Wait Five Minutes

Don’t like the weather in Chicago? Wait five minutes.

I know several cities use that same joke. I’d say it’s true in a lot of places. But Chicago is odd. There is no real consistency. I’ve lived here for 24 years and it’s been the same way. One year is different than the next. And June is always an odd month. Today is June 11th and it’s cold and rainy. But tomorrow could be hot and sunny.

My point about the weather isn’t about ranting about it. Well, maybe a little. I have decided to push back the additional shooting until next month. Mainly because there is more consitency in the weather. Worse case scenario is I have to deal with rain. So July will be a very busy month. What it does give me though is time to go through and really make sure I know everything I want to shoot still. Also, it’s giving me more time to work on the visual effects as I posted previously. While a lot still needs to be done it is opening up possibilities. I also am rethinking some of the color ideas for the it when it comes to color correction. Of course music is playing a key part. The scenes that are basically done, outside of sound effects and color correction, will be scored sooner than later.

Also, there is a short film I may be shooting soon at the old police station I shot part of ‘Distortion’ at. More details on that coming soon.

No Small Effect

Lately I’ve been planning for the additional shooting for ‘Distortion’ but also playing with music and with visual effects. As I mentioned in a previous post I am going to be getting a very cool particle generator for After Effects to help with some of the visual effects for the film. But other effects are not so intensive but no less important.

Here’s a good example of me not wanting to get into trouble but a different kind of trouble followed. When I was in film school my friend Joe made a film which was a big chase scene. I was the chaser and wore a long coat and had a water pistol. Someone not realizing what we were doing called the police and three cop cars pulled up. This was the summer of 1993. Different time. Different world. During the summer of 2008 I wasn’t about to take the chance of any one of us getting into trouble. For the film I used an air soft BB gun. It looks real and even operates in a very real manner which is awesome for a low budget film. But for legal purposes they are made with an orange tip so that it cannot be mistaken for a real gun. In Illinois, or Chicago specifically, they’re not fans of these guns either. To avoid any possible issue I decided to not paint over the orange tip and find someway to color it out in post. Unfortunately that means I do have to go frame by frame. Luckily the fun is only in two scenes but still quite a lot to do. Here is a rough test for it.

Raw camera footage.

The orange tip has been recolored and then image is color corrected and matted.

Another effect in the film is an eye glow. A typical effect but I wanted to try and do it in a cool way. Not have it look cheesy. While it’s hard to tell from the still the glow does pulsate and have inner movement. While still a rough test I was pretty happy so far.

Raw camera footage.

Rough test. Eyes were motion tracked and the red glow added. Plus color corrected and widescreen matte added.

More stuff coming soon.

That’s My Name

While I get ready for the remaining things to shoot for ‘Distortion’ I am also in the process of looking for more work. A key to that is having a reel. In this line of work a reel is more important than anything else. Doesn’t matter where you went to school or what is on your resume. It all comes down to how much someone likes your reel. I try and always keep my reel within reason. It’s easy to take something I was marginally involved with and slap it on there. My feeling is if it’s not something I can do or duplicate then I don’t put it on there. And everything in my reel I was involved with. Either I shot it or edited it. Or both.

One thing I wanted for my reel was a new end plate. Basically an effect with my name. Also a good way to show off some After Effects skills. Since it’s summer and the summer movie season is here I decided to go with something a little bit more … flashy. As a friend put it,”Michael Bay presents Richard Diaz.”

I did this in a few hours the other day. The sparks worked really well. I think they’ll look better once I get Particular. I used Particle World inside After Effects and I liked it. It’s just Particular gives you more options for the particles. Or sparks in this effect. The plug in Twitch from VideoCoPilot.net came in handy. I thought it was done but I wanted something else. So I added Twitch and chose the brightness option which gave it that pulsating light as if the sparks are being created above. For me it just brought the whole thing to life.

Gearing up for more ‘Distortion’ stuff in a bit. Stay tuned!

Distortion On Elm St.

On a very cool note.

