Day 28 - July 30th, 2010

This was a very satisfactory day, since we managed to get more shot than what was originally on the schedule. This means that we were able to completely finish the work on this set, and wont' need to reassemble the room in August! Hurrah!

This was also Mrs. Brier's last day of filming... give her a round of applause!

Down here you can see me getting the last shot of the day - in a very tight corner!
Josh and Isaac getting the white balance - to make sure the colors appear correctly, we always have to adjust it based on the lighting set-up. This is done by focusing the camera on something pure white. Pretty nice to have machines that do it automatically for you...
Learning the last lines of the day
Blanche crying about not being able to go to prom.
Setting up the shot. (Shooting with three people is so much more complicated than shotting with two. *sigh*)
Now what's the best angle here...?
Rose gets her hair done for prom! (This was a tricky shot, because the hairdo we had created for the prom sequence could not be replicated with Rose's wig. For the Rob's party part we could have Rose take her hair down, since many girls do at after parties. However, that wouldn't work for this scene! If you know of someone who could do a color touch up in after effects, along with some other small bits, please let me know! We're looking for a special effects wizard!)

Day 26 - July 28th 2010

God works in amazing ways. I spent a lot of time wondering why this movie had to take so much time to complete... but we could never have shot everything that had to happen at Rob's party a year ago. Yet on Wednesday night we found ourselves talking about the necessity of the scene and just growing in a lot of ways. I cannot tell you all what a kind and gracious young Christian man David (who plays Rob) is. If you ever have the chance to meet him, you will never believe that we actually cast him as Rob!

Also, many, many thanks to all of our wonderful actors! Everyone was so cheerful and pleasant and eager to do whatever was needed to ensure successful shooting - even if it meant holding a difuser over a hot lamp for take, after take... after take.

Although we had some stress with a slow start and a wasp sting, not to mention the sheer logistics of coordinating extras for every shot, this was a very successful film shoot, and I left with a tremendous feeling of peace.

Many thanks to our friend Christina B. for taking these lovely pictures!

Below you can see our Suzanne...

Suzanne and Rose

Josh shedding some illumination. (This guy is amazing and has been so much help on the project! He deserves a ton of thanks from everyone! I am so glad to claim him as a mutually adopted brother and co-director/producer on this project!)

Rob being cool...

Yeah, about the angles one must sometimes hold a lamp to properly light a scene... I kid you not. I really had to hold the light on my head to make it work.

Rose is just too adorable. I think curly hair looks absolutely fantastic on her!

Yes, it looks like day, but through the magic of film, it will actually be night...

Watching the performances
Setting the scene in Rob's basement
Difusing a too bright light.
Rose and Rob

Interview!

The Katies did an interview with me for their Fairy Tale Novels Week. There's some interesting facts that you might enjoy learning about myself and the film. Check it out here!

Day 27 - July 29th, 2010

First of all - pictures from day 26 will be coming soon! So don't worry, I haven't forgotten those. I just don't have them yet.

Small crew, small scenes, two actresses... and what do you get but a very quick day of filming!

(Of course there was the matter of the camera not recording because no one told me you had to push the tape in a certain way on the XL2... my assistant for the day and I were QUITE perplexed until we were able to get ahold of Josh, who explained exactly how it had to be done. Really extremely funny once I wasn't panicking anymore!

Filming starts again today!

After two canceled shoots, today is the real "first day" of the final stretch of filming.

We've got ten intensive days to do in the next month, and still several details to lock down.

There have also been some roadblocks, especially in financial matters. If you would like to help out the film, check out the "Save "The Shadow of the Bear Movie"" Thread over on the Fairy Tale Novel Forum. Some of our fans are working on a plan to help raise the funds we need to complete the project, if the merchandising option doesn't work out.

No matter what, please pray that God will work out all of it in the end, and keep me from loosing my sanity and health from stress.

Thank you all!

Film Shoot with extras RESCHEDULED!

Want to be an extra? Well, we finally have the "Rob's Party" shoot rescheduled! It will be Wednesday night in Dayton, MN, starting at 6:00. We need extras pretty badly - especially guys! If you think you can help us out, send me an e-mail at theshadowofthebear@ymail.com.

Want to read a review of the Novel?

I assume most of you have read "The Shadow of the Bear" but even if you have, you'll find this review hilarious! My dear friend Rose (and fellow editor over at I&F) just did what I think is a wonderfully entertaining review of the novel, "The Shadow of the Bear" by Regina Doman. She uses Blanche and Rose to help her out on the review which makes it five times as much fun as a normal review!

SATURDAY'S FILMING POSTPONED!

ALERT!

One of our actors got a huge work commitment dropped on him at the last minute and so we are not going to be able to film on Saturday.

