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Here is the link to Episode# 2001 - "On the Set of the Film NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY" Video Diary 2001
http://vimeo.com/14849927
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Second Season Begins!
The Second Season of my online series DIARY OF A FILMMAKER has finally begun with the first episode (Episode #2001) spot lighting my work on the Blank Stage Production of the short film NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY, which is directed by Brent Brooks.
The film NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY is the story of a serial killer who uses the allure of acting auditions to bring in his victims. Some people are desperate to be a star not realizing that they're nothing more than lambs for the slaughter.
This epsiode is just one of several is the series depicting the video diary of the film but it's the start of the new season of which I hope to have 12 done before the end of the year.
The film NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY is the story of a serial killer who uses the allure of acting auditions to bring in his victims. Some people are desperate to be a star not realizing that they're nothing more than lambs for the slaughter.
This epsiode is just one of several is the series depicting the video diary of the film but it's the start of the new season of which I hope to have 12 done before the end of the year.
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
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
MAN IN THE LAKE - Production Diary Day 5
DAY 5:
This is the second day of on-location filming at the camp grounds of which the majority of the Southlan-Films Friday the 13th fan film The Man in the Lake will take place. I was unable to be there for the first day on filming due to my obligations at my 9-to-5 job but this is just as well as the production was rained out for most of the day and only a little was actually filmed (a minor setback that will require an additional day at the camp grounds which we had not originally scheduled).
Today is a tough day as we try and squeeze in a lot of scenes that we didn’t get filmed last night. All the day scenes need to be filmed in addition to many of the night scenes and all of the “kill scenes” of the entire cast (with the exception of the death of actor Chris Whitley which is scheduled at a different location). On tap to do the Special FX make-up for the film is 9 Cop Productions (on set today are chief make-up artists Ondie Daniel and Ace Talkingwolf) which will have their hands filled killing 3 people (when it’s a major achievement just to kill one person per day on the set of a horror film). In addition to the 3 deaths scenes that have to be orchestrated we also need to film the climax of the film which requires is reminiscent to that of the ending of the original Friday the 13th. Although the running time of the film is not expected to be longer than 45 minutes, it is very ambitious as per the request of writer/director Ron McLellen.
The film is trying to make its release date of Friday, August 13 of this year. This seems like an impossible tasks but the production is filled with a talented cast and crew that work very hard to accomplish the impossible task of filming a lot of pages today despite the on-location problems. It does continue to rain today but not enough to cripple the production like the previous day and everyone works hard to finish filming all of the days pages and scenes.
Our make-up department also goes above and beyond the call of duty as they push themselves to complete 3 major kill scenes in the film. We’ve lucked out that there are so many people out there who love and respect the Friday the 13th franchise that they are willing to come out and help on this production for free simply to work on the film for no pay. It’s important to remember that fan films are produced by people who love and respect the film/franchise for whom their production is based. These films are produced simply for the fun of it and for all the fans out there.
My job on this production has primarily been as still photographer and as the “background” producer allowing McLellen the freedom to produce the film that he wants to without and hang-ups or problems. This has been made easier from a cast and crew who are simply doing this film for the fun of it and not for a paycheck (although regardless of the fact that this is a fan film it would be nice to pay the cast and crew).
Everything does in fact go on as planned for today’s production even though we were filming into the wee hours of the next morning. We encountered a few problems in regards to policies at the camp grounds that we filming but despite this the filming was complete and we do, in fact, plan on returning for another day of filming to finish everything else that still needs to be filmed.
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
This is the second day of on-location filming at the camp grounds of which the majority of the Southlan-Films Friday the 13th fan film The Man in the Lake will take place. I was unable to be there for the first day on filming due to my obligations at my 9-to-5 job but this is just as well as the production was rained out for most of the day and only a little was actually filmed (a minor setback that will require an additional day at the camp grounds which we had not originally scheduled).
Today is a tough day as we try and squeeze in a lot of scenes that we didn’t get filmed last night. All the day scenes need to be filmed in addition to many of the night scenes and all of the “kill scenes” of the entire cast (with the exception of the death of actor Chris Whitley which is scheduled at a different location). On tap to do the Special FX make-up for the film is 9 Cop Productions (on set today are chief make-up artists Ondie Daniel and Ace Talkingwolf) which will have their hands filled killing 3 people (when it’s a major achievement just to kill one person per day on the set of a horror film). In addition to the 3 deaths scenes that have to be orchestrated we also need to film the climax of the film which requires is reminiscent to that of the ending of the original Friday the 13th. Although the running time of the film is not expected to be longer than 45 minutes, it is very ambitious as per the request of writer/director Ron McLellen.
