Lost Skies Productions

Conceptualization For Film: Part One

2012-01-13T21:28:00.009-07:00

I'm highly visual. I've spent 21 years learning to illustrate- from commercial illustration to comic books to TV storyboards to concept design for film. So of all the things filmmaking-wise that I feel somewhat qualified to talk about is conceptualizing your film.

What's involved? Well, there's plenty: Key Scenes, conceptual art, storyboards, animatics, and production art- just to name a few. In this post, we'll discuss KEY SCENES.

ESSENTIALS

First off- the #1 thing that a conceptual artist should have gotten from the director or producer, above ALL ELSE, is a FINISHED LOCKED SCRIPT. I consider it a red flag when the script isn't finished. I feel it means the director is indecisive and is looking for inspiration within someone else's work. Some have made reference to George Lucas using concept designers to inspire his script for the prequel trilogy... but we saw what happened there. Of course, the designers don't mind, they're getting overtime.

Also, to work with unfinished scripts means a scene might change the tone of the entire movie... plus without an unfinished script, often the director themselves don't know what they want- and you fly into an endless waste of time designing by trial and error until you've accidentally hit on something they want.

The same goes for you as the director- if you don't know what you want, you're going to spend time and money exploring that. Now, if you have money, then I have the time... but that's for another post. First off, let's talk about coming up with a way create the spirit of the film by using Key Scene Illustrations.

KEY SCENES

After they have a finished script, I read it trying to find the key scenes that define the movie visually. I'll talk these over with the director to see if it's where they felt the emotional and visual high points of the film are.

These Key Scene Illustrations often will be used for investment pitches, or if money is in place, an anchor to keep the spirit of your visuals consistent. Concept designers will often find inspiration within these key scene illustrations and draw out more ideas. It may also inspire the director of photography, or even give the director insights into their script where they hadn't seen before.

For Archangel Alpha, I created six Key Scenes- using color, tone, texture and elements to give you the sense of otherworldliness. Four of these are scattered around the internet in articles relating to Archangel Alpha, but the last two are making an online appearance for the first time.

This scene was simply to show one of the main characters, Alex, looking out over a Soviet inspired homeland of Rodinia. I used lots of greys and blues to show how cold the world was as it entered into a new ice age.

Admittedly, this image is an homage to many an action film, heroic silhouettes of the ace fighters flying in an epic sky.

To give contrast to a world covered in ice and snow, I wanted to show the dirt that has been kicked up from a massive battlefield known as the Sea of Glass. Here, the main character, Elena, emerges from her crashed Alpha to witness the wounds the world war has inflicted on her homeland.

As a direct contrasted moment to Elena and the Sea of Glass, this scene shows Alex and Grigori, overlooking what was once a proud city. Silhouetted over a stormy sky, and the ice cold rain shows that devastation has hit everywhere. In a way, this scene is far more bleak than the the previous one.

This scene would have been in the beginning as the province of Praetoria riots against the Rodinian capitol as it strips it of resources. Dust, smoke and tear gas mix as people run from Rodinian Alphas that take harsh police action on the rioters. Although the script was written in 2007, it seems allegorical to our world of today.

I had experimented with this scene, animating it in a gif image- click on it to see some .gif animated action. It is a destroyed and abandoned bunker that the characters encounter in the dead world. The green artificial lighting almost makes it feel eerie and haunted... showing that even the ghosts are fading from this nearly dead world.

In Two Sides of the Moon, I created five Key Scenes, again using color, but also suggesting interesting camera angles.


In the beginning of the film, a strange skeleton is found by archeologists. The reveal on this would have been an overhead so we could clearly see the skeleton in it's grave, and the archaeologists almost as strange ants.

The Skinwalker- the monster of the story- lurks in a young girls room, waking her. It is a very low-key light scene, barely able to see. While my first inclination was to have the eyes glow, the director wanted the attention to be on the girl- who herself illuminated by the moonlight, and she can barely make out the weird shadow. These decisions belong to the director.

The family that the story revolves around is camping in the woods. The father attempts to scare the children with the legend of the skinwalker, which lurks in the woods, just watching, melding with the cold, post autumn trees. The scene is cold, but the only warmth is the tiny light that is around the family- which the monster tries to stay away from.

As a direct contrasting shot to the beginning where the skinwalker bones are discovered, a strange ritual takes place as the family is put into coffins as sacrificial fodder to appease the skinwalker. As the dancers dance around the bonfire, a strange pinwheel pattern emits from them. I came up with the idea to give a different spin on an otherwise dreadful scene... I wanted to show a certain beauty in their beliefs.

The secret society that revolves around the skinwalker attacks and silences one of the perceived threats to their way of life. The Sheriff goes down in a grisly scene of vain blood as cloaked figures enter his house and take his family. I felt that the scene should be devoid of color, and framed by shafts of light and shadow. He dies in the most undignified way... I really wanted them to seem like demons.

In summary, the director should be involved while making Key Scenes. While it is the work of the artist to interpret the script and bring something forth in an emotional way, and even can suggest camera angles and composition, the director should begin DIRECTING at this point... because ultimately the film is theirs to mold into a work of art.

Next week: Concept and Production Art

Questions? Feel free to post in the comments below.

Upcoming

2012-01-07T18:11:00.001-07:00

"Alex and Grigori contemplate the war" - key scene illustration for Archangel Alpha by Juan Maestas.

I have to apologize for not posting this past week- we've been busy finishing up Southside. We just need one last voiceover and we're finished!

I am also writing a series of articles on Conceptualizing for film- everything from Key Scene illustration, concept art, production art and storyboarding with plenty of examples! So stay tuned!

Sometimes words just get in the way.

2012-01-01T13:22:00.002-07:00

MOMENTOS from Nuno Rocha on Vimeo.

Happy New Year!

The Unique Voice of Vinegar Hill

2011-12-30T07:11:00.016-07:00

I've recently become intrigued by the filmmakers of Vinegar Hill. I first came across their short film "The Cosmonaut", and was captivated by their storytelling style.

THE COSMONAUT from Vinegar Hill on Vimeo.

They are currently working on a feature called Twin Reflex- their successful Kickstarter shows some great ideas:

Twin Reflex — Featurette #1 from Vinegar Hill on Vimeo.

I find this method of filmmaking interesting... it's sort of a fusion of cinéma vérité and role-playing. I like the fact that they have a solid technical background but are now approaching this feature in a fresh, albeit experimental, way. And I love it. It drives me to want to try it.

It's been a re-occurring theme in my posts, but I can't stress it enough: If you want to stand out, approach each piece of work differently with UNTESTED ideas and methods. Break yourself out of your comfort zone and truly challenge yourself. Techniques, like cameras, are only tools- use them to your creative advantage and to solve problems. Better, more refined tools will help you attain a better, more refined vision... but don't let them become the crutch that defines your work.

Enough of my soapbox. I really just want you to become a better artist, even if you think you don't need to. Personally, I know I have a long ways to go... but I'm confident I'll get there if I stay true to knowing I'll always need to improve, I'll always need to learn.

I certainly feel that the filmmakers of Vinegar Hill know this- and I'm anxious to see more of their work!

...almost there...

2011-12-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a tumultuous ride for Southside of Elsewhere... but I can say that we are 99.999% finished with it- and we are pushing to have it finished by week's end. With that, we're really proud of how it's turning out and we've decided to submit it to the festival circuit instead of releasing it online.

Right now we're in the process of sound design- the hardest and most rewarding part of putting a film together. Sound adds the texture of the world you're characters are in- it adds believability and life to the film.

One of my favorite filmmakers, Walter Murch, talks about "worldizing" sound design in this clip. Enjoy!

Inspiration Monday 12/19/2011: It's not about the toys. It's about the vision.

2011-12-19T18:14:00.001-07:00

I'm always excited for new technology as much as the next guy. Canon C300? Sign me up. Red Epic? Pretty please. As nice as these toys are, without any solid artistic background or talent, they aren't going to improve your work.

Take this short film for example- it's amazing! The cinematography, direction, editing, performance, colorgrading, audio... it's a fantastic piece and it RIVALS many feature length studio released films shot on 35mm film- and it was shot on a little Canon HV20 consumer camera.

White Red Panic (HD) from Ayz Waraich on Vimeo.

Now, I own one. I am first to admit that you have very limited control over many of the camera features... but Ayz knows this and he worked within what he was able to do, and the results are amazing. He relied on his directing, cinematography and editing abilities using only what he had available. His equipment limitations gave him parameters to work within, giving him the chance to explore ways to tell the story by problem solving his hindrances. There are a couple of shots I would have done differently, but that's besides the point.

Blocking your actors, composition of the frame, designing your light, motivated camera motion... and knowing how you're going to cut it.

So, I challenge you: please don't film a scene of two talking heads and call it a finished short film. And PLEASE don't settle for what's easy- have your characters DOING something. Give your camera a reason for movement. Move your actors and keep it kinetic. And for God's sake, move your story into something memorable, emotional and unique! How do you do this? Simply ask yourself- what could I do to make this scene fluid?

In the end, what's inspiring here is it doesn't take the best tools to make an incredible movie. Everything you need is in the creative side of your brain.

And All I Ask is a Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By...

2011-12-16T22:24:00.002-07:00

If you've ever read Sea Fever By John Masefield, and you have a passion for something, you know what I mean. It's simply time to redouble my efforts and narrow my focus. 2012 will mark finishing Southside of Elsewhere, creating another short with refined and better technique, and starting on my first feature. If you've been to my main site- www.lostskies.com, you'll notice it's had a major redesign to reflect that.

So with all of that, I've decided to retire from freelance illustration and web design. While I'll still take on freelance graphic design, photography and video production jobs, they all fall into what I deem necessary to steer my ship to reach my goal- to do filmmaking fulltime, and support my family while doing it.

In the meantime, please check out and like my new Facebook page- www.facebook.com/lostskies.

Lost Skies Demo Reel from Juan Maestas on Vimeo.

LEMANS

Poor thing is sitting patiently, cold in the garage. I am going to replace the carburetor and fuel tank in March, then replace the entire break system and all the hoses and wires. I'd like to get this thing out on the open road- I really want to see what this baby can do!!!

I had mentioned before it will have a cameo in "Imprint", but will be in a starring role in my future noir. Gotta get the thing running first!

Inspiration Monday 12/12/2011

2011-12-12T21:08:00.003-07:00

Well, it's been a hectic week. I've been busy with some upcoming changes- of which you'll see by the end of this week. I promise, it's huge!!

So, because of that, there isn't much to show this week in terms of inspiration- but I did find some pretty radical stuff:

EYE OF THE STORM | Lovett from Lovett on Vimeo.
This video is awesome- with all the steampunk elements, it blows my mind everytime I watch it.

The Gift from BLR_VFX on Vimeo.
While the FX are seamless in this video- as compelling as the concept is, it is a bit light on story. Still, I added it here as an incredible example of blending live action with CGI.

I've been on a film noir kick, again lately. A big part of that is the feature I'm working on with Aaron Colburn... but another is the current script I'm writing, well, rewriting. This film school student's example of film noir lighting and mood is very inspiring.

Well, I'll be posting more this week- stay tuned for the big announcement :D

On Set: The Lean Production

2011-12-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's just not feasible to have a giant crew. You may need to work fast and if the actors are willing to work with you (if they believe in the project), you can do it- but it will require discipline, focus, planning, creativity and resourcefulness to pull it off.

Of course, you'll have to make a few concessions- no cast of thousands, no opulent locations, no labor-intensive setups, and cast carefully- you'll want to work with someone who is willing to go that extra mile- and you'd be surprised at how many are willing. Unfortunately, the flip side is that many of those who WERE willing are now not, because their good graces have been taken advantage of by many an unscrupulous filmmaker. Said filmmakers can ruin it for the rest of us. But this post isn't about them- it's about you and your lean production.

First and foremost: You ABSOLUTELY have to have an incredible script with emotional depth. It has to blow people's socks off. A good script is gold into gaining the support you need. And it needs to function on the lean production philosophy.

And you'll have to have some VERY LOYAL friends willing to go that extra one hundred miles for you, and willing to do it for free.

DIY EQUIPMENT
With the advent of digital technology, and recent improvements, it's amazing at how much you can get away with using available light or even small kits to shop lights. On the equipment front, there are a ton of DIY projects- the Frugal Filmmaker is a fantastic resource for that. He has more than DIY projects- his site is a great resource, so bookmark it now!

If you do the DIY equipment route, make sure you're handy enough to do it, and that you don't end up spending all your time making tools. DIY is very easy to get carried away with, and sometimes buying the real deal is a better investment- especially when you're mounting a $2000 camera to the end of whatever contraption you made out of PVC pipe.

MOVIES MADE FOR PENNIES WITH MINIMAL CREWS
LIFE'S PASSING ME BY

Made for under $700. Filmmaker Mark Cabaroy's concept is so deceptively simple: " [It's] story of Dora Allen, a twenty-something year old African American woman. Dora has the unique ability to hear people's problems and then provide them with concise helpful advice.

"This leads her friends, family and even complete strangers to depend on her help with their everyday decisions and for Dora things eventually become burdensome."

The high concept in and of itself separates itself from blending into the dime-a-dozen domestic dramas that are churned out time after time. The following article is a lesson in how resourcefulness and a fantastic script can carry you very, very far.

http://www.massify.com/studio/detail/2323/How+To+Make+a+Movie+for+700#title

MONSTROUS PREPORTIONS
Sometimes there's a party mentality that comes with being on set making a small indie short. Many are addicted to that- it is fun- there is a great sense of comradery that comes with that. But it's expensive, slow and at times, unnecessary. Keeping it lean means you can keep it fast and mobile.

Garath Edwards shot Monsters with a crew of three... plus the actors and an editor who was editing during production. Look at what they were able to accomplish!

video platform video management video solutions video player

Of course, the editor was on location editing the shots from the previous day- it allows them to see what they missed and how they can evolve the film.

THE OBVIOUS
Rebel Without A Crew- Write a screenplay and make a movie by going with what you have. In this case, Robert Rodriguez and his best friend Carlos Gallardo used Carlot's hometown of Acuña, Coahuila, bored locals, borrowed equipment, and flew solo on all fronts. His talent, innovation, courage and strategy more than paid off. Rodriguez himself said if it weren't for the cost of the film processing, he could have easily made that $7,000 movie for $5. Of course, it can be argued about his production value- not much in terms of amazing photography, but again it was meant as something to be consumed quickly. He got the job done.

