just a quick update for today - doing some fine-tuning… trimming up edits, adjusting sequences, planning on adding some filler shots (i.e. donut shop exteriors, moon in the sky, etc.) later today… get it fully flushed out, then focus on ADR, music & sound effects!

just keeping on keepin’ on…

Are you an independent musician or in an indie band? Looking to get your music into an indie film for some exposure? If so, we’d love to hear from you!

We’re interested in hearing all types of music, all genres, all styles - the more creative the better. Wacky, crazy, original, inventive - we want it all!

Please do not fill our email inbox with MP3s, but instead send us an email with links to your web site or page with MP3 links on it, so we can check it out!

Note that there is no compensation for using your music in the film, other than full credit, a free copy of the movie, and hopefully massive worldwide exposure for your tunes upon the film’s release!

Folks - another solid day of editing, and the first complete rough edit is now finished! sure, i have to add in things like titles, cut-aways, filler shots (donut shop, moon shots, etc.) and credits, but the basic assemblage of the film is now in the can. today i trimmed up the big battle, cut together the final closing scenes, and then braved the customer sequences - lots and lots of cutting, trimming, editing and playing.

end result? something that is really, really looking good!

the one semi-disappointment is the running time, however - we’re currently at just under 38 minutes, with the above-mentioned bits to add. it’s looking like “feature length” could be a stretch - maybe we can get ‘er up to 45 minutes once titles & credits are added, but then i think it’s better off being a long short than a short feature… or maybe not… i dunno.

regardless, the positive is that this is going to be a lean, mean, muffin machine with no dragged-out, boring parts in the middle just to pad it up to 70 or 80 minutes - what you’re going to get is beautiful b-carnage for 40-odd minutes, and that’s a beautiful thing.

stay tuned - trimming and other fun stuff soon… as well as the “creative” editing (let’s see what kind of effects we can play with!!)

that’s right folks - just mere DAYS after writing my plea for leniency in non-posting and non-editing, i snuck away from newborn baby duties and did some more editing! not much, admittedly, but i felt the fever, so i acted on it.

the final showdown is now complete. sure, there needs to be a whole whack o’ sound effects, explosions, music, etc. added, but the raw assemblage is there.

what remains? still quite a bit, but i’m hoping to have it all done this month, so i can then move onto things like editing effects, titles, credits, sound effects, ADR, music, etc. scenes left to be edited: the big customer scene (still nervous about the sheer magnitude of editing that one), final scenes (with my firstborn, no less!) and cutting in all of the gonuts footage (interior & exterior shots).

anyway, i’m back on, and hoping to spend even more time tomorrow (while my family is engrossed in the oscars, i shall sneak away)… stay tuned, faithful readers!

folks - apologies for the non-updates the past few weeks… i’m very, very happy to report that my wife had an adorable bouncy baby boy back in early February, but what that means is that zero work has been done on The Muffin Man since then…

I’m hoping to resume editing in early March, so please check back then for updates!

another editing session tonight folks, and we’re getting closer and closer!

tonight, i trimmed up the showdown between the mighty muffin-headed warrior and the awe-struck jane, trying to strike the balance between pacing and full-on, eyes-bulging-out-of-your-head-when-you-see-the-special-effects type of reaction i’m hoping most will have…

and then, logically, chad had his own battle with the deformed mr. bailey, before running out into the night. the chase ensues, a reunion with an old friend takes place, and the preparation for the final showdown is made…

it’s all coming together - we’re at about 30 minutes now (rough, rough cut), so i’m not sure if a 60 minute cut is a realistic goal anymore. granted, there’s still the biggest scene to cut into film, as well as the final battle, the titles, the credits, and all the “filler” shots… but i don’t think it’s realistic to hope for 60 minutes of runtime… ah well, that’s okay - it was a lofty goal that is actually about 10-15 minutes more than was originally estimated, and anyway, the most imoprtant thing is that the end product is entertaining and worth watching… there’s no point in padding just to add running time and kill any of the film’s vibe or pacing in the process.

