IFP MN Fresh Filmmaker Project Diary

A new site for continuing news on "The Egg Timer"

2010-01-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

"The Egg Timer" blog is moving to a new site. http://theeggtimermovieblog.blogspot.com/
I hope you'll come to this new site for the latest news about "The Egg Timer."

Emily Haddad

"The Egg Timer" will show at the WCA Short Film Festival in Chicago

2010-01-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited that the Women's Caucus for Art has chosen "The Egg Timer" to show in their 6th Annual International Video Shorts Festival. The festival will take place in Chicago on February 12, 2010. I plan on attending!!!

Thank you to the WCA for selecting "The Egg Timer."

Production Stills credit to Shannon McCarville

2009-08-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to add a note that Shannon McCarville took the production stills shown in this blog. As you can see she did a fantastic job!

Update

2009-06-24T04:35:00.000-07:00

WOW -- it's been a long time since I wrote on this blog. A tremendous amount of post-production work has been done on the film. After previewing the rough cut to a dozen or so people in May, I made changes primarily to the beginning and end of the film. These changes weren't in the original shooting script, but the film needed them to really bring the story home to the viewer from an emotional point of view.

Joe Martin and I also worked on editing the film to make it breathe more, opening up a few scenes to give the viewer time to take in the atmosphere, characters and story.

After several more weeks of editing and showing the film to different people we reached "picture lock" and the film went to Splice Here's colorist, Michael Sandness and his color assistant, Ross Fleming. Greg Winter and I met with them a couple times to view and comment on the color corrections done on the film. Michael and Ross did a fantastic job unifying the film with beautiful, deep colors matching the mood of the film and the landscape!!

As I write this post, Kent Militzer, sound mixer for Splice Here is working on the soundtrack for "The Egg Timer." We previously recorded the classical guitar soloist (Joan Griffith) playing a Haydn sonata for the second montage and end credits of the film.

We've also sent the film over to Motion 504. They will work on graphics and animation necessary to complete the film.

The film is on track to be completed by the middle of July.

Thanks again to the folks at Splice Here and Motion 504 for all their work on the film.

Previewing the Rough Cut

2009-05-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday I previewed a rough cut of "The Egg Timer" for a select group of people. I wanted to get some preliminary feedback on the film. As the writer, director and editor I am so intimate and involved with the film that it becomes difficult to stand back and assess how the film is working for the viewer.

After watching the film, we had a good 40 minute discussion and I received a number of very helpful comments and suggestions. After the discussion I was able to approach the film from a little different angle; and yesterday I sat down at the computer to begin to make changes which I think will define the story and characters a little more clearly. I'll continue to work on these changes in the coming week as I show the film to more and more people.

This is a fascinating experience and I've learned so much. Once again, I thank all the folks at Splice Here for their tremendous help on the project.

Polishing the off-line edit at SpliceHere

2009-05-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

This past week, Joe Martin, editor at SpliceHere, and I have been polishing the off-line edit. Joe has a great feel for the mood and timing of the film and has really smoothed out the edits. Mary Ahmann stopped by a second time and also gave me some really good ideas for making the film better. I recorded a rough version of the piano sonata I want to use for the soundtrack. I think it's working well with the story. I have a few more ideas for polishing the off-line, but I'm taking several days off, so I can come back next week with fresh eyes.

Post production at Splice Here -- the off-line edit

2009-04-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks I've been spending most of my time at Splice Here, working on the off line edit -- or the "rough cut" of the film.

I've gotten to meet everyone at Splice Here -- Heidi Schuster has been coordinating my project and I can't thank her enough for all the time she's spent helping me. The folks at Splice Here are the most cordial, helpful people and fun to work with. Carl Jacobs has been mentoring me on the off line edit. He showed me how to log in all the clips from the film; and he's been helping me with editing on Final Cut Pro. My editing platform at home is a PC using Premiere Pro, so I've had a few issues adjusting to FCP. But, with Carl's help, I've been able to cut the film in the way I want.