In the end it's about what you want, and what you need. If you have a scene with many extras- having a large crew to help keep the talent happy and moving logistically is necessary.

Inspiration Monday 12/5/2011

2011-12-05T17:23:00.005-07:00

Well, here we are again! I've been looking for inspiration lately- particularly in terms of my new feature script. I want to do this one right: by that I mean I want to BE ABLE to do this by starting with a story that uses only what is available to me rather than spend years finding investors and making shorts or a webseries based on it (which is a strategy with merit, but is time away from just making the damn film).

But even though I've been in screenwriter mode, finding video to help with my visuals often helps me in both writing AND making plans on how to approach the film when I feel like I'm ready.

"CUBIST EDITING"

OFFF New York Titles from Rob Chiu on Vimeo.

I was told this is cubist editing- the quick flashes of items with the jittery editing could really give someone a headache if they had to watch an entire feature film like this, but when used appropriately, it gives the sense of dreamlike abstraction.

CANON EOS C300

Canon EOS C300 = Awesome from Jonathan Yi on Vimeo.

I want this camera. Does anybody have $20,000 they can give me? Oh! and another $20,000 for some good lenses too?

THE SPIRIT CABINET

The Narrative of Victor Karloch [Official Trailer] from Kevin McTurk on Vimeo.

I saw this featured on io9.com. Often times it's best to find inspiration outside of what you're looking for. I LOVE the artistry and craftmanship that went into the making of this... and I jumped at the end!

Feel what you mean, but not what you say!

2011-12-01T21:31:00.005-07:00

Bar scene in Southside of Elsewhere (Antonio Lexerot, Katherine Joan Taylor, Ben Governale & Hailey Nebeker)

So I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I'm going to post today- since I have resolved myself in keeping this blog very active to AT LEAST two postings a week. I was planning on doing a post about ADR or cubist editing.

The day got away from me as started going through my lostskies email (it doesn't hold very much so I'm pruning out old emails) and I came across this advice I had posted on a forum a few years ago. I saved the text in an email so I could keep it for my own records. In any case, my foresight is helping us out here :)

The forum person asked why their dialogue felt so stale even though he felt his plot was exciting. This was my response:

SUBTEXT

Dear ******,

I know you didn't ask for tips, but I just felt that some advice on scripting dialogue might help you find out why you're running into some problems, and offer advice to others who might be in the same quandary.

Most of the time, as I've seen with many new writers when they feel that their dialogue all sounds the same or doesn't seem "witty" or catchy, is that they haven't found the character's voice.

"Mmmkay... what does that mean, exactly?"

It means you may be just throwing down what you want your characters to say, but you're not exploring on how they'd say it- or WHY they are saying it, or saying something other than what they are feeling. This is called subtext.

Dialogue should be motivated- coming from inquiry or demand on the part of the one, and conflict, confusion, manipulation, from the other. Once you've figured out WHY a character would say something, and the other gives an ironic response- especially with SUBTEXT- the rest will fall more easily into place and thus magic is born.

Read. Read as much as you can- and not just other screenplays, read from literature... read from graphic novels... read the newspaper! This might give you an insight on what may motivate people, and how they'd react when faced with conflict- especially with words.

Practice writing- even if it's one scene, one page.

Observe other people in the store- why is that new mom mad at her husband? Why does the cashier keep glancing at the door and ignoring you while you check out?

Also, it's also been in my experience that the actors can bring their own voice and SAY it better than you could script it. While admittedly it's saved my behind more than once, it might be counterproductive to what you are trying to SAY with your story... and suddenly something doesn't jive right. When an actor asks for motivation, again, in my experience, it's because it's not really there in the story... but the best screenplays, the motivation is clear. Everybody wants something... and everybody wants to protect what they have.

I hope this helps!

I've updated some of the text, but the jist is the same: trying to write witty dialogue without any substance from a thinking character will come across as being stale, or worse- phoney. Remember, your characters have feelings, use that to your advantage so your audience can connect to them. What do you think? I'd love to hear if you have anything to add- post below!

Inspiration Monday 11/28/2011

2011-11-28T08:51:00.003-07:00

If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to wake this blog up. I'm going to put more film related content on a weekly or twice-weekly basis.

So, here's a new subject to cover:

INSPIRATION

Post Transhumanism

I love the themes AND production values in this new web series that is coming out soon. While many are upset that most transhumanist stories are negative, but I'd have to agree that directly accessing your mind to the internet could be fatal. Given all the viruses and hacker activity world wide, would YOU connect your brain directly to the world wide web?

Fashionable Dieselpunk

The Escapists - The Storm Theme from elr°y on Vimeo.

I love this- the camera work, the acting, the visuals, the costumes, the set... the ONLY thing I would do different is the 2 dimentional shots of the plane exterior... this could have been done with a 1:12 detailed model shot against a greenscreen. I believe strongly in old school practical models- they seem to be more believable and feel more timeless.

Speed of Light

C (Kickstarter Promo) from Derek Van Gorder on Vimeo.

Speaking of using practical models, here's a project that is going to extensively use practical sets and in camera effects. Really, the only thing that bothers me on this is how limiting the shots become with small sets- medium close to close ups of faces get boring after a while... it gives a "sameness" and undercuts the drama. That is an easy enough fix that comes with imaginitive direction and storyboarding, but I am very impressed with the resourcefulness of this project and I hope that it lives up to it's expectations.

COMMENTS

I'm opening up my comments, but they will be heavily moderated to weed out spam or inappropriate comments... let's keep it civil! But I encourage you to give me your opinions on my posts!

Fog City Mavericks

2011-11-25T09:21:00.003-07:00

Fog City Mavericks - Part 1 of 5 from Gary Leva on Vimeo.

FOG CITY MAVERICKS TEACH THIS SALT CITY SOLO
It's been a while since I've stepped foot on a film set. I'm still trying to finish Southside of Elsewhere. It is edited but sound design has been my biggest hurdle- I'm learning from scratch while juggling a fulltime job, a large family and freelance. It's daunting at times.

But I'm not in hibernation- I'm still writing when I get the chance at lunch or early in the morning. My education continues when I watch documentaries of independent filmakers that I admire, and watching those rekindles and inspires me to keep moving forward.

One of my favorite documentaries is A LEGACY OF FILMMAKERS: The early years of American Zoetrope which is on disk 2 of my THX-1138 directors cut dvd set. I've watched it over and over.

But another is a five part series on Vimeo- Fog City Mavericks.

Do yourself a favor and take the time to watch it... then tell me again that the Hollywood Studio Machine is the only way to go.

MUSCLE CAR MIGRATION
You probably noticed that I've imported my '72 Pontiac LeMans' blog. Even though it's automotive, it's related to Lost Skies since I bought the car solely for the reason for my big feature. It will also be a set piece for Aaron Colburn's film.

Rough Ride

2011-11-21T09:19:00.002-07:00

CLOSE CALL
It's been a rough couple of months. I've been waiting to get paid from a freelance job for quite some time - it had nearly been a year since I did the job... long story but suffice to say I've measured 2011 in chasing the client in getting paid because the money was "held up". It got to the point where I reluctantly put the LeMans up for sale.

Luckily there were no takers (although I did get interest from one person) and I've since gotten the money owed to me. It was certainly a close call, but it's off the market.

INSPIRATION
I found this LeMans' profile on Car Domain- and now I know EXACTLY the direction I want to go with my project:

1972 Pontiac LeMans on Car Domain

It's very similar to the Black LeMans Video I posted a while ago.

In any case, I'm relieved not to have to sell it. And I have renewed interest in getting it prepped as the bad guy's car for my upcoming feature film- and I have 2 years to get it in gear!

EDUCATION CONTINUES
I've decided I'm going to sign up for Penn Foster's Online Automotive course. I know a little bit about cars, but of course I'm determined to know everything I need to know to get the LeMans (and the upcoming Generation 2 Camaro project) finished. I'm planning on enrolling in January of 2012... and I'll post my progress here!

My Education Continues...

2011-10-20T20:55:00.001-06:00

So, as I prepare to rebuild the carburetor, I decided I want to know ALL the science behind it to really know what's going on- that way it works correctly. I found this video- you can skip past the guitar open to about 30 seconds in:

I've read alot of books on the subject, and a ton of articles, but this demonstration sums it up in a couple of minutes.

I've also been thinking about one of the last things I'll be doing to the LeMans- the upholstry. I found this quick timelapse video, but it gave me quite a bit of insight on how I can approach it DIY style:

There are tons of videos on this, but I liked how they took the existing foam and patched it. Now to find someone who can sew!

Flaming Hot Surprise

2011-10-15T07:31:00.001-06:00

Photo by Mike Berry, courtesy The Wichita Eagle at Kansas.com. Please buy some of their prints- it's worth it!

I love the title of the article. Kansas.com has a gallery feature of a family who pulled together to fix up their son's 1972 Pontiac LeMans as a surprise when he came home on leave from Afghanistan. Here's the link to the story told through a gallery of pictures: Flaming Hot Surprise.

I can appreciate the flames- I love the way they did the graphic lines and I absolutely LOVE the interior. Looking at it, the grill, the automatic transmission, and the factory emblem, this was a Luxury edition like mine. I was seriously thinking about finding a sports edition grille to replace the luxury grille until I saw this article.

Hats off to the family for restoring this, and thanks to The Wichita Eagle for bringing us this story!

Fireball!

2011-10-08T14:38:00.001-06:00

Definitely needs a carb kit. Definitely.

Sorry about the delay in posts- it's getting cold and I've been doing some winterizing around the house... so I haven't had any chance to play. However, when I went to start up the LeMans to move it over in the garage to make room for my other car, and as I did a gigantic fireball flew out the carburetor! It backfired. Completely my fault, I knew better- the choke is missing and the carburetor is tuned really rich- a note the previous owner warned me about, and in my haste I certainly had a close call.

I need to rebuild the carb anyway. It's a 2bbl Rochester 2GV, and I've discovered many places with kits and detailed manuals to rebuild it. Sure, I could just replace it with a newly rebuilt one, but where's the fun in that?

After the carb rebuild, the fuel tank is next on the replace list.

The Future of Digital Sketches

2011-09-23T10:41:00.002-06:00

I love paper and sketchbooks. I prefer them to my plastic Wacom tablet. Don't get me wrong, I'd be lost without my Intous... but Wacom has created something very much worth looking into:

I seriously believe this is going to change how we work. And for only $199, I want one.

The Future of Digital Sketches

Meaner Stance

2011-09-19T08:42:00.001-06:00

I always love finding videos of people enjoying their Pontiac LeMans. I found this one- I really, REALLY like how they've done the front end- no bumper and black grille- it looks really aggressive:

The ONLY bad thing about this car is they put a Chevy 350 in it. I realize he's still working on it, but it sounds like it's cutting out... aw well, as long as he's having fun with it- which it looks like he is.

RALLY ON
I managed to get the wheel locks yesterday using a 19mm socket and breaker bar- came off like nobody's business. After that I got the rallys on and my daughter even noticed it raised the car by 2 inches. It's stance is more brawny and it's amazing how much difference tires and rims can improve the looks.

Used my cheap digital camera on these. Here is the front looking back.

Back looking forward.

A detail showing how much they fill out the wheel well... SOOO much better!

My other brother-in-law Mitch offered to help me rebuild the engine- he has everything we'd need to do it... I'll definitely be taking him up on that offer. He's been working on cars for over 30 years, so I know I'll learn a thing or two! Maybe we'll be able to get this thing out on the street sooner than I thought- exciting!

More Preppin'

2011-09-16T10:30:00.001-06:00

I haven't been able to work on the LeMans this week. However, while crawling the classifieds, I had come across some sand blasters for cheap. I started researching this as a means to get rid of the horrible primer job the previous owner did to hide all the body imperfections. Here's one guy's video that made me really consider this as an option:

I know there are attachments to suck up what you blast... a cheap alternative to sand blasting the car.

CURRENT BODY
Prepare yourselves- this can get ugly:

The front end- you can see the dents above the headlights where the LeMans stopped that rolling bus.

A downward view of the dent. I have the bezels for the lights- they're just not installed.

This hardtop originally had a vinyl cover- I was told that GM purposefully put those one to hide imperfections in the hardtop. It's pretty rough- but I'm going to make it all one solid color.

Down the driver's side- pretty straight.

Yikes- missing a lot of the trim... but I won't be needing it anyway.

Where the LeMans' callout was... and some rust.

Another dent by the passenger side headlights. You can see the overspray on all the chrome from the half fast primer job.

I guess he ran out of primer!! The passenger side looks much worse- including a dent in the door.

A detailed shot of the melted brake light lens. It still works. The bumper is slightly bent but I think we can fix it- replacements are like $250 to $350, so it just might be worth the elbow grease to fix it ourselves.

Wheel well rust... not too bad.

The other side- again it's not bad.

I guess our work is cut out for us!

A beauty shot- I can't wait to get this thing going!

CLASSIFIEDS CRAWLIN'
As you know, I've spent the past twenty years as an illustrator so all my time AND MONEY went into pursuing that. Of course other tools- like actual mechanic tools - were lacking. I always used my dad's tools, but now I am living far from home that's no longer an option... not to mention it's not fair to him. I really needed my own. But as many of you know tools are EX. PEN. SIVE. It doesn't matter what trade you're in, they just are.

I talked to my dad about it and he said "Just look for used ones- they couldn't be any more worn than mine are." So off I went to our local classifieds. I found a batch of misc tools that a guy was selling- he's a bail bondsman and one of his clients fled- so he's selling the collateral to get his money back. I ended up with 250 SAE and Metric sockets, 10 rachets, 50 SAE and Metric wrenches, a breaker bar, 10 plyers, 10 adjustable end wrenches, a huge drillbit set, an electric sander, and a bunch of other items... there had to be at least $800 worth of stuff there and I got it for a cool benjamin- half of that coming from my aluminum can money and another 25 coming from my coffee can of loose change.

