Shoestring Monsters - The Horrors of Zero Budget Filmmaking

It's been several months, but it is time to dust off the screenwriting typewriter and get my directors buret dry-cleaned. Real-life has been very busy since "Son of Tiny" was released. I recently bought a house and sold my old one, so moving was a priority and took up a lot of time. On top of all that, my computer that I used for filmmaking completely died. Fortunately, my data was safe but the processor went so it would have been about a grand to get it fixed. Work has been very busy and with two small kids waiting for me at home, I was left with very little time, and even less energy to make any filmmaking progress. 

We did release part 9 of our "Jason Xmas" mini-series back in January but other than that, filmmaking has been at a stand still as far as "Scared Stiff" is concerned. I recently edited a short film that will be making the festival loop shortly directed by "Scared Stiff" star Analisa Robertson recently, but it is now time to co…

"Son on Tiny" has been edited into a polished "rough cut" and sent to audio for soundtrack! I am really happy with how it is coming along. Tonight, we are shooting a few pick up shots that I will think will help the pacing of the film. The release date of the film is dependent on the completion of the soundtrack. Unfortunately, not having a release date hurts my ability to market the film and give it a little "buzz" but hopefully we will have some information soon!

Principal photography on "Son of Tiny" has wrapped! Below is a brief overview of the two nights of filming.

Wednesday night: This was the night that we shot all of the exteriors for the film. I moved the filming location from Trumbull to Norwalk to give us a longer shooting night. With Trumbull being 30 mins passed Norwalk (during rush hour), we were able to shoot for an entire extra hour. Plus the starring actress needed to take a train back to Brooklyn, so I found this would maximize what little time we had. We couldn't start shoot it until it was dark so I set the crew call for 6:30 so we could have the whole scene lit and ready to go by 8:00. Everything went according to schedule. (Something that rarely happens with filmmaking) While we were breaking for dinner halfway through the shoot, I noticed that it had begun to rain. It was light rain but was noticeable on film. I crossed my fingers and fortunately the rain had stopped by the time dinner was over. It did frigh…

Three days to go until filming begins and Halloween comes early! I rehearsed with the main star on Friday and received the last of the vintage masks that I will be using. Going to be gathering all of the necessary props today and still need to finalize the costume for the Son of Tiny. A lot of work to do but am excited to return to the world of Tiny.

Less than a week before filming begins on "Son of Tiny"! All of the actors and crew are in place. We have switched filming locations for one of the nights for logistical reasons.   Tomorrow is rehearsal with the lead actress. A lot to do still, but items on the checklist are being crossed off one by one.
This has been a big week for the show as this week is the eight year anniversary of the release of the first "Scared Stiff" episode. Also, starting tomorrow, Tiny leaps off the screen and into the world of the Halloween Haunt. Here in Connecticut, Fright Haven re-opens their doors after eight years and returns as one of Connecticut's biggest haunted houses. This year, our very own Tiny will be one of the featured characters in the haunt!

I thought that I should comment on the name of the blog. The Horrors of Zero-Budget filmmaking is not a name given so I could yack and complain about how horrible filmmaking is. I don't want to make this a terrifying tale designed to scare upcoming filmmakers away. In over 60 productions that I have been a part of, I have had mostly great experiences. Of course theres always the odd time that productions have came to a halt do to an actor (or three!) dropping out within an hour of filming. Or locations being taken away with almost no warning. Or when the cops are called on you by someone with too much time on their hands. Or when you get a gun pulled on you because of Henry Kissinger. (True Story!)
But for the most part, "Scared Stiff" has been a pretty fun ride. A big part of minimizing problems is making sure that proper time goes into planning and making sure you have people on your team that you are comfortable with. The Horrors of Filmmaking can happen to the best f…