The film is trying to make its release date of Friday, August 13 of this year. This seems like an impossible tasks but the production is filled with a talented cast and crew that work very hard to accomplish the impossible task of filming a lot of pages today despite the on-location problems. It does continue to rain today but not enough to cripple the production like the previous day and everyone works hard to finish filming all of the days pages and scenes.
Our make-up department also goes above and beyond the call of duty as they push themselves to complete 3 major kill scenes in the film. We’ve lucked out that there are so many people out there who love and respect the Friday the 13th franchise that they are willing to come out and help on this production for free simply to work on the film for no pay. It’s important to remember that fan films are produced by people who love and respect the film/franchise for whom their production is based. These films are produced simply for the fun of it and for all the fans out there.
My job on this production has primarily been as still photographer and as the “background” producer allowing McLellen the freedom to produce the film that he wants to without and hang-ups or problems. This has been made easier from a cast and crew who are simply doing this film for the fun of it and not for a paycheck (although regardless of the fact that this is a fan film it would be nice to pay the cast and crew).
Everything does in fact go on as planned for today’s production even though we were filming into the wee hours of the next morning. We encountered a few problems in regards to policies at the camp grounds that we filming but despite this the filming was complete and we do, in fact, plan on returning for another day of filming to finish everything else that still needs to be filmed.
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
Saturday, May 29, 2010
MAN IN THE LAKE - Production Diary DAY 3
DAY 3: Monday, May 24, 2010
By the time we get to the third day of filming on the Southlan-Films production of the Friday the 13th fan film The Man in the Lake, writer/director Ron McLellen has already put together a preliminary edit of all the scenes thus far filmed. This is not unusual considering the amazing turnaround time we had when we filmed the Halloween fan film Return of the Sandman last year. It was interesting to be able to view these scenes prior to going out and filming scenes that linked to the scenes thus far filmed.
Today is planned to be a light day as we are going out to Roland Force’s property once again to film the scenes where the Sheriff (played by Jim Adams) encounters Ralph (Dave R. Watkins) on the side of the road and Jason Voorhees (this time played by Kyle Thrasher) drags Ralph into the woods and kills him. The scenes where the Sheriff chases after Voorhees and is himself killed were filmed on Day 1 but now we will be filming everything that leads up to his death. We are also scheduled to go back to the Pop Stop (from Day 2) and film the exterior filler scenes of Ralph riding away on his bicycle (which we didn’t have on the original day of filming). By the end of today we should have two whole sequences of the film done.
Adding Thrasher to the film is a big coup for the production. After having played the iconic Michael Myers in McLellen’s Return of the Sandman, Thrasher is even more adequately cast as Voorhees. There is a slight difference in body type between Thrasher and Nathan Standridge (who is also playing Voorhees). Standridge is taller but Thrasher has the bigger and more muscular body frame giving him the Voorhees look of Parts 6 & 7 of the original series. Despite two actors playing the role I doubt that the regular audience members will even be able to tell that the role was played by two separate people. For Thrasher, this role is also preparation for his return as Myers in the proposed sequel to Return of the Sandman tentatively called Revenge of the Sandman which will film later this year before McLellen takes a break from his fan film trilogy of terror.
The location of filming on the Force property should be familiar to fans of the Southlan-Films production Bad Land as we filmed on the same spots used in that film. It was a great bit of homage that made filming that much more fun. It was an extremely hot day and we were plagued by the presence of ants and various other insects but that didn’t stop us from having a good time killing Watkins’ character Ralph, in fact, killing him was more exciting than killing the Sheriff (shoot me, I like to see people die in a horror film).
Although today was a short shoot it was a very eventful one as should be on the set of a horror film. Now that some of the easier scenes are done we will be able to more on to the real “meat & potatoes” of the film, which is killing everyone else!
By the time we get to the third day of filming on the Southlan-Films production of the Friday the 13th fan film The Man in the Lake, writer/director Ron McLellen has already put together a preliminary edit of all the scenes thus far filmed. This is not unusual considering the amazing turnaround time we had when we filmed the Halloween fan film Return of the Sandman last year. It was interesting to be able to view these scenes prior to going out and filming scenes that linked to the scenes thus far filmed.
Today is planned to be a light day as we are going out to Roland Force’s property once again to film the scenes where the Sheriff (played by Jim Adams) encounters Ralph (Dave R. Watkins) on the side of the road and Jason Voorhees (this time played by Kyle Thrasher) drags Ralph into the woods and kills him. The scenes where the Sheriff chases after Voorhees and is himself killed were filmed on Day 1 but now we will be filming everything that leads up to his death. We are also scheduled to go back to the Pop Stop (from Day 2) and film the exterior filler scenes of Ralph riding away on his bicycle (which we didn’t have on the original day of filming). By the end of today we should have two whole sequences of the film done.
