DEAD WEIGHT

DEAD WEIGHT, TONY MOORE STYLE

2012-03-06T20:05:00.000-06:00

Something we've kept a little quiet, is that we've had an incredible artist lined up to create the variant DVD art. That artist is the Sausage King of Comics himself, Tony Moore. You might be thinking, "Hey, I know that name!" As you should, friends. His art has graced the pages of The Walking Dead, Fear Agent, Battle Pope, Ghost Rider, The Punisher and Venom (to name a few).

We are thrilled to have his talent represent Dead Weight (for the limited edition slipcase), so feast your eyeballs on this!

NEW, FULL DEAD WEIGHT WEBSITE

2012-03-03T22:39:00.000-06:00

We are forever indebted to our friend, and Dead Weight actor, Adam Loper for putting together the fancy new Dead Weight website! Head on over there and check it out. He's done a great job and we are quite happy with it! Head on over there, I think we posted some never before seen photos from production...

http://carryingdeadweight.com/

BREAKING NEWS FROM WTDT 19

2012-03-03T10:54:00.001-06:00

Please share this and help spread the word.

MAKING OF DEAD WEIGHT DETAILS

2012-02-23T19:30:00.001-06:00

I'm taking a few moments away from editing to talk a little bit about why Dead Weight is being released as a two-disc set. Aside from the wide array of special features, such as three commentaries, outtakes, a photo gallery displaying hundreds of Mary Manchester's gorgeous photos, extended scenes and much, much more, we will also have an extremely in-depth making of. This making of, titled 685 Miles To Wausau, will occupy the majority of the second disc. 685 Miles will take you through the entire process of making Dead Weight; from story origin, writing the script, location scouting, casting, production and all the way through post-production, and every other aspect associated with the film. We sat down with not just the cast, but also the crew, to hear the experience of making Dead Weight through their voices.

Did we forget to mention that 685 Miles is going to be three to four hours long?

See, now you understand why we need to release this as a two-disc set. The reason I say three to four hours is because I am still editing it, and will be until the last minute (our deadline to send out the DVD masters is fast approaching). Three to four hours, is that even necessary?! In our eyes, yes. It's important for us to let everyone know what this journey has been like. Not just for Adam and myself, either. There's a reason we sat down with the many members of the cast and crew, because this film is as much theirs at it is ours. Dead Weight began as an idea between two people, and as we near the official release, has blossomed into a project that took the involvement of many to bring to life. We owe it to all those who sacrificed time, talent, effort, sweat, blood, and sleep (just to name a few), and got behind this project from day one, to let their voices be heard.

As you are (hopefully) aware of, Adam and I wanted to make Dead Weight as much of an inclusive project as we possibly could. We've opened up ourselves and the film so you could follow us every step of the way. 685 Miles will now take that to a whole other level. For many of us involved, Dead Weight changed our lives. Sadly, unless you were on set, you will never fully grasp this notion. However, we hope that you'll get a better understanding of it from the 17+ hours of interviews, 5+ hours of behind the scenes footage, and photos… All coming together in a three to four hour making of.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE FAMILY: LORA BARTLETT

2012-02-22T23:50:00.003-06:00

My mother emailed me asking if she could submit her own little story about how she was introduced to Dead Weight. She knew very little going into the script, as John and I generally had an agreement that we wouldn't be talking with anyone about the story. So here is my mother, Lora, and her own personal account of her first encounter with Dead Weight, formatted in her own little script style with very little editing on my behalf... and all extreme motherly biases untouched.

Lora may say she hates zombies, but she didn't have a problem dressing up for the Zombie Walk

My Dead Weight Beginnings

Setting: Early February 2011

Lora's cell phone rings, she checks the ID, it's Adam,

she answers....... They exchange the usual greeting.

Adam continues..... (continued after the break)

Adam, "So Mom, do you want to read the movie script

John and I wrote?"

Lora, with an uncertain enthusiasm replies, "Ah sure!

Drop it off when you get a chance."

Other chit chat about it being a third draft, ignore the

typos and proof reading. -Call ends-

Scene: A week or so passes. Mid afternoon, Adam appears at Lora's

patio door, enters and DROPS 100+ pages on to Lora's GLASS coffee

table.

Lora gasps under her breath but is instantly relieved

that the THUMP wasn't followed by a CRASH of shattering glass.

Adam, "Here you go, let me know what you think." -End Scene-

This is where my Dead Weight experience began.

Not being an avid reader, I expected, as I'm sure Adam

may have, not to finish for several days. I had very little idea of

what to expect but assumed it would be Zombie related, and anyone who

knows me Zombies scare the shit out of me.

That evening I cozied in on my couch and began to read.

Less than 2 hours later I had finished. Seriously? I never got up to

have a smoke? I might have gotten up to pee once but can't remember

for sure. If I did it was fast cause I had to get back to the couch,

I had to know what happened next and I had to correct those typos!

The characters, locations, emotions, all came to life in my

imagination. I felt Charlie's anger, Meredith's strength and fear, and Samantha's
compassion. Giggles, gasps and a HOLY SHIT! For sure a lot of WOWS!

Setting: Lora calls Adam and reaches his voice mail. Waiting for the

"beep" she gathers her thoughts to leave a message.

Lora, "WOW Adam, WOW! That's about all I can say right

now. When you become rich and famous,

you can buy your Mama a new car and house.

Otherwise a T-shirt and copy of the movie will suffice."

Lora hangs up and stares out in to the cold February

evening air from her patio.

She recalls memories of her hometown Wausau, the 3 RUSH

concerts she had the pleasure of seeing, and the cool new T-shirt she

will be getting.

Her thoughts shift to contemplation.

"Hmmmm....... What kind of Car do I want??"

APPLETON POST CRESCENT INTERVIEW + WRITE UP

2012-02-18T10:09:00.002-06:00

Many thanks to Duke Behnke over at the Post Crescent for interviewing us and doing this write up. Much appreciated! Duke has a good understanding of what the main heart and focus of Dead Weight is. The people, the energy, and the Wisconsin-based centric production. We're glad he chose to focus on those aspects when writing the article.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120216/APC0503/120215107/Low-budget-thriller-filmed-Fox-Valley-ready-its-debut

DEAD WEIGHT PUBLIC PREMIERE ANNOUNCED!

2012-02-09T23:33:00.003-06:00

The time has come, dear friends, to finally release Dead Weight to the world. This is a day that sometimes seemed would never arrive, but here we find ourselves. Not much else in life could bring us greater joy than to finally share this film with you.

For date, ticket info, and the rest of the formal press release information, including details on the DVD release that will be available at the premiere, hit the "read more" link below the trailer to view the entire blog post. We can't wait to see you there.

Dead Weight Public Premiere Announcement

Head Trauma Productions LLC is thrilled to announce that their Oshkosh produced feature length debut, Dead Weight, is finally set for a public release. The highly anticipated film will premiere on March 30^th and 31^st, 2012 at the Time Community Theater, 445 N Main St., Oshkosh, WI. There will be one screening each day, both beginning at 8:00 PM.

Dead Weight tells the story of Charlie Russell as he passes through the wilderness in the wake of an apocalyptic viral outbreak to reunite with his girlfriend, Samantha. As Charlie’s journey brings him closer to his destination of Wausau, WI, he must face physical exhaustion, malicious survivors, and perhaps most menacing, his own emotional burdens. With his newfound traveling companions Charlie must attempt to break his obsessions with the past. He must learn to let it go.

For over two years writer/director team Adam Bartlett and John Pata have been working tirelessly to bring Dead Weight to the big screen. They began filming in April of 2011 after assembling a dedicated cast and crew from the Fox Valley, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Dead Weight was ultimately filmed over the course of 13 days in 2011, and has been in post-production since August.

Those who attend the public premiere will not only be able to view the film alongside members of the cast and crew, but can also be amongst the first to purchase the DVD release of Dead Weight. The DVD package will contain two discs loaded with bonus features, commentaries, and a full-length making-of documentary detailing the entire filmmaking process through interviews with those involved in the production. There will also be a limited edition version of the DVD release containing artwork by comic book artist Tony Moore (The Walking Dead, Fear Agent, Venom, The Punisher).

Advance tickets will be available online immediately at http://www.CarryingDeadWeight.com or may be purchased in person beginning March 1^st, 2012 at House Of Heroes Comics & Games, 407 N. Main St. Oshkosh, WI. For more information on Dead Weight and the public premiere please visit http://www.CarryingDeadWeight.com.

Facebook event pages:
Friday: https://www.facebook.com/events/333515666693607/
Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/348088571888368/

UPDATE FIESTA, NOW WITH DVD COVER ART!

2012-02-02T23:37:00.001-06:00

Hey, look at that... we did it again! Two entire months without a blog update. We are terribly sorry for the lack of effort we've put forth keeping you, our treasured fans and followers, in the loop. Please forgive us for this transgression.

The amount of work we have put in over the last two months can hardly be measured by any reasonable scale. I wish we could put into reference all of the feelings John and I have experienced recently, it's nearly an impossible task. But you can bet your ass that I'm going to try anyway! So, without further ramblings of the caffeine-induced variety, I present you with the shoddily constructed and relatively inaccurate Dead Weight progress report, 2012 edition! Tons of words, photos, and maybe some videos after the break...

Let's start by telling you that on January 7th we held the private premiere for Dead Weight. This was a closed, invite-only screening for family, closest friends, cast, and crew to experience the film for the first time. That is the event that took up the majority of the last two months. Now let's rewind a bit back to the beginning of December and work our way towards the private premiere and beyond to the present. Too much has happened to me to accurately recall, but this is what I do know.

During the third week of December John drove up to Minneapolis, MN to visit engineer Adam Tucker of Signaturetone Recording. Adam is a brilliant sound magician that I've known since we were both 18 or 19 years old. He used to come into The Exclusive Company, where I hucked records for three years, and we'd talk metal on a regular basis. Adam has also been in some great bands that I've been a fan of. He co-founded Signaturetone a few years ago and has been cranking out unbelievable sounding records ever since. Adam would become our main man for mixing and mastering the film's audio!

Along for the ride, er, well, driving actually, was Nicholas Elert, Dead Weight soundtrack composer and general fellow awesome nerd. They spent three solid days up there handling the mixing and mastering of the audio for the film, which we are incredibly happy with. I wish I could've tagged along, the video footage I've seen looked like a total blast. Except, of course, for the time their serpentine belt blew on and they were stranded in the middle of nowhere.

After finding a place to crash after calling friends of friends of friends, they made their way to Minneapolis the following day and partied down with Tucker. By "partied down" I mean they watched him do this for countless hours.

Tucker, casting spells and reciting incantations. A wizard of the aural realm.

After that it was time to lay the audio in alongside the video of the film and finish cranking out the color correction stuff with Derrick Carey. What a nutball that guy is, in the best possible way. Derrick worked some true withcraft upon our film and has done the impossible in bringing the scenes together to meet our color palette. John's definitely including the color correction business in the full-length making-of, you are not going to believe the things Derrick did to hit our high mark.

The holidays were, of course, nutty for everyone, and there were still many minor adjustments to be made before we hit the private premiere date, so John was bustin' ass to make that happen. As the date approached we realized that there was no way we would be able to render and export a DVD of the film in time for the screening (45 hour render/export... how is that possible?!). At that point we decided we would need to go ahead and stream the project film from the editing program in Derrick's computer. Surprise! Dead Weight curse time!

In a couple paragraphs I will now summarize hours of near vomit inducing anxiety. I am grateful that John didn't even call me to tell me about half of this prior to the premiere, I would've cried. John, actor Joe Belknap, color correction artist Derrick Carey, composer Nicholas Elert, and filmmaking friend Danny DelPurgatorio (seriously, watch out for OTHER, I finally got to see it this week... intense), arrived early at our private screening location to get Derrick's computer set up and ready to rock. They loaded in and booted up very early as to allow for time to address any possible issues. Oh, cool, the project file on the computer decided to just take over an hour to load and confirm all of the files. That is something that never happened in the history of the film's color correction process, of course it happens before the premiere! So after that agonizing period of time, the film finally loads, and the computer absolutely refuses to allow the film to go into full screen mode via the projector display! Danny DelPurgatorio to the rescue with some tape to affix a business card to the glass in front of the projector so the viewers would not be able to see the editing program's project timeline.

