Virtual crew…you’d be happy you were virtual today! It was COLD.
But we had fun!
This email is short and sweet because it’s 1AM and I have a big day of shooting tomorrow.
Here are some pics from set.
Notice the first pic of Sandi with the slate. You can see Duckie tucked in her coat. Sandi wears a lot of hats on set, and I couldn’t do it without her!
Notice the cute look from my wife, producer, 1st AD and 2nd AC above. I’d just told her she was slating wrong. Hahaha.
Good times.
My family and friends have been incredible on set. Even in the cold.
There is no way I could pull this off without them.
Tomorrow we’re back at the cabin!
Pray for me. I need clarity and efficiency to get the shots we need…
The next scene on the shooting schedule shows what happens to Noble (played by Rick Roepke) when he refuses to tell “Ghost Face” the whereabouts of Rose Lawson.
A special thanks to Molly McKim for her last minute tailoring work on my villain’s pants!
We costumed up, hauled equipment to the location.
“Camera Rolls! Sound Speeds!” and….
“WAIT!”
What’s the new name???
Both Noble and the Outlaw had to pause to consider.
Okay, that’s not exactly how it happened. But we made a decision!
First a massive THANK YOU to everyone who sent in ideas and voted.
Are you ready???
The new name is:
LUCENT TAYLOR alias GHOST
BOOYAH! We have our OWN UNIQUE outlaw name.
Man, that was way more difficult than expected.
(Eventually we’ll learn more about Lucent and why he became Ghost.)
Brian Brasher, Kirsten McKim and Joel Smythe receive Associate Producer credits for GHOST. And my own Aunt Melody Boudreau receives one for LUCENT.
These four will have legit IMDb credits! Congrats to each of you.
And Alveraz Ricardez, if you’re reading this, the last name is in honor of your feature film that you let me cut my teeth on.
Here’s a still from shooting of Lucent Taylor:
This week two more actors roll into town:
Lyle Mathis and Terri Crain Goodman.
Plus Derek, Kara Lee and Kennick Oldenkamp are showing up on Friday to volunteer for a day. WHOA!!! That’s awesome.
Kennick is a budding director in his own right.
That’s the latest.
Would you guys mind doing something for me?
It would mean a lot. A LOT.
YouTube channel subscribers are the ticket for indie filmmakers.
Could you share Rose and the Outlaw and ask people to subscribe to my channel? Tell them the sequel is coming soon?
On Saturday we had our very first day of shooting.
I wish you could’ve been here.
Crew call was 7:30AM at Whitewater Equestrian in Sapphire, NC.
This was my first time shooting with horses!
Kayren (pictured below) is the man in charge at Whitewater Equestrian. An incredible person. As a Marine he spent 12 months in the hospital after being hit during Vietnam.
Kayren plays BUCK in the film.
Rick & Kathy Roepke (below) are dear friends who drove 6 hours so I could have Rick’s talent in the movie.
Rick plays NOBLE. His character refuses to give “Ghost Face” information regarding the whereabouts of Rose Lawson.
After the horse scene we had to wait until twilight to shoot the remaining scene of the day. The plan was to do this immediately, but the clouds left and the sun was too intense.
Shooting in harsh sun is extremely difficult.
So you move to plan B.
I learned something on Saturday.
That I can’t do it all.
Indie film is tough…you don’t always have crew. Fortunately Sandi, Kathy and Journey jumped in to help.
Sandi acted as 1st AD. Literally saved my bacon on some shots.
Kathy acted as sound utility and boom before she fell into the creek.
Journey assisted Kathy in finding a towel and dry clothing.
My actors were PHENOMINAL. My family-friends-crew were phenominal. And hanging out in between shooting was a lot of fun.
So far, RECKONING is off to a great start.
Thank you for the role each of you have in this. Your opinions, sharing and support are HUGE. We filmmakers need this. We don’t always have the right ideas. Or the energy. Or the faith.
So again, thank you.
And here’s a treat…Below is an actual still from the movie. You guys are seeing it first!
Kyler Boudreau
P.S. I will announce the new name for Ghost Face soon. It’ll happen this week, so stay tuned.
