working the box office at the Mayfair for the K63

Another year of the Killer63 has come and gone. Meant to come and post an update over the weekend, but I'm fairly worn out and exhausted. Even getting up the ambition and will-power to do a lil' blog update is quite a feat for me at the moment. Anyhow, everything went really well. Been getting lots of ego boosting praise over the last couple days. Extra special thanks to all the filmmakers, cast and crew involved in making up the shorts that screened this year. And to the staff of the Mayfair, and to everyone who came out to our late late show premiere.

Despite wanting to take a bit of a break...wheels are already in motion for next year. Folks asking how to submit a film for consideration to be screened...talk of maybe expanding to more days...maybe include some features. Lots of ideas. There will be a part 3 for Killer63 for sure. Halloween 2008...so still a bit of time to get things organized again.

Oh...and for those who haven't heard yet, the Ottawa X-Press has nominated the K63 for the 'Best Film Festival' of 2007 in it's Best of Ottawa Reader's Poll. It only takes a couple minutes to vote online...so if you head over to their site and do so, I'll be your best friend. Thanks.

The Killer63 preview trailer is up on YouTube. Brett (pictured above, acting in my short for the fest) did a fine job at putting it together. Go check it out.

Did an interview yesterday for CHUO in regards to the Killer63 fest. The interviewer (John Sekerka from a program called 'Tornado Warning') e-mailed me this morning to let me know that he's going to hold of on playing the segment until next week. For a Halloween themed night. If you're outside of Ottawa you can give it a listen on CHUO.fm on Thursday the 25th, sometime between 10 - 11PM.

In related news, we finished shooting 'Cassandra' on the Saturday. Everything went well. After doing lots of dialog sitting around a table, got to do some fun action and fake blood and gun-play. I went in for some editing a couple days ago and will finish up on the weekend. Horribly behind schedule, but still in time for the screening. Putting together the master tape for the premiere on Monday (waiting for three more submissions...then we're all good).

This past Saturday we shot day 1 of my Killer63 project. And as per usual, the indie filmmaking gods were out to smite us. There was a message flashing on MSN, that was sent towards me at 5:20AM. It was from my assistant director, who is also the person getting us into the location (an office building that she used to work in that is now empty for a couple months). She was up all night due to her fiance (one of my actors) and his state of immense sickness. So at that point I pretty much figured the day was a write-off.

She was kind enough to still come out though. After the other actors and crew arrived on location, we discussed and decided to shoot everything we could do without our fallen to illness actor being present. Managed to get a good chunk of the dialog shot, and a couple other things. Including a cool lil' fx shot for our actress. I was very pleased with the performances, and all went well. We're returning on Saturday to finish up.

That puts me way past the deadline which I myself set for the fest. Sometimes these things happen though (and this Saturday is the only day where the trio of actors are all free). My editor did drop by today to pick up the stuff we got so far. Get a bit of a head start on that post-production work.

Y'know...it's when the lil' dreams that come true that you have to stop, take a moment, and appreciate them. For the second year in a row the Killer63 presents a batch of short horror films, all making their premiere at the Mayfair. I love the Mayfair theatre. In high school my friends and I practically lived there. Memorizing Monty Python, shooting cap guns at the screen for John Woo films, spending full days avoiding sunshine by instead watching Star Trek marathons. And now I get to go see something I directed and the work of a bunch of my friends up on that same screen. Friday October 26th, 11PM (on the same night as a Pixar movie...that is also geekily cool!), spread the word, bring your friends.

Spent the weekend on the crew of my friend (who is also my film editor and co-producer on various fledgling projects) Bonnie's K63 short 'Infinity'. This pictured scene involves a bedroom, some insomnia, some nightmares and some excellent horror movie calibre screaming. She's underway on editing it now, then I shoot my K63 entry next weekend. Followed by doing post-production with her after that. Everything should be done at the eleventh hour, just in time for the extended deadline.

Got all three actors officially cast in my Killer63 short as of this week. Jerome Bourgault and Brett Kelly will be playing a pair of cops interrogating a strange young woman played by Emily Shanley. I worked on the crew of a film that Jerome had a small part in, and Brett recommended him after checking out the script. Brett, I've worked with on a million things or so (only a slight exaggeration). I put Emily's picture up there, because upon seeing it on her Facebook page, I immediately sent her a message to tell her that that's pretty much exactly what I want her to look like for the part. We shoot on Saturday the 6th at an abandoned office.

In other Killer63 news, I crewed on two other productions this week. Did sound stuff for director Anne-Marie Frigon on 'Scare Bears', and director Bonnie Robinson on ' Infinity'.

Worst clapper board EVER! This poor thing is missing a good portion of it's numbers and letters, is all beat up, and doesn't even have the actual stick that makes the thing a 'clapper' board. So it's kindah' just a board I guess then. Luckily we don't actually need such fancy technology on set since we're shooting on a digital synch-sound format.

Anyhow, this brave lil' piece of equipment served it's purpose again this previous weekend for some more 'Leeches' shooting. Much more pleasant then the last batch of work. Moved indoors, shooting some hospital and office scenes. So much easier than dealing with swamps, bad weather, planes flying over and real actual swarming leeches.

Moments later, I was killed by the Blair Witch. Wait...no, that's not what happened at all. This is me standing around on location of the film 'Attack of the Giant Leeches' last weekend. Way out in the middle of nowhere, far away from the safety of the city, in the horrible great outdoors. I've either slipped into an exhaustion laced up-right coma here, or I'm playing stand-in for a moment so that the camera guy could see what the shot looked like with a person in there. I forget. It's all a blur.

