GEEZERS: The digital video hit of the century!
Reading from the bottom up (reverse chronology) will be fun for those of you
who enjoy Harold Pinter plays.
May 21, 1999
First day of shooting. Rains a little in the morning, but I order it to clear up
by 10am. It does, and the crew seems confused about why I take it as a given that Nature
will obey me. I am the director!
May 24
Co-star Howie Nickerson had a scheduled trip out of state, so we had three days
to get all his scenes shot -- or wait a month for him to return. Wait? Never!!
Stars Sam d'Entremont and Howie Nickerson held up great, even with five location
setups each day!
June 4-6
Second weekend of principal photography. Locations include central Massachusetts
and Boston. Toll booth scene goes off without a hitch. I'm tired.
June 8
We have completed principal photography. The "present day" part of the
script was filmed in Boston, Shrewsbury, Worcester, Northboro and on the Massachusetts
Turnpike. We were the first film production ever allowed to close down a tollbooth lane
for filming! (Thanks to all at the Mass. Turnpike Authority!)
The "1939 era" half of the script was filmed June 5 & 6 in
Shrewsbury. We transformed Town Hall into a 1939 backlot street, complete with antique
cars!
All this for a budget of $632!!
GEEZERS has the best crew I've ever worked with, bar none! Thanks to everyone
and keep it up!
June 12
Did a favor for someone and taped the Gay Pride Parade in Boston for a
documentary. Would have been funny to have Willie and Vic walk through this.
On my way home, I picked up most of the remaining 2nd unit shots -- a doorway
for the "Senior Center," a block wall to use as background for some signage
(will create in Photoshop), and some kids playing basketball. Stopped into an oriental rug
store that has been going out of business for a few years and shot background clips for
the TV commercial that Sam watches in the first sequence. Still need to shoot that
dialogue and find a "mansion" to use as establishing shots for the Thatcher
house.
June 14
Added sample production logs and free production templates online. (Later
removed.)
Post-production. So far, the footage looks great (although the dim locations,
i.e. inside the car, will require some post-production tweaking.) The night footage came
out fine, although I should have lit it brighter and stopped down the camera. I don't have
a lot of room to manipulate the images now, as they are on the grainy side.
See for yourself... All pictures were
taken on digital video and are stills from the actual production footage.
I have made a time-code dub to VHS of all 9 hours of tape. Beginning the process
of logging the footage. A camera log was kept during production; however, there is still
the task of logging in/out points, verifying the logs, adding descriptions that will aid
me in editing, filling in the blanks where I moved too fast and didn't wait for the slate,
etc.
I have created a new camera log as an Excel spreadsheet. Hoping to create a
macro to take all the "good" shots and export them, so I can then import an edit
decision list (EDL) into Premiere and run the batch captures from that. Haven't seen
anything like this, at least that is affordable. I have seen two products, one using a
PalmPilot, the other an Apple Newton, that can be used on set to create such a file.
They're a little pricey right now for me.
June 16
Article appears in Worcester Magazine.
June 18
Article appears in The Worcester Phoenix.
June 19
Got a haircut.
June 21
Articles appear in The Community Advocate and The Shrewsbury Chronicle (the last
issue before Chronicle was taken over by Community Newspapers.)
July 6
Shoot the "Magic Dan" commercial spoof scene with blue screen
background. (See the clip online.)
July 9
Saw Blue Man Group in Boston. End the show by pulling on a roll of toilet paper.
Pretty much how I end most Saturday nights.
July 18
Feature story appears in Middlesex News.
July 20
Media 100 seminar at Compaq. They're trying to sell a bundled solution. Looks
good, but the machine is not the fastest available, and adding a firewire capability
pushes the price up. Wouldn't tell anyone not to go this route, though. Very impressed by
Media Cleaner Pro software (used extensively for the online clips.)
July 22
While on vacation, I consider reassembling the cast to have
Willie and Vic shoot down a giant waterslide. Strike up a conversation with an insurance
agent and quash the waterslide idea.
