InterventionCon: Where the Not-So-Strong Have a Place As Well

I have a guest writer this time around. Please welcome Brad Trechak to the blog! He writes a review of Intervention Con.
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InterventionCon: Where the Not-So-Strong Have a Place As Well
By Brad Trechak

In an age of mega-conventions with top tier stars charging top dollar for either a photograph or autograph, it’s nice to know that conventions like InterventionCon exist.  That is, conventions that exist for love and not for money.

I attended Intervention 6 in Rockville, Maryland August 14th and 15th and was amazed at the levels of creativity on display for the attendees.  Want to create a web presence and build a following for it?  There’s a class for that.  Want to create a film and put it online for the world to see?  There’s a discussion group for that.  Want to develop crafts to sell online?  Well, you get the picture.

InterventionCon is a strange mix of fan and professional conventions where members are there to learn and get new ideas.  You will not find any big-name media companies at this convention.  This is to break in to that world, and then maybe break out to an audience.

You still get the occasional celebrity.  I attended one of Terry Molloy’s presentations on the audio drama and got to listen to clips of audio plays of the last seven decades.  Terry Molloy is best known as the villainous Davros in the Doctor Who television series, but in this case he was there as an instructor, not a celebrity.

InterventionCon is not about taking money from you.  It’s not about giving you the opportunity to meet your favorite celebrity.  It’s about sharing the knowledge and tools that could potentially make you a celebrity. What you next do with this information is up to you.

Captain Kyle's Cosplay Spotlight Show

Over the summer I had the pleasure of directing this very cool web series from Captain Kyle's brain.

The series starts Wednesday, Aug. 19th at 7pm ET on the YouTube channel SciFi Geek Productions. Take a look at the trailer and subscribe to the page so you don't miss an episode. It airs every week on Wednesdays at 7pm ET.

Watch our trailer now!

Each episode Kyle interviews a cosplayer in costume, as their character and then interviews the person behind the mask. It's one of the few cosplay shows out there that puts a positive spin on cosplayers and depicts them in a favorable light. Cosplay is supposed to be fun and celebrated rather than all the negative publicity its gotten in recent months.

Within the series, there are helpful con tips with Constance Chesney, Kyle's "Man on the Street" interviewer. She talks to young cosplayers at various conventions to see how much they love to dress up and go out to the cons with their families. Constance also plays some trivia with various cosplayers and some short comedy pieces, along with characters reciting Shakespeare. You might even recognize a few familiar famous faces along the way...

Taped in front of a live studio audience, season one has wrapped in-studio production but we will still be present at upcoming conventions like RetroCon in Oaks, PA Sept. 12-13th, Walker Stalker Con Philly Sept. 26-27th, and Walker Stalker Con Boston Aug 22-23rd. Constance will be continuing to interview cosplayers and playing more trivia with some lucky guests.

A special treat at RetroCon, we will taping an episode in front of the convention audience! The taping happens on Sunday Sept. 13th. Come out and be a part of the live audience! Maybe you'll be in cosplay and will want to be interviewed by Kyle! Stop by for some fun!

Matter of Time Shoot - Behind-The-Scenes

A convention I attended in Nov. 2014, LIWho 2, fate had me meet Kyle Williamson. He's an independent filmmaker who makes both fan films and original short films (so far no full length ones... yet). 

I attended his fan filmmaking panel at LIWho and learned some things. But mostly made a great connection with Kyle. Soon after, in Dec, he asked around Facebook needing help with an original short he was going to enter into a short film festival. I immediately, electronically, raised my hand to volunteer. 

He first needed a sound person, which is what I have done with Potent Media films. But I am a very good PA as well. By the time the first shoot came around, he realized he needed a camera person. So I changed hats that week and prepped for that instead. I broke down the script with what type of shots it should probably be, just based on the script directions and dialogue. I went over some of it with Kyle that morning but it wasn't really enough prep work. I got challenged with being an Assistant Director more so then expected. So I had to switch hats or add hats very swiftly. Kyle and I learned a lot on the fly because of that. And we learned from those hardships and mistakes very quickly. But it did mean our shoot was going to need at least one more day to finish filming. 