as an aside, i also received a generous donation towards the production: a moody, atmospheric jingle for usage in the film! while i am still on the hunt for some heavy metal banjo players for the intro and/or theme song(s), this creative joint from the mighty essoill will be a fantastic addition to help create the spooky, moody atmosphere as the Muffin Man unleashes his carnage!

after many delays - caused by hectic work schedule, entire family coming to town for christmas, nervousness and procrastination - actual gosh-darned editing on THE MUFFIN MAN has begun!

admittedly, i've only just begun the 2nd state of editing - the 1st being logging (digitizing) the footage, the 2nd being organizing all of the raw footage into named/numbered/organized "clips" - but now that that is done (7 hours later), i can start piecing together each scene, time permitting.

now that this is done, for some reason a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders - i've been pretty reluctant to begin the editing process, waiting for some fiery muse to light a fire under my ass to get me going - but i finally just sat down to at least do the clips and, in so doing, realized that the excitement and enthusiasm is already there - i was just burned out from the ridiculously-packed shooting schedule!

it was also a relief to see that the few one-take shots we did (due to complications and/or the mess created by each shot) all turned out great and will all be useable - for a minute i thought i had somehow NOT recorded a key single-take shot, but after crying for 30 seconds, i realized it was right there - i was just skimming over it too quickly with my fingers of fire on the keyboard. whew!

now it comes together folks - expect more frequent blog entries (after each editing session) and note that the new plan is to have the movie edited by mid-february and handed off to the sound designer thereafter.

here's hoping.

well, it's been slow going, but i haven't been looking to force the issue - all of the footage is now digitized and logged, so i'm ready to begin the editing process. there was a time where i said i'd have it edited BY christmas, but now im thinking more like sometime in january - just been dragged down with normal daily activities, so the last thing i want to do is force the editing and not be inspired...

so stay tuned - once it begins, i think it's going to be a wild & crazy ride...

on friday night, the actor formerly known as "hank" was kind enough to roll the MUFFIN MAN wrap party into his already-scheduled night #1 of 2 nights of christmas parties... so nearly the entire cast & crew gathered chez mike to sample some egg nog & ice cream (plus more rum than you can imagine), crantinies, cooked yummies and cigars galore. it was a houseful and the party went into the wee hours of the morn, with laughs and good times aplenty.

it was a rip-roaring evening, enjoyed by all, and i was very happy that i finally got to spend some time hanging out and getting to know my cast & crew a little bit better (as it's not always possible or easy to get to know someone when you're trying to figure out how to fake someone being dunked in a vat of grease by a giant muffin-headed demon). i consider myself very fortunate that such a high calibre of people made up the cast & crew of this production, something that was also commented on by numerous party attendees. all seemed to really enjoy working on the production, everyone seemed impressed by everyone else and all were effusive in their praise and support of the film itself.

i also want to say a special thanks to everyone to came up to me with the kind words directed at me, personally - it was humbling and an honour to receive these words of praise and i assure each & every one of you: the feeling is 100% mutual.

note to self: do not provide liquor to gunther (kind of make-up & special f/x), or else make sure i get him to film his scenes IN a dumpster before i ply him with booze (lest i be subjected again to his drunken insights - man, was he funny when he got those 2 light beers in him!)

unbelievable - the film is now wrapped. after weeks & months of talking, planning, casting and more talking (not to mention literally hundreds of emails flying around furiously, clogging up the 'net), THE MUFFIN MAN has now wrapped production!

sunday was the last day of shooting and it went very well - a quick closing scene inside the donut shop (chad vs. roy in a battle to the death - well, to a mushed donut in the face, anyway), Margo and the kid in stroller (played by my darling son Ben) and then tear down of the Gonut Donut shop...

it was amazing to see that in the span of 30 minutes, what had been our donut shop and central location for the past week and a half was no more, reduced back to the lounge area it had been before, and shall always be. gone were the Gonuts posters from the walls, the 10-day old donuts sitting on the counter, the stickered cups & paper bags... somewhat sad, actually...

i'm now taking a week off to rest my head, reconnect with my family and recharge the batteries. then, i start logging all the footage (about 10 DV tapes, including 2 for behind-the-scenes) and will start the editing process.

i just want to extend a hearty thanks to the cast & crew on this one, who all worked tirelessly to make the production a truly fun and exhilerating process. the big wrap party is this friday night, and excuse me if i end up drinking more than 1 or 2 :)

On this final day of shooting, I thought it might be a good time to document how the last 2 days of shooting have gone..

