THE Night Shoot (W4:D2)

Tonight was our first night shoot and man...was it rough. Myself and my Gaffer had never shot anything at night before so already we had a learning curve. I know how our camera handles light but its something Shaun (Gaffer) wasn't used to by any means. Getting exposure was tough. We also started running out of time very quickly and the ability to get the shots planned became impossible. I was nervous all night that what we were shooting wouldn't fit together properly and we would have a large amount of good shots...but thats it. Either way we just pressed on and ended up getting parts of what we needed. We missed some things we'll have to pick up sometime soon to make the scenes work, that includes dialog. So overall the night shoot wasn't such a great experience and I wont forget it. Still I'm glad we pulled out of the night with something to show for it. Next week will be an interesting week, we don't have a lot of shooting days left to use the guys who are down here to help so we gotta kick it up a notch.

Good Times... (W4:D1)

Today was one of those funny goofy days. The scenes we had lined up were a bit more fun for the actors, not too serious. It allowed them to have some fun. For instance, one shot involved Robby (playing Dave) throwing a sock at Eric (playing Steven) so that wasn't exactly painful to shoot. The bloopers were priceless as well, maybe sometime soon I can put together a giant blooper reel on the website from the footage we've shot so far.Tomorrow we aren't shooting until later in the day because tomorrow is our first and hopefully only Night Shoot. Pray that all goes well and that we get everything we need. Things have been going well, lots more to go but we've been plugging along and moving forward. Only this week and 2.5 more weeks that my out of state crew is here so our goal is to get the most difficult stuff done in that time and the local crew will finish the rest. Thanks for all the support everyone, I hope you enjoyed the newsletter and the gallery!

New Newsletter - 06.25.08

Because of some complications we couldn't shoot today but it did give everyone some time to relax. On a different note we have a new newsletter available to everyone. Our newsletters have special information and announcements about the website, the film itself, thanks to those involved, and links to other Christian content!

You can see the latest newsletter here: http://www.standingfirmmovie.com/newsletter/newsletter_62508.html

If you would like to receive these newsletters by email, sign up on our email list here: http://www.standingfirmmovie.com/signupwindow.html

Thank you everyone for your ongoing support for our film. The response we've been getting from people all over the country for a film like this is staggering. God has truly Blessed us this month in getting the word out to people. Keep praying for us as we move into our 2nd month of shooting in a about a week. Lots of tough stuff ahead to complete.

New Surroundings (W3:D4)

We shot in a new location for the first time today since production started. Luckily we finished all scenes that took place there in one day because moving all the equipment is a serious hinderance. Just like the previous day we had a shot in the kitchen that after seeing played out just seemed to work in a wide shot even though the conversation is easily a page and a half. The actors pulled it off after a bunch of takes as well as myself shooting with the camera, and Jeremy on boom trying to mic the shot from a very awkward position in the corner of the kitchen counter. Either way we pulled it off...kudos to everyone for once again having patience and to the Whitton family for letting us fill their house with people for a day.
Not sure what the schedule will be for next week, thats up in the air because we are running out of things to shoot that will make the days easier. So odds are from now on we'll be burning the midnight oil (not that we haven't already lol) to get things moving right along into July.

Impromptu (W3:D3)

Today was an interesting day. We only had one actor today so we had planned to shoot one scene only and pieces of it only. But then we started thinking about other scenes that might have Eric (playing Steven) solo within the scene. We planned to shoot any scenes that take place in his room at a later date but we saw one of the rooms in the house and said "you know what, we could turn this into a bedroom." One couch/pull-out-bed, gaffer taped picture frame, blanket and pillow later we had a bedroom. Everything within the frame says bedroom, everything outside...well then we'll leave that to the imagination.Also we did probably one of the hardest shots of the shoot so far. A long take of Maggie and Steven walking towards camera in conversation outside. It was difficult to mic, shoot, pull focus for, light, and hard for the actors to get their lines right. We did a record 30 takes of it. Sun kept going in and out as well because of the clouds so some takes are drastically different from others and we had no time to do other angles so we needed a one shot does all version of the scene. Sooner or later we got it, now I have to figure out which take/takes we're the good ones :P Thanks to everyone for their patience too, that was quite the experience to get that thing done. We also had audio issues which was exciting. Looks like when we have our hyper-cardiod mic indoors our sound guy Jeremy can have the level hit a certain place before they clip where the shotgun outside has to be leveled to clip below 0...something the hyper doesn't require. It was odd but we think we figured it out, the audio comes out fine it just takes some doing to actually get it set. Tomorrow we shoot at a new house for the day to get all the scenes that take place there complete. Wish us luck and pray for us!

