The Killing Field - Take 1

On Aug. 8th we started production for the first 20 minutes of NewTribeFilms www.newtribefilms.com feature film "The Killing Field". It was written and directed by my friend and colleague Daniel Maldonado with Ryan McMichael as the co-director. Once again, I was the 1st AD. It was a 4 day shoot. The goal was to shot the first 20 pages of the screenplay in 4 days.

I didn't have much time to help out in preproduction since I am currently working as the 1st AD on another feature film which will begin principle photography on Aug. 24 through Sept. 14. On set there were some minor delays and set backs. We shot with the panasonic hvx200 plus the brevis 35mm lens adapter. Some of the main issues were sound(because of the environment), camera set ups and make up. Regardless we accomplished a lot and the footage looks stunning. Here are some photos on the set.

FoxNews Warstories hosted by Oliver North

So I had just finished wrapping "Shooters" when I get to call to grip the following day at 11:00 am. So that meant I only had a few hours to sleep and wake up at least by 7:30 to pick up Ryan and leave San Antonio to get to Johnson City. The location was the Lyndon Baines Johnson National Park.

The production we were working on was for FoxNews Warstories hosted by Oliver North.

We had a 12 K light, 1 ton grip truck, generator and a Jimmy Jib. The Jimmy Jib operator was Eric Young of Bulls Eye Jib. www.bullseyejib.com
Eric Young was an amazing guy. I help set up the jib for the first shot. Even thou this production was easy and laid back, I was still exhausted after my 1st AD job of 4 days. The Foxnews Warstories produciton was only 8 hours and I still got paid my full rate.

"Shooters" - Comedy Show Pilot

On Friday, June 13 2008 I saw a posting on craigslist for crew for a comedy show pilot entitled "Shooters". I contacted director/screenwriter Javier Garcia of Javy Productions and offered my services as a 1st AD. Javier & I meet up at Starbucks the next day. Right there and then I got hired to be the 1st AD for a 4 day shot that same week starting June 20 through June 23rd. So we had 5 days to cast the rest of the roles, find locations, hire crew etc. I hired my friends/colleagues Daniel Maldonado as the DP and Ryan McMichael as the Gaffer. Javy Productions also rented my Panasonic HVX200 for the 4 day shot.

The flow of the whole production was smooth from the get go. There were no major set backs with talent schedules, locations nor crew. We had 4 days to shot 40 pages. My crew and I had to make sure we lite the scenes with the lighting package we had which consisted of (1) 1k, (1) 2k, (2) 650's and (2) 350's and some C-Stands. It came down to shooting 10 pages a day with a minimum of 3 locations a day with at least 10-15 talent a day.

As the 1st AD I had to make sure we were on schedule with out going over 12 hours a day.

As far as the script and talent there were freaking hilarious. I really had a fun time on the shot. Regardless of the fact that I had to set the tone everyday and that my responsibility was to make sure we didn't go over budget or schedule, I had a blast. Here are some stills from the production. Will post the trailer as soon as Javier finish the edit.

Last day of shooting was on Monday, June 23rd. We wrapped around 10:30 pm. 15 minutes later I get a call from Zimmerman Productions asking me and Ryan to Grip & Grip Electric the next day in Johnson City which is an hour and a half away. Call time was at 11:00 am. So much for resting :D

Net 30

Recently I had to wait over 45 days to receive a check from a production company out of New York. It's bad enough that you have to wait 30 days for a check after the last day of shooting. This was the longest I had to wait for a production check and dealing with the accounting department was horrible. It's just common courtesy to let your crew know if its their policy to wait over 30 days for a check. For TV spots net 30 is the norm. I've spoke to some crew members who have stated that Televised Sporting events can take up to 45-90 days to receive a check. I don't known many crew members who could afford to wait over 30 days to get a check. Net 30 just sucks.

KW NASH

About a month ago I 1st AD on a TV Commercial with NewTribeFilms for KW Nash. We shot the commercial with the Panasonic HVX200 and with the Brevis 35mm lens adapter. The shot was really smooth. It was a 12 hour day shot. Here is both the tv spot, which well be aired locally in San Antonio.

The Bookie World Premiere

Last night was the world premiere of The Bookie at San Antonio's Cinefestival. I worked on The Bookie earlier in 2007 where I became the 2nd 2nd AD. It was an awesome experience. It stars Douglas Spain & Mike Starr
A funny story about the shot was the fact that nobody would ever see me on the set since I spent most of the time in the trailer making call sheets, sides and paper work. One day I went on set to get an approval from John Nolan the 1st AD on a call sheet and Mike Starr was reading over his lines. Mike Starr goes...OHH its JESUS the FUCKING NINJA. Kind of an inside joke. I always wear black and the fact that nobody ever saw me when I would pop in and out of the set. That was cool. Congrats on your success Cevallos Brothers!!! Here is the trailer to the film.

Monster Quest - Chupacabra

This week on April 7-9th I worked on a 3 day shot with The History Channel new show Monster Quest. They were doing a segment on the Chupacabra's. I was the grip on the shot. We had a minimal crew. Director, DP/Cameraman, Sound & a PA. The gripping gear was also minimal. Small Arri Kit, 4*4 Mirror, 4 X 4 White Side/Silver Side Beadboard, Duckbill Clamp, 4 x 4 Flag Kit, 2 C-Stands, 1 Combo stand & 5 sandbags.

Mostly the segment consisted of Interviews with a few reenactments. On the last day we went to Cuero, Texas where a woman shot and killed an animal that many claim is the Chupacabra's. That was definitely the coolest day of the shot. We set up camera traps in 3 different remote areas and had 2 guides; a hunter and a Cryptozoologist. Now I am a city guy so this was a new and exciting experience. I will post some photos that Keri took and show you guys what we saw. You be the judge.