FRIDAY - HANK MEETS THE GONUTS GANG
Friday night had 2 big dialogue scenes to film: the first is Baljeet (Gary) training Suzanne (Holly) on how to server donuts & coffee to a customer... and she's lucky enough to pull Hank as her first customer. Poor girl.

The next scene was Hank sitting down with Gary and Chad to warn them of the dangers of a strange muffin-headed killer, back from the dead. This was easiest the longest dialogue scene in the film, so it was not a quick one to knock off, but the 3 actors involved were prepared and ready to rock. We probably filmed this scene a doen times, from various angles and perspectives, and I'm very happy with how it turned out!

SATURDAY - HANK & CARL MEET DESMOND BAILEY
Saturday night (the last "night" of shooting) we filmed the film's opening sequence: pre-Muffin Man Desmond Bailey working away in his kitchen, preparing his "special" birthday cakes and Detectives Hank and Carl (played by Chris) coming in to get their man.

We first filmed at Tech Squad, as they were kind enough to lend us the usage of one of their 70s-style squad cars. However, the car had no insurance, so we had to film in their parking lot, which wasn't a problem, save for the incredible chill in the air. Thankfully, lighting set-up was quick, the 2 actors were on point and ready to rock, and we banged that one out in an hour.

Next up, back to indulge's kitchen to film the opening fight sequence. After preparing Paul to look more "serial killer"-ish for his role as Bailey, we started to film. This sequence was pretty involved, as we had to do a would-be "Goodfellas" kitchen walk-through, prepare some cake icing to be spread, get the trinity showdown, turn a tray of muffins into a ninja throwing star (and embed it into a human chest), prepare a bat of oatmeal to coat a face, rig a pack of corn flour to bust apart, and shove a man into an oven. All I can say is the umpteen run-throughs the actors did was fantastic, and Paul put himself through Hell to play this role (he'll be washing his face & hair for weeks).

Next up: 2 more quick scenes, then we tear down indulge and it's a wrap. Holy smokes.

Continuing with the trend of posting 2 day summaries in each blog entry, here we go!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT - MUFFIN SHOWDOWN
On this warm night we shot some outdoor battle scenes. After creatively solving some lighting issues (thank-you to the businesses who unknowingly supplied our lighting kits with power!), we filmed the various scenes that make up the chase sequence with Chad & The Muffin Man. His knee banged up from a previous night's collision with a kitchen sink, Chris (Chad) was a trooper, running & leaping all night. As for James (The Muffin Man), this guy was truckin' it, running all over the place with a giant muffin for a head (even managing to avoid crushing the foam head when he accidentally tripped at one point).

It was a late night - I think we finished at about 11:45pm, but a solid one, as we were able to get all of the shots we needed - including the "Evil Dead"-like camera shot with the flying globule of nitro-glycerin in front of the camera lens. The cast & crew tonight deserved extra medals for their tireless dedication to this crazy film and I really appreciate everyone's hard work on this, and every, night

THURSDAY NIGHT - GARY VS. MUFFIN MAN
Thursday night was pegged as the "easy" night - all we had to film was the scene in which Gary has the dubious distinction of meeting Muffin Man in battle. However, what should have been a quick shoot turned out to have an extended waiting period to begin, as one of the Muffin Man's gloves completely disappeared. We scoured the location, the previous night's outdoor location, vehicles, etc. - nowhere to be found. Just when we were going to do on-the-spot additions to have him put on oven mitts, the glove turned up (buried under some electrical cables in a crate!). Whew - crisis averted.

The shooting itself went great - Baljeet (Gary) was a trooper, screaming his lungs out on take after take after take, and as always, James (Muffin Man) was on point as the title character.

COMING UP
The end draws near - 3 more days/nights of shooting, then it's time for me (director) to battle my computer (editing) in the final showdown! Stay tuned.

