IMDB Approved

About two weeks ago "The Cypherian" was pre-qualified for an IMDB page. I submitted all the information, which took about five hours to complete, and this morning our page was added to IMDB.com.

For those who already had a page on IMDB who participated in the making of the film, your pages have been updated. Those of us getting their first credit on IMDB are still waiting for our pages to be created. But exciting none the less. The new One-Sheet promotional posters will be completed soon, and a new trailer will be up in January. Hope the holidays are going well for everyone. Be safe. Now onward!

-DK

Screening is Finally Here

Well the day has finally come and The Cypherian will have its first public screening on the Universal Back lot curtsy the New York Film Academy. This is a cast and crew screening that will be part of the whole class presentation of their Year-One Thesis Films. If you have not RSVP then I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see it some other time. For those involved in the film, and who are in attendance this Friday, a copy of the film is waiting for you. If you are unable to attend let me know so I can mail out your copy in the next day or so. One last thanks to the cast and crew for their hard work during shooting, and a big thanks to the staff at the NYFA for their input on refining the film for Festival Presentation. See everyone on Friday. Now Onward!

DK

Complete

Thanks to the help of Christy Carew, Will Ogilvie, and Søren Viuf the post production on The Cypherian is now complete. We have the materials and list to begin sending out to festivals. Now comes the part I really, really hate...waiting. I'm taking a month off after the submissions, but we won't get any results back until Feb. of next year. Oh well I'll have to find other projects to keep myself busy. Maybe...write a feature or something who knows. All cast and crew members make sure you RSVP to me in order to attend the screening on Nov. 21, 2008. Why miss a chance to get onto the Universal Studios Back lot and see a few films at Screening room 3?

Again a big round of applause for our cast and crew and I'll talk to you all soon.

Now Onward!

-DK

Almost Time to Show the World

Good news everyone! The final soundtrack pieces have been complete. Big thanks to our brilliant composer Christy Carew and all the hard work she has put into this film over the last few weeks. The cut has currently been approved by the NYFA and we have a list of festivals to begin shooting the cut off to starting next week. I'm very excited to show the film to the cast and crew as soon as possible. Especially for those who cannot be here for the screening. Also I've begun putting the finishing touches on the personal DVDs that will be handed out to the cast and crew as well as family or friends who might want a copy. Tomorrow I head in to finalize sound design and record a few things for the DVD. I'll keep you all informed as to our final progress. This film represents the hard work and determination of so many people over the last three to four months. Almost unreal that everything came together as well as it did. Now I'm trying to turn the story into a feature length idea. Now the real hard work begins. Hope for the best everyone and I'll see you soon. Now onward!

DK

The Score

Well today I sat down with our composer, Christy Carew, and listened to the latest tracks she has composed for the score of The Cypherian. I think everyone is going to be very impressed with her creativeness and hard work. The opening of the film really sets a great tone for the rest of the movie. Christy has worked very hard to give us a dramatic and exciting score to the film and she isn't done yet. Along with the opening I've heard the two musical pieces that set the mood for the middle of the film. As the explanation of our Hero's past and call to action begin to fall into place. I also got to sample elements to our antagonist's theme and the music which accompanies our lead actress. I can not wait to hear the rest of the score, and I know Christy is excited and anxious to continue working on the project.

I have also been working on our festival schedule. Reading just about every guide book and magazine article to determine where we will apply and hopefully succeed in bringing The Cypherian to the world. If anyone has suggestions please let me know. It really is amazing how many festivals there are in just North America alone. Luckily, through websites and information from former attendees, I have got a dozen right now with more to be researched in the time frame we hope to finish the film.

That is all for now, and I hope everyone is having a great Fall season so far. Until next time....Now Onward!