Next up, audio problems! Let's just say that without audio commander Nicholas Elert our brains would've exploded in our tiny human skulls. The audio input at the theater wasn't properly grounded. This basically means there was a loud and distracting buzz over all of the audio. Cue vomit! Mr. Elert expertly addressed the issue and worked with venue staff to find a solution (which basically entailed Nicholas digging through their cable/adapter closet making all sort of strange thinking noises), although he was entirely unhappy with the fact that the audio was projected in mono. Sorry, buddy! It worked, regardless, the buzzing was gone!

Lead actor Joe Belknap looked like this for about two or three hours while everything in our lives exploded.

The entire night went amazingly well, after all of that chaos. We had some minor issues with the project file lagging from the computer during the screening, but in the end we couldn't have been happier. I told people that if things would've gone smoothly early on then I would've been worried. Since everything imploded I was entirely at ease with how the evening would go thereafter. That's how Dead Weight works, friends. Problem solving forever and ever.

The crowd responded exactly how we had hoped, a huge relief and an unbelievably motivating evening. John and I had both been running low on energy prior to the private premiere. Seeing everyone so happy and hearing all those kind words, that refilled our batteries. A new fire had been lit within us and our drive to finish was stronger than ever.

After the private premiere we made plans to begin recording commentary and interviews (for the making of feature). Seeing the core of the Dead Weight family together again to experience and discuss the film together was something beautiful. I will never forget that night we spent in Milwaukee with the actors.

Yes, we know half of those microphones probably weren't necessary. We never claimed to be recording engineers.

It was after this commentary session that John then spent about a week in Milwaukee, WI and Chicago, IL interviewing many of the people involved in the film. I've seen select footage from those interviews (there are hours of footage logged) and there is some great footage in there, both touching and hilarious. We've been beyond fortunate to work with this people that gave so much to us to create this film, together. I personally can't wait to see what John comes up with for the making of feature, which is currently titled 685 Miles To Wausau. We're both looking forward to hearing these people to tell you their Dead Weight stories, show you the voyage through their own lens. Theirs are the journeys that made ours a reality.

I'm assuming this is the point at which Joe makes fun of the way I talk when I'm all riled up.

Actor Aaron Christensen. Who should be charged in criminal court for shaving his inhumanly awesome beard.

That gets us caught up to the present. John is back in Oshkosh and we have resumed our weekly meeting schedule. The big thing this week is to handle revisions to the DVD artwork design John initiated. I myself am about to sit down and begin transcribing the entire film so it can be translated to Spanish and French so we have subtitles alongside standard ol' English. The actual film dialogue changed so much on the fly during filming that the script's written words on paper, although still accurate to our story, differs frequently from the actual spoken words in the film. John will continue conducting interviews and logging footage to begin editing the feature. Nearly all of the other bonus features are complete or near-complete. This double DVD will be no skimpy package, people will get their money's worth!

So there we have it. My caffeine is wearing off and I have hours of transcription work to do before the night is over. Time to throw a fresh kettle on the stove and put the nose to the grindstone. Dearest friends, fans, followers, and family. Thank you for taking this trip with us, regardless of the point at which you joined. This phase is almost over and we're gladly moving on to the next. Dead Weight, the deluxe 2xDVD package, coming April 2012. Public premiere announcement coming soon.

The Dead Weight 2xDVD cover.

LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE, SHALL WE?

2011-11-28T23:43:00.000-06:00

Oh, foley work… If you're not sure what foley is, it is, simply put, re-creating everyday (and not so everyday) sounds to use in a film. When filming, you concentrate on getting the best possible audio for the actor's dialogue. Doing so, there's a lot of additional sounds that you don't capture, so you need to replace them.

Our foley list consisted of over 300 separate sounds. However, one entry on the list could have been, "Group Footsteps". Could have been?! Who am I kidding, that entry appeared multiple times. Most of the time, "Group Footsteps" implied four to five of our characters walking on different terrain; grass, concrete, leaves, hardwood floors, and/or snow. So one item on the list might have actually been five separate sounds to create one overall sound. Make sense?

Now, we didn't go out and actually walk around in the snow to get the right sound. In fact, the only sounds we recorded outside were the sounds of a car. Everything else was recorded in our recording studio, aka my bedroom. Here, we recorded everything from the sound of a hand going into a backpack, cocking a gun, walking in the snow, a roaring campfire, and gore sounds (just for example, there were tons more).

How in the hell did we record snow and a campfire in my bedroom? Well, the fun of foley is figuring out what resources you need to get the sounds that you want. We're not going to give away all of our secrets, but walking in snow was recreated by placing rice and cornmeal in a leather pouch, and squeezing it for every step. The campfire consisted of potato chips and saran wrap, and fruits and veggies were used to make some gross gore sounds.

Adam and I, along with our good friend Scott, spent three days, twelve hours a day, capturing these sounds. Then, I had to go through and place each sound in the film, being sure it fit with the video. At the moment I have about 75% (if not more) of the foley in the film, and have probably spent well over thirty hours doing so. Seems like a lot of tedious work, doesn't it? It is, no doubt about it. However, foley makes a film. Correction: sound makes a film. Audio is equally as important as your video, if not more. You could have the best looking film in the world, but if the audio sucks, no one will sit through it.

To help better illustrate what we did, here's a nice little clip of the pros making foley. Adam was so inspired by the guy wearing ruby high-heels, he insisted on wearing them everyday we recorded foley… even if we didn't need footsteps. Okay, that may or may not be true.

PROGRESS REPORT

2011-11-16T11:36:00.001-06:00

We just wanted to take a moment to give everyone a brief progress report on where we're at with the film. I realized that the blog gets a lot of long, elaborate posts, while we don't necessarily explain much about where we're actually at with the film. So here we are!

This is the to-do list, this is all we have left. That is weird!

- Color Correction
As detailed in John's great blog post!)

- Foley and ADR placement
We've recorded almost all of the foley and ADR, just a couple quick spots we need to hit and then it's all captured, just needs placing!

- Score
Nicholas Elert has about 15 days as of today, to finish this beastly score. We know he'll do it, and it will be awesome. More about Nick here.

- End Credits
We recently had a hiccup with the progress on getting the credits handled, but we're back on track. Not like it's going to take a lot of time, just a lot of typing and then proofreading.

- On screen graphics
Alongside the end credits, had a recent hiccup in progress. As of today we have Eric Arsnow, who has worked on Screaming in High Heels, Sleepless Nights, and Swamphead with our color correction wizard, Derrick Carey. Eric did the opening credit sequence for Swamphead, so if you've seen that then you know he does great work. Special note: THIS IS NOT CG. There is a single scene that requires some graphics, that's what he's handling.

- Audio mix and master
There will be a huge blog post on this guy in the future, you'll all have the chance to get to know an old friend of mine, Adam Tucker. Adam runs Signaturetone Recording in the Minneapolis area, and has handled mixing and mastering for many of the releases I've done on my record label.

- B-Roll
This is basically filler video, essential to the visuals of the film, but without dialogue or anything. We had to wait until the trees were bare so this footage would match our initial filming conditions back in April, so these past two weeks have been perfect. We were even able to send our still photographer, Mary Manchester, out with a DSLR to grab some 1080p video during that snow last week. Party time! Just a couple more we need after the snow falls again.

- Pick-Up Shot
A single segment we need to grab to accent a scene we already filmed. We have the pleasure of working with Milwaukee actor Joel Kopischke on this, who was suggested to us by Dead Weight actor Reva Fox. Great lead, Reva!! We will be filming this on Friday, once again enlisting the help of Mary Manchester.

That's all! Then on to bonus features! We can't believe we're almost there.

We're both glad the to-do list doesn't look like this anymore!

OTHER TRAILER AND INTERVIEW

2011-11-16T01:07:00.001-06:00

In my last blog, "The First Taste of the Big Screen", I mentioned the short film, Other, which screened after our trailer at Terror in the Aisles. Well, today was a big day for Other, as the official trailer was released, as did a great interview with director Danny DelPurgatorio, courtesy of Beth from Icons of Fright.

Be on the lookout for an interview of Adam and I on Icons of Fright, coming soon. Guess you don't really have to be on the lookout for it, as you know darn well we will post the links.

IT WILL BE CRUSHING

2011-11-12T04:41:00.001-06:00

There is one crucial aspect of a film that can make or break a viewing experiencefor me. Music. I’m sure you’ve been in the position where you’re taken entirelyout of a scene because of some piss poor choice in music. I know it happens tome more than I care to think about. This is something we’ve been absolutelyconscious of throughout the entire film, and one big reason we can’t wait tofinish everything up. We know the music is going to play a huge roll in drivinghome the intensity and emotion that we wrote and the actors delivered. It’sgoing to round out the story and put that nice shine on the smooth parts, anddirt on the gritty parts.

We knew at once that Dead Weight would be a film that required a score, not unrelatedlicensed songs. Although there will be a couple scenes that feature songs bybands you may or may not know, the film really needs a dedicated, composedsoundtrack to achieve the feel we are looking for. Throughout pre-production wereached out to a few different people I’ve met throughout my years working inmusic that may be able to contribute something, or score the film entirely.With one of them we were actually making some progress, but discussions sort offell apart and it was obvious it wasn’t going to work out in the end. Rightaround that same period I received an email from Milwaukee musician Nick Elert.

Nick is someone I’ve come to know well after seeing hisband, Northless, play a few shows and by eventually releasing one of theiralbums on my record label. Northless is a heavy band. Actually, heavy doesn’teven do them justice. Northless are the heaviest band I have ever seen, heard,or been sonically assaulted by. I’ve seen them play alongside some incrediblebands, and they always steal the show. Nick plays guitar in Northless, and thescowl on his face while they execute the most intense misanthropic sludge metalI’ve ever heard, that scowl is something to behold. I knew Nick was a great guyand a great musician, but a great composer of soundtrack material? Well, it wasworth a shot.

Little did I know that in addition to performing pummelingriffage, Nick focused on a lot of ambient & soundscape music. So, it turnsout Nick is indeed a great composer… fantastic, even. But beyond the fact thathe knows how to put together great sounds, he also truly grasps the themes andideas of our film. He understands that the music needs to compliment thosethemes, cue the viewer and work side by side with the visuals to deliver thestory. This is something neither John nor myself really understood how toexplain, but Nick picked up on immediately. And that is key. Nick connects withus, sees the story the same way we do, and knows exactly how to tell that storywith us. That’s what makes us endlessly happy to be working alongside him.We’ve really given Nick free reign to run with the soundtrack, because we trusthim completely. There have been VERY few soundtrack demos that John and I havehad to send back to Nick for changes once we all settled on the film’s musicalaesthetic. He has been hitting the nail on the head scene after scene. When wecan even hear a single demo for a scene and respond with an email where we tellhim it’s “fucking perfect,” then we know we’ve found the guy for the job.

On top of all that music talent, Nick is also a nerd, andthat’s a very important part of being involved in Dead Weight. So many of us are so dorky, especially John and I,so if you’re going to work that intimately with us, you need to be able toconnect and communicate using our language, which Nick does. It’s pretty muchsafe to say we love him, and there’s very few people that could work with us onthis level. We can’t wait for you to hear what he’s come up with. We couldn’t behappier to have Nick along for this storytelling adventure.

Nick has most recently begun work on the song for the endcredits of the film. Which is something that John and I have been strugglingwith the idea of for months… perhaps a year? Nick sent us an email yesterday inwhich he tells us “it will be crushing,” and we know to have no worries, Nickwill deliver.

