"Berlin" was originally inspired by DVXuser's SpyFest, where the storyline & script was initially written in February/March of 2007. One week before production was slated to begin, I pulled the plug & cancelled production because I was concerned that some key elements weren't coming together as I had envisioned. It was an extremely tough call, in fact one of the hardest I've ever had to make, but in the long run it was worth it.
When I told Rebecca Dunn, my Co-Producer & Co-Writer, that I wanted to bring BERLIN back for a late fall production, we both felt good about the timing & how it would turn out. Next up was then to contact all of the original crew & see who was still on board. A major blessing was that not only were most of the original crew excited to see "Berlin" going back into production, but along the way we were able to expand the crew into the impressive list now shown.
Before I continue, I have to give sincere appreciation to two of the biggest contributors in making this film happen, with regards to the production value that it has, at the rock bottom low budget we had to work with: Jay Lance and Gear Head Grip. While EVERYONE brings a lot to the table from the Camera, Lighting/Grip, Art Departments and more, I feel the need to point these two out. If it wasn't for Jay Lance, this simply would not be a believable period film. Jay provided probably 90% or more of the wardrobe, which included TENS of thousands of dollars worth of authentic German uniforms. He has also been a vaulable asset to the production in the way of Historical Consultant. He really knows his stuff. Gear Head Grip has saved us, financially, and has given us insane deals on rentals that just should not exist, including a 3-Ton grip truck, Fisher Dolly, track, lighting, and more.
It seems everyone loves a good period film afterall, and is willing to throw in all kinds of assistance, which also explains how we were able to get our incredible locations!
Our Cabaret scene takes place at Huber's, Portland's oldest establishment since 1887. Inside, it's all original/refurbished 1910 decore really helps to sell the era. While location scouting and scrambling to replace our first location only 3 days before we were to begin filming, I came across an immense old barn, located in Ridgefield, Washington. I heard complaints from a few crew members about the drive out there, but once everyone was on set & saw the place, I never heard a single complaint again. They knew why this set was perfect, and worth the drive. Finally we have Officer's Row, which is a National Historic site. All the homes on this row were built prior to the 1900's, and are all beautifully restored.
ABRIDGED PRODUCTION JOURNAL:
February 2007 - SpyFest is officially announced for DVXuser, and the ideas start flowing for a possible spy themed short film. After looking up the definition & history of "Spy" on Wikipedia, I get the idea of doing a period film, set in WWII. I run the ROUGH concept past some cast & crew from "Where Silence Falls", at the wrap party, and many are enthusiastic about it. Steve Waters contributes some ideas that impact the story ... he'll get additional story credit.
March 2007 - While traveling to Miami for business (the day job), I'm sitting at LAX thinking about the story some more. I run more past Rebecca to get her thoughts/feedback, and she suggests the lead be a singer, perhaps in a cabaret. I warn her of the location challenges that will come up to accomodate that, and tell her if she can find a location, then she's got her wish & I'll write it into the script. Shortly after I arrive back from my week in Miami she approaches me with a possible location. She talks to the owner of Huber's, whom she knew, and presented the idea. He seemed open to it, and was only asking for $200 rental for one day's use, during non-business hours. We go to the location together to meet with the owner, and the place is perfect. I later call the owner and talk him into two nights use for free, in exchange for whatever promotion I can provide for the restaurant with the filming, in addition to having our cast & crew party there. He agrees. Our main location is now secured, and the script is underway.
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With the script written, it'll fit into the six minute DVXuser time limit, but just barely ... but I already know where to edit the film to cut out any fat, and still have it work great. We'll just have to run & gun a park scene for the ending to make it all work. Have also written lyrics to our main cabaret song with the help of Rebecca's friend, Amy, who's proved extremely valuable in poetic writing. Herman, our composer, is writing the music & recording the instruments to it. We'll record Rebecca's vocals in my office.
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Begin casting, and securing remaining crew. I've rec'd a lead from Shawn Nelson (DVXuser's shawneous) to contact a friend of his, Mike, about possible re-enactment people for the soldiers, etc. After contacting Mike, he informs me the REAL person I want to speak with is Jay Lance, a local that outfits most of the period film productions that come to town. This guy's seriously pro, so I doubt he'll want to speak with the likes of me, making a no-budget short film. But following my motto of "If you don't ask, the answer is already 'No'", I decide to check it out anyway. In the meantime, I've also been advised to check with a guy who leads up a Swing Dancing group in town, and may have some people with their own period authentic wardrobe to help fill the cabaret scene at Huber's.
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Have recorded Rebecca's vocals, and sent the audio to Herman for final mixing. He's done an excellent job, and we've got a great mix of the song now ready for shooting to. This will be my first experience shooting a scene like this, much like (I'm assuming) music videos are shot. Hmmm, great idea. We'll shoot a portion of it like a music video & have footage for the film and or some kind of cool extra.
April 2007 - I've contacted Jay Lance, and he's at least agreed to read the script as a favor in possibly offering any technical or historical accuracy advice. I've also contacted the gentleman who heads up the swing dance group. Said he can easily pull people together for it, etc. Seems too easy. Also is leaning heavily towards paying the people as extras (siting how they've been paid for larger budget filmsas extras), which I have no budget for.
