Standing Firm : Blog

While all of our supporters out there wait for a new site, a new trailer, a release date, etc., let me take some time to tell you about what this film is REALLY about.

I’m just going to be honest with all of you, this film is a personal project.  The core of the problems within the story are built around my parents marriage and some things I remember as a kid.  Granted the Lord has graciously held my family together and I have the honor of being the son of two wonderful parents that I love very much and who both now love the Lord with all their heart.  For that I’m thankful.

When we brought in the issue of death and suffering, none of us knew just how hard the lesson would be.  Before, during, and after shooting, the cast and crew went through a lot of heartache.  A week before shooting I lost my grandmother, a month or two in one of my best friends lost his mom, another month later a young woman in our church family passed as well, and many others leading all the way until this past May where I lost my best friend, only days before moving 3000 miles to a new home.  As I wept asking God for a story to tell long before shooting started and the script was written, he knew about the tragedies coming down the line and the exact story we needed to write.  It wasn’t just a message for others who experience the same pain, but for us as well while we created the film.  God war preparing us far in advance.

The more I look at the edit, the heavier the burden feels.  As a filmmaker, you want to tell a story, but rarely is one so deeply wrapped in emotion and history of those involved.  There is an overwhelming realization of the importance of this story.  This isn’t about dollars or sales, recognition or fame…it’s about the parent who lost their child, the wife who lost her husband, and the one who lost his friend, and all the other millions upon millions of people out there who look at this world each and every day, gazing on it’s problems and the evil acts that go on in it and ask…If there is a God….then WHY?

Please pray for us, there are so many things we have left to complete.  We need good distribution for this film if we’re to get it into peoples hands.  We need a score whether that’s from the distributor or a donation, we can’t pay for it.  Personally I’m asking for your prayers, for the film especially but please for me that I can have enough energy to complete it and do my job well.  Unless we get some money from someone or a distributor likes the film when we mail it at the end of this month, I’ll be continuing to work on the film alone…as it’s been in the post-production side of things for almost a year.

How many of you out there have a family member or friend that could use a message like this?  PRAY FOR THIS FILM.

Kyle Prohaska
Writer/Director/Producer

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Here you can see a new poster for the film.  This color scheme and style is what you’ll notice in the new website we hope to launch soon.  The brown, black, yellow, white is a great color scheme that fits the tone of the film well.  I can see this poster rearranged into a great DVD Cover can’t you?

Special thanks to Shaun Smith our Gaffer/Still Photographer for grabbing some great promotional photos for the film while we shot.  Thanks buddy!

Our Facebook Fan Page has grown to 1750 fans or so and is growing weekly! Thanks to everyone who continues to suggest the fan page to your friends.

How To Suggest Friends:
1) Go to our Fan Page.
2) Under the poster to the left you will see links. Click the More button. This will show you more options.
3) Click the link Suggest to Friends, and a box will appear.
4) Click on each friend until you reach the bottom. It will only take a few minutes.
5) Once you’re finished, simply click Send Invitations.

I started working in the morning on the website, new blog design, the cut of the film, and a slew of other things.  The new website for Standing Firm is essentially done, but in terms of a release date I’m still not sold on right now being the proper time.  I don’t want to be hasty.  As you can see, the new design for the blog is now active.  I think it’s much more simplified than the previous and fits the style of the film better, as well as the new website.

You’ll notice the design for the new site, the blog, the new poster we’ll have, etc. all have a much darker tone than previous.  This fits the film a lot better.  Overall the film isn’t really dark in it’s appearance but in story it isn’t the most pleasant thing.  I think we’ve finally found something that fits the dramatic feeling of the film and what I want to get across in all the promotional material and such.  You’ll also notice on the top of the blog a new title design for the film that has a white and gold color, something that will run through all the designs from now on, even down to the BTS interviews and the graphic titles.

