"Just God" Accepted into Green Bay Film Fest!

We just learned that Just God has just been accepted into the 2015 Green Bay Film Festival! March 6-8 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Edit Progresses on "Strindberg"

During the hiatus caused by the fire in our complex, we've had to temporarily set up an editing computer at the home of our good friends, Nicholas & Jill Wootton of Windmiller Media. As it just so happens, Michael Haven-Holly of Exchange Productions is currently back from Brazil for a month and staying with the Woottons.

Since we've been preoccupied with finding a new location to call home, there hasn't been a lot of time to focus on Tarazod projects. So Michael has volunteered to jump on the edit of our short film, Strindberg's Assistant. It's got a long way to go, but it is taking shape.

Thankful to Move On After Fire

Tarazod recently experienced a set back when a fire broke out at our complex on October 25th. We were able to save all of our equipment and hard drives, and more importantly, no one was hurt, but the place is unlivable. Obviously, progress has now been delayed on our film projects and commercial jobs until we get settled into a new location. We're thankful for the numerous friends who have helped us out during these last few weeks, and we're certainly looking forward to starting things rolling again in December.

Makeup for "No Sleep for Ronni"

Our short narrative film, No Sleep for Ronni, was shot this past spring and summer in Madison. It stars Veronica Narang as a sleepwalker in denial. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at her makeup for one of the sequences. The video was taken and edited by Ivy Suryana...

We are currently working on the finishing edits of two other films, and so we don't expect to see the completion of No Sleep for Ronni for some time.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee at Madison Civics Club

Last month, Robert shot a Madison Civics Club event at the Monona Terrace along with Luciano Matheron of Brazen Video Productions and WYOU board member Karen Huismann. Today, the three returned to the convention center to record another excellent MCC talk. The speaker was Jackie Joyner-Kersee, named by Sports Illustrated as “the greatest female athlete of the 20th century.”

The programs, which are being assembled by editor Ivy Suryana, will air on WYOU--Madison's Community Television.

Wrapping Up Color Grading on "Just God"

Tashai wrapped up the color correction and digital grading on Just God today. Hopping between Premiere and SpeedGrade, the final color and grade has taken many long hours, and in our opinion, it's not yet complete. But we were given a deadline that we had to meet.

UW Research Videos Finished

The edit on the video shoot we did for the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine is now complete. A total of six separate vignettes averaging about five minutes in length will be used in research by the department.

Here's a short excerpt from the first clip featuring actor Justin Riley delivering the introductory dialog.

"Weather Report" Pick-Up Shots with Odari Kimani

We picked-up three more location shots today for The Weather Report. The short scenes involved actor Odari Kimani and will be used in a montage sequence for the movie.

The shoot started at Brittingham Boat Rentals in Madison.

We then went to the Henry Vilas Zoo. Crew help came from Colin Cameron and executive producer Rick Richards. Extras included Ivy Suryana and Wuri Kusumastuti.

Ended at the vacant Garver Feed Mill.

Additional photos courtesy of Colin Cameron and Ivy Suryana.

Time-Lapse Footage Shot for "The Weather Report"

More pickup shots were filmed yesterday for The Weather Report. Robert and Colin captured time-lapse footage of day going to night. The video, of course, took hours to get (from about 1:30-9:00 pm), yet we'll see it on screen for no more than a few seconds.

Intervolmeter remote control.

Taking turns sitting with the camera.

Mad City Chickens Returns to Phoenix

One week from today, on September 24, 2014, our feature-length documentary, Mad City Chickens, will screen in Phoenix on the campus of Arizona State University. The showing is being sponsored by the Valley Permaculture Alliance.

Madison Civics Club Shoot for WYOU

Earlier today, Robert joined Luciano Matheron of Brazen Video Productions as they collaborated to film a live talk at Monona Terrace. The event was sponsored by the Madison Civics Club and the proceeds from the project will go to help support WYOU--Madison's Community Television Station. The shoot was the brainchild of WYOU board member Karen Huismann.  The main speaker was author and activist Peter Palmer.

Tenant Resource Center Job Completed

We just finished the last of the edits on 16 separate informational videos that we shot for the Tenant Resource Center in Madison. The online pieces will be used to address the most common questions and concerns that the TRC clientele have.

Here's a sample...

Final Pickup Shot for "Just God"

Doug Reed, the star of Just God, was in Madison this weekend. So Nicholas and Robert took advantage of the opportunity to get in one last pickup shot with him. The edit of the film is inching closer to completion, but it's still missing some crucial information in the beginning sequence. We hope we got it today.

Another Public Screening of "Beast Bike Beauty"

Tonight's meeting in Madison of the Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum featured a special screening of films produced by its members. Our Beast Bike Beauty short was among the selections to be shown.

In addition, Nicholas Wootton brought along the latest version of Just God for another test screening. It still needs work, which we already knew, but we're getting closer.

Ben's first (and probably last) time on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Ben Miles, who was diagnosed with autism at a very young age, is the subject of our documentary that we've been slowly working on over the last three years. He's the boy who fell in love with the now-defunct Snow White ride at Walt Disney World. Two years later, the "replacement attraction"--the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train--has opened. In May, Robert was there to film Ben's first time on the new coaster-style ride. Unfortunately, it was probably also Ben's last time on the ride.

Ben's father, Ron Miles, recently uploaded a blog post describing what occurred. Read it at Stalk This!

