Swordbearer-the final two shoots

Last monday and tuesday, the final two shoots for the Swordbearer film took place.

The location for both nights was the Cane Ridge Meeting House, which is one of Kentucky's most historical locations. Dating back to 1791, the place served as a spiritual meeting house, a function that it still has today. In order to preserve the timber building, a stone superstructure was erected over the entire meeting house. The meeting house itself included a wonderful room of timber, in which there is a raised dais fronted by a wide podium/counter. It is a two level structure, with a second level gallery.

For our purposes, the superstructure and the meeting house itself were incredibly appropriate for the council chamber and Ascendant's private apartment locations for Swordbearer.

Assistant producer and unit production manager Cara Worick identified this site, and arranged for the shoots to take place from 5pm onward on both nights. (pictured Cara Worick, taken by myself)





The first night involved the Moorkai council chamber scene, at which the mage DJEMO addresses the Moorkai council regarding the conflict between Jarl Suum and Jarl Thran.

The cast for the night involved Roni Jonah (Djemo), Sonny Burnette (Latacolc), Nathan Day (Solesan), Matthew Perry (Thran), Jason Crowe (Suum), Kala (Abby Cook), Jeslon (Corey Stringer), Mendani (Natasha Smith), Jalanin,(Courtney Lantz), a second Djemoan mage (Cara Worick), as well as additional council members Russ Croley, Tim Stamps, and some extras/observers that included Rick Lawing and Rocco Pepe. (photo of Jason Crowe, taken by myself)

Roni had a tough task for both nights, as the two scenes were dialogue intensive and a great proportion of the dialogue involved her character Djemo. Roni conducted the address of the council with a commanding presence and intensity.

We did do a few takes involving some improvisation between Baliak and Thran (John Wells and Matthew Perry), for consideration on a possible insert to go at the beginning of the scene. We did some improvisation between Margaret Edwards and Matt when we did the beach scene at Ft. Boonesborough, which turned out fantastic and is definitely going to make the final cut. The improvisation on Monday sounded fantastic as well, as Baliak and Thran engaged in some brief conversation prior to the convening of the council. I have great hopes for this segment also making the final cut. Working with actors of the caliber of John and Matt allows for attempts such as this, which has the potential of deepening the scene and character development when it works. (photo of John Wells as Baliak, taken by myself)

We got an extensive amount of coverage, including some really nice jib shots targeted for the beginning and end of the scene. The council members turned in a great performance, and our coverage included many individual shots of council reactions. Cinematographer Aaron Champion worked a lot of the night in a stabilization harness, while Sven Granlund ran a second camera.

Several new outfits were debuted from the costuming department, including Solesan's, Gomaton's, and Jeslon's. As has been the case with this production, costuming looked fantastic. Abby Cook and Maggie Miller really excelled with the custom designs that were used in these two shoots. (Photo of Corey Stringer as Jeslon, taken by myself)

The crew really flowed well, including some new faces, like Tim, who was our sound recordist for the two nights, as well as Daniel (who was an extra in our tavern scene), who stepped in to help AD and grip for the night. As always, Robin Blankenship was a big help, straddling the costuming department and production assistant duties. Justin Powell,wearing his trademark hat, was everywhere on the set with the setups, putting lighting and assembling the jib on the 2nd level gallery or positioning lighting on the first level. Both nights we accomplished our entire shot lists, including the addition of a couple of additional shots not on the original list, with an hour to spare in terms of our projected shoot times each night.

It was a rather cold night inside of the building, which under other circumstances might have turned into a negative, but the cast and crew continued to show the "can-do" spirit and endured the chill while maintaining a positive vibe. Of course, as always, I had Monster Energy Drinks close at hand (and so did John Wells, who also has superior taste in energy drinks) to assist!



