Making a semi trailer bounce on no budget

Ok, so I'm trying to figure out how to, on an indie film budget, rig a tractor trailer to jostle back and forth to simulate it's on the road movement. So far my best bet is http://www.riggingequipmentrentals.com/ I'm just telling them what I'm hoping to do, and since they actually know what the equipment can handle, perhaps they can help me out. And, they rent out the equipment, so it would be a little more realistic than trying to buy something like this.

The other thought I have is to attach a tow truck to the side of the trailer and tug it back and forth with super-heavy duty aircraft cable. I think this would work best, however, the issue is in preventing the potentail human error of pulling it too far and having the set fall on it's side. I don't want any sets tripping over on my watch.

Another idea is to use a jack with a double acting Electric Hydraulic Pump

Something like:

 

except that it costs $3,783.50

So here are some of the consumer products I've found that we might be able to use to jack it up and drop it down during the takes:

• Husky Brute Electric Trailer Jack - Drop Leg - A-Frame - 18" Lift - 4,500 lbs

• Electric jack with powered drive lets you lift and lower your trailer quickly and easily
• $219.95

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jack/Husky/HT87247.html

Trailer Jack

Drop Leg Jack

Sidewind Jack

13-1/2 Inch Drop Leg

12000 lbs

 $119.95

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jack/Pro-Series/PS1400950376.html

HI-LIFT 48 IN. CAST/STEEL JACK

Online Item #: 0000000033071

SKU: 002965358

$59.99

• Min. to max. lift height - 4.5 to 37.24 in.
• Rated load capacity - 4,660 lbs.
• May be used to lift, winch, clamp, pull or push
• ested load capacity of 7,000 lbs. for a safety factor of 150%
• Made in the USA
• Weight: Approximately 30 pounds
• Shipping Dimensions: Approximately 51 x 10 x 5 inches.

More on this research as it develops.

breakaway door research

One of my conundrums for my upcoming projects is breakaway doors and walls. They get busted open all over the place!

So here's some information I'm scrounging from the internet ethos for us. Here's some of the advice I've found so far about doors:

"The one that gets knocked off its hinges can be really easy if it swings upstage--just use loose pin hinges and have someone pull the pins just before the big moment. If it needs toswing downstage, you could use lift-off hinges so the actor just lifts the door slightly to pull it off its hinges. Likely need to modify the hinges so the pins are shorter and leave a bit of extra clearance inside the top of the door frame.

For the other door--what is it supposed to look like? a residential hollow core door? A solid raised-panel door? Probably the easiest and most convincing method would be to build it as a hollow-core door with balsa facing and just reface or rebuild it for each show. You could also build it as a solid door and pre-break parts and insert thin dowels across the breaks to hold the pieces together--that way when the door gets hit the dowels snap and the pieces fall apart. Or you could do a hybrid of the two methods, for instance build a raised panel door where the frame is pre-broken and doweled and build one of the panels from balsa so it can be destroyed each show and a new panel slotted in."

And for breakaway walls, I've found these videos to be pretty helpful:

Also my favorite guys at BFX made a video:

Let's start breaking stuff!!

Diamond Ruff Premieres in Hartford CT

Diamond Ruff has premiered! And I'm very proud to say that it looks fantastic. There were plenty of things my three-years-more experienced self would have caught, but for my first big feature film- I'm pretty proud with the work. I have to thank the director, Alec Asten, and the folks at Young Feature Films, like Joe and Kyle Young and Geanetta Bennett for not giving up on the project while they found their way through post production and finished up a fine film. And I also want to give a shout out to all of my art department crew and interns who rocked the heck out of every aspect of this film. From the costumes and custom masks to the 15' tall Trojan horse we built, dismantled, and rebuilt- everything looked fan-freaking-tastic


Diamond Ruff was shot hella indie style a little over three years ago now. And exists today because of a lot of people's blood sweat and tears.  We premiered on November 1st at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, CT to a huge audience. Fingers crossed the distributors liked it too!

Pre-production vs Mother Nature

My current round of pre-production is based almost entirely in a cabin in the woods. Thick forest, next to a lake, a waterfall nearby, it is picture perfect. On the other hand I get eaten by dreadful swarms of Mosquitos everyday while dripping sweat in the muggy 90 degree weather. This month is most certainly going to end up feeling like summer camp all over again. The intermingled scents of bugspray and sunscreen, arts and crafts, hiking through the woods, battling poison ivy and no running water. Shoots like this make you grateful for the simple comforts of home and air conditioning. But it is going to be totally worth it, this cabin is spectacular! It's going to make for one grand looking horror film :-)

Five senses of fear now on the Chiller channel

My project from last October is now up on the Chiller Channel. 5 Senses of Fear was a horror anthology story. 5 different stories linked together by some crazy characters and sinister props. Each short directed by a young up-and-coming director.

http://www.chillertv.com/movies/five_senses/

http://www.chillertv.com/

It was a very different experience filming this one, compared to my experiences on a traditional feature. We shot 4 day weeks with a new director every week. We had company moves at least once a day and, as usual, a baller crew. There were so many fun and bizarre locations that we got to visit during this project, but my favorite was definitely Wild Bill's nostalgia store in Cromwell, CT. Weirdest place ever. The image below was taken inside their tower-sized jack-in-box, whose counterweight the owners loving call the "ball of death". It's made up of old animal bones, tortoise shells,chains, and who knows what else. It was incredibly impressive to say the least.

http://www.chillertv.com/movies/5-senses-of-fear-0

Wild Bill's is this bizarre store jam-packed full of everything you can imagine, from bobbleheads to records, to one of the actual bikes from PeeWee's Big Adventure. One of my friends recently called it "more ADD than any human can take in at once." And yes, he meant it as a compliment. Apart from the Jack-o-tower my favorite bizarre feature is the classically constructed haunted house they're building in back:

They mill their own lumber and then custom build wonky floors and slanted walls all over. It's an impressive display of carpentry. I can't wait to see how it looks when they finish it. 

If you want to take a peek at 5 Senses- check it out on the Chiller channel: http://www.chillertv.com 

Or, if you're  like me and don't have cable, don't worry, it'll be out on DVD by early next year. And I'll totally let you know when it happens. ;-)

I have a movie out on DVD!!! Dead Souls!!

I feel so legit! I actually have a movie I worked on out on DVD and Bluray! What?!!! So cool! I'm totally buying a bunch of copies and giving them out to family at Christmas! I wonder how their Catholic values will go with the crucifixion scene... Meh whatever, that's what the fast-forward function was designed for. Right?

Want to check it out? http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Souls-Blu-ray-Bill-Moseley/dp/B00BNAE48U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371169757&sr=8-3&keywords=dead+souls

And for even more Dead Souls action check out our film-friendly favorites here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2188717/

and

http://www.chillertv.com/movies/deadsouls

Star Wars film slating

In honor of our premiere for "The Word" tomorrow night here is one of my favorite nerdy film making moments.

The day our AC decided to slate all 26 takes with Star Wars references :-)

It was a heavy scene, a long day, and totally inappropriate for the mood... but one of my favorite filming memories so far. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RstLq7XoDEU#!