I quickly hit up Google. Yep, there’s no way we can use the name Ghost Face in the movie. Crud.
(Not fair that they took “Scream” and “Ghost Face” IMO)
So this is why I need your help.
Been repeatedly bashing my head against the wall trying to figure out a new name. A name that will be recorded on set in less than two weeks.
Can any of you help me?
Pictured above are the masks and gun of my villain.
I need a GOOD NAME for a BAD GUY.
If someone can come up with a name that I use, YOUR name will be in the credits of the movie and on IMDb!
I will give you a legit Associate Producer credit on the film. Deal?
Cool.
I knew I could count on you.
BTW…would you like a moment of story theory?
Did you know that “bad guys” are only doing what they think is the right thing to do at a given moment?
That threw me for a loop years ago when I first began studying screen writing. But it’s true, regardless of your villain.
Dr. Alexander Lloyd in THE LOVE CODE says this:
“Behind every action is an internal goal. And behind every internal goal is a belief. No matter what our beliefs are, we always do what we believe 100% of the time.”
Bad guys simply have messed up belief systems.
The more we filmmakers understand this, the better villains we can craft for our stories.
Example: The Joker in The Dark Knight.
Anyway, I need to let you guys get to work, because we need a new name.
Somebody, I’m hoping, is gonna get an Associate Producer credit on RECKONING and on IMDb!
A main actress for RECKONING flies in from Chicago on March 26th to shoot her scenes, and I found out her location is not available due to an apple orchard festival.
NO!!!!!
It’s March. The apples aren’t even here yet!
I failed to check schedules.
But we have to keep pushing forward. “Just keep swimming” as Dory would sing.
I had a meeting scheduled with the Highlands Historical Society. If they could just agree to letting me shoot at their location, March 26 could still work out.
That meeting was at 9AM today.
Harry and Lance run the historical society — Home to the oldest home in the city, built in the 19th century. The Elizabeth Wright Prince House.
And guess what? They said YES.
Not only do I have more flexibility with this location, but it’s WAY BETTER.
Check it out:
This home was built in 1877, just six years before the story for RECKONING takes place.
So blown away by this location. God definitely smiled our way, and I thank him for that.
Grateful to Harry and Lance for allowing this to happen.
I’ll upload more pics to Facebook, but check out one more…
So that’s the latest.
We are now less than a month out from shooting the film. Things are about to get CRAZY.
And with that, we’ll definitely be showing you behind the scenes footage of the shoot, so stay tuned.
For those of you familiar with the book of Genesis, at one point God said “Let there be light” and there was light.
Today it was like God said, “Let there be horses.”
Meet one of the friendly, tame horses that will be in our film:
And horses were just the start.
Who said Mondays were bad???
I can’t tell you how many incredible things happened today.
From being driven to a cabin by someone who worked for the last 5 presidents to securing two incredible shootings sites with spectacular. mind-blowing views.
Back to the horses:
1) They are letting us use them for free.
2) The owner of the Whitewater Equestrian Center is a unique, white bearded man who also owns a cabin that was — wait for it — originally owned by none other than Daniel Boone himself!
3) This white bearded man is now going to play a key role in the opening of our film!
For those of you who prayed for horses, God delivered more than just horses today. Thanks for praying!
And thanks to God for smiling our way.
Side note: My replica double barrel shotgun arrived!
This gun will be used by Private Mathis and represents some Ghost Face stopping power.
Whoops…was I supposed to say spoiler alert before that?
Last week I was stoked to tell you we found Roses’s cabin.
Guess what?
WE FOUND A BETTER ONE!!!!
(Don’t worry, the other cabin will still be used.)
Here is the new cabin for Rose Lawson:
And even better, they are allowing us to shoot INSIDE!!!!
I’m so excited I could hug everybody.
Here’s part of the interior:
It was an old sharecroppers cabin back in the day. The owners restored it while protecting the original charm. And since it’s empty, I can take my time to decorate and plan our shots!
This location is a complete God send.
I was driving back from my Mamaw’s house a couple weeks ago and on a whim pulled into the drive. A man happened to be there who works on the property. He graciously set everything up with the owners.
