Standing Firm : Blog

Today was an interesting day.  Eric was coming to my house to shoot his interview and give the ADR a shot.  It was to see how the whole process would go and to see what I might need to fix/change before we REALLY give it a go.  We shot the interview first and thankfully sound issues were at a minimum.  At one point the lawncare guys at my neighbors house turned on their blowers for a few minutes and we waited but beyond that the audio came in nice and clear.  Eric did a good job.  This was actually the second time we did his interview because last time we rushed and barely got any footage to use and missed talking about a lot of valuable things.  I was glad to have another shot at it, and it’s always fun to remember things from the shoot.  Even bad things can be brought up but now laughed about because they are long gone.  I think you will all enjoy what Eric has to say.

We went upstairs and I walked him through how the process would go for the ADR.  Just to at least have him give it a shot we tried some very simple lines and he found out quickly that it’s much more difficult than it seems.  Placing your lines perfectly in sync is one thing, matching and delivering performance is another altogether.  It will be a challenge for everyone I suspect that has ADR.  God will bring us through though.  He has so far

I must say it was nice to wake up and work on the film while still being at my own home.  It will be nice to stay at home and work on this thing.  I’ve done it all along with the edit but in terms of actually having lots to do, I’ll be able to do it at my house.  Today when Eric arrived I was unashamed greeting him in a t-shirt and pajama pants.  It was the most relaxing shooting time ever!

The amount of ADR to do is minimal considering how much could’ve been done.  I think God really had his hand on us since the scenes we’ve been reshooting have been some of our problem scenes in the audio arena.  We still have one or two that will be a very big challenge for us (and are outside so reshooting is impossible), but with some time and elbow grease you’ll never even know there was changes.  Sound rarely gets the attention it should in films, I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure the audio is the best it possibly can be.

Later on I rushed to the church to quickly try and grab some inserts I need for the film.  There is a scene that takes place in the sanctuary and a conversation that happens in the back of the sanctuary while a play practice is going on.  This means I need the play practice environment recorded and the inserts to sync with the audio track I lay under everything.  Even the conversation needs the environment track laid under it and mixed so the practice going on is still in motion while the talk takes place.  I don’t have lav mics, so doing things wirelessly wasn’t possible.  Also, Maggie wasn’t there (something I didn’t know) so I was only able to get the shots that didn’t include her.  I’ll have to grab those on a random Sunday when she and I have time.  I hooked up a Hyper-cardioid mic to the other Canon XHA1 we have at our disposal to record the audio of the room.  The Rode NT3 was used for all of our indoor recording and has a very rich studio sound to it.  It also picks up more signature of the room (unlike a shotgun) and that came in handy in some instances (like this one).  I was running around with the other Canon XHA1 (without an adapter so I could move quickly and run all over the place) and grabbing my shots quickly.  How I will sync the shots is I pointed Cam B (the one I was running around with) at someone I know before everyone began, ran both cameras, and had him clap 3 times in a row so I could sync the audio later.  Crude but it works!  Welcome to low-budget filmmaking folks!  Everyone who was there besides Katy (playing Maggies mom) had no idea they were going to end up in the film.  Up until about an hour before I didn’t even think things were going to work out!  I’m glad I was able to get my shots no matter how crazy and nutty things really were.

That’s all for now.  Everyone have a Happy Easter!  Never forget our Savior and what He did!

Even though we are still in Pickups, since the very first day of shooting our edit has been in motion.  Sounds like a long time to edit a film doesn’t it?  Little by little the film has been pieced together with our edit sitting somewhere around 85 minutes with a few things missing.  Our goal was to hit 90 minutes so we’ll see exactly where we end up.  Bill Ebel as some of you have heard is working on the edit currently making tweaks to the cuts of scenes I’ve put together as time has gone on.  Each scene is in a stage of either 2nd or 3rd cut.  Some have gone all the way up to 9 cuts by now (the ending and beginning have had the most surgery).

We are also going to be starting ADR (Automatic Dialog Replacement) soon.  I’ll do a post on that in a bit.  This is all new territory for everyone, so we’ll see where we land.  I was talking to a friend today about what it’s been like making this film over such a long period of time.  I know everyone has their own angle but for me, making this film has been like trying not to trip, except most of the time (almost 10 months now) you have a queezy feeling your in “mid trip,” but your unsure.  One heck of a way to mess yourself up over a long period.  God has been faithful though and He shows me more and more each day how his hand is on this project.  He has slowly but surely been crafting the film from the start.

