Exit 101 Production Blog

Tying up loose ends.

2010-09-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, long time no blog. I've just been really busy trying to get EXIT 101 in the can. We are just 2 weekends away (if all goes as planned) from being completely done with principal photography, and then its on to Post Production where it all starts coming together. I just want to take a moment once again to thank all of my amazing cast and crew members who did an awesome job in the cold of winter, the seering heat of summer and the sometimes grueling long hours they had to endure to get this movie made. We have all worked very hard on it, and we can't wait for everyone to get a chance to see it. Want to give a special shout out to Monica Simmons as without her alot of what we were able to do would have been impossible. Also a special thanks to Dennis and Dorcas Fraser for letting us invade their home/property more than a dozen times, and for Mrs. Dorcas' outstanding craft services even at all hours of the early morning.

It really has been a great experience, and I can't wait to see what else is on the horizon for EXIT 101 and for future films! By the time I post again, we will have wrapped on EXIT 101!

Its the Final Countdown!

2010-08-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I know its been a LONG time since I updated this but I've been extremely busy. We've shot some of the most intensive scenes of the film and I've been talking to tons of people and sorting out extras and doing all sorts of producer duties. I decided today I'd take the time to update literally everything. So if you haven't yet.. go check out the newly updated Blackflight Studios page at www.blackflightstudios.com and go add us on Facebook as well. We are down to the final days of filming. It seems that everything that could go wrong would go wrong right here at the end. We've had to deal with people we weren't prepared for, camera's getting run over (lol), rain, and TRAINS!!!!!! We would have already been done filming if it weren't for the ridiculous amount of trains that come through this area. I really do love this area for what we are doing, but from an audio standpoint.. the trains really aggravate us when we are trying to get perfect sound.

I'd like to take this time to give a shout out to all our Cast, Crew, and Extras and anyone who has in someway helped make this film possible. Without you guys, we would have nothing. I want to see everyone in line at the Cordele Theater come opening night (whenever that is!) Once EXIT 101 is in the can, we already have several projects in the pipe that we are extremely excited about. I can't go into any details yet, but soon!

To finish out the blog, here's a few stills. Some of you have probably already seen them. Just want to give a shout out to one of our extras Lori Cameron for being a trooper.

Down to the Wire.

2010-07-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

We are getting very close to picture wrap. We just got done with a grueling weekend. I was awake for literally two days straight while we filmed the two biggest scenes in the film. We were only able to complete half of one of them. The first scene on Friday night was amazing. Raina Strickland, who plays Erica; completely floored me with her performance. She's come into her own so much as this film has progressed and I am extremely proud of what she's accomplished. Saturday was an adventure to say the least. The entire crew was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. We ran two cameras simultaneously, thanks to Greg Block for bringing his. We also were able to run the Crane for the first time. The shots were amazing from it. It was a very grueling nearly 18 hour day for myself, and some other members of the crew. But, we stuck it out and got the shots we needed before the sun came up. Now we are on the home stretch, and we should be getting ready to wrap this thing up shortly.

What happens then? We go into Post and start the arduous process of editing and doing post sound and effects. Then, we begin with a premiere in our hometown, and then off to the festival circuit. Its going to be a fun ride!

Nearing completion!

2010-06-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while. We've been super busy preparing for the BIGGEST scene in the entire movie. We are shooting it starting on July 10th, and it may pour over into another day. Its going to be full of extras, blood, and special FX. The most special FX in the entire film. After thats out of the way, we only have a few more scenes to do and we are done with this thing. I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck with us thus far, its been an amazing ride. We aren't done yet, but we are getting there. Once filming is complete we go into the arduous process of post production.

We are still looking for extras for July 10th.

College age kids 17-25 with halloween costumes (non copyrighted)

Infected citizens of any age, who can come wearing old clothes.

send submissions to blackflightstudio@gmail.com

Here's a few recent screencaps for being patient with us!

Over the Hump!

2010-06-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, its been a bit again since the last time I posted. Have had alot going on. Done alot of shoots, and we are well on our way to being done with this thing! Its summer time now (or at least it feels like it) and we are working on things for the biggest shoot in the film. We hope to have (with your help) a whopping 100 or more extras for a huge Halloween Party scene. We have been testing special effects this weekend to get ready for that. In saying that, We are still looking for as many extras as we can muster for this scene. We really want to raise the bar. So far we have close to 100 possible extras, but the more we can get the better. We are looking for 2 types. Here's the breakdowns:

Any Age/Ethnicity/sex to play "Infected Citizens". You'll need to wear some clothing you don't mind getting bloodied/messed up.