We came back another day in early January to finish filming. This time I had more time to prep. Took the rest of the script and really broke it down this time and made sure Kyle made a shot list for the shoot. We got together the night before and really sat and worked through the rest of the script so we knew how to shoot each scene better, what shots we needed to maybe redo and any pickup and insert shots we missed last time. We decided what type of shot each one would be (close-up's, medium, wide, etc). It was definitely a much more productive and intense production meeting for us.

Being better organized and prepared for the second shoot, it went a lot smoother. There still needed to be a couple pick up shots that Kyle shot later on with the actors but overall we got everything we needed. He had one more shoot day that was for the beginning sequence and outdoor shoot with the actors that was only about a half days worth of filming. (I was unable to attend that shoot).

We actually shot this film in order, which is not normal. But almost seemed easiest in this case, oddly enough... Since we didn't have to worry about different actors for the scenes or different time tables for the actors, and there wasn't a lot of shots that were the same, it worked out ok to shoot in order.

Kyle then had a friend do the special effects in the beginning and Kyle added all the graphics and music and edited the whole thing together. There were a lot of test films sent to me to review and give feedback on what was ok to keep and what needed some work. The full film was about 18 minutes long. For the festival it needed to be about ten minutes. So Kyle worked on chopping it down for that but kept the longer version on his YouTube channel, Sci Fi Geek Productions. 

But without further ado, here is the completed film. I hope you enjoy it!

Me and Kyle on set!

Cast and crew between takes. Allen Clark, Robert Lacorte, Asha Brown, Tiffany Bartholomew  

Kyle and Rob

Me and Rob

Me, Tiffany, and Rob

Two of the stars: Tiffany and Rob

Filming magic! Lateek Harrison on sound, the back of me, and Kyle. (I'm not sure who that is in the foreground)

Me and Rob.
Photo by Kyle J. Williamson

Me and my over-the-shoulder camera mount.
Photo by Kyle J. Williamson

Lateek checking sound, me checking the camera and Kyle directing.

Rob, Tiffany, me, and Kyle 

Getting directions from Kyle. serious face, movie making is serious business! hehe

The cast and crew! Asha, Allen, Tiffany Kyle, me, and Rob. Missing Lateek and Garland though.

The Walking Dead: A Fan Film - Behind the Scenes

 **Warning -- The video associated and shown here is for mature audiences only and contains depictions of sexual violence. So the video should be played at your discretion. The text within the blog post is a behind-the-scenes look into how we shot the video but may contain trigger words.**

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A few weeks ago a friend of mine, Kyle Williamson, said he wanted to do a Walking Dead fan film and wanted my help filming it. Kyle and I have worked on a few projects together thus far and we have great chemistry when we film with each other. So I immediately said, "Yes!"

Discussing the script, shoot, and shots ahead of time, we realized how tedious this task would be. Kyle wanted to put out a PSA about BDSM and tie it to some charity work (like a women's shelter) via some sales of photos another friend had done for him. More on that later, back to the PSA video. Kyle wanted to basically recreate an infamous scene in which the Governor interrogates Maggie. The scene is about the Governor intimidating and coercing Maggie into giving up info about her group of rebels by humiliating and dehumanizing her. Kyle wanted to make a twist on this by having it relate to BDSM and the safety issues within that world.

We wanted to shoot the scene in as much precise and exact angles, dialogue, camera movements, and lighting as possible. So there was much prep by watching that scene from The Walking Dead over and over again at nausea. We both discussed much of the lighting and location as much as we could in text messages and emails. Kyle finally got a friend's garage to shoot in (thanks, Zan!) and once we had photos of the location, we could plan even more on where the props would go, how the characters would sit, how to cover up certain parts of the set, etc.

Then it was paperwork time. I printed out storyboard paper and got to work watching the scene and looking at every TWD shot. I literally watched shot for shot what they did, how they did, what dialogue was in that shot, what type of shot it was (close up, medium, 2-shot, etc) and so much more! Below are snippets of my storyboarding. My drawings are so amazing! (sarcasm)...

My lovely storyboards.

