‘Ohma’ Comes Home & What’s Next

After a year long run thru the ‘Fest Circuit’ and making our way onto Blu-Ray and into retailers, “Blood of Ohma” came home last night for it’s final Theatrical Showing along side our friends at Snowdog Studio with their epic opus “The Four”.

At The Movies in Meadville, a beautiful, state of the art digital theater filled with our friends, cast and crew and I can’t think of a better way to put this monster to bed.

We screened ‘Ohma’ in Classic 3D, and I always get a giggle looking out into the audience and seeing the ‘old school’ 3D glasses. Good times.

Of course, “Blood of Ohma” is still available, but it will no longer be in theaters. You can get it on Blu-Ray, 3D Blu-Ray or DVD along side all the other GMD Films pretty much wherever you buy movies and downloads.

Including at the GMD Films Backlot Auctions, our Ebay store, which has been growing by leaps and bounds this year. There you can find everything from screen worn costumes to deep discounts on our DVD and Blu-Rays.

It’s SWAG Time

It’s Fall again, which means ‘Hoodie’ weather, and the new 2012 GMD Films Hoodies are back in stock. These are super heavy weight cotton pull over Hoodies with front pockets. Available in a variety of colors and sizes and shipping right now.

And while you’re at it, check out the new styles of Ladies Wear that has just been added to the SWAG Store. New long sleeve T’s, V-Necks and the classic women’s fitted T – for all her curves.

 So, What’s Next?

Fall also marks ‘Pre-Production’ for all of us here at GMD Films, where we get knee deep into putting together the slate of new movies and shows.

Our next feature will be “WISP”, a twisty, turny, thriller about a Cop and a Serial Killer that is anything but your typical ‘Serial Killer’ movie.

Plus, “Regarding Jenny” and “It’s A Tasha Thing” will be returning with new episodes, and I’ve VERY proud to announce that our animation / cartoon division MaddyMation has gotten a much needed kick in the ass, with the addition of Ginna Glaze, who will now be heading up the division.

Ginna is a model designer and animator currently working in Hollywood and the creator of her own brand of fiercely erotic CGI art. She’s taken over MaddyMation and will be heading up production on “The Top Secret Adventures of Bubble Girl and Pixie Stixx” as well as new episodes of “Maddy Burger” as well as running her own site on our network.

Every now and then, the cards fall in the right place for us, and this is one of those times. We’re lucky to have such an amazing talent on this growing new division of the Maddy G family.

In other exciting news, GMD Films has signed on to distribute “The House of Evil”, the newest piece of madness from Director Massimiliano Cerchi.

The film is scheduled to go into Production this coming January, and should be available from GMD Films by Fall 2013. It’s a gory horror / action hybrid that is being shot in 3D. You’ll get much more about this film as it goes into production.

And look for lots more in the coming weeks. We’ll be releasing story boards, production news and there’s a deal brewing with Time Warner Cable that will probably put our programming into your home for free – sooner than we thought.

Stay tuned friends, we’re just getting started… again!

- Paul

The GMD Halloween Special Is Back

Well folks, it’s THAT time of year again. When the ghosts and goblins and creepy things come out to play.

And of course the annual GMD Films Halloween Special!

Take a scary 30% off all of our Horror Movie 2 Disc DVD sets, each just $9.95

Everyone’s favorite Psycho Vixen returns in this new deluxe 2 Disc Set of “FURY” that includes the feature length ‘Behind the Scenes’ Documentary “Anger Management” that takes a deep look at the making of this cult classic film. Plus loaded with other bonus features.

I know I was on the fence about releasing the Blu-Ray Edition of “House of Bedlam” over the summer, but the sheer amount of e-mail and comments about it from fans has changed my mind.

While I’m still not 100% happy with it, it’s not my place to pull a ‘George Lucas’ and keep tweeking this damn thing forever. So, here it is.

In full 1080/60i High Definition, I present “House of Bedlam” in a brand new Special Edition Director’s Cut. I did not go and re-cut all the bonus materials in High Definition, so the 2nd Disc will be a DVD in Standard Definition, but will include all the original documentaries and web features.

