Standing Firm Blog

The Blog Moves...

2008-12-20T19:41:00.007-05:00

The time has come! Our Blog is moving to its new location on our official Standing Firm website! This gives us more control over the Blog and lets us add new features we couldn't here. No worries this Blog will stay here if you've linked anything to here on your websites or facebook posts or emails. The current archive has been imported into the new blog however so no matter what we'll have a full collection of entries for your enjoyment.

Posts are categorized into areas of Production so you can go through the entire journey of the film from Pre-Production, to Production (filming), and Post as well as News/Press.

What does this new Blog have for you? You'll notice some useful links to the right when you visit. Links to popular Christian websites we support, and also the websites of other Christian Films in production or recently released. Please use these links to your advantage, and share these other films with the people you know! Also if you would like to comment often, there is now the ability to create an account (with an avatar), sign in, and comment to your hearts content! Leave us messages of encouragement, bible verses that come to mind while your in prayer, or anything else that you might want. Besides us posting, your responses help keep the Blog alive and kicking. Let us know that you like what we're posting, or that you don't. The more of it you say you like, the more of it you'll get!

Also the crew page is being rebuilt on our website. Right now you can find biographical information on myself and Kevin Michael and learn how we came together to create our company, and a lot more. It seems like every new story about the creation of this film builds on another. We will add more crew member bios as we're able. Click here to see them.

Consider this the last post in this location. The U-Haul has been unpacked, furniture and the proper furnishings are in place, and we're ready to begin a new! Visit The New Blog

That's a Wrap!

2008-12-19T00:26:00.012-05:00

The last seven days have been a combination of things. Exhausting and exciting, but above all Blessed. We can't give all the hairy details because nothing is set in stone (yet). But we hopefully have some big things to share with all of you soon involving post-production and the completion of the film as a whole.Last weekend, myself (Kyle), Rob Reisman (playing Dave), and Kevin Michael (Co Writer/Producer), set out to LA to meet some folks who had seen a Promo DVD we sent. To make a long story short, things look good ;) I know that isn't a lot of information and as stated nothing is for sure, but I do want everyone to be rest assured we are moving along and God is moving big time. Once the time comes and things are more solidified I can share more information, but for now I'm asking everyone to pray. Pray that whatever is going on (I'm driving you nuts aren't I?), that it would be the Hand of God and nothing more, that the decisions being made are of the Lord and of no other influence, and that leading up to when we can make a full announcement, everything would go smoothly.

  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - (Philippians 4:6-7)On a different note as you noticed by the title of the Blog, THAT'S A WRAP. Yea you heard me, we are done with principle photography. 25 Weeks, 44 Shooting Days, 600 hours on set with people you care about, a church with volunteers, a new company, time away from families and jobs, miracles on set, miracles off the set, a cast/crew growing stronger in Christ, 8+ deaths in relation to local church families and people involved, a local community and internet fan-base in prayer, and a little story called Standing Firm. My o my has God brought us a long way, and we have a ways to travel still! Weighing out all the pain and frustration, the headaches and pitfalls, nothing can compare to what is without a doubt the greatest year of my life. Praise God for his Faithfulness in answering his children's prayers, and may He continue to be lifted up as we move along. He gets bigger, we get smaller...what a beautiful thing.

The stage we are at now is getting the edit together as best we can before we evaluate what needs to be included in pick ups, or reshot. The nature of this project allows reshoots in a way that no other project would allow. Having full access to all locations (as long as we are indoors, it is about 20 degrees here right now), and having everyone on board is obviously a great Blessing to the project and insures the best product possible. Could God have given us a more Blessed situation?

This means we will all be taking a bit of a break while we begin to iron out this “big thing” going on (I can feel it, you hate that I can't tell you), and also do what is stated above. This also means its time to move the blog to another location. Where will be specified soon and you can move yourself there. It will be setup a lot better than this blog and allow more functionality for those of you out there who enjoy keeping up with our updates!

We are so grateful that all of you out there have continued supporting us after such a long time. This is a great hurdle for all of us to be jumping, in more ways than one. We are extremely grateful for the encouragement we have received from all of you, especially your prayers as each problem presented has been solved in God's timing. This is something that requires you, all of you.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." - (1 John 5:14-15)

God Bless & MERRY CHRISTMAS,
Kyle Prohaska

Bits & Pieces #3 (W25:D1)

2008-12-12T23:16:00.005-05:00

Today was another day where we needed to get remaining pieces of scenes previously shot. Some of the more complicated scenes in the film involve scenes at church, with different angles and cutaways needed. Most church days we ran out of time to get everything needed, and we were forced to wait a long time down the road to come back. This involves matching lighting from previously shot footage. Luckily we have a laptop on set with the entire film on it. It has come in handy for a number of things, including continuity checks. There is very little left to film, and the current first cut is at about 90%. Things are coming along nicely.

Trailer Prayers

2008-12-03T23:39:00.008-05:00

OK here is the deal. We have a new trailer cut together for all of you out there. Excited? So are we. The trailer has been shown to many select people for feedback and tweaks and we have something we are really happy with. One slight hang up though. The music used towards the end of the trailer that practically carries its emotional tone will cost us a little bit of money. Problem being, that money doesn't exist. I wont give you the quote because that isn't important and is confidential information between us and the licensing company.

What can you do about it? Well there is always the option of donating. We don't want to push that agenda as much as the next one. We want you to PRAY. PRAY PRAY PRAY. Pray that the amount needed would show up in some way. We don't have the amount needed and need God to bring it for us to use the song.

After a certain point if nothing happens we will recut the trailer to something we can use. That'll just prolong the trailer release as we are really trying to concentrate on getting the actual film put together. Trailers are a whole new ball-game in terms of their complexity and making them effective. We also have a big press opportunity coming up I wont shed details of now but it will be big for us, the biggest we will probably get until many many months from now. We can recut the trailer, but God can do anything right? If this is the trailer he wants us to use, the money will show up. If not...then we recut it.

Either way ask God to bring us the answer and quickly, ideally before the big press opportunity. Having the new trailer debut along with it would be extremely beneficial.

Lets see what God does, he could have something up his sleeve.

----------------------------------------------

UPDATES:

12/05/08 - We currently have 26% of the needed funds!
12/07/08 - We currently have 45% of the needed funds!!

Having a Post-Perspective

2008-12-03T01:04:00.008-05:00

Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about all you loyal Blog subscribers and readers :)

The film is not wrapped yet, we are attempting to schedule the last of the last right now. December as you can imagine causes issues for scheduling, but what month so far hasn't? Don't worry we'll be done soon, I've said it before but there really isn't any other word to use. It's all very small stuff so we should get it done quickly.

Post-Production on the film is in full swing. What does that mean for you? Well once the picture is officially wrapped we will be creating an entirely new blog directly on the Standing Firm website to serve as our main blog from end of Production all the way until whatever ends up happening with the film (release, premiere, distribution, news, etc.). We look forward to really beefing up the inside info about the film as Post gets going really intensely. What is involved in Post-Production? Eh not too much, just editing, sound mixing and recording, ADR, foley, the score (looking forward to sharing small bits of this in the future), Visual Effects (yes we have a few to do surprisingly...it seems like the fun never ends), Color Correction, Behind the Scenes content, DVD Menus, DVD Artwork, a new completed final trailer, Final Encoding and Mastering to DVD. There are lots of subcategories included in there but I wont mention what those are.What we will try and do as Post-Prod goes along is give you an insight into what goes into Post-Production by visiting each of the corresponding topics. Hopefully the new blog will be a place where you can learn quite a bit about the technical side of filmmaking if you don't know much already, and for those who already know a lot...maybe you'll pick up a thing or two.

You'll be surprised to know the entire film (capture files, Final Cut Pro project, posters, website, encoded web files, audio wavs, etc.) is only reaching bout 520GB as of today. Not a lot considering the length of film we are creating (90 minutes as a goal). Yes we are backing it up, don't worry. :)

Till next time...

Spoken from the Heart (W23:D1)

2008-11-25T10:38:00.003-05:00

Today we shot a scene in the pastors office and the pulpit footage needed for our church scenes. Pastor Billy Crone, our local pastor at Niagara Frontier Bible Church did a great job. He was a natural at the pulpit (obviously) and when it came to shooting in his office, everything went smoothly. This scene is probably one of the most important OF THE ENTIRE FILM. After we filmed everything we "needed" for the scene, I told Rob that I was just going to roll it and he could say whatever he wanted. What would his character say at this point in the story? What kind of feelings would be bubbling inside? We hit the record button and the result was amazing. God really worked through Robby as he started talking about so many relatable things to the common Christian. My eyes lit up as I watched the monitor, knowing that this footage was going to be a really impacting moment of the film for a non-Christian viewer. It's remarkable what kind of stuff you can get out of someone sometimes if your loose on what you want their character to say and let them speak from the heart. It's not always Shakespeare but it's genuine. Things come out you couldn't have written down or put on paper. God showed up big time today, PRAISE HIM.Happy Thanksgiving to all out there who are keeping up with the Blog! Have a great time with your family and friends!