I've been cleaning them up- WD-40 and an old rag... they were pretty greasy and dusty. The tool boxes they were in are in poor condition so I'll probably replace the storage. I'll post pictures of them soon!

Missing Keys

2011-09-13T08:30:00.001-06:00

So, finding a key to the wheel lock ended up being a bust. Apparently they change the patterns after a while for security reasons- it's not really secure if everyone has the same key. I called the previous owner to see if he had the key (which I really should have done first), he asked if it was just on two tires, told me his friend put them on (wtf?) and he doesn't know what to tell me. I had a feeling that was a longshot which is why I didn't do that first.

That said, it looks like I'll have to do this the hard way. I found this tutorial- and to mirror the guy's disclaimer: don't do this for illegal purposes!! If you're in a jam and you lost your key, or like me you bought a car and the key wasn't given to you, here is a good last resort:

I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm confident that they'll come off with a breaker bar.

INTERIOR TOUR
Here are a couple of shots of the interior- the back seat isn't so bad but the front seats and dash are thrashed. What really floors me (ha, no pun intended) is that the carpet is in really really good shape.

The gauges are in good shape and they work! The A/C and head work. The cigarette lighter is rusted out. The glove box is in good shape.

Driver side back seat: a couple of rips, but the vinyl and window crank work.

Driver side door is missing the arm rest and latch. The seats are the worse here.

Back seat in decent if not pristine condition. The seat itself had come out and is not bolted in. I'm not to worried about it right now and I am seriously thinking about having the interior professionally restored... I'll worry about the outside and engine.

The infamous ignition lock. You can see where they hacked it off with a hack saw, presumably to change the locks I'm guessing. There are tool marks inside the column and the steering wheel shaft, while functional is scratched and scuffed.

Passenger side door... in decent shape.

Taking Stock in my Stock Car

2011-09-12T10:20:00.001-06:00

So, I was all excited to put those Rallys on the car this weekend. I got a new 2 ton jack and some jack stands and popped the hubcaps off only to discover this on both back wheels:

Yeah. And I don't have the key. Luckily, I was able to find the correct one online- but I'll have to buy the entire wheel lock set just so I can have a key- only about $25.

I know I could probably get this thing off by tapping on a socket and using a breaker bar... but I don't want to ruin the lock or messing with my bearings if I don't have to.

As promised, here are some pictures of the fuel tank intake- you can see what I mean about it being mangled and not taking a gas cap. Not safe at all. Replacing the fuel tank is the first item on my list.

Licence Plate Door

"This doesn't look good."

"What the #@$%!? Oh man!"

I really think it's because someone pried off a lock cap.

Here are some undercarriage pictures of the tank:

On the opposite end of the fuel system is the vapor canister. I am going to replace the filter on that.

I wanted to also show the carburetor- it's a Rochester GV 2bbl, which came standard with the Pontiac 350. You can see the serial numbers too:

Definitely needs a carb kit. Definitely.

I actually came across a website that explains what all these numbers mean- I'll have to dig it up and post it!

Alrighty, more coming soon... and wish me luck with that wheel lock!!!

First Steps

2011-09-08T21:33:00.001-06:00

FUEL!
The car runs decent, and is in fair shape but I'd say out of everything the fuel system is probably the worst (and definitely the most dangerous) part of this car. So the first thing I want to do with the car is get the fuel system working properly so I can drive it safely if I need to move it before the strip down next year. I'll need to:

Install a new Air Cleaner to replace the missing one - the guy had a pie tin and crumpled plastic bag protecting the carburetor... luckily he took it off before he sold it to me but all I can think is the mangled hood pad fibers being sucked into the carburetor when I have to move it. I just want to know what happened to the original Air Cleaner...?
Replace the Vapor Canister Filter or the Vapor Canister itself. The thing is rusted and should probably just be replaced.
Replace the Fuel Tank - if I can't get the cap on who knows what kind of condition the tank itself is in. I've been researching this one carefully- I'm definitely going to buy this one new, but I have to temper cost with quality. However, I think I have some good leads.
Replace the Fuel Pump and all the Fuel Lines (including those that go to the Vapor Canister - might as well since I'm putting a new Fuel Tank in.
Rebuild or Replace the Carburetor - Again, I've been looking in the classifieds to find a decent deal on buying a used Edelbrock or Holley. I have the option of buying a carb kit and rebuilding my Rochester 2bbl... that might have to be my long term temporary solution until I can rebuild the engine. Actually, it might be better to wait on getting a new carburetor so I can get the best fit for whatever form my 350 takes after the rebuild. (bear with me folks, I have a tendency to work things out while I'm writing)
Install a better Intake Manifold - This will have to wait until I rebuild the engine, which I'm not planning on even attempting until next May.

I realize some of these things aren't necessarily part of the fuel system per se, but they're all related so I might as well start from there.

So I bought an air cleaner stud kit and a siphon to empty the tank. Of course, the hose was too short to reach any of the gas a the bottom of the tank... but I have some tubing that I used for my swamp cooler that should work. The stud kit was only $5 at O'Reilly's Auto Parts. I got the siphon from wally's world, it's a cheap one but it beats doing it the old fashioned way.

I also took some pictures but they all turned out blurry, so I'll use my better work camera to get some decent photos.

TIRES!
I was going to hold off on installing the new Rallys, but my wife wants to have a yard sale in a couple of weeks and I felt that would be a great opportunity to sell the old ones. The old ones still have good tread and no cracks- they're really decent, they just don't look good on the LeMans. They'd be decent spares for anyone with a 5x4.75" (5x120.7mm) bolt pattern on their car. I'll probably sell them for $20 each. Plus, it will improve the look of the car, which satisfies my need to have something cool to look at :)

COOL '71 and '72 LEMANS VIDEOS

Where the Fun begins...

2011-09-05T21:35:00.002-06:00

Howdy! So, if you've surfed into this page, I just wanted to give you a quick intro of who I am and what I'm trying to do. My original blog, Tales of the Lost Skies, showcases my filmmaking and illustration endeavors. I decided to create this blog to document my progress to a) keep all my work on the restoration archived and separate from Lost Skies and b) to help out anyone that is also starting out and to give them a reference in anything I figure out along the way.

THE PLAN
I do have plans for a feature film two years from now. Even though I'm nailing down the script, I know the main characters are mechanics and the villain has a muscle car. To prepare for this, I've bought a 1972 Pontiac Luxury LeMans I found online with plans to restore. The guy I bought it from had hurt his back and has been on disability for the past six months, and money was tight. I felt bad because he really didn't want to part from it and was gritting his teeth when he signed the title over to me. I assured him it was going to a great home.

First, a bit about me: I am from a family of mechanics who love to restore old cars. My dad was a diesel mechanic and would always be tinkering out in the garage and taught me to do all my own servicing on my old 1980 Camaro (which I ended up having to sell ten years ago- too hard to transport kids in). My sister's husband restored a '66 Ford Bronco and a '66 Mustang Fastback (Ford guy, but I won't hold it against him). My wife's sister's late husband had restored a number of cars and their sons (my nephews) have gone on to mod out a whole bunch of imports... cool and impressive, but not my scene. My wife's brother has done quite a bit, really getting into the mini-truck scene fifteen years ago, and he's volunteered to help me with this one. Various cousins and extended family have all customized cars... the list goes on and on.

I, myself, have limited skills in this, but I am fully invested in doing this film and with that, I'm fully invested in learning everything there is to know about car restoration, and it's been extremely rewarding and fun. If nothing else, I'll have developed an important skill and a new lifetime hobby. SO If you're an old pro at all of this, I'm probably not really going to offer anything new to you... but I'm ALWAYS open to suggestions! If my facts are wrong- let me know!

I've been cleaning out the garage and prep it for the massive amount of work that's coming up. I'll give a tour when there's something worth looking at!!!

THE LEMANS
What I've learned about the LeMans is that it was the sister to the GTO- the only real difference was the Endura bottle nose the GTO's sported, along with the air scoop and bigger engines. LeMans could have the option of running a 400 or 455 or the 350 HO. The Endura nose option could be found on some LeMans- a "Poor man's GTO" or a GTO without the callouts... and many restorers now a days are creating their own GTO clones out of LeMans... to be honest, I like the LeMan's front end better than the Endura option.

My car is the "Luxury" edition. It was called the Luxury edition because it has A/C (which was an expensive option 40 years ago), an automatic transmission, better shocks, rear wheel skirts (I have them but popped them off, not crazy about the look they give) and a 'plush' interior. The grille is different than other body stylings of the LeMans- it has two crossbars instead of one that the LeMans Sport Coupe or the GT-37 had- not to mention the mesh is not as deep set and kind of reminds me of an Oldsmobile.

The September 2011 issue of Muscle Car Review features a '71 Pontiac LeMans GT-37 which is really nice, and of course Gene Hackman drives a 4 door '71 LeMans through New York during the infamous chase scene in The French Connection. I've also been inspired about other LeMans that have been restored, like this guy's:

Dustyn's Pontiac Lemans from Sam Ramsey on Vimeo.

Here's the car and the condition it's in. Yeah... a little rough but the body is straight and the Pontiac 350 V8 engine growls with power, even with the Rochester 2bbl carburetor on it. My brother-in-law told me I should swap it out with a 4bbl Edelbrock, but I'd need a lower CFM (probably a 500) since the block size is so small. It has an automatic transmission, which works well, but I've been playing with the idea of swapping it out with a Muncie M22 4-speed manual transmission... wondering if it'd be worth it knowing there's a lot of work and components that would have to be traded out. Anyway, here it is:

So, the bad: The interior is thrashed, the dash is cracked. The door panels are in decent shape- though it needs new arm rests. The seats are structurally sound but it absolutely needs to be reupholstered. All the door and trunk locks are missing. The ignition lock is missing and needs a screwdriver to unlock it to start it. There's very little body rust but enough to add a bit of work. The front end has the most dents, apparently it stopped a bus whose parking brakes failed and rolled back into it. The passenger door has a big dent in it. The rear passenger side brake light is melted out because of a bad exhaust system (since corrected). The gas tank mouth is mangled from the lock cap being pried off... and it's missing the air cleaner. I'm sure there will be more issues, but all in all, not a bad find for under a g-note.

CLASSIFIEDS CRAWLIN'
The tires that came with the car are old, but in decent shape... but hardly anything you'd want to see on an old muscle car. I found these amazing rally wheels and really nice Avenger GT tires in the classifieds for a total of $175!! Rally rims go for no less than $80 each on ebay, so these were quite the find. I can't wait to put them on.

They were on an old '67 Chevelle- which you can kind of see in the background of the second picture. The Rally rims should fit since the bolt pattern on most of these old cars are 5x120.7mm (5x4.75"), and the tires are beefy at P225/70R14's- bigger than the P205/75R14s on it right now.

Well, more to come!

Vicariously living through my friends

2011-06-07T09:52:00.000-06:00

New Filmmakers in Town
Back in February I had profiled Spanish filmmakers Sonia & Miriam Albert Sobrino's work on Ignoto- and of course I'm still amazed by it. They are both planning making the move from Spain to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah's Film Program starting this fall! I'm looking forward to meeting them and perhaps working with them.

From WVC to USC
My friend Tony Hendrichsen is more than talented- he's brilliant. So when I had heard he won the Youtube filmmakers challenge, I wasn't in the least bit surprised. The Challenge's grand prize was a month long workshop at USC's Creator Institute. Tony talks about his intense experience in his new VLOG.

Here is some of his work, starring Trevor "Bev" Hawkes and his two beautiful girls in this heart wrenching/warming piece of a widower on the brink of despair:

Tony had also won the Utah Film Commission's On The Spot commercial contest back in 2009 with this piece starring Bev and Emily Copier, which screened throughout Sundance the following January 2010:

I'm very proud and very excited for all my friends' accomplishments. Keep up the amazing work!

Facelift!

2011-05-15T15:37:00.000-06:00

Apologies that I've been absent from here. I've been taking care of business for house, family and freelance. Now that things are settling into their new norm, I'm back!

You may have noticed that I've updated both this blog and my homesite- www.lostskies.com. I've been wanting to do it for awhile, mostly to clean up old code but I really wanted to simplify the design and give better emphasis on my illustration work. I also put a twitter widget to my feed on the front page of the site- which will keep the site content itself a bit more fresh.

But don't fret thrill-seekers! Filmmaking may be on the back burner for a while (at least while my younger children are still little), but I'm active in a few projects on a pre-vis capacity, as well as one larger project slated later this or early next year.

So, expect to see some more drawin'. I'll post what I can, probably more sketchbook stuff here on the blog. If it's good enough it will graduate to the gallery section on the main site.

Session 1138 Premiere!!

2011-02-24T18:20:00.001-07:00

Session 1138 premiered last night at the Tower Theatre in Salt Lake City at X96's "Radio From Hell" Film Festival, and it came away with Best Actress for Renny Grames' fantastic performance! Production sound mixer Bob Melanson posted it on Youtube, so here it is in it's entirety:

Great set, cast and crew! Congratulations and thanks for letting me be a part of it!

Ignoto

2011-02-22T20:07:00.005-07:00

I normally don't post other people's work on my blog, but this one is really just too good not to share.

Ignoto is a web series out of Spain, by the amazing talents of filmmaking sisters Sonia & Miriam Albert Sobrino. Check out the first episode here- it's in Spanish (myself being from New Mexico but raised in Utah, my Spanish is very rusty, but the important thing is I would be able to follow it if I didn't know any Spanish- the story telling is THAT strong):

The reason I post this is as a lesson in pacing in editing, cinematography, acting and story. They are successful on all fronts. I see so many rushed projects that are are unwatchable, and it's disheartening. I'm most critical of my own projects- especially ones that I am unable to share yet, such as Southside of Elsewhere... Ignoto reminds me that with patience, planning and passion INCREDIBLE work can be achieved and that's exciting.

The most refreshing thing is that in talking to the sisters briefly on their Vimeo page they are very humble of their efforts. Even though they are planning on going into a graduate school, I can't wait to see their future professional work!

Links
ignoto.es
http://vimeo.com/20080855

Session 1138 in the Radio From Hell Film Festival

2011-02-18T18:24:00.002-07:00

Here it comes! Session 1138 will premiere in the X96 Radio from Hell Film Festival on February 23rd at the Tower Theater in Salt Lake City!

