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.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
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
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
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