Oh but wait there's more! :) What would a day of shooting be without bloopers? Pastor Billy is one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet and his humor is WELL KNOWN in our congregation. I figured I would share a few of them with you (and a few from past shoots). He's the only guy I know who can flip from serious to ridiculous so quickly. ENJOY! Oh and just for the record, Pastor Billy despises chicken and loves beef, hopefully that'll clear up a thing or two.

NO Crew (W22:D2)

2008-11-22T20:00:00.000-05:00

Today was interesting. We only had one small thing to shoot, the second piece to a scene which was filmed over 2 months ago when the sun was shining and the grass was green. Right now its 20 degrees and that annoying white stuff covers the ground, one of the joys of Western New York (I'm kidding of course). Regardless we only needed this one other piece of a scene and we got it done very quickly. I didn't have someone to boom sound so I grabbed my mom (Deb Prohaska playing Jen in the film) to hold the boom for us. 5 minutes of instruction on operating procedure and she had it down. We didn't have lights either, I had a reflector and natural light. I moved the camera to different places in the house to try and find the proper place. The area I picked ended up working great because there was light from both windows behind the subject giving a nice contrast on his face and a rim on his backside. The problem with the winter is things also tend to get a bit blue outside because of the sunlight reflecting off snow. A gold reflector gave it some warmth (propped up on a chair with a piece of duct tape to keep it from falling) and the right white balance setting gave it the proper look. Aaron Slack playing Shawn in the film is officially wrapped! Thanks Aaron!

This week is a big week, please pray for us. Wednesday finds us shooting one of the most crucial conversations of the entire film. Pray that all goes well and that the scene is of the Lord and not of ourselves. This is a major scene where the context can speak to the viewer in a deep relatable way.

The Night Shoot #3 (W22:D1)

2008-11-21T23:00:00.001-05:00

Tonight was our last night shoot, and it was a tough one. We had quite a bit to do and not a lot of time to do it in but God was faithful. We ended up having plenty of time in the end to do what was needed. The scene we shot tonight was extremely hard for Rob (playing Dave) because the performance had to be dead on. Before we shot the scene we specifically prayed that God would work through him to speak to the viewers. This is a moment in the film where many will relate to what is being said, and it needed to be of the Lord and not of any of us. Even the lines we had written were totally up for changes if the Lord saw fit to change them in the moment. Rob did a great job and the scene looks like it'll be powerful when it's complete.Tonight was also another night where two crew members were present. Two crew (myself and my gaffer Shaun Smith), and one actor. How we have been able to pull off what we are with the amount of people we have is a true testament to God's intervention and leading. We really feel he has his hand on this film and we can't wait to see what he does with it.

We only have a few more days left until wrap time...we are so close.

Gallery & Christian Movie Updates

2008-11-13T00:50:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know we added a few photos to the Gallery on the website. Some new BTS photos towards the bottom and screen-grabs from the film towards the top. We are keeping busy here, the last of the shooting days are finally scheduled and will be shot soon. I can hear the fireworks and party poppers going off already. The first cut of the film is coming along nicely with the runtime hovering around the 90min mark where we had estimated. I'm sure with trimming and soon to be added additions we will swing in front of and behind that mark and land somewhere close. Keep praying for the project. We have lots to do after shooting wraps to get this thing done. I know a lot of people out there are excited and so are we, but we have a long way to go and still need your support!

Thanks to all who left us a message on the videos page. It's encouraging to know there are people out there watching us :) It gives us more fuel for the fire. If you haven't left us a comment yet, WHY NOT!? Go ahead and leave one, we would love to hear from you!

There are a few Christian films & other content I want you to be aware of. It is very important that other independent Christian films be supported so more can be made. We can't make these films without you the viewer!

1) Bringing Up Bobby, a quirky comedy from the creators of Between the Walls. Christian Comedy is a rarity and very difficult to pull of, comedy in general is not easy. If your interested in Between the Walls, I do believe there is a sale going on right now! Also made by Glowing Nose LLC is their podcast. It gives some great insight into different topics, not just films. I suggest you give it a listen. I enjoy listening to these guys.

2) A Letter to Dad, a new romantic film. This film is great, on a level of production quality unseen in most Christian films...even other professional films. I suggest you give this a look, it's just been released on DVD recently!

3) Praise Pictures film reviews. Are you looking for other Christian films? Looking for a review? We hope at some point we can be a popular go to place for even-handed “filmmaker perspective” reviews. More will be added as time goes on. Keep an eye out.

By the way do any of you have a Facebook or Myspace? We have a Facebook Group available as well as an official Myspace page for the film. Join us or add us!

The Funeral #2 (W20:D1)

2008-11-02T21:41:00.003-05:00

Today we finished off pieces of the funeral we needed. We finished the funeral ceremony itself but we needed to collect what happens afterwards. Everyone did a wonderful job and I'm proud of them. Dave Gifford playing John Corwin was wrapped today so congratulations Dave! Your work on the film is awesome and we'll miss having you around. The footage came out very nice today as well, we put everyone near windows which isn't normally done but the bloom effect looks great on camera, and it matches the style of the funeral ceremony we previously shot. Everything came together well and editing the footage today I found it all fit together seamlessly. From the ceremony, to todays shooting, to what happens after. All flows together well and I think the opening of the film is going to be something that really sets you up well for the mood of the film. It's not an exploding house sequence or car chase, but it'll still pull you in. That's our hope at least.

Also if you haven't caught it yet, the radio broadcast that played on KKLA in LA last night is available on the podcast feed for Last Words Radio Click Here. Visit LastWordsRadio.com for other broadcasts and information about their radio ministry.

Click on Nov 1st. to download that days broadcast...we are mentioned about 6mins in. Special thanks to Greg for his thoughts about the film! We're glad your excited as much as we are!

Web, Video, & Publicity Updates!

2008-10-27T00:42:00.006-04:00

The Standing Firm site has a new face today, and lots of new content added, changed, and updated. You'll notice a link to a new video. That being said, the Videos page is now active and will stay that way! :)

You'll find new videos posted there as time goes on. Be sure to check out the newest video added called Fun & Bloopers.

You'll notice at the bottom a section called Comments. Read what's there and leave us a note! :)

Also, on KKLA 99.5FM in Los Angeles Nov 1st @ 9PM PST tune in to hear STANDING FIRM as a topic of discussion. Visit KKLA.com to listen in live on the day!

Also the About page has been updated with the updated synopsis, and a few other things there like a list of who could relate to the film and why/how it might impact you or those you share it with!

For those of you who haven't checked in a while, the Gallery has some great screenshots from the film.

Something else that is new that you might not know about is the new Praise Pictures website. The site has been pretty empty for a while but now we have updated and filled it with usable resources. The most notable to be our reviews of past released and new Christian movies! Visit PraisePictures.com for details.

BIG NEWS: (as if all the rest wasn't enough) There will be in the near future an interview coming at ChristianCinema.com with Kyle Prohaska, Co-Producer/Writer & Director of STANDING FIRM. Dates are not yet known and we will let you know when things become available. ChristianCinema.com is one of the biggest Christian Movie News sites available, and many watch this site for news including interviews. This interview will be on their website with lots of other interviews of high profile people including Alex & Stephen Kendrick (Facing the Giants & Fireproof), Andrew Stanton (Director of Wall-E), Ben Burtt (Sound Design Legend), and many others. The fact that we have been given the opportunity to put our little project out there amongst names like this is truly a miracle of God!

Great Fellowship (W19:D1)

2008-10-25T15:22:00.000-04:00

Today was a fun shooting day. The amount to shoot was minimal but it was great because it was our last of shooting in our main house location (in the day at least). The footage looks great, we keep getting better and better. It was nice because Kevin Michael (Co-Writ, Prod, Prod. Sound) was able to stay home today to assist, something that has changed since Sept. because of Kevin's job as a teacher. So we had 4 people on set today (including Robby as Dave), a number we haven't seen in a little while. We've been shooting a lot of days lately with 2 crew and 1 actor on set. Sounds impossible? Not for this tight group of Christian folk. :)

Also an interview was done with ChristianCinema.com today. The interview went extremely well and I look forward to seeing the finished article. We will be sure to let you know when its there. Best part about this is other news sites use their news and syndicate it, so this article and interview might be our best publicity for quite sometime. I'm extremely excited to see what God does, because I spilled my guts in the interview.

Only a little farther to move the ball, 4th Down, 10 yard line, our defense is strong and our offense is stronger...here we go.

