Okay, first letʼs just get this out of the way…Iʼve been busy Mild Mannered represents tremendous effort on zero budget. I am the writer, director, editor, cinematographer, visual effects dude, and basically lord of all things Mild Mannered. Itʼs a huge amount of work (something I may be documenting in a future audio commentary), and since Iʼm not getting paid, a lot of my time is also spent actually working for a living. Combine that with everyone elseʼs schedule who works on the show, and you have a recipe for long stretches of zero Mild Mannered activity. But the dry spell is over! So what do you have to look forward to?

More Episodes!
Issue 3 is being scored as I type this. Isaac Sprintis has taken over not only scoring the show, but doing all of the audio mixing. Audio has never been my strong suit, so itʼs really incredible to hand over that responsibility to someone I trust. Isaac is working for practically nothing, so the luxury of time is really our best friend here.

More Behind the Scenes!
Once I actually started posting the show, a lot of my effort was unfortunately taken away from these behind the scenes videos, but good news is we have footage ready to be edited! I just have to get around to it and my goal is to have a new one posted each month.

Fundraising!
Episode 4 is about 75% shot and the massive two part finale is going to be shot back to back so pretty soon weʼre gonna need some cash… Thatʼs where you come in. Mild Mannered has been, from itʼs inception, a labor of love. Iʼve paid out of my own pocket because I had to prove to myself I could do this. Now that I have proven that, I feel a little better about asking for help from friends and fans to make the finale something really great. Itʼs time these tremendous actors got paid! Weʼll be working out the details in the coming weeks, but Iʼd love to get an Indiegogo.com fundraiser up and running within the next month. All the money will go to actors, equipment and location rentals, and post production. And the best part is, Iʼve been making the show for practically nothing, so this money would really skyrocket our production value. Weʼll also be offering people a chance to be on the show if they pledge!

THANK YOU!
Above all else, Iʼd really like to thank everyone for all the positive feedback on the show. I see EVERY comment from every avenue the show exists on, and none of it is lost on me. The fact that some strangers have watched my show and asked to see more is really the most gratifying thing I could possibly ask for. Iʼm going to be putting focus into making the showʼs website more interactive so please send me any suggestions you might have!

I can’t say how grateful I am to my amazing cast and crew. A mix of friends and professionals who have all donated their time to basically make my dreams come true. Yes it’s hokey, but doing this show has been on my bucket list since I was a teenager who decided he wanted to become a filmmaker. And the best part is, we are just getting started. We have some great episodes coming up as well as plenty of behind-the-scenes fun, so stay tuned as there is lots more ahead!

‘Til then, I’m just going to enjoy the moment

The first three episodes are wrapped! And episode 1 is being scored as we speak by the very talented Josh Bauchman. I met Josh while working at my day job. It was kind of a happy accident that I found out he was not only a very talented musician but an all around audio guru. Sound is such an invisible and yet essential part of the process. One that we often take for granted. And I was determined to make the show sound as good as it looked. We worked really hard to record quality audio at all times during filming, and it’s going to really pay off when the first episode premieres.

I’ve been doing editing and motion graphics for a while now, but I think I really underestimated the amount of work that is going into each episode. That’s why, in my last post, I celebrated being half-way done without actually taking into account the countless hours of editing and effects work needed to really flesh out the episodes. But, these are muscles I have waited a long time to flex, so I’d be lying if I said it was anything but a pleasure to do. Watching the episodes come together is a delight. And I can’t thank my crew and my amazing cast enough for the brilliant work they have contributed. The show is so much more alive and entertaining than I could have hoped, and it’s because of all of you that it has turned out so great. So once we dig in to this first episode I’ll have a very good idea of how long post will take and can then finally set a premiere date!

For now, shooting is on a break. Travis and Whitney have a project they are filming in Vegas for a month, so I am using this time to finish post on the first three episodes and organize pre-production on the remaining three. My goal is to really consolidate our efforts on the remaining episodes and shoot most of it in quick succession. I’ve learned so much from working on this project, and I want to apply everything to make the last half of this season really shine.

