| The Truth |
| 'Hunters,' while a fun project to do and a movie that many will enjoy, is hard work. Herein is recorded the truth behind the movie. |
| 1/17/04 "I can't believe it's actually happening." Director James Weimer is sitting with Assistant Directors Chris Johnson and Nate Palm, in their dorm room-turned studio. On the floor lays parts of costumes, the infamous 'weapons bag,' and the 8mm analog camcorder that will be used to shoot many of the shots in 'Hunters.' Next to Jamie's desk is a shoebox, containing the sunglasses and crosses used in the movie, labeled by actor. AIM is open on his laptop, with the away message: "Working on Hunters -- better be a good excuse to bug me!" "Let's not get too excited yet..." "She needs to work on her facial expression a bit more..." "Should we film that from this angle?" "Does he use two pistols, or just one?" "I've got to get in touch with him..." "That -should- be all the parts cast..." That is a sample of the conversation that has been going on for an hour now. 'Hunters,' still in preproduction, is the first Core Four film, written from an original idea by Director Jamie Weimer. "I have a good feeling about this. Between your [Chris Johnson] experience and eye for shots, Nate's dedication -- he'd fight a bull if I needed him to, for this movie -- and my... well, whatever I do... this should go well. God-damn, this is a big cast..." Jamie says, writing a bit more blocking and dialogue for Scene 13. "Your story." Chris corrects, picturing shots in his head. Chris is Director of Cinematography as well as Locations Coordinator, drawing on his previous experiences in filmmaking. "I think by the end of next week I can have this written, and we can be in the last phases of Preproduction." Jamie says, crossing his fingers. "Hopefully, filming can start in two weeks." "Just filming on Saturdays isn't going to be enough..." Chris says, voicing the problem looming over their heads as Preproduction enters its last leg. "We should get going... Photo shoot in five minutes with my actors." Jamie gets up from his desk. "Now I get to see how well they're getting the mannerisms and overall 'feel' of the characters at this stage. All in all, this should be fun for everyone." |
| 1/20/04 "Unlearn what you know. These fights are going to go against what you've learned to do in martial arts, and I need you to do it this way. I'm not so much interested in what's technically correct, as much as what will look cool on film -- what is going to make the audience go 'Wow; that's kick-ass!'" Director/Fight Coreographer James Weimer is talking to May Muckerheide ('Mercy') during the first -- and unscheduled -- fight coreography rehearsal. They are going over a fight scene toward the end of the movie, and James is showing May the moves -- some of which go against her previous staff training. She swings the metal 'stand-in' staff, and stumbles slightly with her right foot. "That's all right... not too bad. Try it again. Here, we'll do the movements together, so you can see what you're doing wrong..." James says with a nod, assuming the stance she is in, and miming a staff. "Now... let's go." Meanwhile, Assistant Fight Coreographer Nate Palm ('Thorn') is going over the defending moves with Song Marshall ('Cyn'). Song and May have to fight each other, and they are learning the moves separately, before combining it. "Hold your hands like this..." Nate says, curling his fingers into claw-like angles, "Like an animal; like you're getting ready to rip a face open." Song laughs, and curls her hands to match Nate's. "Good." he says. "Good." James says, from where he is standing. May has gotten the moves down better than before. "Let's have you two try it now together -- slowly. I want to see every move." Song and May assume their respective stances, facing each other. Both look much more confident than an hour ago. "Whenever you're ready." James says. "Action." |
| 1/21/04 "There. It's done." The moment that has been coming for three months has finally arrived. The script for 'Hunters' is finished. Revised, changed, and altered to fit changing circumstances and new ideas, it is done. Before Writer/Director James Weimer sits the first printed copy of the finished script. Beside him are Assistant Directors Chris Johnson and Nate Palm, whose tireless efforts have made the moment possible, and Xavier Carr, who was cast last-minute as 'Nail;' and fits the part perfectly. "Excellent. Now I need to print you out a copy of the location/shot breakdown, Chris, so you can get started on locations. Nate, take a copy of the script and get cracking on those special effects. X... come with me. You need to get fitted for your costume, weapon, and sunglasses." As of this moment, 'Hunters' has moved from preproduction into production. All cast positions are filled, the script is finished, costumes are being finished up, and equippment has been procured. "I'd like to start filming this weekend." Chris says. James smiles. "Let's do it." |
| 1/25/04 "Ah, crap." Writer/Director James Weimer is sitting on the floor of the Core Four studio/dorm room. He is working on attatching a microphone to a pole, to make a boom mic. "We had to throw out all of Saturday's footage, because the audio was crap. Besides that, I didn't like it. We need to get Amy to act with more energy -- more realistic. I'd hate to have to recast the part of the female lead this close to filming. I already had to recast the part of 'Gina' and rewrite the script to accomodate relationship trouble within the cast -- and I think Amy can do it. She just needs to work with Chris and get more comfortable on-camera; because we've -got- to believe her performance. It's just as important as Chris's part -- if not more." "And we'll postpone filming until next Saturday. I've -got- to get better audio." James says, trying for the third time to get the mic to pick up on his analog camcorder. "Maybe it'll work on X's. I hope so." |
