Hey everyone

We've just released our official trailer!  check it out here:

We're excited for the film festival interest we've already received and can't wait to share our screening news as soon as we're allowed to make it public! 

In the meantime we've ordered our posters and are finalizing our official soundtrack for both CD and digital download.  We are about 1/2 way through editing all our special features "behind the scenes" footage for the special edition DVD.

Please post this trailer on your FB or twitter page as we'd love to have as many eyeballs on it as possible.  That way we can get more festival interest and bring the film to your town.  I'd love for you to see the film with an audience!

Thank you again for all your tremendous generosity and support!
Gary

Hello everyone!  You've been supporting us from the very beginning in helping us make our musical a reality.  I cannot thank you enough (thank you again!).  Some of you may be aware that we recently were able to raise additional funding to have our film scored by a live orchestra!  In fact many of you here backed our second campaign for which I am truly appreciative.

I'd like to share just a quick video highlight (see below) of our 12-hour recording day on July 25th.  I'm still recovering from the entire experience.  It was truly a sight to see and hear.

A more detailed and comprehensive video will be made of the entire session but I just had to preview something now to show how all of you have made a life-long dream come true....of having a film scored with an orchestra (and it couldn't be more appropriate that it's for a musical!).

I honestly feel that the songs and film have been brought to a whole new level.  It's all thanks to your generosity and support.  I never would've been able to do this without you. 

The plan now is to finish the film completely by late-August and submit it for the 2012 festival circuit.  Shortly after, I hope to release a few songs from the film to share with you -- as well as have the full soundtrack ready before the end of the year.  I'll also be working on a special edition DVD that everyone will be getting from the $25 backer-level and up -- so that should be coming early next year as I'll be spending time on behind-the-scenes footage, new interviews, cast/crew commentaries, deleted scenes and all the bells/whistles. 

I've had a few industry professionals sneak peek the "work-in-progress" of the film and have received some amazing feedback.  There has been great praise for the lead performances by Joe Schermann and Christina Rose....and it's been called an "audience pleaser" to "a remarkable achievement."   Needless to say I can't wait to share the film with you all!

I really appreciate your support.  I hope to share more great news with you throughout the coming months with future screening info!  Fingers crossed!

Enjoy the video!

Gary King (writer/director)

PS - to read more about this process visit my blog

As part of our thank you rewards, we had been performing special song requests for people that pledged a certain amount. This one is a little late….but we are finally happy to do it for Will and David!!

CLICK OVER TO SEE THE VIDEO
http://grking.com/blog/index.php/2011/02/26/kickstarter-song-request-a-year-in-the-making/

And our latest teaser has been receiving some great feedback and press:
http://thefilmstage.com/2011/02/25/exclusive-gary-kings-how-do-you-write-a-joe-schermann-song-teaser-trailer/...

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Best
Gary

Click here to read the previous entry

I've retitled these series of blogs so I don't have to write "Pre-Production", "In Production" or "Post-Production" -- as it will be all encompassing. Plus, it will allow me to make just smaller entries to document some of the daily activities -- while still being able to make lenghty, more informative entries whenever needed.

June 11 Rehearsals with Christina Rose and Joe Schermann (singing, acting improv exercises) June 12 Location Scout - Astoria Park, Brooklyn (Atlantic Ave), Soho

June 13 Test shoot with Glidetrack. Having some issues with mounting it on a tripod -- it can only do half the move on the 1m track as the tripod screw is too high and blocks the carriage from sliding. Will work fine for what I need.

June 15 5D test shooting with Zacuto Z-finder and ND Fader - great tools for the outdoors. Footage looks great without any color correction.

June 16 Wardrobe review with Debbie Williams. Found everything we need in her closet.

June 17 Acting rehearsals with Joe and Christina

Took some test shots for a potential location during our break (Click pics to enlarge)

Pre-production formally began on May 21, 2010

Now that I'm knee deep in getting the project ready for a July 1 shooting date -- here are some of the things I've been working on:

SCRIPT BREAKDOWN
I broke down the script using Excel. I don't have the luxury of Movie Magic Budgeting/Scheduling. My own template gets the job done -- as I'm the one scheduling everything and keeping myself on track to make each day with the help of an assistant on the set.

Creating the schedule myself helps me know what needs to be done -- and how long I have to do it. The next step will be to create a shot-list for each scene.