I got a message from James Zahn about an article he did on the new ‘Nightmare On Elm St.’ remake shooting in the area for Fangoria. They are shooting something at the old Church in Gary, IN. The same one we shot some of ‘Macbeth’ at during the summer of 2007 and where I shot a scene for Distortion last summer. James needed a picture which I had plenty so he used one for the article and gave me a mention. I could not be more thrilled. This was such a nice surprise. It really made my week.

http://fangoria.com/features/nightmare-on-elm-street/2563-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-shooting-in-gary-indiana-tonight.html

A few stills from the scene in ‘Distortion’.

Still from the scene in the old Church.

Another shot from the scene in the old Church.

Don’t Break The Plate

A small update today.

Last week I shot some background plates for some visual effects shots that will be added to the film. I keep forgetting that some of the things I do may not make sense to other people without explanations. I was asked what I was doing and my response was,”I’m shooting some plates.” Well, needless to say the reaction is one of confusion.

There is much to be shot this summer for the film. Most of it is very simple establishing shots and POV shots like from a car. But there are a few effects sequences that need to be shot plus two “visions” which will involve actors. Plus some reaction shots of people in the street. I’m hoping to get a lot of friends in there for cameos for those shots. A lot of post production will be done as well going from visual effects to additional editing to music and sound effects. The music I already have sort of figured out. That will take a lot of time because music can make or break a movie. The visual effects will take time but are sort of on hold for a bit. One key element I need for some of the effects is a powerful particle generator. One great one for After Effects is called Particular from Trapcode. The second version of it is do out this summer. Not sure on everything that will be updated but it’s worth waiting for.

One thing I also need to shoot is of a newscast. The more I thought about it I think it may be where my little cameo comes in. I have a few ideas how to make it a little fun. Details for that though will have to wait.

Still much to do but it should be a fun time. And once it’s done expect a new trailer to really show off the final film.

That Is One Damn Fine Coat You’re Wearing

A little update. I know I haven’t posted anything in awhile. As we get closer to May I will be planning the additional stuff to be shot for ‘Distortion’. One thing will be some extra things I am adding to the ending. As I said before, since I wasn’t able to shoot the infamous chase scene the ending felt very anti-climactic. I tried to think of something I could do. Since most of my lead actors no longer live in Chicago shooting extra bits with them is not an option. But instead I came up with something I can add to the ending that will happen during the ending. It will be a bit CGI heavy which worries me a little as bad CGI can take you out of a film so I need to be careful. However, if it works then I think it’ll really be very cool and make it feel slightly more epic too.

On a side note, as is evident in the behind the scenes pictures (luckily I’m not in too many of them)  I am much heavier than I was when I started this whole thing. I did put on a lot of weight over the last year and a half. I had reached my breaking point not only with how I felt about myself but also from medical issues that were arising so I went on a long overdo diet. After one week I am two and a half pounds lighter. I’m hoping by Memorial Day I’ll be around 10 pounds lighter. So by the time the film is done in the fall maybe I’ll be at my ideal weight.

And if anyone is wondering what the title of the post means it’s a line from Sin City. I got the Blu-ray of it yesterday and watched it last night. The transfer is amazing. I hadn’t seen the film in over a year and had forgotten how great it is. Highly recommended.

No One Likes A Thankless Job

A little side thing today.

90 Day Delinquents is doing the very first shadowcast of REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA on April 10 at The Music Box Theatre here in Chicago at midnight. Being a huge fan of REPO! I offered my help in promoting so I did a video for them to use. Unfortunately work and a few other things made me take a lot longer to do it but I was able to get it done in time with two weeks to spare. Here it is:

Be there if you can. It’ll be a lot of fun.

As far as the film goes I will be having some more updates soon. Just had some other things to do but I will be back in full DISTORTION mode soon.

New Trailer and the Weekend Of Horrors

The first full trailer for ‘Distortion’ premiered last weekend at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors. They were nice enough to not only include the trailer in their lineup but to show it all three days of the convention. And on top of that I was brought up to introduce it. I was not ready the first day but Saturday and Sunday I think I did a decent job. I don’t get that nervous in front of crowds anymore so it wasn’t that. I just wasn’t expecting it on Friday. More like being caught with my pants down. Luckily they weren’t.