Adding Thrasher to the film is a big coup for the production. After having played the iconic Michael Myers in McLellen’s Return of the Sandman, Thrasher is even more adequately cast as Voorhees. There is a slight difference in body type between Thrasher and Nathan Standridge (who is also playing Voorhees). Standridge is taller but Thrasher has the bigger and more muscular body frame giving him the Voorhees look of Parts 6 & 7 of the original series. Despite two actors playing the role I doubt that the regular audience members will even be able to tell that the role was played by two separate people. For Thrasher, this role is also preparation for his return as Myers in the proposed sequel to Return of the Sandman tentatively called Revenge of the Sandman which will film later this year before McLellen takes a break from his fan film trilogy of terror.
The location of filming on the Force property should be familiar to fans of the Southlan-Films production Bad Land as we filmed on the same spots used in that film. It was a great bit of homage that made filming that much more fun. It was an extremely hot day and we were plagued by the presence of ants and various other insects but that didn’t stop us from having a good time killing Watkins’ character Ralph, in fact, killing him was more exciting than killing the Sheriff (shoot me, I like to see people die in a horror film).
Although today was a short shoot it was a very eventful one as should be on the set of a horror film. Now that some of the easier scenes are done we will be able to more on to the real “meat & potatoes” of the film, which is killing everyone else!
MAN IN THE LAKE - Production Diary DAY 2
DAY 2: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The second day of filming on the Southlan-Films production of the Friday the 13th fan-film The Man In The Lake is also the first day that the whole cast will get together for the very first time. Unlike most writer/director Ron McLellen’s previous films, there was no script read-through with the cast, so, today is the first day that McLellen has even met some of his cast members. I cast several of the actors on this film having worked with them on previous films but during the course of time between the first draft of the screenplay (which I wrote) and the final shooting draft (which McLellen wrote) there were a lot of cast changes and a lot of roles that were cut from the final shooting script. Although I am not 100% satisfied with the final shooting script, I was well aware of many of the changes that would eventually happen due to the fact that I wrote and over ambitious film that probably would’ve been more a feature and less a short film like what the director wanted. I also wrote my script with no regards to budget or limitations, which is a big factor when you’re doing a film in which you will never recoup any costs, so, I’m not surprised of the changes to my original script.
I also was writing the script based on what I would want to see in a Friday the 13th film mixed with the fact that I was bridging my script with McLellen’s previous film Return of the Sandman creating what would ultimately end in a “what if?” Jason fought Michael Myers type film. Over ambitious is probably putting it mildly.
The scenes we are filming today introduce all the characters as they stop at a gas station to fill up on supplies prior to going to the camp grounds. In the scenes are the actors – Lynn McArthur, Cesar Aguirre, JM Finnel, Andrew McClure, Chris Whitley, Jim Adams, Dave R. Watkins, Josephine B. Lawson, and several extras. We had the luck of finding a location perfect for the film. It was an old “Pop Shop” that had the look of having been built in the ‘50s and was still operational. McLellen found this location due to the fact that he knew the owners and they were very accommodating to the film’s needs. This location is rich with character and even though the scene, as written in the script, is only a few minutes long I wished that we could have spent more time at the excellent location to really use it in the film.
I’m really glad I was able to get McClure and Finnel on board this film as they had such great chemistry in the Blank Stage production No Experience Necessary, which is where I first met both of them. Today was the first time that either had ever met the director McLellen so I was a little nervous on how the day would play out. All the other actors in the production McLellen had already worked with before so I knew they would be fine with McLellen’s filmmaking style, whereas McLellen’s style is very different than director Brent (No Experience Necessary) Brooks mainly because McLellen edits his own films and therefore only films the shots he’ll need to make the film look good. McLellen is very lax with clap boards and shooting “masters” and frequently shoots handheld to put the audience directly in the action of the film. Although there were a few shots done handheld a lot of what was filmed was done of the dolly because McLellen is using this scene as the intro to all the characters of the film and is building up to the impending chaos of the film later to come. All the actors did a wonderful job and elevate the film above the typical “teenagers in the woods” horror film (although that is still the type of film that this is).
Today is great for me as I get to see all the actors together and to get a cast & crew photo (the first one of hopefully many) which is something we’ve so rarely been able to do on a Southlan-Films production. Today just went 100% according to plan not to mention that we actually finished filming early despite having to endure noise problems when we shifted production to the exterior scenes of the location (something you just have to get used to on a low budget production).
