Movie Swag

Before and after the Lakeland premiere of Endure, you can buy office movie swag. Get a can koozie, shirt or hat and show your fellow Lakelanders you're one of the cool kids in town.

If you're unable to fly in to Lakeland for the show, you can order said items online.

Looking On

For the first week of production, we had very few onlookers. The first few days were on a relatively busy street in the South Lake Morton district, but the scenes were indoors. A few cars slowed down, and we had more reporters than residents stopping to take a look.

That changed Monday. The production moved to a trio of homes near Lake Morton, and almost every scene was outdoors. Many of the Lakeland residents who follow this production blog and our Twitter updates figured out we were in the area and came by for a look.

Some seemed very interested in the production and some in the cast, but all were respectful to the cast and crew, and quiet during filming.

There were a couple of folks who didn't seem to be movie fans. One driver ignored road blocks and crew members to drive past the set. And one local resident wasn't about to let a film interrupt her daily walk. But they were far less an interruption than the bird who couldn't interrupt his love song for our crime thriller.

The Boom Mike operator tried to shoo him away, but he just jumped up one wire. Sound wasn't too perturbed. It's hard to blame a bird for whistling in Spring.

Photos by Chuck Welch

Update: Edited to remove errant sentence.

Lighting Fix

If you read the description of the first day, then the first week was

Day 2: ditto
Day 3: again
Day 4: more of the same
Day 5: Yet again

A commenter suggested we're not publishing cast photos because the Bale incident. I've seen nothing like that on this film. That isn't to say everything is perfectly smooth.

Sometimes planes fly overhead. Sometimes the camera doesn't reboot correctly and the sunlight never waits. Sometimes a light is too big...

The other morning, the lighting crew set up in a very small room that served as an important location for the film. It needed to be small, comfortable, and realistic. The room was perfect for all that, except one corner was too dark.

So the crew added a light that created the perfect mood for the scene. Everyone stood ready as the cameraman took the camera through the scene and found he could see the light in the shot.

All stood back while the lightening crew rushed to raise the light to the ceiling. Unfortunately, the next run through found the light still intruded on the frame.

Of course, it was an important shot that needed to be made now. The cast was ready. The director was ready. All were sympathetic, but no one could help the lighting crew solve the problem.

The crew found a smaller, more powerful light. Then they had to hand-fashion a filter to make the light fit the scene.

During the many minutes it took to fix the lighting problem it could have been easy for people to express frustration. No one wants to fall behind schedule. The cast gets geared up to act now, and doesn't like to wait. The crew was dancing well, but it felt like someone had thrown glue on the floor.

You could see crew and cast find what they could do to cope. Some worked ahead where possible. Others found a spot and relaxed. Some just stood ready to help.

Did no one feel anger, irritation, or exasperation? I can't tell you that, but all seemed to realize that expressing those emotions wasn't going to help speed the lighting fix.

I'm sure that was a testament to the experience and professionalism of all those involved.

Where are the behind-the-scenes photos of the cast?

According to Executive Producer Jim Carleton, the reason we haven't published any photos of the cast is contractual.

When your brand and your livelihood is your "look," you want to make sure you're always at your best for a photo. With actors concentrating on their parts, they don't have the opportunity to smile and pose for the silly behind-the-scenes photographer.

So the producers made a contractual agreement with the cast -- the photographer is given full access to the set to shoot freely. Any cast photo the producers might want to use for publicity, or DVD extras, is submitted to the cast member for approval.

Since the film is keeping much of the story and look of the actors under-wraps, the producers have decided not to publish any behind-the-scenes photos of the cast at this time.

That gives you a little hope, doesn't it?

Clare Kramer Brings it On to Endure

Yes, you recognize Clare Kramer from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Her 13-episode arc as "Glory" is a fan favorite. As Buffy's primarily protagonist from Season 5, she was a villain fans loved to hate.

The Georgia-born actor is returning to the South to join the cast of Endure. The film's producers haven't released many details about the role, but the role opens the movie and drives the film's plot.

Writer-Director Joe O'Brien auditioned many actresses for the part, but couldn't find one who expressed all emotions needed until he cast Kramer.

For more information about Clare Kramer, see her filmography at IMDB.

Photo courtesy Clare Kramer

Tom Arnold Plays a Pivotal Role

Joining the cast of Endure is actor/comedian/sports commentator Tom Arnold. With four films in various stages of production, the always-busy actor comes to Endure after a recent guest-staring stint on E.R.