More storyboards

Storyboard with some action depicted

I knew I was going to be the assistant director and camera person so I needed to get this right and as exact as possible. And I wanted to make the man in charge (Kyle) proud that he "hired" me.

The storyboards got done. Then I started a shot list but failed getting that done in time due to other work commitments and I got sick two weeks before the shoot. But even without the actual shot list it worked out fine.

Kyle wrote out the original script with stage directions and such. I took that script and broke it down further with my storyboard shot list and matched every dialogue and action with what was in the scene. Tedious? Yes! But worth every blood drawn to get the details right!

Part of the script marked up with the shot number via my storyboards.

Once I got all that done, it was about time to shoot. I sent Kyle everything and we discussed the shot list and storyboards the night before. We further discussed the space once we got there the next morning.

I was bumped up to Director! (No pressure! haha) And Kyle became the AD instead. Brian Schneider was our sound guy. And Constance Chesney was our leading lady, Maggie. Big leap for me being Director now. But I took the challenge by the horns and defeated it! :)

We had downloaded the scene to Kyle's tablet so we would have the ultimate reference for each shot of the scene to refer to. It was a true asset, that along with the storyboards, made the shoot smoother.

I used my homemade over-the-shoulder mount my friend Dave made for me, for the entire shoot. I never put it down basically. Never used a regular tripod the whole shoot.And being so much shorter than Kyle, made some of the angles, almost perfect! Being short worked in my favor! haha

You can see camera mount my friend Dave built for me. And yes I decorated it in pink grip tape and the counterweight.

It was 48 degrees in that garage and poor Constance had to be in a tank top or almost topless the entire time. We had a small space heater which could not heat the room enough, so she would just huddle in front of it between takes. And the rest of us made sure she always had a blanket, her jacket or someone cuddling with her so that she could stay somewhat warm between takes. She was a trooper out there!

Me trying to keep Constance warm between takes!! #StayWarm
Photo Kyle J. Williamson

Trooper Constance stays warm by the portable heater and with a smile on her face!

Yep that's poor cold Constance huddled under the blanket hogging the space heater. heehee

This video below shows the comparison between Kyle's scene and The Walking Dead's original scene. Sorry for the low volume, I forgot to turn up the volume on my laptop while taping it. Also, I paused whichever video needed in order for the pacing to catch up to the other. Overall our video was a little faster paced than the original but overall, it's pretty spot on and some of the dialogue is so exact and in sync!! I am so very proud of myself for really stepping up to the challenge and really hitting it on the head. And thanks to Kyle for believing in me... ^_^

Below are pics of behind-the-scenes. Enjoy!

Short director, means creative means to get the shot right!
Photo Kyle J. Williamson

First shot of the day.
Photo Kyle J. Williamson

The garage we filmed in with the set made up.

During a quiet moment, looking out the window with the light kit in the window and boom mic leaning against it.

Our cast and crew of our shoot that day! L-R: Constance, Me, Kyle, Brian

Roxsy & Me Film

ROXSY & ME IS HERE!!

Loved filming this short fan-made film with Carmela and Christian!
Great story and great acting. I'm in a few scenes. And I helped as both executive producer and as sound engineer. Sounds so fancy! hehe. I am still laughing so hard at some of these scenes. Loved being around my Potent family again. Please watch, like, make nice comments! Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!! I'm so excited to be a part of this amazingly fun film!

PS - here's the link to my post about being on set for this movie and Sugar Skull Girls.
http://geekgirlscastle.blogspot.com/2014/10/theres-no-place-like-home.html

There's No Place Like Home...

...there's no place like home. No, Dorothy, there isn't. For me, that means being on a movie set again, it's definitely like being home. And I've missed it so much.

Recently, I got to help out on a couple of films with a friend of mine who happens to be the Producer of the independent movie company he works for. Potent Media and it's fearless leader, Christian Jude Grillo, is made up of a group of dedicated and amazing men and women just wanting to make great films from start to finish. Potent Media is known for their independent films Apocalypse Kiss, Deer Crossing, and Booley.