Also available is The special 2 Disc Special Edition of “House of Bedlam” includes my UnRated ‘Director’s Cut’, plus the feature length documentary “Straight To Hell” that takes a look inside the making of the film, plus “Raising Hell” – inside the World Theatrical Premiere. Plus, News Coverage and more. Your choice of Blu-Ray or DVD – just $9.95

Last, but certainly not least… is our 2 Disc Special Edition DVD set of “Blood of Ohma”. This includes both the 2D Version as well as the 3D Version – and includes 2 pairs of 3D Glasses. Plus, it’s loaded with bonus materials, both in 2D and 3D.

The “Halloween Special” is running now thru the end of October, so don’t wait to get your hands on any of these!

Happy haunting…

- Paul

Food Porn: The Mushroom Verdict

I don’t know how I didn’t notice them yesterday. Or a week ago. But this morning I found these Mushrooms in my back yard. The one on the left, is as big as a softball.

Just right there, growing in my backyard.

Not quite sure what to do about this, I took the above picture and posted it on Facebook to try and gather some feedback from my friends.

The first one in was Rodger Montgomery, who is somewhat of a legend around here. He’s been playing old school blues the way it’s meant to be heard in this town for as long as I can remember. You heard a few of his tunes on the Soundtrack to my 2nd film “Virgin Pockets”. Needless to say he’s one of my more trusted friends.



Ok, perfect. Edible.

So, I picked them both, washed them and sliced them.



Nearly perfect white all the way thru, and as light and spongy as a good Angel Food cake.

I mixed up a quick egg wash and found some seasoned breading mix and then Maddy fried them in butter.



Leaving the final result a lightly breaded, pan fried Mushroom that I found in my back yard.



Delicious.

The Mushroom melts in your mouth, almost creamy and it goes nicely with the crunch of the breading.

The mushroom itself has a very pronounced ‘Mushroom’ flavor to it, more than likely from not being processed, packaged and sat on a shelf for a few days before going into the pan.



Now, assuming I’m not dead in the morning, the ‘Mushroom Verdict’ is “Awesome”.

I should say, it’s NOT a good idea to just pick stuff out of the ground, pan fry and eat it. I’m not a Mushroom Expert, and Mr. Montgomery is a guitar player. The lone voice of reason in all this was Film Maker Bobby Jones, who voted “Emergency Room” in my ‘web poll’.

So, there IS a chance that I’ll be dead by the morning.

But… Rodger already agreed to play the funeral, and I imagine Bobby will film it for Youtube.

- PG

Stomping Back to Cleveland

‘The Monster’ Returns in 3D

I’m proud to now be able to officially announce that “Blood of Ohma” will be screening in 3D at this year’s Indie Gathering in Cleveland on August 18th at 10:30pm. If you’re in the area and want to attend, all the details can be found at the Indie Gathering’s official site.

This presentation is being brought to you in part by Sony 3D World / Sony Creative Software which has been a big supporter of this film since I was in pre-production over a year ago now.

And it’s exciting, because we haven’t done a live theatrical premiere in 3D since last November when the movie premiered here in Erie. As a film maker, nothing quite compares to the instant feedback of a live audience. And seeing a room full of people in old school 3D glasses is just, well… cool.

The ‘Black Out’

Between July 16th and July 26th, GMD Films, along with the entire Maddy G Productions crew went ‘dark’, having lost all internet and phone connections during our move to a new studio.

It seemed like a joint effort between Time Warner Business Class and Verizon to keep us offline, as no one expected to be down that long, but alas… we can’t be stopped that easily.

I won’t go into the gory details about our dealings with Time Warner, just to say it’s a miracle that company has stayed in business as long as they have. Verizon ended up coming to our rescue and restoring communications for us, thanks in no small part to a savvy technician named Sal who went above and beyond the call of duty.

Regardless, once communications were restored, we had quite a bit of ‘catch up’ to do, so it’s taken me a bit longer to update the production blog.

The “House of Bedlam” Blu-Ray Project

Being unable to do most of the ‘business’ of running GMD Films during the black out, I took the unexpected downtime to finish the re-edit of “House of Bedlam” in high definition for Blu-Ray.