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Have just secured the lead for Robert (Brian Ibsen, out of Seattle, WA), the rest of the cast is in place, and all crew is in place with the exception of Gaffer, which is going to be sketchy. It's okay though, as I have some lights & gear we can use, if need be, though they won't be as pro. Regardless, should be a fun & exciting shoot, and all seem to be looking forward to it. The production schedule is planned for the last two weekends of this month, taking up both Saturdays & Sundays, allowing a relaxed shoot with plenty of time. The only major thing pending is rehearsals for the leads, and pulling together the extras & wardrobe.
April 2007 - ONE WEEK BEFORE SHOOTING - I've decided to cancel production. What a tough, gut wrenching decision! I had another trip to Miami, and while there just wasn't convinced that all is coming together. With the potential of this project, I don't want to cut corners and shoot it just for the sake of shooting it, especially if everyone is volunteering their time. Here's a link to the official announcement:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.p...&postcount=344
Here's also the link to the portion of the thread with the announcement, and then following replies from the DVXuser community:
http://dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=89647&page=35
July 2007 - In the past three months I've done a few other projects (WITHOUT PROVOCATION - last minute entry/replacement for SpyFest that we shot in one day with little to no prep, and experimented a lot with - also shot three Heinz Spec commercials for a competition Heinz was having), and now feel inspired & ready to bring BERLIN back from the ashes. Have spoken with Rebecca about my intentions with it again, and have began calling all the original crew. Nearly all are on board & excited to see it made. Have lost Brian Ibsen for the lead of Robert, due to him moving to LA, but have found possibly an even better fit from new LA transplant, Shan Applegate, whom I cast in the Heinz spec commercials. Going to set the actual production for October. It'll give us PLENTY of time for pre-production, and I think the fall colors will work nicely as well. Speaking of which, I think I'd like to expand the script some from the original 6 minute concept to get into the story some more.
August 2007 - Most all of the crew is in place, except for the 1st Assistant Director, Gaffer, and a couple other fairly key spots. Main Cast is set as well. I sent WHERE SILENCE FALLS into a local film festival a while ago, forgot about it, and found out it was accepted. Niche Film & Music Festival ... sounds cool, it's local, think I'll check it out.
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Went to the Niche film festival, and clicked pretty well with several of the people, one of which was THE person who set up & ran the fest, Bree Dennis. Turns out she's got an extreme passion for film, loves to produce & 1st AD, and is excited to be a part of Berlin. Met a friend of hers, Matt Semchee, who's also interested in being the Gaffer, though I'll have to check him out further to see if he knows his stuff, etc. Said he may have a friend who could help on Grip, and might be able to swing us some deals at Gearhead Grip, where he works.
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Dan Ayers, our DP, has just been picked up for the 2nd season of The Riches on FX, and will be shooting in LA during the production of Berlin. He's assured me, however, that he'll fly back for shooting Berlin on the weekends, but he'll be gone during most of pre-production, including working the shot list, etc. Bummer. We'll have to work around that the best we can.
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Have now met with Jay Lance in person. He really digs the script, and now wants to be more involved. I've told him that while I'll try to take care of him the best I can, this is LOW to no budget, and ultimately it's pro-bono. Thankfully, for whatever reason, he likes what I'm trying to do with the film, likes the script, and is taking a HUGE leap of faith with me. Wow, having this guy on board is going to do insane things for our production value, with regards to wardrobe. In the initial meeting he's already given some great insight & tips we'll need to work into the script to make it as historically accurate as possible. Again, wow.
September 2007 - Doing some camera adapter tests with Ryan E. Walters (working with Dan as 1st AC) to see if Dan feels comfortable with the 35 adapters. Testing will be done at Ryan's house, along with some rehearsal, blocking, etc. Perfect opportunity to test Matt Semchee out as Gaffer and see if he knows his lights, etc.
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Yep, Matt knows his stuff. Cool guy to work with in person too. He's confirmed his buddy, Fro, should be onboard for Key Grip as well. Seems pretty confident he'll be able to get us what we need from where he works. Sounds too good to be true, but sounds great all the same. Testing went well with the Letus35 Extreme adapter, and Dan was pleasantly surprised with the results. Looks like we'll plan to use them, but now have decided that we HAVE to have a 2nd camera (Panasonic HVX200) to do a 2 camera shoot, due to the massive shot list schedule I've put together, in addition to nearly doubling the story/script length with still only the same amount of days to shoot in. This is one of the main reasons why we opted not to shoot on the new RED, which we could have had a great deal on. The camera is too new for Dan's comfort level, and two cameras for the additional coverage is now a must. But where to get another camera ... for free?
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Posted on Craigslist what we were doing & had a surprising amount of people email stating they own a HVX and would love to be able to work with the production (probably because of Dan, and just the cool idea of doing a higher quality period piece). After interviewing everyone over the phone, looking at reels, etc., I've decided to settle in on Isaac Lane Koval. Seems like he's got a great demeanor, and should be good to work with. Excellent photographer too. So now we've got our two cameras, just need to fill out the camera teams.
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End of September now. We were planning on shooting the exterior scenes, which is also the opening & closing of the film, during the first portion of October. But as I drive around it's apparent the trees aren't changing to fall colors as quickly as I'd originally hoped. It's REALLY important to me to have vibrant fall colors with the leaves exploding in reds, yellows, oranges, etc. So, I'm going to push that weekend back to the very last weekend of October now. Hope my plan works. Dan's afraid we may miss our window altogether & have the trees more winter/barren looking then. We'll see ... I hope I'm making the right choice.
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