April 14 update - Mondo Beacho

Ahren Buhmann on set for Mondo Beacho
(photo by Mel Cafe)

I think the photo on the left was taken on set while we were actually rolling camera. It's just that the light is totally different than in the final film.

It's a great shot, though. I like the whites that Mel gets from that DSLR of his.

Anyway. April may be the cruelest month, but so far we are doing great in the music department!*

To wit-- last week, I was turned on to a new band, the mighty Wet City Rockers. Their work is absolutely perfect for a bunch of stuff we need, so I contacted them immediately. They are very cool.

And -- they are willing to contribute four songs to the film! That's a lot of songs. (Thank you Wet City Rockers!!)

I've also been composing a lot on the 8-track, and I've been listening to a whole ton of great stuff from other folks--nothing else has quite clicked yet but sometimes it takes a while.

To wit again, I completed a song last night that I'd had in mind and then dismissed for one part of the film, only to realize that it might work great in another part.

Then I woke up in the middle of the night and wondered if that song is right after all and if so, maybe it could be a lot better.

The middle of the night is not the best time for objectivity, so I'll have to look at it again and reevaluate.

On that note, if anyone knows of any traditional disco bands out there that are not shackled to Sony or Warner Bros, please let me know.


*Actually I think part of the cruelty of April is the illusion of joy early on, a set up for you to be absolutely crushed by the end of the month...

Mondo Beacho weekly update, Sunday Nov 24

1st AD Mel Café - photo by David Thomas

I'm posting the weekly update early this week, because tomorrow I'm going off the air to put in a nice long day editing at the Northwest Film Forum.

Last week, I got the roots of two instrumental tracks figured out for possible soundtrack use. I say "possible" because you never know if something's going to work until the last minute.

I also spent some time up at the NWFF, organizing scenes from the film into sound-synced Sequences. Their editing computers are great, and it's nice to be up on Capitol Hill editing among film-types, instead of sitting at home by myself.

To wit, I ran into Adam Sekular (formerly of NWFF) in the editing suites, finishing up a film festival package. I got to see a cut of a cool trailer he was working on and talk a bit of shop.
After that, I went out for lunch with Iain Dalton. I've been hearing Iain say "mark it" on the sync tracks for the last few weeks, great to see him again in person. And to continue the illusion that I actually get out and see people, right after lunch with Iain, I went downtown and met up with Ahren Buhmann for some music rehearsal.

But wait, the name drop continues! -- I also got an email from Mel Café (pictured here) the other day, whose film career is taking an exciting new direction --  we've got Riley Neldam confirmed to join us for the final recordings in December -- and I'm meeting with Kenna Kettrick to work on on the second FF song for that as well.

How about that? It's like Studio 54 around here.

Mondo Beacho weekly update: audio edition

I finished naming and logging all the location sound files from Mondo Beacho over the weekend.

This was the first time I'd listened to a lot the production audio, and I was nervous about a couple of scenes.

The ambient sound on location in Georgetown was particularly difficult. Our biggest day there was on a nice, sunny Saturday,  and the area around the shoot (on the public street) was crowded with people. And motorcycles, and trucks. And freight trains.

And a crazy political performance artist with a portable sound system, who thought it'd be nice to be on film.

Oh yeah, and the Cessna jets, coming and going every ten minutes at 100 ft. overhead, from the nearby airport .

Did I mention that cast and crew had been on set since 5 am?

Anyway, with all that going on, audio from only one shot from that day was seriously affected, and that was a long master shot, which we covered heavily with a variety of nice, close shots. 

Beyond that, we have 100% lovely, usable audio. All taken with a portable recorder and shotgun mike on a boom pole. 

Thank you David Thomas!!

 

Also last week

I got together with a bunch of the actors to record clean versions of the three songs from the bonfire scene. The session was fun and went very well.

Singers included Sarah, Ahren, Riley, Kenna, Amanda, Alyssa, and Mel.

It was really great to see everyone again; I missed them.

In other news

2nd AD Kat Brede stopped by the other day to borrow my apple box for a different shoot.

I'm glad that the old box is getting a chance to go out in the field again.

Though it does make an awesome coffee table.

Weekly Mondo Beacho update: October 14

L-R: Kat Brede, the Camera Canoe, Erik Hammen
Photo by Mel Café

That's Kat Brede (2nd AC) with me in the photo on the left. We're hauling the Camera Canoe from Surf Ballard out to its secret launch spot, which seems like it was just across the street but actually was about a block and a half away.

Not every production is lucky enough to even have a Camera Canoe. I'm pretty sure we were the only one in Seattle this year.

Thanks much to awesome AD Mel Café for the two gigantic files of production stills that he gave me over the weekend!

Also over the weekend, I completed the organization of all film footage. The digitized reels of film are now subdivided up into clips, files, and folders, all carefully named by scene, shot, take, retake, and whatever else that needed noting. Time-consuming, but necessary. And highly educational.

Next, I'll be doing the same sort of cataloging for all the audio tracks. We got tons of ambient sound during production (thanks David Thomas!) and it'll be interesting to hear what we have.

Once editing starts, I also know for sure that we'll need more. We didn't record audio on any of the Bolex days for one thing, and there's always going to be things I couldn't have anticipated that will help make the edit work.

For example, I came across a really cool "lucky accident" shot the other day and I think I know how to work it into the film, but it'll need a very specific new sound that will be a hassle to get. The footage is kind of awesome, though. And it was so incidental that I bet no one in production will remember we shot it until they see the final film.

Work also starts this week on the final music performance tracks. I meet with Ahren Buhmann on Thursday, and the whole bonfire group the week after.

In general, music creation/acquisition will be an ongoing process, probably right up until the film is finished.

In other news, my 2012 feature Time of the Robots is screening at the TriCities International Fantastic Film Festival this coming weekend. If you're in Richland, WA on Oct. 20, be sure to check it out and remember to applaud at the end.