I’ve been putting together 3 minute promotional videos for each crew members interviews as we shoot them.  They are coming out fantastic, much better than I would’ve hoped.  All of the people involved really have some great things to say and it makes for good promo pieces.  I’m very excited to get everyone’s interviews shot so I can get to work on the BTS Documentary eventually.  Hopefully I can figure out a good point at which to release one of the spots to get everyone’s tongues wet but I suspect I will wait for a while.  I can’t afford to run out of advertising firepower, especially not knowing a release date.  I’m sure you understand!

I’m also happy to report the ending of the film is in the final stages of the edit.  This makes me feel very good as I’ve been looking at it for months waiting to drop the final pieces in to see if it works.  The beginning of the film has been complete for sometime now so seeing now how it will begin, and end and seeing it actually work is a great feeling.  Now I can work my way in (editing) and craft the story inward where it really counts the most.  Thank you all for being along for the ride, there is much to be thankful for.

Today was a solo show.  I didn’t have my Gaffer available so it was a pretty nutty pickup day.  I didn’t have much to shoot but it’s hard doing so much yourself.  Luckily a friend (thanks Ben) was able to come and help me unpack, pack up, hold the boom for me (little audio today), etc.  I held off on one thing planned for the day because after setting up camera and lights I just really wasn’t confident in what it looked like.  I really needed more time to get it right and it wasn’t worth wasting the time.  Luckily we have an opportunity to grab it again in a different location.  The specifics of todays shoot story wise I can’t really tell you as it will ruin the film, regardless it went well.  It was awkward for the two actors to do what they needed, but they pulled it off well.  I also did some handheld today, something I haven’t done more than twice in the film, gave what we were shooting a more “in the moment” feeling.  We also did the interview for Aaron Slack today who plays Shawn in the film.  It went well and we got some great footage of him.  Getting really close to wrapping, only a few days left.

Today was a very short day.  We were at a local cafe (Ashkers in Youngstown, NY) shooting a scene I can’t really explain or I’ll blow the surprise lol.  What pictures I have posted are simply for a tease.  Either way the time went by quickly and we had to shoot fast.  By the time we setup I only had 30 minutes to complete our shots and get whatever angles I thought I might need.  It was run and gun style.  Luckily the footage looked great from any angle so I could move around quickly without changing lighting.  Either way we pulled it off and got out of there quickly.  I was glad to be shooting in a totally fresh location, it was a breath of fresh air.  I really loved the cafe.  It had all sorts of knick knacks, pictures, wooden finish on everything…it was great.  Really added lots of color to the shots.  Thursday we will be shooting another piece of the film that I can’t tell you about or show you pictures of…lol.  It seems like some of these days are just plain top secret.  I don’t want to ruin parts of the story for all of you!  A lot of them involve the ending so after Thursday our ending should be completed.  I’ve been looking at the last 15 minutes of the film for months with everything there but a few small things.  I’m glad that we’ve started getting that completed.  Enough talk before I blurt out the ending of the film! lol.

Woo!  What a day of shooting!  I started at about 8am and didn’t finish until around 6pm.  We had lots of stuff to do today and ended up shooting about 160 minutes of footage.  We also completed a sequence today that was more complex than anything we have attempted before.  It was added to the script in the San Antonio airport months back in January.  We had 4 characters all with 2 positions so we needed lots of angles, lots of coverage, it took a long time.  I also went “indie” style and grabbed a naked Canon A1 without an adapter to get a few shots outside.  They are quick enough that nobody can tell (whooops…cats out of the bag…lol).

It was great, and we had a new actor start today, he did fantastic.  The conversations he had to do I wrote for him because ironically I had the same conversation with him at one point.  I wont tell you the details of the conversation because it’ll ruin the film but he did great.  Very few takes to get what we needed.  Probably some of the most natural acting we’ve captured.  I was moving quickly today as well, really moving along.  We had so much to do I never stopped really the whole day.  Even if I sat for a small moment to break, my brain never takes a break.  It’s almost pumping a million miles an hour when I’m on set, I go into my own little world and it doesn’t let up until I’m done.  Then I crash, like a freight train, lol.

