Strindberg's Ghosts

Here's a glimpse at the two ghosts in our film Strindberg's Assistant.

Katina (Georgia Curry)

  Bjorne (Patrick Garvey)

Mad City Chickens to Screen in Sycamore, Illinois

The Sycamore Citizens for Backyard Chickens are making a statement in their municipality. They want to change the laws so it's legal to keep urban hens. As part of their efforts to raise awareness within the community, they are sponsoring a public screening of Mad City Chickens on November 9th.

The film starts at 6:30 pm and will be shown at the Sycamore Public Library, 103 East State Street, Sycamore, IL

MCC to Screen at Wisconsin Book Festival

While it's officially a book festival, the Wisconsin Book Fest will be screening our Mad City Chickens film on this Wednesday, October 19th in Madison.  Show starts at 8:00 pm at the brand new Union South Marquee Theater. Screening follows CLUCK book presentation by author Susan Troller and artist S.V. Medaris (both appear in the film).

And both Tashai and Robert will be present at the screening answering questions and selling chicken DVDs and swag. Free admission.

Requiem Ride

Winters in Wisconsin can...and often do...suck.

Hardly ideal conditions--particularly for filmmakers looking to do something other than another ski movie. So when the weather is sunny, warm and pleasant, as it has been here for the past week, it's imperative to shoot while the shootin' is good. This is just what we did.

For the last three days, filmmaker Michael Haven of Exchange Productions joined us here at Tarazod Films in yet another collaborative movie effort. What we needed was a script that could be captured in just one day.

So both Mike and Robert conspired together and came up with a short story, a tale of loss and renewal and a pair of wheels. The script, storyboard, and shot list were all completed by Sunday evening, and shooting on Requiem Ride would begin early Monday morning.

The movie stars Michael as a motorcycle-riding dude without a reason to live. There's also an appearance by Tashai at the climax of the film.

While we'd hoped to be completed in one day of filming, things took longer than expected. Another shoot day was added today, and by this afternoon, the movie was in the can!

Music Video Collaboration

Robert recently work on a music video project with filmmaker Michael Haven of Exchange Productions. It was a short minute and a quarter piece shot on green screen. We filmed the actors in the studio, then in After Effects Mike added the animated backgrounds and foregrounds which he created.

Still image from the video.

He has submitting the clip to a well-known band (that he has a connection with) to see if they're green light his idea for an entire music video. See the video here.

New Light Kit Purchased

We recently completed primary production on our Strindberg's Assistant project, with the final couple days of shooting taking place mostly indoors at the Livingston Inn in Madison. Weeks before, we knew that we'd be needing to finally invest in a quality light kit. For years, we have cobbled together our lighting setups, but at the Livingston, we were going to require serious illumination. We purchased a Lowell 3-unit tungsten kit. Two 250 watt pro spot/floods and a 500 watt v-light flood with stands, barn doors and gels.

We're very happy with the results so far, but this is just the beginning. Adding more lights to our arsenal for future projects is still a priority. A special thanks goes out to Colin Cameron for his continued encouragement and assistance towards our filmmaking endeavors.

First Press for Strindberg Film

Two weekends ago, we were shooting scenes at the Livingston Inn for our Strindberg's Assistant project. While there, we noticed that the owners of this Madison Bed and Breakfast, David and Peggy Furlan, were being interviewed in another part of the house by well-known Wisconsin State Journal writer Doug Moe.

Peggy and David Furlan. Photo by Jeanan Yasiri.

It's an old home, and at the time, we had two separate light kits in use. So it was inevitable that at some point, we'd be tripping a circuit breaker. It happened twice, both times during the Moe interview with the Furlan's. It wasn't on purpose, of course, but it is one way of getting noticed.

Doug inquired as to what the heck we were doing out there, and as a result, we ended up receiving a few paragraphs of ink within the Furlan's piece.

Four months on, they [the Furlans] are open for business and things have calmed down at the Livingston Inn. That's if you don't count the film crew that took over the first floor last Sunday morning, and, literally, blew a fuse.

The production company that made "Mad City Chickens" is filming a period piece titled "Strindberg's Assistant" and shooting in the house. The film is set in 1910 Stockholm and modern day America. The Gothic Revival mansion built in Madison in the 1850s was deemed a perfect backdrop.

On Sunday, Dave and Peggy told the film crew where to find the fuse box, and then repaired to a sitting area off the back of the house to discuss their ongoing adventure with the historic property that's known as the Leitch House, at least when it's not known as the Harman House.

Cool beans! Read the entire article at the WSJ site.

Livingston Inn Shoot #2 - Strindberg Wrapped!

It was long and sometimes grueling, but we did it! Yesterday we completed primary production on our Strindberg's Assistant film. The final day of shooting was on location at the historic Livingston Inn Bed and Breakfast in Madison. We began filming in the morning and ten hours later we were through.

A special thanks goes to the cast and crew who gave their all on this last day, actors Georgia Curry, Patrick Garvey, Nicholas Wootton (who doubled also as Grip), Joyce Aasen and Colin Cameron.

Actors Georgia Curry and Patrick Garvey

Actors Nicholas Wootton and Joyce Aasen (with Production Manager Tashai Lovington)

Actors Colin Cameron and Patrick Garvey

A huge thanks to DP Michael Haven for his non-stop professionalism and to Grip Ivy Suryana for her dedication.

Photo from mid-September shoot (left to right): Grip Ivy Suryana and DP Michael Haven along with Director Robert Lughai and Actor Georgia Curry

Production Manager/Script Supervisor Tashai Lovington (with actor Patrick Garvey)

Director Robert Lughai

We're also most appreciative to Executive Producer Colin Cameron for all his assistance in getting this film shot. And to David and Peggy Furlan for their patience and generosity with us as we took over their beautiful home two weekends in a row.

So now begins the intense, yet very satisfying task of editing the nearly 7.5 hours of HD footage down into a tight, succinct final film.

Today's Strindberg Shot List

It's been nearly two and a half months since we started production on our Strindberg's Assistant film. The challenges of a no-budget project have been great, today's upcoming shoot being no exception. Yet, if all goes well, we could be calling it a wrap by day's end.

With a 5-page shot list and conflicts with actor schedules, we have a lot of work to do in a limited number of hours. We'll see where we're at when evening comes.

Page one of today's shot list...

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