FIRST TASTE OF THE BIG SCREEN

2011-11-11T01:07:00.001-06:00

Without a doubt, we were on a high after "Through A Still Lens". After all, it was the first time we did anything public with the film. For the previous two years, Dead Weight only truly existed in our heads, on paper, in our (the cast and crew) experiences, and in world of the internet. Taking the film, be it just production photos and the trailer, to the public was satisfying and mind-blowing beyond belief. What would happen if we took it out of state?! Gulp…

Towards the end of September, we were contacted about showing the trailer for Dead Weight at Terror in the Aisles 9. TITA is an ongoing mini film fest held at the gorgeous Portage Theater in Chicago, which features older and modern class horror films with special guests, vendors, and so much more. Since we aren't morons (well, most of the time), we said of course! Then we were told the trailer would be showing before Shaun of the Dead, with Dance of the Dead and Demons showing later. Then the last minute addition of An American Werewolf in London with star David Naughton in person was enough to cause a nerd overload for yours truly.

Adam, his wife, Cari, (lead actor) Joe, Scott and I pile in Adam's tiny car and trek to the Portage, where we met up with actress Michelle Courvais, producer Dan Kiggins, crew member Coye Vega and many other close friends. We set up a table with the photo cards, buttons and t-shirts for sale, and were on hand to talk to interested ears about Dead Weight. The night was going just fine, then we got the heads up, "Trailer goes on in 20 minutes". Oh, boy. This is for real, isn't it? Premiering the trailer at the photo exhibit was definitely nerve racking, but going into a theater full of people we don't know, let alone in Chicago, was a little different. However, I was also quite excited because this would be completely pure and genuine feedback. Adam, Michelle and I sat towards the back of the theater, awaiting to see the Head Trauma Productions logo fill the screen, knowing what would follow for the next two minutes and six seconds.

Then it happened. And I felt my stomach slightly climb up into my throat, then Michelle's grip tighten on my shoulder. However, twenty seconds in, all nervousness went away. Why? Well, to be honest, I was kind of in disbelief. First of all, the footage looked GORGEOUS on the screen, no joke. Not only that, but for the first time I was viewing the trailer not as something I cut together, not shots from a film I have seen just about everyday for the last six months, but as something foreign. I can't exactly explain the way it felt. But I almost felt removed from the project, it was hard to fathom that for every shot in the trailer, Adam and I stood right next to the camera. I could ramble about how odd it felt, but let's just say this: it felt amazing! In the row in front of us, one guy tapped his buddy on the shoulder and said, "This looks really good". When it ended, there was a loud applause. Adam, Michelle and I looked at each other, and without verbally saying it, our faces said it all. "Holy shit."

Adam and I went back to the table immediately after the trailer played, and got to talk with some really great people who were interested in the film. Shortly after, Joe, Michelle and Scott joined us, but not without saying how awesome the short that followed the trailer was. They said it was called Other, and was a really solid horror/sci-fi short. To be honest, Scott and Joe were somewhat freaking out about how good it was. They didn't want to say much, as they were hesitant about spoiling anything. So, really, all I knew was that Other was super rad and I should see it.

Some time passes and another lad, Danny, steps up to the table and starts complimenting the trailer and asking more about the film. I oblige him, and probably talk longer than I needed to (surprise, surprise). In conversation, he mentioned he had a film show tonight, as well. I ask which, he says Other. "Oh, really?" I say, and proceed to inform him how Joe and Scott were nerding out like crazy about it. Now I start asking questions about the film, and am even more amped to see it. I ask the standard question if he's worked on anything else. His response starts with "Yeah, I did directed an animated film for Warner Bros. a few years back… It was for the Watchmen film, Tales of the Black Freighter." [record scratch sound effect here] I'm sorry… What?! Let it be known, that many of us involved in Dead Weight (Adam, Joe, composer Nick Elert, myself) are huge comic book fans. And the dude who directed The Black Freighter really liked the trailer for the film?! Um… Uh… I don't even know what to say.

Throughout the rest of the night, I talked a lot with Danny, about Other, Dead Weight, and plenty of other flicks, too. However, it was abundantly clear that he was a fan of the trailer and super pumped about the film. I don't mean to undermine the feedback we got from anyone else, not by any means, but this was totally surreal. After a stop at Pick Me Up Cafe, which involved me feasting on a big burrito, we hopped back in the car and left Chicago jazzed up beyond belief. Huge thanks to Rusty for asking us to be a part of the awesome event, and everyone who watched the trailer, liked it, said hi, expressed interested, and/or picked up a shirt!

Then came Saturday, and not just any other Saturday either, but the day of the second Oshkosh Horror Film Festival. The OHFF showcases 12 hours of Wisconsin made horror films, and celebrates all that is horror in this beautiful state I call home. We got back from Chicago around 4am, and by 10am I was at the theater, where I remained for the next 15 hours. Needless to say, it was a long, yet incredibly fun and exciting day. The energy of running the fest kept my blood flowing (and me awake), and the TITA experience definitely helped out, too. Early on in the day, a few people asked if we were going to show the Dead Weight trailer. Now, the OHFF is an event I organize, and Adam runs the projection room. In short, we are the two main people behind it. Previously, we both agreed we did not want to show the trailer at the fest. We are not bashful about promoting the film by any means, but it's a little different when you are in charge of an event. We didn't want to give off the wrong impression. But, people kept asking, and we stood our ground for a while, and then finally gave in. Completely last minute, we showed the trailer before the last block of films. At this point, there was well over 200 attendees in the crowd. I had similar pre-trailer feelings as the night before, but once again, all was fine once the trailer was over. This night proved to be just like TITA, with a truly positive response. Many people had already seen the trailer, on their computer screens, not the big screen, though. And, there were those who saw it for the first time, and seemed to like what they saw. Which, this probably goes without saying, is such a satisfying feeling.

The weekend of Oct. 21 and 22 will go down in the books as the weekend where Dead Weight ruled the world. Well, at least two theaters. Wait, no, at least in our heads. Yeah, that's it. Seriously, though. TITA and the OHFF delivered a realistic kick in the ass for us. So much of Dead Weight has been in my office, aka bedroom, as I work on the film day in and day out. Then we have two unbelievable and overwhelming positive public outings? This isn't being cocky or full of ourselves by any means, this is being honest: We know there are quite a few people who are excited to see the film. And, I've said this before, but trust me. After these two theater experiences, we are even more excited than we were before. Can't wait to sit in the theater with you all.

Oh, and seriously, be sure to keep up with Other (they're on the facebook, too!). Vitamin Pictures is getting ready to premiere the finished film in December, and will be traveling with it throughout 2012. Granted, I haven't seen the film yet, but after talking with Danny during TITA and many times after, I can safely and confidentially vow for him and the film. Plus, let us not forget how uber gaga Joe and Scott were about it.

Adam, Joe, Dan, John, Scott, and Michelle at Terror in the Aisles 9.

NEEDS MORE BEAUTIFUL COLOR!

2011-11-10T21:34:00.002-06:00

Don't be deceived by the lack of activity on the blog, friends. That's all about to change. Part of the reason things have been quiet on our end is that we've been working like mad to finish up the film. Believe it or not (I know we can't), but the end is not only near, but in sight!

In fact, just last Friday (Nov. 4), we sent the film out for color correction. A few people have asked me just what that means; color correction. Well, quite frankly, it means just as it sounds. It's the process of getting all the scenes to look similar throughout the entire film. For example, our main cast of survivors wear the same clothes for the duration of their journey, and different lighting can make Dustin's grey jacket look a little more blue, or lighter, or darker. Color correction provides a consistency from scene to scene.

We are also using color correction as a strong, visual device in the film. Well, more so than usual. Some know this, some don't, so I am going to "spill the beans" now. There are two timelines in Dead Weight. We call these the present and flashback timelines. The present timeline is the post-outbreak time period, when the world has moved on. The flashbacks show the relationship of our two main characters, Charlie and Samantha, before the outbreak. Adam and I discussed early on that these two timelines needed to look completely different from each other. To achieve that, we did two things. First, we set a color palette for both. All wardrobe in the present timeline consisted of dull, earthy colors: greys, browns, darker greens and blues, etc. In the flashbacks, our characters wear brighter, livelier colors: reds, oranges, yellows, light greens, etc. As you'll see in the raw footage (the trailer contains NON-corrected shots), this worked successfully. However, there are aspects we can't fully control, and we wanted to push the feel even more so… enter color correction. The images in this entry contain a pairing of the same frame twice. The first is the original, raw colors, with the second being the graded frame from our DP, Travis, worked on to give our color correction guy a starting point. Hey, speaking of this magical color correction guy, who the hell is he?

It's my pleasure to introduce the most recent addition to the Dead Weight family, Mr. Derrick Carey.

Derrick's another super talented cinephile from the Fox Valley, and when the thought of bringing someone on board for color correction, Derrick was the first person I thought of. Derrick's had a great year for film thus far in 2011. Just this summer, the documentary Derrick edited, Screaming In High Heels: The Rise and Fall of the Scream Queen Era, written and directed by Jason Paul Collum (another cinephile from Wisconsin), premiered at Flashback Weekend. Screaming showcases the career ups and downs of three fantastic (yet typically screaming and scantily clad) ladies; Michelle Bauer, Linnea Quigley and Brinke Stevens. If anyone picked up the badass Slumber Party Massacre box set that came out last year, Derrick also edited the documentary on there (another one Collum wrote/directed), Sleepless Nights. Also this year, right before Derrick started working on Dead Weight, his most recent endeavor was Oshkosh's very own Swamphead (released through his Rabid Child Films), one Derrick edited and produced. We premiered this one at the Oshkosh Horror Film Festival, and the packed house went nuts over it. If you like your horror to be dirty, sleazy, vulgar, and bloody, Swamphead is up your alley. Think early Hershel Gordon Lewis mixed with 80's Troma.

Derrick's stepping right out of the swamp and into the cold, vast world of Dead Weight, and we couldn't be any happier to have him on board. Just yesterday I saw the corrected opening scene, and just when I thought the image couldn't look any prettier, Derrick proved me wrong.

Oh, and I should point this out, too. The title of this entry, Needs More Beautiful Color!, is a little nod to my painting professor from college, Li Hu. Li was not only one of the kindest and most talented people I have ever gotten to know, he had one of the best taglines ever. "It's pretty good… but I think it needs more beautiful color!" Ask any of his students, he always said that. But, you know what? He was always right. So, Li, don't worry, we are giving the film more beautiful color! I promise.

WORDS ABOUT MONEY, AND AN INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY.

2011-11-09T23:19:00.007-06:00

There is one thing that both John and I have come to terms with, independent of each other, but through a similar progression of thoughts and life decisions. We will never be rich. We will never be anything more than hard-working, lower-middle class kids from the Midwest. We’re just fine with that. Our minds work in a similar fashion, our motivations and desires are similar, and all of it coincides with a lifestyle that puts others before our selves in almost every aspect of our lives. This, of course, creates a problematic situation when it comes time to fund an independent film!

Despite our good fortune of having so many gracious friends to donate their time and energy, there is still a need for money to make art, particularly film. The goal of a filmmaker is to create a believable universe where their story exists. It is so much more complicated than just giving people words to read in front of a camera, you need to breathe life into the world in which these characters live. To do this, you need money. Bottom line, we needed money.

I’m not going to give you a grocery list of expenses from our budget, determined in pre-production, but the total of that list was high (by our personal standards). For this we needed to turn to others in order to raise some cash. We debated doing the entire Kickstarter thing, and decided that their fund raising system wasn’t something we wanted to use for Dead Weight. It was important for us to raise the money independently. Pride? Maybe, but we're prideful assholes, at least we can admit it.

If you take a look at the list of executive producers on our newly approved IMDB page, you’ll see a whole list of names in the full list of cast and crew, some of those people are executive producers. These are a few of the people who have faith in our concept and believed in our ability to make it a reality, and a few of the people are in a financial situation that enables them to support us. All of these people are responsible for giving us the chance, and without them we wouldn’t be here, nearing completion on the film. These folks are all individuals that have come into our lives in a variety of ways, and there is one in particular I want to focus on in this blog post, Nancy Cremer.