On top of that the trailer is posted on the Fangoria website with a very nice piece. Big thanks to Tony Timpone and James Zahn. This was quite something to actually see something I did between those two giant Fangoria banners at a Weekend of Horrors. A long way since I went to my first Fangoria convention back in 1991.

Here’s the piece on the Fangoria website:

http://www.fangoria.com/events/weekend-of-horrors/woh-updates/82-chicago/1647-woh-chicago-distortion-trailer.html

The trailer you can see in Quicktime on the ‘Distortion’ website or by checking out the YouTube version below. Be sure to click the HD tab.

On top of all of the amazing people I got to meet at the convention it was really a pleasure to meet actor Tom Towles who first freaked me out playing Otis in ‘Henry:Portrait of a Serial Killer’. I’ve been a fan ever since so it was great to meet him. I gave him a copy of the trailer as a pledge on my end that whenever I have the means I would love to work with him. That day can’t get here soon enough.

Richard with Tom Towles.

I’ve met George A. Romero four times in my life. He is one of the filmmakers who inspired me to make movies so each time has been something special. This past time though I was able to clearly articulate that and also gave him a copy of my trailer letting him know it was because of him I was able to make the film. In one of those moments where your heart stops for a beat when he asked if my contact information was on there. Now, I doubt I would hear from him but the fact that he took a moment to check was something so amazing I cannot possibly describe it. I had he and Tom Savini sign my original poster for ‘Martin’. An amazing film that you should see if you haven’t.

An incredible weekend and one that I will remember forever. Except for the headache I got on Saturday. Lousy headache.

Need More Coffee

I know I haven’t posted in awhile but I have been working on different things. I had some work come up and some favors I needed to deliver on. I’m also working on a new reel. I realized my last one was from almost three years ago and doesn’t feature any of the HD work I’ve done. Between the Loyola shoots and the film I knew I needed to do a new reel.

‘Distortion’ is in its second cut. A few tweaks here and there. Also I am working on the ending. Soon I will be starting on some of the visual effects and start planning the remaining things that need to be shot. Considering it just snowed here those won’t be for a few more months. I’ll also be starting work on the music. That will make a huge difference. One scene specifically I want to recut without the temp music and instead think of a completely different approach to how it should be.

This weekend the second trailer for ‘Distortion’ will be premiering at Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors here in Chicago. Not sure if it’ll be shown all three days in the trailer line up but even if it’s only shown once that will be great. I can’t wait for this weekend. Should be a fun time but to actually be there this time with the film to talk about will be amazing. I will be posting it online after the weekend. I’m also going to try and get it posted on Fangoria’s website along the teaser. But at the very least it will be online for people to see on You Tube, MySpace, and of course at distortionmovie.com.

I’m not sure what the future holds. I’m not sure what the film will do for me. Either way I won’t let it stop. I have two new ideas for films if I need to make another one in the same way I made ‘Distortion’. Whatever lies ahead I’ll be ready.

Now On IMDb

‘Distortion’ is now officially on the Internet Movie Database which you can see here. I was hoping they would add it but it can be hard to prove your film actually exists before it’s shown somewhere. This is a huge plus for the film as when you start talking about your film to people one of the first things they do is go look on IMDb about you and the film. There is a lot of information that isn’t there but I think it’s an ongoing thing. Right now it’s just basic information so hopefully some of the extra things can be added but I am just so thrilled to have it on there.

The trailer was shipped out and should arrive at the Fangoria offices this week. Not sure on the process but I should know within the next few weeks if it’ll be in the trailer line up at the Weekend of Horrors in March. That will be the first time anything of the film will be before an audience so it’s both exciting and nerveracking. I have this dreadful feeling the trailer will end and there will be either utter silence or the echoing clapping from the three friends that will be there as everyone else just sits there.

Right now I’m working on some work related projects and am already getting ieas for the second cut of the film which I want to do very soon. I have some ideas on how to add some spice to the ending which needs it. Then it’ll be onto the music which I’m looking forward to.