Updates!

A lot of stuff has happened since last week.

We had a really great meeting with our makeup department. There's going to be lots of cuts, bruises, rashes (eeewww) and blood! We've got another meeting scheduled for early next week to do some camera tests with the various types of blood we will be using.

We've had 5 more practices with Danny and I'm happy to report that we've got the fight down to a science now. Most of the sequences are blazing fast and look really cool. The three man fight sequence looks like it's going to chew up between 2 to 3 minutes of screen time, which trust me is more than enough. The fight is so rigorous that we need to take breaks after 4 full run throughs. However I might be short changing our stamina because this is based off of doing the run throughs after 2 hours of practicing.

Had some more camera tests at the actual warehouse location. To get slightly technical for a minute, we were worried that the florescent lights were going to give a strobe effect and that we were going to have to drop a lot (I mean a lot) of money on Keno's. Turns out after some tinkering with the camera we can avoid all that flickering. This is good news on several fronts, mainly it means I can save $$$ on those particular lights and put it towards some other toys.

We also shot some test plates for Nils, our visual effects guy. This will help give him some footage to practice with so we have a better idea of how to shoot this stuff on the day. I must say, adding visual effects shots to a film is very challenging process and I can see why old school directors want to avoid it at all costs!

Nils is also doing up some pre-viz animatics of the warehouse explosion sequence. Which is going to be a great help figuring out if the shots we've come up with will work out properly, or if they need some tweaking.

Props department is building a really cool bathroom sink for an elaborate shot that we came up with. It involves water, blood and face dunking. I'm really excited to bang this shot out (on the schedule, it's the very last thing we do) We're testing out the rig sometime at the end of the week.

We also did a photo shoot with Rebecca which was slightly awkward (on my part) and fun! We need couples photos so we can put them throughout the house, so Bjorn, Davin, Rebecca and I went to Kits beach. I was stupid and brought white (I'm super pasty compared to pretty much everyone else on the planet) and was pinging off of everything. I'm a bit rusty (putting it lightly) doing non-Gradual Upgrade interacting with other actors and felt slightly intimidated when we started. There's some really awkward shots in the bunch, however for every billion shots that Bjorn took, there's a fairly good one where my face hasn't ruined the shot (I'm a terrible picture smiler, which is why you see the grm/serious face on most of my photos)

Jim is pretty much cast. Had a great audition with a guy who can bring the intensity up to a trillion if he wanted to. Can't wait to get him in the same room with Rebecca!

Overall, things are coming together quite nicely.

Will update again when I find some time.

Travis

Tech Survey of Warehouse

The impossible happened yesterday! All but one of the department heads managed to come out to the tech survey of the warehouse location.

What is a tech survey you might ask? A tech survey is an opportunity for heads of all departments to understand the realities, possibilities and limitations for their given task.

For example, sound department had some concerns with humming lights, slight traffic noise in background and possible workers off camera, how much dialog was being said at once, how far apart where the actors?. How do we battle these things? This gives Max time to figure out the best way to achieving the highest quality sound possible.

Cine, had a lack of plug ins on one side of the warehouse for lighting. Also had to check breakers to see what lights did what, as well as how he was going to go about achieving mine and Davin's vision. Where was the fight going to be? How narrow was the space? Figuring all this out lets him know what kind of gear he's going to need on the day.

The assistant director had concerns for green rooms, bathrooms and a place for craft services to set up shop to cook food. He also had safety concerns with all the flipping, punching and rolling that's going on cement floor. I did a role on the ground just to see how stiff it was....very.

Visual effects had some big concerns about where explosions are going, what color costumes people are wearing, how we plan on shooting the scene. If we wanted to create new parts of the warehouse digitally, how Bjorn was going to light for the explosions, etc, etc, etc.

Then there's Davin and myself. We had to block out where all the characters were going to be at any given time. This helps everyone else on the crew know what's going on so they can plan better.

Our locations manager Lisa, also was along for the ride. She was our direct contact with the people at the warehouse. She helped negotiate price and times we are aloud to shoot. She got us a few extra hours the evening prior to shooting so Bjorn and art can go in and pre-light and pre-dress. That way in the morning everyone can hit the ground running and not have to sit around and wait for those guys to get their stuff done.

