8 days of pre-production left and we have our adult cast

10 actors, 3 locations, 3 days filming, a crew over over 15 and no budget. Must be mad!

I’m incredibly pleased to reveal the names and faces of our five adult actors for That Day. Leoni Kibbey, yet again, has done a fantastic job in finding a very high callibre of talent for this film.

HOLLY MATTHEWS
An incredibly talented actor with a very impressive CV. Holly has many years experience working on some of the biggest TV shows in the UK, and was also a pop star in the mid-2000′s after being signed to Sony UK (as Summer Matthews). On TV, Holly has been a familiar face in programs like Byker Grove, for which she was a lead character for 7 years. Holly has also had regular roles in shows like waterloo Road, The Bill, Doctors, Criminal Justice 2 and BBC’s Casualty.

JULIA MALLAM
Another incredibly talented actor and familiar face from our TV screens. Julia was a regular on Emmerdale between 2003-2006 playing the role of Dawn Woods. As well as other roles in Doctors, Casualty, The Bill, Fat Friends and Peak Practice. More recently, Julia starred in the film Tyrannosaur.

MATT SUTTON
Matt is another familiar face, appearing in many TV shows on ITV, BBC, Channel 4, UKTV. Shows including FC Dave, Emmerdale, 55 Degree North and Much Ado About Nothing.

JOHN GUILOR
John has appeared in two of my short films to date (Angel of the Night and Host). John is a very talented and versatile actor who has made quite a name for himself in the professional voice over industry. John has recently taken part in a very exciting Dr Who project, based on lost episodes of the classic show.

GEORGE BANKS
Another talented and versatile actor with an incredible stage CV. Including appearances in productions of Romeo & Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, Serious Money and many more.

So, there’s our adult cast. All we need to do now is find 5 younger versions of themselves with 5 young actors aged between 10-13.

Please keep your eye on the official That Day Facebook page for plenty of behind the scenes updates. Lots more to come!

Thanks for stopping by, I’m on Twitter if you want even more filmmaking updates http://www.twitter.com/dannylaceyfilm

Danny
http://www.youtube.com/dannylaceyfilm
http://www.vimeo.com/dannylacey

Interesting subject, even better PR!

Here is a great example of how Social Media can work for you. I currently have (at time of going to print) 5,220 followers on Twitter. I personally know about a handful of those. This means there are many thousands following my filmmaking journey on Twitter of whom I know very little about! Scary thought.

And that’s the point. I have no idea who they are or what they do. Think about that for a second.

As I develop as a filmmaker, and as the number following my journey grow, I’m seeing certain things happen. I seem to have become a very credible filmmaker Tweeter. I mean, I’m doing things and people are taking note.

Here’s an example. A journalist who works for the Guardian has been following me on Twitter for some time (I had no idea) and was working on an article about film making on smart phones. I decided to film a completely random and experimental short film on my iPhone. The next minute the journalist (Tony Myers) made contact and asked if I’d answer a few questions about filming with smart phones. I of course obliged.

The article was released today in the Technology section of the Guardian website, titled ‘Lights, action… iPhone? Film-makers turn to smartphones‘. It has quickly become a hot topic of conversation on the site. The article features my iphone film embedded from my Vimeo channel.

This means more exposure for my work, more people taking a look through my shop window. Granted, what I’m doing won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but still. It’s more eyes on my projects. Which is not only good for me, but also for those I’m working with. In the long run.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on making films with smartphones? I can’t say I’d shoot a credible film on a mobile phone in the near future. But I do think it’s a great way for us to get out there and play!

Thanks for stopping by and do check out my short, experiment iPhone film below.

Danny

Apps to make your life easier

Dave Armstrong, filmmaker based on the Isle of Man and good friend of mine introduced me to this cool new app for the Mac. It’s called SimpleMind and it allows you to ‘map out’ and edit your ideas on screen. Which in part can eliminate the need for wasting tons of paper (and ink).

