Day 10

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Day 10 was probably one of the most anticipated days of the entire film. We're not going to say much about it (story-wise) besides it involving the location of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The MSP airport was a location we planned in the writing stages of the film and locked after several discussions with the great and helpful staff at the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

David Marketon, Co-writer/Producer of Lambent Fuse, and myself had scouted the airport for scene locations within days previous (and actually almost a year before). We feel this was a huge location accomplishment. It provides credibility toward the film and story, but it's also a place where not too many other films have taken place (and we plan to push Lambent Fuse as far as we can).

It was a first for most of the cast and crew in the location, so it served as a treat half-way through shooting. The place/staff were wonderful to work in/with. We filmed some pretty impressive shots and setups to make the scene as stunning as we could.

After finishing up a 5-hour shoot at the airport, we broke until dusk, when we filmed an emotional and dramatic scene with Freddie.

The day was a very productive one that had us wrapping each location and scene early.

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

Make a tax deductible donation | http://www.lambentfuse.com/Donate

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Day 9

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Day 9 was a half day of shooting, the first from a long break of a weekend. We set out to shoot about 6 pages in one location; however we were not able to because of some last minute conflicting schedules. So, instead we worked through some of the scenes as rehearsals in order to speed up the process for when we'd actually be able to shoot them.

The night also couldn't go that late because we had a major location day the next day to prepare for, in which we had to wake up early to do so (tune in to Day 10 blog). We were able to take time to rehearse those scenes as well.

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

Make a tax deductible donation | http://www.lambentfuse.com/Donate

DAY 8

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Day 8 had us traveling all over the cities to three different locations, along with some further location scouting. It was an incredibly productive and active day. Many of these scenes involved some rather complex set ups and arrangements (camera-wise) to capture the essence of the scene and the internal character struggle.

We added a few scenes onto our day and shot late into the night (we only just recently wrapped Day 8), so that we could take the weekend off and prepare for an intensive 5-6 day week next week.

And, after taking a look at the script, we're about half way done shooting the script! We have a few major locations that we're getting (or needing to get) into which add to the budget. If you know of a police station that we may be able to shoot in, please contact us at: info [at] lambentfuse [dot] com. If you're interested in helping us out financially, please visit our Donation page:

http://www.lambentfuse.com/Donate

Fund the Film. Reep the Rewards! — You could even win a chance on set!

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

DAY 7

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This Thursday marked Day 7 of the shoot for Lambent Fuse. We had a late start because we shot late into the night for Day 6. After a couple consecutive successful days of heavy shooting days, we set out to tackle 3 intense scenes. We had the location for a majority of the day, but since these scenes required dressing and 3 different set ups (for the camera) for each, we had to move very quickly.

The actors came on set ready to roll, and with only with a small amount of dedicated rehearsal time they delivered some rock solid performances (and we're pumped for that day when you'll all be able to see the footage).

There were also a couple shots in these scenes that were very complex and hard to pull off. However, after some practice runs with careful movement from the Director of Photography, Zach Nelson, and the actors we pulled it off with very little wasted film/digital media.

So if not film, what camera are we shooting on? The Canon 5D Mark II, and it is a slick piece of equipment that really does wonders in helping expose and explore the human condition of our characters.

So, that's all for now, as I prepare for tomorrow's Day 8 shoot schedule (again another late start but long day).

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

DAY 3

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Day 3 was one of our longest days — 17 hours. The Cast & Crew were really great all day. We definitely don't plan a repeat on having recurring long days of over 12 or 15 hours, but this was a special case. We did get delayed some with the location being a hard place to find; however, when people arrived we worked diligently to shoot, and shoot quickly.

The scenes weren't the most complex, but did require a bit of choreography and specific timing of actions and events which ate up some clock. This shoot time did, however, allow for time to explore, practice, and entertain ideas through camera, sound, and action (which turned out to be a huge help for this specific day and should be for days ahead).

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

DAY 2

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***Late Post***
We picked up right from where we left off. Day 2 had us with Keith & Becker up to no good, as usual. For one of the first time's working together on set while filming an action scene, we really put the Cast & Crew to the test and they delivered some rock solid performances.

As per usual, Becker's antics are hilarious and we think the audience will agree. We caught ourselves laughing while reviewing the footage pretty extensively. The new Keith, Nick Hansen, raised the intensity for the scene and really brought the production to a new level. We can really see our characters coming to life right before our eyes (which is awesome!).