I’m telling you, the entire thing felt blessed.
I’m grateful for this.
Production got bumped to March, but that is just around the corner.
Thanks again for taking this ride with me!
Kyler Boudreau
P.S. Now I need to find a couple horses, so prayers are needed to find the right location and a willing owner!
We found the cabin we’ll use for Rose’s home in the film!
If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Rose is the protagonist of RECKONING. She’s our hero. The girl who has to stand up to a notorious outlaw.
And I needed a cabin that would sell for her home in the 19th century.
Without further delay, here it is:
I’ve already told you about location scouting. So how did I find this cabin off a lone, gravel mountain road?
Real estate listings.
Yep. Stumbled on an old listing for a cabin and decided to just go for it.
Sandi and Journey, being the adventurous gals that they are, opted to go along for moral support.
You know, it could be the last time they see me. This is the mountains. I didn’t know who owned the cabin, whether they’d be in town, or meet us on the porch with a shotgun.
Fortunately, the owners were there. And they were incredibly kind and gracious. And even better…they said YES! I literally gave the guy a hug. All I have to do is help him learn fly fishing. Done.
And do you want to hear something really cool? It’s so exciting I want to jump up and down: This cabin was built by Private David Rogers. A man who fought in the war of 1812!
BOOYAH!!! Wait, did soldiers say that back then?
Man this is exciting. We’re shooting at a place that existed in 1883, the year RECKONING takes place.
So that’s all I wanted to share. Sure hope you have an incredible weekend. More exciting updates as we get closer to the shoot!
It’s 2022 and we’re getting closer to shooting the movie!
But first, I hope you had a relaxing Christmas.
It’s our first Christmas in North Carolina.
And it took me three times to get the right-sized sized Christmas tree.
THREE TIMES.
This wasn’t a “run to the local nursery” type of thing. Oh no, it was a “drive to the country and cut down a tree” type of thing.
Let’s hope I execute on the film better than Christmas trees.
Speaking of which, we’re testing gear and ordering costumes! As most of you know this is part of pre-production.
Yesterday, I told Journey’s school teacher (her mother) that the lead actress was needed on set for camera testing.
So Journey and I loaded up film gear and snacks from Mommy, and headed out. Stopping only for hot chocolate with whipped cream (gotta keep talent happy).
At the Cashiers Historical Society, Journey explored a kitchen full of antiques while I tested camera and lenses.
Industry Note: If this were a studio film, I could never ask for the main actor to come to set for camera tests. Brad Pitt would be like, “Seriously?” But when the actress is your daughter, and it’s indie film, you can do things studio directors only dream about doing!
One big item for me was testing exposure. Check out the image above — Journey holds a gray card. This card is “middle gray” (which sounds like a place in Lord of the Rings).
Middle gray is part of the Ansel Adams zone system. It’s one thing filmmakers use to set proper exposure. The colored screen on the back of the camera is called “false colors” and it assigns a color to certain exposure levels.
I’m shooting this film on the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera using Sirui Anamorphic lenses. When we’re actually shooting the movie, the sets will be lit much better than a single light with no diffusion like I used for testing. But even with that, the resulting image is still pretty cool:
See how wide the image is? That’s a 2.4:1 aspect ratio. You get this by shooting with anamorphic lenses. Wide aspect ratios give the film a more epic feel than a normal 16×9 frame.
So that’s a wrap for this update!
In the last email I asked for ideas on how to define all of you — Busy people who care enough to get into behind the scenes info about my film (thank you!).
A few responded with great ideas, but one idea ruled them all:
Virtual Crew from Jerusha Emerson.
I love it! Thank you Jerusha.
So that’s it, you’re now virtual crew. And calling you crew means you’re literally a part of the film.
Hey, maybe there should be a virtual crew section in the credits?
And as crew, you’re the first to hear this update:
We’re planning production for February!
Originally it was planned for September of last year, but that’s just filmmaking. You push ahead, one step at a time. It’s the filmmakers who never give up that get stories told.
Thanks for cheering me on. I really appreciate it.
And thanks for sharing the film! If you know anyone who would like to see more, send them here:
