| |
|
Monday, August 20, 2007 |
| Ten years in the making and we're ready to roll! |
With precious little time left before we start shooting PASSCHENDAELE, the mood in the production office is strangely subdued.
After so many weeks of: set construction, prop buying, costume making, stunt work, special effects tests, casting etc., most of the necessary preparations have been made. Contrary to what you might think, there aren’t highly stressed people running around in a tizzy -- in fact, the crew is generally relaxed and has a keen desire to get the filming process underway. This is a good thing, because it means that nothing has been left to the last minute, and everyone is confident that they have their particular area of expertise in order. Film is a collaborative art and Passchendaele is one very big collaboration.
However, there is also a palpable excitement in the air, with our actors Caroline Dhavernas (Breach and Wonderfalls), Joe Dinicol (Train 48 & The Virgin Suicides) and Meredith Bailey in rehearsals with Director Paul Gross. From the look on his face, I could tell that it was inspiring for him to see the characters he had created come to life so vividly. Earlier in the week, we conducted Camera tests -- where the actors are photographed as they would be for the film, with hair done makeup applied in costume. The footage is then screened to make sure that the performers look the part on film. Many a production has had to re-shoot because this critical step was overlooked.
Over the last few weeks, the cinematographer, Greg Middleton, has been defining the look of the film, trying out various types of film stock under different lighting and weather conditions to realize Paul’s vision. They have explored using a process known as DI, or Digitial Intermediate, whereupon a digital recording of the developed film is manipulated using special software to enhance the look of the film. I can only imagine that when the hauntingly desolate battlefield is lit and explosions arc through the night sky it will look nothing short of spectacular.
Everything is basically ready to go, but is in a process of being fine tuned. The major sets have been built, so the art department is turning its attention to the bunkers and pillboxes on the battlefield, the details that will make it come to life as they create the detritus of months of intense conflict. They are also reproducing the recruiting posters and documents, and paperwork that they would have had on the battlefield of the time, all historically accurate.
I myself am making sure that I have all the production related materials I need: revised script, shooting schedule, cast and crew lists etc. as I probably won't be back in the office much anymore. I’ll be spending all day on set with Paul, starting by driving him to the set in the morning, and ending the day by driving him back at night. I’ll share some of our experiences in the weeks ahead.
For the next three months, we will be working fourteen hour days bringing this important film to life. I've been told that after a shoot, crew members usually disappear from the world for a while in order to decompress – indicative of just how all consuming a feature film shoot is. Of course then begins the long period of post-production – editing the film, creating the visual effects and scoring the film etc. I'll be documenting this intense process from the field, examining in detail the trials and tribulations of life on the set of Passchendaele – a truly epic motion picture.
Stay tuned for the report of our first day of shooting, after ten years in the making Paul Gross is poised to call action, and start the film rolling to fulfill his dream of bringing this story, so close to his heart, to the big screen.
|
|
|
|
|
| About the Blogger |
|
The motion picture Passchendaele, an epic set amidst the horror of war, was shot in Alberta from August 20th to October 23rd 2007, directed and written by Paul Gross. The film is now in post production and will premiere in Theatres fall 2008, thus culminating a lifelong dream of Paul's, who learned of this extraordinary period in Canadian history from his Grandfather, Michael Joseph Dunne. The Battle of Passchendaele represents a story of determination, commitment and triumph, and this defining chapter in the forging of a nation shall never be forgotten. |
|
