Storyboards and overheads

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!!

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

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

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

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!

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

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.