I also began work on a new trailer today.  Building a trailer is by far the most difficult process I’ve come across making this film, even more so than shooting.  I’m not talking about stress or physical exhaustion, just the delicate process or creating one.  Shooting an entire story and creating a flow and a pace over 90 minutes is a big enough challenge, with all the characters and subplots developing along the way.  Then after that take it all and try and shove it all into around 2 minutes, feeding the audience the right pieces of information in careful doses so you don’t give away too much but don’t hold onto too much.  They need to be entertained by what they see but want to see more.  It’s just a load of editing decisions.  Creating the flashbacks in the film was no different.  I’m trying to evoke an emotion in 20 seconds or less with a lot of complicated edits and transitions.  It’s no small task, and the trailer is the same kind of thing.  I’ve attempting at making a new trailer before, and what I’ve come up with have been pieces but never the whole pie.  Hopefully I can get something together soon and maybe launch the trailer alongside the new website

I think I’ve found a composer I want for the film if I get the money to pay. I won’t tell you his name just yet but his work is fantastic. He uses sample recordings and real recorded instruments in his library sampled to his equipment so technically all the music although artificially composed is from a real source. It doesn’t sound like synth at all which is what a lot of composers use. I hope the Lord provides a way to use his talents.

More information to come…

Kyle Prohaska
Writer/Director/Producer

Since July 4th I’ve been working on the edit the majority of the day everyday of the week.  There is another film in production (become a fan on Facebook) I’m apart of this Fall so I’m gearing up for that while getting this film into working order to mail off sometime in the next month.  It’s an interesting feeling not seeing anymore scene gaps in the film and just tweaking what’s there.  I can finally start to see what we really have.  There is one location I’m stuck in at the moment, but it’s a small flashback and those are always complicated.  Telling a story in a short amount of time with some clever edits and proper emotion is a tough task so that’s been my major hang up. The cut is currently at 85 minutes and I suspect it will hover around there until completion.

The ADR of the film has been laying in really easily and I think it will be very difficult to tell if there was any ADR done in a lot of this film.  All things considered the ADR was minimal, but in the scenes where we really needed to use it, it’s turning out pretty fantastic.  Kudos to all our actors that re-recorded some of their lines, they did a great job.

A new website is in development for the film and the blog will get a new look as well.  We have finally found a color scheme and concept for the film that works with how the film actually is in tone, mood, etc.  The website will be a basis for almost everything graphics related in the future I think.  It’s come out well enough to translate to the DVD, Poster, Banners, etc.  I’m excited for everyone to see it when it’s completed.  I don’t want to just release it however.  It would be nice to release it with something, say a new trailer?  That gives me another task to complete!  It’s a lot of stuff to be sure but I’ll get there.  The interviews as well that will be released one by one on the website are excellent.  I think they will create some buzz because of their content.  If those don’t get all of you telling your friends then no amount of marketing money will save us.

In regards to finishing the film, we’re still in need of a score.  Right now we are just trusting the Lord for guidance in where to go next.  We’ve been in financial trouble before with this film, right in the very beginning.  Kevin’s fridge, drier, etc. all went out simultaneously causing me to pick up the tab on the rest of the equipment so this is nothing new.  In this case however, the amount needed far exceeds our ability to pay for.  There are possibilities but beyond that we’re just waiting on the Lord.  Investors are an option, and many other things…but until the film is in a more completed form, even with temporary music tracks…we can’t move forward.  Pray that God would bring us an answer sometime soon!  He knows our troubles and he’s had His hand on things from the start, so I feel it’s only a matter of time.

Blessings,
Kyle Prohaska
Writer/Director

We’re continuing to edit the film and lay in any ADR that was recorded.  Each scene is tweaked more and more everyday.  I’m pleased to report that I now have the opportunity to work on the film full-time without anything else eating up time.  In the next month and a half we have to have the film in a pitch-able form for distributors and in the mail.  This is a very important time and we need your prayers to help us get there.  Some scenes require a little more elbow grease than others and are only into their beginning stages of the edit.  This time more than any other, the time is ticking but we’ll get there!