After our tech survey, Bjorn, Davin and I had a meeting to crunch numbers on gear rental. Boy oh boy, it sure is expensive to rent 35mm prime lenses...

We've added another meeting with Bjorn, Nils (3d guy), Davin and myself to really go over the visual effects shot in the film. One screw up here could mean months of extra post work!

Will keep you posted!

I'm off to a meeting with Nemo (one of the art guys) and then fighting all night with Danny and Davin!

Then an hour and a half of Yoga!

Travis

Paper Trail Pre Production Weeks 1 and 2

Hey all,

It's been a while since I left a blog here, and for good reason. Davin and I have been really busy prepping for Paper Trail.

My first week here was incredibly busy. The very first day Davin and I went outside and refined our fight choreography that we had come up with seven months ago. I'm happy to say that we've worked in a sequence which involves breaking a large window...should be fun.

Day 2 we went into the script and literally went line by line, word for word and discussed character motivations. Along the way we streamlined the script making it that much better. I also went to all our locations and measured out the rooms to create accurate schematics for our DP, Bjorn. Measuring out backyards sure is fun!

Day 3 we met up with Dae Young Danny Kim our 3rd fighter for the end fight sequence. This dude holds a 5th degree black belt in Taekwondo and could take you out with his lethal weapon stare! We trained for 4 hours in the Green Screen Studio at VFS and sweat out the beginnings of a pretty slick 3 man fight. Let me tell you creating a fight for 3 guys with 3 different weapons is a lot harder than it sounds. For reals!

Day 4 I met up with Rebecca Hay, who is playing the female lead. Spent a few hours just re-connecting with her and talking about life in general. Working with Rebecca is always a treat and I'm sure this time out will be no exception! After my meeting with Rebecca, I headed downtown and met up with Bjorn our Director of Photography. He couldn't meet long because he was teaching a class at VFS however it was nice to see him and start talking about various shots and lighting ideas. After Bjorn was called back into class, I zoomed across the city and met up with Nick, our AD and Ryan my credits guy (because the credits are going to be elaborate because we're elaborate people. Spent a few hours catching up with those guys (we were all in the same class at VFS) Nick worried over safety as only an AD can. I can already see how the shoot is going to go. Which is why Nick is the AD in the first place.

After all those meetings, I went back to Davin's and he and I went back over the script and began making up our shot list.

Day 5 I met up with Nemo and went over some art that he created for me. I must say, I'm quite pleased with what he did in between his busy schedule (he's a pro storyboard artist as well as a painter and comic book writer/artist. He swore that he was done working on smaller shows several months ago due to his hectic schedule, so I'm glad he made an exception for Paper Trail.

After a great afternoon with Nemo I Went back to the house and tuned up a fight sequence with Davin.

Day 6 Stole a bunch of old newspapers that were outside of a subway restaurant by the skytrain. They were going to be recycled so I don't feel bad. Also went to a comic shop and picked up 100 image comics for $20....ouch. Did somemore fighting, bought some protective gear for our forearms because we like to hit hard!

Day 7 Our props master, James came over to the house. We went over all the stuff we've got to build and or destroy. We've been very fortunate having him help us out. He built our weapons from scratch and they work great. He also showed us some moves with the short metal rods (he use to teach martial arts the exact style escapes me at the moment) that looked pretty cool. He also showed us some take down moves, using me as the human dummy...painful.

Day 8 Went shopping for costumes with Ricmond, who is doing wardrobe for all the characters in Paper Trail. We spent 5 hours picking out, Davin, Danny's and my costumes. We bought 2 of everything for me, just because I get thrown all over the place in pretty much any scene that I'm in. Davin's costume looks really cool. We're going to have him dressed all in white....mmmm.

Day 9 Camera test with Bjorn and Shane. We got the Red One all tricked out and Bjorn tested out a bunch of lenses. After he was satisfied with that we shot some test footage of our fight and over cranked the hell out of the camera. Then we tested handheld vs steadycam the fighting looks very different, should be interesting to see which way we decide to go.

After the camera test, Bjorn and I went off to the house location and talked shot lists and lighting for several hours. Lots of expensive ideas were thrown around.

Day 10 Met up with Danny at his Dojo and spent 4 or 5 hours coming up with the final touches of our 3 man fight. At this point it's all about finesse. After the fight, spent 15 or 20 minutes throwing myself through this giant whole in the wall that connects the kitchen area with the living room. Painful!