The rough cut process is going very well. This past Thursday Mary Ahmann, my off line mentor from MCTC, stopped by. She looked at what I've been doing and gave some excellent suggestions. I've incorporated them into the rough cut and they really add to the power of the story.

This coming week I will be continuing to tweak the rough cut and plan to show it to other people at Splice Here to get their feedback. I will also be recording a temp track of the Haydn piano sonata I plan to use for the montage and credit sections of the film. I'm interested in seeing how this works with the film. I also plan to meet with Andy Reynolds at Motion 504 about the animations and TV cable news look for the beginning of the film.

I think we're on track for completing the film by the beginning of July. Once again, thanks to everyone at Splice Here. They are great!!

Yet more production stills...taken by Shannon McCarville

2009-04-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

2009-04-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

More Production Stills taken by Shannon McCarville -- the Process Trailer

2009-04-09T07:10:00.001-07:00

More Production Stills

2009-04-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here are Delaney Burke and Adam Thompson in the flashback scene.

More Production Stills

2009-04-07T15:21:00.001-07:00

Charles Brin (Dr. Larson) greets one of his birthday party extras, Mary Ann Hedin.
Stacia Rice, Kevin Singer and Renee Werbowski chill out between set ups.
Greg Winter, DP, with Linda Kelsey in the background and below that's me watching as the crew sets up a shot.

Production Stills taken by Shannon McCarville

2009-04-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some production stills from shooting the birthday party scene at Dr. Larson's house.

Storyboards and overheads

2009-04-06T08:55:00.001-07:00

I thought people might be interested in how I storyboarded for the film. I did the storyboards the week before we began to shoot. It's very time consuming and challenging to try to visualize what you want the camera to see at every moment in the film.

Here's just a sample of an overhead and a page of storyboarding.

It's a Wrap!!

2009-04-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

We just finished six days of shooting "The Egg Timer." We have wonderful footage thanks to a spectacular cast and crew!!

On Saturday Stacia Rice and Linda Kelsey brought all of us to tears as we filmed the final scene where mother and daughter are brought together when a secret is told and a memory shared.

Charles Brin did a masterful turn as Dr. Larson, the wise old small town doctor who tries to help Ellen overcome the guilt she feels about her past action. Kevin Singer had just the right youthful enthusiasm in his portrayal of Ryan, and Renee Werbowski was the perfect caring, concerned daughter of Dr. Larson.

On Sunday, Adam Thompson and Delaney Burke played the parts of twin siblings, Joe and Ellen Marsh. They did a fantastic job --- they're both naturals!!

Thanks to all the cast -- especially my lead, Stacia Rice, who was the perfect Ellen for "The Egg Timer." I can't thank her enough for taking this role and capturing the inner being of the lead character. It was something very special to watch.

Greg Winter, our director of photography, along with his magnificent camera crew (including Brian Garnell, AC, Brian Robertshaw, gaffer, and Dan Miller, gaffer and key grip), brought magic and beauty to every frame of the film. Being a landscape artist made me appreciate even more how Greg brought a wonderful artistic eye to every composition he created. As we begin the editing process we will have so much great footage to choose from.

I got to meet and work with four great sound crews: John Simms, Matt Quast, Gerard Bonnette and Ben Allison.

Dave Halls, assistant director, kept the production moving along, making sure we got all the shots we needed during the day and directing our extras during the birthday party scene. Mark Thompson did a great job on script supervision and continuity.

Cheri Anderson, with the assistance of Brooke Martin and Mary Jo Van Dell, made our locations look like the very real spaces inhabited by our characters. I was amazed at how they transformed the abandoned farmhouse into a beautiful setting for the flashback and final scene of the film.

Julie Kaupa, line producer, and Amy Thompson, production manager, made everything go smoothly on the production -- I can't thank them enough for all the work they put into this production.

Dina Dainty, our make-up artist, was there every day making sure the actors looked their best and Crist Ballas did amazing special effects make up on young Joe for the flashback scene. Deborah Fiscus helped to create appropriate wardrobe for the actors.

Kati Batchelder kept us all nourished with crafty during the shooting day and Dawn Urich produced scrumptious lunches each day of the shoot.

We had a great crew of production assistants.

