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December 5, 2011
Just completed lighting and videography for Little Ballet Theatre's annual production of The Nutcracker.
Our 1993 collaboration with author LaRee Johnson titled Herstory: Women's Diaries from the Oregon Trail has been digitally re-mastered from the original footage. It is available for streaming or on DVD from Amazon.
Circus Road Films has agreed to represent CRIMPS for purposes of securing distribution. More on that as the situation develops...
October 26, 2011
CRIMPS screened at the Eugene International Film Festival on October 22nd, and was awarded Best Narrative Feature by a Pacific Northwest Filmmaker.
The public screening on September 30 - a fundraiser for the Liberty Theater in Astoria - attracted approximately 180 viewers.
Preview copies of the film are currently being shipped out for consideration by potential distributors.
September 26, 2011
A preview screening of CRIMPS was held for cast, crew and investors, along with family and friends. An estimated 200 people attended, and the film was very well received. The true test will be this coming Friday, when the audience will not have a personal stake in the movie. An article appeared in the most recent Coast Weekend about the upcoming screening.
September 21, 2011
Much happening that is new and exciting. Recording of the CRIMPS music score was a great success. The movie is now finished and the search for distribution begins, arguably the most difficult phase of movie making. CRIMPS will screen for the general public at the Liberty Theater in Astoria on Friday, September 30, where portions of the movie were filmed.
Mick has also performed as an extra in the NBC series "Grimm", currently shooting in the Portland area. Many Oregon film professionals are working on that show, including Christina Kortum, who created the special effects makeup for CRIMPS.
June 20, 2011
CRIMPS' music score is complete and will be recorded in mid-July. Mixing and mastering of the music tracks will occur in early August, and the movie's final sound mix will take place shortly thereafter. The end is in sight. Or maybe it's the beginning that is in sight...depends how one looks at it. The work-in-progress has been submitted to 15 festivals so far.
Mick was interviewed recently for an independent filmmaking blog. You can find it here.
It's June again, so video production has been booming. To date, we've recorded the annual recital for Astoria School of Ballet, Peninsula Association of Performing Artists' production of The Sound of Music, the Warrenton High School graduation ceremony and celebration, three recitals for Maddox Dance Studio and a performance of Alice in Wonderland for Little Ballet Theatre.
April 28, 2011
Release of CRIMPS is still on hold pending completion of the music score. Composer Tylor Neist will be recording professional musicians playing real instruments, which will truly be the icing on the cake of this production. Can't wait! The work-in-progress has been entered into, to date, nine film festivals, with plans for several more. A number of DVD extras have been compiled in the meantime, including a behind-the-scenes segment, a documentary on shanghaiing in Astoria, and a gag reel.
Earlier this month we recorded the annual Little Ballet Theatre Young Choreographers Showcase in Astoria - DVDs are available now - and a concert featuring soprano Susie Godsey and pianist David Carlson in Nehalem, Oregon. Upcoming video gigs include a performance of "The Seafarer" at Pier Pressure Productions in Astoria.
February 16, 2011
A new CRIMPS trailer is now available for viewing.
Mick & Rhonda performed in a production of "Almost, Maine" at Pier Pressure Productions, which featured a stellar cast of actors.
We recorded the annual Romancing the PAC concert, featuring Kim Angelis & Josef Gault, along with several other talented performers.
January 10, 2011
Screen shots from CRIMPS have been posted here. Counting down until the final release date, TBA. Stay tuned!
December 1, 2010
CRIMPS is in the final stages of post production, primarily foley tracks and music. Planning for an early 2011 release, finally!
Three Weeks With The Goonies is slowly growing in popularity. Several Oregon coast bookstores are selling copies, and it is also available in the Oregon Film Museum gift shop. Online sales are expected to grow during the holidays. A second book signing was held on November 27th at the Lunar Boy gallery in Astoria.
Once again, we are lighting and recording Little Ballet Theatre's annual Nutcracker production, which opens this weekend.
October 8, 2010
Three Weeks With The Goonies: On Location in Astoria Oregon is now available for purchase. This book ended up taking longer to finish than anticipated (what else is new?), but the wonderful photos were well worth the time spent! A reading and book signing is scheduled for October 22nd - 26 years to the day since The Goonies began filming. 7:30pm at the Pier Pressure Productions theater in Astoria.
