MAN IN THE LAKE - Production Diary Day 7

DAY 7:

On Day 7 of filming on the Southlan-Films Friday the 13th fan film The Man in the Lake we return to on-location filming at the property of Roland Force to not only film the death of actor Chris Whitley but to also do reshoots of the death of the Sheriff (played by Jim Adams), among other things. The most interesting thing about today’s filming are the reshoots.

Writer/director/editor Ron McLellen had already put together a rough edit of many of the scenes and soon discovered that there were sequences within the scene in which the Sheriff comes upon the domain of Jason Voorhees (of which we all know what happens when someone comes upon Jason’s home). He wanted to make the whole sequence longer and he wanted to elaborate on Jason’s “shack” through the eyes of the Sheriff who is the first person to come upon it. This being the first sequence filmed on the production, McLellen soon realized that the sequence was far too short and needed more suspense before the Sheriff died, so, since we had to return to the location anyway it was decided to do some extensive reshoots to make the sequence really stand out early in the film.

Today is designed to be a very light day. I missed the previous day of filming (Day 6) which was the production’s return to the camp grounds to film the wrap around segment of the film which includes a group of kids who are at Camp Crystal Lake when they start telling the story of Jason Voorhees (the rest of the film which is presented as a story told by the children). I missed all of this day of filming which reunited McLellen with the stars of his previous fan film Return of the Sandman – actors Ashley Ballard, Hunter Ballard, and Callan Wilson.

Once the reshoots with actor Jim Adams are complete the rest of the day is waiting for the sun to go down to film Whitley’s death for the film. In the mean time we waited for the make-up artists of 9 Cop Productions (Ondie Daniel and Ace Talkingwolf) to put Adams in his “death” make-up and prep for the death of Whitley’s character who wanders into Jason’s home and finds the Sheriff’s body just before he dies at the hands of Jason. It’s no secret that he’s going to die but it is the way in which he dies that will have every Jason fan screaming in their seats. McLellen has crafted many death sequences that will not only pay homage to the Friday the 13th franchise but will all leave fans with a big smile on their faces. This is a Friday film and the bloodier the better!

Today is just a very laid back final day of filming on The Man in the Lake. I say this because all principal actors on the film will be wrapped but we still have 2nd Unit scenes to film which don’t require any of the main cast members. This happens to be just a very relaxed day of filming because everyone is excited to be at the end of the production (even though it was only 7 days).

For me, it’s a totally different story as I will be on hand throughout the post-production process on the film and up to its Friday, August 13th premiere both online and on the big screen (as we plan on screening the film for cast & crew and anyone else who want to see the film). Once this film is complete I won’t have any time to rest as McLellen is prepping a sequel to his Halloween fan film Return of the Sandman which is tentatively called Revenge of the Sandman.

For more info on the Southlan-Films production THE MAN IN THE LAKE you can follow the production on Facebook here - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=592735751#!/pages/MAN-IN-THE-LAKE-Official-Fan-Page/278862841916?ref=ts