I can't thank everyone enough for all the work they did on this film. We are going to plan a Wrap Party hopefully for the weekend of April 17 so we can get together and party and celebrate wrapping a fun, successful film shoot.

First meeting and rehearsal with actors on location

2009-03-23T06:18:00.001-07:00

Saturday, March 21st, we held our first meeting with the actors at the location we will be using for Dr. Larson's house. We spent several hours talking about story and character, reading through the script at the table...and walking through the scenes. Deborah Fiscus (wardrobe) and Dina Dainty (hair/makeup) stopped by to talk with the actors.

It was so exciting to watch the actors bring the characters to life!!! We have a tremendous cast and they bring magic to the story.

Thanks to everyone who helped put stuff together for us on Saturday -- Molly Getty, Mark Thompson, Mary Jo Van Dell.

Everything is coming together for our first shooting day which will be Sunday, March 29. I am completing the storyboards this week. Greg Winter has been extremely helpful, sending me frames from films shot by Roger Deakins, a DP that we both admire very much. The frames have given me some really good ideas about how to shoot particular scenes.

We are scouting one other farmhouse location this afternoon. This location has been the most difficult to pin down...and, whichever one we choose, there will be quite a bit of set decoration required. I am so happy that I have a terrific production designer, Cheri Anderson. Thanks also for all the work Julie Kaupa has been doing on location and other aspects of the film.

Our whole team is amazing!!!

People joining our Production

2009-03-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

We've added some terrific people to our production in the past two weeks. On the producer side we now have Amy Thompson as Production Manager and Julie Kaupa as Line Producer. Both of them have a lot of talent and experience and will be great assets to the film.

Cheri Anderson is our Production Designer/Art Director. She has worked on many projects, including several feature length films and I'm looking forward to working with her on creating just the right look and production design for the film.

I'm very happy that John Simms has agreed to do sound for the film during the second weekend of our shoot. John spent a couple hours going over the script with me a few months ago and I'm so happy to have his expertise at work in the sound department.

Dina Dainty is on board for Makeup and hair. Deborah Fiscus is helping in the wardrobe department.

Thanks to everyone for joining us on the film, lending their extensive talents to create a beautiful film!!!

Egg Timer Productions, LLC

2009-03-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang,

There's a new company called "Egg Timer Productions, LLC." ("ETP") It will be the official production company for the short film. ETP will sign all contracts and obtain permits, etc. in its name.

Yesterday our team - Mike Tabor, Greg Winter, Dave Halls, Julie Kaupa, Cheri Anderson, Amy Thompson, and Mary Jo Van Dell - walked through three of the locations which we plan to use in the film. It was a very good day, with lots of discussion and planning. We've got a great group of people working on the film and I can't wait until we begin to shoot.

For the past four days I've been working to create storyboards. I finished three key scenes and will be working on the rest during the next week. It was extremely helpful for me to visualize how my characters move in the space of our locations and the storyboards and overheads helped us plan for the shoot as we visited the locations. I know that Greg is working on some great suggestions for using the camera in the best possible way to capture the emotions and actions of each scene.

We're getting close to finalizing production insurance for the shoot and tomorrow I meet with AFTRA to finalize contracts for the Union actors on the film.

Mike Tabor just advised me that AICP has donated funds for craft services on the shoot. Thank you so much, AICP.

Things are coming together and our first shoot date is a little over two weeks away.

Thanks once again for all the wonderful help on this project.

That's all for now -- back to the storyboards!!

Many, many developments!

2009-03-02T09:35:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm finally back on the blog! I've been extremely busy these past few weeks. But a lot has been accomplished with the help of so many people -- thanks to everyone who is working to make "The Egg Timer" come alive.

I have finished casting for the film. I'm so excited about all of the wonderful actors who will create the characters in our film. Here is the cast list:

Ellen --- Stacia Rice
Ruth --- Linda Kelsey
Dr. Larson --- Charles Brin
Ryan --- Kevin Singer
Lucy --- Renee Werbowski
Joe Marsh --- Adam Thompson
Young Ellen Marsh --- Delaney Burke

I'm also very excited that Greg Winter has agreed to be director of photography on the film. He has great experience and I know will bring a substantial artistic and technical expertise to the film.