-DK

Screening Date Set for the New York Film Academy

Well everyone the film finally has a screening date with the NYFA on Friday Nov. 21 at 6pm on the Universal Studios Back Lot. The film will be shown as part of the Jan. 2008 Class presentation of their Year-One Projects. As for the film we have completed ADR work and are in Foley and Soundtrack preparations. Color grading and cinematic tweaks have been added to the film and we are just awaiting the final touches to make the movie complete. Right now we are running about 18mins which is great considering the original cut was quite larger than that. Also a festival schedule is being put together this week for distribution next month. Fun for all so be sure to sign up for the screening if you are not part of the cast and crew, but want to see it anyway. Just shoot me a comment or email and I'll see about getting you on the guest list once it becomes available to me. Thanks everyone. Now Onward!

-DK

Some Changes and Finalizations

Hello all!

Well to give everyone an update to where we are. Yesterday our Cinematographer, Søren Viuf and I, sat down and applied the color correction and anamorphic aspect ratio to the film. Our goal was to shoot the film in a 35mm framing for two reasons. 1) If we ever decide to output onto a 35mm print, which would be cool, then the job is down for us. 2) It really gives the film a great look in the end. All voice overs have been recorded and our sound designer, Will Ogilvie, is currently working on sound effects, Foley, and awaiting the final touches to the sound track. Christy has been working hard to get a sound track to us over the last month and I got to here a sample the other day. She has put something amazing together for this film, and I really really can not wait to hear the final score. We also made some shot changes to the current film. Nothing that moves the film around, but different takes from the same scenes. This was for both visual and audio quality of the film.

As for a screening the NYFA has not set a final date on their end, but since it looks like we might be having it either the week before Thanksgiving or the first week of December. To me neither of these options is acceptable. So I've decided to start looking for a small venue to host my own screening of the final product in Early November. I'm also starting on a festival calender for submission which start around the same time. So this week has been a busy one getting back and working on the film. We are getting close to the final product and getting back in the class room before winter break. Exciting times.
Now onward!

-DK

Home Coming

So its been two weeks since I was called to Texas to check in on my grandfather and the rest of the family. Good news is everyone is doing fine now. It looks like I'm getting ready to head back to L.A. in the next day or so once we get everything finalized here. Our crew begins production on another film starting next week. Updates to The Cypherian will be coming very soon after I get back. Before leaving I turned the film over to our sound designer and composer. Its been almost two weeks since I touched the film, and I'm a little anxious to put the final touches on before it is sent out to festivals.

Also come this winter I will be starting work on writing the feature length version of the film for my thesis project. I do not plan to shoot the feature right away, but as it is part of my graduation requirement I figure why not get a jump start on it. I think for my second year project I'll go back to an original short. I've been kicking around some ideas with crew members, and a comedy seems to be where we are heading. I've never written one so I am excited to be out of my element a bit. I've worked on several comedies, but nothing of my own. I'll keep everyone updated as to the progress on that one. Now onward!

The Pieces Are Falling Together

So a big day today. After a night of editing we have a extended trailer for the film that will premiere at our Producer's, Shannon Marie Welch, graduation on Friday August 29th. The trailer is strictly for personal use and won't be released to the public until the original music is added. I did however, meet with our composer today, Christy Carew, who also scored "B-O-M-B" for me back in May. She has some great ideas and I'm really excited to see what she comes up with for the film. Over the last week I interviewed several production houses and people about sound and visual graphics. I'm happy to report that we have brought on Jory Hyman as our visual effects artist. He has some great ideas for the special effects that will be used in the film. There will be some photos below showcasing what he has envisioned for the film so far. As for sound I think we will have a deal very soon that will insure that we have a final sound mix down and promotional material for the festivals come this winter.

Everyday I look at the film and get excited at what this group has helped to create. I love feeling that others share in my excitement for this project, and only want to see more. I plan to fill their need in due time. For now its back to work. I start work on another film tomorrow, and through the rest of the week. I think it might be great to take my mind off the film just for a few days. Anyway off on another adventure. Now onward!

-DK

P.S. Here are some concept photos Jory has sent over. Enjoy!