The concept is so very simple, but incredibly handy. I’ve been using it for a few days now and already I can see it having a huge impact on my creative process. It speeds things up, I have a much better visual perspective to see my story develop and I can also easily share with others for collaboration.

I’m using the free version which limits some of the saving and sharing options, I’m happy with that and it’s only £21 to buy the Pro version should I want to upgrade.

Check out the video blog above for a more detailed look at the workflow using SimpleMind – I’m sure you’ll find the App of some use!!

IF YOU KNOW OF ANY SIMILAR APPS OR SOFTWARE THAT WILL HELP WITH THE CREATIVE PROCESS, ADD TO THE COMMENTS BELOW.

Thanks for stopping by and check out more filmmaking updates on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dannylaceyfilm and we’re shooting another short film at the end of Feb, a sci-fi project called ‘That Day‘ so plenty of updates to come.

Danny
YouTube Channel
Vimeo Channel

Holly Matthews joins the cast of ‘That Day’

Holly Matthews

15 days left of pre-production before cast and crew get together to shoot That Day, and the pressure is immense!

Luckily, I have a great team of people all working hard to make this film happen.

Leoni Kibbey has once again agreed to help me with Casting, this is huge news for this project as she is a VERY good Casting Director and one that I have lots of respect and gratitude for. Leoni has already started looking at options for the TEN actors we will need.

I am very pleased to announce that the first name attached to the film is Holly Matthews. I’ve been a big fan of her work for a while now and have been desperate to work with her on one of my film projects. Luckily for me, she read the script, loved it and said yes!

Holly is an incredibly talented and versatile actor with many years experience working on some of the biggest shows on UK TV, she was also a regular face on Top of the Pops, MTV and Radio in early 2000′s with a pop career, signed to Sony UK (as Summer Matthews).

On TV she has been a familiar face in programs like Byker Grove, for which she was a lead character for 7 years. Holly has also had regular roles in shows like Waterloo Road, The Bill, Doctors, Criminal Justice 2 and BBC’s Casualty.

This is great news for ‘That Day’. You can follow Holly on Twitter here and please do check out her website here.

More news to come as we get closer to filming That Day, do check out the Facebook page for regular updates.

Thanks for stopping by and I’m on Twitter if you want more filmmaking updates.

Danny

You’re a filmmaker, get used to doing the bulk of the work.

In this Video Blog I wanted to share the editing workflow on my latest short film ‘Host‘. I’m editing this short film myself, out of necessity and lack of any budget.

The latest edit of ‘Host’ is very close to being locked, there’s a batch VFX shots to add and temp sound before the first test screening with a small audience. The edit will then be sent over to a composer to start work on the soundtrack.

The video covers general housekeeping when setting up a film project in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5, getting the project ready for the visual effects (After Effects) and editing the sound mix in an external audio editor (Adobe Audition).

Hope you find it of interest. Please note, I’m not teaching or saying this is how you should do it – I’m just sharing how I’m doing it.

Don’t forget to check out the ‘Host’ Facebook page here and take a look at my 4th short film project (working with Philip Bloom) ‘That Day‘ here.

Thanks for stopping by, I’m over on Twitter if you want to see more filmmaking updates.

Danny
Lots of behind the scenes video on my YouTube Channel and Vimeo.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with some incredibly talented, experienced and supportive individuals over the last few years. People willing to give up their valuable time to help a new filmmaker.

Right from the word go, I pledged my loyalty to those willing to go out on a limb and support my filmmaking journey. That pledge was to return the favour wherever possible, to work with them on future projects (the ones with budgets) and so on.

John Guilor was one of the first to support me as a new filmmaker. I cast John in my first short film, Angel of the Night. More recently, John appeared in my short film Host as the voice and mouth of the ‘kidnapper’. John will also be involved with my next and final low-budget short film, That Day.