We have almost finished the location scouting as well. Now we must work completing placement of production insurance and obtaining permits. I will also be finalizing the AFTRA contract for the three union actors who will act in the film. And I will be sending out a rehearsal schedule in the next few days.

So....things are really coming together and I look forward with anticipation and excitement to the last weekend in March when shooting will begin!

More Auditions

2009-02-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Last week we had two more days of auditions. A&E Casting came up with many talented actors. We filmmakers are indeed lucky to be making films in the Twin Cities where there is such tremendous talent.

Now I am engaged in the difficult process of choosing from such a terrific talent pool!!!

I hope to make most of the final decisions this week; and I'll keep everyone posted on this blog.

Shelly, our location manager, is busy scouting locations and I think we'll have more information on that subject during the next week.

Thanks again for everyone's help on the film.

Joe's Ice Skates

2009-01-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

Joe is Ellen's twin brother who died at the age of 14. Above is a photo of his hockey equipment that we see in a flashback.

What's New?

2009-01-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

We had a meeting at IFP on Wednesday, January 21st. We decided we want to shoot the film on the two three-day weekends of March 20th and March 27th. It will be a six-day shoot.

We talked about clarifying contractual and insurance liability on the project. This primarily relates to signing the AFTRA contract and obtaining insurance certificates for the various locations and permits. We will have a conference call with Alex Rosenstein, the attorney helping on this project.

Mike Tabor has prepared a breakdown and will be providing copies to all of us in the near future. He has also gotten approval from Props on Wheels to let us use a process trailer/tow vehicle for the car scene. This is fantastic news!!

Dina Dainty has said she will do make up for us. Thank you so much Dina!!!

Mike confirmed that Jeff Stonehouse is still on for DP. He will keep Dave Schnack in the loop just in case something comes up at the last minute. Thanks Jeff and Dave.

Shelly and I have been working on locations. I just found a good one, I think, for Dr. Larson's house. The house is located in Stillwater. Below are some photos:

New Additions to "The Egg Timer" Team

2009-01-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

On Monday I met with Shelly West. She will be the location manager for our film. She has considerable experience as location manager for other films shot here in the Twin Cities. She and I discussed the various locations. Shelly had some great suggestions and will follow up on some of the locations I mention in this blog. I could tell right away that Shelly will be a terrific addition to "The Egg Timer" crew!!!

Dave Halls has agreed to be 1st AD on "The Egg Timer". I am very excited to be able to work with Dave on the film. He worked on "A Prairie Home Companion" and will bring with him a lot of experience.

Thanks to both Shelly And Dave!

Auditions at A & E Casting

2009-01-04T10:34:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago, before the start of the holiday season, Eric and Toni at A&E Casting did a great job bringing together many talented actors for an audition session for "The Egg Timer."

I found actors to fill several roles. Eric and Toni will arrange for a callback session where we will bring back a couple of actors and audition several new actors for two open roles.

Eric and Toni were great - both in finding very good talent, and in taping and setting up the auditions. Thanks so much, you guys!!

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a very happy holiday season. I'm looking forward to a great 2009 and a successful production of "The Egg Timer" with the help of everyone on our team. Thank you so much for being part of this project.

Location: Ruth's House (Ellen's mother)

2008-12-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

Above are photos of a potential location for Ruth's house (for the first scene of the film). I have preliminary approval to film here for one day (I am acquainted with the owner). Alternately, this could possibly be used for Dr. Larson's house. It's located in an older neighborhood in Stillwater.

Dr. Larson's Pocket Watch

2008-12-15T12:33:00.000-08:00

Here are photos of a pocket watch that was owned by my great-grandfather. He lived in a small farm town in western Minnesota. Mark (my brother) found this watch in an old chest. It will be fun to use a family heirloom in "The Egg Timer."