The Cemetery (W18:D1)

2008-10-19T23:48:00.002-04:00

Today we got back to work after a week or so hiatus. It was tough because the location was beautiful but choosing a spot within it to shoot that didn't give us lighting problems made things difficult. Eventually we got it but lost the sun quickly. One thing that is also stressful during every shooting day no matter how planned things are is being 100% sure you got what you need. Anyone can get a bunch of great shots but whether or not they cut together properly is a different story. A handful of great shots that don't edit together is useless. So it's always tough when I say those infamous words for the day "that's a wrap." I always feel like I'm spelling doom for myself and I'll find out when I get home and log the footage that there was one shot I needed I didn't get. Things seem to be ok though (after looking at the footage) so thats good. We'll find out soon enough.The first cut of the film is coming along very well, we are close. I can't wait to be done shooting, finishing a first cut, and watch it beginning to end and see what we really have. I think we have something special and I'm not even sure what it is yet. There is always hopes and dreams of what it could be but what it actually is.....we'll time will tell.

Thanks again to all who have been supporting us. We are almost there :)

Saving God - Review

2008-10-17T12:41:00.003-04:00

Aside from the things going on with Standing Firm (yes we are still wrapping up shooting), we have a new review available on the Praise Pictures Website. Also the Praise Pictures site has changed a little bit, so be sure to look around a little while your there. The review is for the new film Saving God released only a few days ago by Cloud Ten Pictures. The film is outstanding and is the best Christian film I have ever seen. It's worth your rental, purchase, adding to your netflix queue or what have you....see the film. Read the review here.

We are still shooting, schedules and weather are making it difficult but we will pull through. The first cut of all the scenes previously shot is coming together nicely. I"m excited to see it all put together for the first time. As always, thanks for your prayers and support!

Bits & Pieces #2 (W16:D1)

2008-10-05T18:49:00.000-04:00

We gathered small little pieces of things today to tie some loose ends in some scenes. Things we might have ran out of time to shoot previously when we we're at the church. It took a bit of time to shoot another angle of a scene shot 3 months ago and match the light and continuity of everything around it. In the end we got it though and came up with some good footage. We also turned something that should've been simple into something a bit more complicated and a lot more interesting to look at. There is something about having close objects to camera crossing frame as you dolly that really ads some excellent depth. We have tried our hardest to up the production value of the shots in this film whether it be light or style, tilts and handheld, dolly and push in/outs...etc. Whatever we could do we did it and I think we have an example of almost anything you can try at least once in the film. All besides crane shots, (something we even cheated at one point but its still not exactly the same). We had placed a dolly in the back of a pickup to give us the height as we added tilt to the shot and moved the dolly forward. I'm very excited to see the reaction of people after they see the film. Regardless of what is thought of the film itself, I hope someone finds the way in which it's shot to be inspiring to others who work at this budget range and with the lack of resources we have and are dealing with. We have roughly 4% to go of filming, but it seems it will be the hardest to accomplish due to schedules.

Pray we keep on moving and get to the finish line with something special in our hands. What a long journey, but I have a good feeling it will be worth it.

FIREPROOF YOUR WEEKEND!

2008-09-26T12:49:00.002-04:00

New Newsletter - Click Here

Fireproof had great numbers on Friday, lets make this weekend a big one!

Two Man Crew, Part Two (W15:D1)

2008-09-25T23:56:00.000-04:00

Today was an interesting day, we only had one scene to shoot. We could have shot more but because of one important but stupid sounding problem, we couldn't. Ready for this?....BEARD CONTINUITY. Yea you heard me, a beard. The scene that was top priority was our last outdoor scene (thank goodness, weather is becoming an issue) and the beard needed to be a certain length, but the other planned scenes indoors required a longer beard. So we stuck to the one priority scene outside and go that done. It took a while longer than I would've liked, but all the equipment was at the church down the road and in the confusion we forgot a few things, was making a few mistakes along the way during shooting, etc. But we ended up getting it done. Very few days left to shoot. I'm looking forward to getting things wrapped up.

The Funeral (W14:D1)

2008-09-20T21:35:00.006-04:00

Today was a long and tough day for everyone. It was Eric Stevenson's (playing Steven) last day on set minus any last minute re-shoots that may or may not take place. It was also a tough day emotionally for the actors because of the performance needed without any dialog. Much needed to be said without anything being said, and the fact that it involved a funeral made it all that much more real. We were lucky enough to have a real casket and a real hearse donated for a few hours graciously by Hardison Funeral Home of Lewiston, NY. The light outside was perfect for the shots we needed, not a single light was brought out or bounce card or flag or anything of the sort. The footage turned out amazing, I'm very happy with what we got.

From there we moved inside, we had just enough extras to pull off what we needed. A third of the people who had signed up to arrive did not show but just enough showed up that were not on our list to fill in the gaps. Everyone was very patient with us and had lots of fun. Thanks to everyone who came out if your reading this, none of this is possible without all of you.
We are about 95% of the way done with shooting, the remaining 5% will be the hardest to get in terms of scheduling. Thats just the way things "worked out" I guess, and by that I mean "thats the way God ordained it to be." We'll see what happens, we are close, very...very...close. I can't wait to see what God does during the next and last 5%.

New Newsletter - 09.17.08

2008-09-17T21:12:00.002-04:00

There is a new newsletter available to you: http://standingfirmmovie.com/newsletter/newsletter_91708.html

It's worth a look, some information on another Christian production company based in Ohio that needs your help! Also Fireproof is released in just about a week, times a tickin. If you haven't bought your tickets yet visit http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/theaters to find a theater and purchase tickets now.

This Saturday is the last big day of shooting, we have a few more days after that but this one is the last big day with extras, and lots to shoot in a short amount of time. Fun times. Pray that all goes well! Sorry I can't clue you into what is being shot...top secret...for now.

Also we have some Post-Production expenses we need to take care of to finish the film. If any of you out there even have 10 bucks you can donate, we would appreciate the support. The fundraiser ends a while from now so you all got plenty of time if your a saver. Hopefully something happens :)

Two Man Crew (W13:D1)

2008-09-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

Today went well considering we had (as you could probably guess by the title of the entry...) two crew members. Myself and my Gaffer Shaun Smith. We had a few reshoots to do as well as some bits and pieces needed for previously shot scenes. We also tried out a new lens we haven't used yet. It provides a 1:1 image, meaning if you were to have a lens like this on a film camera with this kind of ratio...a frame of 35mm of a dime would be exactly the size of that dime. This allows some serious depth of field on close up objects whether it be papers, coins, phones, eyes, or pretty much anything you would need to get extremely close to. We made good use of the lens today, I'm thrilled with what we were able to get. We have a handful of days left, we're not out of the woods yet but we are close. I'm excited to see this thing get wrapped up. Lots of post work coming down the pike.

Our Film & the others out there!

2008-09-08T15:24:00.027-04:00

One thing we all have to do is support each other. Christian film is a young market, a new category in comparison to the secular world. I've plugged other Christian films here but I figured I would do it again. :) Take advantage of these links below for each film and share it with others. Seriously, it will take only 5mins of your time to share this blog entry with people on your email list, or post it on Facebook in your profile, etc. Since this market is so new, take it upon yourself to help all of us out there in the film industry and spread the word about our films. We can't make more films if we don't get the films out there, we can't get the films out there without money, money is limited for most people, and donations are normally limited as well so the best way to help is SPREAD THE WORD!!!! I'm kinda drilling it into your heads here but I have to.

STANDING FIRM: Release Date TBA
Official Site
Blog
Facebook Group
Facebook Profile
Sign Up for Email Updates
Youtube Trailer

FIREPROOF: In Theaters Sept. 26th!
FIND A THEATER & BUY TICKETS NOW!
Official Site
Blog
Facebook Group
Facebook Profile
Sign Up for Email Updates
Youtube Trailer

SAVING GOD: On DVD Oct. 2008
Official Site
Facebook Group
Youtube Trailer

NO GREATER LOVE: Release Date TBA
Official Site
Blog
Facebook Group
Facebook Profile

BRINGING UP BOBBY: Release Date 2009
Official Site
Facebook Film Page
Youtube - James Teaser Trailer

RUN BABY RUN: THE NICKY CRUZ STORY
Official Site
Facebook Film Page

THE SECRETS OF JONATHAN SPERRY: In Theaters Spring 2009
Official Site

Unexpected Hold Up (W12:D2)

2008-08-29T13:21:00.002-04:00

Because of scheduling complications (as previously stated), we will have a short break from shooting. Sept. will mark the end of shooting, but the remaining things to shoot will be relatively spread out. Also the things we wished to shoot today became impossible when once again the adapter we have failed to turn on. Thats ok though :) Before when it happened it would've been a disaster if it stayed that way, right now since we all have a break and knew it...we have plenty of time to send it in for repairs as well as the backup one we have that also failed on us during shooting.

