The Demon Files Journal - July 1993 Part 1

July 1, 1993

Last night was very profitable. But first, on the home front. No baby. The kid was way over on Dea's left side of her belly and you could feel it's butt. It was so cool. I can't wait until I can hold my child in my arms. Then, it will finally be a part of me. I can't wait.

Anyway, last night I went over to Chris' house and we practiced some different scenes using his Dad's camcorder. The first thing we did was to try a nylon over the lens. One layer was nice. Two layers was like a fog (good to remember for future look). Without a nylon it looked way to crisp - too "video" looking. So, we're going to go with the one layer.

As we practiced with the one layer of nylon over the lens, I noticed just how sensitive the lighting becomes, because at certain angels the light reflects off the nylon, giving it a nice glow. But, due to the reflecting and such it will be very important to match the lighting with each shot. Not an easy feat.

The first scene we practiced was Ed's Garage scene. We tried some different shots I re-storyboarded yesterday and they'll work really well. It was nice to block a scene and practice the shots on video. There are so many things I noticed when watching the video that I'll be able to correct or compensate for when we really shoot, so it'll be a great time saver.

After that scene we quickly placed the camera in the spots for the shots during the first police station scene. Again, this was helpful because I can see what I need to hide, what I need to light, etc.

The last scene we played with was the final attack scene where Nicole becomes possessed by the demon. We made some slight adjustments on some of the shots so they would better give the feel I was trying to get when I story boarded. Chris liked the shots and thought they were well planned out. I was happy to see that they actually worked! Now, I can't wait to actually start filming this thing!

I still have a lot of things I need to do. Last night I realized that I have to buy at least 2 powerful flood lights to show through the garage air holes and I'll also need to get some diffusing material so there aren't any hot spots, but general light coming through the holes. With some baby powder and some powerful lighting, the shafts of light will nicely hide the garage door in the background.

Well, that's about it for now. During lunch I'm going to review the tape we made last night to see if there are any other things I need the take note of before the actual shooting begins.

Oh, one more thing. Rachel Tench (who'll play both Kasey and Caldwell) called to say that she couldn't actually come for the entire week as she had planned because she really needs to work Mon and Tues so she can pay some bills. The weird thing was that she actually felt bad telling me that she couldn't come for the whole week because she needed to work to pay bills! I was like, c'mon Rach, we've been friends forever. Whatever you need to do we'll work around. I mean, she's doing me a favor here. It was sweet for her to call.

Anyway, that's all for now. Maybe more after I view the tapes.

PFB

July 1 - continued Video Notes:

I looked at the video Chris and I shot last night, stopping on certain frames to study the background and lighting situations and here's what I got:

- Need white reflective boards, especially for the train location under the overhang.

- In the Police Station scene, when Eric enters the room and Poole stands into the frame, the lighting should basically be from here:

It looked good on the video, giving shadows, etc. I liked it.

- When Rachel as Kasey sits in the back as Eric and Poole talk, and the shafts of light land at her feet, hiding her face in darkness, perhaps a little back light from the back side like so:

This would make her presence even more visible and we wouldn't lose the top of her body entirely.

- Need this shot:

When Nicole gets possessed and Poole enters the kitchen, Poole should walk up to her and stop, but the camera would continue in slowly. I don't have a shot where he actually stops behind her and this would add to the tension as the audience would know that she's got the knife, etc.


July 2, 1993

Well, Paul and I talked at length yesterday over the phone discussing the way to build a cheap reusable crane. After faxing down a thumbnail sketch and explaining it over the phone, Paul decided to work on a more in depth plan and price the parts for it at Builders Square II. Well, he called me this morning and faxed me up a copy of his plans. They seem solid and the option to expand it even more, making it more versatile, is also possible. Unfortunately, the price tag was around $60, which is a lot more than I wanted to spend.

I know this sounds cheap as shit, but I was only hoping to spend $25. I'm going to see if they have any throw away wood that I can pull from the dumpsters here at Nickelodeon. The plywood alone was the most expensive part of the set-up. I really like the design though. I think it could really work.

Speaking of scamming, it seems everything happens for a reason. I had walked out to my car after work yesterday when I realized that I forgot to put some stuff in Chris Gifford's office for safe keeping. Well, when I came into the building Jeff Wilson was getting into the elevator. I asked him where I could get light diffusing material for the lighting, as Chris Linn and I had discussed earlier. He asked how much I would need, I said not that much, so he proceeded to give me three rolls, one of "spun" which is nylon fabric-type material. The next was similar, except more like a thin, white plastic, used for the same thing. The last was a thick red/amber gel material. He said, "cut off what you need and give the rolls back." So I did. It was another example of the Lord providing. Thanks, big guy.

This weekend is the 4th of July weekend (which is also Dea's due date) and I'd like to spend some nice time with the wife, enjoy and relax and maybe even get some sun. I'm so white it's scary.

Well, gotta go. Until next time.

P.S.- Need to go to Home Depot tomorrow and check out crane materials.


July 8, 1993

Well, it finally happened. On Tuesday, July 5 at 1:45 a.m. my little girl was born. Dorothea Catherine (aka DC) was born at Arnold Palmer Hospital, healthy as a horse, and as hungry as one too. She is the light of my life and I get excited just thinking about her now.

Now . . . back to the show. I'm creating a shot list based on the storyboards. It'll be extremely helpful as I make sure that everything gets shot. Last night as I laid in bed I thought, if I'm going to rent a doorway dolly for $100, then there has to be a way to build one for under that. I have some ideas. I'll talk to my brother Paul about it.

I have to get back to the shot list. Will write again later. PFB


July 12, 1993

The latest and greatest from the family front is that DC is really cute, sleeps a lot, is a real good baby, but can cry like the best of them.

On the TDF front, I'm having second thoughts about building my own dolly. I can't afford to NOT have it work if we build it. Unfortunately, I can't afford to rent it for all of the days I need it.


July 13, 1993

Well, sorry about yesterday's short entry. Had a lot of work to do.

Anyway, yesterday, as I was leaving Nick., I stopped by Chris Linn's office and after a good round of deserved Disney bashing/horror stories, I explained my concern about building a dolly and how if it didn't work I then wouldn't be able to afford to rent one for the days I need it. Well, Chris' new "office mate" said she had a good friend over at Disney who may be able to let me use one for nothing. If so, then the streak will continue. I have a good feeling about it, so I hope it all works out. I'll keep you informed.

I have set up the shooting schedule on Calender Creator Plus here at Nick. I have all of the shots spread out over about 10 days. If the weather cooperates, all shoud go quite well. I may even be able to squeeze in some other shots if we get ahead of schedule. I just keep praying and the Lord keeps providing.

I watched THE TERM PAPER this morning. It was a lot of fun. The music adds so much to the comedy. Especially at the end, when the Star Trek 3 music is screaming, accentuating the importance of his race to turn it in on time. I really liked it a lot.

Also, I called around for different editing prices. The offline I can probably do for $35/hour on VHS if I really feel as though I need to do it at a suite. I can probably swing that with some home ingenuity and a couple of VCR's. The 3/4" editing will be around 700/DAY!!!!!!! I just gotta keep looking. If I keep praying the Lord will keep providing.

That's it for now . . . PFB