Rough Cut Almost Done

So its been three weeks since we wrapped on The Cypherian, and the rough cut is very close to being done. I've gone through several drafts according to the pile of burned DVD's sitting my desk. First cut was about 21 minutes long. Now we are down to under 19 without credits of course. Those I'm working on right now. I'm very happy with what we have created and early responses from the few scenes I've completed are in the positive area. Let us hope that is a good sign for the future of the project. After picture lock the film will get a soundtrack and added visual effects before finally getting mixed down into the final cut for screenings.

An extended trailer is also being cut right now for the graduation screening of our Producer Shannon Welch on August 29th or 30th. The school has yet to make up their mind about the date.

I start working on another film project directed by crew member Faizan Kareem. I'll be on a week-on week-off schedule until late October. Luckily I did not waste my time these past few weeks. Thanks go out to all of you who have been continuing to help and support me and the project since its creation. Check back in soon. Now onward!

-DK

First Days of Editing

So its been almost two weeks since we started the production on "The Cypherian", and just under a week since we moved into post production. Here is where we are. ECSTATIC! I've gotten to take a closer look at all the footage and I am so happy with the results. Another round of applause for my cast and crew for helping me to to create this story. Of course now we move into the difficult part of putting it all together.

I had to wait a few more days then I wanted in order to get all the parts for my new computer, and get everything settled. Stupidly I forgot to add a wireless card to my computer which was just a simple click of a button, but some how I managed to miss it completely. So I had to run to the Mac Store and get one. Thing is Macs were never really made to be messed with by their owners. In fact when I got the card it was so small I thought they gave me the laptop card so I took it back. Turns out the same card for the laptop is also used in the tower models. Way to be cross compatible Mac! So I get back to install the thing which a Mac guy had to sit and explain how to do it for 20min. It was no cake run. Took me an hour to get the damn thing in. I even called Mac Support and they told me the part was not user installable. Well guess what MAC! I got it in and it works great so HA!

Anyway moving on I spent three hours downloading Mac updates and another three installing the editing software. Then finally I got to begin importing the footage into the program. This meant labeling and downloading the footage to the new computer. Day one ending with only one more card to import. By then I was ready to sleep.

On day two I woke up early and got the last bits in and began importing the audio. Now was the really boring part. Syncing all the clips with the correct audio. Always fun. This took about six hours. Afterward I took a long break and cleared my head. Now the fun begins

I ran through all the footage again trying to decide where to start. Then I thought why not just start at the beginning? Normally you get the smaller scenes out of the way first so you can spend the rest of the time on the more complicated scenes, but its not like I'm pressed for time. Though I don't have the voice overs yet I cut a rough edit of the opening sequence and began on the first dialog scene. Got about half way through and decided I had not eaten...at all that day and stepped out of the house.

I loaded my ipod (Yes I know I own a lot of apple stuff) with a trailer music playlist I had been working on during the week and headed out. I already had some music in mind, but I want to put myself back in the editing mood. While at the store grabbing food one of the songs really jumped out at me. It was a number just over a minute I got off a friend in Anchorage a few years ago. I had not heard the track since then, but suddenly lines from the film began to jump into the music as I was listening. I put the song on repeat and listen to it the whole way home. By the time I got in the door I opened my laptop and starting writing the description and lines I would need to add into the voice over session I hope to have next week with Chris.

After a first draft I stepped away to eat dinner. Then I read through the script while listening to the music and it timed out almost perfectly. So at around 7:30pm I starting cutting. At around 11:30pm I had the first rough cut. I watched a few times and made corrections and at around 12:30am I watched it on my TV. It was an interesting experience watching these images. I've cut trailers before just for the hell it, because they are so driven by their music. Something about this one really got me excited. I've honestly seen this trailer in my head for years, and to see it in front of me last night, even with the stuff that still needs to be fixed, I couldn't help but watch it over and over again for at least 15min. The trailer is just over a minute if that says anything to you. I know I am a ways off from having a totally viewable trailer, but I have a trailer...and that just inspires me to no end. The Trailer will eventually be released publicly when original music is put to it. But we are a ways from that so everyone...be bare with me. Now onward!