We also need people to play College Aged kids, who would need to be wearing a non copyrighted Halloween costume.

This is a volunteer project, but copy/credit/meals will be provided. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to blackflightstudio@gmail.com with a recent photo and contact info. No experience required.

We are GETTING THERE!

2010-05-23T18:17:00.001-07:00

I looked at our shooting schedule today, which is a spreadsheet I created that lists every single scene in the film, so that we can keep track of what we have filmed, and what we have left to shoot. As we shoot the scenes are highlighted in yellow to denote that we are done shooting that particular scene. I'm glad to let you guys know that there is an awful lot of yellow on there right now! We are moving along! We just wrapped several scenes up with some great actors. Want to thank our Associate Producer Monica Simmons for helping us out with the Crisp County Sheriff and EMS. Also want to thank them for hanging in there with us for the shots we got this weekend. We are getting ready to release the first of a few teaser trailers on youtube/vimeo and some other sites over the next week. We hope that you like what you see! As this is being written the last video is being encoded for viewing. So, to finish this out I'm gonna give you a rundown of our crew as they deserve to get a mention for all their hard work and amazingness on set so far. We've had a small crew, and sometimes large crews.. but no matter what we have a great time, and many times these guys wear many different hats. Give it up for the EXIT 101 CREW!

Location Sound/Boom Operator

Kevin "Kebo" Beasley

Set Electrician/Clapper

Dennis "Battleaxe" Frasier

Key Grip/Clapper

Jerry Hawkins

Set Photography/Promotions

William Mahnken

Hair and Makeup

Brenda Phillips

Melinda Stephenson

Special FX/Special FX Makeup

Joseph Lavender

Kevin Beasley

Brooke Echols

Jarrod Musselwhite

Script Supervisor/Costume Designer

Brooke Echols

Clapper/Grip

Neerav Maniklal

Associate Producer/Locations Manager

Monica Simmons

Associate Producer/Costumes

Stephen Dixon

Catering/Craft Services

Dorcas Frasier

Janice Lavender

Moving right along!

2010-04-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is a belated blog. Remember, we are filming a movie right now! Anyways.. Everything is going great. We had our first shoot with a ton of extras in makeup this past shoot, and everything went flawless except for a few things here and there. We did have a HUGE scare before the shoot as one of the actors we originally cast decided to drop out just an hr before the shoot. Stage Fright? Anyhoo, we were lucky to have Shelby Keith with us who actually only came out to be an extra, and we found out that she had some previous acting experience and put her on the spot! She agreed to do the role, and did an amazing job! We believe it was meant for her to do the role, all said and done.

We want to thank everyone who has remained interested in what we are doing all this time. We are having a blast and we want to keep you guys involved as much as we can on what we are doing! To make up for the late blog post, here are 2 screencaps you can't see anywhere else but here.

enjoy!

Exploding Bulbs!

2010-04-11T18:21:00.001-07:00

Ok, so your probably wondering.. what the heck is he talking about right? Well, we have concluded another weekend of filming and alot of crazy stuff happened. Night one, we had alot of delays and one our lights just "fell apart" for a lack of a better term. What was supposed to be a relatively short shoot, turned into an all nighter. It was ok though, because we did get most of what we wanted shot. Night two was a better night for everyone, up until another one of our lights came crashing down to the pavement. It narrowly missed my head, and it was quite the "scary" sight (we are making a horror movie after all right?). Unfortunately accidents do happen sometimes, and noone is to blame and noone was hurt so all is good! We are almost done with all the scenes at the ole missile. We had a few "characters" besides our actors pay us a visit, including what looked to be one of the members of ZZ top. It was quite humorous. All in all it wasn't a bad weekend, and looking at the schedule we are getting quite alot shot, and thats all that matters in the end.

If you are not a fan on facebook.. go do it now!

We were also on www.horrornews.net and www.scaredstiffreviews.com this week! Hooray!

So I'm a bit behind...