And now, their family-friendly film The Sugar Skull Girls. This is the first movie I got to help on. The best way I describe this movie is like Disney's Hocus Pocus. It's fantasy mixed with campy humor and fun times. It has witches and supernatural elements, meant for all-ages. It's going to be so much fun to watch when it is finally done! I've seen some pieces done with all the special effects and music added in and it's just awesome to see what comes out of Christian's creative mind!

I got to help out the last two weekends of shooting, one in June and one in July. The summer heat was exhausting and disgusting, especially for the July shoot. I was told I'd be anything from catering to personal assistant for the celebs, to assistant sound person, etc. Basically a PA. Which I was totally fine with because inside I was screaming "I'M ON A REAL LIVE SET AGAIN!!!" Opportunity of a lifetime for me.

Let me stop for moment for a background check. I majored in TV/Video Production way back when, in college. My career life path didn't take me that way for a full time job. I had a part-time gig at the local TV station but it didn't have a lot to offer after awhile. Like so many of my creative brethren, you do what you can to survive and make a decent wage. So I took on a full-time job as an admin in a big company instead. But I dabbled in the TV field in any way I could in the years that followed, videotaping friend's productions, videotaping friends goofing off, watching a lot of behind-the-scenes documentaries, etc. Anything to keep me in the game. Eventually all those things even dwindled, other than watching those making-of documentaries.

I missed that world so very very much but just couldn't get a handle on getting back into it. So, when opportunity knocked, I opened the door wiiiiide open! Thanks to an "in" from my friend, I talked to his boss, the directer/owner/CEO/everything-man at Potent Media to see how I could help, if at all.

I did have to travel from NYC to Philly area, but it's totally worth it. In every sense of the word. As soon as I got on set at the Mill (an old antique mill not in use served as their set locations... more on that later), I was home. I was with my people. And I was at home with everything going on. The technology of course has changed since I've been in the business -- no more over-the-shoulder big SVHS or even 3-ship cameras which were the THING at the time... Nope, using small digital SLR cameras they get the total film look, that not even those 3-chip Sony's did in the day. Amazing quality and feel to them. Ok ok, back on track... So the tech might have changed, but the theories and how-to's don't change.

When I got there, I was greeted warmly and with open arms by everyone on set, both cast and crew. Slowly I got to know all of them and how I came to be there from NYC of all places. Having to keep explaining my ties with my Producer friend was tiring but I was proud nonetheless.

After we all gathered at the Mill and got acquainted, most of us went over to a local high school to film some key opening shot scenes and sequences. Being on location was even more fun. But of course holds its own challenges. Finding enough outlets to plug in equipment, hiding much of the equipment needed in other areas so it's out of shots and then needing it at the most inopportune moments, running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to remember where you put something, etc. It's mayhem, but the best kind! Hehe I didn't mind running around getting anything anyone needed--food, coffee, gaffers tape, mics, dollys, tripods, etc. I was there to help in any way Christian and crew needed me. I couldn't have felt more alive that day!

For the weekend, I was thrown into sound as an assistant with Chuck. Christian's normal sound guy wasn't able to be there so Chuck and I would helm sound responsibilities. Chuck was awesome as he taught me all the necessary ropes needed. After some mishaps in prepping the mics tho, and laughing a lot about it, we got it all working right.

Chuck is like six feet tall so he held the boom mic 99% of the time and I kept watch on the levels on the Tascam unit and hitting the record button and saying "speed" or "sound rolling". Yay!

One point we needed to be in a small doorway with the boom so I volunteered to be squished in there instead of the six foot man. hehe

Photo courtesy of James Murray

While running sound, I kept my eye on everyone else to see what they were doing and how things worked and how everyone communicated to one another and watched how well Christian's machine worked so cohesively. He really does have it all down pat. Yes, he needs help of course every so often and reminders, but he's got the team into a very well-oiled machine. I was impressed and in awe by it all. Not that I had doubts about his professionalism, but it's just been so long since I've been on a set to see how it all comes together.

Goofing off between takes. Bill Cannon, me, Chuck Maher, Carmela Hayslett Grillo, Dave Stewart.
Photo courtesy of James Murray

Chuck Maher, me after pushing him down the hall on our dolly.
Photo courtesy of James Murray

By midday we finished shooting the high school scenes and headed back to the Mill for lunch break then more shooting at the Mill itself, on their interior built sets.