Over the coming months I’ll be posting a series of blogs that feature various individuals that have supported me during the early stages of my career. These are individuals that I am sure will be of interest to you. They’re great people, and you should make a note of their contact details as you never know when you might be needing someone like them on your project.

John Guilor (Voice Over Artist / Actor)
A unique, versatile and incredibly talented voice over artist! You will have heard his voice on TV commercials, TV shows, in popular computer games, audiobooks and many other places.  John has also had various acting roles on several TV shows as well as theatre productions.

To hear John’s latest Voice Over Reel click here. To see John’s Acting Showreel click here.

Now here is something very exciting that John has been working on recently, something that will excite most (if not all) Doctor Who fans. Read on.

In 1964 the Doctor Who serial ‘Planet Of Giants’ was reduced from a 4 part story to a 3 part story at the request of Head of Serials at the BBC, Donald Wilson (see original letter below). The material was edited and the lost scenes were destroyed.

In 2011, 2/Entertain and BBC Worldwide made the decision to produce a reconstructed version of the story by inserting the newly recorded scenes back into the original material – the visuals will more than likely be animation or photo stills of the original cast.

John Guilor is playing the role of the first Doctor (as originally played by William Hartnell) along with Katherine Mount as Barbara Wright and the surviving original cast members  – Carole Ann Ford as Susan and William Russell as Ian Chesterton (scroll down to see pictures).

As a result of this project, John was asked to provide impersonations of the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton for a special feature on the upcoming DVD release of The Krotons.

Also in 2011, John played the part of the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, the fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, the sixth Doctor, Colin Baker and the eighth Doctor, Paul McGann in a production of the Eight Doctors. This project was a privately financed production by well known record producer and Doctor Who enthusiast Ian Levine. It is not clear what will happen to this animated film once complete – whether it is to be released commercially or to remain in the hands of private collectors. Watch this space.

Below is an audio clip in which you will hear John’s ‘William Hartnell’ impersonation, on top of other impersonations of Patrick McGoohan as Number 6 from The Prisoner, Paul Darrow as Avon from Blake’s 7, Gerald Harper from Adam Adamant Lives! and the fourth Doctor Who, Tom Baker. Enjoy, then after scroll down the page for more info.

If you are ever looking for a talented and versatile voice over or actor, please do consider John Guilor. He’s an amazing guy, enthusiastic, professional, incredibly talented with bags of experience.

SCROLL DOWN FOR EXTRA PICTURES!

You can email John here guilor@btinternet.com or call 07946 263388. Don’t forget to mention that you found him on this blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Danny

Trying not to leave things to the last minute

37 days to go before the cameras roll on my 4th short film project – That Day. To some, that might sound like plenty of time, if only.

The good news is, things are moving along at a very good pace.

Crew
The crew list is growing rapidly, the film has generated quite a lot of interest. I have over 50 emails in my inbox from people wanting to get involved. Which is great. Of course, I can’t have 50+ crew on this film. I need to keep the crew list short and efficient.

Johan Maertens has now confirmed his involvement as production sound and he’ll be bringing Philip Killingsworth as boom operator. Here’s the current crew list:

DIRECTOR: Danny Lacey
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Bethan Davies
1ST AD: Tamsyn O’Connor (tbc)
DOP: Philip Bloom
CAMERA ASSISTANT / D.I.T.: Ronald Vonk
LIGHTING DIRECTOR / 2ND CAMERA: David Beaumont
FOCUS PULLER: tbc
CLAPPER: tbc
PRODUCTION SOUND: Johan Maertens AMPS
BOOM OPERATOR: Philip Kilingsworth
PRODUCTION DESIGN: tbc
COSTUME: tbc
MAKE-UP: Melanie Lenihan
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT #1: tbc
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT #2: tbc
STILLS: tbc
EPK/B-ROLL: tbc

This is becoming quite a team. I cannot wait to work with them on this film. I’ve worked with most of the crew listed above on other short film projects which is really going to help.