Jon Kitley wants you to join the Kryptic Army.

Our relationship with Nancy is a perfect example of how supportive the community of horror fans really is, and that is the primary reason I wanted to share the story of our history with her. Nancy has only known us for a very short time, but the way by which she has come to know us, as John has highlighted in his comments below, is a very common story in the history of Dead Weight. I've spent the last decade of my life working in the music industry, more specifically independent music. So when I first became exposed to the horror film community I was shocked by how positive and excited people were, how willing they were to bend over backwards to support independent artists. It really threw me for a loop, after my spirit was so broken by the music industry. I thought film would be worse, boy was I a fool. That's really the catalyst for my writing this blog post. There are some incredible people out there involved in the independent film/horror communities. Everyone involved in Dead Weight that John met over the past six years or so, and eventually introduced me to, they're the cream of that very group of people. I have the most sincere appreciation for many of them, and I feel honored to be involved in this project with them.

John and Nancy were first introduced by way of The KrypticArmy, which is sort of like a horror film viewing club run by Kitley’s Crypt, very fun times. In late 2010 They bonded over a discussion regarding Nancy’s first viewing of Carpenter’s The Thing. John and Nancy then met in person during a convention called HorrorHound in Indianapolis during March of 2011. John shared the story of Dead Weight with a lot of folks that weekend, Nancy amongst them.

Pre-production on the film turned to production and Nancy came to know us both personally, witnessing our devotion to this project. Eventually she made the decision become one of the sources of financial support that we so desperately relied on to make our budget a reality.

This is one of the key things I personally love about the path we’ve taken with this film. Every dime we raised was due to the personal relationships and personal histories we have with our executive producers. I can’t imagine this sort of support coming from any other community. The horror community is something that continues to amaze and inspire me every step of the way. Without people like Nancy, Dan & Mel Lowin, Dan Kiggins, Aaron Christensen, and rest of those that John has connected with in the horror community over the last few years, we could never do this.

Dead Weight is fundamentally a child of the horror community. It will always be a horror film to us, despite how much it leans in the direction of drama and suspense most of the time. It was founded in horror, and brought into existence by the love for horror.

Dead Weight actor Aaron Christensen with executive producer to be, Nancy Cremer. HorrorHound 2011, a fateful weekend.

FULL TRAILER & THEATRICAL POSTER RELEASED

2011-10-02T14:15:00.001-05:00

Last night we had a photo exhibit in Oshkosh featuring photography by Mary Manchester from the first week of production back in April. It was an incredible evening, with a huge turn out. We have a lot of support and excitement coming from the local community, and we're very grateful for that.

So, here is the full trailer & theatrical poster that we premiered last night. Enjoy & share!

DEAD WEIGHT: THROUGH A STILL LENS

2011-09-13T19:04:00.002-05:00

Producing a film is a long, tumultuous process. It takes an immense amount of preparation and can sometimes seem like an insurmountable task, especially when produced independently. “Though A Still Lens” takes us behind the production of Dead Weight, a feature-length film written and directed by Oshkosh natives Adam Bartlett and John Pata and produced by Lee Marohn and Dan Kiggins. It was filmed in and around the Oshkosh area during twelve days in 2011. The film tells the story of Charlie Russell, following him on a journey to find his girlfriend, Samantha, in a world destroyed by a biological outbreak.

Early on in pre-production, the filmmakers knew they would want someone to document the filming process. To achieve this they brought on longtime friend and accomplished still photographer, Mary Manchester. Over the course of the initial week of filming in April, and first day of May, Mary took over 1,300 photos of every aspect of the production. “Through A Still Lens” is a photography exhibit that showcases a small portion of these images, all favorites personally selected by the filmmakers and Mary Manchester. The exhibit premieres at 6:00 PM on October 1st, 2011, at the New Moon Café at 401 N Main St., Oshkosh, WI during the October Gallery Walk. The photos will remain on display throughout the month of October.

During the exhibit there will be a new trailer for the film premiering, alongside the unveiling of the film’s theatrical poster. Many members of the cast and crew will also be in attendance during the exhibit premiere.

Facebook Event Page

STANGAAR THE MIGHTY

2011-08-25T23:08:00.003-05:00

This past week there was a string of emails that passed around some cast members and production team about one very important subject. Stangaar the possum. Producer Lee Marohn was inspired to write a song of victory on the subject. I'll try and summarize this story, the freeing of Stangaar, in the most concise way possible, bear with me here.

The third day of filming there was a terrible blizzard that more or less destroyed our plans to film a very important scene at the original location. After nearly two hours of failed attempts to make it work we admitted defeat to the Wisconsin April weather. We spent the next hour and a half at a gas station in Pickett warming ourselves and generally increasing morale amongst the cast and crew. One key factor to this was the acquisition of one plush possum, who informed actor Aaron Christensen of his name via telepathic message. This was easily the most identifiable and critical turning point in our week. We went from our lowest low to our highest high in the matter of a couple hours. Found a new location, moved on, and everything turned out far better than we would've been able to manage under any other condition. Seth Frank, freer of Stangaar, we are forever indebted to you.

Without further delay, we are proud to present "Stangaar The Mighty," by producer Lee Marohn.

(Note: Must be sung by a mixed choir of children and axe-wielding Vikings)

He came to us one Tuesday morn
When things were looking grim
His goodness spred unto us all
And now we cherish him.

Stangaar the Mighty
Stangaar the Bold
Stangaar inspired us
In the chilling April cold.

Stangaar joined our little crew
And things have turned out great
What did we do without him
He's the hero of DEAD WEIGHT.

O, Stangaar the Mighty
Stangaar the Bold
Stangaar inspired us
In the chilling April cold.

Stangaar, official mascot and source of limitless energy.

STILL IN THE FOG...

2011-08-16T18:30:00.007-05:00

Lead actor, Joe Belknap, graces us with another heartfelt blog, this time recapping the final week of filming Dead Weight:

We’ve wrapped. Dead Weight has wrapped.

Man, that sounds so weird.

I hesitated awhile before sitting down to write a second blog exploring the final days of filming. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to help but just repeat what I already expressed back in April. I’d just be echoing myself. Spinning my wheels.

But maybe that’s okay. Maybe gratitude is a subject that never tires.

That’s a good thing, too, because I find myself, for the second time, gushing with gratitude after my final week of shooting Dead Weight. For the second time, we were surrounded by supportive, dedicated humans. The whole process of creating Dead Weight has been dependent on people who have been willing to do just about anything to help us out. We had those people the first week of filming, and, boy howdy, we had them the second week, too. Please allow me to offer a guided tour of Oshkosh (and surrounding areas) as I introduce to you a handful of new friends:

When in doubt, talk about Rush at The Reptile Palace.

Thanks to Marlo and the Algoma Club. Have you ever been given a ten minute warning that you would be “fast dancing” to Weird Al without the aid of adult beverages? Really? Never? Yeah, well, if it ever does happen, I can only hope it’s at a place as classy as the Algoma Club; a historic building with a really beautiful interior.

Thanks to Collin and the staff at Benvenuto’s. I’m not sure if you’ve ever had pasta and wine (well, juice) at 9 in the morning, but I have and it’s awesome. What a friendly and accommodating staff. Everyone there was so willing to participate in what we were doing. And mints! They have free mints!

Thanks to Beth and The Reptile Palace. Everyone there was ready to roll the second we arrived, and I think it might end up being one of the best looking scenes in the film. I didn’t even care that my Schplatz tasted a lot like water.

Thanks to Joseph and the Ramada Plaza in Fond Du Lac. When the hallways prompt conversations about Alanis Morissette tattoos, you know you’re in a place of magic.

Thanks to Matt and Spark Advertising in Neenah. Can I please work and live in your building? Please? I’m really good at, like, drinking coffee and getting other people coffee. Do you need someone like that, maybe?

Patiently awaiting her man at the Outagamie County Airport.

Thanks to Kim, Pla and the Outagamie County Regional Airport. Yeah, that’s right. Dead Weight filmed in an airport. You know, the place where the planes live. I mean, geez, it’s like we’re really makin’ movin’ pictures here!

Thanks to Michelle and the Paine Art Center and Gardens. What a beautiful garden and an absolute perfect location for what we were filming that day. I was so getting my Thoreau on in that place.

Thanks to Adam and Cari for letting us take over their house for a night. We’re not always the most convenient bunch to have around, what with our lights, camera and action hubbub. Hope we didn’t wreck up the place too much. (Special shout out to Mocha and Extra Foam! I willy miss you, you wittle wabbits.)

Thanks to Jason, Big D, and Cranky Pat’s in Oshkosh. Man. What a place to wrap. Certainly a bittersweet night, but I had some of the best pizza in the state to help me cope. Eat away the pain, Joe. Eat it all away.

And, of course, thanks to John, Adam, Travis (director of photography) and Mary (actress extraordinaire). I originally intended to detail my admiration for their hard work here, but I think I’ve already exhausted readers with the length of this blog. For now, I’ll withhold those sentiments… for now.

Everyone else we worked with the last week of filming- those who gave us access to locations, extras (holy hell, did we have some radical extras), food prep folk, the incredible Lance, Lee, Cole and Seth, those who came around for minor roles that have a major impact - you’re the lifeblood of this film. We’ve fed off your enthusiasm and encouragement. We’ve taken your own dedication as inspiration. You made what we were doing so much easier, and so much more fun. Thank you.

There’s still so much work to do, though the bulk of my own work is complete. The long and exhausting days of trudging through the schizophrenic Wisconsin weather with my friends has passed; the late nights of filming into the ridiculously wee hours of the morn are over.

But I know I’ll miss it. I already do. When you get to spend that time with the people I have, you just can’t feel any other way.

We’ll premiere early 2012, and it’ll be a party, baby.

You comin’?

-Joe Belknap

A nice (yet incredibly hot and humid) afternoon at the Paine Art Center (with wonderful company).

SPOTLIGHT ON THE CREW: COLE GARROW

2011-07-26T19:23:00.008-05:00

Once again, we take some time to put the spotlight on an incredibly dedicated individual, who was with us most of production, Cole Garrow. I have known Cole since high school, but this was the first time we ever worked on a project together. Cole was essential to have on set, he worked hard whenever you needed him to, and was able to make others laugh with his odd comments and jokes. When you are facing stress like we had during production, being able to laugh and smile is key.

Let's turn it over to Cole and hear what he has to say:

I never thought too much about what it meant to be 'dedicated' to something (especially the more intangible things, like the production of a movie) until after the first couple days of helping to shoot Dead Weight. The work wasn’t hard, but the weather was demoralizing and pure shit. I'm a bit glad I didn’t have to show up for the blizzard day... What I realized after getting out of the second day of shooting and once the feeling started to come back to my face and toes was that I was really interested in/dedicated to seeing this project through for its own benefit and for everyone else involved. In the process of helping out on an awesome project; I made some friends, got my first case of windburn, had some good laughs, set up a tent for absolutely no reason, discovered the world of film making and enjoyed some tasty sandwiches/wraps (thanks, Cari!).

My favorite parts were: Manning the boom, being Travis' helper, the last night of filming and making inane references to Mr. Show and Tim and Eric with Seth. Stuffing dummies was no slouch, either, but that doesn’t compare with the Bag Hutch® (right, Seth?). Throughout my involvement (but especially on the last night, Seth and I were like a two-man-grip-army), it felt like I was making a difference. Don’t get me wrong, I make 'differences' all the time, but this one felt like it had value. I was happy to help, happy to meet all the wonderful people that I did, and happy to have my work appreciated. Granting I'm still alive, and still within a reasonable geographic proximity, John and Adam, you have a dedicated grip. Thanks for letting me be a part of the magic...

...“CAR!!”

-Cole Garrow

Cole takes Joe's "crazy" lunch order.

A BLOG UPDATE FOR THE LADIES

2011-07-22T12:22:00.004-05:00

Early on in the writing process John and I came to an agreement on something. We needed to put an immense amount of effort into ensuring our women characters were not weak, overly-emotional and stereotypical. A weak woman character is one of the things that will break a story for me, whether its in comics, film or literature. Across the spectrum I can pull numerous examples off the top of my head, stories that I feel are made weaker by the lack of power on the female front.