Food was provided by a neighbor of the Mill that day. She had made homemade chili and cornbread, salad, and chips and things were provided. It was excellent homemade grub for first day of shooting for me.

Oh and forgot to mention, the movie was sponsored by the Tootsie Roll company and local soda brewery Hank's sodas. Brilliant. And wonderful addition to our on-set snacks and drink supplies. Yum! Most the cast and crew were on sugar highs a lot between the sodas and candy - which included Blowpops, Tootsie Rolls and Double Bubble products. (What happened to Tootsie Pops??? anyway...)

Image via Sugar Skull Girls Facebook page

Lunchtime I got to mingle with more of the crew and get to know all of them a little better. I liked that. It really was like a big family. Everyone knew about each others families and kids and many get together outside filming to hang out on weekends and things. So it was genuinely a beautiful, fun experience there.

After lunch wrapped, we went back to work. Filming scenes within the Mill on sets built by the same crew. A teens bedroom, a interior trailer set, and a few green screen sets. It was really neat to explore the sets in detail and see what was put into them in terms of set decorations and how they were constructed. Potent Media uses every dollar wisely. Cheaply built sets don't have to look cheap. And I'm still learning how to be thrifty on the sets from Christian. In my own life, I can be very thrifty but applying that knowledge to a set design, takes some creative know-how. It's amazing what he did with such a low budget, and you'll never know that when you see it on screen. (well, now I've told you hehe)

Besides sound tho, I was also a puppeteer! I got to handle some puppets being used in the film, created by my Producer friend. These will be revealed at a later date so no pics of those yet! :) But trust me, they are evil and ugly little buggers! They were rubbery and slimy and one got painted that morning so it was still technically wet from that, along with having um "slime" on it. I will not disclose what we used to make it slimy... So my hands looked like I killed a smurf by the time I was done with it. But it was so much fun to be a puppeteer for an hour!

Once the day was done, we wrapped filming, put equipment away and said goodbye to everyone til tomorrow. We were all exhausted but happy at the days work. Amazing people.

I got to go to Christian's home that night for some dinner and to look at the footage shot that day. See what Christian sees. How he wants to edit it together, what special effects might be added, sound cues and sound effects... Amazing how his creative brain works. I could envision it all as he unfurled each scene. He discussed shots themselves, any problems he might see- ie soft focus problems, sound issues, things like that. And then making a mental note if anything had to be reshot. Which you never want to do unless really absolutely necessary. But it was good learning experience to see how he puts it altogether.  And it was really lovely of him to have basically a stranger come into his home on the first day of shooting.

Second day of shooting was at the Mill only. So using those sets, we shot whatever was needed. It was a long day but wonderful to be there and doing what I love to do with others who love it just as much as me.

We wrapped that day with a birthday celebration for my Producer friend. I made him an Atari cake because it's one of his most favorite things in the world. :) It was just the crew for that. It was fun surprising my friend and the look on his face when he saw what was happening was awesome! hehe

July couldn't come fast enough to get down there and film again. This time I'd be there for the whole 5-day shoot and not just the weekend. I was psyched! I did sound again most the time. And both weekends when I was not a PA or doing sound, I was running around getting anything done that I could help with--food,  moving equipment around, closing windows, etc. Life of a PA doesn't sound glamorous but it's still important as a team player. I'm more than happy and grateful to do it.

I was also a script supervisor and continuity person for a couple days while his usual guy was away. That was intense and kept me on my toes. Having to remember which scenes we were shooting the whole day, each moment and how the shots were supposed to be set up. Very cool but definitely intense. Then making sure each shot done was in continuity with the last one or the one it will lead into or follow that we've possibly shot already.

We shot for five days straight. A couple days indoors on set and then the rest were outdoor shoots. And man, that weekend was the most humid and hottest days of 2014 summer time--close to 100 degrees all the days plus 90% humidity. It was so disgusting. It was pretty brutal on everyone shooting those days. Crew member Wil Sachs made sure to keep us cool by fanning us with the light reflectors and a couple of us had portable mini fans to use on the actors who were in very heavy costumes. But we made it through. Got some amazing footage and everything was in the can and wrapped by day 5.