-DK

Day Six - Final Day of Shooting

Well it is official...as of 9:45 pm "The Cypherian" has been wrapped. Great big thanks to all our cast and crew this week who have help to bring the story to life. For so long these characters have been rattling around in my head just waiting for the right moment to show themselves. With the help of this crew, we brought the ideas to screen in more ways than I imaged. I'll be taking a week off to get my bearings straight before I start looking at all the footage. My brain has been in over drive for the last six days and its needs a pit stop.

Again thanks to our cast:
Christopher Corbin, Maddie Bukowsky, Dylan Vox, Brett Weinstock, Vince Allen, Jeremiah Page, Jacob Newton, and Benjamin Watts for the terrific performances. Also thanks to Maddie's brother Sam Bukowsky who stepped up on Saturday to be an extra for one of the final scenes of the film.

Our crew:
Shannon Welch, Søren Viuf, Katherine Johnston, Shawn Aly, Nico Schwierz. Faizan Kareem, Bea Soto, Sol Kohli, Brian Lammert, Eva-Lena Karlsson Porscha Sims, Bret Watkins, Trevor Grace, Dan Parsons, and Melissia Fisher. You all were the best crew I could have wished for to make this film happen. Also thanks to Chris Johnston for providing us with the final indoor locations. My Parents for providing financial and moral support. Finally I'd also like to again thank my wife Katie for her love and support these last few years as we worked to make this film a reality. I'm sure I am forgetting people and I'm sorry, but this sounds like a long Oscar speech, but I'm just practicing. This film is going to be something big I can just feel it. Now I'm going to get some sleep. Love you all. Now onward!

-D.K.

Day Five of Shooting

Today the production moved inside to the NYFA building's underground parking garage. Though despite the fact we were out of the sun finally we didn't beat the heat. The bottom level of the building with all our lights aimed at the cast and crew made things pretty heated. Spirits remained high as we powered through scene 10 of the film. Maddie's brother Sam stepped up to play a warrior monk, along side myself, Jacob Newton, and Jeremy Page, as the captures of young Amy, our mother-to-be. Of course Christopher Corbin was there to bring Servius into the mix in an attempt to rescue Amy and her child.

The crew functioned very well under the heat and small spaces of the parking garage. our Director of Photography, Søren Viuf, created a very unique environment for the shots today. I'm looking forward to taking a look at the footage either later tonight or tomorrow. Today Maddie, Ben, and Jacob were wrapped for the film as we head into our last day. The cast and crew have been so great on this film I can't even describe how much help and devotion they have all shown towards this project. Many many thanks are due and we still have one day more to go. Now onward!

-D.K.

Day Four of Shooting

So another early day for some of the crew. Shannon, Søren, and myself were up at 5am to head out to a public yet remote location in Hollywood. Grabbing only the camera and tripod Søren and I hiked up the dirt hill above the Ford Amphitheater to the Hollywood Cross. If you have ever driven south on the 101 freeway into L.A. you will have scene this cross on the hill as you enter the bowl. It took almost two weeks to originally track down who owned this cross and get permission to use the image in the film, but really I wanted it and we got it. Afterward we broke for a few hours to take a nap and get some food before the rest of the cast and crew met back at Eylsian Park to shoot scenes 1 and 9.

Another hot day in the L.A. area as we set out to create a desert like feel to re-create our own view of the death of Christ. Don't worry we didn't nail anyone to a cross, but shot the hill where a CG image of the cruxifiction will be placed. Chris was given a longer beard by our talent makeup artist Brian Lammert, to play himself only two thousand years earlier. Dressed all in white with his symbol worn on his neck, he stands alone on a rock top looking at Christ and making the choice at that moment to never allow the Cypherian line to continue and vanish into the pages of history.

After lunch we came back to shoot scene 9 which is the final meeting between Servius and the Archangel Gabriel. Servius must decide whether or not he will once again rise to protect the girl and her child or let the world sort things out on its own. A big day for Chris, but at least he had gotten some sleep and came to set refreshed and ready to work. We returned to the area of the fight scene over looking L.A. and the shots came out looking great with Gabriel and Servius conversing with the city backdrop.