September 10, 2010
Sound effects tracks are being compiled for CRIMPS, and Tylor Neist is composing music. This thing may actually be finished some day...
The Goonies book is almost ready for the printer. The past couple of months have been spent adding some amazing images from local photographers. Goonies fans should be thrilled.
Speaking of The Goonies, Oxygen Productions finally released their documentary, The Making of a Cult Classic: The Unauthorized Story of The Goonies, in which Mick is interviewed alongside Richard Donner, Corey Feldman, Joe Pantoliano and several other cast members.
Mick assisted with installing the stage lighting system at Pier Pressure Productions, the new live theatre venue in Astoria begun by Susi Brown, who was the costume designer for CRIMPS. He is also performing in a production of Glengarry Glen Ross, which opens there in a week.
June 14, 2010
Effects and color grading for CRIMPS are FINISHED! Finally! Now moving into sound mixing.
Mick has finished writing a new book, THREE WEEKS WITH THE GOONIES, about the time he spent on the set of that movie when it shot on location in Astoria in 1984. Currently pulling together photos for the book, hoping for a release very soon. Stay tuned!
Since it's June, video production is insane once again. Annual events include Astoria School of Ballet spring show, Warrenton High School graduation, Maddox Dance Studio recitals, and the Astoria Music Festival.
Mick and Rhonda recently performed in a staged reading of Vesta, directed by and starring professional actor Megan Cole.
April 21, 2010
Effects and color grading continues on CRIMPS (aaargh, whose idea was it to do a feature???).
Recently recorded events include the 2010 Young Choreographers Showcase, a concert for Kim Angelis, and footage for a Clatsop Community Action Team low-income weatherization program promo.
January 12, 2010
Effects and color grading continues on CRIMPS.
Recent events include lighting and sound engineering for the annual American Association of University Women scholarship fundraiser dessert theatre production. In December, we once again designed lighting and produced the official DVD for Little Ballet Theatre's annual Nutcracker performance.
November 25, 2009
Visual effects work has begun on CRIMPS. Meanwhile, we're thrilled to be working with Tylor Neist who is composing and recording the music for the film. We are also seeking submissions of original music to be used in the background of several scenes. For more information, click here.
Recent video clients include Precision Heating, for whom we produced several cable TV spots.
November 9, 2009
Picture cut on CRIMPS has been completed. The movie now advances into the next phases of post production: sound effects, music, visual effects and image grading. After the final sound mixdown, it'll be time for the cast & crew screening. Stay tuned.
June 25, 2009
Principal photography on CRIMPS is nearly completed; we're just picking up odds and ends and a couple of re-shoots to correct some technical concerns. Editing of the footage is proceeding smoothly using the Final Cut Pro Studio software. Once a rough cut has been completed, work will begin on the music and soundtrack. Some good looking stuff in this movie; terrific FX makeup work by Portland artist Christina Kortum, some of which may be seen here (WARNING: SPOILERS!!!).
As usual, video work in May/June has been nonstop, including regular clients Little Ballet Theatre (Young Choreographers Showcase & Festival of Tap), Astoria School of Ballet (Spring performances), Maddox Dance Studio (recitals), Warrenton High School (graduation), Clatsop Community College (graduation), and the Astoria Music Festival (concerts). In addition, we took on a wedding and Mick worked as a PA on a Toyota commercial shooting in Astoria. These days, both our editing systems - SD (ScreenPlay) and HD (Mac G5) - as well as the DVD duplication station often operate simultaneously to keep up with the workload!
April 6, 2009
CRIMPS has been shooting tavern scenes since mid-March in Chinook, Washington. We will continue throughout April, after which principal photography will be about 95% complete.
Recent video clients have included promotional material for Roaring Camp Music artists and the upcoming Young Choreographers Showcase.
March 10, 2009
A tavern location has finally been secured. Principal photography for CRIMPS is scheduled to resume this month and continue throughout April and into May. Due to an injury and scheduling conflicts, the role of Ida had to be recast.
Recent video production clients have included promotional concert recordings for the bands Boundary Road, Carl Wirkkala and the Ghost Town Boys, and Kim Angelis and the Bohemians.