August 1
My article about scouting locations for Geezers appears on NewEnglandFilm.com website.
August 6
Left work early, never to return.
Saw "Blair Witch Project" to make me feel better. Couldn't believe how
bad the projection system was. Movie was over before I finished my popcorn. Interesting
flick, but I am much more frightened by "The Nanny."
August 7
Attended the independent producer's conference in Providence, sponsored by Immagine magazine, spreading the Geezers gospel.
August 17
Attend an Apple/Final Cut Pro demonstration. No doubt about it, that is the best
NLE system today.
The AC adapter on my Sony digital VCR is broken. "We've got no power,
Captain!" Take it to an "authorized" Sony repair shop in Worcester.
Something makes me wonder about this place. It's a TV repair shop, but I don't see any
TVs.
August 27
Shot second-unit material in Los Angeles. Hey, how did Vic's car get on Sunset
Blvd.?
September 1
My article on digital camcorders appears on www.newenglandfilm.com.
September 7
Got a haircut. Am asked when Geezers will be done. During conversation, the
barber cuts my part on the wrong side. Looks pretty good.
September 8
New Geezers clips online. Three scenes in QuickTime and
RealVideo formats.
September 14
The goofball repair shop in Worcester claims my replacement AC adapter for my
digital VCR is still on backorder, but is headed our way via boat from Japan. I guess with
all the free time they have from not fixing anything, they can create some good lies.
New England is plagued by numerous "Mr. Haney-types" -- unscrupulous
and generally dim-witted ne'er do wells (remember "Green Acres?"). It's hard to
tell them apart from the good people until you've been ripped off.
I call Sony myself and explain that this vacuum tube-head has had nearly a
month to get the AC adapter replaced. They send me one which arrives via FedEx the next
morning. Back in business!
September 17
Hurricane something-or-other blows through during the Jewish holidays. I
continue editing, stopping only long enough to brave the hostile winds and rain for a trip
to Wal-Mart.
September 22
Showed the online clips to some corporate types. I conclude that they are
"silent laughers" at this company.
September 25
See "The Sixth Sense." Awesome film, nearly perfect script.
Think I see some dead people walking around on my way home. Oh, no, it's just
MIT students. Hard to tell the difference sometimes.
October 1
My article on PC non-linear editing systems appears on www.newenglandfilm.com.
October 3
Install NetStudio 2000 on my editing PC. Then I open the huge Geezers file I had
been working on in Premiere and watch it disappear before my eyes.
Uninstall NetStudio 2000. I'll file this under near-Y2K problem.
October 4
System continues to be plagued by mysterious bugs and crashes. I change my
editing process to only work on sections of less than 1 minute each. I will compile these
later into the finished product.
Watch "Swingers" on DVD. That movie is so money, baby!
October 6
Begin to send out "buzz" emails. The first: how is Geezers similar to
The Blair Witch Project?
Blair Witch (BW): Three students get lost in the woods.
Geezers (G): Two old guys get lost on the Massachusetts Turnpike.
BW: The witch made the chick cry.
G: The chick made Willie cry.
BW: The students don't know where they're going.
G: The old geezers can't see where they're going.
BW: The camera shakes.
G: Willie shakes.
BW: Heather pees in the woods.
G: Willie pees on his shoes.
October 7
The system has been fairly stable. I have completed the first 11 scenes,
including music. This also includes the opening "dream montage" that is not in
the script, but which takes advantage of the antique cars we shot on the last day of
photography.
I wanted to use a Bing Crosby song in the "getting ready" sequence,
but never heard back from EMI about rights. Instead, I compile a song using SmartSound for
Multimedia. It sounds nice, and I even wrote some lyrics that I hope to have recorded for
use later in the movie.
October 8
Finish the sequence from where Willie leaves his apartment to where he meets up
with Vic. I take liberal license with the script here, but I want to pace this out a
little faster. The piece we filmed where Willie sees young Arleen on the subway was not in
the script, so using it required adapting the flow and changing the order of some things.