While I really enjoyed the process, I can’t say I’m exactly thrilled with the final result.

Since I had to re-cut the film from scratch, the story is the same, but the cut is slightly different, but not necessarily better. It runs 87 minutes, a couple minutes longer than the original, but it’s paced a little faster.

But I’m not sure HD is an improvement on this film. If you remember a few years back when the TV Broadcast networks began to switch over to HD, you heard the newscasters and morning show personalities bitch about how HD showed flaws that standard definition previous hid. I see similar things here with ‘Bedlam’.

This was my first project to be shot in High Definition so back in 2008, I was still learning how to light for it and how to shoot with it. Some of it was hit-and-miss and HD truly does show the flaws. The scenes around the camp fire look grainy and strange, almost to the point of being distracting.

The greens of the forest are the color that ‘Green’ wants to be when it grows up. Overwhelming. And Katie Russell looks positively Orange. Sesame Street’s version of Orange.

Now some of this can be straightened out with a color correction pass, but there are other issues as well.

For reasons that none of us can fully remember, I shot an entire sequence on the Panasonic DVX, in standard definition. We also shot all of the “Church” sequences in Standard Definition, because when we started shooting ‘Bedlam’, we hadn’t upgraded to the HD camera’s yet. So, there’s a total of about 8 minutes of the film in Standard Definition.

The “Church” sequence plays just fine, because it appears as old film in the movie anyway, but the other sequence is ‘blown up’ in HD and while the few people I’ve shown it to didn’t notice, I did, and it sort of sticks out weird for me.

So, I’m going to tinker with it a bit more before I decide if there will ultimately be a Blu-Ray release of “House of Bedlam”. My whole goal was to preserve the film in the version I shot it in (HD), but for right now, I’m just not feeling like I’m accomplishing that.

A Few Words About “WISP”

Considering the move and getting set back from our communications breakdown, and a few other personal / family issues at home, the Principal Photography of “WISP” has been bumped back to at least September. Maybe October.

There is still a principal character that has yet to be cast, and while I have my favorite and she’s already agreed to sign on, the schedule and budget will ultimately decide the course this movie will take.

We are thru pre-production with nearly every aspect of locations, cast, props, wardrobe, etc. locked down, we’re pretty much only waiting on a final budget to set actual shooting dates.

It’s too late into the summer to be able to schedule a ‘summer’ shoot, so we are looking now at Fall. September or October to take advantage of the fall colors and give the company a bit more time to raise a bit more money, so we’re not struggling thru this on a shoe-string.

“Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.” That applies here as well as in life. “WISP” has been in development for a few years now so as excited as I am to get started, I’m not willing to sacrifice any aspect of this just to get it done sooner than later. It will be worth the wait, I promise.

In the meantime, don’t forget to visit the GMD Films Backlot Auctions on E-bay. Lots of cool stuff being auctioned off every week there. This week, we have some rare Hollywood press kits, screen worn outfits from “Virgin Pockets” and “House of Bedlam” as well as some pretty cool background props we’ve had in storage for awhile.

I’ll be back soon with more news on all of it.

- Paul

Another Fest Win and Backlot Auction News

If you're following any of us on Facebook, this isn't going to be news, but I'm very proud to announce that "Blood of Ohma" has won "Best Horror" in the 16th Annual Indie Gathering Film Festival.

The Indie Gathering, held each year near Cleveland, OH. is ranked among the Top 25 'Best Festivals' by Movie Maker Magazine featuring films from all over the globe in an international competition that has long been known as a proving ground for independent film makers.

If you've been counting, this is actually our third competition win behind "Virgin Pockets" (Best Comedy) in 2007 and "House of Bedlam" (Best Thriller) in 2008.

And once again... this didn't happen by itself and I had barely anything to do with it. I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my amazing cast, crew and support team that actually made it happen.

Our new GMD Films Backlot Auctions page over at Ebay has been quite literally blowing up.

All of the items in our first round of Auctions have been sold, including the Life Size "Ohma" Costume, Screen Worn Clothing from Marie Madison, Etta Halloway, and Angelia Leigh. Including our first Charity Auction that raised some much needed funds for Marshall's Walk - Angelina's Personal Charity that helps find rescued companion animals new homes.

