Saturday we are shooting a scene in an old house. It will double for an old Spanish Mission interior, complete with authentic furnishings and costumes. I'm really excited about shooting there. It will lend even more to the authenticity of the picture's era, I think. The sequence at the old house includes the Kruizenga Boys in their No Buget debut, along with Bobby Harkins Jr who you may remember from the Bad Dream trailer, and even a brief appearance by my favorite character actor Ray Howard. What is also cool is that the site manager, Tony Webb, is an actor and has agreed to appear in one bit. We have our earliest cast call yet, and a two-hour window to get almost 30 shots, but I know we can do it!
Just to give an outlook for what remains on principal: After the mission sequence at the adobe, we have two big campground scenes, a fantasy flashback, some limited re-do on desert stuff, and then the final shot of the film. After that's done, I have to re-do the train shot, go get a vintage airplane shot, and maybe an old time car shot (maybe). After that, all that remains is a first cut on visuals, inserting title cards and credits, reaching a final cut, then adding the music. That's when I'll gather my cast and crew and we'll have a little wrap/screening party so they can see it -- as envisioned -- for the first time.
What follows the wrap/screening party is a test screening at the theater. If all goes well with that, we are ready for exhibition! By that point, I'll be setting up screenings, entering festivals, designing the DVD packaging for 2013 home video release. I'll also be starting pre-production on a new feature around mid-August. I hope to start shooting that picture by no later than Oct 1 if not earlier in September.
It has been a long haul! I started Hell's Bells in February. What I learned on this half-hour short feature will help me shoot a 90-minute feature in about six weeks, give or take (hopefully).
Look for stills from today's shoot...
