Mutantville.com

Script For G.H.O.S.T. Is All But Finished!

We’ve had another busy weekend at the offices of Mutantville.com this past week. Since we finished the first cut of G.H.O.S.T. at the beginning of January – we’ve been working feverishly to complete the script for new scenes and contact all of our principle players about the possibility of returning to shoot more scenes. We are happy to announce that the entire cast has agreed to return to shoot new scenes. We’ve been lining up locations, working out new ideas and continuing with the post-production process on the visual FX of G.H.O.S.T.

Writer/director J.T. McRoberts has been working hard on the script for the new scenes and will soon send it out to the actors. He states that while the new script is all but finished – there are still one or two lines of dialogue that would – as Mark Borchardt might say -“make the pope weep” so he’s trying to iron those rough spots out first. McRoberts states “I always want my scripts to knock your you-know-what in the dirt – so there’s never a rush even when we’re pressed for time.  I promise this is the final revision.  It’s go time.  We’re eager to get everyone back in front of the camera.”

Be on the look out for another edition of On The Red Carpet with Catherine Trail and Charlotte Web Video. Mutantville’s own Streebo , Geo Swanko and actor Jack Stecher were on hand to talk to Catherine about the progress of G.H.O.S.T. and the upcoming projects at Mutantville.com.  Look for the video to be posted soon courtesy of Charlotte Web Video.

Big things lay ahead for Mutantville in the coming month. The first official G.H.O.S.T. t-shirt will soon be made available to the cast and crew.  More details on that soon.  Be sure to keep checking back as we update you on the progress of ABOMINATIONS from Image Impact Group and take you to see limited screenings of The Howling.  Be with us as we howl for the premiere of The Wolfman and come along for the ride as we give you a guided tour of the upcoming Horrorhound convention in Indianapolis featuring the screening of NIGHTBREED uncut!

Phew! All this and 2010 is just barely getting started.

G.H.O.S.T. TV Pilot To Become Full Length Feature?

Work for G.H.O.S.T. started back in January with the launch of the MVP Blog here at Mutantville.com and the beginning of intense pre-production on G.H.O.S.T.. The cast and crew put in many a long day and night throughout production during October and November and we’ve carried that level of intensity into post-production by shooting pick ups all through December. We started editing during the second week of filming and are finally nearing completion of the first assembly of G.H.O.S.T..

There is so much going on behind the scenes that’s it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep producing timely updates in addition to doing the actual work. This has been an amazing adventure so far. The footage looks great. The performances were fantastic and the special make-up FX are spectacular. Just as it seems we’re nearing the end – we are in fact reaching a new beginning. It’s not official yet – but we are working on ideas for new scenes to shoot for the movie – to expand it from it’s intended half hour format into a full length feature! That’s right – we will still be able to cut G.H.O.S.T. down to a very tight half hour TV pilot s intended – but there is enough material there that with a few smart additions – we can expand the story a touch and turn G.H.O.S.T. into a full movie.

I’m so excited that I can hardly contain myself. While this is good news for us – it also means that this non-stop rollercoaster of work that we’ve been on since July will continue for the foreseeable future! Thank you all for your help in making this dream a reality. Everyone in MVP plays an important role and we couldn’t have made our movie without you! Keep checking the MVP Blog for more updates as they happen!

**Streebo

LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION

Johnny B With Gene Starnes

Many people have asked how we managed to get access to such an amazing location as the historic Albemarle Opera House for our current project G.H.O.S.T.. In truth it takes fineness, accountability and most of all relationship management skills.

I first met local business man and downtown Albemarle champion Gene Starnes many years ago. It was only last year that I discovered the amazing piece of history located above his place of business, Starnes Jewelers. Gene is a member of virtually every civic organization related to doing business in Albemarle and has a list of community contacts that boggles the mind. I began to ask him about the possibility of a tour of the opera house which his grand father originally built in 1908. Gene readily agreed and before you knew I was filming our walk through.

I, of course instantly realized the cinematic potential for the space, with it’s aged walls, circular French balcony windows and extremely high ceilings, but it wasn’t as simple as winning Mr. Starnes over to the cause. The space covers a neighboring building as well and is co-owned by the adjoining business underneath. There was the matter of establishing a certain rapport and illustrating that Mutantville Productions can be trusted. I really needed Gene to sell the idea to the co-owner of the space with whom we personally had no contact.

To satisfy certain insurance requirements a few ground rules had to be established. For instance, no smoking up there or out in front of the building. As far as I know this only inconvenienced one or two cast and crew members the whole time. As Dave Mustain of Megadeth  once said, “We don’t smoke in this band!”

Contact numbers in case of power failure had to be maintained. I think there are 6 – 8 numbers in that call chain for instance. It turned out that we needed these on the night of the black out so that preparation paid off.

I recall a solid 3 months of discussions before final approval was granted. Even after that through the 9 months of pre-production I kept in constant contact with Gene, say on a bi weekly basis at least, keeping him up to date on the productions progress.

Throughout the process and even in the face of what I’m sure must have been an annoyance to him personally, the night the power went out and it took us 4 hours to find the fuse in the 100 year old structure Gene has really been amazingly supportive of MVP. At this time he is reaching out to a few contacts to help us possibly locate a local resource where the civil war period dream sequence can be shot.

Jumping back into to our mammoth half decade horror film production C 4 Chaos, we actually managed a ton of real locations. If a bar was called for, we were shooting in a bar. If the script called for a bunch of scenes in a comic shop, of which there are precious few around these days, you betchya we were in a honest to goodness comic shop. This really, really elevated that production to be working in the great locations instead of sets.