The "Look" for "The Egg Timer"

2008-12-15T10:31:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about a "look" for the film after several of our team members asked me about it. I studied cinematographers at film school and my favorite was Nestor Almendros who did cinematography for "Days of Heaven" back in 1978. I would like "The Egg Timer" to have that kind of atmosphere and lighting and minimalist style.

Country Road

2008-12-15T07:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a country road for the scene where Ellen picks up Ryan. It's located near Afton in Washington County.

Potential locations -- Photos!

2008-12-13T15:06:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody,

Mark Thompson and I went out location scouting today in Afton. We found some interesting locations for the abandoned farmhouse and the doctor's house. The first two photos are of an abandoned farmhouse. The second two are the doctor's house and backyard:

Coming up: Auditions at A & E Casting

2008-12-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 19th A & E Casting will hold auditions for "The Egg Timer." I'm really looking forward to this process, keeping my fingers crossed that we'll find just the right actors for our roles:)

Meeting with Mike Tabor

2008-12-13T09:30:00.001-08:00

Mike and I met on Wednesday afternoon. I wanted to talk to him about what I had learned in my various meetings and get his advice on some things.

Mike asked if I felt the script was close enough to a shooting script so that he could begin to do a script breakdown to determine just what we need in order to shoot the film. I told him I thought the script was close enough for a breakdown, though there may be some wordsmithing as we go along. We're still on track for a shoot the last two weeks in March.

We talked about locations and finding a location manager. Mike was going to contact a couple people to see if we can get some help in this area. We also talked about getting help for art direction, costumes and props, as well as looking for someone to do sound on the shoot. Mike also said it would be important to have a good makeup person because "everything shows" on the Red camera.

I will follow up on finding an AD for the shoot (perhaps Molly Getty can help on this), as well as continuing to look at potential locations. Mike suggested that we may want to have walkie talkies available on set, so I will follow up on this too.

I asked Mike if he felt we were in a good position at this point in pre-production and he told me that he thought we were just fine.

SimSound

2008-12-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, after my meeting at Audioquip, I met with John Sims of SimSound.

John and I talked about using the Red camera. John was a little dubious about the audio features of the Red camera. He suggested that there be a double system for audio on set. He talked about using a hard drive recorder with timecode; or, as a fallback, using a DAT. The issue is that the DAT does not do HD format, so I should check with Splice Here to see if there are any issues syncing up from either WAV or DAT files in the final mix. I will check on this.

John likes the Schoeps mic and the Sennheiser 416. He described the vampire clip which is small and can be hidden. He said a "turnaround cable" turns a mic into a wireless so cables are not in the scene. He also offered to let me use his blimp on the shoot if I need one. He told me a lot about using mics on set, including making sure the actors are wearing clothing that does not make a lot of noise. (very interesting!) He suggested cottons, and natural fibers. Don't get the wireless mic too close -- it should be placed at the sternum.

John recommended strongly that there be a two-person sound team -- a good boom operator and a mixer. Make sure that we get ambiance and room tone at all locations. And that we record outside sound, such as cars driving by both from outside the car and inside.

He suggested that we need to get good sound reports on each shot -- scene/take/timecode. (I told him I had an excellent script supervisor - Mark Thompson - who gets reports from both camera and audio after each shot)

John said that when we shoot inside a house we should check for floor creaks and use rubber mats if that's an issue. Always be aware of the noise environment you're shooting in.

John also strongly suggested using a process trailer during the car scene because it is a much quieter environment if the car is not being driven.

John went through the entire script of "The Egg Timer" and told me what sound issues I would be dealing with during the shoot. He was great and told me that he might be able to do the sound himself for the car scene. That would be fantastic. He will also try to find a sound person to work on the film.

Thank you so much, John!

Audioquip

2008-12-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday I met with Roy Welter at Audioquip. They will be providing the sound equipment for the shoot.

Roy showed me the various kinds of mics they have available, including Sennheiser, Schoeps and Countryman. He wanted to know whether audio would be going to the camera because there are usually only two channels of audio into the camera and sometimes the sound person wants to capture other tracks of sound separately for use later in the sound mix. He said that the sound guy also may want to have backup sound in case anything goes wrong with the primary audio.