So that's what we've been up to the last week or so, and it's only going to get busy. Monday I've got a meeting with our 3D guy. Tuesday we've got a tech survey with all the department heads. Wed more fighting and Fri a meeting with Makeup!

Oh, and since I'm doing P90X, I train every morning at 8am for at least on hour....yarg!

Hopefully I'll have a vid to post on some progress soon!

Travis

Paper Trail Updates

Hello everyone. Sorry there hasn't been a post in a while, it's been really really busy around here in Gradual Upgradeville.

For those of you following Paper Trail, here's an update or five for you.

- We cast one of the roles which we're very happy about. Rebecca Hay will be playing the part of Sophia, the main character's girlfriend. Rebecca is a very gifted actor, we're thrilled to have her on the show.

-Davin has found us a major warehouse location, it's totally sweet. This is where the climax of the film takes place. You can check it out at this link. http://www.youtube.com/user/GradualUpgrade

- We also snagged a sweet house location, which for some reason is a real pain in the ass to do in Vancouver, so this is considered a major victory.

- Our prop weapons are being created from scratch as I type...very exciting.

- Davin is going to look very dangerous in this film...prosthetics...

That's it for now!

Please Donate and Eat Cookies!

Hey everyone,

Davin and I are starting our fundraising campaign for our new film.  What is our new film you ask?  Check out the link below.  

 

As one of our Fundraising events, we are working with the Bonté Foods Frozen Cookie Dough Program.  I have attached Bonté Foods Frozen Cookie Dough Fundraising documentation so you will be fully versed on their Program.
Here is where I need your help.  The estimated cost associated with this specific “Short” film project is $20,000.00.  As you can imagine, the more Frozen Cookie Dough sold, the more money raised for the Project.  Our Fundraising Goal from the Frozen Cookie Dough Fundraiser is $4000.00.   100% of ALL money raised through the various fundraising events will go directly towards the making of the Film – written, directed and produced by our Fredericton Film Makers.   
Can I count on your support by asking you to help me sell the Frozen Cookie Dough?  I will provide you with a sell sheet and all you need to do is sell the Frozen Cookie Dough (which really sells itself – by telling your co-workers, friends and family about the Frozen Cookie Dough) and collect the money.  Once the Selling Campaign is completed and I receive the Frozen Cookie Dough shipment, I will deliver your orders to you for distribution.  As a special thank you for your help, for every 5 cases you sell, you will receive one (1) pail (of your choice) of Frozen Cookie Dough FREE!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=92335791282&ref=mf

Creating a crew

Making a film is a monumental task and if you're smart you want to surround yourself with the best people that you can.  Sometimes money can get in the way and sometimes circumstances hinder the ability for you to choose your crew.

As a producer you don't really have to worry to much about the smaller details of who all your grips are going to be, you really only have to worry about your department heads, because it's up to these guys to bring on people who they know and trust and can work under them.

I've reached a point where I'm comfortable with the people I'm surrounding myself with and trust these people to bring other people into the fold because if I feel that my department heads are competent and hard workers then in turn they would want to bring on competent and hard workers because their name and image is on the line.  

This trust was not built overnight, but over a course of several films.  Some films that worked and others that have failed miserably.  Each of these films have cemented my thoughts on people I've worked with and I have made rules and guidelines about who I want to work with and under what conditions.

Of course I've made mistakes and some assumptions along the way about people and I've learned from those mistakes.  

I find one of the biggest mistakes that people tend to make starting out is making movies with their friends. Now before you sick the dogs on me, know that friends and friendship do have it's place in this world, but you have to be careful.  Once you move beyond, high school projects/just for fun/film school projects, movie making becomes a business and you are making a product to sell. Working with someone because of friendship or loyalty may very well end up ruining your film and your friendship.

Personally I keep people around that I know and trust.  I wouldn't say I'm "friends" with them, but I'm certainly more than acquaintances.  I was once reading an interview with Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame and he described the secret of their success as a business.  On stage they are the best of buds and have a great time, but when the lights go down and audience goes home they go their separate ways.  Basically they're work buddies.  That's how I feel about the film business.  