This sequence is done except for the music under the subway scene. From the
beginning now it is 5 1/2 minutes long. And it looks really good!
October 9
Spend much of the day updating this website. Will anyone notice? Did you?
October 13
Ordered a new Apple Power Mac G4 system for editing.
October 16
Talked about Geezers with nine production companies and studios in Hollywood.
All want to see the finished tape.
October 22
The mouse for my new Apple system arrives. The rest is backordered until
sometime after the turn of the century. Oh, well.
October 29
Completed Toll Booth scene. Looks good! (View it on the Clips
page.)
October 30 - November 1
Take a break from Geezers to finish rewrites on "Slice."
November 4
Upload new design to website. Everything must change.
November 18
With only one music cue left to add, the entire system crashes (again),
resulting in a reformatting of the 60 gigabyte storage drive. All the digitized files are
lost into the formatting ether. But we have wisely dubbed almost everything to tape
throughout the editing process, so the compiled sections are quickly retrieved.
November 19
Geezers is completed and entered into its first film festival (with minutes to
spare!)
December 6
Geezers is available to purchase online w/ major credit
card. First orders w/in 48 hours!
December 10
Cast and crew screening (and party until midnight!)
January 2000
New marketing campaigns launch: "Are You Ready for Y2Geezers?" and
"Got Geezers?"
Interest from production company about turning Geezers into television series.
February
New Geezers trailer shown at the Mass Media Alliance meeting. Lots o' laughs.
April 10
Geezers begins week-long showing at www.StudioNext.com
as the featured Million $ Movie. (Anxiously awaiting my million dollar check...)
Early May
A New England geriatrics medical university purchases Geezers as an
instructional tool for med students.
May 13
Geezers opens the inaugural Last Film Festival On Earth in the Boston area.
Movie is well-received by young and old alike.
May 24
Peter is interviewed by Independent Film & Video Monthly about a song in
Geezers that was licensed online from LicenseMusic.com.
Summer 2000
Peter Bohush quoted in The
Independent (from the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers) about licensing
music for "Geezers" from Licensemusic.com.
Peter Bohush interviewed for AvidProNet article, "Achieving
Success as an Independent Filmmaker."
Three distributors request tapes for consideration. "Geezers" is
heating up!
Peter is back in the editing room, tightening up "Geezers" just a bit.
Work is slowed due to a four-month weekday assignment in New York City.
Winter 2000
On assignment in Philadelphia for two months. No work on
Geezers edit.
February 2001
Showed clip from newly edited portion of Geezers, 2001
version, at the Mass Media Alliance showcase. New tollbooth edit was a bit
hit!
March 2001
Back in town. Remodeling studio this week. Have added
additional 120 gigs of video storage and new editing applications,
including After Effects 4.1, Delirium, Premiere 6 and Psunami. Getting
back to work on the updated Geezers 2001 version.
June 2001
Completed the new edit of Geezers (2001 version.) Have
cut out a lot from the opening sequences to move the story along faster.
Added some music and sound effects some scenes, including the toll booth
scene. Minor tweaks and some music cues added throughout. Lengthened
Arleen's final close-up a bit for more dramatic punch. You can see the
trailer and the new toll booth scene online on the Clips
page.
July 2001
Sent tape to Western Disc for duplication. When the
boxes arrive, I discover two serious audio and video glitches in a scene
early in the tape. Send the tapes back (at an additional out-of-pocket
cost of $60 shipping.)
A few days later, a tech from the duplication house
calls back and states that the glitches are sometimes visible when playing
back on their equipment; sometimes not. Since I tested the master tape on
two dv players here before sending it out, my guess is that there is an
incompatibility in our equipment. I will make a new master for duping and
send it back out. This delays the marketing of the final version of
Geezers by about a month.
-- Peter Bohush, writer/director
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