Thanks to Roy and everyone at Audioquip for helping me on my film!

Cinequipt

2008-12-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday I also met with Dawn Mans, Greg Meyers and Chris Beales at Cinequipt. I haven't been to their new location and it is beautiful - much larger than the old location and with a lot of amenities, including a very large studio!!!

I briefly told them the story of "The Egg Timer" and described the various scenes that we will be shooting. I told them that I think we're coming down to a decision to use the Red camera. They suggested that I make sure I have a good DIT person on set -- that's the person who works with the cards or drive from the camera.

We also talked about what equipment to use for the car scene. They mentioned that "Props on Wheels" has a process trailer -- a trailer that carries the car where the actors are. It's pulled by a truck and at least parts of the scene can be shot from a camera in the truck. Using a process trailer allows the actors to focus on acting rather than driving and it frees up some space in the car with the actors. I will be following up on this suggestion. They also said that Cinequipt has a hood mount and a door mount for a car shoot.

Dawn, Greg and Chris were very helpful and I really appreciate their willingness to help me on this project.

Meeting with Motion 504

2008-12-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday I met with Andy Reynolds at Motion 504, a computer graphics company. I watched the reel for the company and it had a lot of very cool effects! Watching the reel gave me a few ideas about the opening credit sequence for "The Egg Timer." I'm thinking of images of dye-colored dna/rna genes moving about on the screen and then coalescing into formations on a genechip probe array, a device used in genetic research. I think this could be colorful and interesting and represent the world that our hero has lived in --- far different from the bare black and white landscape that she travels to during the story.

I mentioned my idea to Andy and he thought it sounded very interesting. We will pursue this further as our production comes together. Andy also said that Motion 504 could put together graphics for the television news report which is part of the opening scene. He suggested that I always keep on the look out for opportunities to use computer graphics throughout the film and also suggested that I should try to have an effects person on the set if we are thinking of using any graphics in post production for that scene.

It was a very interesting, informative meeting. It will be exciting to see how computer graphics can enhance the visual storytelling of my film. Thanks so much, Andy and everyone at Motion 504.

Follow up Meeting at IFP

2008-12-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

On December 2nd, Matt Ehling, Lu Lippold, Jane Minton and I met at IFP. We talked about the status of the project. We talked about the opening scene which is a television report about the discovery that Ellen makes at the beginning of the film. There's a possibility to get help for this scene from either Channel 9 or 11 (Diana Pierce and Dennis Doda were two names mentioned) It's also possible we could use Cable Access facilities to represent a newsroom if we decided to shoot the scene showing a newsroom.

We discussed possible locations for the film. Washington County (South or North) may have the kinds of country roads and houses that would be good in the film. (Since our meeting I have talked to a friend who lives in Afton and he has suggested a few homes in the Afton area that we will investigate.) Other possible locations would be highway 13 in Mendota or West Carver County which has some small historic homes. John Springer's name came up as a possible contact as he has used a number of locations that might be suitable for "The Egg Timer". I will be contacting him in the next week or so. Matt also had a lead on a farmhouse that might be good for filming. He will get back to me.

We talked about using houses in foreclosure as potential shooting locations. Need to find out where to inquire for these kinds of houses.

I mentioned that I may be using a classical sonata as music for the film. I play piano and there is a movement from Haydn's Sonata in E Minor that I think would be good for the film. Heidi at Splice Here said I could use their recording studio (which has a Steinway piano) to record the song.

We talked about a time schedule for completing the film. Right now we're thinking of the end of July for a preview of the film. However, we need to make sure that post-production (at Motion 504 and Splice Here) can meet the schedule. Spring is their busy time.

After the meeting Lu introduced me to Christopher Grap, the Production Services Manager of the Minnesota Film Board. He suggested that I register on the Film Board's hotline and post requests for locations or other services I need for the Egg Timer on that webpage. I will be checking it out.

It was a very good meeting and everything appears to be on track!!!