Another huge marker can be placed on the journey of this film.  Cut #1 of Standing Firm is officially completed!  There are no longer any scenes missing from the edit of the film.  Every scene is in either a rough form of some kind, all the way up to locked (which a few scenes already are).  Locked means the edit is done, never to be modified.  This will allow us to start working on sound more aggressively as each scene is locked into completion.  The edit has been in motion every since our first shooting day back in June 2008.  That is a long time to be looking at an incomplete edit so to see every gap filled in the story is unbelievably satisfying.  God has been good to us since the beginning and brought us a long way.  We are so grateful for all of you out there supporting us after such a long ordeal.  We’re still moving along, don’t you worry.  Now it’s time to go into the edit and see what needs to be done in each scene.  Eating an elephant is slow, one bite at a time.

Keep on praying for us!  We have a ways to go yet!

We have one scene to edit before we’ll have a rough cut in hand.  There are a few inserts to put in besides that but after this last scene the film will no longer have gaps with scenes missing to be shot/edited, etc!  I would say about 35% of the scenes are in their 4-9th cut (really close to where we want them), about 5% is locked, and the other % is full of things that are in their very first rough stage, or a second go around after some notes.  We want to have the film in a place we are very happy with in the next few weeks.  I’ll begin doing a lot of the ADR mixing and additions so some of the scenes as well before those weeks are up.  We’ll have a better idea of where to go from there once we see our film in a more complete form.  After 2 years, and a lot of time put in…where has God brought us?  We’ll let you know when we see our film for the first time from beginning to end.  Stay in prayer!

Kyle Prohaska
Writer/Director/Producer

Mike (left) speaks to the youth in Standing Firm

It’s hard to believe how many people have died during the production of this film.  The number is up to 9 now, as of yesterday.  My family buried my grandmother just a week before the start of shooting, and many others in the church family who were close to myself and others on the Cast/Crew passed away unexpectedly during the shooting.  Mike Cooper plays Mike Cooper in the film (awesome huh?).  He has a small cameo where he shares a message with a college group.  Cooper died yesterday when he fell in the Niagara Gorge seriously injuring his chest and head.  Coop was a close friend of many on the production, and yesterday was a big shock for everyone.  Mike was an amazing man of God, and shared his faith with everyone he could.  There is no doubt that the impact of his life will echo throughout the lives of his friends and even the strangers he met for years to come.  We will miss you Cooper, very much.  May the message you speak in the film impact many people far beyond the grave!  Your in the presence of your Savior now, and what a sweet thing that is.  Today is also Mike’s birthday, so Happy Birthday COOPER!

How ironic is it that while we make a film about death, there is so much of it around us.  This film is important, and must be finished.  Death is sure, but we don’t have to be afraid.  God’s timing is perfect, and he knows what he’s doing.  Death where is your string, where is your victory?

Jesus won, so we win.  Please be in prayer for the friends and family of Mike and for the completion of this film.  With every trial the determination to finish gets stronger and stronger.  I’m moving out to LA and the film with me very soon.  It’s been a long year, but we will make it!

Today was the last day of shooting, thank goodness. We all were ready to get this day done. We had very little to do but it took a while to get going. I myself was feeling really bad and had some wicked coughs and junk going on in my throat so that made the day interesting. We got a few shots off after a while but things slowed down towards the center. I could feel myself burning out as the day continued. We lost our gaffer about half way through the day and had to move on and finish the last scene without him. He pre-lit as best he could then had to leave. We got along fine though, the location we chose to shoot in gave plenty of natural light that looks great. Not having our gaffer also meant no sound-man. Shaun (gaffer) has been doubling as the boom operator for over 9 months now with only a few people filling in when needed. We didn’t have anybody to do it. Luckily Kevin Bish, a friend at church was working there and jumped in to help. He did a great job after a really short explanation of what to do. Kevin Michael (Co-Producer) had his cameo today in the film. I knew he would be perfect when we decided to have him do it. Everything came across so natural and real from him, he just talked as he normally would. It was awesome getting such a good performance out of him so easily, I loved it. Great job Kevin! When it came time to wrap we all came in for a big hug and screamed as loud as we could, what a release. I was exhausted afterwards. I’m still drained as I type this. I don’t want to celebrate tonight, I just want my pillow. It was a great last day, no matter how tired we all are…it’s worth it!