The fun continues, with 2 more nights of shooting under our belts!

MONDAY - MAX VS. CORN SYRUP
I figured Monday night was going to be a quick & easy one (something the crew cringe at when I say, since it usually means the exact opposite) - we film Max's scenes at the back, interacting with co-workers, have him meet his demise at the hands of the title character, and then Chad & Jane just walk through the scene. Easy right? Yikes.

Huge set up involved: we had to basically gut the (very full) loading area of a catering company, do a total set decoration and then run through lines... factor in a very cramped shooting location and we had the makings of a long night!

That being said, it turned out great - the corn syrup (which doubled as strawberry jelly and gave the secondary appearance of blood) looked great and Brian (Max) was fantastic as the slouch who dies a memorable death. This guy let litres of corn syrup dry on his face, facial hair and chest hair, while we filmed around him, and did it all with a smile - what a trooper.

TUESDAY - LOCAL YOKELS
Chris (Chad) - who has already been pulling extra duties in lighting, sound and acting coaching - secured a pool hall for us to shoot a quick scene in for Tuesday night. Walking into this dimly-lit room with no breathable air, I was all smiles - this was a perfect setting.

After entertaining some questions from the (inebriated) on-lookers, we got to work, filming multiple takes of a conversation between Chad and Jane as they shot some pool. Note to self (and all screenwriters reading this): shooting pool is not condusive to easy film editing, as there is so much random action that having actors always be in the same locations when they deliver lines is a virtual impossibility. Ah well, it's all a fun learning experience!

FYI - record time: we were in & out within 2 hours. Wow.

It was a solid weekend of donut shop-related activites this past weekend and we're now halfway through shooting! (roughly speaking, of course)

SATURDAY
Saturday was the big set up day - the fine folks @ indulge were nice enough to give us full run of their facility and we had to transform their front lounge area into something resembling a donut shop. With the hearty 5 people who showed up, we were able to whip that sucker into shape in 90 minutes flat - counters set up, the entire donut selection from Co-op displayed behind, artwork, menu, cash register, tables, etc. Fantastic group effort and we finished it all up in record time!

SUNDAY
A big day of shooting was scheduled for Sunday, as we were going to shoot all of the customer scenes, Jane vs. Muffin Man, and Gary vs. Muffin Man. Unfortunately, the latter had to be postponed due to cast availability, but as it turned out, that was a blessing in disguise...

Call time was 10:00am on Sunday and the indulge crew were furiously preparing a large catering order, so a couple of us rolled up the sleeves and chipped in to help. (Our motives weren't completely selfless - the more we helped, the sooner they'd get out, the sooner we could start shooting - a win/win situation all around!)

Once we got to shooting, it went really well - customer after customer lined up to place their orders and while we had to get a couple crew members to fill in for actors who had said they'd show up and instead did not, we were able to get all of the dialogue delivered and delivered well. Some of the customers even showed up with their own personal touches, such as the southern preacher or the fishnet stockings (2 different characters - not a fishnet preacher!) They were all great and were welcomed additions to the festivities.

Next up was Jane vs. Muffin Man (and her memorable and original death scene). This actually took quite awhile to set up, since there was some special lighting rigs required (handled deftly and amazingly by Mr. Lighting himself, Dave) and some very tricky special effects (tough to try and keep brains inside a fake head, fyi :)

But - we got it done, it looked great and then the Muffin Man was able to do battle with Chad (who threw himself to the ground mercilessly and literally took about 20 for the team in banging his knees, hands, back and butt all over the place).