My Final Cut Pro class at IFP

2008-11-29T13:11:00.001-08:00

Hey, I forgot to talk about the fantastic FCP class I took at IFP a week ago. It was an introduction to Final Cut Pro and Paul Bernhardt did an excellent job of teaching the basics of the editing program. Paul had us edit a 30-second film in order to learn the various audio and visual elements that are brought together through smooth transitions to create a film. He also taught us about formats and other very useful information to get us going on film editing. Thanks so much Paul!

Meeting with A & E Casting

2008-11-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday, November 26, Molly Getty and I met with Toni and Eric at A & E Casting (they are located in a cool building in Northeast Minneapolis). It was a very good meeting. We went over the character descriptions and I gave Eric and Toni some of my suggestions for possible actors to fill the roles.

We've tentatively decided to hold auditions on December 15th. I will attend the auditions, so I can watch the actors performing live and also give some direction.

A & E will also video the performances so I can watch, after the fact, how the actor's performance translated through the camera. Acting for theater can be quite different from acting for film.

I'm looking forward to this process because there are so many talented actors in the Twin Cities; and it will be exciting to find the faces and performances that best tell the story of "The Egg Timer."

Molly Getty and Mark Thompson

2008-11-21T05:55:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to introduce you to two people who will be part of "The Egg Timer" team.

Molly Getty and I were in film school at MCTC together. We worked together on several short student films. I really got to appreciate Molly's dedication and resourcefulness for accomplishing just about any task related to the production of the film. Molly was Robert Altman's assistant during the filming of "A Prairie Home Companion" and she was so good at it that she was hired to stay on with his production company in New York City where she worked for a year and a half until the company was disbanded at Altman's death.

Molly will be a great asset to "The Egg Timer".

Mark Thompson worked with me on my final film project at MCTC. He has also worked on other short films as script/continuity supervisor and production assistant. He is very detail-oriented and meticulous, always making sure that we get the coverage we need on every shot. I know Mark will be a great asset to this production. He also happens to be my brother:)

Call for Locations!!!

2008-11-21T05:51:00.000-08:00

I'm putting out a call to everyone to be on the lookout for possible locations to shoot the various scenes in "The Egg Timer". I've put a photo below of a house in a small town that has the right look for Doctor Larson's house. We're also looking for a country road that's fairly deserted. Let me know if you have an suggestions or ideas. Jeff Stonehouse suggested that we should try to find locations well within an hour's drive of the Twin Cities so we don't spend too much time commuting rather than shooting.

Here's what's happening next.

2008-11-21T05:48:00.001-08:00

This weekend I will be taking a two-day Final Cut Pro class at IFP (thank you, Jane). I began editing on FCP while I was earning my film degree at MCTC, but then moved over to Premiere Pro since I had a brand new PC at home. These past three years I've honed my editing skills on Premiere. However, I think these skills will transfer to FCP with a little practice so this weekend should be very helpful. We will be doing the off line edit of "The Egg Timer" on FCP.

Early next week, I will be meeting with Toni and Eric at A&E Casting to begin the casting process. I'm really excited and eager to begin searching for talent for "The Egg Timer"

Here's what's been happening

2008-11-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
It's been awhile since I blogged, but -- rest assured -- I've been very busy!
During the past week and a half I've met with many of my Freshfilmmaker "Mentors." they've all been fantastic, and given me a lot of great suggestions.

I met with Mary Ahmann (off line edit consultant) She gave me some really good ideas on the script, and shooting for the edit.

Bix Skahill (my very funny script consultant) and I spend a fantastic hour and a half at the Spyhouse Cafe going through the screenplay scene by scene. Bix had a lot of excellent ideas, both about the overall mood of the story and about transitions and character. I am working on a rewrite now and hope to have a shooting script done in the next week or so. I will be adding one more location (Ellen's apartment) to the story, changing the opening scene and combining a couple of other scenes, plus adding a couple of shots that Bix suggested and that I think will really add to the story.

Last Friday Jeff Stonehouse (DP consultant) and I met at the Daily Grind cafe here in Stillwater. We talked about format for the film, as well as mood, and logistics for shooting, particularly with regard to locations. Jeff indicated that he would like to shoot the film if he can work it out with his schedule. I am so excited at the possibility of having Jeff be the DP on the production.

