Shoot Day 1 - Friday, October 13, 2006
Today was the first shoot day for my new short, (working title)
Vampire Assassin, staring Stefani Brown. We shot from about 1:30/2PM
until about 9:30PM with an hour dinner break. We accomplished
a lot with several scenes being shot. Stefani was great, very
professional and a natural in front of the camera. Below are some
pics from the shoot. I'll keep you posted on the short's progress.
Shoot Day 2 - October 20, 2006
I just finished day two of shooting the Vampire Assassin short.
Stefani was here at the apartment from about 1:30 until 9:30.
We shot a scene where she vomits blood into the bathtub then confronts
her sorry reflection in the mirror. After lunch we went to Jay
Ruzicka's house to film the scene where Stef's character executes
Jay's character. After Stef and I watched what we shot I took
her home. It was another fun and productive day
Shoot Day 3 - November 8, 2006
Day three consisted of a quick reshoot of a shot I wasn't happy
with, two insert shots and shooting the scene where Stef's character
detonates the explosives she set and revealing her identity to
the audience. Fitting Stefani's fangs was also done. Filming for
the explosions was done at Jay Ruzicka's house and I thank him
and his mother for letting me shoot there and helping me out.
Shoot Day 4 - November 19, 2006
Shot the main part of the video store sequence today. Phil Sawyer of Walk of Fame Video in Cohoes, NY was nice enough to let me shoot in his store. Jon and Stef were awesome in their shootout together. Jon looked like a total pansy who didn't know what he was doing with his gun while Stef was the cold and calculating assassin who has to take matters into her own hands... literally.
I got some nice footage which should look great when it's all edited.
Shoot Day 5 - December 3, 2006
Three effects shots were scheduled today but we shot one: the "arm ripping scene." Special Effects Artist Jared Balog suped up a severed arm I bought by adding some highlight colors to the veins and knuckles and adding latex tendons to the stump. It looked great. Jay Ruzicka was nice enough to come by to help out and shoot on-set photos.
The scene consisted of Stefani ripping an arm off a victim, taking a bite out of it then pouring a glassful of blood into her mouth before getting nauseous and running out of frame. Stefani was an extremely good sport by putting up with the sticky Karo syrup blood she had to pour all over her body.
After the night was over I had the arduous task of cleaning up the EXTREMELY sticky Karo syrup blood. In the kitchen and in the bathroom the blood was EVERYWHERE. From large pools on the floor to tiny droplet spatters on the walls. I was scrubbing the floors like a pirate scrubbing the deck of a ship.
Shoot Day 6 - Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Shot the main part of the "Elders scene" with Michael "a darn good actor" Cannon and Carl Danna as the two main elders who scold Veronica for allowing her vampirism to be too much out in the public eye.
The scene was a simple shoot shot in my small apartment. I hung a black cloth that acted as a backdrop for Mike and Carl who sat in a leather chair and said their lines. Both were shot separately and were shot from Veronica's point of view.
In addition to the dialogue for the Vampire Assassin short (which may not be in the actual short but may be an extra mini short on the Vampire Assassin's DVD) I shot a scene after Veronica leaves and the elders discuss the future of the clan with Mr. V from BLOODLUST.
After the shoot was finished we had dinner then Mike and Carl left.
Shoot Day 7 - December 7, 2006
Shot the elders' POV of Veronica's tongue lashing and punishment today. Stef looked great as a depressed, unclean, haggard, crappy looking Veronica with some dark makeup under the eyes. Plus, the ghetto lighting setup I made with tinfoil over my construction lights casting a sliver of light over Veronica's face was very nice.
We also filmed some close-up shots from the arm ripping scene and reshot the scene where Veronica gets of the sofa after hearing the door knock. The "headshot scene" was also shot where I film Jay Ruzicka's blood/brain get splattered all over the passenger side window of my car.
Stef and I also visited Phil Sawyer at Walk of Fame Video to reshoot a new end of the short and Phil's new death.
I wanted to shoot voiceovers but time constraints caused us to reschedule it to a later date.
It was a very productive and fun day. Thanks to Jared Balog for doing the SFX of Jay's headshot as well as Jason Johnston who drove the chase car I was shooting out the back seat of.
Shoot Day 8 - Friday, December 15, 2006
Lot's of stuff done today. After dropping off several copies of BLOODLUST to the Broders store in Crossgates I picked up Stef and we did the voiceover work for the entire short. Shawna Woodworth was nice enough to take a quick call to be a dialogue coach and say how a phrase was said in French. Some quick ADR was done to replace dialogue as well as dialogue yet to be recorded.
After dinner Shawn Schaffer arrived to reprise his role as the Driver from BLOODLUST.
Then it was off to Jared's to film the Video Store Vampire's head ripping scene. Jon and Stef filmed the shots leading up to the head ripping before the head was brought out and prepped. When ready, three cameras were set up to record the slaughter. After a couple attempts Stef was finally able to tear the head from it's shoulders while blood spewed out from arteries in the neck.
After an exhausting night we all went to Dunkin' Donuts to get something to eat then went home.
Shoot Day 9 - Sunday, December 17, 2006
Two scenes were shot. First was a quick flackback scene where Veronica recalls her life hanging out at the Moulin Rouge. Stefani had her hair up and styled as it would have been back in mid to late 1800s Paris. She looked beautiful and stunning with her hair styled up.
Mike Gallione, Amanda Cable and Vanessa O'Brien were all part of a scene where a girl is being victimized by several vampires. Jared Balog was on hand to do special makeup effects. He applied gelatin skin molds to Vanessa's body that looked like tubes were coming out of her. They looked great. Amanda and Mike then sucked red Hawaiian Punch out if the tubes to simulate Vanessa's blood.
I want to especially thank Jay Ruzicka for coming out and doing whatever I needed such as dressing sets.
Shoot Day 10 - Friday, January 12, 2007
Stefani's last day of shooting! Just a quick trip to the Empire State Plaza in Albany. Stef walked around the Plaza and I got some beautiful shots of her with the gleaming marble buildings, the Egg and the State Capitol Building in the background.
copyright 2007 Archangel Productions