Y'know...sometimes behind the scenes pictures just aren't all that action packed. Especially when it's outside during the day, and hence you don't have a whole bunch of lights and other such equipment mucking up the area. Here we are working on re-make of the 1959 Roger Corman produced classic, 'Attack of the Giant Leeches'. This photo was taken behind Ray Besharah (sound), Jodi Pittman (camera), Brett Kelly (directin') and myself (hiding in the background looking through the script, probably moments away from yelling for folks to be quiet on set).

The original was also watched by the crew of the Satellite of Love on MST3K back in '92:

Dr. Forrester:
Oh sorry, Frank, I left the leech on too long! Well, Frank... Frank?
[to the leech]
Well, now that you've sucked all the blood out of Frank, what are you gonna do now?

Just found out that Mike Wieringo, one of my most favorite of comic book artists of the past 15 years or so, died on Sunday. He was the awfully young age of 44, and passed away thanks to a heart attack. Which is extra depressing 'cause seemingly all of the writings online from his still in shock friends mention how incredibly healthy he was.

I became an instant fan during his Flash / Impulse stuff. Then he went over to Robin and then became in my humble opinion the best of the modern era Spider-man artists. You can look him up on Wiki or just type his name into Google to check out his bio and his art. Won't bother repeating all that info here.

Despite having attended geek fests as nearby as in my home town to all the way to California for the glories of the San Diego Comic Con, I never did get a chance to meet him. Never got a chance to chat with him and get a sketch. His career and life have been cut tragically short. And that makes me sad. I haven't yet read the latest issue of 'Spider-man and the Fantastic Four' that he drew, going to go do that now.

The second Killer63 fest is underway. Thirteen filmmakers are all in the midst of production on their projects, with the looming deadline upcoming in early October. In my case, having a production underway means that I have not a letter of script typed and no idea what I'm going to do just at the moment. I'm thinking something around ten minutes long and horror themed.

Ralph Gethings (one of the thirteen) has been kind enough to set up a website. So I'm going to halt the K63 blog, just to try and encourage participants and interested parties to go to that site instead (check out the link over to your right).

In a few short hours, at the horrendously early hour of 4:30 in the AM, I'm off to the airport to begin my journey down to California for the glory that is the San Diego Comic Con. Not going to bother sleeping, I'm usually up 'till about 4AM anyhow. So I'm just going to multi-task and catch some sleep while in transit. Spent the day doing about a million procrastanated pre-travel chores...well, maybe not an actual million...but there were at least a dozen different things. Got my keys to the condo, got my sketchbook, got a PSP that a friend was kind enough to let me to steal, dug through my archives to find some books to get autographed. All ready for a packed week of geeking and networking. And in all likelyhood, networking with fellow geeks.

Along with the help of one of my frequent collaborators, went and shot the opening night of Jesse Buck's new show 'Bubkus'. Nothing fancy in the shooting department, I think the final product will be used for grant applications and media stuff...that sort of thing. The show was great. If you're local, or in Ottawa during it's run, you'd be doing yourself a favour by going to check it out (for all the pertinent info, check out Jesse's website).

Blast from the Past part Two

Where did the name Batturtle Productions come from? Folks actually seem to ask me that often enough, especially when I hand over a business card. Well, like many a name for companies or bands or things, the name is much more interesting than it's origins. I like Batman...I like the Ninja Turtles (the Mirage originals of course). Then came a drawing from my friend James, back when we were in the trenches of Canterbury High School (well...not really trenches, they were nice enough times). About the same time, a doodle was sketched of a Batman logo wearing a TMNT style headband around it's head. Plus, I used to use the initials BAT when I got high scores on video games. Anyhow, somewhere amidst all that, the word Batturtle was born. Mystery revealed!

Final version of a Villains storyboard for the pitch. Crime King scheming and talking to himself moments before undertaking a Christmas themed robbery. The deed is almost complete, the looming deadline is to have the thing done and all printed up before I'm off to San Diego on Monday.

Run for your lives! Crime King has a gun! Save yourself! Oh wait. Never-mind. That's not really Crime King, it's just a drawing of him. Or more specifically, another storyboard rough from the in development animated series pitch. Sorry about that. Call back the police. False alarm.

Now for an actual Batturtle Productions related update: Here's a storyboard rough by Barry Bradfield for the Villains Animated series pitch. A drawing of a disgusted Ghost Man standing by as his room-mate Crime King counts out his thieved earnings from a Salvation Army Santa robbery.

Thirty feet or so up in the air, high above the crowd at the Canadian Opera Company performance at Lebreton Flats last weekend. That's me in the middle.

Happy Canada Day! I hope you have a good one at least, I'll be working two-fold like a chump. In the midst of much business. This week I've been crewing for a big outdoor show of the Canadian Opera Company (it's going to be on Bravo sometime...no idea when). Working the last day related to that on July 1st, then off to tear down a Canada Day stage in the evening. Next on the calender, I'll be follow-spotting for Blues Fest, then some Sound and Light Show stuff on Parliament Hill. If I make it through all that, then I have my San Diego vacation to look forward to.

In more Batturtle Productions centric news: The assemblage of the Villains pitch is going well. Storyboards are being drawn. Scripts are being written. Want to have it done before the end of the month. Also working on a second round of interviews for the Comic Book Connection. Re-interviewing some of the same folks, but getting some more updated info. That too will be done (not the final product, but at least some interviews) before I flee for California as well.