2010-04-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Because I'm busy shooting a movie! Sorry guys, I know I haven't posted anything on here in a bit. I'm about to change that right now. I've just been swamped since we are in mid production right now, and I have so many things going on. But, I just wanted to take a minute to let you guys know that last weeks shoot was phenomenal once again. We had a great time with our actors/crew and so far so good.

This weekend is our first DAY shoot (thank goodness) since the very first shoot. I'm eager to see what kind of stuff we can get. This will also be our first shoot with extras. So that should be fairly interesting. I'm sure they all will do a great job!

I promise I will continue with the Cast and Crew meet and greet!

Until then, here is a screen capture from the movie to keep you busy!

Shooting down in.... t****ville.

2010-03-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Is this DAY 5 or DAY 6? I lost count already? Either way, we had a fabulous weekend of shooting this weekend. We were on location with the Holiday Rambler with a night of Banjo's, redneck campfire singalongs, and gruesome killins'. It was our first shoot with special FX and they went off without a hitch. I wound up doing all the special FX makeup myself for this shoot and our special FX advisor Jarrod Musselwhite handled everything else. Everything look absolutely fantastic and our actors were incredible to watch and hang out with. I hope to be able to work with all of them again in the future as they are consummate professionals, and experts at their crafit (in my very small personal opinion.) I learned alot from them and from everyone on set so far. All my actors were troopers in the slight cold and nastyness that was to come for them (Here's looking at you Bethany!). I cannot wait to see this scene played out on screen.

Here's a few photos from the nights events you can see the rest at our set photographer's website found at http://wmiphotography.smugmug.com/Movies/Exit-101/11240259_y4tqk#810105029_zs7xt

Photos are all by William Mahnken.

Day 4 "almost" finished!

2010-03-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

I promise I will get back to the features on our cast/crew shortly. I've been so busy filming and planning shooting dates that I haven't had a chance. We shot some more opening scenes at the missile Saturday night. We had the very awesome vintage Police car, that the Crisp County Sheriff's Dept most generously allowed us to use, and even did a bit of stunt driving for us. Also want to thank the Crisp County Police Dept. for helping with crowd control! We got some great stuff, and was even able to brave 20 degree wind, people getting set on fire, and lighting malfunctions. Here's a photo album of more photos from the Lab and all new photos from Saturday. William Mahnken is our set photographer.

http://wmiphotography.smugmug.com/Movies/Exit-101/11240259_y4tqk#799558604_nJM4x

Day 3 Wrapped!

2010-02-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, been fairly busy with production so I've been kinda slacking on updates. We filmed at Helena Industries last Saturday, thanks to Thomas Graves and Phil Berryman for helping us out with that. Also, thanks to Rebecca for hanging out with us all day. We got alot of amazing footage of the lab there as well as our actors Michael, Daniel, Dennis and Mike. We went out to the missile later that night for an epic scene that had everyone giggling as people ordered their Krystal burgers in the drive thru. We have some really cool stuff coming up and I can't wait to see the film take shape! Here's a picture our set photographer William Mahnken took during a shot of Dennis in the lab.

Production Update!

2010-02-13T07:31:00.000-08:00

Taking a short break from introducing the cast to let you know whats going on with us! We have been in production for about 2 weeks now, and we've gotten some stuff shot finally that we can use after having a ton of initial technical issues. We've learned that "Less is more" is very true when it comes to film making. If you try to make things complicated, everything becomes frustrating. We are shooting all day today at a very cool location at a local chemical plant. We are using the laboratory there. We want to thank Helena Industries for working with us and making these scenes possible.

Cara Tondee as "Caleb's Mom"

2010-02-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

Cara will be filling the role of Caleb's Mom, the quintessential soccer mom. This will be Cara's first speaking role in a feature film. She also appeared in "2001 Maniacs" starring Robert Englund.

Jerry Hawkins as "Jed"

2010-02-05T07:51:00.000-08:00

Jerry is playing the role of Jed, brother of Cletus. This is Jerry's first feature film, but Jerry currently travels the GA region as a stand up comedian. He has appeared several times in Atlanta performing his routine. Jerry also has an interest in film making in general, and is very handy when it comes to building things from scratch.

John Hudson Messerall as "Ted" The News Anchor

2010-02-05T07:36:00.001-08:00

John is playing the role of local news anchorman "Ted" bringing the townsfolk of Lakeshear all the breaking news. John has been in the business for years and has appeared in film, commercial, and theater works. Films under his belt include: "Love's Heresy", "The Prodigy" and "Scenes for the Soul". John has also done some modelling, as well as radio and voice over work.