This was our last BIG day of shooting, it’s all downhill from here with VERY LITTLE left.  Everyone is getting very excited.  Thanks for keeping us in your prayers, we are really close to bagging this thing!

We are shooting again tomorrow.  Should be the majority of the day from about 9am (get there earlier to unpack), and go until dinner time.  We have a lot to shoot and there are some factors still left that I hope work out.  One of them includes a short sequence I came up with a few months ago.  I don’t have every shot 100% planned (yet) and I can’t afford to come back to this house or use Eric (playing Steven) again.  This puts the pressure on to forget absolutely nothing and make sure I have it properly planned.  This whole time we’ve been prepping the week of things or the days before.  Once we started behind in prep, your always in catch up mode and never have enough time to really get ahead of yourself.  Prep might be my least favorite part of the process just because the way we’ve shot this film the prep almost never really helps the day too much.  We’re dealing with factors that might normally be under someone’s control.  We are working with a new actor tomorrow as well and I need him to pull this off, I really need him to work.  If he doesn’t, there really isn’t anyone else to do it.  I also chose him because the lines he has to say he said to me in real life with the kind of fatherly tone that I”m looking for…so I hope God gives him a nudge and helps him pull it off.  I think he can do it, but more often than not on this film, thinking something will work often ends in disaster.  Not always so we’ll see what happens.

I think the hardest part about making this film on top of everything else is making it alone.  Yes I have a few crew members, yes I have actors for every scene and locations to use and everything that I could ask for.  What I don’t have is a second person to help with the meat of the producing.  Or someone to just run things by and get second opinions.  Not that I can really trust of course.  Some people I know online have been the biggest help and really given me a leg up in certain situations but while I’ve been cutting the film for instance…certain things you think are OK aren’t and I need someone to concur with.  To tell me “that sucks, fix it.”  I do have people like that but not here with me.  Especially when it comes to designing scenes and making a shot list.  Someone with fresh ideas really helps get the juices flowing.  I come up with ideas simply by re-explaining my own and boom something hits me and I run with it.  So that has made it difficult.  Just having someone as a bounce board (in person) would be great and I look forward to having that on the next film.  I don’t think I’ll work on another project unless I have another producer or something of the sort.  It’s way too much to do alone lol.

Writer/Director/DP/Producer/Editor/Marketing&PR/etc. ????  What was I thinking! LOL.

We only have a page and a half of dialog but the rest of the day is full of shots (most of them for that sequence I told you about).  Cross your fingers, we don’t have many shooting days after this…we really need to finish this stuff!

Today was a good day.  We shot at a house we hadn’t been in since last July (talk about a blast from the past).  We needed to reshoot one side of a conversation because of some issues so we bagged that first 

during the day.  Then there was just one additional shot we needed to add to better tie up a scene later in the film.  I’m glad we were able to grab this one because it was the period at the end of the sentence you might say.  Either way it went off without a hitch and we sat down and did the interview for Joan Golda who is playing Sarah in the film.  It was another fantastic interview and she did very well.  There was lots of great information for her to share and I think you all will really enjoy listening to her.  We will be shooting on Saturday which should be our last FULL day of shooting.  The rest are just half days and shorter from now until completion.  We are really close to finishing things, I’m very excited.

I wrote in the last blog post about eating the elephant bit by bit. Now is the time for us to take a big whopping chomp out of this thing. There is STILL content left to shoot on the film. Yes we know its been 10 months, if anyone has been counting…it’s us. Some opportunities have possibly come up, and no I can’t tell you what they are yet as they aren’t for sure. However it does put us in a bit of a bind. Schedules are starting to get extremely tight for everyone and we are getting forced into corners. We really need all of you out there to pray for everyone involved in the project. Pray for schedules to open and become available, pray for babysitters for cast/crew members so they can arrive on the days required, pray for safe travels to and from the set, pray for guidance in the creation of the prep lists (we can’t afford mistakes any longer), and pray that the film would COMPLETELY wrap up in the next few weeks.