Session 1138: Day One Shooting

2011-02-03T22:44:00.002-07:00

I didn't get much of a chance to take very many photos, but we shot all the flashback scenes of the main character's (played by Allan Groves) wasted life.

It was a pretty freeflowing shoot- I got to mix a technicolor cocktail that got a close up for shock value, and also played as an unfortunate visitor that got the business end of fists and kicks.

Sunday is the main shoot- large crew and large cast. I'll post more as it happens!

Location, location, location!

2011-01-23T12:24:00.001-07:00

I'm going to start something new here, posting snapshots of areas I think that would be fantastic as locations.

This little dilapidated warehouse district is the one Mario DeAngelis is using for "Session: 1138"

But just around the corner was this great pothole strewn street with questionable powerlines and worn buildings.

This is closer to where I live- I pass by these tracks quite often and I love this backdrop. The watertower dominates the area, it is easily 6-8 stories high.

Well, I'll be adding more photos as I take them!

New Promises on the Horizon

2011-01-12T19:45:00.002-07:00

2011 is going to be THE year- we're revamping and improving, wishing success to everyone we've worked with in the past and we're forging the new relationships to accomplish our goals this year.

We will be working on some new short films, and are planning our fourth year in the 48 Hour Film competition. I have also been talking to my old friend and film associate, Mario DeAngelis, about how we can finish up Southside of Elsewhere and submit it to the LA Action Film Festival. Lost Skies Productions has had a couple of bumps along the way, but we're now in the position to finish it up quickly. I finished a rough cut a few months ago- we have a car chase scene in it and we need a few pick up exterior shots, and we're gathering audio for the sound design and are currently looking at some composers for the musical score.

I'm also helping Mario with a short film coming up in February. More on that soon.

From there, the elusive "future-noir" is being re-written and Corner of the Mind's Eye is always not far behind in terms of re-writes and searching for funding to get that going.

A gigantic shout out to Utah Film Locations, who helped in a pinch with a work (to clarify- a non-Lost Skies) assignment- a professional photo shoot with three fantastic actors from TMG Talent. Danny Thompson (from UFL) is always fantastic to work with: friendly, patient, professional and it's always a joy working with him.

Chloe from Corner of the Mind's Eye

2010-10-23T21:10:00.000-06:00

Another digital painting... experimenting more with effects and backlighting.

Space Ace!

2010-10-20T22:22:00.001-06:00

Just another digital painting exercise.

Digital Painting Exercise

2010-10-12T22:22:00.001-06:00

Digital Painting practice on my old Sky Pirate Girl picture.

48 Hour Film Project - Salt Lake City 2010

2010-06-23T11:48:00.001-06:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything! Well, the main reason is because we had a new baby last year so of course, our time literally disappeared.

Speaking of time, we had again participated in this year's 48 Hour Film Project in SLC, our third year- our genre pick was Sci Fi! Todd wrote and directed this piece called "97 Days"- an homage to the 60s Outer Limits and Twilight Zone. Our Genre pick was Sci Fi, our required prop was an egg, our required character was Ed or Edna Keegan - TV Reporter, and our required line of dialogue was "That's what I'm here for."

Cast
Chris Harvey as Leland McCallister
Trevor Hawkes as Martin
Dani Jae as Eddie Keegan
Time Machine Tech #1 Kelly Evans
Time Machine Tech #2 Todd McGowan

Written & Directed by Todd McGowan
Produced by Juan Maestas, Todd McGowan & Michelle Poe
Director of Photography Juan Maestas
Sound Dept Michelle Poe
Costumes & Props by TnT Costumes and Props

It premiered last night at the Broadway Center Theater in Salt Lake City, screening with some very fantastic films and we enjoyed the company with many of our talented filmmaking friends. Take a gander- I hope you enjoy it!

97 Days from Juan Maestas on Vimeo.

"Save the Queen!"

2009-08-08T08:35:00.010-06:00

Here's an illustration of a British Gunnary Sgt. during the Napoleonic Wars I finished yesterday for historical documentary of a family history... hopefully slated for PBS.

It turned out pretty decent, I was limited on time so I didn't get much of a chance to do much with the ground and stuff. I might go back and add some texture soon.

Expect to see more illustration!

Southside of Elsewhere

2009-05-25T13:12:00.006-06:00

Logline: Where would you go if all that you were... was erased?

A researcher and his family become fugitives when his former employer becomes interested in his young daughter's intellectual abilities.

Southside of Elsewhere is the second of a trilogy of short films that are precursors to a future-noir feature that is in pre-production.

PRODUCTION
Pre-production began back in November '08. I met with Bob Lanoue and Katherine Taylor of Friendly Universe Productions, and Antonio Lexerot of Lexerot Entertainment. I had asked Katherine and Antonio of they would play the leads, Callie and Sam Merrill, a divorced couple with joint custody of their daughter, Vivian.

From there, Bob and Katherine helped by introducing me to many talented actors and crew. Unfortunately, Bob needed to back out due to family matters though has followed us as closely as he could. Katherine introduced me to Carrie and Paul Dawson, a fantastic MUA and Photographer couple. Carrie helped me round out the rest of the supporting cast and did an AMAZING job making everyone look pretty. Check out her portfolio at HD Makeup Ready . Carrie also helped with a crucial special effect in a shootout we shot.

Trevor Hawkes also returned to help. He and his brother Trent, along with their company, T&T Costumes and Props, outfitted us with an arsonal and helped with many of the atmospheric effects that we needed.

I also asked my long time associates and friends Todd McGowan (Love's Confession, Finnegans, Corner of the Mind's Eye) and Michelle Poe (Maybe, Salt of the Earth) to help. Todd was to be the Director of Photography. Todd was happy to oblige, and we garnered some fantastic footage, and Michelle helped Produce.

I also asked David Adamic to be our location sound mixer. I met David through Russ on the set of Oisin. David is fantastic, professional and extremely helpful. He was gracious enough to let us use his equipment.

Principal Photography was from the end of January to the beginning of February 2009. We had many sets, the largest being a lounge that became a pinnacle scene and involved 15 on screen actors, lots of drama, some physical action, a shootout and a desperate escape... but it doesn't end there, and the rest of the plot is under wraps until we can premiere it.

We are now in Post Production. I was doing an offline edit, however have tapped Todd McGowan yet again for his cutting prowess to help finish it. We had shot about six hours of footage, and we still have a few shots that we need to get.

I will also have a full CAST and CREW list very soon!

Life happens while you're making other plans...

2009-05-25T12:02:00.005-06:00

Salt of the Earth
Reshoots? Nah… we had several discussions and even planned on reshooting our first scene- but ultimately schedules and money has prevented us from doing so. The original scene stands very well and we are planning on using ADR which we had recorded on location instead of entire reshoot.

Composer? We have signed on Gunnar Spardel as the composer to Salt of the Earth. Gunnar’s work is awe-inspiring, you can hear his work here: http://gunnarspardel.com/.

VFX? After speaking to a few VFX artists, we are still looking for someone to help with some effects. The first shot is a full shot of a satellite in orbit, the rest involves composite work (including heat distortion effects). There are opportunities for matte and title work.

Oisin
Russ Adams of Ritual Pictures had reshot the first scene in Oisin to establish the lead character a bit better. I think this will help and returned as the Director of Photography to shoot it. Oisin is already playing at a number of festivals, but this new director’s cut will be the permanent film.

I met Chris Arrington of 3IFM Independent Studios during the reshoot of the beginning scene. Chris is very talented and will be working with Russ on a number of future projects.

Southside of Elsewhere
This is the second of the trilogy of the future noir prequel trilogy that we shot last February. The original intent was to place it into the DVXuser.com’s Lossfest, but while editing, there was no way to cram the story into the 6 minute time limit. We had a baby immediately after shooting, so SSOE as well as all my projects (including Freelance) had (until just recently) went to the back burner.

I will post the specifics of Southside in a separate post, but I had met some amazing talent during the course of it. I have just recently brought on Todd McGowan to edit it. Todd was also the DP.

The 48 Hour Film Project SLC 2009
Yup! We did it again. We decided to go lean this time with cast, crew and locations. We picked the “Film de Femme” genre. The story we came up with, “Prudence”, is about Prudence Espinoza, an art theif who is unhappy with her witless accomplice’s failed attempt at an inside job. When she arrives to finish the job, betrayal boils to the surface.

“Prudence” is the debut lead role for Laura Earlewine, and features Trevor Hawkes, and last year’s lead Chris Harvey. “Prudence” premiered at the 48 Hour Film Festival on May 21st at the Jordan Commons Megaplex in Sandy, UT.

More to come…

Spreading the WORD

2009-02-20T23:33:00.009-07:00

It's been a little bit, hasn't it? We'll, we've been extremely busy. I'm still trying to compile a load of stuff and process it into some sort of managable chunks.

UPDATES

- Lost Skies Productions is currently looking for a sound designer, VFX artist and a composer to help bring Salt of the Earth to completion. Interested parties, please contact the director Juan Maestas at jmaestas@lostskies.com!

- Salt of the Earth is on IndieGoGo! Please, please, PLEASE help us promote it- go to the IndieGoGo site and get the code for the widget below, and post it to your site or blog! Spread the word!

- We've also posted a project on MyProducer.tv! MyProducer.tv is a new social networking site for filmmakers, and it's currently in beta.
Salt of the Earth on MyProducer.tv

- Russ Adams has finished Oisin, and has submitted it to eight festivals! Best of luck, Russ and MAKE US PROUD!! :)

Next Post: We've finished shooting 98% of the second of the Future Noir Shorts Trilogy and am now compiling all the HD footage into something managable to do an offline edit… I’ll have a full post on “Southside of Elsewhere” very soon! Stay tuned, thrill seekers!

Happy New Year from Lost Skies!

2009-01-01T12:08:00.003-07:00

Click for a larger poster. The majority of the photos are from Benjamin Bamba which include behind the scenes and premiere for the 48 Hour Film Project "Maybe...", behind the scenes from "Salt of the Earth" and our involvement in Ritual Picture's "Oisin".

I personally want to say thank you to everyone who had participated in all the projects we were involved in... we made a lot of new friends and created some memories I will carry for the rest of my life. Thanks everybody.

I'm not kidding when I say we're just getting started. We have plans for the second and third 'future noir' shorts and we are considering on participating in this year's 48 Hour Film Project!

As for 2009, this year will be faster and more intense. You can count on that.

Salt of the Earth Poster

2008-12-05T21:09:00.010-07:00

Salt of the Earth Poster #1.

I've also set up a "Salt of the Earth" group on Facebook- if you have an account, check it out and join!!

Peppering the Salt

2008-12-04T19:28:00.043-07:00

Howdy! It's been a wild and busy month. I've finished helping with Oisin- editing, editing sound and color correction and have handed it back to Russ Adams.

With that, I have turned my attention back to Salt of the Earth, which I have gone down and dirty with the edit- refining it so the pace is appropriate to all the scenes. I've also been storyboarding out the pickups which will give the first scene an entirely different context than just a simple conversation in a plaza. As I have been editing it, I've been color correcting it as I go. Here's some more grabs:

I've also asked my long time associate Brett Stagg to create an animation for me that will play at the beginning. Once all of that is done, it's the business of cleaning up the audio, doing the sound design and scoring it. I was really hoping to have been to this point, but projects and freelance kept popping up!

The second of the "future noir" shorts has been written, and I have been working with a few people on getting it planned. More on this as we get all the i's crossed and the t's dotted.

Back to the Future... again.

2008-11-09T18:43:00.005-07:00

The final cut is almost finished on Oisin, than the audio edit should go fairly fast, than it will be passed back to my friend and fellow filmmaker Russ Adams to finish his sound design, than he'll send it off to the composer to get scored.

Salt of the Earth needs pickups. We're working on what and when, but it will be a bit before we can go back out. Than sound design, etc etc and that will be finished.

While I've been home, I've been hit with a ton of inspiration on the re-write of an old friend: Corner of the Mind's Eye. Essentially, being away from it for a year or so has given me an opportunity to look on it again with fresh eyes, and I can see within the story structure why it didn't make the cut for the Slamdance Screenplay Competition a year ago. The "B-Plot" was underdeveloped...which I knew, but once I went and wrote up a "history of the story's world" everything came together: The intrigue- the conspiracy- the drama- the heart ache and the heroism that will make Joseph Crowfoot iconic.

Haughty words for a low-budget filmmaker, huh? That's because I'm feeling really confident about how it's turning out.

The Two Front Strategy

2008-10-29T21:42:00.002-06:00

So, after my epiphany of turning one of my Unreleased-Named-Future-Noir-Project shorts from a short film into a webcomic, it freed my imagination a quite a number of ways. With the excitement of approaching it in a different format, the story came together quite easily. It will still be cinematic, and if the economy gets better by next summer, I will use it as a visual basis for an adapted short.

Generally, as I work out the story, I write a list of all the situations I want to happen in it and a list of the most interesting characters I can think of. I then rearrange them until I can see some sort of pattern- and find some sort of relationships that form between motivation and action. Some writers will write them down on cards, but generally I just cut and paste in my text editor... than I transfer them to that little freebie gem Celtx.

So, the web comic's beat sheet is done and the first few scenes have been fleshed out. I'm really excited for this one. Now, I just need to stretch those old drawing muscles and get my butt into gear!

Winter Plans

2008-10-23T12:23:00.010-06:00

Editing on Oisin has been slow but steady... things have been extremely hectic lately and I've been interrupted quite a bit, so it's made it challenging.

Salt of the Earth is on hold until I can finish Oisin, but I found some concept images I had created that I was originally planning on using at the beginning of the short. The idea was to have a flying car fly down and into the city:

than behind this statue:

than over a building which we use in our establishing shot, where it tilts down showing Yolanda Arrey having her morning breakfast at a sidewalk cafe. But it didn't seem convincing to me and we don't have flying cars in any other part of this short (they are a part of the story's world, but we found they're expensive to rent) so I decided on a more sinister approach to the beginning- which I have been storyboarding out.