Julie Jones Ivey as "Lisa"

2010-02-01T21:02:00.000-08:00

Julie will be playing the role of persistent news reporter "Lisa". She is a seasoned actress with a background in both theater and film. She has appeared in several films to include: "The Caller", "Last Rites" and "Rapture Practice". She also has a BA in English Literature from Mercer University in Macon GA. We are happy to have her as a part of our family.

Walter Robert Duckworth as "Deputy Rayford"

2010-02-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

Walter will be taking the reigns of local self proclaimed super cop "Deputy Rayford". Walter is the president of Central GA Autism Limited and has hosted many events for special needs children's organizations. Walter has also appeared in "The Blind Side", Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns", and had a speaking role in "The Prodigal Son". Walter is also a musician and has held the position of lead vocals in several different bands. Walter proves to be a great asset to our team!

Travis Breedlove as "Sheriff Rankin"

2010-02-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

Travis is just getting started in acting but is moving along quite nicely. He will be playing the role of "Sheriff Rankin". He has already appeared in numerous episodes of "Vampire Diaries" and will also be appearing in "Life As We Know It". Travis is a professional auctioneer and he has won the GA State Championship many times. We are happy to have Travis on the cast!

Jason Tyler as "Cletus"

2010-01-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

Jason is another one of our most seasoned actors on the cast. Jason has appeared in many films, commercials, music videos and theatre productions. Some of those include: "Due Date", "Get Low", "The Signal" and "Life as we Know It". Jason is a great actor who will be fun to watch in the role of "Cletus".

Bethany Tiller as "Delilah"

2010-01-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

Bethany is one of the most seasoned actors on the cast. She has appeared in a plethora of feature/short films as well as having appeared on several episodes of: "Army Wives", "One Tree Hill", and "Drop Dead Diva". She has also done several commercials for Verizon and you can spot her in a recent Burger King commercial featuring Nascar star Tony Stewart. We are very excited that Bethany agreed to bring her immense talent to our little project!

Sebastian Gruber as "Colin"

2010-01-29T20:12:00.001-08:00

Sebastian is another member of our cast who is making his very first foray into the world of acting. He auditioned during our first round of auditions, and we brought him back a bit later to read again and was impressed at how much of "Colin" we saw in him. Sebastian, who likes to be called "Alex"; is a fan of online roleplaying games and technology in general.

Joseph Lavender as "Caleb"

2010-01-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

Joseph is the driving force behind this entire project. He is producer/writer/actor/whatever else needs to be done, on the film. He has always been interested in entertaining people and started with a background in the music industry as well as professional wrestling. Later on Joseph caught the acting bug and went on to pursue film, and has appeared in "The Blindside" starring Sandra Bullock as well as "The Crazies".

Dennis Proulx as "Blake"

2010-01-29T19:22:00.000-08:00

Dennis was perfect for the role of "Blake" the minute he started reading. We knew we had our guy. Dennis has a background in theatre acting, and really knew what we were looking for when it came to the character of Blake. Dennis is a great asset to the team, and loves to make people laugh!

Raina Strickland as "Erica"

2010-01-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

Raina resides in Cordele GA, and has had an interest in acting for quite some time. She appeared in "2001 Maniacs" which starred horror icon Robert Englund, better known as "Freddy Krueger". Raina plays guitar, and is a huge fan of Judy Garland.

Kasey Stewart as "Stacey"

2010-01-29T16:06:00.001-08:00

Kasey comes to us from Warner Robins GA, after having appeared in the George A. Romero remake of the 1970's classic horror film, "The Crazies". She is one of several of the cast members who also appeared in the film. She comes from a background in dance, and has a passion for acting that she is now trying to pursue!

Devin Ray as "Reggie"

2010-01-29T16:04:00.001-08:00

Devin is a great talent whom we are happy to have on board playing the role of "Reggie". He has several films under his belt including: "Zombieland", Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too", and "Expiration Date". We await great things out of Devin.

Cassandra Johnson as "Sarah"

2010-01-29T15:45:00.000-08:00

Cassandra Johnson is a newcomer to acting, and is originally from New Mexico. She has lived in Cordele GA for the past 6 years. She is a huge Stephen King book fan, and is a fan of horror films in general. We can't wait to see what she will bring to the film! Cassandra currently sports a dayjob as a deputy clerk for the Turner County Commissioners.