This day was one of the most jammed pack. We had over 3 locations for the shoot and traveled to each. We had a carry-over from the previous day that we got to (one of our favorites), and it turned out amazing! We did have to cancel one scene and plan to reschedule it soon. But for everything else, we hit them solid and for the most part on time.

For only the second day on set and working together, we can only see great material being produced day after day.

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

DAY 6

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Day 6 was a wonderful continuation of our efforts in side project 'The Blaze'. We invited as many people as possible to fill one of our scenes and it turned out to be a huge success. Loads of actors and friends of the Cast & Crew packed into Cloggy's Tavern (which is an amazing space to shoot in and the owners were so much fun to work with). We'd also like to thank everyone for coming out; it really made the scene look even better!

Since we had an early call for tomorrow's shoot, we ended up filming earlier in the day, even though the scene in the film takes place during the night time. How do we do that? Well, there's a method called day for night shooting, where you fake any part of the day for a night shot. So, within the bar (since it was a bar scene), we boarded up the windows, and avoided showing any exteriors. However, there was a lot more to these shots than just avoiding the outside. We had very stylistic choices as to where we were pointing the camera and what was in the frame (camera/shot).

We also just signed on an assistant editor, Henry Reich, who's going to help speed along the editing process by logging footage, taking notes, and possibly building a rough timeline of the film! We're excited to bring him on board (oh, and we should, and will be, telling you all about the Cast & Crew — seriously an outstanding group of talented people!)

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

DAY 5

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***Late Post***
Day 5 was probably our most successful shoot day yet! We shot and executed with almost instant perfection 10 pages of the script. To place this number in perspective, typically professional film sets shoot about 3 pages a day maximum. And those are 12-15 hour days. Additionally, there are about 120 pages to a script (Lambent Fuse is 106). So, we shot about 1/10 of our entire script in one day. For a really compressed shooting schedule like ours, this day felt amazing to walk off set from.

On a side note, this scene has gone through extensive revisions over the past 2 1/2 years and was one of the hardest scenes to write. Given that though, it's one of my favorites (if not my favorite scene), so I'm super pumped to share it with you all soon enough!

We shot, again, at an amazing location: Ginger Hop. The space really lent itself to the scene. It added the intensity and hidden beauty of the context and content within the scene and characters at that point in the story. We really couldn't have asked for more. Look forward to more posts of upcoming days!

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

DAY 4

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We prepared for Day 4, the day after July 4th, as a two-day schedule. During the weekend the weather looked like it could either rain or be sunny during our shoot. So, we worked with that and made two call sheets: one for rain, and one for a sunny day (call sheets are pieces of paper that list the scenes, locations, actors, and crew needed, along with other important details).

The day started out sunny, so we shot with that call sheet during the morning. This was also the first time we used a dolly shot (moving/tracking camera) for the film, as well as a picture car (car used specifically for the film). The shoot went extremely well, and we were well ahead of schedule. In fact, the rain started to pour in the final minute of our shoot.

We then broke for lunch and tried to use the rain in one of our scenes in the script, but it didn't last long enough. So, we transitioned into our rain call sheet for the night shoot (from the sunny call sheet for the day shoot). This kept us mainly indoors, and we cruised into the night (as you can tell). It was a very nice start to the week, and we'll be shooting all week this week (maybe even 6 days) to try and wrap before the end of the month!

We have a call at 9AM tomorrow, so I'm off to get some rest before we start up another 12-hour day.

There may be a contest for 'The Blaze' tomorrow (June 6, 2010). Look for it!

Thanks for reading,

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse

DAY 1

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***Late Post***

We had a late start to Day 1 (Tuesday, June 28th, 2010), and began with a scene toward the end of the film. Unfortunately the sun started to fall before we could get to one of our favorite scenes, so we prepped the choreography for Day 2 (look for the post soon to come)!

The cast and crew packed into Allison's Apartment (rather small if we say so ourselves), and the temperature rose fairly high (when we shut the windows to work around the neighbors and noises of the outdoors).

It turned out to be a fantastic start to the production of Lambent Fuse. Look forward to some pics from the set.

§ Matt Cici

Director/Co-writer of Lambent Fuse