At the end of the day if you are a serious filmmaker then the movie comes first. I suggest before investing your money or someone elses moeny that you stand back take a moment a be objective as to who you bring into the fold.  

How hard can re-shoots be?

So Bitter Sweet SINphony has just re-wrapped and I'm slightly balder for it.

We wrapped the show last November and because of technical issues we had to fly back to Vancouver to fix things.  There's a reason why executives try to avoid re-shoots as much as possible!

As a producer there were many things that I had to do to ensure that the film got finished and all of this being done from Fredericton, NB.

I had exactly 4 days total to get everything shot.  As it turns out we were able to cram in, two and a half very busy days to get things done.  

Locations...It's six months later.  One of the bigger issues with locations besides trying to get them again, was trying to get them to fit in with my 4 day schedule.  Some guys can only let you shoot on the weekend, other guys at night, or early in the day.  As it turns out I caught a break and was able to jumble everything together and cut the shooting days down to 2 very busy busy days.

We lost our original house location, then I got it back, only to lose it again.  I was able to find a new house, but this one really didn't fit the story too well. Luckily Edgar met a guy on the flight up from Mexico who was more than willing to lend his house.  

I also had to re-negotiate getting the bar location (got that for free this time) as well as getting the crew back onto the Northshore studios lot.  The location we shot there was actually being rented out this time so we lost our office.  However on the day I noticed that the company that had rented it hadn't completely moved in.  I convinced security to let me in and Edgar (director) was able to get the shots he desperately needed to tell his story.

After that I had to make sure all our actors where on board.  Our main character had a big beard, so I had to make sure he was able to grow it.  If he was already committed to another show without a beard that could have derailed the whole thing.  Our lead actress was flying back to Mexico so our production dates had to work around her, as well as work around getting the gear and the rest of the crew....

Then there's the crew, how many of these guys moved on to other shows and are busy?  As it turned out most of them were able to come back with minimal convincing.  

After all those logistics you have to get into the smaller things like prop and makeup, which is getting out of producer territory and more into the other departments.  

The director of photography has to match lighting schemes that he and his crew devised.  The painful thing about doing this is you've had time to figure out how to light something better, however you can't go too overboard because it won't match what you've established previously.

And arguably the most important thing is getting the director and actors back on the same page to try and re-create what they had done 6 months ago.

I watched the dailies yesterday and am happy to report that the film is looking good and once all the layers have been put into place it should be a nice tight little story.

New Film...mmmm

I'm flying over to my home away from home, Vancouver this week to do some re-shoots on a film I produced last November. 

While I'm there, I'll be meeting up with Bjorn who will again be DPing a show I'll be working on.  I'm excited about this meeting because this is where things are really going to start rolling for the new film that Davin and I will be shooting.  

After that, Davin, Ricmond and I will all be flying back to Fredericton to work on some of the major stunt work that will be in the film.  

I still don't want to give away the script...however I can say that we've been working on it for several months and it's pretty much complete. 

Our expectations for this film is very high and I consider this as our "summer blockbuster".  

Fred Rock 2009

Yesterday was the big media release for Fred Rock 2009!  LIVE AND THE BLACK CROWES are headlining!  

Today I can finally talk about all the stuff I've been working on for the last month or two.

As you may or may not have heard Fred Rock is a 3 day music rock festival that is taking place right here in Fredericton, NB!

In preparation for this giant event Gradual Upgrade was brought on to help document and promote what is surely going to be one of the biggest events this year in Fredericton.  

This spot was designed as the launching point for Fred Rock and was showcased yesterday for the first time at the media release in front of several hundred people including dozens of press.   

The idea for this first spot was to appeal to the youtube generation.  Gradual Upgrade has been doing skits for a long time and this seemed to be the natural way to kick things off.  

We shot this at the Fredericton Raceway in sub zero temperatures in the middle of a snow storm.  Davin was in town for the shoot,  which made life so much easier.  Alana Matheson, whoI worked with on Dead To The World helped out as well.  

We had, what seemed to be a rocket engine just off to the side of the camera in the close up shots to keep Crash and Danielle warm in between takes.  Davin melted his coat trying to get warm and I melted the inside of my gloves.

This was also the first time that we teamed up with Crash to shoot something and must say that he was amazing and was a lot of fun during the shoot.