This week we're proud to launch our 2nd Charity Auction that features a pretty sexy outfit Screen Worn by Katie Russell in "House of Bedlam".

 

If you're having trouble visualizing this outfit in the movie, let me help you out there.

See... I knew you would remember that scene. My smart ass friends and snarky collegues call this shot "The Gorman", which has become a staple in my shooting style. No one personifies it more than Katie Russell.

All Proceeds from this Auction will be going to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest PA to bring much needed food to those in need. Please bid generously.

Also up for Auction this week is a couple of Screen Worn Costumes from "Virgin Pockets" worn by Marie Madison.

Lizzy's "Tournement Suit"



Lizzy's "Red Sox" T-Shirt



Lizzy's Dark Purple Camisole

Last week, a bidding war broke out on Maddy's Blue Corset from "FURY" at the last minute, so if you have your heart set on one of these costumes from this iconic GMD Film, get your auction strategy in place now.

Dang... This costume is just one of the reasons "FURY" keeps people up at night and now it's the prized possession of one very happy fan.

I should have a few things to say about the upcoming "WISP" project, including some casting announcements as well as some kind of plan for our trip to Cleveland for the Indie Gathering next month.

Don't go too far.

- Paul









Introducing "WISP" The New Film From GMD Films

I'm very proud to be able to finally announce pre-production on the newest film from GMD Films, "Wisp". 

  When a deranged killer's modus operandi is repeated, Inspector John Kelly, a young detective, fears that the killer has returned.
  Forced to bring in the retired Lincoln Frost for assistance, the two discover that the killer is but a wisp of the original, a copy cat that seems apprehensive in his actions.
  What drives the new killer and why Frost feels compelled to close the case once and for all drives the two detectives to find within themselves the focus needed to bring both killing sprees to a close. The path they follow will change them forever.
  It's one twist and turn after another that leads to a confrontation and a truth about the killer that you will never see coming. 

The screenplay is written by Adam Moore, who wrote "Blood of Ohma" and this one will again be shot in True 3D, although on a different camera rig than I shot "Ohma". Like always, I'll be updating the production blog each step of the way from talking about the camera set up to location scouts all the way thru editing and post production. 

The Official Site for "Wisp" has been built, so you can keep up with updates on casting and release information. The official site will be updated along the way as well. 

The principal cast includes Larry Laverty, Marie Madison and Joe Kelly, but many parts still remain to be cast.

Production is scheduled for late July or Early August in the Erie, PA. area. 

There will be much more to talk about in the coming weeks and months as we get deeper into production on this exciting new movie. So, stay tuned. 

Introducing GMD Films Backlot Auctions

If you've been following the 'Maddy G Universe' as of late, you've no doubt heard a few stories from our recent 'Warehouse Clean Up' that's been going on. Jenny Densuke found a handful of extremely rare 1st Edition DVD's of her movie, plus we've found Boxes and Boxes of empty DVD Cases, and piles and piles of props, wardrobe and rare special FX items used in our own films, plus a pretty impressive amount of Hollywood memorabilia that has been used to decorate the Maddy G Productions studios over the years.

More stuff than we actually realized we had, going back all the way to our first film "FURY".

We need to make space, and raise some money for future productions, so we are now auctioning off this rare and ridiculously large collection of items we've accumulated thru the years.

Some of the things already sold, include a Sweatshirt worn by Edward Norton in "Keeping The Faith".

 

The very rare 'Catalog' Press kit from the movie "Fight Club"

As well as many copies of rare 2 Disc DVD Editions of our films and the highly sought after 3DTV Blu-Rays of "Blood of Ohma". And the auctions continue with some pretty neat stuff. 

Currently for auction is the original 'Bigfoot / Sasquatch' Costume from "Blood of Ohma". 

We have an extremely rare outfit worn by Edward Norton in "Red Dragon"

And much more coming up, as we gather our items together, log them and photograph them for auction. Over the next several weeks, you'll find available some very cool stuff like:

Marie Madison's dress from "House of Bedlam"

Helena Bonham Carter's dress from "Big Fish"

Angelina Leigh's outfit from "Blood of Ohma"

And much, much more.

