Welcome to "The Shadow of the Bear" movie blog!

We are an independant young adult-run production based in the U.S. Midwest. The film has been in pre-production since summer 2008, and wrapped up filming on August 26th, 2010.

We premiered the project on June 23rd, 2011 at the St. Anthony Main Theater in Minneapolis, MN to a delighted audience of over 100 viewers.

For details about the future of the project, click here.



Sunday, August 29, 2010

It's time for a new poll!

And this one asks... "Which film location is your favorite?"

Take a look at the options on your left, leave a vote, then comment at the bottom of this post and let us know why you chose what you did! The Location with the most votes will get a special release of new pictures!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Day 34 - August 21st 2010 (More)

Part two of the pictures from day 34!Rose and Rob, getting Rob's last scenes.
I forgot the nun costume at home, so we got a substitute teacher in St. Catherine's for a couple of days. ;)
Part of the class. It's really rather an art form to work with extras. You have to figure out where to place them, and what they need to do, and if they're moving through the scene you have to time it so that you get movement throughout the entire shot, and then run it again to tell everyone to take more time, or walk two feet to their left...

Suzanne and Rose help Mr. Freet.

"We always seem to get on his bad side..."
Choreographing a cat fight!
Rose and Eileen going at it! Oh the screaming there was that day!
Poor Karina is dead.
Just kidding!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Day 33 - August 20th 2010

Day 33 had a rough start. Due to some miscommunication, the proper permission hadn't been secured to film at our location. That combined with the fact that it was freshmen move-in day at the college meant that we got kicked off.

Now I have to say, getting kicked off a location has only happened to me once before in filming. It is not at all a fun experience - I really don't recommend it. But God was gracious and after some frantic calling we managed to secure a second location just five minutes away from the first one. And despite all this, we still managed to finish filming ahead of schedule!

The valiant extras marching off the first location.
Waiting for equipment to get picked up.
The new location! (and yes, that's Sister Geraldine!)

The girl with the long blond hair on the right is Lauren.
Eileen and Lisa -- baaaaad girls! ;)
Blanche the eavesdropper.
Dramatic shot of Rose the eavesdropper...
The Hills are Alive...


Filming is done.

It's completed folks! I'm still pretty much in shock...

more photos coming soon!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Day 32 - August 18th 2010

August 18th was a special day. Not only was it the only time all four main characters shared a scene, it was also the day we shot what will become the ending scene and final shot of the film. Furthermore, it was Jed and Anthony's last time on camera.

By the time we we got to that last shot, I was about ready to cry. It is just so amazing to finally be at this point at last. We've known all along that the final scene would be one of the last scenes we were going to shoot, so doing it really brought home the fact that we were almost done.

We have a TON of pictures both from that scene and of the photoshoot we did afterwards. However, I can't release them yet. You'll get to see Rose and Fish in a few of them in the September issue of I&F which will be released next week. For Blanche and Bear, we have a special fundraiser that I'm going to tell you about in an upcoming post. So stay tuned!

Meanwhile, a few teaser pictures of the last scene.

Rose's hair.
Getting the shot! (Yes. I'm eating. I threw up that morning so halfway through the afternoon Josh ran out and got me some stuff that I thought I could keep down.)
In honor of the last day I made special cookies. :) (No, these are NOT the costumes from the final scene!)
Sharayah trying to figure out how to call for Bear, in the scene after the thrift store.
Getting a store to film in was one of the complicated things that we realized just wasn't going to happen. So I wrote a scene similar to the one in the audio drama to explain where the dresses came from and the "Bear Selling Chalice" bit.


We had a bit of spare time in the morning so Anthony took some lovely pictures of our Blanche.


An example of how much stuff we lug around between shoots.

Day 31 - August 17th 2010

Back into the middle of nowhere to get scenes involving our heroines, our bad girl, Mr. Freet, and a nun.