Tuesday night we moved to one of the side apses in the stone superstructure building for a different scene. The apse had 3 tall arched windows, in which we placed banners reflecting the colors of House Suum and Dejmo. The scene called for only five actors, Sonny Burnette, Jason Crowe, Nathan Day, Ryan Buckley, and Roni Jonah, who had another night with extensive dialogue.

As with Monday's shoot, Roni turned in another excellent performance, displaying some great intensity that I really feel came through very well on the midshots and closeups. Sonny, Nathan, Jason, and Ryan also turned in strong performances, and the lighting scheme used in this scene really looked nice, in terms of what Aaron and Sven were getting on camera. (Photo of Sonny Burnette and crew)

We were afforded a great opportunity due to the uniqueness of the location, in that there was an outer, second level window in the meeting house that looks over the center of the apse. I definitely wanted to take advantage of the free high angle shot, and we set up a jib to get an intro shot for the scene that I am confident will look very nice. (Photo of Matt Perry and Aaron Champion, taken by myself)

Everyone was in a great mood at the end of the shoot, even the curator of the property, James, which always is a good thing when shooting on location!


There will be a few small pieces to get for a montage sequence planned for early in the film, but the principle production phase has successfully concluded. A new phase gets underway, as there are a few key effects shots, a stylized montage, a full score, sound design, and much more to tackle in the post production period of Swordbearer.



The production on Swordbearer was a really fantastic expereince. This is the third project in a row as a director that I have worked with Matt and Sven and Cineline Productions, and I really believe that we took another large step forward. From Shadows Light, to Sirens, and now Swordbearer, we have made progressions in production and execution. (photo of Sven, me, and Matt)


I was elated to have Aaron Champion as my DP on this project. I had gotten him aboard Scott Sullivan's latest project, SantaBoy last spring, which I served on as a producer and first AD, and after being around him on that project I was really looking forward to working with Aaron on Swordbearer. Things were organized and flowed so well between Aaron and myself ... going over shotlists, discussing a few additional shots, looking at technical issues, or whatever the case might be, I feel that Aaron and I were on the same page all throughout. As with Matt and Sven, I hope that my next project has Aaron on it as well. (Photo of Aaron and myself)

I will be writing a lot more about this project and those involved with it, but figured this should be a good set report for the final two shoots.

I will be sure to keep everyone posted on progress in the post-production phase. We are tentatively aiming for a later January premiere of the film, with a trailer (perhaps a couple of versions) to be released before that.

Swordbearer-The Big Fight Scene

Last Saturday morning started pretty early for me, the cell phone alarm (I don't trust to electricity on crucial days!) ringing at the ripe time of 4:15 am. Still, it wasn't entirely hard to get up, since I knew that the day ahead was going to be an adventure doing something that I really like.

Our crew call time was 6am, at Cove Spring Park in Frankfort, KY, a beautiful 275 acre park located just outside of downtown Frankfort. From Lexington, it is about a 25-35 minute drive, depending on what part of the city you live in.

I drove down with Nathan Day, our wonderful first assistant director, and Tommy Allen, a friend of mine who had recently gotten ahold of me, and was willing to dive in early on Saturday to help on crew side and be an extra. On the way down we touched bases with some of our core team, as Matt Perry was leading one caravan down, bringing gear and the all-important craft services.

Cara Worwick, our assistant producer, was one of the first on site (with Rox, one of the extras in the shoot), along with Kinnari Shah, who has been a great part of our makeup and hair department, and Lori Baker (costuming) and Robin (costuming) and Andrew Blankenship (crew and extra). The park did not have lights at the entrance, which was tough to see in the dark when we arrived, but we did manage to arrive at the main parking lot without incident.

The location was perfect for this shoot, as the tree-surrounded meadow, in which there is a great-looking, tall stone overflow tower that looks medieval, was a very short walk from a couple of shelters and a building housing restrooms. We were able to set up a nice base camp, in which one shelter was used for costuming and props, and the other was set aside for extras and for serving lunch.