These auctions are filled with film memorabilia from GMD Films both new and old as well as stuff from some of our favorite Hollywood hits. Check out the GMD Films Backlot Auctions on Ebay and bring home a bit of film history.

Lots of new stuff coming up from GMD Films including the announcement about our 2012 Summer Feature, so stay tuned!

What Happened with FRICTION?

FRICTION was a regional hair metal power group of the mid 80's thru mid 90's and if you lived in Northwest PA and the surrounding area's back then, there's little chance you didn't hear their songs on the radio. I was a teenager back then, and like a lot of folks my age, a HUGE fan.

So, in 2008 when they announced the original line up was going to reassemble for one last throw down, I sought out the bands de facto manager and asked for the opportunity to document the event. Not just the concert, but the entire event. All access, reality show style, to create a memorial to the band I grew up with, and offer their fans around the world a fitting sign off to what certainly was the end of an era.

As a film maker, I had never attempted something of this magnitude before, and took the task very seriously. Over almost 3 months of pre-production, I filmed over 50 hours of footage. I attended most of the rehearsals, was there to time-lapse the building of the stage, and I brought in my entire crew to film the actual concert itself. We had four roving cameras, a stationary camera pointing at the crowd, and even someone mixing all the video live to the two jumbo screens hanging on each side of the stage so the 2,000 + in attendance didn't miss a single angle of the action. All totaled, I spend probably 50 hours and hundreds of dollars of my own money to make sure it was done right and at a level of quality everyone involved would be proud of.

This was November of 2008 and as soon as the show came down, I began sorting thru the footage and piecing together my story of this event. My hope was that I would have a DVD of the show to offer the fans for Christmas, so I worked nearly non-stop on it for a month. It wasn't until I finished the first cut of my documentary that things started falling apart.

I was told by bass player Marty Coe that the band wanted approval over the final cut. A request I immediately denied. I told him I would give him the footage on a hard drive and he could do whatever he wanted with it, but 'Final Cut' wasn't an option I give anyone. I was also told that singer Bob Michaels was re-mixing the concert sound and would provide me with this 'FRICTION Approved' mix for my movie. Now, we recorded the sound directly from the mixing board that night, a very clean and exceptional mix which I was very happy with from the beginning because it represented what it actually sounded like in the room. Still, I had known Bob Michaels since I was a teenager, had been to dozens of FRICTION shows and even opened several dates on the "Baby Talk" Tour with my own band. I know he takes the music very seriously, and I had no problem with him re-mixing the sound if that's what he wanted.

Well that mix never arrived and a year later, I was knee deep in production on my next project and so I just put the "Rockin' Tonight 2008" Concert film on the shelf, because I - along with several hundred fans who had e-mailed me about it - were frustrated and had given up on it ever being completed.

So that's the long oral history of the documentary, which ended last winter when I caught a break in production here at GMD Fims and decided to finally finish it and release it for anyone who remembered that the 2008 FRICTION Re-union show even happened.

 
Last January, I released my documentary to the Concert Series at MaddyGTV.com along with a DVD that included the documentary, and the 'Concert Only' version. A release that went largely unnoticed by most members of FRICTION until just this week when a fan posted a link to the newly established FRICTION Facebook page.

Late last night, I got another call from Marty Coe who informed me that I didn't have written licensed rights to the use of his image. I was told that it was the understanding of FRICTION that this 'Documentary' of mine was never intended for release and there was no royalty structure in place and therefor I was in violation of.... whatever.

In spite of the fact that I have footage of every member of the band, including Marty Coe, talking about the documentary and the subsequent DVD release of it. In spite of the fact that I spent nearly 3 months shoulder to shoulder with these guys, following them around with cameras and didn't stop until the lights went out after the final chords of "Baby Talk" echoed out of Rainbow Gardens almost 4 years ago.

Truth is, I don't have a written license for Marty's image, nor for Bob, Ron, Marlon, Dave or Matt's. I don't have a license from Nizer Top Music for the commercial use of the songs they wrote. From a professional standpoint, I didn't handle this project very professionally. I let it be a 'passion project' and I spent too much time pouring my heart and soul and talent into it, rather than drawing up legal documents and making sure everyone got their subsequent piece of the pie.