Alan Moore is, without a doubt, one of my favorite writers. His imagination and firm grip on the English language are so enthralling to me. I love it. When someone told me how he thought he was a magician, for real, I thought he was nuts. Well, I wasn't far off, he is a bit out there, but when I watched an interview where he explained his stance on what he considers "magic" and how the worlds he creates are his spells and his creations (that's how I understood it anyhow), it made a lot of sense, and the romantic writer somewhere deep inside me began to greatly respect that idea.

But when it comes down to it, there are some fundamental problems I find with his writing. Swamp Thing, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and especially Watchmen. All books I absolutely LOVE, that have a great amount of imagination and incredible writing. I'm getting all fuzzy just thinking about it! But one place they fall short is in their awful, terrible, weak, emotional wreck female characters. I think Watchmen suffers the most, which breaks my heart. Even if a female character does have any sort of power, they are entirely dependent on a male character emotionally or otherwise. Don't try and tell me about Promethea, either. I've read two trades and I fail to see any great strides in actual feminine strength.

I can cite the same sort of instances in so many films, even my favorites. I'm not going to continue to rage on a shit list of terribly written women, I'll just sit tight with Mr. Moore's work because it's the strongest example I have. But this is something we tried to be mindful of throughout our entire pre-production process, something I was very worried about. And not because I was not confident in our ability to write, but moreso because I couldn't exactly pinpoint what criteria MADE a woman character strong. Obviously there are little things here and there, as cited above, but I couldn't draw up a list of dos and don’ts. That's when I realized that we won't be able to do it alone, and that we would need to focus on casting strong women into our roles, so that the actors could work with us to achieve our goal for character quality.

Michelle Courvais (playing Meredith) was the first woman we had in mind. We sent the script to her husband, Aaron Christensen, as we wrote the part of Thomas with him in mind. They read through it together and felt like Michelle would own the role of Meredith. For those that don't know Michelle, just know this, she's intense and amazing. She is such an outspoken, opinionated and creatively passionate woman. Believe me when I use all those adjectives in the most endearing way, because those are qualities I absolute love in a person. I have a fairly intense personality myself and I love it when others can match my intensity.

Michelle may be small, but she is a ball of fury packed into that tiny frame.

Michelle provided so much great input about her character and her character's lines that proved to be critical to building Meredith into exactly the type of character we wanted. I now firmly believe this film would've suffered terribly if Michelle hadn't been involved. The character of Meredith never would've come to life this way and the chemistry on screen between her and Thomas is something to swoon over.

Throughout the rest of the process we tried our best to continue casting actresses who were strong women in their personal lives, realizing that is really the key to ensuring that same power is put on the screen. Reva Fox of Milwaukee plays the role of Janelle. My goodness. I'm unsure where to begin with this one. We did originally write Janelle as a more masculine character, our character casting bio actually described her as a tough Wisconsin woman whose idea of a date night would be a burger and a beer at the pub. We auditioned Reva via email with a recorded video she sent us. Joe (our lead actor playing Charlie) was up for the weekend to do some read through work, so John and I watched her audition video together. She was just perfect, such an unbelievable and beautiful woman. She has such strong features, a strong personality and a great firm voice. Her performance may have actually been the key to making Janelle one of the most powerful characters in the film. I wouldn't want to cross her, that's for certain.

There are others I could go on about, but this blog post would become excessively long (wait, it is already) and I wanted to refrain from too much reminiscing here. I need to take a moment to end on one character, one actress who has brought to life the most important aspect of the film. Mary Lindberg plays the role of Samantha, whom you will come to know early on in Dead Weight. I won't get too much more into her role in the film, because it's going to be something special when you meet her on your own.

Mary was not the actress we had originally cast for the role of Samantha. The original actress had to back out because of personal (and legitimate) reasons. John and I understood entirely, but had to scramble to find a new leading lady. There she was, right in front of us. Although our original Samantha was a great fit, and ultimately made John and I very happy, Mary transformed the character of Samantha into something else entirely. John and I had both grown very close to the character and Mary took Samantha and turned a new corner with her, in the best way. We thought bringing Samantha to life and keeping her independent was going to be a challenge, especially because of her importance in the film. Mary destroyed all of our apprehensions in a single reading. She connected with the character on a fundamental level and injected the role with her own power and personality.

These are just three of the women that understood their characters and brought them to life in such powerful ways. Just another example of how much this film would suffer without the talent and passion that the cast brought to the project.

I can't wait for you to meet these women, and I hope you feel as though they possess the power and depth that we see in them.

-Adam/Dead Weight.

PS - to Michelle and Mary. I still maintain that I did NOT have you handle make-up because you're women. It was only because you're good at it! If I could've done it without making people look like clowns, I gladly would've!

Yeah, I know I'm posting a picture of a woman applying make-up in a post about strong women. But it's seriously the only non-spoiler photo of Mary Lindberg that I have from production so far.

OPEN CASTING CALL FOR EXTRAS

2011-07-20T00:01:00.003-05:00

DEAD WEIGHT - open casting call for extras.

Head Trauma Productions and Gilead Media are now openly casting for extras in their feature length presentation Dead Weight. The specifics for the filming and roles available are as follows:

- Filming will be taking place from August 1st, 2011 to August 3rd, 2011 between the hours of 10:00am and 10:00pm each day (with a potential of running later). You are not required to work the entire twelve hour day. but there are specifics "shifts" and periods for which we will need completely committed individuals for the roles.

- You must be age 18+. We are looking for a wide range of ages here, particularly for those age 30+.

- The majority of these scenes will be filmed in Oshkosh, but there will be one filmed in Grand Chute.

- Anyone selected for a role is responsible for their own transportation & transportation expenses.

- Food will be available free of charge to all those selected to fill a role.

- There is no pay for these positions.

- You are required to sign a waiver giving Head Trauma Productions the right to use your performance in any way they see fit without additional compensation.

- Some scenes will call for casual clothing, some for more formal clothing. Only apply if you're capable of appearing in either.

- Your name will not appear in the credits of the film.

- *CRITICAL* Any individual selected for an extra role must be committed to the date and time for which they are cast. Although you are not being paid, we do ask that you consider this a job. We are relying on those we cast to fill a position and we cannot have anyone canceling on us. This also means that you are NOT allowed to bring friends, children, parents, extended family members, pets, neighbors, your mail man or anyone else that is not personally selected by Head Trauma Productions to fill a role.

If you're interested in applying for the role of an extra please email the following information to info@carryingdeadweight.com. Make the subject of this email "DEAD WEIGHT EXTRAS." Do not send any attachments or photos, just answer these questions in the body of an email.

Name

Phone number

Email address

Location

Type of transportation you have

Age

Gender

Height

Weight

Dates available (From Aug 1 to Aug 3)

Times available (From 10:00am to 10:00pm. Please also note if you're available later)

All submissions must be received by Noon on Monday, July 25th, 2011. We will respond to every request by Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 6:00pm.

Thank you! We look forward to hearing from everyone interested in a role!

- Adam Bartlett & John Pata

Co-producers. Co-directors.

THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

2011-07-12T23:19:00.000-05:00

Throughout the majority of our blog posts we've elaborated on the multitude of lessons we learned during filming. Chiefly among them was this: nothing goes according to plan. No doubt you've read about the things that taught us these hard lessons, so we will spare you the recap.

John and I began this project with an absurdly ambitious agenda, and a near-impossible schedule in mind. We knew it would be rough, but we also knew that when we want something, we make it happen. There's been many things we've worked on together, a lot of things that required an absurd amount of hard work, and we've always been able to pull through in one capacity or another. We've always overcome the challenges and achieved our goals, whether it be deadlines or other miscellany objectives. That's one reason it took us so long to make an official announcement on the status of Dead Weight. There is one basic fact that we have finally come to terms with after hours of frustrating discussion.

Dead Weight will not be released in 2011.

That is actually the first time I've had to write those words. Sure, I've explained the situation to a lot of people, but seeing the written word on the screen feels so definitive, so permanent.

As we've said, there are many people giving up a lot to help us with this production, and there are a great deal of people with busy schedules that we need to find a way to work around. We are very much at the mercy of their personal and professional lives. We are not bitter about this fact, we're very sympathetic actually. We have a lot we need to work around, too. Does that make it less frustrating? No. Patience is (regretfully) not a virtue John or myself possess in any great capacity.

The good news: as I write this we have three days blocked out in August. We've scheduled this period of time and we're preparing to begin setting up locations so we can bang out the final shots of the film. As you'll soon learn, Dead Weight is really two stories that are related and intertwined. One was completed in April, the second will be completed over these three days in August. The already-completed portion makes up the vast majority of the film, while this second portion really works in support of that. This means we really only have about 25% of the film left to shoot, and it won't be in the middle of fields in the snow, so that's cool.

There are many things that have come up in support our decision to push back the film, things that will ultimately result in a much stronger production overall. In addition to that, there are key opportunities we will now be able to take advantage of that were not a possibility before.

That's the long and short of it. A bummer we have to wait longer to unleash this monstrous project? Absolutely. Will it be for the better? Without a god damn doubt.

Right now we're looking at early 2012, and that's really all we're comfortable saying. There are too many new variables to get anymore specific. But you can bet that we're just as excited as we were three months ago.

We really have to take the time to thank you for your continued support. We're constantly thinking of everyone who has given us positive feedback thus far. We know that many of you want to see this film, and believe us, nothing would make us happier than showing you the finished product. In time this will happen. You are the coal in the belly of this beastly engine. We will not let you down.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE CREW: LANCE FORD

2011-07-06T15:21:00.001-05:00

Being a crew member isn't the most glamorous job on a film. Typically, you are the first to arrive on set, and the last to leave. You get stuck with the shit jobs, have more down time than anyone else, and (let's face it) overlooked due to the cast. Without a doubt, the crew is equally important as your cast. They make everything happen. So, it's time to put the spotlight on the crew.

We reached out to our crew, letting them know that we want to hear their voice, their side of production. For this first time around, we have Lance Ford. Adam and I have known Lance for a few years now, as we met him at (where all the cool people in Oshkosh meet) House of Heroes Comics and Games. Lance has always been super supportive of what we have done, and has shown nothing but the utmost most enthusiasm when it came to Dead Weight. Lance was one of the few crew members we had every single day, from start to finish. Hell, he took his first week long vacation from work in 23 years. To his wonderful wife, Monica, thanks for allowing him to spend that vacation with us. The next vacation will be spent with you, we insist. As if that isn't a testament to Lance's dedication, everyday he was officially the first one to arrive and the last to leave. Lance worked his ass off, and made all of us incredibly proud to have him on board.

I've rambled enough. It's time to turn the spotlight on Lance. So, please, take it away:

Lance slating the first shot of Dead Weight.

Before the week of filming Dead Weight, I'd tell my family and friends that I was going to be helping behind-the-scenes on the set of a movie that was being made by two friends in Oshkosh. They'd ask what it was about, and after explaining what it was and that it was being filmed in and around Oshkosh, they'd be - "Wow, that's cool". And the whole experience for me, since I like movies so much, and enjoy seeing the behind-the-scenes/making-of features and interviews with the actors which so many DVD's have - it was a perfect fit. I was so excited to be helping out and since it was my first week-long vacation in over 20 years, I'm glad it turned out to be a memorable one. I was totally pumped up for days prior to filming, even though I had no idea what tasks I would be assigned. I guess that sort of added to my excitement a bit. And since I really didn't know that much about the script, it was really cool to see it unfold chronologically right before my eyes as it was filmed. That aspect, by itself, was indeed a royal treat. Although, I did miss the last day of shooting in Neenah, due to a leg injury. I was really bummed about that, just ask John. I even told him I felt like I was letting them down, and being the great guy that he is, he reassured me that that that was not the case. Which brings us to something which John said on that last day - he said that it wasn't just his and Adam's film, it was Our film, as well (maybe its a good thing that I wasn't there, because that would have brought tears to my eyes). I guess I never really thought about it that way before hearing it put that way, because it had been written by John and Adam and it was their commitment, perseverance, overall drive and undying dedication to making Dead Weight that made it all happen. And because of their devotion, it enabled us to be a part of such a terrific undertaking. An extremely huge round of applause to both of them.

