Shoestring Monsters - The Horrors of Zero Budget Filmmaking

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...

Welcome foolish mortals. This is Douglas A. Plomitallo, a filmmaker specializing in all things scary and creepy. In 2008, I launched Scared Stiff, a series of original horror stories available at the touch of your fingertips. Through the next 8 years, me and my team of filmmakers introduced fans to the likes of the Whisperman, Captain Happy and our franchise character, Tiny. We made festival pieces such as "Closet Monster"' and "Predator: The True Horrors of Halloween" and made our own take on the zombie genre with the 4 part "The Zombie Chronicles". We also expanded the show by including fan films with our "Jason Xmas" mini-series which blends two very different tales together into one strange but fun story. We've hit bumps in the road and also enjoyed life on the happy trail of filmmaking. We've experienced a great change in viewership habits due to the ever changing landscape of online video and have needed to adapt to avoid getti...