I did it, because I grew up listening to this band. Like so many others my age, I fell in love with the music and the energy they brought to every show. 20 some years later, I still have "Broken Heart Charity Ball" and "Too Late To Cry" on my iPod.

So yeah... my bad. Sorry for treating this thing with passion and humility and not having the business sense to have a lawyer in tow.

My conversation with Marty Coe ended last night with the promise that "Rockin' Tonight 2008" would be removed from MaddyGTV along with the DVD and that would be the end of it.

It has been removed, and it's over. For those who knew the behind the scenes workings of FRICTION, it's probably how you expected it to end.

To the FRICTION I remember, who wrote those songs I grew up on, and performed them with energy, class and style, I'll just say "Thanks for the Memories".

To the fans who never got a chance to see the show, and missed the release of the Documentary, all I can do is extend my apologies for handling it wrong. I am truly sorry, but as they say, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." and that seems to fit my adventure with this band perfectly.

Flattery Will Get You Everywhere...

Today, I shipped off a series of Blu-Ray's to Sony.

When the biggest Media Company in the world asks to take a look at your movie, there is no possible bad outcome. Regardless of what happens next, I've managed to get on their radar and for someone working at this level, it's hugely flattering.

Most indie film makers spend their entire careers jumping up and down hoping to catch the eye of a giant like Sony. That's never been my style. I've never harbored any illusions that I'm on the verge of 'breaking big', or that I'm somehow on Hollywood's front door. "This is the movie that's gonna change everything..." is the rally cry of nearly every low budget film maker I've ever met. Not me.

I make movies with budgets that most studio's in Hollywood couldn't pay for lunch with. That's fact. And I've been making my living making these types of movies for 12 years now. I know enough about the business of entertainment to know that 'Hollywood' doesn't come calling for $10,000 features shot on $2,000 camera's with up and coming actors that most in the Valley have never heard of. It just doesn't happen.

Sure, I know about the "Paranormal Activity" and "Blair Witch" films, and even Kevin Smith's "Clerks". It's these "Low Budget Turns Blockbuster" stories that keeps most in Indie Film going. The truth is, the chance of something like this happening to the average indie film maker is about the same odds as getting struck by lightning. Still, I hear it all the time from my friends and colleagues. "This one is gonna get picked up..." 

Is is possible "Blood of Ohma" becomes the next 'Big Little Movie'? Sure. But it's not likely, and I know that. I'm flattered that Sony has asked to look, and like every other project I've worked on, I'll talk to anyone about any one of them. I make movies because I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing to pay my bills. But to do it - I have to run GMD Films like a business. I have to make my films efficiently and I have to control the distribution of them. I have to monetize them as many ways as the market allows.

For as much as it perplexes my colleagues in indie film, the plan is actually pretty simple. I make the best movies I can make for the money I have to work with. And I control the rights. I've turned down all the 'Distribution' Deals that most film makers are in such a hurry to sign off on. Those Companies that take the film makers exclusive rights for 5 - 7 years, expense out all the profit and send statements once a year telling the film maker how much money he still owes the 'Distributor'.

And they all justify it by saying "Well, at least it's 'Out There'". Well, 'Out There' doesn't pay the electric, and it sure doesn't line up the budget for your next film. And I get asked A LOT from indie film makers how to 'do' what we do here at GMD Films. And I tell them ALL the same thing - control your rights. Sell your film yourself. It's not hard to get it on Amazon, and it's not hard to build a web site. Those 'Distributors' are going to press 1,000 units of your DVD and that's the end of it. So, 'Out There' actually means you have 1,000 units in the market, and after expenses... you still don't have a revenue stream.

It's not Rocket Science, it's just a little bit of business sense and a willingness to put your ego on the shelf so your films don't end up lost in the black hole of indie distribution. No one is going to work your film and promote it harder than you. Those 'Distributors' make their money on volume. They acquire as many films as they can sign, and they expense out all the costs right back to the film maker. For them, it's free content, because they know going in, they aren't going to be paying much to the film maker.