Because of our rickety economy, I've decided to turn one of the three future shorts I had for the Unreleased-Named-Future-Noir-Feature-project into a web comic. Don't get me wrong, I am not taking an easier path by doing a web comic- they are very time consuming and tough; I'm trading in hundreds of phone calls for arrangements for hundreds of hours cramping up my drawing hand... not that I'm complaining :)

But in all reality, the main reason is the season- the future noir shorts take place during warmer weather... so it's a wait until spring time to get those going again, and I'll be doing something over the Winter in the meantime.

The Post-Production Run

2008-10-19T19:18:00.008-06:00

I'm in the process of editing 2 shorts right now- My short "Salt of the Earth" & Russ Adams' "Oisin". Not really a big deal, SOTE is pretty much done- it just needs a few VFX, a couple of Pick-up shots and sound design... and to be scored. I was hoping to finish it up this month but I'm going to have to push it off until November.

Oisin is forming rather nicely. Where we shot SOTE on location as the near future, Oisin was shot on a soundstage period set, built by the filmmaker himself. It was actually rather ingenious: Russ had built four panels of "brick walls" to create the period feel of an interior of a castle- everything from the local lord's chamber to the dungeons the prisoners were kept in. We did use one old metal door within the complex and moved the walls to simulate that it was the cell doors, and the illusion came was impressive. Later, he had flipped the walls around to create the tavern walls for the happier times of the protagonist.

Once I am done editing Oisin (both sound and video), I'll hand it off back to Russ so he can add the sound effects and get it scored. I also agreed to create the titles for it.

In the meantime, I have been fiddling with a very old DIY 35mm Adapter I had built from scratch three years ago for my first mini-dv 3ccd Panasonic PVGS-120. I used it on my first short "Love's Confession", and the outcome was pretty nice- though it gave my friend and DP Brett Stagg a headache since there was no way to flip the image on the viewer.

I've been wanting to purchase a 35mm Adapter for my Canon HV20 from a couple of vendors, but with the rollercoaster economy right I decided to tweak my old one to see how it looks. The exterior is ungainly, it utilizes the spinning Ground Glass concept, and it is housed in an old cookie tin. I mounted a Pentax K-Mount camera lens mount to the front of it via JB Weld (I love that stuff), and the camera connected via step up rings. I have a few lenses which I think will look pretty nice.

Oisin Stills

2008-10-01T09:29:00.008-06:00

Russ and I have been discussing the final look of the film, which he wanted to have a real cold, dark, stark grittyness to it. Part of the issue was our location was flooded with light and no electricity- which presented the challenge of shaping the light with flags and drapes. We cut down quite a bit of light, but the ambient was very wild.

Unfortunately, a generator wasn't an option- it would have killed our sound, and we didn't have time to make wild takes since the location was triple booked, much to our chagrin.

However, we did it. I'm happy with the results- though we agreed some of our last takes will have to be re-done because we were rushing in the end not to impede on the party with the third booking. Ah! The joys of micro-budget filmmaking!

This weekend, we're finishing up with the happier times of Oisin, and some gritty and horrific injustices that he must face.

Salt of the Earth

2008-08-29T07:46:00.024-06:00

Howdy!

It's been a while since I've updated, but for good reason- Lost Skies Productions has been very busy gearing up for a feature film that we are planning on shooting next year.

With that, we've started on a series of short films that lead up to the feature: the first one called "Salt of the Earth" starring Yolanda Arrey.

Yolanda is an incredibly talented actress who I had the pleasure of meeting and casting in Corner of the Mind's Eye a few years ago, and who also was cast in the 48 Hour Entry "Maybe...". I've always had told her I'd write a role just for her because she is so freakin' incredible.

Here are some stills from our past couple of shoots:

The Indomitable Yolanda Arrey

Linda Eyring & Chris Harvey

Chris Harvey who just got bad news...

...over the death of a loved one.

But are there others involved? Dani Jae and Tracy York seem to know.

And so does Trevor Hawkes- but he ain't talkin'.

Nor his partner- Russ Adams. Russ is also an incredible special and make-up effects, and prop artist, and is the founder of Escape Design Studios.

Ultimately, it's writer/director- J. Francisco Maestas who knows all! (insert evil laugh here). Photo by Ben Bamba.

"Salt of the Earth" is in the can, has been edited and is currently in audio post production, VFX compositing and color correction. We are currently looking for music.

"Salt of the Earth" will run the international film festival circuit starting October 2008.

---

Salt of the Earth
A short film by J. Francisco Maestas

Starring
Yolanda Arrey
Chris Harvey
Trevor Hawkes
Russ Adams
Dani Jae
Tracy York
Geoffrey Richards
Mark Brocksmith
Robert A. Easton
Clayson Hanks
Kelly Jean Barney
and
Linda Eyring as Dr. Corruthers

Written by J. Francisco Maestas & Michelle Poe
Executive Producer - Charlotte Maestas
Produced by J. Francisco Maestas, Michelle Poe, Linda Eyring
Associate Producers - Russ Adams, Trevor Hawkes
Effects Makeup & Props - Russ Adams
1st Assistant Director - Trevor Hawkes
2nd Assistant Director - Michelle Poe
Audio - Michelle Poe, Dani Jae
Still Photography - Benjamin Bamba

Shot, Directed & Cut by J. Francisco Maestas

Michael Turner: 1971-2008

2008-06-28T16:47:00.003-06:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Turner_(artist)

Before my advent into filmmaking, I was an aspiring comic book artist. I was good, but I was way, way, way too slow. I would always marvel at the amazing talents of it all... and Michael Turner was definitely one of them.

I've known he's had a long battle with cancer... and with sadness came across the news that he had passed yesterday.

Thoughts and prayers with his family.

...

Biography of a Film

2008-06-19T18:40:00.003-06:00

So, things have been quite the rollercoaster ride for the past month. I have been polishing a feature script for the past six months, and it has drastically changed in the past couple. It's funny how a story evolves and changes and it's not even the same one you'd thought was a winner.

I bought "The Making of Star Wars" a few weeks ago, and read it cover to cover. It's like an biography for a film, you see all the pitfalls and lucky breaks... and backbreaking labor it takes to MAKE A MOVIE. George Lucas went through four drafts... four COMPLETELY different stories and even then was changing it in the middle of filming. Despite hostile environments, hostile crews, hostile studios and an effects crew seemingly more interested in experimenting rather than creating... he did it. Absolutely not to his satisfaction, but he changed filmmaking and the world of many- including myself. But he did it- and it was through SHEER determination.

However, you can't confuse determination with stubbornness... there's a difference. Determination is borne of careful thought, planning and a sheer vision - ignited by passion... it gets done because there is no other way. Stubbornness is self-effacing, borne from it's own personality and ego. Surely, being stubborn is not totally a bad trait, but doing it for it's own sake is dangerous. One could even argue that being stubborn is essential to determination. Sure, if that's the spice on your shelf. But it can never replace sheer vision and passion. If you have those two, you're okay in my book.

"Maybe..." on IMDB

2008-05-23T21:24:00.004-06:00

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234547/

"Maybe...", a comedy film made during the 48 Hour Film Project Competition in Salt Lake City, 2008 has been listed on the Internet Movie Database.

Still waiting for all the updates to our listing, but Lost Skies is now officially listed on the IMDB!!

We are planning on putting it in a few more festivals.

Now, on the the next project...

48 Hour Film Project - SLC 2008

2008-05-11T08:01:00.008-06:00

This is going to take a couple of blogs to get in everything that has happened in the past week. It's been a whirlwind of excitement, from the 42 Hour day, cast/crew of 30, nine setups and 4 locations... and we were all STILL laughing and hugging by wrap at 11pm Saturday night.

I will in the next week have pictures and the short after this event is completed on Monday!

In the meantime, here is stills photographer Ben Bamba's Flickr set from the set of "Maybe...". I will have another set by stills photographer Brad Leatham soon.

Also, here is the official 48 Hour Salt Lake City Blog where both I and Producer Pietro D'Alessio have posted.

Enjoy!

Stay tuned!

Digital Television and You!

2008-04-16T16:09:00.004-06:00

These were written and produced by none other than Todd McGowan! I helped with the "animated" segment by drawing the kids watching TV, and there's some small chunks from "Love's Confession" and the TV Specialists spot in there that I did a few years ago. Car Time's open is also in there!

Enjoy and get edumacated!

Part One

Part Two

Red Scarlet

2008-04-15T18:00:00.006-06:00

Holy wow~! I want one! The 3k Red Scarlet

With it having a smaller acquisition of 3k compared to their flagship Red One at 4k, I'm guessing that the price will be proportionately smaller. I guess we'll find out next year.

However, it's always the glass that's the most expensive part, isn't it?

Video Archives - Corner of the Mind's Eye Rehearsals: Summer 2006

2008-04-10T20:04:00.005-06:00

Corner of the Mind's Eye - Rehearsals Summer 2006 from Juan Maestas on Vimeo.

Laron Wilson and Katherine Joan Taylor rehearsing a scene behind Black Hawk Entertainment's Studios for Corner of the Mind's Eye back in the summer of 2006. Directed and shot by Juan Maestas on a Canon XL-1.

Interesting Experiment

2008-04-06T12:47:00.010-06:00

Filmmaker Jessica Mae Stover is taking on a very interesting approach to funding her film - "Artemis Eternal". While chasing investors is not new for independents, I have to say I am very impressed with how she is mapping the progress. The official site shows her strategy, and that serves as a model for filmmakers should take notice for their future productions... I know I'm learning something from it.

I just may have to invest $25 into the project... I just need to figure out the budgets for my films first! But really, I really do think I'll donate soon.

Jack Black and the Basics of Filmmaking

2008-04-03T13:46:00.003-06:00

When you're storytelling, style over substance is a very dangerous thing to toy with... a good foundation and some basic rules will help make your story coherent. You'd think it would be simple to remember, but it's something I see that people forget all the time.

So, with that, Jack Black and Acceptable TV had put out these tutorials about a year ago, and they're pretty entertaining- and are a fantastic overview of the basics of filmmaking.

http://acceptable.tv/tutorials

Boston Globe Article - "The lost art of film editing"

2008-03-31T17:54:00.005-06:00

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/
2006/08/13/the_lost_art_of_film_editing/?page=full

As I read this, I found myself completely agreeing with the article's author. It's always been something that has annoyed me to no end- the machine gun editing of our modern commercial age. It has it's place- but too much of one thing lessens it's impact on the viewer.

Having worked in television for the past ten years, you see it all the time with news- where it has to be done that way to get the story across... but more and more, the language of cinema in this fast paced world is becoming abbreviated much like the English language gets chopped up in text messages.

Fast food cinema. And we all know what fast food does to you.

Updated Concept Art Gallery

2008-03-29T09:59:00.003-06:00

I finally got the concept art gallery up and running again. I'll soon be adding more images to it, including Archangel Alpha Conceptual Art and Two Sides of the Moon.

http://www.lostskies.com/backlot/jmaestas-gallery.html

Lost Skies Facelift

2008-03-21T20:20:00.004-06:00

Lostskies.com had a major facelift a month ago, but I had conceptualized this logo and had been working on refining the look for a while. I'm planning on animating it for the opening slate on all future productions. Let me know what you think!

I've also finished my second feature-length screenplay and have registered it with the Writer's Guild of America. I'll be announcing more on this in weeks to come!

Budgets & Strategy: Part II

2008-03-11T12:07:00.006-06:00

So the pitfalls of pre-production all come down to planning. It's not enough just to "know" what you need. You need to write it down, figure out how you are going to acquire it, and have an alternate plan in place incase it's not going to work out.

There is plenty of production software out there. I've discovered one called Celtx, which is perfect because not only is it FREE (and just because something is free doesn't mean it has value), it is actually really good. I like to think of Celtx as scriptwriting software on steroids. Without going too much into the features (you can go to their site to do that yourself), it is able to categorize items and give detailed information on props, actors, characters, sets, vehicles, livestock, etc. It also allows you to create backgrounds for your characters, and lets you define why your scenes are important.

The key feature of this is you can use it on the internet, and create a group that can access all the files off of the Celtx servers. You can make it public or private. This is essential to keep everyone in the loop.

If you're more web-savvy, you may consider setting up a forum can only be accessed with a password. Aaron Martin did this with Archangel Alpha, and it grew quite a bit with everyone pitching in ideas and posting their progress. We would post links of relevant information or similar works. He would also make the script updates available to everyone and I would post pictures of concept art as I was able to do them. We would post our concerns or bring up potential problems as pre-production went on and Aaron would address or solve them.

One thing I've learned from a video game development project I helped out on back in 2003 was the scheduled calendar and milestones. The group director will set up what they want to accomplish and by what date. This is a milestone. They would assign the best talent to accomplish the milestone, and it became very apparent who the responsibility went to. Granted, filmmaking is a little bit more organic, but the idea of having things in place by a certain time can really help you out. See what people can bring to the table for you. They might offer alternatives to something you can't quite acquire that's in your script.

How I do this is after I have a finished script, I go through and break it down. I see what's most doable first, and set up my shooting schedule around what I can get together the easiest. I than set up milestones in order to get set up for those days. If a milestone can't be reached before the shoot date, I need an alternate shoot on that day and arrange for it. Worst case scenario, I'll plan on what cut-aways can be shot with available actors- or if the location becomes unavailable (for whatever reason) have a back up plan to shoot another scene- and give some slack for rehearsal time.

Budgets & Strategy: Part I

2008-03-11T10:06:00.009-06:00

You know, as I've been paper producing my next project, I've came to a few conclusions that I have found that I need to work on myself, and it's the same problem other filmmakers have:

Budgets.

Of course, you need to budget your money so you know how much you can spend on a set, or that costume with the rhinestone and lights, or if it's going to be sandwiches or pizza for the crew. That goes without saying. You'd be surprised how many filmmakers usually skirt around all of this. Charm only goes so far. This also goes for available resources- what you can already bring to the film in terms of equipment: lights, camera, greenscreen, yada yada yada. The favors of others bringing in their gear and what you'll have to barter with.

However, I've also realized what the biggest resource of all: People's time. A donation of a person's time is often more valuable than any monitory income you can bring into your film by any investor. They are sacrificing their time to be there at your call, they'll happily work for you provided they can get something in return: experience, networking, or as my friend Mark Throckmorton mentioned, "even food". Often times though, taking a person's time can really cut into their living expenses, and whether or not they believe in a project, sometimes, just like when a person's bills overwhelm their income, they have to declare bankruptcy on their available time just to get things back in order.