2 Years, 60 Shooting Days, 600 hours on set with people you care about, a church with volunteers, a new company, time away from families and jobs, miracles on set, miracles off the set, a cast/crew growing stronger in Christ, 8+ deaths in relation to local church families and people involved, a local community and internet fan-base in prayer, and a little story called Standing Firm.

It was 2 years ago that myself and Kevin Michael sat down to begin writing the screenplay and one year later in the summer of 2008 we began production not having a clue what we’d gotten ourselves into. It was a long and grueling road for everyone but here we are, done shooting. What a process, what a Blessing.

God has been so good to us during this production, more than I could ever explain. We’ve had our really nasty days on this film, and he was there the whole way through pushing us along. Everyone at one point (or many) was exhausted and discouraged but he kept moving us downfield towards the goal. We all marched on with a determination to finish and refusal to quit. When you set your sights on the prize, nothing can stop you. There is still much work to be done to finish the film, now we are in full blown Post-production. The edit is very well along, and the recently shot scenes will go together soon. I’m moving to Los Angeles in 5 days, and will be taking the film with me to complete. My goal is to have a full cut of the film together by the end of June. A lot of scenes within the film are in their 3rd, 4th, or even 9th cut so it’s just a manner of tuning them and transition the scenes, analyzing the pace and making adjustments. It will take me a little while to get settled in and get all my equipment setup again to begin working again but to have the stuff in the bag that ties the film to NY really is a Blessing. I have a little bit of ADR to do with the rest of the cast (very few lines), and three interviews with cast/crew to do which will take place tomorrow morning and friday.

Thank you to all of you out there who have supported this production in the last year and even before that. Our website went live in December 2007 and we’ve gathered quite a bit of attention since then. The internet is a wildly powerful tool to spread the word if you know how to use it and it’s been invaluable to us in letting you all know how we’re doing. Thanks for the prayer as well, which is what really kept this film alive. Continue to pray and support us as we try and get this film further towards completion. We need to find an official composer, we need to finish post sound and the edit, color correction and all the other promo edits and odd things…then the wonderful and long process of distribution and finding an interested party. Keep on telling others!

Buddies for Life

Today was our last day at Kevin’s home to shoot, and it was bittersweet at best.  We had two small things to do but they were very important to the story.  The last scene Eric and Rob did together was up in the bedroom and it went off without a hitch.  They work so well together now.  Eric is a talented guy, and he shows it more everyday.  Today he did something he’d done in the past but because it was a harder scene it surprised me a little.  He didn’t have Rob to look at for his lines.  Rob was preparing for one of the hardest scenes he has downstairs while Eric did his side of their first scene upstairs alone with nobody to play off of.  That really shows Eric’s talent as an actor, able to do scenes without someone to bounce off of, he just creates the moment himself.  It’s great to watch.  When we got downstairs we had some trouble as the speech Rob had to give was serious in tone and rich in meaning.  We eventually got through it and wrapped the day.  It was odd as we started packing up.  I felt very strange, I couldn’t believe we were done at the house.  So many days spent there busy, angry at times, upset, happy, overwhelmed by the power of God, etc.  So much had happened in that home in the past year.  On our way out we got some pictures of myself, Shaun Smith (Gaffer), Rob Reisman (Dave Corwin), and Eric Stevenson (Steven Corwin).  I’m glad we got those photos, I’ll cherish them forever.  Even when I went to lock the door, Shaun and Eric were talking in the parking lot and I walked into the house to stand in the kitchen one last time just to soak in the moment.  I won’t shoot here again, it’s over.  We have one more day left, and it ends at the church.

Eric followed me home to finish his ADR.  We did really well and burned through things like mad.  As soon as we got a process going things moved quickly, and we got everything we needed in 5 hours.  That isn’t half bad considering the amount there was to do.  Not much by Hollywood standards but in this case some scenes had difficult lines that were needed…not just “yea” or “yes” or “no.”  One of the scenes is a COMPLETE dub which means the entire production track will be replaced.  That means not just the lines need to be perfect, but the background noise, clothes rustling, footsteps (synced obviously), etc. all need to be placed and mixed properly to sound coherent and real.  Eric did a fine job and when it was over we had a nice hug, haha.  I’m excited but sad to see him go…it’s bittersweet at best.  He is going to Korea for a year to teach English so regardless of him being done with the film, odds are he’ll miss any premiere or anything of the sort.  I pray the Lord keeps him safe as he travels and works there.  When he pulled out I walked to the window to catch a glimpse of him one last time.  I’ll miss him.