MEET THE CAST!

2010-01-29T15:41:00.001-08:00

Over the next several posts I'll be posting some pictures and info about our cast members. I'll be adding them over a span, so if you don't see someone up yet.. don't worry! This will hopefully give everyone a chance to get to know our characters as they will be played by our actors!

Screentests!

2010-01-24T14:12:00.001-08:00

Table Read and screen tests!

2010-01-23T21:57:00.001-08:00

We got together with the six lead roles in the film today for a table read/meet and greet. The read went VERY well, and I can now picture what everyone is going to look and sound like when on set doing this for real. I thought the chemistry was there for everyone. We also had a chance to take a look at a new location, to replace another location that fell through. It is an actual Laboratory inside a chemical plant here. It was AWESOME. The people there were great, and very cordial. Crossing our fingers that we get that location nailed down, because it is absolutely perfect. THANK YOU AGAIN Monica! For about the 10th time. We attempted to do some screen tests, to test lighting.. but due to the weather being a bit "wet" we had to move everything to a different area, and we didn't actually get to test the "location" at all.. which is what we wanted to do. So instead we did some behind the scenes introductions, that will double as screen tests. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did, it was a stressful day with a few setbacks.. but thats what preparation is for right? So you don't have to worry about these things when it matters.

OFFICIAL CAST ANNOUNCEMENT!

2010-01-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

We have finally finished the casting for EXIT 101 and we thought you'd like to see the FULL cast list. Thanks to everyone who auditioned, we saw alot of great talent and we wish we had spots for all of you.

Sarah - Cassandra Johnson

Colin - Sebastian Gruber

Caleb - Joseph Lavender

Blake - Dennis Proulx

Stacey - Kasey Stewart

Reggie - Devin Ray

Erica - Raina Strickland

Deputy Rayford - Walter Robert Duckworth

Sarah's Grandma - Carolyn Tondee

Sheriff Rankin - Travis Breedlove

Cletus - Jason Tyler

Jed - Jerry Hawkins

Delilah - Bethany Tiller

The Pizza Guy - Matthew Odom

Caleb's Mom - Cara Tondee

Lisa The Reporter - Julie Jones Ivey

Ted The anchorman - John Hudson Messerall

EMT - Chris Taylor

EMT 2 - Austin Martin

The Woman - Robin Eason

Dr. Carlton - Don Helton

Dr. Williams - Michael Williams

The Professor - Maxine Phelps

Sarah's Grandpa - Daniel Young

The Hitchhiker - Leon Sills

EXTRAS!

2010-01-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

We are wrapping up casting (hopefully) this weekend. I think the process has gone smoothly for the most part. We had a few snags, but nothing game breaking.

We'll be doing screen tests for the remainder of the month of January, and will be beginning principal photography starting in February. We will be looking for extras throughout the duration of the film shoot, but I wanted to go ahead and extend the invitation out to anyone who may already be interested in helping us out as an extra.

If you would like to participate as an extra, please send a recent photo of yourself (make sure we can actually see what you look like in it.) Along with your age, and location. You'll need to be available on weekends, and for extended periods of time during those days. This is a fun opportunity to get to see what its like to be on a movie set, on a smaller more intimate scale. Send your photos to: blackflightstudio@gmail.com SUBJECT LINE: EXIT 101 Extras

If you auditioned for a role, but didn't get the part. We can still use you as an extra, if this is the case and you'd still like to participate just send us an email stating that you'd still like to help out as an extra. We won't need a photo as we already have them on file for everyone who did audition.

Thanks guys!

Partial Cast list!

2009-12-27T15:31:00.000-08:00

We are not done with all of the auditions/casting, because of some issues and just not finding quite the right person yet. We have some folks coming back for callbacks, and some new folks auditioning. However, we did find some of our cast already and I felt like we should announce those, and once we have the other roles cast.. we'll post those as well. Please do not email us if you are not listed here. We either haven't cast for your character yet, or you weren't what we were looking for. We had alot of talented people, and we wish we could cast everyone but thats the breaks! If you aren't cast, we can always use you as an extra/featured extra.. so keep that in mind.

Without further ado... The cast so far!