I've pitched two more spots, both of which will be extremely complicated but will look more like a traditional commercial.  I'll keep you posted as things move along.

Check out all things Fred Rock here.

Travis

New Projects

I'm excited to say that Gradual Upgrade has several projects on the go! 

Davin has an action flick that he is currently devloping for a shoot sometime in spring.

Summer time has Davin and I hooking up in Vancouver shooting our biggest project to date.  I can't really give any details except that it is a short film, approx 10 minutes and that it's going to have a very intense fight sequence and will have a summer blockbuster vibe.

The fighting is going to be so intense that I've been going to the gym since Nov to get my body into shape so I can handle the rigours of the shoot.

After we finish our big film, I'm going solo to direct a dramatic short.  This film will be a complete 180 from our "summer blockbuster" style movie and will be more of a character piece.  I'm pretty excited about the script and so is my potential lead actor, this guy right here.... also check this out.  

Once things get into production mode I'll be less vague on the projects.

Travis

Valentine's Video For My Sweetheart

Thinking about this skit is somewhat depressing.  

Not too long ago I was hanging out with this girl I had recently met and was slowly attempting to go past the friendship stage.  It got to the point where I was certain I had crossed that line and things were looking good.  

That was until I realised that Valentine's Day was coming up!  At this point in time I didn't have a lot of disposable income floating around and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to come up with a Valentine's gift.  

One night while I was thinking of something original to do for this girl, the idea for Valentine's Video For My Sweetheart popped in my head.  I was excited and thought it would be a funny gift.  I opened up Final Draft and banged away at a script into the early hours of the morning. 

The very next morning I got the terrible news that my new friend that was girl wanted to stay just friends.....AIE YAAAA!  I shrugged my shoulders and was depressed about it for a week but decided to re-work the script and shoot it as a Gradual Upgrade skit.  

The shoot itself went along at a brisk pace, there's a lot of funny moments that were cut due to time issues, as well as some great gag reel material that will eventually be posted.

On a side note, this marks the first skit that Davin has had no part in (he's in Vancouver, I'm in Fredericton) and it also introduces Crash from The Fox as a new regular in our skits.  

There is also an alternative version of this skit that can be viewed here.  This version was a personal one that we did for Crash and his lady friend.  He's made it public so I'm posting the link.

Travis

Warner music group

(This was a piece I wrote several months back but forgot to post)

It was bound to happen.  Warner music group has finally put the squeeze on youtubers everywhere and are silencing videos that have their music content in it.  It doesn't matter if you're a legit filmmaker or a 12 year old girl, if you have content from Warner's your vids will be silenced.  

As a filmmaker I really don't mind, as I'm fully aware that I need to acquire the rights to song before I can use the tune.  However it is kind of annoying to have to put effort into finding songs... oh well c'est la vie.

However I think it's important to note that there are thousands of kids and teenagers (perhaps some grandparents) on YouTube that don't have a clue about how copyrights work.   Shit, even I don't know how to fully get into the music rights (that's what overpriced lawyers are for)

If you read any comments on YouTube about this whole situation it doesn't take too long to figure out that there are some pissed of kids on the Internet.  Can you blame them?  Film and music go together, like peanut butter and jelly.   Most kids are just putting up silly vids of them and their friends hanging out, or "skits" that only mom and dad will see.  

There was talks of Warner and YouTube joining forces in some manner to make YouTube a payed sight. Where that money would go is anyone's guess, however I don't think the artists would be winning here.  Most likely this cash would end up lining Warner's pockets.  Rest assured you have nothing to worry about (at the moment) YouTube squashed that idea pretty quick, maintaining that the site is for everyone.

So what are the alternatives for kids who just want to make fun vids and don't have the knowledge/time/money to acquire the legal rights to play their favorite band's song?

YouTube has taken steps to allow youtubers legit music tracks that they can use in their vids. As it stands, that list is quite piddly. 

I guess the best thing I can suggest to budding film makers and 12 year old girls everywhere is to go down to your local music shop or 2nd hand CD store and find some home grown talent.That's right, local bands almost always, always want their music to be heard.  While this may not be a perfect solution it sure beats watching a video of your best friend stuffing 10 timbits in his mouth without a music track of any kind.

Christian Bale blows up KAPOW! BOOM!