We also have the issue of ADR/Looping to take care of. This is re-recording of actors for specific lines that may have been ruined by bumps in the background, car horns, audio noise, or anything of the sort. All of this must be completed swiftly and with quality. None of us have done this before and we are going to be scrambling to get everything setup properly. I’m revamping my bedroom, removing my closet door, cleaning out the closet (it’s an old house so the closet is larger) and turning it into a location adequate for quality sound recording. This is one of our last major technical hurdles to jump. Pray that this is setup and completed properly. It will require funding…so pray that any funds that are needed would arrive promptly as time is short. (not like God doesn’t know that but I figured I would mention it lol).

Time to get a move-on…keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Bill Ebel (center) on set of Fireproof (2008)

Making a film is like eating an elephant, one bite at a time.  We’ve turned that into an artform on this movie.  So much time is squeezed inbetween things like normal jobs everyone has, families, other business projects, school for some, etc.  Don’t worry, we aren’t leaving all of you hanging.  You’ve stuck with us this long, perhaps your willing to go even farther?

I’m happy to announce the edit it looking better and better.  It seems that God is never done surprising us on this production.  Last year before shooting began I had been in contact with Bill Ebel, on-site editor for Fireproof.  He was a great guy, and was very busy with his current job.  We talked about Sherwood, how much fun he had, and how we were prepping for our film.  We joked “gee wouldn’t it be great if you could be on another set like that?”  We laughed as we both knew he was busy and could never help us out, and on life went.  I kept in contact with Bill on and off telling him about what was going on, sharing a clip or two of footage.  Well wonders never cease, guess whos gonna be working on the edit for Standing Firm?  Yep…Bill Ebel. 

I laugh at how God works sometimes, almost a whole year later since that conversation online Bill has a hard drive in the mail on its way to him and he’ll be looking at what we have so far.  I’m very honored to have him working on the film, and I know he’ll be a major benefit.  Having to do so much on a film makes it rough keeping your stamina, confidence, etc. alive and kicking.  I need to show the film to someone else and go “here, that’s what we got…”  We’re confident that the film will be undoubtably better because of Bills participation.  Pray that all goes well in the next few weeks as we dive into the edit farther.

We will also be getting ready to finish the last few bits (again) of the film.  Like I said, eating the elephant.  I gotta say, it’s nervewracking being the only one steering a story and not only that….over almost a year.  You get very worried and with all the support you get it amplifies your worrying because you now have people to satisfy, not just yourself.  I think God will Bless though, and the story will impact many.  More than anything I’m just thrilled everyone has stuck to their guns to finish it, especially Shaun (gaffer), Rob (dave), Eric (steven), and Kevin (co writer/producer).  It’s been a long road and we aren’t done yet.

Please pray that the rest of this month would see us getting a lot of work done, especially wrapping up shooting.  We have 3 months to get this puppy completed, that is our goal.  Not released to all of you (yet), but to have it in a presentable form to an interested distributor.  Also please pray against attacks from the enemy, as we all normally get hit with something right as we rev back up again.  Satan isn’t stupid, he’s had a couple thousand years of practice.  We need protection.

We need you now more than ever.

OFFTOPIC: Also in case you didn’t know, we’ve also been working hard on two other projects.  Not films (yet…more of that to come later), but websites.  We want to make useful resources for the Christian Filmmaker and for the Christian Film consumer.

PraisePictures.com - Newly designed, this site has been exploding with content in the last 2 months since the 2009 SAICFF.  We are adding articles, interviews, film and dvd reviews, and everything inbetween!  We want our site to be a useful resource for filmmakers who have questions and to read articles on different filmmaking topics written by those who are in the industry doing it!  Please check out our site, the blog, and let us know what you think.  We also have a newsletter, be sure to get on that.

ChristianFilmTrailers.com - We hope to make this website the “Apple Trailers” of the Christian Film world by next year.  There is so much potential for this site to explode.  We are also tying in publicity opportunities for those who sign up to submit their films.  We want this site to be not just a good resource for bigger films, but for the little guy and our prices are set accordingly.  More and more will be added to this site as time goes on.  If your a filmmaker, this site is for you…so take advantage of it!

