Fallow Update

Waaaay back in summer I blogged about the short horror film Fallow that I shot in Alberta with fellow former Edmontonians-turned-Torontonians, my co-writer/director Colin Landry, producer Brenton Bentz (also Monica’s husband), shooter Jason Pichonsky (a filmmaker in his own right who did the animation in Rod’s short film The Demonology of Desire), as well as a whack of talented Alberta folks.

Well, it’s a slow process, this shooting on film thing, especially when everyone’s got day jobs, and Colin moved out here since the shoot (he now lives in the same building as Audra - small world, eh?). We’re well into post-production now, firming up music, recording some additional dialogue, sourcing some images we need, and generally trying to clear the endless number of hurdles that pop up. It’s all a lot of fun, of course, this movie thing, and to prove it, here are some more photos from the three-day shoot last June. Makes me yearn for a warm prairie day - although perhaps not as hot as the one where we were in the field. That day my Rue Morgue hat went from black to gray, and Colin’s arms went from beige to red, thanks to the beating sun. Good times!

And now some not too spoiler-y photos from Fallow, courtesy Marc J. Chalifoux and Dan Lazin.

Long time friend and loyal Rue Morgue fan (he flies to Toronto every year for the Festival of Fear) Jonathan Kuyt pushes Jason on the dolly, as First Assistant Camera Scott Portingale looks on. You can really see why they call Alberta “Big Sky Country.”

A farmhouse dinner table scene: (left to right) actors Coralie Cairns, Clinton Carew, Kenneth Brown and Beth Graham. We also considered that gorgeous cooked ham one of the cast. The props department made it hard to resist. Mmmm… ham.

In between applying liberal amounts of exceptionally gross goop to the set, Jason Hanley makes a new friend.

An impromptu filmmakers’ meeting: (left to right) Jason, me, Colin and David Bates, the hardest working man in film business, who did everything from arrange casting calls to shooting behind-the-scenes video.

John tests out some chains for an upcoming scene. The “Farm Bondage” look is really gonna take off one of these days.

Clinton and Ken go over lines, in what could pass for Sherlock Holmes’ study, while the next scene is being set up.

Head makeup/effects person Annie Parkinson once again has blood on her hands (she was doing a touch-up on a prop). Annie is currently in Edmonton working on Fear Itself. Good luck, Annie.