Again, most will happily work for you, PROVIDED they get something just as valuable in return- and often they have to determine what that value is: financial compensation, a finished project for their reel or portfolio or resume, experience and knowledge so they can tackle their own future projects, or simply notoriety.

I guess my point is, yes, there is the love of doing it. Many will sacrifice quite a bit, but they often will get something in return. However, once you've wasted someone's time, you've essentially stolen from them.

So, the next time you put a post out, consider what you're really giving a person when you ask them to volunteer their time or work on deferment: experience for those who have none, knowledge for those who seek it. Don't be stingy with either one of these, they are giving you their most valuable commodity, make sure you are just as generous in return. If not time, offer your ideas, know-how, or networking opportunities.

Once you know what you can offer, make sure you have figured out your strategy before you make your movies- because no plan will simply waste time and your most valuable resource. You're knowledge/contacts/ideas are also a commodity. Don't waste your commodities by wasting their time. It goes both ways. Conversely, if you use their time but are stingy with your resources/knowledge/contacts than you are stealing from them. It really is a give-and-take balancing act to be fair to both yourself and to the person you're working with.

Of course, the strategy is simply this: Budget time as if it were money. The old adage "time is money" is absolutely true. Budgeting time is as simple as having a schedule to reach milestones in your pre-production. Again, people want to work for you, but they need a direction to go in. Once you've set them in a direction, let them finish the task/milestone before you pull them off to do something else. PLAN, don't REACT. Reacting economically requires a Plan B. Reacting without a Plan B is running around in circles, and is a waste of everyone's time.

Rushing and "figuring it out along the way" is a fool's errand. And it makes it look like you don't know what the hell you're doing. And one by one, crew drops off.

I admit it. It has happened to me. My excuse is a lack of experience in both knowing how to produce and who I was dealing with. And really, I've learned from it. Was it a waste? I don't believe it was, because everyone involved got to work on a large set, got to network and make friends, and there's some pretty cool footage that netted new projects for some of those involved. I lost time, but I gained experience. If I did it again, THEN it would be a waste.

How Cool Is That?

2008-03-06T09:52:00.005-07:00

Albert Huerta, who plays Joseph Crowfoot’s brother Frank in “Corner of the Mind’s Eye” co-starred in Ari Gold’s “Adventures of Power”, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Albert is really excited about this. Albert has also committed himself to a few of my summer projects. Below is a link to a picture with Albert, Ari and the rest of the cast at Sundance.

http://www.jamd.com/image/g/79141780

---

Doug Guibord, who plays Agent Smith in “Corner of the Mind’s Eye” made a short film called Lemonade, which will be premiering at the 5th Annual Foursite Film Festival. Below is an email he sent:

Hi everyone,

The 5th Annual Foursite Film Festival is going on this week in Ogden, Utah. Films from all over the world, country, and state will be showcased in four of Ogden's greatest venues. They include the Peery's Egyptian Theater, Megaplex 13, Weber State's Wildcat Theater, and the Children's Treehouse Museum.

For those of you who worked on LEMONADE, here is where it is listed: http://foursite.bside.com/?_view=_filmdetails&filmId=48304248

We've been preparing for a long time for the film fest and we're very excited to finall have it be here! We're finishing up the last minute details, of course, but all in all..we're very ready and very excited.

We hope that this can be something that people who enjoy any aspects of films will be drawn to! If you attend, you won't be disappointed! Check us out on myspace or on our website, www.foursitefilmfest.com

SEE YOU THERE!!!!

Here's our program and schedule
http://www.foursite filmfest. com/08program. pdf

This link will take you to youtube. It's a video that is a trailer with clips of all of the films.

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=VQG0TvfRGtQ

Lemonade stars Linda Eyring, who was cast in Corner of the Mind's Eye. Congratulations to all!

A3 Concept Art and Future Plans

2008-02-27T09:58:00.009-07:00

Here is some early concept art for Archangel Alpha. These were used in early funding pitches.

Alphas Attack

Old Friends Contemplate the War

Elena and the Sea of Glass

Alex's Apartment in Old Rodinia

Aaron has been busy working on his spec trailer, you can read all about his adventures here:

http://chancestudios.com/thechanceeffect/index.php/archangel-alpha-moves-into-production-sort-of/

As for Corner of the Mind's Eye... I've been giving this quite a bit of thought. COTME is essentially a road movie. Most of the action takes place in the desert, in small towns, a roadside diner, a hospital, a gas station... quite a bit of locations that require quite a bit of money to produce. That said, I am working on a script revision to help with a weak b-plot and I'd like to shoot a spec trailer to approach others for production funding. The necessary evil of it... but it's good- people will get paid, the sets will be insured (as they always should be) but the biggest thing is to pay the people at least a percentage and the rest is on deferment.

With that, I've been working on a brand new project that will not be hard to produce on a literal shoe-string budget. The cool thing is that I'm still working within the sci-fi genre. I'll talk more about that as the now 106 page script gets polished and I get the crew I've been talking to into place. I will mention that I've been collecting spaghetti jars for the past month for a very eerie and wild scene. Fun fun fun. I love this stuff!! Armed with my Canon HV-20, which takes AMAZING low light shots, I'm ready. I just gotta polish that script.

Well, that's it for now! More to come soon!!!

More Archangel Alpha Goodness

2008-02-19T09:52:00.002-07:00

I love Vimeo!

Archangel Alpha - Fillmore Intro from Juan Maestas on Vimeo.

Archangel Alpha - Fashionably Conscious from Juan Maestas on Vimeo.

Archangel Alpha - Bev's Ascent

2008-02-14T10:40:00.002-07:00

Our Fillmore, Utah location scouting trip last fall.

Archangel Alpha - Bev's Ascent from Juan Maestas on Vimeo.

Lostskies Website Update

2008-02-13T18:44:00.004-07:00

Lostskies.com has been re-designed! A couple of little bugs to iron out, but the new look is up. I've also signed up for a new Vimeo Account... I tested it with this clip that I animated a year ago.

Are you ready for Car Time? from Juan Maestas on Vimeo.

Storms in the Lost Skies

2008-01-28T18:27:00.001-07:00

Things have been quite turbulant lately- in a good way. I've managed to pick up quite a bit of subcontracted freelance doing corporate videos and storyboards. Can't say who or what... but it's been very hectic.

Here's a little visual treat as I was messing around with After Effects a month ago, trying to place matte paintings into existing footage. I used an old Public Domain movie... see if you can guess what movie it is:

Production Zoo

2007-11-18T15:06:00.001-07:00

I have been busy with two features- both as the art director. The first is Archangel Alpha. I prepared 56 storyboards for a trailer we shot a few weeks ago 3 hours south of Salt Lake City at Tabernacle Hill, a site of an ancient volcano. Then, I provided some artwork for the CG specialists to work off of. Conceptual Art has been going along: I will post some as soon as Archangel Alpha's website is officially launched.

In the Meantime, here are some stills from that shoot:

Slate- Take One!!

Talented Actress Nikki Meauvais

Nikki on set with Line Producer Trevor Hawkes, Director Aaron Martin, DP Jason Ball, & Gaffer Jeff Swindle.

Katherine Joan Taylor and Crew

Jason had to run up an uneven, unsteady embankment of loose volcanic ash and lava rocks with a 60 lb. Steady Cam!

Secondly, Bright Star Films has launched their site Bright Star Films which I assembled. Helen has been working around the clock with potential investors. I have no doubt her tenacity will bring it to fruition. I had done some key scenes and storyboards for the beginning of the film.

Corner of the Mind's Eye has, for all intents and purposes, been shelved until further notice.

The Finnegan's Commercial will be re-shot in two months. One of our main actors had moved away shortly after we shot the first location, and it's not likely we will be able to coincide his scheduled visits back to Salt Lake with our production schedule. However, Lost Skies has been in negotiations to use a production studio for the other half of it's shoot.

That's it in a nutshell. I'll be writing soon with more artwork, links and goodies!!

Archangel Alpha

2007-09-27T20:05:00.001-06:00

Archangel Alpha is a sci-fi war drama set on an alternate world undergoing an ice age. Filmmaker Aaron Martin of Chance Studios and I have been working to figure out the conceptual design of this world, and have brought on very talented artists to help flesh it out.

This is exciting, I have been meeting some very talented and focused people... and I feel priveleged to be a part of this team. The script is strong, most of the actors are in place, and Aaron has decided to film using the RED camera!

This is going to be huge. A trip to one of our locations in central Utah has been planned, so expect some BTS pics as I get them!

Slamdance Screenplay Competition Results

2007-08-26T11:04:00.001-06:00

"Corner of the Mind's Eye" has a lot of company in that 2000 screenplays did not make it into the quarter finals.

Slamdance Screenplay Competition Results

It's a bit of a let down, but it really does rely on the fact that the reader's taste fits the screenplay they are screening... or something less subjective like formatting and grammar. I didn't pay extra for coverage when I submitted it, so I guess I'll never know the reason why it didn't make the quarter finals unless I submit it again next year. However, there's plenty of other competitions and it has been a fantastic learning experience for me.

I want to thank all of you who wrote back and wished me luck and words of encouragement... it's always appreciated. I'm not giving up by a long shot, it's just given me more resolve to "get better" at what I need to do!

I came across this quote yesterday, and felt it to be very appropriate to my feelings:

"Not talent, not even education, nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence, determination and hard work make the difference." -Calvin Coolidge

I have a teleplay submitted in Slamdance's Teleplay Competition, and Slamdance has just opened up a horror screenplay competition... so it's not the end.

Juan

--
J.MaestasWriter/Director
"Corner of the Mind's Eye"
Lost Skies Productions
http://www.lostskies.com/

"Keeping it Fresh..."

2007-08-10T23:01:00.001-06:00

I got that line off of "Grounded for Life". I miss that show.

Although "Corner of the Mind's Eye" is in a state of hibernation, Lost Skies has been busy. As we speak, two feature length films are being assisted... and commercial work has been constant. The two films are "Archangel Alpha", directed by the talented filmmaker Aaron Martin, and "Two Sides of the Moon", produced by Helen Ferguson-Frichen. I think both will be extremely entertaining.

On the commercial front, package illustration has been done for Glowtrition International, for beauty product lines. To the left is a close up of of said illustrations. Digitally painted in Painter IX and Photoshop.

I've recently started a gallery at imaginefx.com, website to the best magazine I've ever read. I cannot say enough good things about it, it truly is that marvelous.

Although COTME is in hibernation, it's not dead in the water. It is currently in competition in the 2007 Slamdance Screenplay Competition. Semi-finalists are to be announced on the 20th of this month. Keep your fingers crossed!

Missed Opportunities

2007-06-07T10:58:00.001-06:00

It's frustrating when you discover a contest that has been going on for a while, only to catch it two weeks before the deadline (which was May 31st).

I have discovered a new forum: DVXuser.com- which I have found to be highly impressive. I've seen all sorts of independant filmmaking forums- some are pretentious, others are exclusive and demand you pay to even post anything and view some of their threads. Most often they are dominated by twenty or so users who post ten or fifteen times a day and ignore any new users.

DVXuser has a fantastic community of filmmakers- though as the name implies, production is video not film. Which is okay with me, I love film but it's far too expensive for a guy with a family and too many bills.

They have genre based festivals which seem to come out every six months or so, the last one being "Spy Fest". Spying of what ever sort was the prerequisite. Two of COTME's actors were in two different entries, unfortunately their productions didn't quite make the deadline... and these teams started clear back in the beginning of March). I feel like it's a missed opportunity because with COTME's main production on hold, I could have had reason to shoot a small prequel to it. It's such a strong concept, I think it could have had a chance.

There is a possibility of doing something, though- the Gloria Film Festival is holding a 7 day filmmakers challenge that starts on 7-7-07, and the short can be no longer than 7 minutes long (are you sensing a theme here?).

Well, in anycase, COTME is on hold. There are dozens of reasons which I will not go into here, but suffice to say, the script is currently in competition at Slamdance and I will submit it to other screenplay competitions as they are announced.

In the meantime, Todd and I have been working on Finnigan's, our shoot last Saturday went extremely well, but now I'm focusing on trying to produce the rest of the production ready in a couple of weeks. Jessie, one of the twins is getting married on the 16th (yay Jessie!) but she'll be available for the second shoot.

Lastly, I'm seriously considering purchasing a new DOF adapter to use with my little HD camera... I'll let you know how that goes.

Reel it in!

2007-06-02T19:45:00.002-06:00

Howdy! Long time no post.

Todd McGowan and I have began working together to produce short :30 spots in High Definition to showcase our abilities. To accomplish this, we've created an advertising campaign from scratch for a beer that we've decided to call Finnigan's Irish Stout. The mock-commercial would target males 21-45 who watch popular culture channels like MTV, VH1, Spike TV or sports programming... much like most beer commercials do.

Pre-production included the design of a beer label (which I did), and it's placement on a couple of empty beer bottles. Easy and fun enough!

I've enlisted many of my longtime friends: Robby Messer, Jaymi & Jessie Hampton, Mark Throckmorton. Todd and his wife Allison McGowan, and my wife Charlotte Maestas have been pulling our resources to gather props, equipment and locations to make this possible. Hopefully we can get a few more team members help with the production of our second shoot.

Our first shoot was earlier today, which was an apartment scene where our would-be beer drinking bachelors are watching poker on tv. We also shot the end of the spot where Robby answers the door to find the girl, or rather girls of his dreams delivering pizza. Here are some frame grabs from the apartment scene shoot:

The next shoot will take place in the next few weeks- I'm currently looking for a sound stage that can handle 13 actors and a small crew... it should be fun!

Although this is a reel-building exercise, I'm fully planning on using this for any background television filler for my feature length production "Corner of the Mind's Eye" (which I've entered into the Slamdance Screenwriter's Competition).