Today was an excellent shooting day.  We accomplished more than we ever have in one day as far as I know.  The first scenes of the day were intense having both our leads yelling and arguing with each other.  Both went off without a hitch.  This week seems to have both Eric and Rob pulling out some of their best work, at critical points in the film.  God has really had his hand on these past 2 days of shooting, especially today.  The other scenes were completed without problems, one of them having a LONG setup time.  I can’t/won’t tell you why because it’ll spoil the film.  Either way it was difficult but we pulled it off.  Thank you to everyone for praying for this week of shooting.  The next days shoot had to be cancelled for a scheduling problem out of our control.  It’s unknown when our next day of shooting will be to continue completing the rest of the needed portions of the film.  Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.  Just the past two days has accounted for the majority of what is left, and the most difficult.  It’s all downhill from here, and we’re already rolling along quickly.

The edit will continue to be pulled together and the movie is still moving along.  We look forward to the end of the month where we will hopefully be employing a name you might not be familiar with but you absolutely have seen his work.  More information on that will come in the future.

Praise God for these past two days, and thank you to all who were in prayer.

We started reshoots and pickups today.  We were in Dave Giffords house today (Dave is playing John Corwin, Dave Corwins father).  The room we were in all day was the living room.  It had lots of texture and things on the walls, lots of wood furniture and other things.  We shot a conversation between Dave and his father first.  It was really good.  Rob (playing Dave) did a fantastic job.  In a very emotional moment in their 

conversation we stopped to pray over Rob and make sure God’s anointing was on the performance.  It was awesome, Rob did his best work to date.  Dave Gifford did a great job as well, his unique voice really packs a punch.  We were also in the unique situation of recycling lighting setups.  If we needed to point in one direction of the room for different pieces of the film that might be spread out by a half hour or more.  We just put on a different lens, had actors change shirts, and move some furniture.  Then off we went.

Eric Stevenson (playing Steven), drove up from Houghton, NY for just one shot.  The shot was a good one.  It might be one of my favorites of the film.  Nothing like beautiful color and a nice camera movement to brighten my mood!  Unfortunately in the end we did run out of time and had a few small things to get.  We even got down to just me on crew in the end because my Gaffer had to leave.  But that’s ok, me and 

Dave Gifford did just fine for that last hour.  Nothing like flying solo

We’ll be back sometimes later in the month to get the last stuff in this house, and it’ll be fine.  Our Gaffer will be out of town the majority of the month so we’ll be shooting by ourselves that time.  It’ll be my first all day solo experience, definitely need prayer for that.

We have a break in-between today and Fridays shoot.  Friday will be the longest and arguably toughest day of the entire shoot.  We’ll be very economical in our shooting order, including the amount of lighting setups we are required to do.  We will be starting an hour earlier too to make sure we are ready to go over the days plans and pray around sunrise.  This will be interesting.

Reshoots/Pickups have started as of this morning.  Be in prayer that all goes well and we are productive and in the spirit.  Pray that God would move through out cast/crew today as we work and for the rest of the week.  It’s all for him…God Bless.

Kyle Prohaska

Writer/Director

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What a year. Those three words include so much. There is so much that the year 2008 has involved. So many bad and hurtful circumstances. Arguments and yelling, discord between fellow believers, physical and mental anguish, and all things in-between. Many people that have either been close to me or people I know have passed away, more than I’ve ever experienced. I’ve gotten the suit coat and nice pants out of the closet enough times for another decade. This film is going to hit home when its watched by people locally for more than one reason. There being so much death to deal with before and during the shooting of this film only showed us even more that God wanted us to make a movie about death. Hard times on-set of the movie, and stupid piddley things that mean nothing but at that time seemed to mean everything. Yet, through all of it, so much good has come. So many Blessings, so much to be thankful for, and so much happiness and memories, none of which will leave me anytime soon.

There is so much to this past year besides the film, but the film seemed to overtake the rest. The last 6 months especially, mid-summer being the worst of it all. So many things gone wrong, lots of different jobs to do, uncertainty of success and everyone around me asking “what’s next,” when at times I honestly didn’t know. All I had was a story idea, a good idea of what needed to be done to make that idea a reality, and my Lord. The last of those three being the key element and the one that made everything else work.