On a lighter note I found a pleasant suprise on the FIREPROOF website today in the pressroom! In their list of press releases you can find a link to one of our STANDING FIRM newsletters under the link called "Praise Pictures." It was very cool to see that link sitting there amongst major Christian new sites, interview links, etc. In case you didn't know, FIREPROOF will be coming out on Sept. 26th in theaters all across the country! To find out where its playing near you and buy your tickets early (half of the opening tickets have been sold out already)...visit http://fireproofthemovie.com/theaters/ to search for a theater near you.

Also I have setup a page on Facebook where you can RSVP to an opening day screening and invite everyone your friends list to come! Let them know about the film! Almost 1000 people have been invited to the film, lets get some more. :) Visit the event page here: . Don't forget to search and join the FIREPROOF Facebook group as well.

Another Christian film coming soon is Bringing Up Bobby, a comedy by the Award Winning Staron Brothers. Check out their site http://www.bringingupbobby.com. Another film by them released in 2006, Between The Walls, can be found for purchase at countless places online.

Intensity (W12:D1)

2008-08-27T17:23:00.002-04:00

Today was a rough day for everyone. We were down a crucial crew member so things were a bit harder than usual. We also had quite a few scenes to complete and lots to go right for the day to be a success. Overall it went well, the last shot was filmed just as exposure with the camera became impossible lol. The sun was going down. The day was perfect though in terms of weather, not a drop of rain, cloudy so all the light outside was nice and soft and really gave everything a nice color and look without having to do much of anything. It was tough on the actors however because it was nothing but arguments, apologies, spreading the gospel, you know the usual :) Everyone was shot by the end of the day and it became hard to get lines out. One of the most intense and "loud" scenes in the film was shot today so that didn't help. Lots of sweat, tears, and anger shed today, everyone go through it though. Overall a good day of shooting. The next month (sept.) will be finishing up all sorts of bits and pieces of things we need with the beginning of the film and ending of the film being shot within 2 days. So plan on the blog being a bit spotty in terms of there being normal shooting weeks with regular posts like this. You wont see that after the next few. Keep praying for us, pressure is high, everyone is fried and tired, but we'll get through it. You don't come this far to give up.

Game Time, Full Time (W11:D4)

2008-08-22T23:34:00.004-04:00

Today closes our most hectic shooting week to date. We shot 4 days and totaled about 50hrs worth of shooting time. Thats a lot considering our previous week schedules, some of the earlier weeks in production hitting the 24hr mark in 4 days...very little shooting for a feature. Either way this was our second day with church extras and we concentrated mostly on scenes based in the hallways and foyer of the church. It went well, last time we shot with extras we got 5 shots, and today we got 15 shots, much improved on our last amount. Everyone was cooperative and it was pretty intense. We had lots to shoot, and little time to get it shot. On top of that we had many, many angles to get for one of the scenes and having extras makes that complicated when you consider continuity. I had to change my planned shots there on set as everyone waited around and it made me a little nervous. Almost every day of shooting is a guess unless its a straight dialog scene with reverses. You go in with storyboards and shotlists saying "yea that'll cut together great," but your rarely 100% on that. It's a little scary but we pulled through. Unfortunately we'll have to plan another day to do some scenes but in terms of full shooting days like this with lots of people and chaos, nope. We have very few scenes left to shoot, we are VERY close.Also on a side note I wanted to throw a heads up that I'll have 2 radio interviews in Sept. that I will post on the website to download/listen to when they are available. Dates to be announced in the future. Thanks to all for support! WE ARE ALMOST THERE!!!

8 Hrs...1 Yard (W11:D3)

2008-08-21T23:10:00.000-04:00

Today was a day that felt longer than it was. We had a few scenes to shoot and 2 to reshoot on one front yard today. It's weird shooting so much in a space that small and with the variety of stuff we needed to catch but it was great getting it done. We also added a small change to the story the night before that makes everything tie together better. I got one word for you..."froglegs?" Yuck, anyways I wont explain that (don't want to ruin something in the film now do we?). The day went well and we shot quite a bit for the amount of time we were there. The pages we needed to shoot that day was many and by the end of the day we got through most of it. Schedules are tight and we are getting a bit stressed about having to come back and get extra things before leaves change, before peoples time runs out, etc. We'll get through it though. After what happened on Tuesday (read the Aug. 19th post called "A Miracle of God") we know we'll be ok. Lots has happened to let us know that we are ok and will get this thing done. Tomorrow is a big day...lots to shoot, little time, few helpers, what's new? :)

A Miracle of God (W11:D2)

2008-08-20T10:33:00.003-04:00

Today was a normal day of shooting, we got lots done...the last of Robby and Eric's scenes at this home. The day was full of fun, this included re-shoots for scenes with problems from the first few weeks of shooting. Later on in the day before everyone left we were getting poster shots that I might need for later. The light looked amazing so I brought the camera down where we were and it looks solid to me....I even nudged it to see if it would fall (or I was going to move it)...and it was fine. I walked over to where everyone else was and I hear someone yell. Turning around I find the camera laying on its side, having just crashed to the ground. For those of you who don't know...we have an adapter on our camera that allows us to attach Nikon lenses to the Canon Video Camera for nice DOF. It has a motor in it that vibrates. We had serious issues with the last one and had to buy another immediately and we've been using it for quite some time. Instead of freaking out like last time, I brought the camera inside to inspect it.

The motor inside the adapter wouldn't work...it was dead. Change of batteries did nothing. Everyone was standing around thinking the film was officially over because there was no way we could wait for another to show up or wait for repairs. Schedules are completely full and it wouldn't have been possible. Everyone had a numb look on their face. I closed the battery compartment and said "you know what, we're all going to go into the other room and we're going to pray." Everyone said that was the right thing to do and we all went in the living room to pray. We gave the problem up to the Lord praying that something would happen to fix it. After praying everyone stayed in the room and started talking about some spiritual things and I left because I wanted to see if the thing would turn on. I didn't want anyone around me no matter what happened. Nervously I put my finger on the button on the side and hit it. The motor started and I began to laugh and left the room to go to a bedroom. I couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. I was so happy. Everyone else didn't know it turned on and my mother came into the room with me to say she was sorry. As she was rubbing my shoulder I mumbled "It turned on." It was funny because her hand suddenly stopped rubbing my shoulder as if it hit her...and she began to laugh and cry with me. The film was saved, God has performed a miracle in front of our eyes. We are supposed to be here, we are supposed to be making this film, and WE WILL FINISH IT. God is going to do something special, if anything...he already has.

I just wanted to share that with all of you out there, God is good, he is real, and HE IS FAITHFUL.

Amen.

The Night Shoot #2 (W11:D1)

2008-08-19T10:29:00.000-04:00

What a great day of shooting. The last night shoot was to put it simply...a disaster. This night shoot however turned out wonderful. We got some excellent footage and even though the number of things we got was minimal, its some of our best. Special thanks to Kevin Campbell for coming out on this cold night (because it IS getting cold around here already....brrr) and standing in front of hot lights (lucky) for a little while ;) It went great, we also had shot a full day prior to that so it was a good 18hr day or so.We were all exhausted in the end and I slept on set because we had an 8am calltime the next morning. Tomorrow is the last day involving Robby Reisman and Eric Steven (playing the leads) in scenes together at the main home in the film. The only other scenes with both of them are off this property, thank goodness. Everything went well, Praise God.

Week #11 - WE NEED PRAYER!

2008-08-15T09:28:00.002-04:00

This upcoming week is #11 on the Standing Firm movie shoot. It's been a long process and the number of shooting days left is extremely small. Tensions are high, patience is growing thin, and the amount to be completed in this upcoming week from the 19th-22nd of Aug. is MONUMENTAL! We have more to shoot this upcoming week than has ever been shot in a combined 2 week of average shooting. We need some SERIOUS PRAYER FROM ALL OF YOU! Pray that God would Bless the shooting days, that all that is needed would be acquired, and that all scenes would end up as planned and not require any reshooting later. Pray that the weather would be adequate for shooting (something that hasn't given us favor in the past 3 weeks), and that all other things included in the shooting of the film runs smoothly. This is a very scary time in the shoot of this film and we will need nothing less than God's overwhelming providence over the shoot for it to succeed, so pray for that.

Psalm 55:22 - Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you: He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

Habakkuk 2:2-4 - Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision, And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. "For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay. "Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.

Also if you haven't signed up for the email updates....WHY NOT? Sign up here and if you just want to see the newsletter now without signing up, click here.

God At Work (W10:D1)

2008-08-13T20:20:00.001-04:00

Today was an INCREDIBLE day of shooting. We started off the day at 7am out in the back woods to reshoot a previously shot scene because of audio problems. Because I have been so overloaded with things to do for the film...I hadn't had a chance to rewrite the scene the previous night. The scene didn't play exactly how I wanted the last time regardless of the audio quality so it was a great opportunity to figure it out. Eric, Maggie, and myself sat at the table figuring out how to create the dialog between the two characters. We needed to make the scene fit more with the character arc that had been created in the later bits of the film and currently the scene didn't fit. After just a short half hour we had a great scene that I believe is of the Lord and it came out wonderful! Everyone is getting so much better and faster when we shoot, its great to see and now is the time for it to be happening besides.

