away from my business accounts. After filing two extensions, my accountant finally wrapped up my 2003 taxes. I owed the IRS a small fortune, despite living at (and making movies at) the poverty level my whole life! I had to file bankruptcy in 2003 and that provided the IRS a big honkin’ loophole through which to tax me and Wicked Pixel Cinema on profits we never actually made. (I won’t go into detail here, but it’s obvious the tax laws – like most things in America – are designed to keep entrepreneurs down and fat, old, rich white men disgustingly wealthy.) So, this little tax fiasco has put a temporary, but extremely difficult, new hurdle into the economic progression of the DEADWOOD PARK production.
And lastly, I can see my production team and my cast all struggling to make this movie while still maintaining their money jobs to pay da bills. The production of this indie film would be less of an uphill battle if we were all making a salary and we were able to devote our full time to this project. But all of us have to put too much time into our bill-paying jobs. Even though I’m my own boss, I don’t make a dime off directing this movie. I have to keep Thrill Ride Media (my post-production / DVD authoring company) operating at peak to keep the lights on and to put a bit of rent money into my own pocket. Like others on the cast and crew, a big part of my personal income is from freelance work. We have started turning down this freelance income so as to devote ourselves to the DEADWOOD PARK shoot. So it makes DEADWOOD PARK much more of a challenge... and much more of an exhausting endeavor. But this is a tough crew... I don’t see us letting these pesky money issues kick our asses while making this movie.
THE POSITIVES:
Like everything negative stems from MONEY, everything positive stems from hard-working PEOPLE. I have always said that movies are never a one-man show, no matter who the director is. DEADWOOD PARK is a great example of that. The people working on this movie with me are taking this difficult challenge and making this production happen.
Emily Haack organized two substantial fundraisers that put a decent amount of cash into the bank for the movie budget. Then she immediately began preparing for her job as 1st AD on the movie.
Mark Cange, who is on the lighting crew, is also in a band. In an effort to help, he has organized his own small benefit show. His band and a few friends will play a night for no pay. They intend to give the door money to the production.
Associate Producer William Clifton and Executive Producer Scott D. Muck have been tirelessly searching for more production money. Investors and grants have been their focus lately. And Scott has also been putting many hours into research for the World War 2 sequences in DEADWOOD PARK.
Jessie Seitz has overcome tremendous scheduling and financial difficulties to be the Production Designer for DEADWOOD PARK. Her toughest job is ahead, rolling with the changes of a hectic independent film shoot, and still making every set look as good as possible... with about a buck-fifty in the production design budget.
Executive Producer Jason Christ has somehow added 5 or 10 hours to each day, given what that boy has been able to accomplish over the last few weeks. He works a day job at a production company in St. Louis. After each shift there, he comes to Thrill Ride Media to help me for another 5 to 8 hours. Then he somehow finds time to search for props, perform various office duties, and secure locations for DEADWOOD PARK. He even goes out to locations that I’m not familiar with to shoot reference video, so I can more efficiently design my shot list for the day we shoot there. Jason Christ is absolutely amazing.
I’m told Associate Producer Doc Brown and Production Manager Chris Belt have been working their asses off preparing for the start of production. Their focus has been on making our main locations completely prepped for the first day we shoot there. When I hear about how much effort these people have been pumping into the production, I am always amazed. These people are working themselves into the ground for no compensation but the reward of seeing their hard work result in a (hopefully) cool movie. In short, I’ve all but ruined these people’s lives.
How I got so lucky as to be surrounded by such devotion is a mystery to me.
And then there is Jeremy Wallace, producer of DEADWOOD PARK. He has been securing locations and organizing crew. He has gone through the ringer nailing down major production issues, such as our out-of-state shoots and the elusive acquisition of an old church we can use as a shooting location. He landed the church location about two weeks ago. He is currently cemented to the phone trying to track down the last few locations we need. He has taken on so many responsibilities to insure we stay on schedule and on budget. He is trying to sweat the details of this shoot so I don’t have to. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Jeremy is the best motion picture producer in the world.
I would like to see Jeremy take on different duties on future movie shoots (for example, Jeremy is an outstanding production designer).... but I’m spoiled now. I’d be nervous going into a major production with anyone but Jeremy producing, to be entirely honest. It’s good to stay independent – you should always be ready to keep moving forward if someone you rely on vanishes forever. But I’d really have to sit down and think hard about how I’d move forward if Jeremy vanished. Let’s just hope that never happens.
FIRST SHOTS:
Two weeks ago, with the new gear we purchased for DEADWOOD PARK, we shot a quick music video for the punk band, Ded Bugs. This test of the camera gear went perfectly. I am convinced the gear is the best our budget could buy. So that’s one thing I can now stop worrying about...
Officially, we start shooting DEADWOOD PARK on September 11th. But unofficially, we’ve already started shooting.
One of our locations is a small general store out in the middle of Nowhere, Missouri. Honald Hardware is the location. The owners are wonderful, giving us everything they possibly can to make our shoot there a positive experience. The exterior is exactly what I wanted... old, weathered, dusty, and with peeling paint. The ONLY down side is that we had the general store location slated to be shot this November. And, as of a few days ago, they have started putting a fresh coat of paint on the front of the store!
The Honald Hardware owners told me a few weeks ago (when we first secured the location) that the storefront was going to be spruced up. They kindly post-poned the paint job so that I could whip together a mini-shoot and grab my exterior shots. A small crew and I went out last weekend and shot the storefront exteriors.
So, technically, the biggest shoot yet from Wicked Pixel Cinema has already begun.
Thanks for reading!
-Eric Stanze
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