Instead, if the film maker holds their rights, and exploits the film themselves, they get paid on every copy. Every download, and should a legitimate deal come into play - the film maker can make the choice for himself, rather than turning it over to their 'distributor' for pennies on the dollar.

Again, it's not Rocket Science. It just requires that you put a value on your own work, and have the ability the accept $20 at a time instead of holding out for that elusive 'Studio Deal' that more than likely is never going to happen. 

Back To Bedlam

Larry Laverty with Katie Russell

 It's now been four years since we took our first trip to Bedlam, PA. where we told the story of this strange town and what happened to that group of college students who were unfortunate enough to spend a night there. 

For me as a film maker, this was my first full High Definition feature film. We had just acquired a big fancy Sony HDV Camera and we hiked out into the woods to try our hand at what was then still pretty new technology, especially for the indie film community. 

Shooting 'The Lynching'

The technology was so new in fact, that the editing system I was using (a MAC running Final Cut Pro) wouldn't recognize the camera in High Definition. The system would enable me to capture the footage in Standard Definition for editing, but it wouldn't see it as High Definition. 

The Theatrical Premiere was scheduled before we even finished shooting, so I forged on with the edit of the film, assuming that a future version of Final Cut Pro would arrive with the ability to recognize my camera and allow me to recapture the footage in HD and the whole thing should line right up for a future Blu-Ray release. 

Well, in the meantime, Apple came out with the iPAD, the App Store and pretty much forgot all of the indie film editors who were working with their professional software. Since many Hollywood editors use Final Cut Pro, the software always recognized the $20,000 HD Camera's that David Fincher uses, and it always saw Red One footage, and 4K digital files. But I was shooting 1080/60i on a camera that cost $2500. I was simply not on the priority list. 

Jason Hull with Make Up Artist Curtis Thomas

By the start of the next project, I changed editing systems and now run an amped up Windows System running Sony Vegas Pro. We've been shooting in HD ever since, but "House of Bedlam" got put on the back burner for awhile. 

Last winter, while waiting on the weather to shoot "Blood of Ohma", I decided to re-visit "House of Bedlam" and start the process of re-capturing all the footage in High Definition. I shot over 30 hours of footage for the movie, so it took several weeks of capturing the footage in between the other projects. 

Seneca Shongo with Patrick 'Mr. Miagi' Cleary

Last summer I shot "Blood of Ohma", and when the dust cleared on that, winter rolled in. So, I've been working on re-editing "H.O.B." for a Blu-Ray release. 

I'll admit, I was encouraged by the folks at the Blu-Ray Forum. For the last couple of months, they've been picking apart "Blood of Ohma" and holding this little no-budget 3D movie against Hollywood's biggest Summer Blockbusters, and I'm proud to say "Ohma" has held his own. 

"This film is 3D, legitimate full depth inwards and outwards. How a movie like this gets minimal attention yet Day of the Dead is post converted double 2d to push the flat frame a foot back into your TV gets attention across the board while spitting on the genre is beyond me." - The Blu-Ray Forum

So needless to say, it got me thinking about "House of Bedlam" on Blu-Ray. 

Katie Russell with Paul Gorman

 

Thanks for rubbing it in Facebook. 

Since I don't have the patience for a 'shot by shot' re-creation, I'm re-editing the film from scratch. It's been an interesting process. I'm still working from the same footage I shot four years ago, but my choices are a little different now. 

I'm about 20 minutes into it, right about where the kids set up camp, and I think the film is already paced faster and maybe a little more intense. It'll be interesting to see where it goes. 

I don't have a release date, or even a window. This is very much a 'side project' for me, so it can be sidelined at any time, but I've been making a point to work on it a bit each day, and I think at this rate, it could be done by summer. 

What's next for me is an episode of "It's A Tasha Thing" for MaddyGTV. I'll be Directing "Episode 3" which will be shot in 3D. As soon as the weather breaks, we'll be starting "Virgin Pockets" the series. We've been in pre-production on this for a few months now, but we're ready to roll as soon as Mother Nature makes room for us. 

After that... Adam Moore is polishing up a script called "Mettle to Mettle" that could turn into our 'Big Summer' Feature. 

I'll be back with more...