Blake: Dennis Proulx

Caleb: Joseph Lavender

Sarah's Grandma: Carolyn Tondee

Caleb's Mom: Cara Tondee

Delilah: Bethany Tiller

Reggie: Devin Ray

The Professor: Maxine Phelps

Sheriff Rankin: Travis Breedlove

Deputy Rayford: Walter Robert Duckworth

EMT: Chris Taylor

The Woman: Robin Eason

The News Anchor: Julie Jones Ivey

Billy The Pizza Guy: Matthew Odom

The Hitchhiker: Leon Sills

and Jerry Hawkins (role TBA)

Casting Day 2 and more...

2009-12-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

Our second day of casting went just as smoothly as the first, except for one minor incident I will not mention. We saw even more great talent to round out a fairly good showing for our cast. We've spent the last week watching and rewatching audition footage and we have most of the choices narrowed down. We are still looking for people for the roles of Stacey and Cletus, and we have now opened up more opportunities for folks to read for the part of Colin as well. Lots to be done!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Casting Day 1

2009-12-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

We had casting this Saturday for the film. It went smoothly, except for a few small snags here and there. I've learned alot about the process and some things I plan to not do for next time. We saw alot of really great talent, and I hope we can use alot of those who took the time to audition. This Saturday is closed casting calls, and hopefully it will go just as smooth. Once we get done with this weekend, we'll be spending some time reviewing the audition tapes and picking our characters. I've already got some favorites from the first round, but gotta wait til we've seen everyone before I make any decisions.

OPEN CASTING CALLS!

2009-11-22T06:04:00.000-08:00

We've finally set a date for Open Casting.

Date? DECEMBER 5TH 2009

Where? Cordele Crisp Chamber of Commerce

Time? 8AM until 5PM with a break for lunch somewhere in there.

What? Bring a recent photo of yourself if you have one. And be prepared to read lines from the script.

Here is a map to the Chamber. You can get directions according to where you live in relation.

View Larger Map

Please Note: These auditions are NOT for extra or background roles. These roles are for main cast only. If you wish to be an extra or background actor. Please keep checking back to our websites for information. We will announce when we need those types of roles as we need them.

Additionally, if you have previously submitted via email. You have the option of auditioning on Dec. 5th if you wish, but all those who have "scheduled" auditions will be done on Dec. 12th. If for some reason you cannot make it on the 12th, please email me and we will try our best to make arrangements. If you'd rather come on the 5th, please let us know as well. We will try to accomodate you as best we can. For those still interested in submitting ahead of time, send an email to blackflightstudio@gmail.com including a recent photo/headshot and any acting experience you may have.

Finally, just in case you haven't gotten the information previously (it has been posted several times). These positions are not paid, but COPY/CREDIT/MEALS will be provided. There is a chance of payment after production but we cannot promise anything before hand. This is a labor of love for us, and we must expect the same from everyone working with us at this time. We want to be up front with everyone so there is no confusion.

Lastly, I am posting the character breakdowns again, so they are at the top of the page as well as adding them to myspace, and facebook. Look forward to meeting with you all and hope to be getting one step closer to shooting!

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Leads

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Sarah:

Caucasian, early 20s, The girl next door.

Colin:

Caucasian, early 20s, Geeky, wanna be ladies man.

Caleb:

Caucasian, early-mid 20s, Loner type.

(THIS ROLE HAS BEEN FILLED, Not currently accepting submissions for this role.)

Blake:

Caucasian, early-mid 20s, College Football Jock.

Stacey:

Caucasian, early 20s, Ditzy Cheerleader.

Reggie:

African-American, early-mid 20s, College football player.

Erica:

Caucasian, early 20s, Goth slacker chick.

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Supporting

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Sarah's Grandma:

Caucasian, late 50s early 60s. Southern and old fashioned.

Deputy Rayford:

Caucasian, late 40s early 50s. Straight laced deputy.

Dr. Carlton:

Caucasian, late 40s. Intellectual and to the point.

Dr. Williams:

African-American, late 30s, smart and professional.

The Professor:

Any ethnicity, late 40s, Intelligent but hip.

Billy(The Pizza Guy):

Caucasian, late teens early to mid 20s, dorky.

The Hitchhiker:

Any ethnicity, late 40s, scraggly and ungroomed.

Cletus:

Caucasian, mid 30s, Over the top redneck.

Jed:

Caucasion, mid 20s, Over the top, but goofy redneck.