Mick was featured in the Take 5 column in a recent Coast Weekend publication, listing his 5 most influential American movie directors.
December 18, 2008
Location photography for CRIMPS is nearly complete. The production is currently on hiatus for the holidays, as well as awaiting finalization of a location for the many tavern scenes. A number of possibilities are under consideration, but we are awaiting word on whether our first choice will pan out.
Recent video clients have included an anti-drunk driving PSA for Clatsop Community College, as well as lighting and video work on Little Ballet Theatre's annual Nutcracker production.
September 2, 2008
CRIMPS resumed principal photography on August 25th. Scenes were shot at the "Chandler House" location on Irving Street in Astoria, as well as the Skipanon Mooring Basin in nearby Warrenton. We were blessed with overall agreeable weather in what has turned out to be an unseasonably wet summer so far. Hopefully precipitation will remain at a minimum as we attempt to complete exterior shooting over the next month or so.
In late July, we taped the annual production of Shanghaied in Astoria, which we've recorded nearly every year since 1989.
We also recently edited a short promo for ZZTop cover band Texas Tribute, as well as shot and edited couple of real estate video tours.
June 17, 2008
June is typically one of our busiest months. We began with the Warrenton High School graduation ceremony and all-night senior celebration; the edited DVD is distributed each year to the graduates as a gift from the school and parents. The annual recitals for Maddox Dance Studio and Astoria School of Ballet are also in June. In addition, we are working on video projects with clients Playful Spirit Productions and Dark Destinations. And, beginning this weekend, we will be recording concerts for the Astoria Music Festival and conductor Keith Clark.
As the weather (presumably) improves, we are hoping to resume shooting CRIMPS by July or August.
May 20, 2008
Last week Mick was hired to assist with audio for the EPK (electronic press kit) on the feature film THE ROAD, which was shooting for a week in the Astoria and Warrenton areas. The film is adapted from Cormac McCarthy's (No Country for Old Men) Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. After several days of waiting for an opportunity, we were able to record interviews with executive producer Rudd Simmons (Across the Universe, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) and a nearly hour-long interview with star Viggo Mortensen.
April 17, 2008 Production on CRIMPS is on hold pending additional funding. A 2-minute teaser for CRIMPS premiered at The Show, Late Bloomer Productions' annual short film festival in Portland. Oregon Film Magazine printed an article Mick wrote about filming in Astoria.
January 24, 2008 The weekend of January 19 & 20 found the CRIMPS production team at Astoria businesses Coffee Girl, Rusty Cup, and Fulio's Italian Bistro.
January 14, 2008 Principal photography on CRIMPS resumed this past weekend, January 12 & 13. Two scenes were shot at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. While we did not quite have a full crew, most of the primary positions were filled and the shoot progressed with relatively few problems. Fund raising is still in full swing, as the production has yet to secure full financing. Shooting is expected to continue throughout the coming months.
December 19, 2007 Just completed lighting and videography for Little Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker production, the final performance of which was delayed for 2 weeks following the hurricane that hit at the beginning of the month. DVDs of the show are now available. We also recorded the River Theater's production of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. CRIMPS is still in fundraising mode; commencement of full production has been pushed back until January.
September 6, 2007 This past weekend saw the commencement of production on CRIMPS. Though a number of crew positions remain unfilled and funding is still pending, we wanted to take advantage of the late summer weather and grab a quick couple of scenes. It also gave those members of the crew less familiar with film shoots an opportunity to gain some experience in a relatively relaxed atmosphere before plunging into the high-stress environment of full production. Sadly, my trustly little Sony 8" video monitor met its demise on day 2. It's served me faithfully on hundreds of shoots since I bought it in 1991. RIP
August 21,2007 A read-through of the screenplay for CRIMPS was presented to an invited audience at the Performing Arts Center in Astoria. Most of the cast was in attendance. We're very excited about the creative team that's coming together for this project. We've just acquired a new Canon XH-A1 high-definition video camera, upgrading us to HD capability. Coming up this week, we're recording the 23rd annual production of the Astor Street Opry Company's melodrama, "Shanghaied in Astoria", as well as the River Theatre's production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". | |
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