New C-Stands!

Thanks to Gretta Wing Miller who let us know about the equipment being sold off by MMC Studio in Madison. We picked up two hardly-used Impact c-stands for less than the price of one new! A super deal!

Each has a turtle base, a 2.5" gobo head and 40" arm.

That's a Wrap on Ms. Slovak!

Portia Adney was brought on to our No Sleep for Ronni project back in July. Her character, Ms. Slovak, is a hard-edged adversary to both the protagonist Ronni Dempster (played by Veronica Narang) and also the antagonist Dr. Bly (Tim Towne).

Today, we successfully completed the last of Portia's scenes. The principal photography is now finished! All that remains are several pickup shots and a few voice over sessions with other actors. These will be recorded once the edit has progressed far enough in post production so that we'll know exactly what is needed.

Today's crew (L to R):

Script Supervisor - Susan Rathke
Production Assistant - David Rodrick
Production Assistant - Cameron Flynn
Actor - Portia Adney
2nd Assistant Camera/Craft Services - Nicholas Wootton
Director - Robert Lughai
Assistant Director - Victoria Siebold
Camera Operator - Jeff Buss
Craft Services - Jill Wootton (not pictured)


Special thanks to Bill White and Barbara Bolan for their assistance in securing our location. And to the Glass Nickel Pizza Co. in Madison for supporting our project with great food.

Restocking the Gear Room

Added a much needed chroma key green to the gaffer tape supply. Also increased the spring clamp count and purchased a new Elvid slate too.

Wrap on Victoria's Narration Scene

Yesterday, we recorded the remaining dialog for the "investor promotional film" that takes place in No Sleep for Ronni. The narrator is played by Victoria Siebold. She did an excellent job!

Thanks to Nicholas and Jill Wootton for use of their "studio".

Big Push to Knockoff Remaining "Ronni" Scenes

September 11 - Corporate Promo Video. Near the beginning of the No Sleep for Ronni story, a classified promotional film is screened for a select group of high level investors. The narrator for this promo is played by Victoria Siebold. We shot her on-screen lines at the Central Library in Madison.

September 13 - Computer Tech Scenes. Bryan Royston plays Douglas, a computer operator who runs the experimental sessions at a private research facility. Our shoot location was the Sun Prairie Media Center. Victoria returned to help out on crew, as did our PA Cameron Flynn.

September 14 - Research Facility. Shot more scenes with Bryan, this time back at the Madison Central Library and the downtown Madison College building.

September 15 - Dr. Bly's Office. Tim Towne plays Dr. Bly, the head of the private research facility. It was nearly a 16 hour day but we got all of his scenes shot. They included one with Bryan Royston and a couple others with Susan Rathke who plays a medical staffer. Susan also worked behind the scenes along with Cameron. Our location was at the downtown offices of WI-AIMH. Special thanks to Melissa Minkoff for securing permission.

Several pickup shots are still needed, plus one last major scene with Ms. Slovak (Portia Adney). These probably won't be completed until our location comes available in either October or November. But we are in the final stretch of production and it feels really, really good!

Production Picking Up - "Close Friend" Scene

Tonight we shot another scene for our project, No Sleep for Ronni. As the story builds towards its climax, Nurse Nia, played by Nadine Jackson, has a final phone conversation with her close friend, played by Melissa Minkoff.

Just over a month ago, we shot Nadine's side of the conversation in Phoenix. Tonight we completed the scene with Melissa here in Madison.

Special thanks to script supervisor Janet Kjelland for providing the location and snapping a few BTS pics.

Two More "Ms. Slovak" Scenes

Yesterday, we finished two more scenes with Portia Adney who plays Ms. Slovak, one of the adversaries in No Sleep for Ronni. The first was a green screen car sequence where she's driving through the streets of Paris. In the second, she's receiving a massage from her personal masseuse. In both, she's carrying on a video/phone conversation with co-adversary, Dr. Bly. (His side of the chat will be shot in a week or so with actor Tim Towne).

Our location in Baraboo, Wisconsin was generously provided by Jeff Blankenship, who was also our camera operator. The masseuse was played by Kelly Rehmer O'Malley, a real-life massage therapist. Also on set was boom operator Nathan Levy and grip Jeff Zachow.

Stingers, Cables, Cords...

More Scenes Shot on "No Sleep For Ronni"

Today we wrapped on all of the remaining scenes involving the Dr. Heron character played by Bahee Sathasivam. The sets were created to represent his work and home office, both in Mumbai, India.

Parking Garage Scene

The concluding scene in No Sleep for Ronni takes place in a parking garage. Yesterday we shot with Portia Adney (who plays Ms. Slovak), Tim Towne (Dr. Bly), and Bahee Sathasivam (Dr. Heron). The footage looks good.

It's a Wrap on the Final Arizona Scenes!

This past Wednesday (8-8-2018), our Phoenix unit completed all of their remaining pickup shots for No Sleep for Ronni. Robert directed via FaceTime, Veronica Narang and Nadine Jackson went through a couple of different wardrobe changes, Terry Hogan ran camera, and Steve Fellheimer fulfilled both grip and sound duties, plus he shot some behind-the-scenes pics as well.

Feels great to have this portion of the movie finished. Now we can turn our attention on the remaining Wisconsin scenes to be completed over the next month.

Check Off Another Arizona Scene!

Today we continued our drive to complete No Sleep for Ronni. Producer Veronica Narang oversaw another shoot in Phoenix. The scene featured Nadine Jackson as nurse Nia in a turning point in the story. T'nia Harris ran camera and captured some dynamic shots.

 

L-R: Nadine, Veronica, T'nia.

All-Important "Boardroom Scene" Completed Yesterday

Boom! Another scene is now in the can for No Sleep For Ronni! Yesterday, we shot the Boardroom Scene, part of the movie's climactic sequence. Ms. Slovak, played by Portia Adney, overseas a presentation to six upper crust international investors. The roles of these well-healed characters were performed by Casem AbuLughod, Doug Reed, Louis Sather, Ricky Hunjan, Neelam Kerkela, and Andy Glaysher.

Group photo supplied by Janet Kjelland. 

Our location was the conference room at the Sun Prairie Library. Jeff Buss brought his expertise and gear to the set as the DP. Jeff Blankenship split duties between AC and key grip. Ryan Meunier was the sound technician. Janet Kjelland wore several hats as script supervisor, grip, and craft service, while Robert was director.

Set photos courtesy of Portia Adney.

Prepping for More "No Sleep For Ronni" Shoots

Robert met yesterday with a couple members of the Wisconsin cast of No Sleep For Ronni--Portia Adney and Ricky Hunjan. We're getting ready for a big shoot this Saturday. Portia plays a villain, Ms. Slovak, who's looking to procure increased funding from a group of wealthy investors. Ricky plays one of the six investors.

Deciding on which wig to go with.

Copyright Portia Adney.

Young wealth.

Copyright Ricky Hunjan.

We also did a couple test shots with Portia for a later scene that involves her character driving a BMW through the streets of Paris.