Cast
This is going to be a very big challenge. We need 10 actors in total, 5 adults and 5 kids. I’m hoping to announce two of the adult actors in the very near future and I’m currently looking at the cast wishlist that I compiled a few days ago. Contact will be made with the actors soon. Here’s a list of the characters and playing age in the film.

LISA (31)
JAMES (35)
GEMMA (30)
SCOTT (32)
CHRIS (35)
YOUNGER LISA (11)
YOUNGER JAMES (35)
YOUNGER GEMMA (10)
YOUNGER SCOTT (12)
YOUNGER CHRIS (15)

If you are a talented actor and would like to put yourself forward for one of the above parts, please email me with links to your video showreel, email dannylacey@stadamedia.co.uk.

Please, only get in touch if you have video of your acting abilities to show me. Don’t send me pictures and tell me that you are perfect for the part! I’ll decide that and I can only do that if I can actually see your acting ability. If you don’t have a showreel, film yourself acting on your iphone on something similar and upload to YouTube. That’s all I need to see.

Filming dates are Sat 18th, Sun 19th and Monday 20th February 2012. Most cast will only be needed for one day filming.

Equipment
Philip Bloom will be shooting using his Sony F3 with S-Log. However, we will need other equipment like lighting, grip etc. I really want to get my hands on a 2nd Sony F3 camera for the three days and if there is anyone out there who can help us then please do get in touch – dannylacey@stadamedia.co.uk.

Locations
Another very big challenge on this film. There are three locations needed, two of them I don’t think I will have too many problems finding. However, the main location is going to be more of a headache as I have a very particular look in mind. The search is on!

Screenplay
Hasn’t been written yet! We’re making a short film and the screenplay isn’t finished – this is nuts. Fortunately, I’m making good ground with the development of this script and I’m VERY happy with the story. I’m currently 25% of the way through draft 2 of the screenplay.

Don’t forget to check out the That Day Facebook page for lots of behind the scenes updates, I’m sharing the whole journey!

I’m also on Twitter here, and I’ve set up a second Twitter account as I have 2 short films in post-production and 1 in pre-production so I want to share as much as I can. Now, I don’t want to over Tweet on my main account so I have set up @dannylaceyfilm2 – a Twitter account aimed more at the hardcore filmmakers who don’t mind tons of filmmaking information.

Thanks for stopping by

Danny

Short film number 4 now in pre-production

Philip Bloom, cinematographer and friend, said let’s shoot something in February. I suggested filming another zero budget short film and so the wheels began turning.

I came up with the idea for ‘That Day‘ out of pure pressure after committing to film something in Feb. Which fortunately worked out well for me on this occasion.

I started by choosing a genre first, something I very rarely do. I wanted to shoot a sci-fi/mystery. I’d had this idea that involved five adult actors and five young actors. The backbone of the story is a groups struggle to rebuild lost memories from their childhood.

There’s not much time to finish writing this screenplay as well as play the role of producer on this project. No easy task let me tell you.

The task of putting a crew together has begun. Luckily I have filmmaker friends who want to be involved in my projects, having seen what I’ve done previously and trusting my vision and ambitions.

So far, we have 50% of the crew we ideally need on this film. Here’s the crew we need:

DIRECTOR (Danny Lacey)
PRODUCTION MANAGER (Bethan Davies)
1st AD (Tamsyn O’ Connor tbc)
DP (Philip Bloom)
CAMERA ASSISTANT (Ronald Vonk)
LIGHTING DIRECTOR/2ND CAMERA (David Beaumont)
FOCUS PULLER (tbc)
CLAPPER (Saxon Rix)
PRODUCTION SOUND (Johan Maertens AMPS)
PRODUCTION DESIGN MANAGER (tbc)
CONTINUITY (tbc)
MAKE-UP (Melanie Lenihan)
COSTUME (tbc)
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT #1 (tbc)
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT #2 (tbc)
STILLS (tbc)
EPK (tbc)

I’m hoping to announce more crew members in the next few days.