Then we shot our first scene that included my mother Deb playing the role of Jen Corwin. I can't explain the context of the scene but let me tell you it came out very special. Some improv was added into the scene that we decided to keep and overall the scene came about 10x better than I expected or had written down on the page. Kudos to everyone for putting up with my fast pace today, we got the last bit of that scene shot as rain started to drizzle down on us. We then went inside and gathered bits and pieces from previously shot scenes that we had either forgotten, or didn't realize that we needed. Along with that lots of ideas arose on the spot that came out great as well as me adding an entirely new scene to the film! It was short but I think it will add another slice of flavor to one of the characters. By that time it was about 6:30pm and we all decided it was time to pack up to move onto location #2 for the day.Forestview Church of God, a local church near ours is the home church of our gaffer Shaun Smith. They were gracious enough to let us shoot there for a scene of the film and gave permission only 2 days before we had to shoot there. Everyone was excited, interested, supportive, and patient with us as we came in and took over part of the building for a few hours. Mike Cooper, a friend of mine and youth leader at my local church Niagara Frontier Bible, came out to film his scene of the film and man was it great! He had to give a message to the youth sitting around him on chairs in a circular shape and repeat the message many times over. The extras that came were all friends of mine besides one exchange student from Germany who was visiting here. The scene went very well and the shooting went relatively smooth. I've never needed to get so many angles before, especially in the circular pattern. It can get very complex and the edit will be no less complex I'm sure. But it went well and the footage is gorgeous. Thanks to all for this awesome long but productive day of shooting!

The Parking Lot (W9:D3)

2008-08-09T12:01:00.001-04:00

After getting rained out the first time it was scheduled, we finally got around to getting the exteriors at the church shot. The rain was moving in slowly during the day, with a huge storm passing just north of us the entire time. The clouds became an issue because we had some sunny hard light on a lot of the shots we did right away then soft ones when we needed to do other things. That became an issue when the shots from afternoon and morning would have to be cut together. So when we were inside trying to make a decision the sun blasted through the clouds for about an hour and we ran outside to get things shot as fast as possible. To make an understatement....I got a little intense. ;)Either way we got what we need shot (I hope), and moved it indoors to get some other things shot before the day was over. We have been moving very quickly lately. Everyday this week just before we leave everyone asks "Now there isn't anything else we can do right?" Then when I mention there is I get "WELL LETS SHOOT IT THEN!" :) So we've been getting quite a bit done. I'm a bit nervous because I'm behind on getting the footage into the computer to view so its got me a little on edge about the footage itself and whether or not we're getting things right. We'll find out soon enough...

Something else that was cool was a lady pulled into the parking lot while we were shooting with a flat tire and we were able to help her out. We also gave her a DVD from our Churches Media Ministry and invited her to church this sunday. What a cool little Blessing added to the day. Was it by chance she had a flat...I think not!

We also did our first handheld shooting today using our new shoulder mount setup. Its been very useful this week with its grip handles and solid base. Even when not in use as a shoulder setup it has the ability to be hooked to the tripod and it makes our overall setup much more sturdy and solid. We had it sent with 2 day shipping because a friend of mine had gotten it in the mail and realized he didn't need it. This thing has a 60 day wait on shipping for those who order and we got ours in 2 days. THANKS JOHN!!! Another small snippet of how God is working out little problems with our production. :)

Change of Plans #2 (W9:D2)

2008-08-08T23:48:00.003-04:00

Today we continued to shoot at the church and ended up shooting an entire day there again. It was a long day and we got all sorts of things shot. A few complete scenes and other pieces of other scenes that we've already started. It was a great day as well because we shot two conversations today that will be I think some of the best of the film. I had an ear-to-ear smile on my face the entire time. It was incredible to see it all turn out the way it did. Tomorrow is the parking lot shoot, we've been planning this for quite a while, pray for good weather.

Change of Plans (W9:D1)

2008-08-07T23:21:00.001-04:00

Well today the weather was pretty bad so we came up with the idea to move to the church down the road. Niagara Frontier Bible Church (home church of a lot of the people involved with the film) is the church we are using for our church scenes indoors and out. We without having prep, shot a few scenes that take place there indoors that we had planned for a little later. It took a while to get the boulder moving not being prepared and all, but eventually we got going. The footage came out great and we got to do a few scenes that really start to tie the story together. Its exciting to finally see some select scenes working and becoming what I've been hoping for. Special thanks to Maggie Whitton who is playing Maggie Harper in the film, for being woken up at home and rushing to set because of our sudden change of plans. Thanks Maggie! Tomorrow we have decided to shoot more of the church scenes and just get a bunch of them done. Schedules for people are getting tight so we had a production meeting to try and come up with something that worked a little better for everyone. Keep praying for Sat. that we can get done what we need. :)

OTHER NEWS: A childhood friend of mine and a special part of our church family, Karen Ortman, passed away on the 5th of Aug. She was 25, and a wonderful woman of God. May God comfort the Ortman family and Karen's fiance Chris, as they go through this tough time. Pray for comfort and healing, especially for unsaved friends and family of Karen. Her smile and joyful personality is what I will remember most. We love you Karen!

Pray & Prepare - Week 9 Begins

2008-08-05T00:08:00.005-04:00

We only shot one day last week because of complications with peoples schedules, something that will get harder to deal with as time goes on. This week we will be shooting thurs, fri, and sat. Saturday will be our second attempt at the parking lot shoot and once again the weather is forecasted against us. Please pray that DOES NOT HAPPEN! It's also supposed to rain on thurs. and fri. This week is extremely important to the quality of the film, and some of the most intense scenes of the film will be shot. Not something you want ruined by rain :) Pray that all goes well and that if it does rain that it would be minimal and that the sun would break through those annoying clouds!

For those of you who don't know already, the new film FIREPROOF from Sherwood Pictures now has an Official Trailer. Visit http://www.fireproofthemovie.com to watch!

Also for those of you with a Facebook account, join our Group for the film here. We want to grow that group to the fullest extent. If you join, invite every friend you got! Don't be shy to do that. The worst they could do is ignore it but its a great way to spread the word without a lot of effort.

Another thing that can be done if you have the time is just do a mass email to friends and family on your email list and send them the website URL. It doesn't take long and could help us a lot if enough people do it. We're getting closer to the completion of shooting, we need your prayers! May God use this film in a might way for His purpose!

One last thing! New items have been added to the Press Room for those interested. Visit the press room here.

Bits & Pieces (W8:D1)

2008-07-31T14:27:00.005-04:00

Today was an interesting day. Slow to start but at the end of the day we got some nice stuff. One of those days where we couldn't complete a scene but instead got bits and pieces of things that we need for other scenes, montage, etc. Overall we pulled off some awesome stuff that I'm very proud of.

One thing that I'm excited about overall on this production is the fact we are attempting and completing things that will be in the film that are VERY RARE in productions of this size, budget, and with this amount of crew members. It's exciting to see just whats possible when God is behind the wheel. He's Blessed us so much in this process and it seems like it's getting better and better the more we move along. Hopefully in the end, the film will live up to what you all hope it could be.

Beat the Weather (W7:D4)

2008-07-26T23:13:00.004-04:00

Well today at about 11am it looked like we were sunk since the days shoot required sun and not just sun but it had to be similar to yesterday. The weatherman however painted a darker picture for us. Luckily the weather cleared up just in time and everyone rushed to the location in an hours time, setup, got ready, and we shot and finished the sequence scheduled in about an hour. We also had an approaching storm coming (we had been Blessed with a hole in the sky big enough to shoot in, thanks God). So we got things shot and went home. Glad we were able to finish what we needed. Special thanks goes out to the Byron family who let us take over their home and property for 2 days and allowed us the use of their white van as a vehicle "prop."

Change of Scenery (W7:D3)

2008-07-25T11:10:00.001-04:00

Today we moved to a new home to shoot all scenes there in one day. The character of Sarah is played by Joan Golda, a member of Niagara Frontier Bible Church. She did a great job, we burned through her scenes fairly quickly. WE also shot quite a few scenes today, more than usual. Although there was one scene we were unable to shoot. Weather has been a problem this week and today was a beautiful day, perfect outside. Unfortunately its supposed to rain tomorrow and the only thing left to shoot is outdoors so we'll see but it doesn't look good. Either way our speed so far has been great this week, regardless of what we did get to or didn't get to shoot. We shot about 11% of the film this week so thats pretty good considering our previous speed over the last 6 weeks.