The headlights began to cut through the dark, making it feel a little like Field of Dreams...if you film it, they will come, so to speak, lol. Crew, and then cast, and then extras arrived in greater numbers as the sky began to lighten. We had some very special guests, such as the author of Ascendant, which is the basis for Swordbearer, H. David Blalock, who came up with a friend from Memphis. Also coming in from Memphis were Allan Gilbreath, our fight coordinator, and Kimberly Richardson, a great editor and writer who was willing to be an extra (I should mention that Allan is also a great writer, and both Kimberly and Allan are main forces with the highly regarded Kerlak Publishing). Some of the others that made some large drives included Natasha Smith of Nashville TN, who jumped in to play one of the council mages, author Janet Harriet and her husband Elie from Columbus Ohio, and author Elizadeth Hetheringon and her husband Vance from Wisconsin. (Top Photo by Robin Blankenship, of several extras in Swordbearer, and 2nd Photo by Melissa Mohr, of another group of extras, including David Blalock)




(Photo by Sonny Burnette, of myself, with Kimberly Richardson, David Blalock, and Allan Gilbreath!)

Camera, sound, and other crew brought vehicles across the small bridge to the meadow for unloading, as Abby Cook took charge of the shelter area for costuming tasks. We had some great new designs for this shoot, created by Abby and by Maggie Miller, who both have been amazing in the amount of work done for this project. Abby, Robin, and Lori had their hands full as we got a fair number of extras, and had the main cast to prepare. (Photo by Stephen Zimmer, of Matthew Perry and John Wells, playing Jarl Thran and Baliak, showing costuming)



(photo by Andrew Blankenship, of insurance wizard Elie Harriet and author Janet Harriet, two of our gracious extras in their costumes)


The scene we were set to capture is the climax scene of the short film, in which the two great swordbearers meet for a fight to the death, as champions of two rival houses. Playing the part of the fighters were Al Snow (Hennock) and Benjamin Wood (Tchek). Al is a well-known pro wrestler, having been in the WWF/WWE/ECW/TNA and more, while Benjamin is a newer face on the wrestling scene, participating in the OVW circuit. They are both really good guys to work with and be around. As a director, I wanted them to concentrate solely on the fight choreography. The fight scene was very physical in nature, and as this is an independent project, we were only able to arrange a few sessions to prepare for it, including the major rehearsal with Allan Gilbreath that look place in late August. Though the blade edges were dull/blunt, the swords being used were still metal, and I wanted the fighters to have full concentration on the fight itself without having any micro-managing, as our camera team could adapt to the fighters when they were in the action. The focus on choreography and safe execution was paramount in my mind. (photo by Melissa Mohr, of Al Snow and Benjamin Wood at the cusp of the fight scene)

As such, we had Allan, Al, and Ben work together from the get-go, summoning them only when we needed to get their characters into the processional shot captured in the first half of the day's shooting. That part of the day involved the crowd shots, a subplot involving mages on the city council and mages serving the current Ascendant in the story, DJEMO (played by Roni Jonah), and the lead up to the fight itself. The procession, where Jarl Suum (Jason Crowe) leads Tchek in on one side, and Jarl Thran (Matthew Perry) leads Hennock in on the other, looked very nice and should really build up dramatic tension before the action begins. (photo by Melissa Mohr, of Al Snow and Matthew Perry, prior the procession in)

We were able to create a fairly solid semicircle of extras and cast, and had no less than 4 cameras on site for this shoot. First AD Nathan Day was phenomenal when we got the crowd shots, getting cheers, jeers, and everything in between, as camera operators floated amongst the extras and cast. Nathan and Justin Powell (who has worn many hats on this project, and was wearing a nice cowboy hat on this particular day, lol ) served to give the extras eyelines and whip up the cheers. Nathan did fantastically, and really exerted himself in getting the frenzy going. Thankfully, Justin was able to reinforce with some crowd appeal and action for the crowd's eyelines, resulting in some almost comical mock-fights between Nathan and Justin. (photo by Andrew Blankenship, of myself and First AD Nathan conferring on set)