Casting ‘That Day’ is going to be one of the greatest challenges on this film. I’m a little on the fussy side when it comes to things like this. It has to be right. The face and talent have to slot nicely in to this film. I need five adult actors, 3 male and 2 female aged 30-45 (approx). As well as five younger actors, 3 male and 2 female aged between 10-15 (approx).

I do have a few names in mind and will be making contact very shortly – even though no script is in place yet. Adding to the challenge.

The original idea for ‘That Day’ featured a handful of locations. However, using the experience I’ve had so far in making short films I made the very wise choice in chopping out the bulk of those locations. I can easily work with what will be just three locations. Two main locations and one for the opening scene. I know exactly what I’m looking for in these locations so that will help considerably.

The next phase is to pinpoint these locations and then approach the property owner or organisation and ask for permission to film there, without payment. You’ll find that most locations get a little excited by the potential of a ‘film crew’ working at their location – it does sound a little showbiz.

Producing ‘That Day’ is going to be tough, quite a challenge on zero budget. But that’s the nature of the beast and you just have to battle on. There are people out there willing to help and support what you are doing. As long as you are aiming high and being hugely ambitious, but at the same time realistic, can often work in your favour.

As ever, I’ll be sharing every step of the journey in the making of this short film. There will be plenty of behind the scenes video, interviews, blog updates, Tweets and so on. Right now, it’s time to get back to work and make sure that everything comes together in 39 days time so that we have something to film!

This weeks pre-production to do list:

• Finish 2nd draft of screenplay
• Find 80% of the crew
• Ideas for the 3 main locations
• Casting wishlist
• Find a second Sony F3 camera with s-log
• Kit list (i.e. lighting etc)
• Logistics assessment (i.e. potential problem areas to look out for etc)

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to ‘Like’ the Facebook page for That Day here. There will be LOTS of pre-production updates on there.

I’m on Twitter too.

Danny

First major short film project edges closer to finish line.

This was a very proud moment for me. Finally seeing my s16mm film (Love Like Hers), with a professional colour grade. I may need to take a moment…

Colour grading is the process of making your film look pretty. Taking your washed out, flat and dull looking images and bringing them to life. A little like messing about with pictures in Photoshop. Similar principles.

I’m very pleased with the first pass at colour grading. Jon Dobson at ADBS in Leeds has done a great job. The colours are terrific, rich, deep and vibrant. I do like the super16mm look.

The next step is to now go through the grade with my director of photography (David Beaumont), to cast a fine tuned eye over the colours. They maybe a little tweaking here and there. But generally, heading in the right direction and again, very pleased.

The film stock we used seems to be a little on the grainy side which has made some shots difficult to grade. This is pretty standard for the film stock we were using (Fuji Film Eterna 250D).

Thanks again to Andrew and Jon at ADBS in Leeds. I enjoyed the afternoon over at their studio and very much looking forward to a great working relationship with them on future projects. Another great addition to the Filmmaker’s Journey team.

Hope you find the video blog above interesting and thanks for stopping by.

Don’t forget to ‘Like’ the Love Like Hers Facebook Page and follow me on Twitter for lots more filmmaking updates as I head into pre-production on my next short film project ‘That Day‘.

NOTE: This video blog was shot on my iphone and it looks like if have been punched in the eye on this video. That’s just some weird case of eczema that I’ve had for a few weeks now.

Danny

It’ll always cost more than you first think.

Love Like Hers was my first major short film project. The idea was to throw myself in at the deep end and put everything I had learned over the previous few years to the test. I’d already shot a short film on zero budget (Angel of the Night) and for some reason thought this would be the natural next step in the learning process.

So, why did we need a budget?