Have you ever watched a special feature on a DVD and see the cast (and sometimes crew) patting each other on the back and kissing each other's ass? Have you ever wondered, "do they ever fight on set?"

The answer is a simple and resounding yes. Look no further than Christian Bale and his mishap with the Director of Photography. What a whopper of a fight that was!

Now everyone and their dog has an opinion on what happened and I do to, however I'd like to think that my background affords me to have an educated guess to what was happening prior to and after that tape was recorded.

First of all, movies are not easy to make and there's always a certain high level of stress on the set at any given time. It's how people deal with this stress that makes all the difference. Channeled properly, I find it to be an excellent motivator and it can help with the creative juices. Some people however cannot handle stress and crack under pressure. These are the people that drag a set down and slow it to a grinding halt and make it awkward for everyone else on set.

Stress on a movie set is different than any other type of job. Depending on what department you're in and how high up you are in that department there could several different people asking you for something and you need to have the answers or make up convincing answers on the fly. Sometimes there's thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars riding on a single choice. That's a lot of responsibility on a person's shoulders.

Stress on an actor can sometimes be even greater than the filmmakers and the crews. Serious actors take lots of time to research and understand their character. For a lot of actors it takes considerable effort to become someone you are not (unless you are Sir Anthony Hopkins).

I've witnessed actors do all sorts of things to get into the proper "zone" to do a scene. A good example was an actress who was trying to do a very emotional scene. She was lying in a bed remembering her dead husband and talking to him through a picture. Before going on the set she listened to something on her ipod to help get her in the mood and she also had a personal picture which she was using to get in the right space. This took a solid half hour to get there, it was pretty much ruined because the crew was being noisy in between takes and it pissed off the actress to the point of saying something.

On top of all of that, you're hardly ever working with the same people so it's hard to know who you'll be able to work with and who you will have to tolerate and who is just a plain dipshit. I've worked with all three.

So, if, for example, your Director of Photography is a complete fool and is consistently ruining shots by wondering into the frame to check and see how his lights look, we'll maybe he's got a bitch fest coming to him.

And that's where I sit, over there in the corner.

Travis

Public Safety

Public Safety

This little skit was the third thing Davin and I ever shot together.  In many ways this is one of my all time favorite skits of ours.  It's fast, makes no sense and has the most jovial walk you'll ever see on film.

We shot this while we were filming "Paper Trail".  Creatively and physically we were exhausted from the gruelling pace we had set for ourselves on "Paper Trail" and we needed to clear our heads and do something less physical, well for me at least I was sitting in the car the whole time.

I don't really recall who came up with the premise of running over Davin...I seem to remember a conversation about how sometimes I just wish I could run over certain pedestrians....and that most likely led to us talking about how funny it would be if someone stopped their car to let a person cross, wait for the right moment and then just hit the gas.  Seems funny to me.

We didn't script this thing at all.  We made it up as we went (we really didn't start scripting until years later with "That Ain't White")

Public Safety didn't take too long to shoot and the only part that gave us any trouble was the actual hit.  There must be a dozen takes of Davin getting nailed by the car and screaming for his life. His screams are so funny that I'm sure we could turn that into a skit somehow.

I also remember the reason we have the camera planted in one direction for so long is because there was about a dozen kids playing just down the street.  At this point the kids were used to us shooting on the street because of "Paper Trail" (which took months to shoot) and were kind enough to be quiet while we were filming.  

Travis

Chew On This

Chew On This...

This skit is a byproduct of a brainstorming session that Davin and I had sometime early Nov. 2008. I was flying to Vancouver to Produce a film and to help pass the time during the flight I came up with 2 or 3 potential skits in my "film journal". A little book where I scribble ideas and random thoughts. 

I presented the ideas to Davin and from there we came up with some new ones. It was Davin who had the idea to make a gum commercial about two guys who sit down chew some gum and get really obnoxious. The concept was simple enough and had the potential to be nice and short but very amusing. Davin insisted that we not prepare ourselves at all for this particular skit as he felt that would make the skit as fresh as possible. So we didn't bother scripting any ideas or making any type of shot list.  

Normally when we make these things, it's just Davin and I which is painful, because it limits what we can do with the camera. Thankfully Bjorn was on board to help with the shooting. It's always nice when he helps out because we don't have to worry about camera setups, he has a naturally eye for these things. Davin and I usually just look through the lens after he's set it up and say yes or no.  

