Taking Down Set for "Dead."

Sad day.  We've gotten attached to Joe and Bruce and their sweet kitchen.  But now we're setting up for the next dark comedy, "The Clown."  Excited to get to know that cast!

Cast of "Would You Rather I Was Dead"

You guys have been a terrific cast!

New title for "Jumble" -- "Would you rather I was dead?"

At almost 7 minutes this dark comedy follows Bruce and Joe through their difficult morning at home. 

I (Laura) am learning so much.  Technically each projects gets a little bit better.

In terms of story -- it is fascinating to get reactions to this piece and others.  I'm always surprised by the many different reactions audiences have to my characters.  To me, my characters are always lovable.  My audiences don't always see it this way. 

Thank you to John Weagly and John McDonnell for lending their amazing voice talents for this piece.

Making progress on "A Jumble"

Have finished filming.  So fun to be back to one homey set.  Now onto finishing a first edit.  Here Joe continues to spray and wipe down a window.  

Best animation at the festival!

We had some laughs at last night's awards ceremony as many of the plates had typos. It was very nice to be recognized. Thank you for a fabulous two days Sandwiches film festival!

Learning so much at Sandwiches film festival

It's been so fantastic to talk to filmmakers today they've been so kind. I continue to learn so much. Humbling and exciting to see the film on the big screen. I realize how much there is to learn.

From today's shoot for "Jumble"

After many delays we got back to filming today.  Love this shot of character "One."  

 

Waiting for our scheduled time but we are going to Idaho! Sandwiches Film Festival Here We Come.

Film Girl Film Festival. We're going to Milwaukee!

The Doctor's Last Day is in the Friday Night 9:30pm program.  Here is the list of fantastic films, mostly directed by women. 
 

"Gardener" gets into its first festival!

We are so excited and plan to attend.

Some production stills from "The Doctor's Last Day"

Been pulling some stills from the film for the upcoming festival.  Fun to go back.  Sobering to see technical issues that I've since learned to fix!  Will be tweaking before sending to this festival. 

Happy News -- First official Midwest screening of our "Doctor!"

We will be able to attend!

Today's challenge --shooting into mirrors

Avoiding mirrors or finding innovative ways to mask our presence.  "One" is still eating in a closeup so no problem yet.

How to help "One" to eat

Character One (that's his name, don't ask us why) has articulated arms but he's not very flexible.  Finding ways to help him eat this morning.

On set for "A Jumble"

Filming has started.  We are back to one location, two characters.  Our goal:  continuous improvement in technique. 

Another challenge: to create a dramedy that offers movement that reveals the subtext, i.e. the psychology of the characters.

New stop-motion short, "The Jumble"

Now that Gardner is mostly finished we are starting on the next project. Creating sets,adjusting lights, and finding props for "The Jumble."

Credit roll from upcoming "The Gardener"

Finishing final edits soon! (Although we never ever feel finished.)  

Can't wait to share with family, friends, and beyond.  Here are the creative artists who share their talents on the film.

“The Gardener”

based on the fairytale “The Stone Cutter”

Written, filmed, and edited

by Laura Lewis-Barr

Narration

by L J. Bee

With special thanks to:

Rick Barr

Aaron Legg

Martina Reese

"Good Wrinkles” Archival footage supplied by Internet Archive (at archive.org) in association with Prelinger Archives

Thanks to these musicians for sharing their talents:

“Be Happy” by Katrina Stone

“When I Get There” by Maya Isac

“When the Sky” by Maya Johanna

“In a Dream” by Mika Sade

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"The Show Must Go On" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

“Lazy Baby” by Andrea Vasquez

“Black Flowers” by Rob Cawley

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Black Vortex" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

“Song for Tom” by Maya Johanna

Thank you to the great artists at Freesound.org

https://freesound.org/s/19554/ gezortenplotz

https://freesound.org/s/266175/ ronanjkelly

https://freesound.org/s/427092/ nixeno

https://freesound.org/s/468452/ felix.blume

Tough shoot on Barbie's yacht

All's well that end's well -- took three different shoots to make this boating scene work.  The cast seemed to take it in stride.

Recent footage from the upcoming "The Gardener!"

Stills from "The Gardener"

"The Gardener" continues to be challenging and fun, with more locations, a larger cast, and an ambitious story.  

Here are some stills.

On the set of "The Gardener"

Now that our computer issues are hopefully solved, I am back to filming.  Looking forward to sharing some footage soon.

Obstacles along the way.

Been working steadily on re-coloring "The Doctor's Last Day," and editing "The Gardener" but have brought the computer to the doctor three times.  Either super slow or once, a sudden black screen, which led to pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth.  Now have a much faster graphics card, which brought me back to the doc for a solid state hard drive.

My incredible computer doctor even came over for a house call when more complications turned up.

But All is Well that Ends Well!

We are back to editing.  

Still from upcoming, "The Gardener"

This maid has a bit of an attitude.  "The Gardener" is much more ambitious that our first one-location short.  We will be traveling to many spots for this tale.  Here the gardener is delivering to a wealthy customer.

"The Doctor's Last Day" to be screened in two festivals this month.

Our first two festivals!

2nd Annual Sigmund Freud Film Festival and Challenge in Tampa on May 5  and 

The Film Collective -- Philadelphia on May 13!

A fabulous voice over session with two Johns

Two fantastic voice talents -- John McDonnell and John Weagley -- lent their grunts, moans, jabs, and dulcet tones to our upcoming stop motion comedy, "Would you rather I was dead?"  

So fun to see them at work.  

We're lucky to live in Chicago where there are so many talented VO artists. 

We will start filming "Would You Rather I was Dead" later this year.

 

Philadelphia film festival has invited our "Doctor's Last Day!"

More details to follow!  We are excited and grateful.

Going Native -- an OFFICIAL SELECTION! - First-Time Filmmaker Sessions Film Festival

We love sharing this film. View it here.

John Weagly joins cast of upcoming stop motion short

We are so thrilled to have John's voice for a character called,  "The Calm One" in our stop motion comedy, "Would you rather I was dead?" 

JOHN WEAGLY has been heard as the voice of HarperCollins/HarperKids Publishers, Wendella Sightseeing and on multiple podcasts including High Country Drama and Lumpy & Sasquatch.  Some of his favorite stage roles include Stefano in The Tempest, Brother Matthew in Monasteries, Curley in Of Mice and Men, Marlowe in Forget Him and touring with Authorized Personnel: A Comedy & Improv Team.