Fun & Productive (W7:D2)

2008-07-24T00:15:00.000-04:00

Today was more productive than the last. We did a scene in a basement where there was all sorts of dust and chips of wood and anything you could think of all over the place. It definitely looked like a construction site. We finished a good size conversation down there between Dave & Shawn and all went well. The end of the day provided an opportunity for everyone to have a bit of fun shooting Scene 56. Why you'll find out when you see the film but lets just say it was chaos. Tomorrow we plan on shooting a large chunk of the film in one day, pray that all goes well. Lots of tough stuff to finish tomorrow.

Tough Start (W7:D1)

2008-07-23T23:58:00.001-04:00

Today was tough, and it was our first day without three of our crew that had to leave for other things. So the day went relatively slow, everyone getting back into the swing of things, limited help, and other things that couldn't be avoided. We attempted to shoot the scheduled scenes for outside today but weather far off in the distance made sound a nightmare as did lots of other background noise that isn't normal for where were shooting right now. Either way we only got one scene shot today but we'll get on our feet tomorrow and speed things up. God is good, we'll pull through...just gotta get the ball moving.

Teaser Trailer Now Available!

2008-07-21T19:36:00.002-04:00

For those of you who have been anxiously waiting, you can finally see some footage from Standing Firm! The teaser trailer is now available for viewing at Youtube.com Quicktime HD versions of the film will be available in the near future.

We have lots more to shoot, and we are down a few crew members. Pray for a speedy finish as we move into the second half of production. Thanks to all who have been supporting us with prayer, financial giving, and all things in-between. This movie wouldn't exist without all of you. Don't forget to spread that Youtube link to your friends and family!

Game Time, Half Time (W6:D3)

2008-07-13T01:11:00.007-04:00

Today went well, we did our bigger scenes at the church with about 45 or so extras. It was the first time we shot in such a big space so I give props to our gaffer Shaun Smith for doing a great job pulling it off. He had pretty minimal lighting equipment for as far back as we got in some shots and the amount of people we showed. Hats off to the extras who consisted of a few friends, friends and family of people involved in the movie, and some of our church family that showed up to participate. We'll need to get more shots in the church with extras but not like the shots we got today. We completed 10 shots today in about 8 hours. Not bad considering the circumstances. I'll be posting a blog entry sometime this week with a sign-off from three of our crew members who have to leave to go to another production. Crew will be scarce from here on out to complete shooting but we'll pull through.

The next week will be taken off for scheduled reasons with all involved. It will be a good week to relax, re-evaluate and plan for the remaining scenes, etc. After 6 weeks I could use a little break :P Overall though I've been extremely proud of what we've gotten so far and the crew and their patience, our actors for performing 10 fold of what I was expecting, and for just the awesome experience of making this movie so far. Lots to be learned in such a short amount of time. I find myself laughing at the fact I've never done this before, and how great it is to see things falling together after over a year of pre-prod and financing. I was sitting in the back of the sanctuary today and looking at all the extras and the lights and my crew and the storyboards in front of me and thinking..."all this because one day I had an idea." Its a funny moment I suppose but something I'll remember forever. This is what I'm supposed to be doing, what I'm meant to do...time to follow that path. Praise be to God for his awesome Mercy in letting us do something so cool for his Glory.

Biblical Truth (W6:D2)

2008-07-10T23:59:00.004-04:00

Today was a fantastic day. We have been shooting some really gorgeous stuff this week, I'm so excited to see it fall into place. Its a good confidence booster for the rest of the week. Dave Gifford (playing John Corwin) and Robby (Dave Corwin), did a great job today and knocked the scene out of the park. I pushed them a bit harder today than I have thus far but we got it done. I appreciate the patience everyone if your reading this, I have things to learn as well and I'm thankful for the ability to put up with me :) Friday and Saturday will be some rough days and lots will be going on. I hope that the people who signed up to be extras and signed up to bring their cars show up on time and ready to go. It will be interesting for sure.

Beauty Shots (W6:D1)

2008-07-09T23:29:00.002-04:00

Today was an incredible day of shooting. Dave Gifford playing 'John Corwin' (Dave's dad, and Steven's grandfather in the story) knocked it out of the park. We were all a bit stunned at how well he did today, pulling off what I needed with a lot of professionalism for a first timer. I was so happy to see the scene turn out the way I envisioned it. Also the photography today was special because every shot just seemed to look better and better. The workshop (Dave's workshop), had all sorts of color in the room and interesting things on the counters and the walls. It made everything look very detailed and gave lots of depth. The lighting painted some beautiful shadows on all the knick-knacks and really made the stuff today the best footage we've captured thus far. The spiritual truth in the scene is also some of the most impacting of the story and hopefully will impact the viewers a great deal. I was so glad to see the scene progress properly to get the biblical truth across. It was an incredible day, we will be finishing up things at the house tomorrow with a scene between John and his son Dave. Its another tough day so we'll see how it goes. :)

Big Week...PRAY! (Week 6)

2008-07-07T21:50:00.003-04:00

This week we will be shooting the biggest scenes of the movie on Fri. and Sat. at my local church. They are more complex, involve more people, and more setup time than any other things we've shot or will shoot in this films schedule. Please pray that all extras show up on time, excited and prepared to be cooperative. We also need cars to be parked on Friday so we can do scenes in a parking lot and the number of cars confirmed isn't impressive. Pray that all goes well and that both days are extremely productive and protected.

Also those of you who are trying to access our website...sorry but for some reason our site is down today. Its been down a total of 8hrs. I'm doing what I can to resolve the problem, but its really unfortunate as some very important people needed to see the site today. Please pray the server is fixed ASAP.

We're getting close to wrapping things up in the next few weeks, its been a long process...we're almost ready to move onto the next stage. God has brought us a long way. :)

Location Hopping (W5:D3)

2008-07-05T19:24:00.003-04:00

We spent our first day of shooting in the church today, just in an office but still its a different location so we had our usual complications. Luckily the office we were in had excellent acoustics so the audio was some of the best we've gotten in terms of its "sweetness." Also it was Katie Whitton's (playing Mrs. Harper) first day on set and she was very nervous. It took a while for us to get her into it but we got what we needed. Took longer than we expected so we didn't shoot all that was planned but thats OK, we finished some things :) We also have our new adapter on the camera for the first time today. Our previous adapter needs some fixing and the only way to send it in and keep shooting was to buy another...convenient huh? Of course that gave us issues too because for some reason all the focus was off and we had to figure out way (seems like there is always something). The backfocus marking set on the Nikon mount did not match where it needed to be on the old adapter, so that was exciting. We eventually got it and things are sharp as a tack, something the old adapter gave us problems with hence the needed repairs (the right side of frame had softness problems b/c of a altered prism or mirror in the adapter). All is well now. The next week of shooting is going to be a challenge and we need all of you praying for Fri and Sat especially where lots of logistics need to go well in order for us to have a successful day. These 2 days would be VERY VERY difficult to duplicate and by that I mean practically impossible so pray we get all we need to!

Specialty Shots (W5:D2)

2008-07-04T12:26:00.002-04:00

Today was spent gathering things for a montage that takes place in the film so all shots had lots of setup time. The best shot of the day and one of my favorite shots we've captured so far was thought up on the spot. It was gloomy out today and I figured it would be great to get Robby (playing Dave) next to the window with rain coming down. Nice and ghostly and dramatic. Well it poured for a while then stopped so we did some of our first practical effects of the production and had two of our PA's outside holding hoses. Kudos to everyone for getting it to work, it came out fantastic! We are getting closer to the end, still stuff to do but nowhere near what was needed in week #1 :) Thanks to all for keeping up with the blog, we appreciate the support and have a Happy 4th of July! GOD BLESS OUR NATION!

Record Breaking (W5:D1)

2008-07-03T00:43:00.004-04:00

We shot more today than we've been able to on any previous day! 23 camera setups in about 8 hours, pretty fast compared to the speed we have been at, double actually. Kudos to the Cast and Crew for burning through our fastest day yet. Every shot we got today was some of the best I think. Everything pulled together really well. For those of you out there praying for our production, please begin praying for next weeks shoot specifically. We will be shooting the church scenes with lots of extras and a day in a parking lot a day before, lots of logistical things to get ready. Pray that all goes well and everyone who shows up has a positive attitude and is cooperative. Thanks also to everyone keeping up with our blog, sharing the website with others, and all those in prayer. We couldn't be doing this without you!

THE Night Shoot (W4:D2)

2008-06-28T15:29:00.003-04:00

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)

2008-06-26T11:48:00.001-04:00

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

2008-06-25T15:49:00.006-04:00

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)

2008-06-21T21:42:00.002-04:00

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)

2008-06-20T23:31:00.004-04:00

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)

2008-06-19T09:35:00.000-04:00

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)

2008-06-18T22:25:00.005-04:00

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)

2008-06-14T23:41:00.004-04:00

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)

2008-06-13T23:37:00.000-04:00

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)

2008-06-12T20:47:00.005-04:00

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)

2008-06-11T22:56:00.004-04:00

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)

2008-06-07T12:25:00.005-04:00

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)

2008-06-05T20:48:00.005-04:00

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

2008-06-03T22:42:00.000-04:00

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.