First recognized as a stand-up comedian, Arnold was a writer/actor for the Roseanne show. After the series ended, Arnold often guest-starred on comedies such as "Malcom in the Middle" and "Arli$$." He's also a mainstay on late-night talk shows trading jokes with Jay Leno, David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and Jimmy Kimmel.

While Arnold's early work was primarily comedic, he has started accepting more dramatic roles in both television and film.

Endure producers haven't released details about Arnold's character, but expressed that the actor is playing a pivotal role in the film.

photo of Tom Arnold and Pierce Brosnan courtesy and CC by the1secondfilm.

Devon Fans

The other day, I was able to release that Devon Sawa was part of the Endure cast. A few minutes after posting the news on Twitter (@enduremovie) I received tweets and text messages from some young women. They all informed me how much they loved Devon and had such a crush on him when they were teens.

Even my 22 year old daughter let me know she was a Devon fan.

So it came as no surprise when I received an email with the photo you see above. Local resident Amy Strohmaier was enjoying a nice dinner out when she spotted Devon. A few minutes later and Devon was kind enough to stand with her for this photo souvenir. I wasn't surprised to read that Amy once had a crush on Devon.

Based on what I've heard the last few days, I don't believe any of those crushes have completely faded.

Tyler Billingsley Behind the Scenes

The Endure crew is a mix of those with years of big budget experience, those working on their first feature film, those who move for projects, and Lakelanders who have worked with previously with Joe, Jim, and Rob. One of the "locals" is Tyler Billingsley. In 2003 he stopped by NFocus, Jim, Joe, and Rob's company. With an interest in video production, Tyler had decided he needed on-the-job training. He'd found the firm in the phone book and came looking for an internship.

Though the guys at Nfocus weren't sure they needed an intern, Tyler had an ace in the hole. His step-mother had known Joe in high school. With her encouragement, NFocus decided to give Tyler a chance. His random phonebook search paid off as he found a work environment he truly enjoyed, “They work together really well.”

Now a teacher at Full Sail University, Tyler is shooting the “behind the scenes” video for the production. “It's my first big budget project. This is good experience for me,” he said.

While Tyler is shooting video for the movie, his expertise is in editing. He enjoys crafting a piece from the raw footage, but laughs how his hardest work may go unnoticed. He could spend hours making one minute of video look perfect, but the finished result looks so effortless that the client thinks it must have been easy work. “They're just not going to know what you put into it,” he said.

Though he loves the work, Tyler acknowledges that many would find it tedious, “This is something you have to like to do.”

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Tyler uses Final Cut Pro HD to edit stills from his raw behind-the-scenes footage.

Monday Production Meeting

The production offices have quickly become overcrowded. The building stays buzzing as people walk in, out, and through. There are quick introductions as crew members meet.

At 10:30, the first full Monday Production Meeting fills the conference room. The session gives crew from each discipline the opportunity to tell the rest what their week will bring. Questions are asked, requests are made, and needs are noted.

Afterwards, Producer Rob Tritton talks about the importance of such a meeting to start the week. How it helps the crew plan and know what to expect from their peers.

Even after the big meeting, there's a lot of commotion. Small offices hold meetings of two, three, or five, hallway discussions are quick and to the point, phone calls must be made in noisy open offices.

There's just not much time to relax. This week the crew needs to try out the cameras, send test film, break down shots, shoot photo boards, lock down locations, set up transportation, cast a stray character, and make numerous other decisions and duties.

Yet, Rob calls next week "Hell Week." Next week will be the last for pre-production. Shooting commences April 20th.

All Work and No Play

While many of the crew is already working 12 hour days in pre-production, they're aware of the need to grab some down time where possible. The schedule for Monday, April 6th ends with the start time for the NCAA final game.

Storyboards

Before the writer's vision is made into film, an artist creates a series of images of the expected shots -- effectively creating an illustrated version of the film. On Endure, Writer, Director, Co-Producer Joe O'Brien works with renown Florida artist Christopher Still to create the storyboards.

A mural and fine artist, Still created a series of large murals for the Florida House of Representatives. Still uses photographs, models, and his keen sense of perspective to produce images based on O'Brien's vision. "As long as he clearly knows what he wants, I can give it to him," said Stills.

Still is able to create realistic paintings while manipulating perspective. That talent comes into play as he creates the storyboards with O'Brien. Recognizing that a character's point-of-view might not give O'Brien what the scene needs, Still is able to create a perspective that satisfies the director, "Nobody in the theater knows what it really looks like." He points out that his changed perspective will appear more real to the audience than the character's true point-of-view.