The stories that you hear about cast and crew members who have worked with the same people for years and how they become like a family isn't only true about people who have worked together for years, it's true when you've also only worked with some people for a week. It seemed as if I'd known everyone I met on the set forever. And when filming was done, I missed them. Thank God for Facebook. I met so many fascinating actors and crew members, and I wouldn't change that for anything. Everyone who acted in the film, even those who had never acted before, were unbelievable. I lost count of the number of times while standing there watching, that I got goosebumps or a tear let loose from the corner of my eye at how excellent a job they were doing. And excellent doesn't even begin to describe their performances. I was totally blown away by the range of emotions brought forth during the films intense sequences.


Lance in said snowstorm.

From Day One, everyone I met was so down-to-earth and fun-loving. Professionalism reigned when it was called for, but jokes and laughter were present all day, every day. Yes, even on the day of the snowstorm, laughter became a weapon to ward off the blues. I have delivered to Ripon many times since and every time I drive by the BP gas station in Pickett memories flood over me and it makes me smile. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of the 80+ hours that I was on set that week. It was so difficult going back to work, as I'm sure it was for alot of us on the set. The first day back to work, I was standing there running my press and as I looked around, I wondered "Why am I here? I want to be back on the set making another movie." Every aspect of being there was awesome, from driving Dan Kiggins to and from locations, to chauferring A.C and Michelle to their romantic get-away at the Americinn for their anniversary (courtesy of the cast), right on up to getting to chat with cast and crew members during down-time, to getting to yell "QUIET ON THE SET!!" right after John called "ACTION!!" That was truly AWESOME!!! Working a little bit with Travis as he was getting the light set up was also pretty darn cool. Like I said - every aspect of this entire experience is truly something that I will carry in my memory from now until the end of time. Years from now, I know that I will talk about it with the same enthusiasm.

For me the week flew by, despite the long hours or disasterous weather, because something was happening every minute of every day. One of the most hilarious moments occurred off camera at Ryf's house when Dan Kiggins did his "tuck", and Sam opened the door and there was Dan standing there looking all innocent. Sam kept right in character and didn't mess up the take. I'm surprised I didn't start laughing out loud and ruin the scene. Good Times.

It was really great getting to know everyone on set. I know there were a few people I really didn't get a chance to talk to much, but those I did get to know a bit, I would be proud to call my friend.

And now, I would like to take this opportunity to thank John and Adam for allowing me to be a part of this endeavor. It was truly an honor and a privilege to get to know both of you a little better and to help you fulfill your dream. Thank You.

-Lance Ford

One last thing from John: You can pick up Lance's first novel, Ace Kincaid: In Search of Heroes at House of Heroes Comics and Games, 407 N. Main St., Downtown Oshkosh.

ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES

2011-06-09T00:46:00.010-05:00

Tonight, I was reminded of one of the incredibly bizarre moments from filming. And not just of filming, either, this definitely goes down as one of the most bizarre moments of my life.

I debated whether or not to share this story. Not because I am embarrassed, or anything like that. I just wasn't sure if people would want to hear such a story. But, then I thought, hey people like to hear all the weird behind-the-scenes stories… so why not? Things are gonna get a little "risque" here, consider yourselves warned.

Day two of production started with us in a house, filming a little kitchen scene. This was a quite welcomed change from the insane winds we faced on day one. We spent a couple hours in the house, and had everything from moments of panic, to arguing, physical confrontation, and even projectile vomiting… and that doesn't even include what we actually filmed. Or does it?

Once we left the comforts of the house in the city, we ventured back to the outskirts of town, to film the exterior shots of the house. As we finished our shots at this location, Cari pulled up with lunch/dinner, the infamous Wrap Car, as did three additional cast members; Matty Field, Jake Martin, and Mark Muetzel. It was time to step into the woods and film ourselves a scene around a campfire.

Nothing too bizarre yet. Just you wait, I gotta set it up first.

As we drive onto (producer/script supervisor/location manager/script editor/actor) Lee Marohn's step-dad's land, Travis (our DP) and I get the lighting/camera truck stuck in the mud. Tensions were high at the moment, but with the help of the crew, we got it out no problem. We carry all the gear a couple hundred feet into the woods, and start setting up for the scene. This was our first night shoot, and we had about eleven pages of dialog to cover. We knew it was going to be a LONG night.

For the campfire itself, well, it became everyone's arch nemesis. It didn't seem to matter where you were positioned, the smoke went straight into your eyes. The cast had to sit around that fire, smoke in the eyes, for a good three straight hours. In between every take, the cast shielded their eyes with their hands, hoping to find a few moments of comfort. Needless to say, once we wrapped the scene (around 12:30am), everyone was happy to get the hell out of there.

I know, I know, still not that bizarre. Well, hold onto yo' butts, here we go.

All the gear was packed up, the cast was sent home and we were just getting ready to leave the location. And finally, that damn fire was extinguished. Now, it was dark as hell out there; no fire, no lights, just darkness. It was fairly dry in the woods, so we wanted to make damn sure the fire was completely out. All the water we had was dumped on the fire, and I don't recall exactly who it was, but someone piped up and said, "Anyone have to pee? If someone pees on the coals, that should do it." I did a little piss check. Yep, I should be able to squeeze something out.

So, there I stood, in a circle around the remaining campfire with Adam, (producers) Lee and Dan, and (crew members) Seth, Lance, and Cole. There might have been someone else, I can't remember. A few of the guys had flashlights, some were pointed on the coals, and a one or two were pointed at me, right on the crotch. Well, time was wasting, we all wanted to leave, so…

I was pissing on a fire, standing around with at least six sets of eyes, and flashlights, all on me. All male eyes, mind you. People were pointing out coals that were still hot, it was almost as if they all were my support, encouraging me on.

Now, I'm sure all of you are wondering, "Did you successfully put out all the coals, John?" You better believe I did. But, I can't say I've ever had a bunch of dudes stare at me when I was pissing, let alone with flashlights lighting up the scene. This is a great example of the strong bonding that happened on set. That, and I guess you could say that some people have shame. Sigh… I don't.

God, I miss filming...

"FILMS ARE STRESSFUL, AND THEY'RE HARD TO MAKE..."

2011-06-07T14:08:00.002-05:00

It's currently 12:54pm on Tuesday, June 7… and it's 92 degrees. That's the outside temperature. Inside my apartment it's gotta be at least a solid 10 degrees hotter. Ah, yes, the joys of living on the second floor without air conditioning. I was working on the edit some more, doing a little fine tweaking, but I had enough. Way too damn hot. So, I grabbed my laptop, retreated downstairs to the illustrious House of Heroes Comics + Games, to sit in the nice, comfortable, cool air and work on this blog.

It's been hot like this for the past few days now. Hell, maybe even over a week. When it's this hot (and without air conditioning), it's a constant state of discomfort. I don't sleep too much, my appetite is gone so I'm not eating, and I feel like stress levels are high. Hey, wait a minute. This sounds exactly like the week of production: High stress levels, little-to-no sleep, not eating… such fond memories.

Looking back, I wonder how my body ever made it through production. Over the course of our seven day shoot, the most sleep I got in a night was just over three hours. On top of that, I ate a whopping four, count 'em, FOUR, meals. Let's say you're one of those "normal" people who eat three meals a day, and you want to know how many meals you would eat in a week. Well, it's easy. You take three (meals a day), multiply it by seven (days), and your answer is twenty-one. Any "normal" person would have ate twenty-one meals that week. Me, I ate four. Now, don't be fooled. Don't get the impression that there wasn't any food to eat. We made sure to have plenty of food (on and off the set), but when I get in work mode, I just go.

Then there's the whole water thing. So, I am somewhat addicted to water. I drink an absurd amount of water. No joke, I easily drink hundreds of ounces a day. I always have my canteen on me, gotta have my water by my side. But, during production, well, that was another story. Just how I didn't feel the need to eat, I never really felt thirsty. Aside from that, my brain went: water = having to piss. Having to piss = taking time away from filming. Taking time away from filming = no good. This is silly. I mean, how long does it actually take to piss? if having to piss would really take time away from filming, how much time are we talking about? Exactly. Silly. But, like I said, when I get in work mode… There was actually one day, I can't remember exactly which one, but there was one day I got up in the morning and peed, and then didn't pee again until I went to bed… 21 hours later. That was the day I did not drink anything. Let me tell you, when I peed right before I went to bed, my pee wasn't clear. It wasn't yellow. It was a light brown. Yeah, never had that happen before.

Okay, I don't tell you all this to make me sound all bad ass and shit (if you know me, you know I am not all bad ass and shit). I don't tell you this, hoping I will get some sympathy (I did it all to myself, don't feel bad for me). I don't even tell you this to make the shoot sound crazier than it was. I tell you all of this for one reason, to show that while making a film truly terrific, it's also really damn hard. It's ugly. It's trying. It's challenging. It's painful. There's been extremely positive talk about the experience of making Dead Weight, and, without a doubt, it's all true. However, there's always two sides to a story. It's hard to appreciate the good without the bad, right?

It's rough making an independent film, and Dead Weight has been no exception. Think about it this way, when making an independent, DIY film, EVERYTHING is against you. If my memory serves me correctly, on day three, the beautifully amazing Michelle Courvais (who plays Meredith) said filmmaking is nothing but problem solving. This is so true it hurts. With this problem solving comes stress, and anger, and frustration, and depression, and… pretty much every other negative emotion one can think of. Sure, once all is said and done you forget the ugliness, focusing and embracing on the positive aspects of your experience. But this doesn't make it easy.

So, what makes it easy? What makes it possible to push your body through such hell to make a film? The night before production began, Adam was just getting read to leave my place, and I told him there was the first production video blog for The Hobbit, and we had to watch it. Let it be known, Adam is quite the Lord of the Rings nerd, and I am also a big fan, but I am Peter Jackson nerd. As we watched the ten minute video, we began nerding out, but also released we were getting ready to embark on a similar journey. Okay, maybe not a similar journey, but a film making journey nonetheless. As the video came to an end, Peter addressed the cast and crew moments before the cameras rolled for the first time on The Hobbit, and this is what he said: Films are stressful, and they're hard to make, but ultimately what makes them fun is the people you work with. And that, my friends, is the truth.

AND THEN THERE WAS EDITING

2011-05-17T22:49:00.009-05:00

Say what? It's been two and a half weeks since the last blog update? What in the hell is going on around here?

Oh, yeah… post-production. Even though we have a few days left to shoot (which were scheduled for May but now have been pushed back to June), I have been in an editing frenzy, especially the past couple of days.

For those that know me, it's no secret: I love movies. Yeah, I know saying you "love" something is cliche and can even be generic as hell to say. But it's true. I became infected with the movie bug at a very early age in life. On top of loving movies, I love the process of making a movie. One of the culprits for this love of film making is most certainly the terrific (and gone but not forgotten) TV show called Movie Magic. As a young lad, I ate this shit up. Seeing that I grew up on a heavy dosage of horror, sci-fi and action flicks, Movie Magic just furthered me asking the question, "How'd they do it?"

I never had much of a desire to be in front of the camera, I always wanted to be involved in the process. Wait, that's not entirely true. Even to this day, I am more than willing to be a body in some huge gore scene. Ah… a boy can dream, right? Wow, what the hell am I going on about?! Jeez, put a keyboard in front of me and I will just type and type and type…

Okay, I am going to get to the point. As I already stated, ever so generically, I love movies. I love making movies. I really enjoy every step of the process, however, post-production (editing in particular) holds a special place in my heart. Which is kinda of funny to me, seeing that editing is very similar to putting together a puzzle. I don't really like putting together puzzles. As the kids say, WTFuck?