| 1/29/04 "Excellent. Okay, so we'll reshoot what we did last Saturday, then film some more, and try to get the prologue and the Mercy/Thorn/Cyn fight done -- this Saturday." "Right. We should have Monty's camera, and its mic works well." "So we'll be shooting basically all day, then." "Right." Three of the four members of Core Four Films, James Weimer, Chris Johnson, and Nate Palm, are sitting in the studio/dorm room of P-58, discussing plans for Saturay's shooting schedule. Over the course of the last week, Monty Toy (who will be playing 'Ark') joined the cast and brought with him access to much better quality cameras and microphones -- a priceless asset, after the first Saturday's filming failure due to poor audio quality. "All right. We'll have to get up early, and get the shots of dawn, as well... if we can." James adds. "Better get to bed early, then." Chris responds. "Damn." Nate jokes. "Guess that means no Risk night." |
| 2/1/04 "Good job, buddy." Chris Johnson is near-passed out on his bed while Nate Palm walks aimlessly about the room and James Weimer sits at his desk, working on today's entry to the site. It is currently 2:41am, and they are finishing the final preparations and scheduling to be done for the next two weeks. It has been a long, hard day for Core Four Films. With filming beginning at 11:00am and continuing nearly non-stop until 1:30am, as well as casting changes and coreography additions, it has been a tough day. Finally, the schedule is finished for the next two weeks, including location changing for Chapel's Place, recasting of Charlotte (the female lead), and the scheduled assessment of current progress, set for Valentine's Day. The Schedule page is updated, and it is bedtime. Chris has passed out; it's time to sleep. |
| 2/3/04 "So we'll push Ark's Lair scenes back to Friday, and just work a little later on the new coreography, then." "Right... I should get off work in time to be there to oversee the coreography. Wednesday I'll need to have it finalized and teach it to May and Song. Give them a couple of days to practice." Chris Johnson and James Weimer are sitting in their dorm, going over the revised schedule for the next week. Because of the absence of Monty Toy ('Ark') on Monday, the schedule has been revised to put the shots involving him on Friday, as well as the new fighting sequence between Mercy and Cyn/Thorn. "All right; I'll update the schedule site. Let's make sure we're ready for Friday -- I'd bank on about four hours for the fight scene alone." James says. "Or more." Chris says. |
| 2/08/04 "Finally -- we get to switch over to Reel 2, and let X and Bill have a tape to work with!" The first tape used for filming has been used up, and the movie has moved into its second 'reel' of film. The filming process itself is perhaps 1/3 - 2/5 complete, and has been so far without much incident. Director James Weimer procured permission for the ideal location for the Lair scenes, and -- by chance -- the crew stumbled across the perfect location just in time for Friday night's filming. There have been snags, and problems, but the combined prowess of all the cast and crew have solved every major problem thus far. "Filming is going much faster now that we have our system down." Director of Photography Chris Johnson ('Joseph') says. "We've got a routine now, and so we're moving much faster than before." The Promotional Department -- Xavier Carr ('Nail') -- is working on the first draft of a trailer/teaser, to be screened in the coming weeks to raise awareness and publicity for the opening night, aimed for the end of the semester. Work is beginning on logos and posters, and there is a possibility of a radio spot calling for extras for the most epic sequence of the film. With the addition of a possible Director of Audio, the film is beginning to take true shape. "I'm confident right now. I've got a production team and crew that I can trust and not have to worry about at all, I've got a cast who has their characterizations down -- for the most part, and I've got faith in the sheer draw of the project. There's a real enegy in the air when we're working." Writer/Director James Weimer says, sitting at his desk at the end of the weekend. "This coming Saturday, we see where we are, and plan the rest of the work. It'll be the first 'free saturday' for my actors since we began filming! "I think we'll all need it." |
| 2/12/04 "Do we need Fray for tomorrow?" Writer/Director James Weimer, Director of Photography/'Joseph' Chris Johnson, and Special Effects Coordinator/'Thorn' Nate Palm are all sitting in the dorm/studio that is the headquarters for Core Four Films, and the newly formed Chopper Four Productions (an extension of Core Four Films). They are making final preparations for filming tomorrow, the final sequence of a fight scene that has been in filming for the past three weeks. Choreography is finished, and all that remains is to let the operators of the location know that the filming will be going on tomorrow. With the procurement of a copy of Adobe Illustrator 10, there have been a number of publicity and promotional posters created, and work is in progress for a true logo. Also, there has been talk of a possible radio spot to publicize an open audition for the biggest fight scene in the movie. "Ideally, I'd like 20 people to play the Minions -- the 'extras.' But if we've got 10, it would be more than I could hope for." James Weimer says. "It'd be a long process even to just get it cleared." "True. Well, I think we're all set for tomorrow... I'll film the regular chorography sequences while you're at work, then when you get off, we can do the new choreography stuff." Chris Johnson says. "Sounds good. Let's get some sleep -- I can't afford to miss any more classes tomorrow." James Weimer responds. "Night." |