The second day of filming on the Southlan-Films production of the Friday the 13th fan-film The Man In The Lake is also the first day that the whole cast will get together for the very first time. Unlike most writer/director Ron McLellen’s previous films, there was no script read-through with the cast, so, today is the first day that McLellen has even met some of his cast members. I cast several of the actors on this film having worked with them on previous films but during the course of time between the first draft of the screenplay (which I wrote) and the final shooting draft (which McLellen wrote) there were a lot of cast changes and a lot of roles that were cut from the final shooting script. Although I am not 100% satisfied with the final shooting script, I was well aware of many of the changes that would eventually happen due to the fact that I wrote and over ambitious film that probably would’ve been more a feature and less a short film like what the director wanted. I also wrote my script with no regards to budget or limitations, which is a big factor when you’re doing a film in which you will never recoup any costs, so, I’m not surprised of the changes to my original script.
I also was writing the script based on what I would want to see in a Friday the 13th film mixed with the fact that I was bridging my script with McLellen’s previous film Return of the Sandman creating what would ultimately end in a “what if?” Jason fought Michael Myers type film. Over ambitious is probably putting it mildly.
The scenes we are filming today introduce all the characters as they stop at a gas station to fill up on supplies prior to going to the camp grounds. In the scenes are the actors – Lynn McArthur, Cesar Aguirre, JM Finnel, Andrew McClure, Chris Whitley, Jim Adams, Dave R. Watkins, Josephine B. Lawson, and several extras. We had the luck of finding a location perfect for the film. It was an old “Pop Shop” that had the look of having been built in the ‘50s and was still operational. McLellen found this location due to the fact that he knew the owners and they were very accommodating to the film’s needs. This location is rich with character and even though the scene, as written in the script, is only a few minutes long I wished that we could have spent more time at the excellent location to really use it in the film.
I’m really glad I was able to get McClure and Finnel on board this film as they had such great chemistry in the Blank Stage production No Experience Necessary, which is where I first met both of them. Today was the first time that either had ever met the director McLellen so I was a little nervous on how the day would play out. All the other actors in the production McLellen had already worked with before so I knew they would be fine with McLellen’s filmmaking style, whereas McLellen’s style is very different than director Brent (No Experience Necessary) Brooks mainly because McLellen edits his own films and therefore only films the shots he’ll need to make the film look good. McLellen is very lax with clap boards and shooting “masters” and frequently shoots handheld to put the audience directly in the action of the film. Although there were a few shots done handheld a lot of what was filmed was done of the dolly because McLellen is using this scene as the intro to all the characters of the film and is building up to the impending chaos of the film later to come. All the actors did a wonderful job and elevate the film above the typical “teenagers in the woods” horror film (although that is still the type of film that this is).
Today is great for me as I get to see all the actors together and to get a cast & crew photo (the first one of hopefully many) which is something we’ve so rarely been able to do on a Southlan-Films production. Today just went 100% according to plan not to mention that we actually finished filming early despite having to endure noise problems when we shifted production to the exterior scenes of the location (something you just have to get used to on a low budget production).
MAN IN THE LAKE - Production Diary DAY 1
DAY 1: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Discounting all the preproduction work, the teaser trailer, and the pre-visual photos, today is the first day of filming on the Southlan-Films production of the Friday the 13th fan-film The Man In The Lake. The original story is by Ron McLellen and me with the final screenplay by McLellen, who is also producing and directing, among other jobs. The film is designed to be a short film the same as McLellen’s previous fan-film Return of the Sandman (based on Halloween) and the shooting schedule is only suppose to be just south of ten days.
The first day of filming McLellen decided to start things off right by killing one of our main actors. Of the actors on set today are Jim Adams (as the Sheriff) and Nathan Standridge (as Jason, although two people will play the iconic character throughout the film because of scheduling). The Sheriff is in much of the beginning of the film but it’s always good to start production on a horror film right by killing someone. Adams is in good spirits as today’s scenes require him to run through the woods, a lot, before being dispatched by a train spike through the head by Jason. It’s as good a way to go as any in a Friday the 13th movie.
We are once again filming at the home of Roland Force, an actor frequent in McLellen’s films (Jack O’Lantern, Hell’s End, Bad Land, Return of the Sandman) but his home has also been used in many of McLellen’s films including Bad Land, Jack O’Lantern, Return of the Sandman, and now this film. Force’s land is so vast that we could probably never see any of the same spots in any of McLellen’s films no matter how many times we return.