I started editing about three days after we finished principle production, but haven't really devoted all my time to it until now. In the last 36 hours, I have spent over 24 hours editing. That's a lot of time spent with these characters in this little post-apocalyptic world that Adam and I have had in our heads for almost two years now. Which is why I am so drawn to editing: you finally get to see the film. Yes, it was an absolute trip (really, did I just say "trip"?) to have our first cast reading, see everyone in wardrobe for the first time, get on location, and actually create this film, but in editing you finally see it all come together.

There's a lot of (insanely awesome) people (who I am forever grateful for) that can back me up on this: the week of filming was rough. Don't get me wrong, though, it was easily the best week of my life and I wouldn't want to change a single moment of it, but it was an absolute test of human will. Need proof? Look at this photo of Adam. The way he looks in that photo is how we both felt for seven days straight. On top of not getting more than three hours of sleep each night, we faced pretty much every miserable filming condition possible in the first four days. We had to rework/rewrite scenes on the spot (courtesy of a wonderful mid-April blizzard), find new locations last minute and deal with all sorts of other stress. In what should have been a complete and utter disaster, turned out to strengthen the film because of the cast and crew. They might not be totally aware of this, but they are the reason Adam and I didn't lose it. With the conditions we were filming in, it would have been expected for every single person on the cast and crew to complain, get pissed, and quite frankly, give up. Hell, people took a week vacation from work (for one person it was the first in 23 years) to be a part of Dead Weight. It's not like anyone was getting paid, there really was no reason for everyone to power through it all. Except for the fact that they wanted to. The wanted to be with this project till the end and because of this fact, Dead Weight is NOT Adam and I's film. It is the film of every single person you will see listed in the credits.

Ah, again, with the tangents! I actually was on path to where I wanted to go, but it was just taking a bit to get there. I'm not trying to take away from everyone who worked on Dead Weight (don't you worry, you will be getting your own blog entry) but this entry is suppose to be about editing.

Talking about production does in fact deal with editing. As mentioned (and will be time and time again), it was one stressful week. When it comes time to editing, all that stress is gone, now I can solely focus on the footage and performances. And holy shit, has it been amazing. There's nothing like putting together a scene and realizing that every single aspect came together and the end product is better than you could have even imagined. This has happened so many times, and the reason for that is because of the people we have in front of the camera. I know most of you reading this know very little about this project (since Adam and I like to work in secrecy), but you will find out that this is one emotional film. Every actor was pushed to the limit, and then some. I'm not just saying that either, trying to be the guy who's all, "Oh, our film is so crazy, etc etc etc". From day one, Adam and I knew we wanted to make this film be about the characters and nothing else. If you go into this expecting to see a gore flick, tons of action, and not to mention zombies, you are going to be severely disappointed.

Again, getting off topic! My mind is going everywhere tonight. Okay, let's wrap this up. If you read this whole thing you know I said a lot, but not so much about editing. Here's the abridged version of what I wanted to get at: tons and tons of editing, so many awesome shots (thanks to Travis), so many amazing performances (thanks to the cast), so much excitement and we cannot wait to show you all this film.

Is it October yet?

DEAD WEIGHT TEASER TRAILER

2011-04-29T10:40:00.005-05:00

We are so excited to bring you the first look at Dead Weight. Even though we aren't done with production yet (just a few more shots), we couldn't wait to give you something to feast your eyes on.

This film is the product of many seriously talented and dedicated individuals. We could not have made it without every single persons involvement.

Enjoy.

DEAD WEIGHT EXTRAS CONTEST WINNERS!

2011-04-26T18:03:00.001-05:00

It took a little longer than we hoped for, but it is finally time to announce the winners for the Dead Weight Extras contest! We hoped to get the winners announced right away, but needless to say, things got somewhat hectic once production approached.

Here's how everything will work: We have 4-5 more days of filming left, all will be weekend shoots in May. The majority of them will take place in various Oshkosh locations, with also making a stop in Appleton. The winners will be informed of the locations and times, and it is their personal responsibility to make it happen.

Sadly, we cannot shoot around anyone's schedule and cannot cover transportation. Once the times, dates, and locations are set, they are set. In the event that any winner will not be able to attend the shoot (for whatever reason), we will redraw and announce a new winner.

Let's get onto it, whatta say? All winners will also be contacted directly. The six winners of the Dead Weight Extras contest are:

Mark H.
Todd K.
Sue H.
Timothy L.
David H.
Lindsey T.

“YOU'RE NOT BACK TO REALITY YET. YOU'RE IN A FOG.”

2011-04-25T23:44:00.005-05:00

Joe Belknap, who plays Charlie (the lead in Dead Weight), took some time to reflect on last week's crazy seven day shoot and his involvement in the film:

I can back a car out of a drive way. Really, I can. It’s not difficult. You put the car in reverse, check your mirrors and blind spot, turn the wheel to rotate your vehicle into the desired position, and gently remove your foot from the brake. You continue to cycle through these procedures, as needed, while being ever vigilant for objects and, you know, things that are alive.

See? If I can describe it, I can surely do it.

So what the hell was wrong with me on Sunday?

While leaving my In-Laws home, I got stuck trying to back my car out of a little wooded area that had become an impromptu parking spot. I parked my car there in order to free up some room for other visiting relatives. I did all the things you’re supposed to do while backing up (see above), but it wasn’t quite working. I almost hit a tree. Then I almost hit my wife (well, not her, but her car while she was in it). These are bad, bad things. So bad, in fact, that my wife walked up to me, gave me a kind of inquisitive, crinkled-face look, and said, “You’re not back to reality yet. You’re in a fog.”

She was right. I had just spent this past week in mud, snow, rain, wind (do you know that wind can burn you?) and other elemental horrors. I had slept poorly on a couch, alone (This is a problem. I’ve grown pretty accustomed to being spooned by my wife, thank you very much). My diet became a mash-up of coffee, bananas, left over burrito stuffs, and ice cream. All of this, I would think, would cause anyone to have trouble returning to normalcy (normalcy being defined as: being indoors; sleeping etc.). If this all sounds miserable, I understand.

But it wasn’t.

In fact, It was actually pretty fracking glorious, and it’s because of all the people I was with this past week while working on Dead Weight.

I’ve been trying to figure out ways to explain the experience without sounding like I’m just puking platitudes. All I can ever seem to come up with is “it was amazing” and “every person involved was incredible.” Both are true, but it falls short. Way short. Neither really relays the significance and impact this past week has had on me; neither reflects the effort and dedication of everyone involved. So, rather than ending up waxing poetic all over the place, I’d rather let my gratitude to the people involved act as evidence for what this past week has meant. Ready for a laundry list? Here it comes:

I hope that my wife knows how important and necessary her support and encouragement have been. There was a short time when I thought I’d never be able to make the timing of Dead Weight work with other things happening in my life. She said, “Do it anyway.” She’s kind of right about everything, all of the time.

I hope that Scott can get his home back. We essentially took it over and clogged his toilet. I’m pretty sure I ate some of his hot sauce.

I hope all those that traveled to be with us (Reva, Steve, Cheri), and everyone who came to act and work (Coree, Dan, Nick, Adam, Lynn, Ian, Egan, Ashley, Andrew, Katie, Coye) felt at home with our bad jokes and lack of personal boundaries. (Also : I hope I’ll be forgiven for making this portion of the blog a living document – it’s near impossible to think of everyone off the top of my head.)

I hope Cari seriously considers opening Wrap Car. We’re talkin’ big money here.

I hope that Lance and Lee understand how invaluable they are. Lance, a writer in his own right, very much just wants to help facilitate art. Lee, with his beard of fire, is, no kidding, the mob boss of Oshkosh. You need places to film? Some place with mud and manure? Some place dilapidated, maybe? Give Lee five minutes.

I hope Jake, Mark, and Matty aren’t as terrifying in real life (they’re not, but damn, their performances give me the heebie-jeebies).

I hope Seth knows how great it was to have him on set for most of the week. Stranded at some gas station in the middle of a blizzard? Fear not! Seth is here to wrangle some adorable plushy goodness from the claw-machine (be sure to look for Stand Guar the Possum when watching Dead Weight).

I hope Dan’s strict diet of coffee, beef jerky and bar grub remains enough to fuel his commitment to seeing this thing through to the end. Keep that camcorder rolling, buster.

I hope that both Travis and Mary M. can take a break from contorting their bodies into positions that even Russian gymnasts would be afraid to attempt. (We’ve got some beautiful shots and photos, but, man, their joints and backs probably hate us right now.)

I hope Lee-Spawn got his nap.

I hope Sam is throwing hatchets into trees somewhere (or at least teaching [or trying to teach] someone to juggle). I hope Jess is busy discovering more incredibly terrible/amazing movies to recommend to me (Undefeatable, anyone?). I hope A.C. knows that it is now my lifelong mission to be able to speak with the same power that he does (I’ll never say the words “barn” and “water” the same). I hope I can find the guts to someday tell Michelle how intimidating and rewarding it was to work alongside her (I was totally gonna try to tell her on the day she wrapped, but I thought for sure I’d barf and cry at the same time).

I hope Mary knows that her sincerity and disposition has not only brought her character to life, but has injected the film with a tenderness that will break your heart. Watch out, world.

I hope John and Adam know what they’ve given me by letting me be a part of this. I hope they know I love them.

And, perhaps most important, I hope that someone, someday, will be able to answer that age old question: Then why did you jump out of the goddamn bushes? (I mean, really. Why did you jump out of the goddamn bushes?)

Learn to let it go? Nah. I think I’ll hang on to this.

-Joe Belknap

ON SET THIS PAST WEEK

2011-04-22T09:02:00.004-05:00

On the set of Dead Weight this past week.

All photography by Mary Manchester.

Joe has beautiful eyes.

DAY ONE OF PRODUCTION

2011-04-18T01:29:00.004-05:00

What a day. There's so much to say but so much to take care of before tomorrow (or should I say today?). We battled some harsh, harsh winds for six solid hours. We faced quite possibly the worst filming conditions we could ask for on the first day... and it didn't stop us on bit. Both cast and crew kicked some serious ass today. Hell, we even wrapped 18 minutes ahead of schedule. You will hear all about it, eventually though. Day two is on the horizon and there's plenty to do, so we will leave you with a few images. Enjoy!

THE WAITING GAME

2011-04-15T16:32:00.002-05:00

Here I sit, about 40 hours until we get the cameras rolling... and it sucks. I hate waiting, knowing we are this close and we still have a day and a half, ugh.

Adam is on his way to Milwaukee to meet with our extremely talented director of photography, Travis Auclair, and pick up all our camera and lighting gear. Aaron Christensen (playing Thomas), Michelle Courvais (playing Meredith) and one of our producers, Dan Kiggins, will board their train from Chicago in 30 minutes, while Joe Belknap and Jess Ader (playing Drew) await their arrival in Milwaukee, and then the whole gang comes up to Oshkosh. Sam Lenz (playing Dustin) has a show with his band tonight, so he will be joining us Saturday morning. Tomorrow we start full rehearsals, and I will be prepping a location with a very talented and great friend, Ben Larson, who made us some really awesome corpses. And yet, here I am. Waiting.

It's been a long time coming, almost two years for us to get to this point. This next day and a half is going to be the longest part. I shouldn't even complain, I should feel lucky to have this time to get even more prepared... but I just want to film. Soon enough, soon enough.

Assembling the majority of the main cast tonight will be so exciting, and I know the laughs are going to start in right away. Be sure to keep posted for all sorts of updates, photos, videos and other goodies from production. We are in the thick of it, and it's about time.

When we were filming Better Off Undead, Dale DeVries (who played Chris) had this saying he would constantly call out, and I can't think of a better time than now to say it: Let's cut this fucker.

FILMING OUTSIDE + APRIL IN WISCONSIN = A GOOD/BAD IDEA?