(photo by Stephen Zimmer of Nathan Day, First Assistant Director)


(Photo by Stephen Zimmer, of Sonny Burnette and extras and cast prior to Sonny's dialog)

Sonny Burnette, playing Latacolc, a major council mage, was fantastic as he addressed the crowd and fighters. Sonny and I conferred on the style and delivery in how he should address the crowd, call the fighters together, and then question them. I had asked him to direct the first part of his dialogue in a public address, and the second in a firm, unwavering questioning of the fighters, in a style that demanded answers from each, and he performed as I knew he would. (and we even got the extras to do a big chant of "Sonny B! Sonny B! earlier in the morning, which was very cool, and most inspiring to all!). Personally, I was very excited that Sonny fit the part of Latacolc, as I've been wanting to work with Sonny for some time. He's one of the most active actors in Central Kentucky this side of Stacey Gillespie, and is a consummate professional that keeps getting better and better. I definitely want to work with him again!(Photo by Melissa Mohr, of Stephen Zimmer and Sonny Burnette discussing the approach to the scene)

The sub-plot with the mages involved Latacolc, and three guards, Djemo (Roni Jonah) Jarl Suum (Jason Crowe), the two Djemoan mages (Ronicah Jones and Abby Cook). All did wonderfully, from the guards, to Sonny, to the group with Djemo.

The weather was clear, and things warmed up considerably, and it was closing in on 1pm when we broke for lunch (after getting a great dolly shot with Baliak, played by John Wells, which is going to be the last shot of the film as currently planned). Matt had arranged for some great trays from Subway, and everyone had plenty to eat while we took about an hour off.

The second half of the day involved the fight scene itself. Four cameras rolling, Ben and Al going at it, and an energetic crowd were all engaged in what turned out to be a very smooth afternoon shoot. Having Aaron Champion as a DP has been amazing. The guy has a real depth of technical knowledge, mixed with a great sense of art and a "can-do" attitude. He and I communicate very well, as our meetings and discussions on shot lists prior to the shooting day go very well, to the point that Aaron keys right in one what I'm hoping to capture when on set. On set it is easy to talk to Aaron and make adjustments, as he has a very level-headed demeanor and approach. I hope to work with Aaron again and again in the future, as he is a major league talent that is absolutely pleasant to work with. (photo by Melissa Mohr, of myself and Aaron talking over where we are at on the shot list)


Allan had designed the fight with Al and Ben in segments of 5-7 moves, each segment with a centerpiece that allowed for efficient filming of the individual segments without having to have the guys do the entire fight scene. We captured the segements, and then selected a few key moments within each segment to get specific shots of, whether a POV shot or an extreme close-up of a strike.

The camera team worked together wonderfully, with DP Aaron Champion, Sven Granlund (who was simultaneously overseeing audio and makeup...the guy is amazing), Phillip Richardson, and Jordan Mynk assigned to given goals on each take. Shooting this way, segment after segment, with 4 cameras, adjusting some of the goals on various takes, and then getting some specific key moments in a segment, we were able to acquire a mountain of coverage. (photo by Andrew Blankenship, showing myself, with Jordan, Phillip and Aaron on cameras, Nathan Day, Ben Wood and Sven Granlund are in the background.)


(photo by Stephen Zimmer, of Aaron Champion, DP)


(photo by Stephen Zimmer, of Phillip Richardson, camera operator on Swordbearer)

The crowd stayed into it, and it did not hurt that the fighters were intense and incredibly realistic in all of their reactions (something that I know their pro-wrestling backgrounds were quite beneficial for). From Al throwing Ben over his shoulder, to groin kicks, sword clashes, and more, the fight scene looked amazing. We had to pause from time to time to add cuts and blood, but things flowed very well all throughout. We had to get a few specific shots for SFX purposes, which Matt and Sven outlined for the camera team and actors, as the finale of the fight is going to involve a very definite, unambiguous conclusion.