Like they say, it really is all about LOCATION! LOCATION!LOCATION! Remember this above all else Mutantville Players, Johnny Brento loves ya!

P.S.

Visit the most amazing Jewelry Store in Stanly County. Gene Starnes wants to be your jeweler. Tell him MVP sent you.

Blackout Sets G.H.O.S.T. Back By One Week.

We had a rather productive day of filming this past Saturday – productive that is – until we were set to roll the cameras on our finale scenes when we lost all power to the opera house.  We hoped it was nothing more than a tripped breaker or perhaps a blown fuse – but after three hours in the dark – we were worried that it was something a bit more serious.  We sent the cast and crew home only to discover to our pleasant surprise – that the problem was indeed a blown fuse which was easily fixed.  Before losing our power – we were able to shoot two scenes earlier in the day as well as an extended photo shoot featuring our full cast.

With help from assistants Sylvia and Sierra, our make-up FX expert Todd A. Britt was on hand to provide some amazing ghostly make-ups.  Their make-up efforts were not lost as we were able to catch the supernatural victims in an exhaustive series of photos and promo shots.  Expect to see those pop up as promotional posters somewhere down the line.

The producers of Mutantville Productions would like to extend a hearty thank you to our cast and crew.  You all dealt with the delay like real professionals and we were able to make the best out of what was potentially a disastrous situation.  Due to the set-back – we have extended the shooting schedule of G.H.O.S.T. to include November 14th and 21st – giving us just enough time to wrap before Turkey Day!  Thank you all for everything you do.  I look forward to seeing you back on the set for our finale this Saturday!

~~Streebo

Light At The End Of The G.H.O.S.T.

The final two weeks of production on G.H.O.S.T. are upon us. We are more than pleased with our progress so far. Everything has been outstanding. All of the cast and crew have risen to the occasion time and again and we can never thank you enough. When we developed the idea of what became G.H.O.S.T. way back in January over a basket of nachos and salsa – we never expected it would become as good as it has. With the rise of interest in the paranormal sub-genre with the blockbuster success of independent films such as Paranormal Activity – this can only augur great things for the future of G.H.O.S.T.. Thank you all for your hard work. We have some tough shoots ahead of us – but we know that we have the right cast, crew and courage to see it through. See you on the set, MVP.

~~Streebo

Directors–Include Publicity Shots in Your Shot List.

By Rodney Robbins from the Charlotte Creative Community Board:

With all those lights and all that great looking talent, you have the perfect chance to shoot stunning, attention grabbing publicity stills. Instead of thinking of these shots as add-ons that slow down your already Super Tight production schedule, I say schedule them in and SAVE time! Do your publicity shots after the last take, before you strike the lights, that way it takes 2 minutes to get a great shot in stead of 20. Here are some shots to consider adding to your Shot List.

Close-up of lead crying or laughing

Two shot of leads arguing or being VERY expressive

Director giving notes to talent on set

Medium shot of actors pointing at lines

Actors playing with (er…um…I mean Rehearsing with) props

DP and producer with camera

Gaffer and DP or director setting lights

Writer and director framing a shot

Talent and director pigging out at craft services

People usually find these “candid,” behind the scenes shots much more interesting than a wide shot of the entire cast and crew. May I also suggest that you go ahead and feature individuals in your shots, make them STARS, but for different media outlets. Let the talent be the stars of main stream newspapers–they love that stuff. PAs can be stars in their college newspaper. Producers can be stars in business journals and newsletters. Directors and photographers can be stars for weekly newspapers and journals. I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Rodney Robbins

via Directors–Include Publicity Shots in Your Shot List – Charlotte Film Community (Charlotte, NC) – Meetup.com.

G.H.O.S.T. Puts Another Great Week Six Feet Deep!

The Mutantville Players converged upon the haunted opera house in Albemarle, North Carolina for another amazing night of filmmaking last night. We filmed another encounter with something from the other side last night!  I can’t tell you what happened or to whom – but I will say that you will be scared out of your pants – so be sure to wear two pairs when you watch this.

I ran out of ways to describe the talent and enthusiasm we have for this project and find myself resorting to simply telling you that we are doing some of our best work ever. The cast and crew continue to impress with their dedication and professionalism. Please enjoy your rest for the day. We have one more major scene to shoot next week, then we break for Halloween in order to prep for the major finale at the first of November. I continue to feel blessed and honored to work with you all. You inspire me to keep pressing hard working day in and day out to make G.H.O.S.T. the best short horror film of the year. Thank you all.

~~Streebo

Lighting The Way For Another G.H.O.S.T.LY Saturday.

The producers at Mutantville Productions descended upon the historic opera house in downtown Albermarle again last night for another round of light tests and shot preparations.  We spent several hours dressing the various sets for use in this Saturday’s shoot.  We are up against a very tight shooting schedule this Saturday which will see us literally racing against the sun – but we are confident that the hours of preparation will pay off.  Our tests went off without a hitch and no one was possessed by otherworldly spirits or disappeared after dark – but one can hope.  Seriously, if we disappear in the opera house – can you imagine how much publicity we could generate in the media?  Just kidding.  We can’t let anyone disappear until all of our shots are in the can.  We’re looking forward to seeing our amazing cast and crew again this Saturday.  Stay tuned to Mutantville.com for more up to the minute MVP news!