Chicago Trip for Rayden Valkyrie TV Pilot Project

Started this week with a very intensive two day excursion from Chicago to explore casting possibilities for the role of Rayden Valkyrie in the Rayden Valkyrie TV Pilot Project.

Obviously, the casting of this central role is critical to the potential success of the project, so we have to take extreme care with this decision.  We have had to adjust our production window a couple of times during the process, but we want to make absolutely sure we do it right.

This project could not only lead to an entire season of episodes, but it could kickoff some wonderful new projects for Seventh Star Studios, which is the production company bringing this to life (and it is the first project for Seventh Star Studios).

Me with production team members John Wells Ken Daniels and Holly Phillipe

We are very busy with several areas of the project at the moment, from storyboards to locations props, costuming, and building the production crew. It's coming together and I hope to be able to share some cool news in regards to our cast very soon!

Metropolis Supercon Roundup

Had an enjoyable weekend at Metropolis Supercon 2012, held in the town of Metropolis IL, which is perched on the border of Kentucky right across from Paducah.

Metropolis, as you might guess, takes pride in all things Superman. Big statue in the town square, a Superman museum, and even a Superman festival. The Con itself has been around for five years, and this was my second trip in.

It is about a four hour drive for me, so my day started quite early, about 4:30 am. I drove into town and went straight to the venue where I had two tables to set up on. I don't have a problem at this point filling two tables with all of the items I bring along with me! LOL




I was across from actor John Wells, director Zach Schuyler, and actor and MMA champion Dale Miller, all good friends of mine (John and Dale were in Swordbearer, as some of you might recall.) They were situated next to John Wesley Shipp, who fans might recognize as the actor who portrayed The Flash.

I did get to meet John Wesley Shipp. He came across and visited my table, where we talked for a little bit. Very nice guy, very approachable and engaging with his fans. I would totally recommend him to any event looking to bring in a very friendly celebrity guest.




The crowd this year was, admittedly, down a bit from last year, but the people were fantastic. Jeff Yonosick, an author that I know, showed up as The Joker, and even posed with a copy of Crown of Vengeance after he had purchased it. Very nice endorsement, wouldn't you say? :)

Saturday night we got a nice bonus in the way of an invite from Brandon, Joshua, and Ben, three guys who are huge movie buffs with a great memorabilia collection. They are a blast to hang out with and I'm glad we got to visit with them again this year. Joshua is an AMAZING cook, and he went all out again with a great dinner.

Last year's Metropolis I mentioned the weird phenomenon surrounding Myra's Magic Hot Dogs. Whenever myself or anyone else ate one, they would make a sale within minutes at their tables. Guess what? They worked again, and it was eerie! Three separate occasions for me, and Michael Gordon and Bobby Nash can also attest to the strange powers that these seemingly normal hot dogs have. Myra Daniels, a co-chair of Fandom Fest and the Fright Night Film Festival, got a real kick out of seeing the magic hot dogs demonstrate their powers again! LOL

Sunday was a bit on the slow side, so things shut down a little earlier, and I was able to get a jump on the road trip back to Lexington. I think the Con would be a great one day event and I hope they consolidate it next year to a longer single day schedule. Overall, though, it was very enjoyable, and I got to catch up with some good friends. I do hope to go back in 2012.

Next up this weekend is the Author's Fair in Madison, IN, where Michael West will be launching Poseidon's Children, and then on to MidSouthCon in Memphis the following weekend!

Off to Metropolis SuperCon!

Heading off to Metrpolis Supercon today for a return to an event that I did for the first time last year. Metropolis IL is known for all things Superman, from the statue in the town to the museum, to a festival it holds every year. The Metropolis Supercon is held at the Metropolis Community Center, and will feature a range of guests, including comic book artists, authors, filmmakers, and more. I had a great time last year and made some new friends that I've kept in touch with, so it will be nice to return to the town. The hours are 10-5 on Saturday and 11-4 on Sunday.

The week went by fast. The highlight was without question a pair of fantasy writing workshops I did at Washington County High School, for the classes of Danielle Burke. I worked with a group of sophomores in one class and a group of juniors in the other.

With the help of Danielle, I had given them a small creative writing assignment prior to the workshop, so before I even arrived I had already critiqued the assignments handed in from the class. I talked about the value of the fantasy genre and my own path in becoming a writer, which led into individualized critiques of the assignments done by the students, followed by a period of open Q and A afterwards. The students were really attentive, engaged, and fun to work with.

There were definitely some promising writers in the group, but my goal of showing them that every single one of them could come up with original ideas and concepts for a fantasy-genre story was accomplished without question. Really loved the range of ideas and sub-genres that were reflected in the assignments. Some very creative approaches, interesting plot devices, character concepts, and settings were contained in the writing exercises. Definitely a workshop that I would like to do again with high school students in the future.

The week had a lot of activity, and Fandom Fest announced some great new guests such as John Rhys-Davies, the legendary actor, and Ernest Cline, one of the bright new stars of the literary realms whose Ready Player One was one of the biggest debut novels of all of 2011.

It seemed that the week rushed by with all of the activity and the workshops, as when I looked up the weekend was already upon me and it was time to prepare for Metropolis. So off I go to my second Metropolis Supercon. Friends of mine like actor John Wells, actor and 5 time MMA champion Dale Miller, filmmaker Zach Schuyler, Fandom Fest leaders Ken Daniels and Myra Daniels, author Bobby Nash, and many others will be on hand for what promises to be a fun weekend event. I'll try to remember to get some pictures!

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 First Shoots!

(photo by Melissa Mohr)


This past weekend, the Swordbearer project kicked off at The Castle Post, a large castle located in Versailles, KY, just on the outskirts of Lexington.