The vibe at the end of the day was very good, as I believe everyone knew that the shoot had gone smoothly, and everyone could see just how good the fight scene was. We wrapped things up a little after 5pm.

Aaron Champion, the DP that never sleeps, actually put together the fight scene in a rough edit from just the footage off of his Canon 5D (to get an indication as to whether the scene will cut smoothly), and the sequence looked REALLY good, which is tremendously promising once the footage from the other three cameras is added to the mix. Matthew Perry, who is editing Swordbearer, will have a ton to work with. The shots I have seen look fantastic, and I think that all involved area going to be stoked with this scene.

We had many heroes throughout the day, from Rhonda Bingham, who jumped in to pick up lunch, to Schaeffer Tolliver, who kindly went to get a resupply of water, to Cara Worwick, who was everywhere all throughout the day, to Nathan Day and Justin for their aforementioned help in working up the extras. Major kudos to all of the extras, who really put a lot of spirited effort into having a dynamic crowd scene, and who soldiered through a full day shoot out in the sun.


(photo by Melissa Mohr, of one of the three Moorkai Guards)

So as things stand, there are two more scenes to go, both taking place next week at the Cane Ridge Meeting House in Bourbony County Kentucky. Great locations, and these scenes will have some good moments for the actors involved, with some larger dialog sequences. Thankfully, these are interiors, so we don't have to fret so much about weather issues.

SantaBoy was a success and onward to announcements...

The week has been a whirlwind so far, as it usually is after coming off a very busy weekend. We shot SantaBoy, the new comedy from writer/director Scott Sullivan, this past Saturday and Sunday. I was involved as a producer, first assistant director, and as part of the cast in a very special guest appearance!

The shoot went great. We wrapped ahead of schedule each day, and Aaron Champion did a fantastic job as the Director of Photography. He was using his new Canon 5D, with a set of 3 primes and one variable lense. Great shallow depth of field, film-like sheen, etc. The stuff really looks great, and I can't wait until the trailer is ready.

The Cineline guys were also on hand for the adventure, both Matt Perry and Sven Granlund. They did their usual wonderful job, and we had some excellent participation from Adam Miles, who worked as a camera assistant and wore several other hats over the weekend.

Dana Sullivan, who was also a producer on the project, really kept the environment nice...there was good food and drinks available for cast and crew, including a few Monster Energy drinks, for which she gets several gold stars from me (as those of you who know me are aware, Monster is the best of all energy drinks in the market, bar none!)

Major props to the cast as well, which included Scott Sullivan, Karen Boles, and Ashley-Rose Sullivan. There was not a weak link in the cast, and the performances were solid all the way through. Nick, the 12 year old star of the show, was very pleasant to work with and showed a real maturity in how he handled direction and the long shooting day on Saturday.

I'll post updates here on SantaBoy, as we hope to have a local showing before Scott heads out to immerse in the MFA in Screenwriting program at UCLA.

I've been scrambling to catch up since I got back, but suffice it to say that there will be several Seventh Star Press related announcements over the next week or so:

1. Will be for a new fantasy author coming aboard, a guy who is first-class and whose writing I think very highly of. He and I are really going to be able to team up at conventions and other activities to promote our work, and I am looking forward to joining forces with him. Can't wait for this announcement, which will be coming next week.

2. An announcement will be made on Amanda DeBord's new anthology for Seventh Star Press. This will be the first anthology for Seventh Star Press, and I'm personally excited as Amanda has been a great editor to work with.

3. The title and some release information on my new book, the 2nd book in the Rising Dawn Saga, will also be released.

We will try to space the announcements apart by at least a couple of days, but the flurry will mark a very exciting time.

That's it for the moment, but stay tuned, as things are moving forward!

SantaBoy Weekend Production!