There's really something to be said about making a no-budget independent film - sure, you get cast & crew that can flake out on you and leave you high & dry, but then the ones who DO show up (for both cast & crew) are the most dedicated, helpful and enthusiastic group of people a guy could ever hope to work with. I'm truly appreciative of everyone's efforts and can't wait to see more magic happen tonight! (Muffin Man vs. Gary!)

apologies for the tardiness in posting updated blog entries - we're well into production now and i've been so busy with the day job, so busy running around after work to get final things needed for each night's shoot, and so busy with evenings full of fun shooting, that my intentions of daily blog entries have fallen by the wayside... something i hope to make right henceforth.

we started shooting this past week and we've now got 3 nights under our belt - summaries of each are included below:

DAY 1 - HOLLY VS. GREASE PIT
the first day (night) of production had an ominous start: cast & crew having difficulties finding the location, the expected deluge of production assistants ending up being only 2 (very, very helpful and capable 2, but not the 10 i was expecting), body doubles gone missing, zero lighting help, etc. there was a point in the evening, just before we started shooting, that i was standing out back in the loading area/back alley and thought to myself, "what the hell am i doing?" and felt overwhelming waves of anxiety wash over me... but then i looked behind me, saw the excited and eager cast & crew that were all there to help make this crazy goofy movie with me, and the anxiety was wiped away by eager anticipation. (special thanks for the cast & crew of day #1 for this - you may never know how much i appreciated it)

this was a tough night - it was freezing (literally), everything was outside and the scenes involved holly being thrown into a grease pit (garbage dumpster) and being drowned in grease. our volunteered body double was lost, so we had to fake the shot of holly actually being tossed INTO the grease pit (garbage can), and then the brave actor playing holly allowed us to lift her into an actual dumpser, dump (warm) water over her, smear her face, hair & hands with knox gelatin and have a 9' tall muffin-headed man shove her repeatedly into the garbage. yikes. this she did without complaint and the shots all turned out fantastically - in the end, it's going to be a series of quick cuts in editing, but i'm confident it will all come together as it should.

DAY 2 - THE MAN IN THE TREES
day (night) #2 involved the scene with chad & jane walking down the street and encountering the man with the perpetual toothpick, mr. hank. rather than crusing around in a single vehicle to find an ideal street location with enough natural lighting to allow us to do the scenes, we opted to film on the street behind indulge catering (our central location) - it's an industrial area, but there were some trees and grass, so it worked. plus, we could run lights across the back (with a 100' of extension cords), so we could set our own lighting.

on that note, special appreciation must be given to chris (lead actor playing "chad") - with his experience in previous productions, he was able to come up with some fantastic lighting calls - i.e. using car headlights for ambiance as well as character lighting - and using duct tape to mount a light way up on a street sign, to double for a street light - all of these turned out beautifully!

the acting was top-notch this night - these 3 jumped right into the roles and nailed the characters, making them their own and even adding some additional elements to flush the characters out (i.e. hank flicking the little bud on the tree branch). despite the proliferance of c-trains, passerbys, airplanes and metal workers, the shoot tonight went quite smoothly and was lots of fun... and we finished up with special adult-only jello shots mike (hank) had left over from halloween.

DAY 3 - THE MORGUE
ah, we finally get to shoot inside! after many hassles trying to book emmedia's screening room, we finally got the confirmation that we were good to go, so after failing to purchase some folding card tables (to act as cadaver tables), i showed up at 6:00pm, pulling in at the exact same time as helen (playing the role of "karen"). once we got inside, mark (stuart) was already there waiting for us - both of these actors were rookies, but what they may have lacked in experience they more than made up for with their sheer enthusiasm and positive attitude. it was such an enjoyable shoot with these two! we had also had numerous people exclaim that they'd love to play corpses in the morgue, but when it came time to step up, not a single one was able, interested or available. however, anders was there, and as it turned out, the location only allowed for 2 corpses (muffin man + extra). special credit must be given to james (muffin man), who not only was under a sheet for hours, but also had a jacket on his face (to lump it up under the sheet) and discovered that it's possible to indeed suffocate under loose covering. yikes.

our ever-reliable chief production assistant, jennifer, was there to lend her able hands, as was greg to wield the mighty boom mic. i thought we were going to be fudging our way through the lighting, but thankfully dave showed up to lend a hand. this guy came ready to rock - an experienced indie dv filmmaker himself, he showed up and immediately suggested ways to improve the lighting set-up... his input was fantastic and really had a powerful improvement in the look of the set. he's going to be available for the next couple days, which is fantastic - for the remainder of the shoot, we'll have a rotating crew of 3 gaffers (lighting folks), which is fantastic.