We’re almost done folks, we have ADR to finish with Rob and other small piece lines with 3 other actors, a few BTS interviews to do, and one last shooting day.  I leave for LA to move in 10 days…things are coming to an end.

Today was Dave Gifford’s last day, and a short day.  It was a great time.  There was a lot of laughs on set, and it kept things light and happy.  I’m so glad that the days left to shoot are easy and very low stress.  We had two phone call conversations to do and something that I can’t mention (ruin the film lol).  Either way it was fun and Rob and Dave did a great job.  It’s awesome seeing how much better they are than when we started, there is some serious growth apparent from last year (as it should be).  I didn’t have Shaun there (my Gaffer) to help light so I was solo.  We did just fine and made sure we scheduled the day to be there when the sun was shining in the living room.  We shot natural light for 99% of what we shot.  I love what the Canon XHA1 and Letus can do with natural light, especially in an environment that handles it well.  The camera setup has really been a blessing to us, regardless of whatever problems it might have given.  We really have a top notch looking film here, and a huge thanks to Shaun Smith for helping make that happen.  Overall the day went well, and we got what we need.  I’m always nervous when I say we’re done, because I’m never 100% sure.  This time I have no shot to go back, it’s not possible.  I trust that we got it though!

Tomorrow Rob is coming over in the AM to start his ADR.  We’ll see how he does and how much we can get done in a few hours.  Hopefully we get a good start and only have one more day to do sometime next week.  Friday is Rob and Eric’s last day working together and Eric will be coming to my home to work on ADR till the night.  Whatever we don’t finish will be completed the next morning until we’re done.  Early next week should have us wrapping completely and having Rob’s ADR completed as well as whatever little is needed from others in the film.  We’re very close…very close.

Today was a long day, much longer than we’ve had in recent weeks.  We started in Pastor’s office and stayed there for the majority of the day.  It was fun because Pastor Billy is always a fun guy to be around, and getting him and Eric in the same room creates laughter immediately.  We had to back out of doing Pastors interview because looking at the clock we realized we just wouldn’t finish the day if we stopped to do it.  The other stuff we had to shoot was in the sanctuary and was done very quick and dirty.  I even used the stock Canon A1 on some shots to get them quickly.  Luckily I have matching presets and settings on both so the only thing missing is the DOF and slightly different look of the Letus Extreme on the camera.  Things cut in well though and with color-correction things go together just fine.  Eric couldn’t come over to the house to begin ADR unfortunately because of a scheduling issue (it’s always one of those lol).  It’s a bummer because it crunches time more but we didn’t have a choice.  In a way I was relieved because of how exhausted I was after shooting.  We started at 9 and ended at 5 or so.  That isn’t very long compared to big shoots on other films but for a big shooting day with 2 crew members it can get a big exhausting very quickly.  I emailed everyone to gather schedules for next week…we only have 2 weeks to complete things.  Time is tickin…

Today was a very short day.  We only shot two things, both of which had Rob by himself.  We know we need to come back to Kevin’s house one last time (scheduling this thing has been a nightmare), but we decided to shoot anyways to just knock out what we could.  That way the last day here will be short and easy like this one.  We had to reshoot a pickup actually, something that just didn’t turn out right.  We also reshot one shot from the ending of the film, something I can’t show you.  We matched the light and such to get it to look right, and you can’t tell at all it was shot on a different day.  Very nice job on my Gaffer’s part (thanks Shaun).  We finished the day in only about 2 hours and moved the equipment to the church for tomorrows big day.  We should be wrapping Pastor, Maggie, Deb, and Katy tomorrow.  They should be officially done with shooting.  That’ll be nice to give at least a few people the relief of being finished, with three left soon after that.  Pray we’re able to get the other things done soon.  I have only 20 Days left before I’m supposed to move to LA and I have 3 days of shooting left and ADR with the rest of my cast (small amount of ADR and short shooting days like today, but days none the less).  Please if you’ve supported us all along or you’re just finding us now…PRAY.  PRAY, PRAY, PRAY.  We need your prayers.  We’re so very close…