It is a spectacular place, with crenellated walls, towers, a big keep, and a beautiful landscape. As Swordbearer is medieval fantasy, you could not ask for a better place to kick off the film shoot.


(photo by Melissa Mohr)

We only had a short window of time to work with due to our location agreement, so the crew started arriving around 6 am, and we were under way with shooting a little after 8. The scene that we shot involves the arrival of Andalarn Thran back to Thran Keep, the family stead that he is reclaiming for the Thran family after centuries of exile.

An honor guard, including several Telmet (like dwarves) generals, are on hand to welcome him as he comes up with his wife, Kalene, the sea captain Hothorn, Baliak (one of the Kel, very elven-like folk), and four of their children that survived a sea wreck.

As independent film shoots tend to be, the earliest portion of the day involved everyone settling into their tasks, from costuming, to props, to the camera department, etc.

Clouds threatened rain, but once we got underway with shooting, we really moved smoothly. Of course, the threat of rain spurred everyone to stay on track, which didn't hurt!


I am really excited about the cast in this film. I have worked with several of them before, such as Vince Bingham, who is playing the part of Hothorn, and there are many new faces, such as John Wells, who plays Baliak, and Margaret Whitney, who plays the Lady Kalene (John and Margaret are pictured, photos taken by Melissa Mohr). The cast did an excellent job, from the House Guards like Dale Miller, to the Telmet generals like TJ Moreschi and William S. Tolliver, to the Thran family, which included Ally Wells. Cherokee Hall, who played Loncaer, turned in an excellent performance, delivering dialogue in the manner I was wanting, as did Matthew Perry, who is playing Andalarn Thran.





Major kudos to the costume department. Abby Cook, who recently stepped in to head up the department, was assited by Lori Baker and Robin Blankenship. They worked fast and efficiently to garb about twenty in a very short amount of time. Similarly, Billy Boyd and Justin Powell (who has been helping in just about all departments) managed to coordinate weapons and props very well, including some brand new pieces made by John Billy Foley. Makeup and Hair went well, thanks to Kinnari Shah and Sven Granlund (wearing one of his ten thousand hats).

Grips/PA's were on top of everything, from Jordan Mynk, to Josh Parsons, and Andrew Blankenship. Aaron Champion, our DP and the guy on the A camera, and Sven Granlund, who ran camera B AND managed to oversee audio, captured some fantastic images.

On my end, I was very happy with my trusty, awesome First AD Nathan Day, and our new assistant producer Cara Worick. Both really helped to keep things organized and flowing.

All of this flowed into day 2, which took place in the first half at Ft. Boonesborough, in a blockhouse in the fort that we used as a medieval tavern/waystation. We headed down to Boonesborough beach for the shooting of 2 more scenes in the afternoon.

This shoot was special, as we had the author of the novel on whom Swordbearer is adapted from. H. David Blalock, author of Ascendant, was on hand personally, along with his wife, Maria, and daughter Herika Raymer (who is a published author as well). David was placed in the tavern as one of the ale-drinkers, while Herika was one of the boisterous bar maids. I think David had a real blast seeing his own characters in flesh and blood, and I was highly relieved to discover that he was happy with the cast.

(David Blalock, Tom Williams, and the Kel, photo by Melissa Mohr)


The tavern scene involved some nice jib and dolly shots, and we finished largely on schedule. The first beach scene went very well, and I included some shots allowing for some ad-libbing on the part of Matthew and Margaret, to create a little extension to the scene focusing on their relationship as husband and wife. Needless to say, the two of them blew the roof off with their performance. I couldn't help but give a fist pump as Margaret finished up one of the cuts, as the performance and shot were simply fantastic. (photo by Melissa Mohr, features Ronica Jones, who is in our makeup and hair dept., working with Claude Miles, one of the Kel band)

We had to wait until nightfall to get the final shots, involving a party of 4 Kel, including Baliak, looking out to sea to a small ship struggling on the horizon in a storm. We got the first two of the three shots knocked out, and then, right on the verge of rolling camera for the last shot, the lights tripped the circuit breaker. The park security ended up not having keys to where the breaker box was. I asked all the cast and crew their thoughts on calling it a night, and doing a short shoot on a later date, or forging ahead with setting up at a shelter nearby that had power, which would add a couple hours onto the already full day shoot.

The cast and crew were unanimously determined to finish. Cara, Jordan, Aaron, Sven, Matthew, myself, Nathan, and the cast members made our way over to the shelter, set up, got the last shots, and reached the end of the night.

I can't wait until we get to show the first footage from this shoot. I have seen many clips, and the project is looking very, very nice.

This week we are focused on the big fight rehearsal between Al Snow, who is playing Hennock, one of the two champions that meet at the end of the film, and Benjamin Wood, who is playing Tchek, the other opponent. Fight Coordinator is Allan Gilbreath, out of Memphis TN, who has a tremendous fighting and weapons background, including expertise in medieval weapons and fighting styles.

Some of the production team will be recording portions of the rehearsals to plan for some subtle CGI effects that will be added.

As for myself, I will be returning to ConText this weekend, a great literary convention in Columbus Ohio. I am set to do a couple of panels, and exhibit in the dealer room, and it will be great to catch up with many of my author friends, such as Michael West, Maurice Broaddus, Steven Shrewsbury, and Jason Sizemore, the Apex head honcho.

Obviously, things are insanely busy, but I really don't mind it when I'm doing what I like.

Oh...did I mention that book 2 of the Fires in Eden series is on the home stretch now! :) I think the readers are going to be very, very pleased with how this one turns out. Karen Leet, my editor on this book, has expressed that she is very happy with it!