The Shoot

The shoot

Principle photography commenced on April 14^th 2007, on the Johnson Family Ranch. The Sacramento Valley Rogue Force turned out in full, and helped the production out greatly as much needed extras for the War Room scenes which were the first to be shot. On the weekends that followed many dedicated individuals would return and put up with the rigorous shoot. The War Room scenes were completed by early May and then we moved out of the stuffy and very warm cave set into the great outdoors.

Napa County was first on the slate. During a mid week afternoon a small production force was rounded up and herded to Lake Berryessa to film key sequences needed between Virus, Bane, and Siris. Weather played in our favor that day, and the overcast skies were much welcomed. Unfortunately, we could have done without the wind. Recording audio is difficult indeed, anytime one is out in a public place. Cars, planes, natives, and the occasional cricket could play havoc at the most inconvenient times. The production always made a conscious effort to capture the cleanest audio possible while in the field. I would recommend to all, when searching for a boom operator/handler, find the tallest SOB you can. Take my word for it, and you’ll have a lot less shots where the boom just happens to dip down into frame. Save your hair, because I pulled most of mine out over this;)

Now that I’m talking about shooting outside, let’s talk about ‘outside’ and the camera man. When choosing locations, try to get away from the general public the furthest you can, if that is what you are trying to accomplish. This will also affect the cast and crew in a certain way, but that is in your favor. I loved taking a whole group of volunteers to parts of the country where they have never laid eye’s upon before… and when there were no longer signal bars on your cell phone, you knew that you were almost there. Also remember that I was the only one who knew where the hell we were - my actors and my crew had nowhere to run off to, and nowhere to hide - their asses were mine…J

Whatever you may call it - your camera ‘handler’, cameraman, or more technically, cinematographer, needs to be aware of certain items while shooting outside locations, especially if they are rather inexperienced. Not one member of our cast or crew had ever shot a film before, so it was a learning experience for us all, myself included. Nonetheless, when one is trying to capture the look/feel of a Sci-Fi film, and you desire untouched landscapes, and suddenly a bridge with a car on it shows up in an otherwise perfect shot, you begin to rub your scalp once again. Items of this nature, and the occasional telephone pole, fence line, or distant structure would pop up from time to time, whether they were previously pointed out to by the director or another. Another major cause of this, besides the obvious, is the excitement factor.

Anytime the cast and crew were gathered for a days shoot, be it a Saturday, or four day trip into the great unknown, the excitement factor was always abundant. When you have crew and cast alike, eager and in full Star Wars costume, and everyone is running from a creature here, or swinging a saber there, people tend to get excited, including the camera handler. Even myself at times would be caught in the moment while handling the camera, and forget that I had to keep the framing in such a way as to keep unwanted elements out of the picture. Overall, it helped us greatly by keeping everyone motivated, and with the profuse amount of footage we shot, it allowed us a variety of editing options later on. All I can say is stay focused and compose the shot that you have seen in your mind…

And that, my friends, is when you have turned your dream into reality.

Comments by Rick Johnson