We will however be hopefully doing the shoot early next week. If you're in Blaine and that works for you, please let me know! (theshadowofthebear [at] ymail [dot] com) I've been so impressed by the number of you who have volunteered to come be extras and I really hope most of you are still able to come!

Also, we need more guys, so if you can come, please drag along your brothers and guy friends to help us!

The Rose Dress

Two weeks ago I realized that our projected shooting date for the final scene was coming up fast. We've had Blanche's white dress done for over a year, but absolutely no work had been completed on Rose's "rose" dress.


So I hurried off to JoAnn Fabric's in search of the perfect fabric. It was rather harder than I expected. Oh, I found all sorts of rose prints... blue roses, purple roses, tiny roses, roses on black... but not big red roses on a white/cream print. I rather got a feeling that God was rather amused by the situation...


Anyhow, at long last I found the cotton print that you see in these pictures. The price was a tad more than I would have prefer ed to pay, but $5 a yard is not the end of the world. I believe I picked up about two and a half yards of it...it does help that Sharayah is tiny!


I still had no idea what design I was going to go with. However the next weekend I got back to JoAnn's and spent some time shifting through pattern books in search of ideas. I found a lacing motif I really liked, so I combined that with my favorite basic bodice, petal sleeves, a 3/4 circle skirt with godots, and ribbon trim, and voila!


I'm very close to being done. I've got to attach the skirt, stitch in the sleeves and gathering, and add the zipper.


Many thanks to Anthony (Fish) for taking the pictures for me on his totally awesome new camera!

A Special Treat

Because you all have been waiting so patiently, I decided to release a few more screen captures (stills from the movie) for you! Please remember that these have not yet been color correct and so may appear slightly different in the actual film.







In other news, filming begins in a week!

Renovations!

We're renovating the blog, so please be patient if things move around a bit over the next few days!

Sharayah's in a show!

Very appropriately, she's in "Into the Woods" which is of course all about fairytales... although she's playing Cinderella, not Sleeping Beauty. Her father Greg, our Mr. Freet, is also in the production, and the two of them are directing it.

It will be running from tonight (the 14th) through the 17th, and then next week on the 19th and 20th. If you live in the Twin Cities area and are interested in coming (tickets are free!) and seeing our actors live, then send me an e-mail at theshadowofthebear@ymail.com and I'll send you more information!

LOCATIONS NEEDED!

Attention, residents of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area! We are in need of three locations for "The Shadow of the Bear" film - and you can help us!

First off, we need SISTER GERALDINE'S OFFICE. It should look like a slightly older school teacher's office. We can bring in props to dress the set, but we do need an actual office, preferably in a school building.
Dates needed: --We're thinking August 7th--

Secondly we need DR FREET'S OFFICE. This should look a bit nicer, though not necessarily newer than Sister Geraldine's office. He is a principal, after all!
Dates needed: --We're thinking August 26th--

Finally we need the PENTHOUSE BEDROOM where Blanche awakens after the prom fight. It needs to be very nice and elegant, with a large, fancy (preferably four poster, though not necessary) bed. Pale furnishings (lavender or gray would be best, though we can work with other things)
Dates needed: --We're thinking August 7th--

(Locations in the North and West Metro area would be best, although we can work with anything within an hour of the Twin Cities.)

If you or someone you know has a good location and would be willing to let us film on the property, please contact us ASAP at theshadowofthebear [at] ymail [dot] com.

Some Extras needed...

Are you within driving distance of Blaine MN?

Are you (or look like you could be) between the ages of 16 and 18?

Do you own a suit or prom dress? (or could borrow one for the day)

Are you free on July 24th?

Do you want to be in a Movie?

Then send me an e-mail at theshadowofthebear@ymail.com and let me know of your interest in being in the "after prom party scene with Rose and Rob" for our film shoot on the 24th! I'll send you any further information you need to know!

Film merchandise fun! (And help us finish the film!)

So I already mentioned the T-shirts... but I have some other merchandising ideas to raise money to complete the film and compensate the much overworked cast and crew. Would you mind taking the time to vote, and share any ideas you might have? Thank you so much!

Editing and Scheduling...and extras

Last night we uploaded the footage from the penthouse scene and went through and chose the best takes. I cannot believe how good our Fish and Bear are... it's scary sometimes, especially when the characters have to get mad at each other. Whew!

I've also been hard at work at the schedule. Still waiting for replies from some of our actors (ahem) but if all goes well, we should start filming late next week!

Also, we will be needing extras, potentially on July 24th, and August 20th and 21st. I can't say for sure, yet, but if you're in MN and want to be an extra, keep those dates in mind!