Circumstances (W3:D2)

Today was interesting. We weren't fully prepared in the morning so we were all sitting around trying to figure out what we should shoot for the day. We're in the part of the schedule where (at least in the main house we are shooting in) there are only so many scenes left to do and choices on what to shoot for the day are getting thinner. So we all sat around and agreed on a scene to do and went at it. The end of the day got tougher though because the sun went away on us and I need the shots I did to cut together and continuity might be an issue but we'll see. Other than that everyone did great today, we were 1 crew member short as well (our AD had to go home for the weekend) but we got through the day.

A Good Days Work (W3:D1)

Today was an awesome day of shooting. We shot more today than we have yet...so I'm very happy about that. Today was also the first scenes with lots of dialog, and also the first "emotional" scenes so I was a bit nervous. We pulled things off with flying colors and I have to do a shout-out to both our lead actors Rob Reisman and Eric Stevenson. They knocked it out of the park and into next week. I was VERY impressed with what they dished out today. It makes me feel better about upcoming things that are on the schedule. Thanks to all who are praying for us. God has had his hand on us big time since our start. Lots has gone wrong and lots has gone right and somehow we keep moving. I'm very excited to move into the rest of this week and get even more done! If all goes according to plan, we'll shoot twice as much footage this week than the last. We're plugging along :)

Chores & Exteriors (W2:D4)

Like the previous day, today was spent getting odd things for use in a montage, and a couple other things we will need like exteriors of the home we are shooting in. The day was short and full of fun, lots of goofing around and opportunity for input from the crew with ideas. We basically scouted the property for things the actor could do on the house and in the yard to "work" on things.

On a different note, we have gotten incredible response from people on the internet from the things they have seen so far, very cool to read comments from people in emails about the screenshots they've seen in the blog. Thanks for the encouragement everyone, keep it coming.

Lots of Freedom (W2:D3)

Today was an interesting day. Other than one scene, we had very little we were able to shoot that we were prepped for so we spent the day gathering odd ball things I knew we would need. The day was pretty spontaneous and it allowed for me to ask crew that was there for input and ideas. It involved one of our main actors doing chores so we just scouted the house we are shooting in and threw ideas around and just shot whatever we could :) It was fun and free, lots of goofing around and we ended up with some nice stuff. Tomorrow will be a similar day but involve a few shots of chores and such that take place outside. Should be a nice stress free weekend.

Very...Productive (W2:D2)

After yesterdays fiasco, and fixing the camera equipment at home...I was a little nervous when I got to set today. Luckily all was well and we got going right away. We had the pace flowing much faster and completed more shots before lunch than we've been able to crack in a day thus far. We completed a new shot from concept to setup to completion every 30 mins, not bad for the 4 CREW people we had today including myself. Cast was awesome today as well, very surprising. The stuff they had to pull off today was very minimal in dialog and had emphasis on facial movement, and they pulled it off exceptionally well. Thanks guys!

Today was also the first day with a long scene of that sort where there are lines in between, close ups, masters, separate angles for coverage, etc. in one sequence. We haven't shot something like that yet and I hadn't planned and put together a shot list like that before either. All was well though and when I got in the edit bay today and did a throw together, things went together very nice.

If we can pull off a day like today for the remainder of the schedule, we'll be well on our way.

Sweat & Tears (W2:D1)

Today was a tough day. We arrived at 7:30am on location ready to go and a piece of our camera equipment, no so much. It had all sorts of issues with particles inside it and I had to take it apart and try and figure out the issue, find the particles, get them out, reattach and check again. I wont shed all the details but basically 3/4 of our day was spent with me in a chair hunched over this thing trying to get it ready to go. We started shooting at 1pm and got 3 shots by the end of the day. The first shot we did took 18 takes but it was an incredible shot, the best we've gotten yet. For some reason we have been attempting and completing shots with complexity not normally seen in films of this budget. I'm very thankful of everyone for being patient today and dealing with my near breakdown, haha.