Click picture to enlarge

EQUIPMENT
We will be shooting with the Canon 5D and 7D HDSLR cameras with a lot of practical/available lighting (carefully planned and placed) to give a more documentary like feel. We will have an essential lighting kit with some nice gadgets, but plan to keep the aesthetic of the film to be more raw and "in the moment". However, a few of the song and dance numbers are planned to look more polished to contrast the world of reality and fantasy.

LOCATION SCOUTING
Thankfully more than half of our locations are locked in. This coming week, I'll be hitting the streets to look for a bar, coffee shop, street exteriors and a few rehearsal spaces and theater spaces (at low/no cost). I plan to take pics with the new camera to document our search.

SCHEDULING I used WORD to create the shooting schedule for everyone in the cast and crew for their call time and location information. Again, I don't have the professional software to do it for me -- but doing it on my own also helps me learn the schedule to keep abreast of the scope of the production.

Click picture to enlarge

VOCAL RECORDINGS
We will be recording our vocals at Sync Sound. Needless to say the cast is eager to get in the booth and sing! I'll be filming the day we record and will share the footage soon after. Everyone is extremely excited about the music Joe Schermann has written.

SCRIPT CHANGES
From initial talks with my cast, some scenes are evolving already which I'm all about -- I like to tell my actors that the script is the blueprint, where we will build the house together. In the coming weeks I'll be meeting with the leads (Joe Schermann, Christina Rose, Debbie Williams) to discuss their characters and any potential new ideas they can bring to the characters. This is one of the best parts of directing -- letting the actors flesh out the story themselves (with careful guidance).

I hope I can steal time to film some interviews with the cast to help everyone learn more about them.

Stay tuned! More to come!

Official Site

Twitter

Facebook

Here we go!

As I embark on my next project — a feature film musical title “HOW DO YOU WRITE A JOE SCHERMANN SONG” I plan to give some updates of the Pre-Production process. Principal Photography begins on July 1, 2010 so I’ve got a lot of work to do.

I honestly wasn’t sure if people would want to be involved in the process but I’ve got some nice feedback that there is indeed interest — which is really cool. So hopefully I’ll be able to make some videos (with myself and the actors) and blogs sharing insights or my process on some of the following: script breakdown, making the shooting schedule, rehearsals, auditions/callbacks, wardrobe shopping, location scouting, camera tests…

Is there anything else you’d like to know about? If so, please leave me a comment and I’ll see if I can work it in somehow.

You can also follow the progress here:
http://www.grking.com
http://www.JoeSchermannSong.com

thanks for your continued support!
Gary King
Writer/Director

Hey everyone,

Filmmaker Gregory Bayne and I will be discussing our successful Kickstarter campaigns and crowdfunding as an emerging trend prior to the sneak peek of my latest feature film WHAT'S UP LOVELY and THE CINEFIST QUARTERLY SCREENING SERIES.

WHEN: MAY 14th, 2010 @8PM
WHERE: Downtown Independent - 251 S Main St. (Los Angeles)

About CINEFIST:
With the emergence of new models of production and distribution comes a new breed of interdependent filmmaker. This unique cinema series offers screenings of feature-length motion pictures supplemented by insightful case studies and Q&As with the innovative filmmakers behind them.

WHAT'S UP LOVELY - http://grking.com/blog/index.php/films/whats-up-lovely/

:: Q&A WITH FILMMAKER GARY KING & ACTOR JENN DEES

:: AFTER PARTY ON THE ROOF

:: GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producerevent/100840

:: TRAILER :: http://vimeo.com/7832902

:: /FiLM writes "This looks like an indie with the kind of intimacy you don’t normally see..."

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to update you with exciting news -- auditions are happening on May 7th!!

After our amazing success with the help of 239 generous people -- we quickly moved forward in setting up a casting call. Many have responded and we're excited that we're pretty much booked solid for the auditions appointments.

My fingers are crossed that we'll find our 2nd leading actress along with some amazing dancers to help round out the cast. We hope to share more casting news soon.

Also, as I did near the beginning of the campaign, I plan to showcase each backer who contributed to this campaign to help make it a success via Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to join to keep track of these amazing people:

http://www.twitter.com/JSchermannSong
http://www.facebook.com/JoeSchermannsong

I appreciate your continued support. Because of you we are making a movie musical!!

best
Gary King
http://www.grking.com
http://www.twitter.com/grking
http://www.facebook.com/grking