Today was a very short day.  I was shooting alone at my home with Aaron Slack who hasn’t shot anything in a while.  It was difficult to light but we got it working once we picked the proper place to do the scene.  We spent a long time on his dialog since it was very important and crucial to the friendship between Dave and Shawn in the film.  I think it came out good, and we’ll find out just how good when I shoot Rob’s side of the conversation at Dave Gifford’s house.  We were supposed to have that shot already but as you ready in Day 10’s blog entry, that didn’t happen.  Afterwards we went and started ADR with Aaron upstairs.  It was awkward but I think we pulled it off.  Mixing it will be the key, matching the sound of the other dialog, filling in things with foley, background, etc.  It gave me a good idea of just how long it will take to complete the entire list of ADR for the film, and luckily it’s small.  I hope the rest of this week goes off without a hitch, we really need a home run this week.

I’m pleased to report that the edit is moving along nicely.  Bill Ebel (editor of Fireproof, click here to read his story) sent in his second edit for the film yesterday evening.  It was one of the scenes I was worried about the most so I was very relieved to get an email from him.  Thank you Bill!  Kevin Michael (co-writer, producer) came over to take a look at the edit and we worked for an hour or two.  We got quite a bit done honestly, putting together two things we just shot the previous week.  There have been a few parts of the film that had been put off for a long time that we finally got to but I wasn’t sure how they would go together.  It’s funny when your writing, shooting, directing, etc. that you can still find yourself in the edit bay trying to figure out what you were thinking just a few days prior.  I was commentating my own editing as I reviewed takes while Kevin was sitting behind me watching it all go together.  “Ah tell me I have another take of that” or “walk out of the shot…come on tell me I had him walk out in this take please!” or “come on turn your head, turn your head, YES!” came out of my mouth often as I reviewed things trying to find the proper pieces.  It must be funny to watch. :)  Either way we filled in some very critical spaces in the film and I’m relieved.  After Kevin left I worked on the edit for another few hours.  I took chunks of the film that are complete (in terms of shooting) and started transitioning scenes together a little better.

Besides a small piece we are shooting this Wednesday the last 30minutes of the film is doing very well.  Aside from that, the first 20 minutes or so is almost complete with the first 10 minutes in its 3rd cut already.  Things are really coming together and I praise God for that!  It’s been a long time looking at the same edit being unsure how things will work, if they’ll work, what problems might be there and whether or not we can fix them (thankfully we had the rare opportunity to do that with the re-shoots we did), etc.  It’s fantastic to see things now much more complete with only a few small things missing.

Something else I’m hoping for but I’m not sure if it’ll be possible is to get a few establishing shots of some homes we shot in.  I have some of the main characters home but some of the others are a bit bland.  If the the leaves become fuller in the next few weeks that’ll be possible…if not it isn’t a tragedy.  We’ve had a lot of rare opportunity to fix things on this film, something many others wouldn’t have the chance to do.  God has been good to us.

We will begin tackling ADR this Tuesday as Aaron Slack (playing Shawn) will be over the house to shoot a scene alone and then come upstairs to begin the process of Dialog Replacement.  He only has a few lines but it’ll be a good testing period for us.  If we can successfully complete what he needs to do, it’ll give me a good indicator of how long everyone else will take and help me schedule.  Thursday will have Eric Stevenson (playing Steven) over my house in the evening to work on ADR into the night if need be.  We’ll see how we do!  Pray for our shooting as well this week.  Besides Tuesday, we will be at Kevin Michael’s house for a few hours, and on Thursday it will be a longer day at the church to finish things there for Pastor, Maggie, and Katy.  They will be 100% wrapped after that day!