Video Shoot for UW Department of Family Medicine

Last February, Tarazod was approached by Dr. Nancy Pandhi, a physician-scientist from the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine, to produce a series of videos. The job would involve the shooting and editing of six similar, yet different vignettes to be used in research on mental health and primary care. (The funded project's official title is Engaging Stakeholders and Developing Partners in Mental Health and Primary Care Integration Research.)

With a grant through the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the project was finally ready to go, and last Friday we shot the footage. Zaher Karp (who Robert had worked with on the Just God film) would direct the shoot. Another UW employee, Natalie DeCheck, handled the script supervision and clapper.

Several actors were hired including a few that we'd had the pleasure of working with before. Alicia McCanna (Just God, The Weather Report) played the roles of a Nurse and a Behavioral Health Consultant.

In all six of the vignettes, there is an off-camera patient to whom the health care professionals are speaking. Louie Sather (The Weather Report) did the lines for the male patient.

The doctor was played by Justin Riley (Mad City Chickens). The last time we'd filmed with Justin was way back in 2007 when we'd shot the "giant chicken" scenes for our documentary feature.

Additional photo courtesy of Louis Sather.

The all-day shoot was a real success and a whole lot of fun working with everyone again!

Fine-Tune Edit on "Just God" Movie Continues

Nicholas and Robert spent the day going over the edit of Just God. Nicholas trimmed about 3 minutes off the total running time, and it's now around 17 minutes in length. Much tighter than we had and with a better flow, yet more work is needed as we push forward towards a picture lock.

Actors Doug Reed and Craig Johnson.

Mad City Chickens to Screen in Ontario

Our feature documentary, Mad City Chickens, is returning to Canada for a public screening. Sponsored by the Nourish Project, the outdoor showing will take place on August 12, 2014 in  Peterborough, Ontario. It will be held at the YWCA parking lot, 216 Simcoe Street. "Doors" open at 8:00 pm; film starts at 8:30.

Video Job with the Tenant Resource Center

Shot footage yesterday to be used in several promotional videos for the Tenant Resource Center in Madison. We actually landed this job well over a year ago, but because of changes in the housing laws (and other circumstances, some beyond our control), we're only now getting started on it. The final pieces will incorporate animation, bullet points, and other graphics to fill out the visuals.

More Pickup Shots Completed for "The Weather Report"

On Monday, in what would be our very last shoot with Veronica Narang before she moves out west, we completed some much needed pickup shots for The Weather Report, the joint short film project between C Side Films and Tarazod Films.

Veronica plays Trudy Webster, an investigative news reporter. The pickup scenes revolved around her having to report the progress of her current news piece to an unreceptive boss--a network executive played by Colin Cameron.

The shoot took place at the Madison downtown library; we ended up staying almost until they closed at 9:00 pm. Got some terrific performances out of both actors.

UPDATE: This scene was never used in the final cut of Don Circles the Drain (aka The Weather Report). However, it did not go to waste. We were able to utilize sections of it for our next movie, No Sleep for Ronni. Since both actors, Veronica and Colin are in both films, we adjusted the script of the latter to make these shots work within the frame of the story. Cool, huh?

Public Screening of "Beast Bike Beauty"

The High Noon Saloon film screenings tonight in Madison were well received. Five films played in all including our short Beast Bike Beauty. Filmmakers on stage for the Q&A after the screening. L-R: Robert Lughai, Bryan Royston, Jeff Blankenship, Joey Broyles, and Ben Wydeven.

Photo by Karla Siemering Bryant.

Principal Cinematography Completed on "No Sleep for Ronni"

The last full day of shooting on No Sleep for Ronni was concluded outdoors yesterday during the blistering 92 degree swelter. Yet, the summer heat happily wasn't much of an issue for our star, Veronica Narang, or for our crew. Why? Because we shot in and around an abandoned 19th century railroad tunnel with natural spring-cooled "air-conditioning".

The location for this sequence was originally referred to in the script as a long hallway. The plan was to secure a school for the shoot, but after failing on several attempts to do so, the "school" idea began to loose its appeal--not the least of reasons being that we wouldn't be able to run a commercial fog machine inside the building (fire codes).

The school was replaced with the intention of using a bicycle underpass. Yet, issues of lighting, fogging, and biker traffic were all real obstacles to the successful completion of the shoot. Up until this point, all of the previous filming locations for the movie had surpassed our expectations in both functionally and artistic mood. Now with one major sequence to go, it felt as though we were "settling" for less than what the story needed.

At the 11th hour, our cinematographer suggested a little known abandoned railroad tunnel he'd visited once. It would require a drive to get there and then a hike in, but after one look at photos online, we knew we'd found the right place.

As we parked the cars and loaded up the gear, the heat of the day was on the rise. But to our pleasant surprise, the closer we got to the tunnel, the cooler and moister the air became. Natural springs and extremes in temperatures were creating a billowing fog that pretty much poured out of the arched entrance for most of the day. Not only did we find the right look for our shoot, but we also got the fog we wanted! Everything just seemed to go right on this production, and the fog effect was simply another example of how the filmmaking gods were smiling down upon us.

A small, mobile cast and crew (after a long, hard day of work on set), L to R: Robin Witt (assistant to Veronica Narang), Veronica Narang, Colin Cameron (producer/script supervisor/grip), Simon Witt (production assistant), Erik Witt (cinematographer/Steadicam), Robert Lughai (director/sound).

Photos by Colin Cameron, Robin Witt, and Veronica Narang.

A small set of supporting character pickup shots remains before filming is finished on this project.