Jeff and I discussed the possibility of using the "Red One" camera to shoot the film. We also discussed the possibility of super 16 mm film. I am researching films to get an idea of the look I want for "The Egg Timer," so I can give Jeff (and the people at Splice Here) some of my thoughts on mood, light and color for the film.

I also met with Alex Rosenstein who is the legal consultant on the project. We went through the various legal issues that typically come up during a project of this kind (location and actor releases, dealing with SAG contracts, bond/insurance for the shoot). I may be creating a production LLC for the film, probably at the beginning of 2009.

This past Tuesday, Mike Tabor, Molly Getty and I met with Heidi and the great team at Splice Here. We discussed the various format options. We are leaning toward either HD with prime lenses, or the Red camera which has a more filmic look to it. While film would give us great latitude and beauty, it may be too expensive and more difficult to shoot. We're keeping all options open. (Regardless of the format for the shoot, I will be doing a complete shot-by-shot storyboard --- I believe in the Hitchcock method)

Heidi gave us a tour of the facility at Splice Here and it was fascinating. I may be able to work on the off line edit at their offices --- and I can see that I will have fantastic help from all the people at Splice Here!!! Heidi gave me some reels with samples of the various aspects of their production facilities. It's all very new and exciting to me and I hope to really learn about the hitherto mysterious post production process as we put this film together.

It's been a very productive two weeks and I want to thank everyone so much for all their help.

2008-11-11T15:07:00.001-08:00

I'm still learning about using a Blog, obviously. The following photos are ideas for the Doctor's house location in a small town.

2008-11-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2008

2008-11-11T14:58:00.000-08:00

Here are photos of some ideas I have for locations:

"The Egg Timer" Starts Ticking!

2008-11-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hello to everyone who will be part of the production of “The Egg Timer.” This blog is being created by Emily Haddad, writer/director to talk about the process of turning the script for “The Egg-Timer” into a short film.

It’s been almost five years since I wrote the first draft of “The Egg Timer” as an assignment for a screenwriting class at MCTC. I wrote it during one of the most difficult times of my life -- I was taking care of my mother who was dying of a terminal illness. It’s not surprising that, at its heart, the story is about the relationship between a mother and daughter.

The story has been rewritten many times during these past years and I have tried on several occasions to put together a production plan for shooting the script. I was never able to obtain the resources I felt I needed to do the story justice….until now, with the assistance of the Fresh Filmmaker Grant from IFP and the Twin Cities film community. I want to express my very heartfelt thanks to everyone who has volunteered their help to put this story on film.

Here’s what’s been going on:

October 28, 2008 -- Meeting at IFP:

I met with Jane Minton and Lu Lippold from IFP; and Mike Tabor and Matt Ehling, the two producer mentors for the film. We talked about first steps.

We set a tentative shooting time for the end of March, 2009. We believe the shoot will take from four to six days.

We need to finalize the script into a shooting script. I will work with Bix Skahill on this.

After the script is finalized, Mike will do a breakdown and budget so we can begin to scout locations for the scenes and put together equipment lists, and production plan. This should be completed no later than end of December, 2008.

I will be preparing character descriptions and sending them along with the script to A&E Casting to assist in casting the film.

We want to set up a meeting with the folks from Splice Here as soon as possible so they can have input with regard to production and post production on the film.

I would like to meet with every member of the team some time during November or early December.

We briefly discussed cinematography and the possibility of shooting with a “Red One” HD camera.

We discussed several crew positions to be filled, including a line producer and art director. Any suggestions for these positions would be appreciated. Other positions to be filled will be identified at future meetings.

Week of October 27, 2008

I forwarded the script to Bix Skahill. He will read and get back to me so we can discuss and finalize to a shooting script.

I contacted an actress I have considered in the past for the part of Ellen to see whether she would still be interested in reading for the part. She is leaving for Europe but wanted to get together when she returns.

Set up a meeting for Monday, November 3rd with a woman who may be interested in being Line Producer on the film.

I worked on character descriptions. I will be sending these out to Toni Trussoni at A&E Casting along with the script the week of November 3rd.