Tomorrow we head to the NYFA building and its parking garage to shoot scene 10. Perhaps I'll get my cameo in for my Hitchcock moment. You didn't think I would miss the opportunity to be in my own epic would you? Now onward!

-D.K.

Day Three of Shooting

At 4:45am I awoke to get ready for day three of shooting. Today we were shooting scene 2 of and part of the opening of the film. This involved a big fight scene and a lot of area coverage for a long voice over in the beginning of the film as we introduce Chris's character, Servius, to the world. We got on set and the first shot was off at 8am in the Eylsian Park overlooking Los Angeles and Dodger Stadium. I was so happy to find this location because it created a perfect back drop for our fight with the city in clear view behind our characters. And by clear I mean as clear and smog will allow.

Chris was coming off a long night of work and with little to no sleep he was almost a zombie on set, but despite that he brought his A-Game and even added to the character's look and feel. I can't thank him enough as well as Jacob and Ben, our body guards, for the hard work they put into the fight choreography and working in the hot sun for almost 8 hours. By the end both cast and crew were covered with dirt and sweat and ready to get some sleep.

I big thanks to Søren's friend Dan Parsons who came out with his HVX camera and provide great coverage for the fight. Without two cameras this day would have been a lot longer I think. Also a big thanks to my crew. We were down three people from the previous two days, but they worked their asses off and got the job done.

Before I wrap this up I wanted to mention that I got to look at the dailies from today, and took a look at what we called the "Hero" shot of Servius. This is the world's introduction to Servius and the combination of movement and light on the shot was so thrilling to watch I know we are going to do great things with this story and I can't wait o sit down and edit the whole thing. Once again big thanks to the cast and crew for a great day. We are half way through and its hard to believe all that we have accomplished in such a short amount of time. Tomorrow we are back at the park to shoot the main opening of the film and the third to last of the film also with our Archangel Gabriel played by Brett Weinstock. Now onward!

-D.K.

Day Two of Shooting

Back at La Cienega Park the crew assembled again for day two of shooting. It turned out to be one of the hotter days on set, because we spent a lot more time out of the shade. We began to setup for the first shot of the day to shoot scene 5 in front of the Film and Television Library when we were asked to move by the director of the building. Apparently the person who gave us the permission to shoot in front of the building, which is cover under our permit anyway, forgot to tell us they we could not shoot there until after 12pm due to a tour group coming through. Now wouldn't you think a tour group coming to see a library on film and TV would like the opportunity to see a movie being made right in front of them? I thought so, but the director of the library disagreed.

So to keep things moving we moved to our second setup around the corner for scene 6 of film and planned to come back to the other location after lunch. The move set us back quite a bit and we only had until 5 to get everything in. We had to try and add scene 3 into this day so that one our actors could attend a job he booked later in the week. So a little stress, but once we got the first shot off the day started going by without any issues.

Maddie and Chris were onset for their first meeting in the film. The park we shot in became a little problematic when a large summer camp of 4-year-olds setup just across from us, but we managed to get the dialog off before they began their screaming. I loved watching Maddie stand up to Chris on screen. She brings a very strong personality to the Amy character, and it goes great with Chris's character, Servius, because he is supposed to be an immortal who has lived for more than two thousand years, but he is still out witted by a 17-year-old.

On the production side of things I ran into a snag at the end of the day which forced me to leave set early and leave Shannon and Søren in charge to wrap the day, which was very upsetting to me. I trust Shannon and Søren and they got some great stuff after I left, but I've never had to leave a production like that. Those responsible for me having to leave got a ear full from both me and Shannon the next few days, but they is a very long story so we'll just say it was handled and production will continue to go strong. I got to take a look at the dailies that evening and was on the edge of my seat watching some of the great stuff we've gotten so far. The acting is right on the money and the look is exactly where it needs to be. Tomorrow is the fight scene and I'm really excited because we are having a another camera being brought in to get some great coverage. Thanks Søren! Now onward!

-D.K.