2011-04-11T23:02:00.001-05:00

Adam and I will be the first to admit it: filming outside for five straight days in Wisconsin in the middle of April is an extremely dumb idea. But you know what, it's good to challenge yourselves. Okay, that's a crappy excuse and not true. In a way, we didn't have a choice. We want the aesthetic qualities of mid-April Wisconsin to be prevalent throughout Dead Weight... and we had to work around our lead's (Joe Belknap) schedule. If we didn't film April 17-23, we would have to wait until June, and there are multiple reasons why June wouldn't work out.

Here's the quick rundown of how and why Joe got involved in the project. The first time the three of us bonded was over a delicious pan of Adam's enchiladas before we, being huge X-Files nerds, went to see The X-Files: I Want To Believe on opening night. This probably goes without saying, but the enchiladas were without a doubt the highlight of the night, not to discredit Adam's cooking by any means. Anywho, in September of 2010, Adam and I spent two weekends with Joe, the first being at a cabin on a lake for our good friend's bachelor party, and then at the wedding itself. At the time, Adam and I were working together still (at an actual day job, not just on this or the Zombie Walk) and it was the Tuesday after the wedding. Out of nowhere, without any context, Adam goes, "So, Joe Belknap..." and immediately I yelled, "YES!"

We already had a good deal of the script written, and saw uncanny similarities between Joe and Charlie (the lead). One conference call later and Joe was interested. In fact, he got to read a good portion of the script before anyone else. By early October 2010, we had our lead cast and we cannot wait for the world to see Joe's performance. It's been a long road, as Joe has never acted before, but he has been so receptive and willing to dominate the role, and it shows. From the first reading to the most recent one (this past Friday), Joe has come a long way and has shaped up to be one damn fine actor.

Wait a minute, didn't I start talking about the weather? That we are complete and utter morons for trying to pull this shoot off when we could have snow, rain, thunder, lightning, heat, cold and everything in between. Why am I now rambling about Joe? Oh, that's right, because it's his fault. Well, without further adieu, you can blame this gentleman for our (potential) misery, Mr. Joe Belknap:

Joe models his character's boots, and swoons the hearts of millions with a look only a mother could love.

ONE ALLEY, ONE IDEA, BECOMES REALITY.

2011-04-10T15:07:00.010-05:00

Talk about surreal. As mentioned in an earlier post, Adam photographed an alley in Downtown Neenah and sent it to me. This alley acted as a catalyst of sorts, sparking the origin of Dead Weight. In a way, we wrote the story around this alley. When the script was completed, we knew we had to get clearance to not only use this alley, but to (hopefully) shut down some of the surrounding area. Okay, sounds like a good idea, right? Yeah. But wait, how the hell do we go about doing so?

I sent out a very brief email to the city of Neenah, explaining what we wanted to talk with them about (using the alley and closing off some of the area) and nervously awaited a response. To be honest, I think it's safe to say both Adam and I figured this was a far-fetched idea, but figured it was worth trying. Within 12 hours I got a response from a gentlemen named Chris, who is involved in Community Development. He said this sounded like something we could work out and wanted to meet with us. The time and date were set, and next thing you know, Adam and I are sitting in a conference room in Neenah's City Hall meeting with Chris.

On a quick little side note, there was this AWESOME conference call phone that I really wanted to use... maybe someday.

Anyway, the meeting went over really well and Chris thought this idea would work. Keep in mind we did put a little pressure on him, considering he asked why that alley and we told him that we basically wrote the script around that alley. He asked for some additional info, and said we would have to meet with a few more people. A couple weeks later, I head to Neenah to meet with Chris, and now two other officials, Gerry and Justin. Again, we discuss the idea further, bounce ideas off each other, and make a few adjustments to the original plan. As the meeting is coming to an end, they say everything looks good... now it just has to be passed by the Public Services and Safety Committee, and then the Common Council.

Gulp.

On Tuesday, March 29, Adam and I went back to Neenah to sit in on the Public Services and Safety Committee meeting. Wanna know what was intimidating? This! We sat in a conference room, with about 8 city officials sitting around the table, while Adam and I (along with others) sat along the wall. Then they call to order the topic of Dead Weight filming in Downtown Neenah. As Adam began to sweat, I started to feel like I was about to puke. Imagine sitting in a room, where everyone is completely serious and formal in their discussions, and they are talking about you but you cannot respond unless addressed. They look over the proposed filming area, talk back and forth, ask a few questions and then one official called to vote on the subject. Oh no, make or break time. The topic was passed unanimously. Adam and I are told the topic will now be voted on by Common Council the following week and that we should be present for that meeting as well. We thank the committee, grab our things and walk out of the room. Leaving City Hall, we are both in disbelief of what just happened. Here we are, two guys with this idea a year and a half ago, and now our film is a topic being voted upon by a official committee. As Adam's dad is known for saying, un-fucking-real.

Alright, time for the final step. The Common Council meeting was held on Wednesday, April 6, and this meeting is now in a much bigger room, and there are many more officials, something like 12 altermans and the Mayor of Neenah. This is the real deal now. As Adam approached the microphone to thank the Council and answer a few questions, I couldn't help but get lost in the reality of the situation. Here we are, going in front of the city of Neenah, asking for permission to close off some of downtown so we can film. How did this even happen? Once again, everything went over terrifically and there we were, leaving City Hall after just being given the go ahead. I said it once before, and I will say it again, un-fucking-real.

Three days later, I receive the following certificate in the mail:

Exactly how all this happened is beyond us. However, let me just say that working with the city of Neenah on this idea has been nothing less than amazing, and we greatly appreciate their understanding, support, and permission. With that said, a huge thank you goes to Chris for being on our side from the start and making everything happen. Much thanks to Gerry, Justin and everyone else, as well.

THE TIME IS UPON US

2011-04-10T14:46:00.004-05:00

We are now one week away from production. While there's no reason for me to go into the background of this project (as Adam did such a terrific job), I'd like to take this time to reflect on what this journey has been like for me.

Almost five years ago, my close friends and I spent a summer filming this little zombedy, which at the time, was titled Untitled Zombie Story Full of Stupid Dick Jokes. We had 700 bucks and just wanted to have fun, and at the same time, make something to be proud of. Skip forward to April 14, 2007, we premiered said film, now titled Better Off Undead, on the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus, where over 500 people came out for 2 free screenings. Over the next year or so (actually more like two years), we took Better Off Undead around to horror and comic book conventions, had screenings all throughout the Midwest and received positive reviews from around this world.

During the beginning of 2008 I began writing my first full length script, Among The Dead. This script was not a sequel to Better Off Undead, however, another story that took place during the same outbreak. I spent a solid six months planning, and putting everything together, and we were ready to start filming in September. On July 4, 2008, we had a open call for zombies to start filming some filler shots (zombies infesting the city). 100+ people showed up and we had one hell of a time taking over the streets of Oshkosh. The excitement from the turnout and response got my blood flowing, I could not wait to get this film rolling. As 90% of the script took place inside one house, it took 4 months to find a house to rent and use as the location, but we locked one in nonetheless. On the day we were to receive the house keys, one week before we were to start to film, I received a call from the rental agency. They were backing out. The house was no longer ours. I begged, I pleaded, I did everything I could. Nothing changed, the rug was pulled out from under our feet and we were left behind.

We were devastated. It was such a challenge to get to the point of filming, and it was gone like that. Needless to say, I entered a huge state of depression. Over the next few years, I had the want and desire to film, but multiple things stood in the way. Then Adam approached me with this idea, and after some serious brainstorming, I could tell this was the one. This was the one I wanted to pursue, and this was the one we were going to make happen. I learned a lot from Among The Dead, and believe that is a key thing in independent filmmaking: always learn from everything you do, positive or negative.

And here we are now. This whole experience with Dead Weight has been more than Adam and I could have asked for. We are lucky enough to have so many outstanding individuals get involved in this project, and we couldn't do it without them. Over the years, I have met so many great people because of Better Off Undead. I have gained some of my dearest friends because of that movie, friends of which are now involved in Dead Weight. I have spent so many nights talking and laughing with people at conventions, screenings and everywhere else in between. As awkward as this is to say, there are fans of Better Off Undead, and amazing people who have supported me with that film, the ill-fated Among The Dead and now Dead Weight. When you create independent film, everything is against you and it becomes difficult to push through it all. Having support from those who believe in you makes it all that much easier.

I will never be able express how much everyone's support means to me. Adam and I are incredibly proud of our script for Dead Weight, and know there are people that really want to see what we can create. Believe me when I say we cannot wait to show you all Dead Weight. This has been said time and time again, and is probably cliche as hell to say, but I don't even care because I mean it. This film is for all of you that have supported me in anyway possible. It means the world to me that anyone would care about what two kids from Oshkosh, WI are doing. From the bottom of my heart, this one is for everyone who has made an impression on me which their undying support.

Oh, and one more thing: This is NOT a zombie movie, so get that idea out of your head.

Let's do this.

THE BEGINNING...

2011-04-09T14:47:00.002-05:00

In eight days we will begin filming what is, undoubtably, the single most exciting project I've ever been a part of. I'm more proud of DEAD WEIGHT than I have been of anything else creative I've done in my life. But it's been a long road getting to this point, many ups and downs, many long stressful nights, and many long exciting nights.

Roughly two years ago I sent John a simple email including a single attachment. This alley.

The original photo is long lost, but this was taken close to the same time.

We both kept this in the back of our minds, me a little bit more than him. As I sat working at a job I hated I would take time to jot down story ideas. One was a science fiction/horror type story called Weaver, which I plan to work on once Dead Weight is finished, and the other was for the story that would become Dead Weight. There really wasn't much to it aside from a few critical story points, the opening scene and the ending scene.

I shared these ideas, and the name of the film, with John later on in 2009 after I started working at his screen printing shop. He liked the barebones ideas I had, so we decided to flesh them out together and try to put together a more coherent story, fill in the holes within the original outline and try to create something interesting.

Every day we worked together we expounded more and more on our ideas for Dead Weight, until, at one point, we decided there had been enough talk, enough great ideas, and enough excitement over what we were coming up with... it was time to write a movie.

The original notes & DW notebook... and felt gnome.

We began formally outlining the script October 2009 on a car ride to Madison, WI to drop off an order of shirts we had printed for a customer. This proved to be an immensely fruitful trip, as we ended up ultimately getting a large amount of ideas on paper that ultimately made it into the final draft of the script. It was a very exciting time, but things were just getting started for us. And for this project, which has certainly taken on it's own living breathing existence.

Over the next couple of months we met weekly (or tried to) and slowly cranked out the logistics on how we wanted to handle the primary story telling devices. That was actually probably one of the harder aspects of the production, looking back. Really racking our brains on how to make all of our disjointed ideas work, and flow together to become a coherent and intelligible thing.

As the year progressed, our script did as well. The story changed very little fundamentally. We knew how we wanted to approach the story, the feel, look and overall aesthetic, and we were very happy with how things were going. As we moved into spring we need to start focusing on the Annual Oshkosh Zombie Walk, which John and I began producing in 2009 alongside our friend Seth. The Zombie Walk more or less took over our lives between May and September, and put a lot of Dead Weight on hold. We didn't want to be distracted during writing.

First draft completed. We were in disbelief.

October hit. One month after the (very successful) Zombie Walk and one month to recover our lives a bit before diving into a far grander stage of the movie. We put our noses down and focused on meeting at least twice a week for writing sessions, and ultimately completed writing the first draft on November 12, 2010 at roughly 12:20 am, twenty minutes over our deadline. Not too shabby.

The feeling of achievement at this point was unbelievably. I couldn't believe we actually did it, put together those complex ideas and scenes into something that worked! But there is never rest, ever. Rewrites.

For the next few months we revised, and revised... and revised. The script ultimately went through six drafts (seriously huge changes) before we decided we needed to call it final. We could've gone on drafting it until our fingers fell off. From here on out the changes are going to be relatively minor, and page by page instead of cutting or adding huge batches of story.

I guess that more or less covers the beginning of our journey with this film. We could both go on and on talking about all the different aspects that sort of happened or began along the way. In due time.

Writing sessions were powered exclusively by delicious loose leaf tea.