Also, I want to give a shout out to Travis’ side project. He is making a very creative short film entitled “Life After” and has started an Indie Gogo page to raise funds. Please visit this link http://www.indiegogo.com/LifeAfter and give the boy a dollar, won’t you? I’m going to be shooting and editing this project for him, and I find his enthusiasm very contagious. Having been the “boss” on my own projects, I’m really excited to be just a part of the crew, helping Travis achieve his vision. It’ll be such a nice change of pace to just focus really focus on shooting a beautiful short.

That’s it for now. I’ll try and post more regularly as we near the premiere of episode 1. For now, just know… it’s coming

Day 6

What a fun change of pace. Day six involved just Whitney, Travis, and yours truly. I drove to their apartment and instantly demanded they get naked and into bed. Okay, not totally true. No one was naked But we did start the shoot in the bedroom, haha. After getting the one shot we needed we moved into the living room to film what I have affectionately referred to as “The Drunk Scenes.”

Whitney started things off with a very lovable performance as a very sad and drunk Lucy. Both her and Travis seem to have the innate ability to jump from drama to comedy in the blink of an eye. Which is great, considering my script is constantly asking that of them.

Next, things got more romantic as we lit an entire scene by candlelight. We are using the Canon 7d to film this show, and it’s just great having the flexibility of switching lenses. And because I had a very fast lens this day we got to shoot in little-to-no light. It was also just fun to step behind the camera for the day and take my time framing pretty shots like the one below.

Day 7

Next we traveled to my friend Danny Kneip’s house for a really fun scene involving Peyton, Mary, and Mary’s crazed father. Danny and I go back a long way to when I first worked at Blockbuster video. He was my manager back then, but oh how the tables have turned.

I’ve slowly been getting better and more comfortable with blocking scenes, and this day proved to be very challenging in this regard. We had set-ups ranging from complexly blocked scenes all existing in one shot to a lunch scene involving 4 different close ups and a wide. Everybody seemed very up to the challenge and were insanely patient as their director worked his way through the technical aspects. As always, Mary and Peyton were at the top of their games and turned in hilarious performances, and Danny really did a great job. He’s not a professional actor in the traditional sense, but I knew he could pull it off. I was right.

So, now we carry on through the next of production. Our costume designer Miko Simons is almost done with our superhero costumes, and Josh Bauchman has come on-board as our sound designer and composer. The more footage we accumulate the more work piles up on the post end of things, but the one thing we have is time. And I intend to get this show in the best shape it can be before you folks finally lay your eyes on her.

Originally, I had planned on packing this day full of filming. The plan was to film at my apartment, then move to my mom’s place for the party scenes. But I was moving out of my apartment that week (read a lovely eulogy of said apartment here), and realized my plate was much too full to get all of it done. So, I called everyone and canceled the party. Instead, we would focus on just apartment filming. To say I was a little pre-occupied was an understatement. Luckily my cast and crew were there to keep me in check

The day was a little chaotic, but still immensely satisfying. We got to shoot Peyton and Whitney’s first scenes together. Whitney continues to blow me away with the amount of humanity she constantly injects into Lucy, and Peyton continued to surprise and delight. Though these characters don’t exactly get along, Whitney and Peyton had a great time together.

This also marked the first time Peyton and Travis would act together. They moved briskly through a funny opening scene. And then I ambushed them with what is the most dramatic scene in the series. Before we started, I was exhausted. But as soon as the guys began running lines together I knew I had something special to watch and pepped up immediately. It was great watching Travis flex his considerable dramatic chops. He was fantastic. And Peyton really stepped his game. Eric is a hard character to play, and I’m continually impressed with how effortlessly Peyton pulls him off. We worked well into the night, and only had to cut one scene which I’m planning on reworking for a different location.

DAY 5

The next Saturday I planned on shooting at Whitney and Travis apartment. But I got a migraine that day and canceled. The next day my cast and crew all had some complications, and what was meant to be a full day of comic book shop filming got reduced to two scenes. But it proved to be a lovely change of pace. I’ve been working hard to condense as much shooting into each day. So, to have one full day to focus on two scenes was kind of great. Peyton was in top form and gave some of my favorite line deliveries so far.