Had a good week, which included a very wonderful trip to Franklin Kentucky, to the campus there for Bowling Green Technical College where I was invited to give an independent film seminar by Dr. Sandra Wales. The students there gave a warm welcome and we had a great two hour discussion with lots of questions asked. We ran the gamut from the screenplay to distribution, and about everything in between. I will be uploading a pic from this visit when I get some time early next week. I hope to have some of the students gain some experience as production assistants when we shoot "Swordbearer" around mid-August.

As of today, I just wrapped up the dates at Keeneland for the live racing meet. Had a very good experience once again with the Keeneland broadcast gang, but then again, they are all so very good and work so well as a team. This is why they have won two straight international simulcast awards for best simulcast production, leading into this year.

Though I always miss many of the people at Keeneland, I am rarin' to go for the SantaBoy shoot this weekend. Some of you may know a little about this project from my earlier posts, but this is a short comedy from writer/director Scott Sullivan, who just got accepted into UCLA's MFA in Screenwriting Program. Not easy to do that! And Scott's last film, Bottle Rockets, did wonderfully at a slew of film fests.

I am going to be wearing a few different hats this weekend. I've served as a producer, and will be donning an A.D. hat and even an actor's hat this weekend. I'll hold the surprise for the role I'm doing until later, but everyone who knows me will get a kick out of it for sure.

We have a small team working on this one, but it is a great one, in my estimation. I tapped the Cineline Productions guys again, and Matt Perry and Sven Granlund are heading down to anchor the production side. I tapped Aaron Champion to DP it. Aaron is meticulous and extremely talented, and I can't wait to see what Scott thinks of his work when this is all done. Adam Miles, who works with me at Keeneland, is also another production guy I'm very confident in who is heading down with me in the morning. A few more will be meeting us there, and all in all it will be a small production team, but it is going to be one that works very well together and produces results. In indie film, that's what counts.

You will see all of them returning again when we do the David Blalock "Swordbearer" short film in August (based from David's Ascendant novel). Things are moving on that front as well, as the gears are in motion and "recruiting" is underway involving the cast. I'll leave you with three words as a hint... MMA ;) More to come on this shortly.

When I get back I will be sure to report how the weekend went!

time to get to narrative filmmaking!

Big crowds at Keeneland, and more book and movie notes!

Work is the key word for the week. Crowds have been enormous down at Keeneland, including nearly 34,000 yesterday. The crew has been doing a great job, and while there are always small glitches here and there, things have been running smoothly overall. Had a 40-1 horse win the Blue Grass Stakes, which is a big pre-Derby event. I liked that, as I'm partial to the underdog!

Don't worry, I've been working hard on book and movie stuff too! ;)

This week I will be meeting with Amanda regarding the final touches on the new installment in the Rising Dawn Saga. We have a title selected and anchored down, which will be announced very soon. Matt is well underway on the illustrations and cover art, and I hope to have some reports on that very shortly as well.

And speaking of Amanda, there's going to be a new anthology announcement at Seventh Star Press soon, which also has its title decided and anchored down.

On the movie front, we have a production meeting for Santa Boy, the new short comedy from award-winning director/writer Scott Sullivan. We go into production at the end of April, with Aaron Champion as the cinematographer, and the Cineline Production camp in full force on the production side. I know it's going to look good, and there's a real positive vibe in the air around this one as Scott recently got accepted into the UCLA MFA in Screenwriting program.

The next 2 t-shirts will also be unveiled probably next week, bringing the total to 4 designs, 2 from each novel (The Exodus Gate and Crown of Vengeance). I hope to have some individuals modeling them very shortly.

I did have one fun excursion last week, going to see my friend, actor David Haney, do stand-up comedy at the very respected Comedy Off Broadway venue here in Lexington. David had a great debut and I'm hoping that he'll be encouraged to move forward. (and I was honored to have him wear one of the new t-shirts during his routine!)

That's about it for now...time to get back to work!