Meet John Aberly

2007-03-16T14:34:00.001-06:00

Walter Platz is more than a little excited about his role in Lost Skies Productions' Corner of the Mind's Eye. He began his acting career six years ago in a non-speaking role on the movie Just A Dream, a TV movie directed by Danny Glover. Since then, Walt has appeared in numerous feature movies, dozens of short films, as well as the national TV series' Touched By an Angel and Everwood. He was cast in Napoleon Dynamite and has also worked with its star John Heder on a few short films.

Walt has been the lead and had major supporting roles in numerous other feature films. His short films include several award winning works. He has also appeared in local commercials and industrial films. When Walt is not acting, he works as a local radio news anchor, a career he began more than 30 years ago.

Walt is playing the role of John Aberly, Joseph Crowfoot's once and future boss, and leader of a highly secretive arm of an undisclosed national intelligence agency. John is charged with bringing Crowfoot back to the agency they work for, for both the sake of national security and Crowfoot's own life- at any cost.

Lost Skies Productions is very excited to work with someone of Walt’s caliber, both on and off the set.

Big News from Lost Skies Productions

2007-03-15T19:28:00.001-06:00

The past few weeks have been turbulent as Corner of the Mind's Eye evolves.

Executive Producer Tracy Smith has green lit our little film from a 40 minute short to a two-hour Feature Length Movie. What does this mean?

Well, for the most part, the original short is surviving in plot... But more will be added, including 3 new major characters - the first is the main villain in his 40s, another is the villain's henchwoman- a middle aged woman in her 50s, and the last is Crowfoot’s ally- a young archaeologist in her late 20s-early 30s. We will have auditions on the next coming months for this.

Everything is going to be re-shot, with different locations and dialogue.

A new script has been written and Storyboards are being worked on. In essence, it's a brand new movie- Tracy told me "Just think of the stuff we did last year as a dry run." The experience was beneficial to everyone, so there was no waste.

More to come in the next few weeks, stay tuned!

J.Maestas
Writer/Director/Producer
“Corner of the Mind’s Eye”
Lost Skies Productions/Black Hawk Entertainment, Inc.
http://www.lostskies.com/

Cabin Fever!

2007-02-10T13:28:00.001-07:00

Well hello! Long time no see (or read, in this case).

It's been a long, cold winter... but as the spring thaw comes about, so does "Corner of the Mind's Eye". There are many fantastic things in the works, one of which is I'd like to welcome back Brett Stagg to the COTME production staff! Brett is a 3d artist/animator and will be supervising a few Visual Effects shots that he and I have been discussing at length. They will be short 3d animated segments that will add production value to the film.

There has also been discussion of lengthening the film...

In any case, we are hoping to release it this fall. More news to come in the next couple of weeks as we stretch our legs and get things going again!

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-23T09:20:00.001-07:00

Meet Nadine Crowfoot

2006-11-12T16:05:00.001-07:00

Allison McGowan loves to perform in any capacity and is excited about venturing into acting. She currently "performs" as a television technical director and was cast as the female lead in J. Maestas’ short film Love's Confession.

In Corner of the Mind’s Eye, Allison is Nadine Crowfoot- the deceased wife of Joseph Crowfoot. Joseph is consumed with the loss of his soul mate, and his obsession has blinded him to sinister designs that he should have otherwise foreseen.

Allison is married to Todd McGowan, and together are raising one cat.

Meet Frank Crowfoot

2006-10-15T21:35:00.002-06:00

Although Albert Huerta decided to pursue acting in his thirties, he had in fact been born an actor. Albert had always dreamed of acting, and was told by many that he should get into it. Watching others perform and boasting he could do that, his lovely wife made him put his money where his mouth was and signed him up for a local church play- and at that point Albert was hooked.

Auditions were rough and discouraging at first. After one particularly rocky one, he considered hanging up the gloves. He called his older brother, Buddy, to let him know he was through- and being the wiser older brother, Buddy refused to let him give up. “My brother, he’s my biggest fan.” Albert chides when asked.

All of Albert’s mentors are right. He has an incredible gift. “Now I am an official SAG Status Actor… I am so grateful I didn’t quit.” Albert continued, “All I can say about this experience is follow your dreams and never, I mean NEVER give up! Your ship will come in one day and you need to be ready for it. I love the fact that FILM will leave a forever legacy of an actor... big or small... but it does... Which in a way you become immortal. Through song, film , poetry, stories, one can leave their hand print through time. I guess that is why I love the the art of acting.”

Albert has played in many roles, but most recently he was an extra in Michael Landon, Jr.’s The Last Sin Eater, as a correctional officer in Disney’s Rugby: Strong Hold, and most recently had the supporting role of “Raul” in Ari Gold’s upcoming feature Adventures of Power.

Albert Huerta plays Frank, the older brother of Joseph Crowfoot in Lost Skies Productions/Black Hawk Entertainment’s film Corner of the Mind’s Eye.

Working it out

2006-09-21T13:22:00.001-06:00

Howdy Y’all!

My most sincere apologies for the lack of updates. I have good reason- it has been incredibly busy for both Tracy and me.

Tracy and I are to meet tomorrow to go over the new schedule. My hopes are to at least have one outdoor scene shot by the end of October, and many of the indoor scenes shot during the winter months. Any scene with major fight choreography will most likely be shot in Spring (the diner and the hotel). That’s the strategy, and the meeting will determine solid dates.

Thank you all for hanging in there. It will be worth it. I have mentioned before, I have seen the footage from the previous shoots and the photographic quality is staggering. I will try to get a sample to post so you can compare the difference.

In the meantime, the wonderful Darcy Matthews has been working on beadwork for Crowfoot’s costume (above left). She should have it finished up soon. Laron and Katherine have been rehearsing one of their scenes together, and we've been looking for a cool early '70's red restored muscle car and planning on how to shoot a driving car interior scene.

In anycase, thank you for hanging in there. I really appreciate your patience- it will be earned, I promise!!!

J.Maestas
Writer/Director "Corner of the Mind's Eye"
Lost Skies Productions/Black Hawk Entertainment, Inc.
www.lostskies.com

Working Towards Perfection

2006-09-11T18:29:00.001-06:00

Rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals.

Laron and Katherine had met to rehearse a very pivotal scene - the introduction of Chloe - on their own at a park during the middle of the week, and then I met with them again at Black Hawk Studios on Saturday Morning to rehearse some more! We worked out timing, and our Executive Producer, Tracy Smith was on hand and helped finesse attitude of the characters much to my appreciation.

A new production schedule should be out this week.

Gearing Up for High Gear in High Country

2006-09-02T20:12:00.003-06:00

Today at Black Hawk Entertainment, Inc. Studios was the first time that Corner of the Mind’s Eye lead actors Laron Wilson who plays Joseph Crowfoot, and Katherine Joan Taylor who plays Chloe Saddler, actually got to work together. The scenes sizzled.

We started today's rehearsal at 8:00am with supporting actor Chris Harvey in the Diner hold up scene… Chris was convincing as a startled thug holding a screaming Chloe and dealing with the heroic Crowfoot. We worked on the dramatic tension and Crowfoot’s demeanor. We did not pull any stunts, though, without our stunt coordinator there… but it was all the stuff in between. I was running late this morning and forgot the props, but we substituted with remotes and phones, as you can see Chris menacingly threatening to turn Laron off permanently.

After that, we went out to the studio’s backlot. Chris helped with lines as I ran the Canon XL-1 to capture their performance of the scene that immediately follows the diner hold up. Chloe tries to convince Crowfoot to let her tag along.

Although I’ve been told that script directing (meaning writing in notes of how the characters should act at a certain point in a scene) is frowned upon by many “professionals” … I have found that it really helps staging a scene and reminding me of the tempo and heat of the scene. It was great fun and Chris came up with some fantastic suggestions that helped augment the relative fun and quirkiness of the scene.

What fantastic chemistry Laron and Katherine have. I can’t wait to see this scene come together when we head out to the Diner location in the beautiful Uinta Mountains on the Utah-Wyoming border in a few weeks. If we hit it right, we might just get some outragious fall colors.

We will have more rehearsals in the coming weeks to keep the juices flowing. We’re doing good.

J.Maestas
Writer/Director “Corner of the Mind’s Eye”
Lost Skies Productions/Black Hawk Entertainment, Inc.
www.lostskies.com

Downshifting to Second

2006-08-31T14:35:00.001-06:00

Someone once told me that I use a lot of car-analogies. I find that they help explain abstracts to a confusing idea- like taking that slow turn so you don't spin out of control. I slipped that one in on purpose.

In anycase, the production goes on. This weekend, originally scheduled for a night shoot on a motel parking lot, is being used for some rehearsal time with our two leads, Laron and Katherine and a supporting actor, Chris Harvey. There are a few dramatic elements that I wanted to address in two totally different situations, plus it will be fun working with the actors to flesh out their characters. I'm excited, and I'm sure they are too.

An old friend of mine (who is a graphic design professor at a local college) asked if it would be okay for his students to design a poster/dvd/logo for our movie. He told me I didn't need to use any of it if I didn't want, but I said "Hey, you never know what some of these students can do!" I am covered on the graphic design end (being a professional and all), I'm not stingy- if somebody comes up with something that will knock my socks off, I'll probably use it. It's always great for a beginner's portfolio anyway. He had referred our fantastic Jennie Finlayson... so I always trust Josh.

Well, lots of work ahead. More as it comes in!

J.Maestas
Writer/Director "Corner of the Mind's Eye"
Lost Skies Productions/Black Hawk Entertainment, Inc.
www.lostskies.com

Lock and Reload

2006-08-29T08:16:00.001-06:00

Since production is idoling (I hesitate to say "on-hold" because we are still getting shot elements together and earning money to shoot it- it may be volunteer but it still costs money to do these things), I've taken advantage of the cancelled dates to start writing again.

Many artists call it "filling up the well". There's a tendency for your imagination to build up a tunnel vision when you become focused on one thing for too long, that when you need to shift gears you stall out. I have been wanting to finish Corner of the Mind's Eye's script to a feature length version for some time, but I became heavily involved in pre-production of the short for months on end. Now, while injuries heal and non-COTME obligations are fulfilled, I have began exploring where the main character will go as his whole perception of the world unravels before his eyes... and it ain't pretty.

New characters, locations and plotlines emerge weaving a sinister web of conspiracy and mystery. Crowfoot has become the linchpin- and by unwittingly pulling himself out of the structure both sides of the conspiracy panic as all they have worked for begins to crumble.

Meanwhile, in the real-world, we've taken a strategic retreat to regroup. I realize I am being vague about "injuries" and "obligations" but really, it's to protect the privacy of those involved. No one needs to know the personal business of others, right? It is frustrating, I admit, but hey, like John Lennon said in his song "Beautiful Boy" - "life happens while you're making other plans" (I probably mangled the song title and the verse, but you get the point).

What some call obsticles, I prefer to call challenges. I like challenges, it makes things interesting. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it, and it's the challenge that makes it great. It's the challenge that makes everyone involved great. It's the challenge that will show on screen as passion for the art, and THAT is what will make this film truely great.

I know this- deep, deep down in the marrow of my bones.

So, what's the point to all this rhetoric? Well, it's the great big question of "How long is the wait?" The short answer is two-fold; soon before the cold sets in (like within a month), OR if we miss that mark, next spring.

The long answer is no one wants to have their name on something that turns out like crap because it is rushed. I know that when I rush an illustration, it looks like crap. When I rush a script, it's confusing and boring. It really is the old axiom: Fast, good or cheap- pick two. Well, we have no money and it HAS to be good... so there you go.

In the meantime, like an insomniac, take advantage of your sleeplessness seeing it as an opportunity to catch up on your reading and refill the well.

J.Maestas
Writer/Director "Corner of the Mind's Eye"
Lost Skies Productions/Black Hawk Entertainment, Inc.
www.lostskies.com

Production Week Three: Bring a Psychic to Work Day

2006-08-20T13:53:00.002-06:00

Holy Cow! What an intense day. I was on set for 11 1/2 hours- from set up to tear down.

The talent here in Utah is incredible, and I mean cast and crew.

We shot the entire day at KTVX news studios on the second floor. I owe an extremely large THANK YOU to General Manager David D'Antuono, whose generosity in letting us use the KTVX studio for these scenes will give Corner of the Mind's Eye a very high production value. Once the film is finished, we hope to show Corner of the Mind's Eye on their public access station "The Hive TV". To the left, we can see Doug Guibord, Don Spainhower and Lisa Briggs on set in the “Senator’s Office.” A bit of behind the scenes, here: Don was one of the first Television Anchors and Reporters here in Utah back in the 60’s. His stately manner was perfect for “the man pulling all the strings“.

A huge thanks to Doug Guibord and Lisa Briggs for sticking around and helping with crew duties. Doug is one of the premier fencing artists in the state, and Lisa’s enthusiasm for filmmaking really brought the energy level up on the scenes.

A huge thanks to Chinyere Interational for sending a few of their highly talented people: Kosuke Aoki, Christina Cooper and Gregory Augustin. They are are very talented and we expect them to go far in the entertainment field.

Thank you to Nikki Moe, Kelly Hiatt, Yolanda Arrey, Jessie & Jaymi Hampton for their involvement, patience, talent and grace. We had a lot of fun and Tracy even had twins Jaymi and Jessie Hampton play a trick on me by shouting "we'll be your Huckleberry Girls" in unison as Crowfoot strode past them during the office scene. It was funny... but paybacks, Tracy... paybacks... ;)

All were patient and excited, and their responded well to staging the scene and hit all their marks, and played up on any improved stuff we did.

Then there’s Walter Platz and Laron Wilson. Walt and Laron came in the night before to shoot some “secret monitor” video (as you can see in the senator’s monitor here as 1st AD Todd McGowan dresses the set) and rehearsed a very dramatic scene between Crowfoot and his boss Aberly. The heat he got out of that scene, which we shot in HD yesterday, was very dramatic. Their lines were mouthfuls, but they strode through it with power and intensity. We had some explosive scenes with Walt throwing his weight around, and I even offered him a doughnut for his efforts : ) (Tracy about lost it when I offered him one, though it was meant innocent enough). Walt is a great talent, and you can hear him as a radio announcer on Saturday mornings. Walt and Laron have another scene that needs to be shot in the near future. Laron rocked as usual.