Mary continues to be hilarious in what little we could film with her. She is a pleasure to work with and I can’t wait to finally shoot more stuff with her this weekend.

Also, we got to shoot a tiny bit of Mark being creepy, which always makes me happy.

I’ve been slowly assembling the show as we shoot. And it’s coming along brilliantly. Thanks to everyone for your patience and tremendous hard work. It’s paying off. And for those who visit the site often, stay tuned for TWO behind the scenes videos!

And also, hi Travis

Day 2 was a loooong day. We started at 9am and worked pretty much non-stop until 5pm, but spirits were always high. Once again, we had a very fun set.

Travis and Whitney were terrific, as always. At this point, I expect nothing else from them. It was also great having fresh actors to add to the mix. Jared meshed well with the group, and did a terrific job. His banter with Travis was priceless. And we finally got to see Stan the man berate his employees. That’s Tony “Sexy Boom Boom” on the right doing a pose he described to me as “The Pistol.”

The highlight of the shoot had to be the small group of us that remained until the end slowly losing our minds from exhaustion. I think the behind the scenes video does a great job of presenting this But by days end, we had half an episode in the can. So, thanks to everyone for their hard work!

Day 3 was short, but waaay too freaking early. Bree and I walked out of her house around 6:30am to find my car completely encased in ice; a far cry from the blistering heat we endured on day 1. This day felt like I was making a completely new show. New location and new actors! It was our first day with Mary, Peyton, and Herman, and none of them disappointed. Peyton and Herman are hilarious together and Mary proved her chops in the slow motion walking category.

Plus Mark got to climb out from behind the camera, briefly, to shoot his bit as Richard. We all definitely had a hard time not laughing during his brief appearance. I mean, look at him!

Peyton and Mary’s final scenes together were the definite highlight of the day for me. So effortlessly adorable. Everyone has exceeded my expectations and been a complete pleasure to work with.

Thanks again to everyone for your dedication and passion. It definitely shows

Another great day!  This time, with a whole new set of actors.  Major fun was had.  I’ll be posting a blog soon covering both days 2 and 3, but for now enjoy more behind the scenes picture goodness.  This one’s an actual screen shot from the show.

Day 2 is in the can, and it was a very long, but rewarding, day.  I’ll be posting more about it soon, but for now enjoy yet another pic that makes me smile

What can I say? We couldn’t have asked for a better first day Sure, not everything went as planned – the sun was brutal and unrelenting, certain gear didn’t work, some people didn’t show, etc — But none of that mattered. For the first time ever, I got to fully direct actors. Everyone seemed to have a good time and that was important to me. From the very beginning, I wanted people to have fun on my set and to have a great time contributing to something they hopefully could feel proud of at the end of the day.

First off, I have to thank my crew. Bree, Mark, and Tony were all amazing. They showed up ready to work, braved the heat, and they did it all with a smile

Travis and Whitney were terrific. I knew during our rehearsals that I had lucked out in finding them and they really surpassed my expectations. They elevated the writing and constantly surprised and delighted me. Brett had a lot of fun with his cop character and his banter with Travis was priceless. My sister and her husband Sean were great sports in small roles and I was incredibly happy that I could include them in such a special project.

I have never worked with extra’s before and I think I got kind of spoiled this time around. Stan helped me gather a lovely group of people who were incredibly patient and cooperative despite the unfortunate weather conditions. My favorite moment of the day came when I yelled “That’s a wrap!” and people actually clapped and cheered. Then, to my pleasant surprise, I suddenly found my extras giving me hugs as we said goodbye. I think we developed a sense of camaraderie as we faced the heat and, like I had hoped, we all had a really good time.

I rarely sat down during the 7 or so hours we were there. I was too pumped about the production and almost dehydrated myself by the end of the day. But, when we were finally done and everyone was gone, Bree and I exhaustedly sat down and watched the footage… And we laughed. Hard. I realized that beyond having a terrific filming experience, we had captured something special. It is unequivocally the best stuff I have ever produced and it’s just the beginning.

So thanks to everyone who came out that day in whatever role you had. You helped make this guy’s dreams come true