Urban Numina Episode Three and V48 Hours

Hey there folks!

Don't fret the lack of an episode three this week. Due to the V48hours film challenge on the 21st - 22nd May and a bereavement las week, we were unable to shoot the third episode. Most of the episode was shot last weekend and I'm doing pick ups this week. We will be back next week and returning to weekly releases.

See you all next week!

Conan

Episode Two: Devon

Here is episode two!

Deus is haunted by visions of a woman in green. Andrea, Carey and Mel try to work out what is going on. Devon is forced to confront how he feels about Deus.

Sorry for the delay to updating the site - I have been out of town due to a funeral. More on episode two later. :)

Conan

Behind the Scenes: Episode One

It is always with a mix of excitement and dread that I release a creative endeavour out into the wild frontier of the public. You always have to steel yourself for the inevitable mix of praise and criticism that strikes.

But it is done. The first episode is completed and out there for everyone to see, and I'm now in the process of working on the second episode edit.

As outlined at the beginning of this ambitious project, we are literally shooting an episode and releasing it a week after shooting - this is a crazy schedule to follow, and it will get easier next month when I shoot two episodes a weekend rather than one. (Basically we will shoot two weekends a month, which should provide 4 episodes worth of footage.)

It's a testament to the cast's eagerness that they have opted to add another weekend this month to their schedule to shoot a bonus episode - one that I am working on at the moment while also laying the foundations for episodes 8 - 13.

Hopefully by episode 8 we'll still have the same enthusiasm and vigour that has characterised the first two shoots. :)

But today I am going to talk a little more about Episode one.

We shot the entire episode on Saturday 7th May. Due to the nature of the project, we had cast and crew sharing duties all day. Josh, whose eager energy and positive energy certainly has been helping keep everyone else upbeat, showed up about ten minutes early and was all set to start shooting as soon as possible.

The original script had Andrea and Mel arguing on the balcony so that I could take advantage of the fantastic view from there - on a sunny day it is a stunning view of Wellington Harbour. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans.

I had spent the week planning out an alternative version of the scene set within the lounge, and so we were able to still shoot without too much fuss.

Within a very short period of time we had all the cast for the first scene on set, and were missing a cameraman. My plan was to shoot with two cameras to help reduce shooting time - ideally you want to capture as much footage as you can to give the editor plenty of material to play with during post. So Lee, who plays Carey, stepped up to the mark to handle the second camera while I managed first - and Michael (Deus) took over boom duties during the first scene.

We shot several takes, mostly because Jenni, Josh and Kerina were so excited to be shooting they kept breaking out into giggles.

Then it was Mike's turn to shuck off his clothes and pretend to be a naked deity. For the record - and for those who have seen Josh's blooper reel - Mike was not naked. But he certainly was a real trooper who willingly stepped out into the blustery, cold and wet balcony to give himself a genuine sweaty appearance for his "emerging from the vase" shot. I think it is a testament to his professionalism that he not only had fun, but dove in without any complaints. Even when I had him standing, legs spread while I tried to frame one of my favourite shots from episode one of the three flatmates looking at him. It was certainly awkward in the tight confines of the kitchen.

We initially started an hour later than planned, but due to the use of the flip minos, there was no need for elaborate lighting rigs, which meant that moving from shot to shot and scene to scene was a painless and fast process. Normally you would need to break down the lighting and rejig it for the next shot. The down side is that we did get some odd lighting quirks that required colour correction in post. In episode two I decided to try natural lighting and nothing else, and that seemed to produce a better result overall. But still not perfect. Unfortunately, as my favourite saying this project has become, that's the nature of the beast we have taken on here.

Unfortunately when we changed boom operators for the next scene, someone accidentally turned off the boom. This wasn't noticed during the shoot, and as a result it made the boom material we did record useless because the sound inconsistency would have been too jarring. As a result, I was forced to use the Flip mino audio recording. Forunately, the minos do a great job of picking up voices and through some careful work within iMovie 11 and a great little program called Audacity we were able to mitigate most of the background hiss and sound issues. It isn't as good as a boom, but a great way to recover from such a nightmare situation.

Normally when shooting outside in a public location, you need to arrange releases through the city council - mainly because you are potentially making a hindrance and nuisance for other people who may wish to use public resources. Due to our cast and crew literally being 5 people with a camera the size of a mobile phone, I figured we could get away with being more guerilla film crew about it and just shoot as long as we kept out of people's way. I have to strongly state - if you are planning on using white boards, lighting or anything more elaborate than the size of a mobile phone for your shoot - GET APPROVALS.