We are light on crew today as this first day of filming was meant to be fairly easy on all of us not to mention the production itself. In addition to McLellen and me, Eric Forest Burton is also on hand. He came aboard on the Southlan-Films team during the production of Return of the Sandman (not only as crew but as an actor as well) and returns on this film as well. On this production I am the production manager and still photographer (and generally anything else that needs to be done).
One of the reasons why we are keeping cast and crew down to a minimum is the fact that this is a “fan-film” which means we can never sale, distribute, or otherwise make a single penny on the production because the characters and rights all belong to someone (or some company) else. It would be against the law for us to ever make a dime off this production. We are making this film simply because McLellen has a need to produce this film not only for him but for all the other Friday the 13th film fans out there. It is also a good way to advertise the talents of all the people involved as well as meet other people who are enthusiastic about the same subject matter.
I’m not a Friday the 13th film fan. In fact, I don’t really care for many of them but I do understand why the franchise has so many devoted fans. I’m a huge fan of the original Night of the Living Dead (1968) and I have a huge collection of related memorabilia. The same can be said of McLellen and several of the people involved in this production. My number one reason for doing this film is because there is such a huge following for this franchise that doing a film based on it just seemed like a lot of fun and 80% of why I do low budget (or no budget as this film suggests) is because it’s a whole lot of fun.
That’s what this first day of filming was like – a whole lot of fun and it wasn’t just me that had a lot of fun it was everyone from Burton to Adams to Standridge and most of all from McLellen who was like a kid in a candy shop and wouldn’t you be if you got to kill off someone on the first day of filming? Every film production should be so lucky as to have as productive a first day as this day was.
Discounting all the preproduction work, the teaser trailer, and the pre-visual photos, today is the first day of filming on the Southlan-Films production of the Friday the 13th fan-film The Man In The Lake. The original story is by Ron McLellen and me with the final screenplay by McLellen, who is also producing and directing, among other jobs. The film is designed to be a short film the same as McLellen’s previous fan-film Return of the Sandman (based on Halloween) and the shooting schedule is only suppose to be just south of ten days.
The first day of filming McLellen decided to start things off right by killing one of our main actors. Of the actors on set today are Jim Adams (as the Sheriff) and Nathan Standridge (as Jason, although two people will play the iconic character throughout the film because of scheduling). The Sheriff is in much of the beginning of the film but it’s always good to start production on a horror film right by killing someone. Adams is in good spirits as today’s scenes require him to run through the woods, a lot, before being dispatched by a train spike through the head by Jason. It’s as good a way to go as any in a Friday the 13th movie.
We are once again filming at the home of Roland Force, an actor frequent in McLellen’s films (Jack O’Lantern, Hell’s End, Bad Land, Return of the Sandman) but his home has also been used in many of McLellen’s films including Bad Land, Jack O’Lantern, Return of the Sandman, and now this film. Force’s land is so vast that we could probably never see any of the same spots in any of McLellen’s films no matter how many times we return.
We are light on crew today as this first day of filming was meant to be fairly easy on all of us not to mention the production itself. In addition to McLellen and me, Eric Forest Burton is also on hand. He came aboard on the Southlan-Films team during the production of Return of the Sandman (not only as crew but as an actor as well) and returns on this film as well. On this production I am the production manager and still photographer (and generally anything else that needs to be done).
One of the reasons why we are keeping cast and crew down to a minimum is the fact that this is a “fan-film” which means we can never sale, distribute, or otherwise make a single penny on the production because the characters and rights all belong to someone (or some company) else. It would be against the law for us to ever make a dime off this production. We are making this film simply because McLellen has a need to produce this film not only for him but for all the other Friday the 13th film fans out there. It is also a good way to advertise the talents of all the people involved as well as meet other people who are enthusiastic about the same subject matter.
I’m not a Friday the 13th film fan. In fact, I don’t really care for many of them but I do understand why the franchise has so many devoted fans. I’m a huge fan of the original Night of the Living Dead (1968) and I have a huge collection of related memorabilia. The same can be said of McLellen and several of the people involved in this production. My number one reason for doing this film is because there is such a huge following for this franchise that doing a film based on it just seemed like a lot of fun and 80% of why I do low budget (or no budget as this film suggests) is because it’s a whole lot of fun.
That’s what this first day of filming was like – a whole lot of fun and it wasn’t just me that had a lot of fun it was everyone from Burton to Adams to Standridge and most of all from McLellen who was like a kid in a candy shop and wouldn’t you be if you got to kill off someone on the first day of filming? Every film production should be so lucky as to have as productive a first day as this day was.
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