Why am I writing this anyways? I found myself sitting here at my computer late at night, thinking over this past year and all the things that have happened. I began to cry, sob being the better term. I mean how could you not? I wasn’t crying because of all the bad that had happened or how hard the year was. I was crying because in spite of all of it, here I was, with a film in Post-Production and all sorts of Blessing surrounding it, with a family and a home, a job and a paycheck, and friends and people that care for me. I deserve nothing, I am complete and utter garbage when measured up to the one who deserves it all. I have salvation through Jesus but honestly I never deserved that even, it was free. So on top of something like that I get all this? Good is a sick understatement to the God we serve. Here are all these things I shouldn’t have, and it made me weep. How GOOD is our Lord? How WORTHY is He? How MERCIFUL and FAITHFUL! I feel like all I did was put my seatbelt on and Jesus hit the gas pedal.

What an amazing feeling. That’s just the film, I’m not even talking about the personal things he has done. I’ve learned many things this year. No matter how bad things get, He’s right here where He’s always been…waiting for His children to come to Him so He can give them comfort. How can that not move you to tears? When you really get it, you really understand how much you DON’T DESERVE what you have, and the eternal damnation that SHOULD await you, and yet that’s the very thing that DOESN’T when your God’s child…phew. That motivates me to give God all I have and leave the results in His hands.

Do I know what will happen with this film? Nope. Do I know God does? Yep. His hand has been faithfully pushing my often lazy, unfaithful, wretched excuse for a life down the track, herding me towards the finish line. That sounds harsh but I really hope I never loose sight of what I am now and what I would probably be without Jesus. I need to constantly remind myself what I am in His sight without His Sons forgiveness. I hope regardless of whatever the film does for all of you out there who watch it (assuming God finds us distribution, and if not I’ll Praise Him anyways), that the story behind the making of this film would motivate and move you to do whatever God has called you to do. I don’t care what it is, find out and run with it. God has a purpose for each and every one of you. Find it, and go.

I hope this has message has been a Blessing to you all, and that it gives you a new perspective for 2009.

Ephesians 3:20-2: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”

God Bless & Happy New Year to all of you,
Kyle Prohaska

P.S. - Something I forgot to tell everyone, you don’t need to create a username to comment on our Blog.  At the top of each post to the right of the title it says “No Comments.”  Clicking that will show you a box below the post where you can leave one.  We ALWAYS love hearing from all of you out there, and its a great encouragement to know people are reading and being affected by what we’re doing.

Keeping Christ in Christmas means daily revealing the character, love and spirit of Christ that dwells in you, by allowing these traits to shine through your actions. Here are simple ways to keep Christ the central focus of your life this Christmas season.

1) Give God one very special gift just from you to him:

Let this gift be something personal that no one else needs to know about, and let it be a sacrifice. David said in 2 Samuel 24 that he would not offer a sacrifice to God that cost him nothing.
Maybe your gift to God will be to forgive someone you’ve needed to forgive for a long time. You may discover that you’ve given a gift back to yourself.

Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian who survived extreme brutality in a German concentration camp after rescuing many Jews from certain death during the Nazi Holocaust, was later able to say, “Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you.”

Perhaps your gift will be to commit to spending time with God daily. Or maybe there is something God has asked you to give up, like last New Year’s resolution. Make this your most important gift of the season.

2) Set aside a special time to read the Christmas story in Luke 1:5-56 through 2:1-20:

3) Set up a Nativity scene in your home:

4) Plan a project of good will this Christmas:

5) Take a group Christmas caroling in a nursing home or a children’s hospital:

6) Give a surprise gift of service to each member of your family:

Jesus taught us to serve by washing the disciples feet. He also taught us that it is “more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35 (NIV) The idea of giving an unexpected gift of service to members of your family is to demonstrate Christ-like love and service. You might consider giving a back rub to your spouse, running an errand for your brother, or cleaning out a closet for your mother. Make it personal and meaningful and watch the blessings multiply.

7) Set aside a time of family devotions on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning:

Attend a Christmas church service together with your family:

If you are alone this Christmas or don’t have family living near you, invite a friend or a neighbor to join you.
9) Send Christmas cards that convey a spiritual message:

10) Write a Christmas letter to a missionary.

God Bless & Merry Christmas from the entire Standing Firm team and Praise Pictures!