Max was a happy accident. He just happened to be at the location and wondered by just as we were setting up. We changed the skit on the spot and added him, which I think elevates the humor tenfold compared to what it would have been.  

We shot the day after we finished on the film I flew to Vancouver to make in the first place. On a side note, Davin was the camera assistant, Bjorn was the Director of Photography and Max was the sound mixer on that film. We shot on location at our old school VFS in the lobby.  

It was about 7 or 8pm when we started shooting. The annoying thing about shooting there was the heavy traffic of students who were still floating around. We'd get a take or two done and some loud mouthed fool would walk right in the middle of the shot not noticing the camera/tripod setup. They'd ruin the shot and go, "oh sorry" and then just stand there looking half mystified and then bumble on to whatever it was they were doing in the first place.

The production took no more than an hour or two to shoot. We had a lot of good laughs while filming. The biggest laugh of the night was trying to throw that gum so it would hit Max in the face at the right spot. We did about 6 takes of that one shot.  

It's interesting to point out that the shot that's in the skit has been dubbed over with room tone because the minute we hit Max in the face, Davin, Bjorn and I began to laugh uncontrollably. You can see Max trying very hard to keep it together. The gum we used had a nice minty flavor to it, but after about 16 chews I wanted puke the stuff up.  

When it came time to cut the thing, I had a hard time because there is literally 8 minutes of footage of Davin and I just making funny faces and noises. The skit started out at double the length the final product is now. I slowly had to chip away at it to bring it down to a good length so the joke wouldn't overstay it's welcome.  

I think the skit turned out pretty funny and I hope you do to.  

Travis

Whose Bright Idea Was That?

Another question we often get is who comes up with your skits/film ideas and how do you come up with the idea?

The blanket statement I like to give is that I come up with most of my ideas when I'm in the shower.  If nothing jumps out at me in the shower then I usually stay up probably an extra two hours past the point when I should have went to bed.  I find that once my brain is mush it begins to create all kinds of fantastic ideas.

I run the original concept past Davin and then we go back on forth on what we like and don't like about the idea.  If we're really lucky Ricmond (Davin's older brother and one of my best friends) will be around and we bounce the idea off to him.

Since Davin and I have quite a few skits and shorts we'll go over the whole process one skit at a time.  Sort of like a director's commentary.

First up will be "Chew On This"  because it's still fresh in my mind.

Travis

Origin of the name Gradual Upgrade

One of the more common questions we get is, where did the name Gradual Upgrade come from? To get the origins of the this super cool name we have to leave the film world and enter the music world.

Back in 1999 my friend Andrew and I decided to start a band after seeing Our Lady Peace in Saint John, NB.

After a while, Andrew and I had gathered a ragtag group which originallly consisted of Fraser, who would go on to score one of our early films "Fixxers" on keyboards (and what a piece of shit keyboard he had, it looked like it had come from the kids section at Toys R Us), My childhood friend Adam on guitar, and Liz, Adam's girlfriend at the time on another guitar(both acoustic).

The very first song we ever tried to cover was Wonderwall from Oasis. It was pretty lotech. We rented out a disgusting place to practice called "the shack". We had a CD player and we'd play the CD with the volume down that way Adam and the rest could attempt to play along, and I would belt out the vocals.

After a few practices we decided that the world's greatest band needed a name.

I challenge anyone to try and come up with a name that isn't lame and has some relevance to the persona of the band. I've always felt the name should reflect something from the band. For a good week I thought and thought, until one day I was looking around at our ragtag little group and all the shitty instruments we had and thought to myself how truly crappy a band we were. I remember thinking, "this band can only get better, there is no way this could get any shittier. We'll get better, it'll be slow but a steady gradual climb."

Then something in my head clicked. The second I had that thought, images of a nerd fixing up computers entered my brain... and then I had it, we would be called Gradual Upgrade.

Since then I've kept the name and have used it for anything related to the entertainment business.

The name is just as appropriate in the film world as it was in the music world, I think the logo we came up with explains everything.

Travis

So Begins Our Blog

We're going to try this for a bit.

Anytime we work on a skit or a project or if anything happens to pop into our minds we'll post it here.


Travis