Prep, Crew, Birthdays, & Sneak Peeks...SERIOUSLY?

2008-05-26T17:11:00.007-04:00

We are a little over a week away from the beginning of production...very exciting. Our first crew member from out of state arrives tomorrow. Lots of loose ends to tie up this week to be ready and prepared for Day 1. Also, I'm curious what my birthday on June 2nd will bring. I wont reveal my age for my own reasons ;) Not much else to report but here is a quick look at what the camera setup we've put together can achieve. These are from recent camera tests done this month, in natural light. The pictures themselves aren't very large (I apologize) but they give you an idea of the kind of quality we hope to achieve during filming.

Special thanks to John Wee for helping us gather the proper equipment for this production, including most of the Camera equipment. You the man John! :)

Post Production Funding...

2008-05-17T19:18:00.003-04:00

Anyone who's ever seen a movie, made a movie, ever wanted to be involved in a movie in anyway...knows it takes funding to make that happen. Some films more than others but regardless, funding is important. The Lord has been faithful in the last year to allow us to raise the funds needed to shoot our film.

We had a large shipment of equipment arrive just days ago with lenses, sound equipment, monitors, cleaning equipment, audio cables, reflectors and lights, and all things in between. God has truly Blessed us and we are grateful to those who donated to help us get to our goal. We now have another...

Post-Production can include lots of fees, all of which we are currently not able to full-fill. Please if you are able, support us and aid in our films completion by making a small donation. The amount given is not important, the heart behind it is.

If your not able to donate, thats ok :) Please pray for us however, that our film would roll into shooting time prepared and that all things would go well.

Thanks everyone! Your support is greatly appreciated!

Upcoming Christian Films...

2008-05-17T13:20:00.007-04:00

Besides STANDING FIRM, there are many other Christian films in Production, completed and being released soon, etc. It's very important that we all support each other so here is a list of films that you can check out that are coming soon....

FIREPROOF

NO GREATER LOVE
ttp://www.nogreaterlovethemovie.com

SMUGGLERS RANSOM
http://smugglersransom.com

THE GENIUS CLUB
http://www.thegeniusclubmovie.com

THE ONE LAMB
http://www.theonelambmovie.com

Be sure to check out those films that are new and upcoming! Share the links with your friends and family and help spread the word about Christian film. :)

Keep us in prayer, less than 3 weeks to go before shooting...

The List...

2008-05-12T20:46:00.005-04:00

Since the last post...things have ramped up pretty quickly. We are mere weeks away from our first day of shooting! Still lots of things to do and get ready. We still have a big list of things to get finished. You can never be fully prepared but you can get as close as possible. :P

We appreciate your prayers as we inch closer to our starting date. Here are a few verses given out to the Cast & Crew in the pack they received along with their script...I hope they are of comfort to you in whatever work for the Lord you are involved in. STAND FIRM on the solid rock, when all other things crumble.

Colossians 3:23-24 - “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Proverbs 16:3 - “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

Colossians 1:29 - “To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me.”

Interview at TitleTrakk.com

2008-05-03T21:59:00.002-04:00

A new interview has been posted on TitleTrakk.com with Kyle Prohaska, Producer/Writer/Director of STANDING FIRM.

Click here to give it a look! Lots of great information in there and some shout-outs at the end to some other Christian films coming out.

Special thanks to TitleTrakk.com for this amazing opportunity! Be sure to check out the rest of their site of course! Lots of other information, interviews with Stephen Kendrick on their new film FIREPROOF, as well as reviews for books, movies, music, and all things related.

New Site Launched!

2008-05-02T02:16:00.005-04:00

A new site for STANDING FIRM has been launched! Check out http://www.standingfirmmovie.com to see the new design and explore the new features.

A new Press Room is open to the public where lots of extra content, articles, documents, etc. will be added as time goes on. You can visit the Press Room here.

Enjoy the new site! 1 month to go before shooting! TICK.....TOCK......

"Standing Firm" Facebook Group!

2008-04-25T19:33:00.003-04:00

Just a shoutout to all of you who have a Facebook. (if you don't have one, get one, you'll enjoy it).

We have a "Standing Firm" Facebook Group! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8464696545

Be sure to join us and keep up to date with things there. Leave us comments of encouragement, invite other friends of yours to join!

Also for those who want to keep up to date with things by email there is a signup form available on our website.

Sorry to make this entry so short but things are pretty busy. I'll post a new entry soon that will have lots of new information for those of you who are keeping track of things.

Thanks for all the support! Keep us in prayer!

God at work, when things seem silent...

2008-04-16T00:30:00.003-04:00

Since the last post, numerous things have been taken care of....Praise God!

1) Our Budget to shoot the film is currently taken care of as far as we know. We are on the edge but we are much farther along than we were, which wasn't a good place to be. We also have finally gotten our bank account setup for our company and gotten all the necessary paperwork completed.

2) We have been able to secure 2 crew members for the production with experience. Travis Herche who recently got done working on No Greater Love, and Jeremy Clayton who just got done working on Come What May. Travis will fill as AD and Jeremy as Production Sound. I'm glad to have two full-time workers in those positions, thank the Lord.

3) Recently (and this isn't 100% taken care of but close), a guy at my church got me in contact with a guy from Houghton College, a Christian college about 2hrs from my home. He drove down for an interview last Saturday and will if all goes well be taking my place in the role of Steven Corwin. That means my problem of wearing too many hats would be lifted some b/c I can concentrate on BTS specifically...still many hats to wear but not as many.

4) About $275 was donated within the post time, little bit or not it helps... Even more awesome, the man who donated the most so far is a man I greatly respect who normally wouldn't have this money to give. So may he be blessed for his faith in the project.

5) The ability to get the 35mm adapter we wanted was smashed by shipping problems. The option was to get it but it would only be shipped by the 15th of May...way to close to production. Luckily someone I know who I recently got our Tripod for the production from has the adapter I need and is willing to sell it as well. Many other equipment problems have been worked out and are ready for purchase.

6) Production Breakdowns, Shot Lists, Wardrobe Groups, Schedule, etc. all be done by myself is amazingly going pretty smooth. I've gotten much more done than I would've ever expected. Thank the Lord for his ability to push me through with so much to do.

7) Our deal with our composer fell through about a month ago and I've been hard pressed to find another. Out of the blue I got an email from a professor at W. Oregon University interested. His credentials are spectacular...very very incredible. Not only is he willing to work for free, but I have no doubts his work will be awesome if given the time to compose that he needs. His goal is to further the Kingdom of God...what a person to have on board! He'll be sending a demo to me soon, we'll see what happens.

I'm sure there are things I have forgotten but there is some neat stuff going on. God is good. I just thought any who would be praying for us would love to hear God's progress on our project. Thanks for all who have prayed and continue to pray for us.

I came across Psalm 25-27 the other day...its been an excellent verse to read in the morning to reflect on how far we've come in a year since we started this, and how far God has brought us, and to keep at it no matter what the Devil might throw our way.

Keep that ball a rollin!

2008-03-29T23:34:00.001-04:00

It's almost April, 2 months before shooting. Things are picking up quickly and lots of work is yet to be done. Production spreadsheets, shot-lists, storyboards, wardrobe, still scraping together funds, contacting more people to generate awareness, etc. is all being worked on. Time is a little tight but its now or never...keep praying that the Lord brings aspects of the production into place.

One neat little thing to add that some of you may want to pray about is a local church about 5 minutes from my home seems interested in helping with the production. Not sure in what way yet, but hopefully God does something awesome. I met with the Assistant Pastor from the church yesterday and the conversation was very exciting. We both knew God brought us into contact with each other because he had found a video of mine on YouTube (an older video I had done), and thought it was great. He wanted to see who had made it to contact me and he noticed Ransomville, NY on my profile...which is where his church is located. We'll see what God does with that.

Just a shout-out to another Christian Production and Company that is currently making films for God's glory... The Advent Film Group, who is finishing up its first feature production and releasing it soon. I had the opportunity to chat with the head of Advent, George D. Escobar today and the conversation was excellent. They really have the right idea down there in VA. Check their site out as well as their films trailer.

Other than that keep praying for us, the things to do are many and the time to do it in is short. Don't forget if your reading this to keep spreading around the website to everyone and anyone you can!