But first... two guys and a camera.
Mr. Freet and Nun discuss the meaning of art.
(Yes, I finally got a cameo.)
Hannah brought along knitting to keep herself occupied. Sensible girl!
Ooooh... scary Mr. Freet!
Mean girls.
Nice girls.
So. Story time. We could not get our Principal back. Hence the creation of a vice principal to administer detention. (again... CAMEO!)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Rose and Blanche's Last Day

We hit the second to last day of production today, and said goodbye to Sharayah and Hannah who have been our faithful, patient heroines. Both of them finished scenes in their prom dresses, with Hannah's last shot taking place in the penthouse, and Sharayah's... well she wasn't terribly happy that her last shot was in Rob's bathroom setting up a distraction by... yeah, flushing the toilet. It was pretty funny.

Anyhow, it was a crazy day, with four separate locations and lots of driving and backtracking to collect missing costumes and props because this director's mind is just about worn out from this project.

More pictures should be up by Thursday, and the September Issue of I&F will feature an exclusive interview with some cast and crew!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Day 34 - August 21st

I've got some pictures from two cameras (thanks Meg and Emily!) that I can share with you from day 34! Still waiting for the third camera (Anthony's) to give you the bulk of everything else (including a lot more from day 34).

Some of our beautiful and amazing extras!

Some general set craziness.
Knocking over Mr. Freet.
Rehearsing lines.
Um... guys... have you been working too hard? Or did Fish just become a piranha?
Directors on duty. Sorta.
Getting down the lines for telling off Rob...

Saturday, August 21, 2010

TWO DAYS LEFT!!!

We've done four days of filming since Tuesday, which is why I haven't been able to get any pictures up yet. Hopefully by tomorrow or Monday they'll start coming up!

Two more days to go and THEN WE ARE DONE FILMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

MORE LOCATION NEWS FOR FRIDAY!

I just found out last night that while we can film in ST. Bonifacius on Saturday, it won't work on Friday.

So this is going to sound complicated, but I'm hoping it will make it possible for more of you to come to one day or the other!

On FRIDAY, we will be filming at NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE in St. Paul.

On SATURDAY, we will be filming at ST. BONIFACE SCHOOL in St. Bonifacius.

If you have any questions, please let me know immediately

Monday, August 16, 2010

LOCATION CHANGE!

We are changing the location for the August 20th and 21st shoot from Northwestern College, to St. Boniface, MN. Please e-mail me if you are planning to come so that I can send you the address and other details.

We still need many more extras, so please round up your friends!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Attention!

First off, the purse bidding ends at 10:00 tonight - so get your bid in! The starting bid is still at $15 so if you're smart, you'll probably get a good price for it!

Secondly - WE NEED A SET FOR THE PENTHOUSE BEDROOM. The set we were going to use didn't pan out. We will need it in the afternoon on August 26th, and it needs to be somewhere within a half hour of the northwest Metro of the Twin Cities (based on where we are filming earlier that day). We basically need a very elegant bedroom to shoot in for less than an hour. If you know of something, please let me know ASAP!

Thirdly - our last film shoot with extras is rapidly approaching - next week on the 20th and 21st! We desperately need more people, so if you think you can come (and hopefully bring a BUNCH of friends) please e-mail me this weekend!

As always, I can be reached at theshadowofthebear [at] ymail [dot] com

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Rose Brier Purse Auction!

Want a chance to help us out with the movie and own a bit of the production?

Then put in your bid for the unique "Rose Brier Purse" created using materials from Rose's dress and blanket used in the movie!

6x6 inches with a 47 inch strap, this hand-crafted purse is fully lined and complete with a zipper to keep your valuables from tumbling out.

All proceeds will go towards funding the production!

How can you participate in this auction? Simply send an e-mail with your bid to theshadowofthebear@ymail.com. The auction will remain open through Friday night. At 10:00, central time, the purse will be sold to the person with the highest bid. If you win you will have five days to get your check in the mail, which must include $3.00 for shipping and handling.

Starting price is $15.00. (Will be updated as bids are submitted!)






Stay tuned for other upcoming opportunities to help fund the film!