At the end of the day, the shots looked good, God was faithful, our equipment worked, and all was well. It was also a nice temp today so that made things a bit easier. Tomorrow we go into some very difficult stuff, all of you out there pray that tomorrow begins quickly and progresses swiftly.


Also thanks to all for supporting us during this journey. We received a donation to our Post-Production fund all the way from Italy today! Thats quite a distance for someone to know about this project. Keep praying for us!

Enjoying the Outdoors (W1:D2)

We shot outdoors for the first time today, what a scorcher. We had to rush to beat the sun and get our sequence shot in the first few hours before the sun got too high. Our Gaffer/Lighting Director Shaun Smith did a fabulous job lighting the scene. It got up to about 93 Degrees by the middle of the day and tons of humidity. Going inside to shoot for the rest of the day made me feel better till I realized I forgot the AC must be turned off for sound (DOH!). It wasn't 93 in the house but by the end of the day we were all sweaty regardless. Overall a great day though, tension had subsided since the first day and the second day was pure business. We still have kinks to work out to get things running as smoothly as I would like but thats ok.
I'm very impressed with the amount of professionalism on the set, especially in the people who really don't have any filmmaking knowledge at all. We will have different PA/Grip volunteers as production progresses and the past two days have given me a good idea of how that'll go as we continue. Not a complainer to be found. Move this, move that, grab this, help with this, etc. Everyone did as they were told when they were told, a good sign for the days when things will be very crazy and hectic.

Next week we start the first scenes with actual dialog, that'll be an experience. God Bless!

The Beginning - (Week 1, Day 1)

Day 1 was today, what a day it was. In the morning I was on pins and needles, having gotten less sleep than I would have wanted, and still had stuff to straighten out. Once we got to set there was even more to straighten out but everyone did what they could. :) Lots of technical problems and first time startup issues but overall we got moving eventually. God is in it, thats what matters. Many more days to go but the first was just the taste I think we all needed to get moving into the schedule we have.

Thanks to everyone who has been and is supporting us as we move forward. God Bless...

The Heartcry of a Christian Filmmaker

One day away from production on my first feature, the anxiety and nervousness has built up a great deal.  Tears started flowing from my eyes only fifteen minutes ago and after praying I felt led to write this.  The last year has been an incredible journey.  God has been SO GOOD.  Who am I to have such an opportunity?  To have the means to spread the gospel in such a revolutionary way?  Who is Kyle Prohaska?  That question was rolling around in my head.  This isn't about me, its not about my crew, its not about my fame, its not about the money spent or the profits gained.  It's about the goal of this film to win souls for Christ, and its not just about the film itself when it's complete, it's also about the way in which it was made.  With a non-compromising, no quiting, God led attitude and drive from start to finish no matter what the devil may throw our way.  I can't put my finger on exactly why I started crying earlier but part of it was the fact that I was nervous and the anxious feeling to begin seemed to hit a peak.  I want to do my Savior proud, I want Him to use this film, I want Him to take it as far and high as He chooses and Glorify Himself with it.  Being apart of it all is purely a gift.  So do I know exactly what will happen with STANDING FIRM?  No I dont, but I do know this, it will be worked on with all my heart, soul, and attention, and it WILL be done for NOBODY else but my Savior.  Praise be to God for His incredible mercy, grace, power, honor, glory, and willingness to allow this films creation.  We start production in one day (June 5th), pray that all goes well and God alone be Glorified!

Mark 16:15: "He said to them, go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

Hands to the plow,
Kyle Prohaska
Praise Pictures Inc.
http://www.praisepictures.com
http://www.standingfirmmovie.com

P.S. - Don't forget to check the site on a regular basis to see new content updated as we continue production! Behind the scenes photos, blog entrys, location photos, etc. are some of the things you can look forward to.  Also please continue to pray for us as we move along, we need to be covered in prayer.