Small Rewards, Big Rewards

We finished our reshoot for the film this weekend and will spend the next day or two editing in our shots to "lock" picture so that all the finishing touches can begin. Our composer is already working on the score. Our intrepid post people at Digital Film Central in Vancouver have begun transferring our high resolution version to colour correct, our ADR is booked. We have reached the top of the roller-coaster hill and begin our speedy, death defying descent to the finish line.

We sorely missed our crew of 40 from main unit this weekend as six of us including our 8 year old actress and her mom worked together to lug gear, set up dolly track, do make-up and wardrobe and props and sound. Krista (our starlett) had lost 4 more teeth and just before shooting realized she was wearing neon pink nailpolish! We were an hour and a half up a logging road on the top of a mountain and nailpolish remover is not something I carry in my jeep. With the aid of windshield washer fluid and sand, we painstakingly picked all that polish off those tiny fingers and began shooting.

On the way down the dusty bumpy mountain road, as a reward for her sore fingers, I let Krista watch the rough cut of the film on my laptop. Perched in her child's car seat she oohed and ahhed at seeing herself in a movie. At the end she looked up at me in the rearview mirror and said, "Hey! I finally get the story!"

In editing a film that includes flashbacks, dreams, 2 time-periods and ghosts, we have been wondering, "does the story make sense"? To Krista it does. She has given us the biggest relief and reward to date.

The Weight of Film

It's 4 am. First light in the sky. I can't sleep. Editing in my sleep. Dreaming the movie over and over again. We are very close to picture locking the film...That is; picture locking EXCEPT for the reshoot we will do later today. We will climb the mountain again to shoot our opening shot...Again. It must be done, it's our opening shot after all and it must be perfect-The first time we shot it--it was not perfect. This time it must be. I am weighted down with this responsibility. What can I do that will make it PERFECT-interesting, beautiful, intriguing, and of course EPIC!!!!???? We have the camera for 24 hours, what else can I shoot in this window of opportunity to make the film better? What is that opening shot going to be? How can I begin the journey of emotion for our audience? A little girl and her dog look down from the mountaintop, the world laid out before them. Past and present melding into possibility, hope, a second chance. The weight of history bearing down on them...The weight of the film is in that shot and on me. Maybe a glass of wine will help...

Cowboys and Angels

We had a big discussion last night about why the hell we do this filmmaking thing. How hard it is. Frustrating. Discouraging. Costly. High Pressure. Long hours. No stability. Few returns. Insane-really! Of course that turned into how much we love it...Yes, it's all of those things-but it's the stories! Okay, the stories we are making are one thing...But it's the behind the scenes stories that are the life-blood of the filmmaker. As we sit in the edit room, watching the film unspool, we are reminded of "the making of" stories and we laugh! Our winter shoot was riddled with stories, the big one being the massive snowfall that we woke to on Day 1, creating a 3 hour trip up the mountain (which should have been a 20 minute drive). Every, I mean EVERY truck got stuck (at least once)! There's the story of the cowboy extras who's horse trailer slid precariously into the ditch. But "Coyote" (his real full name) simply offloaded the horses and they rode them bareback up the snow covered mountain because they didn't want to be late for their call time! Coyote and gang were the first ones on set! Those cowboys provided more than a few entertaining stories. They were REAL cowboys, who live on the range...literally! The only way to communicate with them was by leaving notes on the gate of their ranch. They did carry cell-phones, but they rarely worked and when they did, our cowboys would ask if we could call them back they were right in the middle of birthing a calf. It's difficult to get cowboys to work on a film during calving season-a lesson learned. We eventually did make it up to the top of the mountain and the snow that had cursed our journey blessed the film. Gobs of snow hung from every branch. Mist fell down over the lake and made it all look magical! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful, harsh, idyllic setting for our scenes. Coyboys and Angels - Don't make a film without them.

RACING & PACING

On July 6th, a mere 4 days after receiving the film transfers (not sound synced) we finished a rough assembly of scenes with gorgeous sound and scratch track et al for TIFF's "drop dead date". Our editor, Ryan Jickling, Glen and I dropped dead of exhaustion for one day then got back on the boards to get a full rough cut done for VIFF. Both TIFF and VIFF got a copy of our rough cut yesterday and today is a day of "catching up". I am already hearing the words..."On your mark...get set..." We go back into the editing room tomorrow to begin the race to our picture lock!

Making films is sooooo bad for your health! We've been eating take out or nothing at all, drinking too much and sleeping too little...But we are buoyed by how the film IS coming together! Wow! Gorgeous visuals! Fantastic performances! And a lovely story that works! This is an exciting and nerve-racking time. Our friend likens filmmaking to learning to strum her new guitar, "Down, Down, Up, Down"...Indeed it's a time of seeing your mistakes, finding brilliant ways to fix them, crying yourself to sleep or celebrating your achievements. Filmmaking's not for the weak of heart, that's for sure!

Keep fingers and toes crossed for our festival entries. As long as we breath there's hope.

CRAZY AMBITION

One might think we're crazy...'fact we're the first ones to say that. We had a project that was way beyond our means. Our means being zero! Hahah! Our script called for three seasons, from snow blizzards on ice bound lakes to hot summer nights. Several locations that swing between modern day and the 1940's, a cast that included a child, an old man and a dog! We needed soldiers, horses, tons of extras and ghosts! Special effects ranging from misty lakes, blowing snow, street wet downs and smoke. Our script includes flashbacks, dreams and mystical journeys. We needed cars, trucks, jeeps and a motorcycle with a side car from the 40's! And our dog had to ride in that side car wearing goggles that match Suzuki's who bravely donned an old helmet and goggles himself to whiz onto our screen. We had car shots, water work, massive night scenes, steadycam shots and of course helicopter shots to do. And we wanted to shoot on FILM!

Never say never. And NEVER underestimate the power of a good story, a dedicated cast and crew or the wardrobe you can find at Value Village!

Dreaming and Doing

Wendy Ord and Glen Samuel of Mountain Lake Films in Kelowna welcome you to our new blog.

We've just wrapped filming of "HEIR TO IT ALL" previously called "TORA", our epic short film that began as a dream a year ago when we moved onto a property in central BC. We were told that the falling down buildings on the property were once a Japanese Internment Camp during WWII. Altho' this turned out not to be true, our research and the story began. Canada interned more than 22,000 men, women and children of Japanese descent, (3/4 of them Canadian citizens) just because they looked like the enemy. It was a part of our history that we knew little about and a story we had to tell. We spent 6 months writing a dramatic screenplay. When David Suzuki signed on to play one our leads (in his first acting role ever), the film took off. We began shooting our winter dream sequences in February of this year and wrapped our spring segment of the shoot less than two weeks ago.

With almost $200,000 of donated talent, crew and equipment (including the latest 2-perf 35mm film system from Clairmont Camera, Kodak Canada and Digital Film Central), we have a stunning wide screen cinemascope film in the can! Thanks to all who volunteered their time and talent - we are humbled and proud of your contributions to our dream.

JUST DO IT!