I had this great idea to shoot on film, work with a large and experienced crew, throw in a bunch of actors, several locations and the rest. Now, I’m quite skilled in the art of negotiation, but getting all this on a zero budget was a none starter. We were going to need a stack of cash.

The production was rather large. I had over 30 crew, 5 actors, 6 locations, production vehicles, low loader, a film camera kit, lights and so on. These were the clear and obvious expenses. Let’s not forget travel, accommodation and other expenses that hide in the background somewhere, waiting to jump up and scare the living daylights out of you.

Luckily, I managed to pull in a LOT of favours. I had to pay most of the experienced crew something, and believe me, it was far from full rate (thank goodness). Again, I was very lucky to get them to agree to work for a heavily reduced rate.

Here’s a mini breakdown of the costs on Love Like Hers:

CAST – £1,650.00
The actors were paid equity rates for their part in the film. It was a three day shoot but we’d managed to schedule everything so that we didn’t need all 5 actors for the full duration. This involved several hours of moving shots and locations around to make the booking of actors cost effective. Always worth early consideration with projects filmed with many actors over several days. Every penny counts! This above figure does not include travel and accommodation. Scroll down for that.

CREW – £2,025.00
Some of the more experienced members of the crew had to be paid something, otherwise I’d have no crew! This was my first project, I’d not worked with 99% of them, so why should they want to give up their time for my film? The good thing is, all those involved in the film believed in what I was trying to achieve and therefore reduced their daily rates – considerably. Of those that did get paid, they were on a VERY similar daily rate. There were several crew members that worked for expenses, life savers!

EQUIPMENT – £1,850.00
ProVision in Leeds let me have the Arri s16mm camera, zeis lenses, tripod and head, track and dolly, all the lights I needed and LOTS of other kit for just £600 (including vat) for the three days. We literally had a large van load of kit. Another example of how being cheeky and asking the question can pay off. The bulk of this expense goes to the low loader that we needed for our car interior scenes, coming in at a whopping £1,200 (inc vat) for the afternoon.

Other costs included:

COSTUME – £80.00
PRODUCTION DESIGN – £235.00
FILM LAB (RUSHES / TELECINE) – £1,600.00
LOCATION AND SET FACILITIES – £1,550.00
TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION – £2,290.00
INSURANCE – £400.00

The total costs for Love Like Hers coming in at a massive £11,780.00.

Seeing that figure now and I’m close to falling off of my chair. This won’t be the end of the spending either. there’s a film festival run to think about and a premiere screening night to organise.

Fortunately, I’d managed to raise just over £10k via crowd funding, the rest has come out of my own pocket. I do think I’m a little mad for spending so much on a short film, but hey, you live once. I’m not doing this for the fun of it, I do have plans and massive ambitions for my filmmaking career and Love Like Hers will play an important part in my development.

Short films don’t make money! Short films are a great way for new filmmakers to learn, experience and develop in the world of filmmaking. If you can get your hands on the funds (without getting into debt) to get your short films made, then go go go! However, I do think it is important to have a plan. Set goals. Do a few short films, build your skill level, gain experience and get noticed.

I’m about to write, produce and direct what will be my LAST no-budget short film. A small group of filmmakers are getting together to make ‘That Day‘. There’s zero budget (although it will end up costing me in the long run I’m sure), which means those involved are giving up their time for free. It’s a fun, let’s get out there and shoot something kind of project, but don’t let that fool you. We’ll be treating this like a professional project with big production values and high standards.

The great thing is, I’ll be working with crew that I’ve worked with previously. They all trust my vision and work ethics and understand where I’m heading. They’re supportive and know that I’ll be there to return the favour one day! It is essential to surround yourself with people like this, ABSOLUTELY essential!!!

Useful links:
Love Like Hers – Facebook Page / Webpage (with trailer)
That Day – Facebook Page / Webpage

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel with lots of filmmaking videos and follow me on Twitter @dannylaceyfilm.

Danny