The crew, what can I say. These are my peeps. What a great bunch, I have such an affinity for all of them. Allison McGowan came on set and was instrumental as my personal assistant, taking my calls and corralling cast and crew members, and even gaffing in one of our more complicated dolly-shot scenes. Todd McGowan- the locomotive, or is he motivated-loco? He’s great and tireless. Jennie Finlayson was first after me on set and of course was fantastic in everything I asked her to do. Matt Hamblin- willing to get his hands dirty and definitely helped out with some of the graphic needs that needed to be done, gripping, lights, and everything in between.

Special thanks to Wade Francom who came in and did a fun steadi-cam shot for us. I’ve worked with Wade before on pre-production for American Junkie. Also a huge thanks to Sandi Raines who helped with getting the agent’s badges put together.

Then there’s the one and only Tracy Smith- watching him work the JVC-HD camera is like watching a concert violinist play a concerto. It’s some of the coolest stuff I’ve ever seen.

And then there’s my wife Charlotte, again, being patient with my unavailability during these shoots- feeding us and just being the doll she is.

Due to a non-film related injury for one of our lead actors and work schedules of some of our crew, production is on hold until Tracy and I can come up with a new plan of attack. We still want to wrap production no later than the first of November. With that, next week's Diner Scene has been postponed until further notice.

Many of our elements and resources are coming together, however. I have secured an RV for a travelling "homebase" for cast and crew services when we're out on location. It’s older, but it has been rebuilt inside and out and looks as good as it did the day it rolled out the factory. Tracy and Brian have secured the JVC HD camera for the rest of production. We're facing challenges, but we're meeting them head on.

Get ready, ‘cause here we come.

J.Maestas
Writer/Director “Corner of the Mind’s Eye”
Lost Skies Productions / Black Hawk Entertainement, Inc.
www.lostskies.com

Production Week Two: A day at the Crowfoot's

2006-08-05T20:35:00.001-06:00

Wow. All I can say is wow. I will get to why in a minute.

We covered quite a bit of unusual set ups today. Crowfoot is a widower, so we needed to generate memories today through home video. The actors improv-ed all the home video footage and actually handled the camera themselves.

With that, we had 2 set ups at the park with Allison McGowan (Nadine Crowfoot) and Laron Wilson (Joseph Crowfoot), and 2 at “Frank & Rosie’s” house. Here we see (from the left) Kayla Maestas (Kayla Crowfoot), Niki Pace (Rosie Crowfoot) and Allison McGowan enjoying a break during set prep for the upcoming night scenes.

After lunch, two of the scenes were night scenes, so we draped off the windows. The scenes were far more formal since they were scripted. As you can see by the pictures, no easy feat! Brian Gerber, from One World Media Productions played spider-man by draping off this kitchen window which is a good 15 feet up. Helping him was our 1st AD Todd McGowan, making sure he didn’t fall (folks, don’t try this at home!). Looking on was Corinne Maestas, the director’s (my) daughter - who is one of Joseph Crowfoot‘s four nieces.

Laron Wilson and Albert Huerta (Frank Crowfoot) playing brothers, rehearse their lines, and the scene was extremely tender. The temp today was in the high ninety’s, and we had no real ventilation with the windows being taped off and we had to keep the air-conditioning off because of sound. So everyone was so professional and really pushed it beyond any limit we could have hoped for.

Amazing day. The children were fantastic and very natural. The actors, what can I say… with the quality of performance I’ve seen, we’re on our way to a very great movie. Plus, it was fun. Extremely fun.

Thank you to everyone who has come out- Haley Pardo (Haley Crowfoot), and her mother Heather Taylor- what fantastic people. Haley is quite talented, so don’t be surprised to see her become famous some day, and Heather pitched right in to help with so much of the behind the scenes stuff and for toughing out the rough scenes. Quite extraordinary to be sure.

Thank you to Allison McGowan for her charm, wit and inventiveness, Katherine Joan Taylor for her flair and complete immersion into her role, Niki Pace for her gracefulness and incredible sense of timing, Albert Huerta for his tender-heartedness and the ability to bring forth an empathy like no other, Laron Wilson for his utmost professionalism - man you rock!, my three daughters Kayla, Corinne and Sarah, who amazed everyone with how natural they were and how willing they were to take direction and have fun with the long day.

A great big huge thanks to the crew- Tracy Smith for his steady experience and guiding hand, Brian Gerber for his ingenuity and daring-do (and for using his head- literally- see right), Todd McGowan for his humorous tenacity and willingness to do the dirty jobs, Jennie Finlayson for her enthusiasm and willingness to do the mundane jobs, and last, and certainly not least, my wife Charlotte Maestas for feeding the crew, baby-wrangling, set-prep and putting up with me :) and she did this all with only four hours of sleep.

And with that, wow.

We had a scheduling change, so there will be no shoot next week. Our next shoot is the office scene on August 19th.

J.Maestas
Writer/Director "Corner of the Mind's Eye"
Lost Skies Productions/Black Hawk Entertainment
http://www.lostskies.com

Meet Chloe Saddler

2006-08-01T19:59:00.002-06:00

Katherine Joan Taylor couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of Lost Skies Productions’ Corner of the Mind's Eye. She has been acting since she was nine years old, but only recently discovered her love of working on camera.

Her recent film credits include Roommates Rule for Canopus Films in New York City, and Dream Castle with Igloo Productions in Chicago. Other favorite roles include: “Lulu” in Theatre X’s The First Lulu and “Everyman” in an all-female cast of Everyman that was performed in Shanghai, China. It was the first time Everyman, a medieval morality play, was ever performed in China.

In Corner of the Mind's Eye, Katherine will be playing "Chloe Saddler", intrepid tabloid reporter who befriends Joseph Crowfoot after he rescues her from a vicious armed robbery in a roadside diner.

Katherine's interests include cooking, hiking, running, shooting big and small guns at paper targets, learning new things, and playing with her dogs, Petunia the Chihuahua and Bear the Rottweiler.

Production Week One

2006-07-28T19:44:00.001-06:00

There have been so many small details that have come to the forefront this week... everything from art directing costume jewelry created by the talented Darcy Matthews to beginning stunt choreography with the two leads Laron Wilson and Katherine Joan Taylor, to calling on permits for the various locations that we are shooting throughout the state... to even securing an RV to use on the locations that will be shot out of the county.

Tomorrow is the first of seven Saturdays of film production. We've already had a few bumps in the schedule, but we're still in great shape.

Executive Producer Tracy Smith is now our new Director of Photography. He may share DOP duties with his brother and crew member Shane Smith and 1st Assistant Director Todd McGowan. This trio of talent will certainly bring a unique polish to the film.

On a personal note: I am so impressed with the professionalism I have encountered with the actors and crew. I can hardly contain my excitement to work with everyone on set. I won't have to wait long, because those days are coming up rather quickly.

Here we go!

J.Maestas
Writer/Director "Corner of the Mind's Eye"
Lost Skies Productions/Black Hawk Entertainment, Inc.
http://www.lostskies.com

UPDATE: The shoot was simple, but fun. A great big thank you to the Moncur Family- Matt, Melanie, and their three adorable kids. Both Matt and Melanie are childhood friends of mine, and it was fun to be able to include them in to this, which was literally a childhood fantasy Matt and I had- practicing to make movies during summertime backyard sleep-overs. You guys were great!!!

Upward and Onward

2006-07-10T18:50:00.001-06:00

The production meeting was a success. We were extremely happy with everyone's enthusiasm for the film and eagerness to get started.

This is the calm before the storm. The next few weeks are devoted to cinching up details and finessing production plans.

Here we go!

Production Update for 6-24-06

2006-06-24T15:24:00.001-06:00

Three of our major scenes locations have been confirmed, a fourth location (for the largest scene) is in negotiations. A Production Schedule has been hammered out and will be distributed by email to cast and crew within a week.

Make-up tests and costume fittings are in the works for the lead characters.

Final Call-Backs for "Crowfoot" being planned. Details forthcoming.

And again, more more more production design!

Totally went to his head

2006-06-23T09:08:00.001-06:00

We just received word that our Director of Photography Brett Stagg won the Gold Award for Promotional Animation at ProMax International! Congratulations Brett!

Cast Announced

2006-06-19T20:05:00.001-06:00

Again, thank you to everyone who came to the auditions. We saw over 60 people, all very talented. We are still auditioning for Joseph Crowfoot.

Listed below is the rest of the starring cast:
Crowfoot.......(auditioning)
Chloe.............Katherine Joan Taylor
Aberly...........Walter Platz
Nadine..........Allison McGowan
Frank............Albert Huerta
Smith............Doug Guibord

We will speak to the cast and crew directly, so this blog will be used for production updates from here on out. Thank you for all your interest and stay tuned for fun snippits of our filmmaking venture!

J.Maestas
Writer/Director "Corner of the Mind's Eye"
Black Hawk Entertainment
http://www.lostskies.com

Casting and Pre-Production

2006-06-16T20:35:00.001-06:00

Thank you to everyone who has auditioned. We are currently calling those we have cast into roles. The final cast will be announced soon.

Congratulations to Todd McGowan. Todd has just received a promotion from Production Assistant to the 1st Assistant Director for "Corner of the Mind's Eye".

A stunt choreographer has been found, costumes are being designed and put together, and we have a verbal agreement on our first major location.

It's been a very busy week!

Script Polishing and Casting

2006-06-11T18:38:00.001-06:00

Hello all!

Life took over this week with other obligations. However, we have been reviewing tapes over, and over, and over again. We've whittled it down and are getting close to the final casting. I mentioned to everyone that it will be a few weeks, and we're half way through that :)

In the mean time, the script is being polished and scenes have been extended. More drama and more stunts. Some previous smaller non-speaking roles have gained some lines.

A quick reminder: We will have a large production meeting once everyone is cast. We have yet to schedule the date but it will tentatively be July 8th. Location to be determined.

Thanks for braving the Marathon!

2006-06-03T16:51:00.001-06:00

Thank you for braving the marathon and making the effort to get to the auditions. Had I known that it was going to be as harrowing as it was, we would have done it on a different day.

We were extremely impressed with the Call Backs today. I thought we had a hard decision before... unbelievable!

We will be making a final casting decision within the next few weeks. A large production meeting for cast and crew will be held next month, where we will be taking care of paperwork and overview locations, costumes, stunt choreography and rehearsals.

In the meantime, feel free to check back as we post production updates on the other aspects of the film. We're shifting it from second to third gear, folks... this is where the fun begins!

Again, as always if you have comments, questions or concerns, please contact casting@lostskies.com.

Call Backs / Casting Call For June 3rd

2006-05-30T19:03:00.001-06:00

BLACK HAWK ENTERTAINMENT
CALL BACKS FOR “CORNER OF THE MIND’S EYE”

Call Backs for "Corner of the Mind's Eye" will be held at Salt Lake City Public Library on Saturday, June 3rd from 9am to 1pm. Downstairs, Conference Room "C".

Please come prepared with your sides memorized.

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BLACK HAWK ENTERTAINMENT
CASTING CALL FOR “CORNER OF THE MIND’S EYE”

Logline: When a Navajo Shaman working for a secret Government spy ring goes AWOL after having a vision of his family being brutally murdered, he begins to find out who his real enemies are.

This is a NON-UNION, NON-PAYING production. We are looking for Student, Community Theater and Amateur actors who are looking for experience on a film set.

Project Type: Short Film
Locations: Northern Utah (Salt Lake, Tooele, Wasatch, Weber Counties)
Rate/Pay: None.
Audition Date: Saturday, June 3rd, 2006. 9am to 1pm.
Audition Location:
Salt Lake City Public Library
210 E. 400 S.
Conference Room "C" (Lower Level Meeting Rooms)
Paid Parking entrance located on 400 South, Parking fees will not be reimbursed)
If you cannot find the meeting room, ask the librarian at the information desk.
Shoot Dates: Tentatively August Weekends, Weeknights.

Available Roles:

Crowfoot (male, 25-40, Native American or Hispanic): Smart, tormented widower. Sharp but understated wit. Can be ferocious when backed into a corner. Physically Fit.

Frank (Male, 35-45 Native American or Hispanic): Crowfoot’s Brother. Blue Collar, a bit grizzled. Loud, funny, but caring.

Adults ages 18-80, both male and female for several small speaking and non-speaking parts.

Background extras ages 10-80. No speaking parts.

Preparing for the Audition:

Please have a short (2 minute or under) Monologue prepared.
Headshots are appreciated, we will also have a camera on site.
Due to library policy, there will be no seating outside the meeting room.
A sign up table will be available and auditions will be taken in the order of sign up and presence.
If the sign in assistant calls your name and you are not present, the next person in line will be
called in, but your name will be called each time.
Be aware that the auditions will be video taped for later review.
Background Extras need only to bring a headshot and fill out an audition form.

Children auditioning under the age of 18 MUST be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
You can email inquiries to casting@lostskies.com

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BLACK HAWK ENTERTAINMENT
CREW CALL FOR “CORNER OF THE MIND’S EYE”

Costume Designer/Tailor
Preferably an advanced student wanting exposure and experience. Professionals also welcome. Non-Paid. However, Lost Skies will cover the cost of materials. Email inquiries here.

Behind the Scenes

2006-05-26T22:55:00.001-06:00

We've been burning the midnight oil, so to speak.

PROP WORK: Did you know it's a nono to use name brand products on screen without approval? Something about copyright infringement. So, take a look at Lost Skies brand of beer- Tijuana Ale! Mmmm mmmm! Fake beer never tasted so good.
AUDITIONS: We are currently negotiating Audition and Rehearsal space. Auditions will still be held on June 3rd. The location will be announced soon!
CREW: Get to know the crew. "Crew Offices" have been set up to showcase their talent and experience.
STAFF POSITION: Costume Designer/Tailor wanted, preferably an advanced student wanting exposure and experience. Professionals also welcome. Non-Paid. However, Lost Skies will cover the cost of materials. Email inquiries here.

It went to his head

2006-05-25T12:12:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to "Corner of the Mind's Eye" Director of Photography Brett Stagg for winning the prestigious PROMAX International Award for Broadcast Television Station: Non-Promotional Animation. PROMAX 2006 Conference is June 20-22.

Not really sure if we're letting the cat out of the bag, but this is good stuff.