It was just so much fun filming all the scenes despite the horrid weather. For me, learning what everyone does, getting to know the crew and cast of teen girls and their families on set, is something you can't replicate. I loved meeting all of them. Many are now real life friends outside of the filming. And I try to see the crew at least, as often as I can get to the area...Amazing, talented people worked so hard on this. I'm so proud to be a part of it.

One of the pumpkin soldier's rides

Scott Kaufman, Dave Stewart, and Christian Grillo setting up a shot.

Setting up the shots

Carmela Hayslett Grillo, Chuck Maher between takes.

Cece Hagen getting her makeup applied.

Leslie Easterbrook, Carmela Hayslett Grillo

Addy Miller getting her makeup applied

copter shots

Julie Ryan, Addy Miller, Cece Hagen, me, Anika Buchanan, Isabella Sobejano

Leslie Easterbrook, me, John Amplas

Anika Buchanan

Isabella Sobejano

Addy Miller

Carmela, Pumpkin Soldier

That's a wrap!

The second film, a short film really, is from Christian's wife Carmela Hayslett Grillo. She was a horror host in a web series for three years, Roxsy Tyler'sCarnival of Horros. But as an actress she of course, wanted to continue growing and pursue different venues of acting. So the web series went on hiatus. Well, now Carmela was ready to put a true ending to the series by making a short film.

Image courtesy of Roxsy Tyler Facebook page

It's a small cast and therefore, a much smaller crew then feature film sets. I was needed only one weekend where I'd do double duty and be an extra for one of the scenes as well as do sound for them.

The scene called for fans of Roxy and her cohost, Count Chuckula to be outside of her Carnival set and chase after them and such. It was great fun. Since I knew everyone would be fans of Roxy, the main character, I decided to be different and be a fan of Chuck's instead. (Yes, the same Chuck who taught me sound on the Sugar Skull Girls set). So I made a sign that said "Bite me" cuz he's a vampire, duh.

And when Carmela saw that, she gave me some acting/stage direction on how to play this up more. So we worked on that on the fly and it was sooo much fun chasing after Chuck! We tried to have me jump him but running in grass, heels and with twenty other people clamoring over you, does not lend itself well to jumping on someone's back. So we modified it. I hope it still translated well on screen and am eager to see how they used the footage, if at all. ETA: I'm in the trailer a few times actually, so I guess that worked out well. Also, I have another acting credit to my name now, as a featured extra. Sweet! It was fun to actually "act" in something professional for once. And fun to collaborate something specific for the scene.



Other times that day, I was as usual, sound person. This time with their special effects guru, David Gechman. He's about as tall as I am (we're both around the 5' range) so both of us trying to do the boom mic was kinda hilarious. Where's 6' Chuck? oh right, he's IN the sccene. hahaha But the short people prevailed!

After the fan scenes were shot, Chris and Carmela had a big ol' bbq in their backyard. It was so lovely and fun and amazing yummy food. I, as usual, made dessert. I made nutella palmeiris. So delicious and easy to make! And they definitely went fast and furious! I loved meeting all of their friends who participated in the fan scenes. So much fun connecting with them over good food.

Sunday was much the same, though quieter. It was just me for audio and Martini for video with Chris. Chuck would help whenever he wasn't needed *in*a scene, of course. Martini helped hold the boom on the last scene of the day because it really needed to be higher than my short stature could hold and Chuck was in the scene. So I was able to hit record on his cameras once he set up the stable shot while he did audio instead. Team effort! We really all work so well together.

All too soon, it was over. Carmela had one more weekend to film, well really one more day the following weekend. It was only going to be a four hour shoot though, so it wasn't worth it for me to come down again. But no matter, I still had an amazing learning experience and time with my Potent Media family filming and hanging out after shooting. Professionals to the core but so much fun when the lights dim.Thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me these fabulous opportunities! Until the next shoot when I'm back in Oz again...