The Night Shift is the production diary of Fighting Owl Film's new independent supernatural-adventure-comedy of the same name currently in "post" in Mobile, AL. Over the course of the next several weeks and months, you'll get an insider's peek at what it's like for filmmakers to craft a new entry of paranormal pop culture from Erin Lilley, a producer and actress on the film.
Good News, Bad News
Things are rolling right along over here at Fighting Owl Films. The Night Shift will screen this upcoming weekend at the Fright Night Film Fest in Kentucky, and there is a tentative (not yet public) release date for the DVD. With that behind us, Thomas has just about finished the script for what could potentially be our next project, and we're focusing our efforts toward funding that. Aside from that, our major challenge this week is finding an affordable HD Camera that doesn't suck.
Things are rolling right along over here at Fighting Owl Films. The Night Shift will screen this upcoming weekend at the Fright Night Film Fest in Kentucky, and there is a tentative (not yet public) release date for the DVD. With that behind us, Thomas has just about finished the script for what could potentially be our next project, and we're focusing our efforts toward funding that. Aside from that, our major challenge this week is finding an affordable HD Camera that doesn't suck.
See, The Night Shift has the possibility of getting some television publicity. That's fantastic, and we're completely thrilled, but TV has gone HD, and our camera, well, hasn't. Thomas and Soren (our Director of Photography) love the camera we have currently (I'm not allowed to touch it, as I am the biggest klutz who ever lived. I once broke a sewing maching by looking at it), but technology is passing us by, and at a rate faster than our bank accounts can grow, so Thomas is not only researching cameras, but also payment plans, refurbished options and eBay. At least, it keeps him busy and off the streets.
We do have a little bit of sad news, though. One of our zombie "residents" from The Night Shift, Wayne Hergenroder, passed away suddenly last week, following a medical procedure. If you look for him in any of the trailers, he's a pink zombie wearing a Captain's hat and smoking jacket. We called him the "Classy Corpse", and he truly was a class act. Wayne was 42 years-old, and will be greatly missed by family, friends, cast and crew.
You know, since we filmed The Night Shift, we've seen two of our zombies marry (yes, each other). Our costume designer gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy; a cast member got a full dramatic arts college scholarship; a few other castmates earned their degrees; we had the premiere and found distribution ... basically, we've seen a lot of happiness and cause for celebration. Wayne was our first loss, and getting that phone call was like hearing the needle scratch the record. Be grateful for what you have, and hold tight to those you love. They can be gone in an instant.
Okay, I don't want to end this on a downer. You know how I mentioned earlier that we were working on ways to fund another movie? Well, if you go to www.fightingowlfilms.com/production, you can see the first of our efforts: Birthday Parties. Yeah, and weddings, sporting events, general videography services, yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm loving the birthday parties. Elementary school-aged children can learn about filmmaking and make their own movie! Plus, toward the bottom, there are some fun clips from a short film that Thomas and I helped my little brother make for school. It's an Indiana Jones-style adventure, and a total hoot. With any luck, this'll help kickstart our fundraising. If not, at least it should be fun.
We're still plugging away at this thing. In the meantime, you can follow The Night Shift at www.thenightshiftmovie.com. You can check out the poster, trailer, cast and crew, and some fun downloads. Heck, if you like, you can even be our friend on Facebook and Twitter (@NightShiftMovie), where you can follow more of the progress of the movie.