Last Prep and Day One of Shooting

So on Monday July 21 my Producer Shannon Welch, my crew from NYFA, and myself took the day to gather equipment from all over Burbank in preparation for the shoot. This had to be the largest package of equipment I have ever used to date. Sure I've created similar effects to the equipment we picked up, but its normally been a makeshift version we threw together at the last minute. So it was nice to have the professional version for this shoot. On top of the regular gear we are provided from NYFA we acquired a One ton grip package from a local rental house which just about tripled out grip equipment and added mirror boards, double the flags and C-stands. We also grabbed a large P2 card for our Panasonic HVX200 camera and a glide cam for hand-held shots, and to top things off a large cargo van to put the stuff in. The only slight road bump we ran into was that one our our lead actors called to let us know he had booked a job for one of the days he needed to be on set with us. This scared me a little bit, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it helped us to better schedule some earlier shoots and ended up making things easier. So we were ready to go and I wasn't feeling nervous about the shoot at all. I was excited to see this story finally get out of my head and onto the video screen.


So on Tuesday July 22, 2008 we began production on "The Cypherian". The cast and crew assembled at La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills for the first scene. We scheduled some of the most complicated setups early so the rest of the film would go pretty smoothly. My Director of Photography, Søren Viuf, brought out some of his crew from Orange country, and working my crew made the whole day so much easier for me to focus on shots and actors.

Also Shannon recruited some of her classmates to help with craft services, props and wardrobe, and I don't know what we would have done without them. We just about had every cast member on set except for two which gave our makeup artist, Brian, a good idea for makeup in the rest of the film. Brian also got to add the broken noses and bruises to Jacob Newton and Benjamin Watts, our two body guards, who earlier in the film get a little roughed up by our main character played by Christopher Corbin.


Our female lead, Maddie Bukowsky, and her brother were onset enjoying some sun and relaxation as the day went on. I was so pleasantly surprised at the professionalism of my actors. They came to set ready to read with little to know assistance from the script. They had their character down cold and followed blocking and direction perfectly. Søren gave me some of the greatest shot setups and the end result was a very emotional day for me. The look and feeling of film is even better than I imagined.

The crew seems to be getting along great and really working with one another. I think my crew and I are learning a great deal from this experience, and I know it will serve us well in the up and coming months. So to wrapped it up the first day was a great success and I'm feeling great about everyone involved. Tomorrow we are back in Beverly Hills before we move to Eylsian Park in Los Angeles on Thursday. I've got some pictures here from the first day. They are only a small sample of the hundreds of photos Shannon took on set, but they are some of my favorites.

-D.K.

The Story

Hello all,

This is D.K. Johnston the writer and director of a new short entitled "The Cypherian". This is a dramatic action film set in modern times. What is a Cypherian you ask? The Cypherian is a title given to chosen humans to represent the powers of Heaven and Hell on earth. Since the dawn of mankind the powers decided that if man was to have the gift of free will then there should be certain influences in the world to prevent them from wiping each other out. These influences were men blessed with god-like powers to be the representatives of Heaven and Hell. One such representative was named Servius, and he was charged with the protection of Jesus Christ. When Christ was killed for our sins, Servius turned his back on the powers and mankind disappearing into the pages of history.

Refusing to give up his power, Servius has lived among us in hopes that the powers would see that mankind did not need their influence to survive. As a result hell was no longer allowed to recruit other representatives. The world since has remain unprotected and unchecked.

Today the powers have sought to convince Servius to take up the position he once abandoned. A new child is being born into the world. One that will, once again, influence mankind on a biblical scale. But this time the powers have had no influence in creating this child. To make matters worse a family on earth, who has been searching for the Cypherian since the crusades, has become aware of the child and plans to use it against Servius in hopes of gaining his power.

Servius must now chose to let mankind's fate unfold on its own, or take up his former position and help protect the next influential child and its mother.

We've got a great cast of actors from all over the LA area and we look forward to getting started this July. The film is being produced through the New York Film Academy MFA Program and will be screening in late November. Wish us luck and see you on the big screen.

-DK