Plan, Plan, Plan...and Pray

2008-03-25T23:14:00.001-04:00

Pre-Production is still underway and has progressed quite a bit since the last post. Crew still isn't completely settled but things are starting to fall into place. A few people have come up all of a sudden that hopefully will work out just great so praise God for meeting that need! Our budget is still a bit of an issue but God will provide. We aren't short by much, but enough for it to be a concern. A few thousand dollars is all we are short, not a lot by a big budget movie standards but for us...it's enough. If anyone out there feels led to donate (I don't care if its a heart felt 20 dollars), it would be greatly appreciated.

We now have our 2 main roles filled as well, something thats been tough to figure out. The role of Steven Corwin will go to.....*drum roll*...myself. :) I've been looking at whoever will give an ear to the part but none have met up to what I think is needed to pull off the role. The role of Steven was written into the project as myself, what I would say, how I would react, etc. so I sorta dug my own grave by doing it that way. Finding another one of myself to play a roll turned out to be impossible. No big deal though, if thats what has to be done then so be it! That puts more pressure on the crew however and more trust because I'll have to be sure that when I'm in front of the camera, things look good behind it. Video feeds are your friend :P The role of David Corwin will go to Robby Reisman, a member of NFBC. I'll elaborate more on him in a further post, as well as updating the website with his bio and photo. Also, supporting roles have mostly been filled at this point. Check the Cast & Crew page to see who's playing what. Bios and photos of all of the wonderful folks playing each part will be added as time goes on and the information is available.

If you haven't seen already, a prayer list is available on the Standing Firm website for those of you who are interested. It lists specific things that we need prayer for. Prayer is the fuel in the engine of any Christian project, we're no exception. Please pray for us and spread the word to your Christian friends & families.

Also, we would love to hear from those of you out there who are thinking of us. Please leave us a comment on the comment page. A word of encouragement will go a long way...

Two guys, one mission, God's purpose...

2008-03-11T00:12:00.002-04:00

I'll have a big blog entry soon that'll outline some of the bigger things going on soon. They aren't 100% locked down so until then I can't spill the beans. God is definitely answering prayers though. We are inching closer to shooting time in the beginning of June. Still waiting for some crew members, especially my camera operator. We'll see if they are a yes soon enough. Other than that some small changes and big changes have been made to the site.

Also bios for myself (Kyle Prohaska) and my other producer and friend Kevin Michael have been added to the Cast & Crew page. Read the story of how Kevin and I met and how the whole film got started including the puzzle pieces God has put together to lead us up to this point. I showed it to a few people and they caught the big picture, hopefully you do too.

Other than that we are getting into our 5th Draft of our script, really getting close now. Sounds late to be finishing a script so close to shooting but we've added a scene or two that really amps up the character development, something that was needed for a few roles. We're very excited to see how things are unfolding. We have a long hard road ahead of us.

Another thing, we need donations! We are getting close to shooting time and we are still in need of more funding. As of late we haven't received any. We trust God will provide, but we are just letting all who are reading this know that we need your help! If you feel led please donate on the How Can I Help? page of the Standing Firm website.

We use this verse in times of trouble and doubt. Habakuk 2:2-4 - "Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry."

Keep praying for us! God is doing some great things already!
Kyle Prohaska
Writer/Director/Exec. Producer

Pre-Production Continues

2008-02-26T10:55:00.002-05:00

Well the last 2 weeks or so have been pretty slow. Not a lot of emails coming in lately, but thats because I think we got the initial rush of people right off the bat. Still I've been at work getting a lot of the documents together I need to make an official schedule (or at least attempt to make one). Odds are the schedule will change when I fill certain crew positions but we'll see what happens.

Also the one person I had in contact with me about playing Steven had to back out I found out yesterday so right now I'm without a Steven. The role of Dave is also blank right now but I do have 2 people in mind. Nobody is a 100% yes yet so we'll see. On a lighter/happier note I did recieve a new toy last saturday...

I got a Macbook Pro. :D I got a great deal on it on Ebay and I'll be using it on set everyday. Its a few months old with the warrenty still intact and its clean as a whistle. Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, 160GB 7200rpm HD, 8600GT 256MB Video Card, 17in 1920x1080 screen and a partridge in a pair tree. :)

So other than that right now we are still looking for crew, actors, etc. As of now we have NO crew that is 100% which is a little scary but we have 3 months to round them up so we just have to trust God will bring the right people along.

Keep praying for us!
Kyle Prohaska
Writer/Director/Exec. Producer

Lots to think about...

2008-02-15T23:50:00.002-05:00

Making a feature is no small task. Not that I never thought it was of course, but the last 2 months have really put into perspective what kind of project I've thrown myself into. I know God is in it though so that gives me comfort. He's opened so many doors lately that I can't even list them all. My biggest worry at the moment however is finding my two main actors. David & Steven Corwin are the father and son the story revolves around and the Lord has yet to bring me the right people to play the parts. The movie doesn't work without the right people in those roles so that has me a bit worried but God is sovereign, he'll bring the people in his time. That I'm learning to deal with :)

I've gotten in contact with some pretty great people lately in terms of the crew and cast though. Lots of emails for people interested in roles from out of state but its tough to keep track of everyone. I want to fill all the roles I can locally for complications sake. I really would love to fill all the roles at my own church but we have a smaller congregation and our choices are extremely limited. Even more limited is the ability to find someone who can be there everyday of the schedule to fill a crew position.

I do have some pretty exciting news though amongst all the craziness. Ben Mcleod who was the 2nd AC on Facing The Giants, and 1st AC on Fireproof has been in contact me the last few weeks about being the camera operator on Standing Firm. This floored me because his first message to me came only moments after I had prayed that I would find a crew member who loves the Lord that could work on this with me. Literally the mailbox dinged and I found a Facebook message from him. I had added him as a friend and added him to our Facebook group for the film. I'm glad he is interested and I'm very excited to have him work on this if he's able. Certain complications could prevent that but I'm praying that everything works out.

The website has also exploded quite a bit since launch. I have added lots of new features and things that hopefully people will use to spread the word and get folks interested. I have emailed every local pastor I can find to make them aware of what's happening locally with this film, as well as emailed some odd folks around the country and internet Christian websites so we'll see if I even get anything back from that.

Funding is also an issue right now. I met with a local small business developer last Tuesday to chat about possible fundraising options. I'm hoping we find the right person who will believe in the project and the cause and give a personal donation. The online donation button doesn't seem to be doing anything at all so I think thats our best option. Our current budget is $20,000 but that is strictly equipment so the budget is full. That 20k is personally funded not from investors or donations. We have some breathing room but still, we have to find more funding to finish the project if it is to be completed solely by us. Our actual plan at the moment is to get the film shot, edited, and done as far as we can and get it into the hands of someone who wants to invest in finishing it or picking it up. So we plan to send out press kits with a film in its current state to a few places after that point to see if anyone bites. Its worth a shot right? Regardless to get the film completed, on DVD shrink-wrapped and all, music score and all, my best guess is 35k+ so we need to raise some funds somehow. God is in control however and there are loads of things just kinda idle that God would open the gate for at any moment. My Producer Kevin Michael has 4 pieces of land he is trying to sell and he has yet to get a bite on those. So all of you out there in cyberspace, be praying that the Lord would bring forth someone to even buy one of them.

Other than all that stuff being on my mind, I'm trying to actually prepare the things I need to get the film shot. Breaking down the script, sorting things out, getting storyboards done, attempting to begin scheduling at least a draft of some kind. I'll probably change it completely but at least it will give me an idea of how things might go. I have NO IDEA what our shooting ratio will be or how fast we'll be able to move so its all best guess. Along with the 4 day schedule per week I have figured out that to fill my Media Director position at NFBC (my church), I'll have to fit 40hrs in 3 days from Sun-Tues. So basically 2 months of my summer I'll be 7 days a week, 24hrs a day, running and gunning. I'm sure we'll find break days in the schedule somewhere b/c things will go wrong but there is no other way to get this done. I know God gave me this movie to make though so I'm doing it no matter what. BUT I WILL NEED PRAYER from all of you out there to give me the focus and strength to get it going and keep it going through the shooting schedule.

I think when you read this it sounds crazy what we are doing but I know this is what I'm supposed to do. I want to reach other for Jesus, plain and simple. I want to do it with films because I think thats what I've been called to do. Pray for our project that all that I posted (and stuff that I forgot to mention) pulls through and that God opens the doors to help this project move forward and into completion. Lots of things I don't know how to do, how to solve, where to start, etc.

God Bless,
Kyle Prohaska
Writer/Director/Exec. Producer

The Blog is launched!

2008-02-09T21:47:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone, our new Blog is up and running (as you can see, lol). From now until the film is complete (and possibly even afterwards), I will be sharing with you news and updates, BTS photos, sneak peaks, etc. All of you at home who support this production make me very happy to share this information with you. I'll post as things become available. Keep us in your prayers, the Lord knows we need it.

http://www.standingfirmmovie.com

God Bless,
Kyle Prohaska