The same goes for if you plan to do anything that involves guns, fighting or in some way could lead to someone in the public thinking there is a threat. Otherwise you can expect the police to show up. It is often also a good idea to call the police even after getting council approval - because, again, this just keeps the people who need to be in the know... well... in the know.

Fortunately we had nothing like that planned - and with the weather clearing up enough we were able to shoot Melissa (Ziana) and Andrew's (Urge) scene without drama or interruption.

So with the episodes being released essentially on a weekly basis, this is a great opportunity to discuss with me the series and your thoughts. Let me know who your favourite characters are. Tell us about your favourite cast members and what you think of the various storylines. I'm particularly interested in hearing about thoughts people have in regards to what is going on and who really is intending to do what. I know what is going to happen, but I'm also interested in hearing people's opinions.

The same goes for the humour. More? Less? This is your chance to talk directly with the guy who makes the big decisions about the direction Urban Numina heads.

Look forward to hearing back from your all!

Conan

Urban Numina Episode One: Deus

Flatmates Andrea, Devon and Mel find themselves with an unexpected new flatmate after Devon accidentally breaks a vase from under the house and appears to release God. Or maybe things are not all as they seem...

It's here - the first episode of Urban Numina! Enjoy!

Conan

The Countdown Begins

As those who follow my twitter feed know, I have been battling to edit the first episode and have been trying all manner of tricks and techniques.

With the final edit almost ready, I had some time today to play around with teaser trailers - give audiences something to look at prior to the main event.

The first trailer is the "official" teaser - it is straight forward and hints at events in episode one. The second is a fun little trailer I made using iMovie 11's trailer templates. It doesn't really make a lot of sense, but it is kind of fun.

Keep watching folks! We're almost ready to start the ball rolling. :)

What's this?

Ziana (Melissa Phillips) and Urge (Andrew Goddard) are waiting to reveal that episode one has been all shot and is now being edited! :)

Conan

Multimedia: New Ways to Tell Your Story

I know I said I'd be covering the rehearsals more, but I'm really keen to explain and expand on what is happening via Twitter and Facebook for Urban Numina.

One of the key things about distributing a series via the Internet is that you get to play with how you tell your story. Engage the audience via multiple sources for information about the show and it's characters.

What I have started with Urban Numina is a kind of prologue story told via the tweets of Jenna, Devon, Andrea and Mel. The trick is for followers of these twitter feeds to piece together what is happening via the comments being made by the characters. This is also a chance to learn more about the characters via their comments. Much in the way that the UK series Misfits did.

Secondly, there will be photo essays and other "in world" material posted on our upcoming facebook page.

The idea here is to have multiple leads into the show, and make a bit of a game out of following the various sources.

Nothing vital will be presented via these extra media resources, rather I am using them to help flesh out the world and its characters.

But this kind of thing is only as effective as the social networks they are a part of. This is where you come in. Spread word and get people following the characters. The more people engage with the twitter feeds, the more they will become a part of the series and the more interesting the storylines will become. :)

So spread the word folks!

Mel - @Mel2theR
Jenna - @ForevaJenna
Devon - @TheSharpeD
Andrea - @WgtnAndrea

Catch you later folks!
Conan

Rehearsals Part One: Sharing and Caring

Last weekend we had our first read through / rehearsal for Urban Numina. I'll be posting some video from the rehearsal later this week, it was a lot of fun.

It is important to hold a read through of the scripts fairly early on in the production process. This is an opportunity to let the actors get used to the script and the delivery. Especially when dealing with a comedy. To help avoid actors bursting out laughing mid performance you want them to know the jokes well before hand. It's not a guarantee, of course, but it helps.

My method was to first read a script with all the direction notations and actions. Then we would reread the script with just the actor's lines. Given that much of Urban Numina has snappy back and forth dialogue, it is important to hear the flow of the conversation.

This is a big opportunity for me to make alterations to the script if something stands out or we get better ideas during the rehearsal.

The other thing I try to do is engage the cast and crew in discussions about their thoughts on the scripts. This is no guarantee that I will make the changes they want - and some things I have chosen to not change - but it gives them input and the ability to change the things that particularly bug them.

As a result of the rehearsal, the scripts are tightening up and I'm seeing which jokes work and which fall a bit flat.

So far, it looks like we have a real hit on our hands.

Next: Rehearsal video

Conan

P.S. As a little bonus, here is a video of Mike (Deus) and Josh (Devon) bonding over a little beatbox practice during the cast drinks on Friday. This was shot on iPhone and it was a noisy night - so apologies for the sound. :)