Delilah:

Caucasian, mid to late 20s, Trashy but attractive.

News Anchor:

Any ethnicity, Any gender. Late 20s, early to mid 30s. Typical local news caster.

Caleb's Mother:

Caucasian, late 40s, loving yet stern. Typical mother.

Lisa the reporter:

Any ethnicity, female, late 20s to early 30s. Strong willed tv news reporter.

Sheriff Rankin:

Caucasian, late 40s, Tough and stern.

The Paramedics:

Any ethnicity, male, late 20s, early 30s. blue collar guys with a sense of humor.

The Jock:

Caucasian, male, early 20s, random class clown.

The Woman:

Any ethnicity, female, late 30s, high strung. Gets irritated easily.

The Party Guys:

Any ethnicity, male, early 20s. Party animals, some of Blake's friends.

Test Stills

2009-11-15T18:06:00.000-08:00

So we are getting closer! Less than a month away from beginning casting. If you are interested in auditioning for a role in the film, please send an email with a recent photo and any acting experience you may have to blackflightstudio@gmail.com. No experience is required, but is a plus. I've been doing a good bit of storyboarding still, and its coming along pretty well. I took a break from that this past week to do some test footage. I didn't do anything special. Just some random shots that really have little to do with the film itself. Well, it does.. just not entirely. It came out pretty swell in my opinion, and I thought you guys might like to see. Here are some stills I took from it. Hopefully it will look even better when we get all the lighting and everything just right.

Storyboarding!

2009-11-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, now we are in the storyboarding phase.
I am a pretty good artist. But for the sake of time, and simplicity.. I'm not going into extreme detail with these storyboard sketches. These are just here to give us a general idea of how each shot might look once we actually get on location and start shooting. I posted a screenshot of one of the storyboards I did tonight. I'm not gonna give away too much. I can't wait to shoot some of the scenes in the film. Its coming along great, and thanks to everyone who has emailed me or submitted photos for the film. I'll be getting back to you soon.

Character Breakdowns

2009-11-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hey guys. I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been busy working on the final changes to the script. Thats out of the way finally, and I have begun storyboarding. Right now we are on schedule, and are planning on doing casting calls in early to mid December. That being said, I've already received an immense amount of submissions from actors/actresses (or those aspiring to be such) and I felt that it might make sense to give everyone breakdowns of the characters we are casting for so those interested can decide exactly what role may fit best for them, and be better prepared come audition time.

The roles listed below are the main cast, and their supporting cast. If none of the roles below match you, don't worry. We will need a pretty large amount of extras, some of which are featured. These are in all age groups, and all types. So please submit anyway, even if you don't fit one of the main cast roles. I'll be glad to provide sides to those who are serious about auditioning in December. The film will be shot mostly on weekends, and will consume some long days. Please make sure you are aware of what this requires before you choose to submit or audition. Some of the smaller roles will only require a day/few days of shooting.. so if you know you won't be available for the entire shoot.. please keep that in mind when choosing what characters to audition for. Most of the main cast, will need to be available for every day of shooting. As of now, compensation will be a copy of the finished product, credit, and hopefully some good food. There will be the chance to be compensated monetarily if the film does well after it has released. Well thats enough blabber.. here are the character breakdowns. If you haven't submitted already. Send a recent photo, and any acting experience you may have to: Blackflightstudio@gmail,com and put "EXIT 101 audition" in the subject line.

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Leads

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Sarah:

Caucasian, early 20s, The girl next door.

Colin:

Caucasian, early 20s, Geeky, wanna be ladies man.

Caleb:

Caucasian, early-mid 20s, Loner type.

(THIS ROLE HAS BEEN FILLED, Not currently accepting submissions for this role.)

Blake:

Caucasian, early-mid 20s, College Football Jock.

Stacey:

Caucasian, early 20s, Ditzy Cheerleader.

Reggie:

African-American, early-mid 20s, College football player.

Erica:

Caucasian, early 20s, Goth slacker chick.

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Supporting

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Sarah's Grandma:

Caucasian, late 50s early 60s. Southern and old fashioned.

Deputy Rayford:

Caucasian, late 40s early 50s. Straight laced deputy.

Dr. Carlton:

Caucasian, late 40s. Intellectual and to the point.

Dr. Williams:

African-American, late 30s, smart and professional.

The Professor:

Any ethnicity, late 40s, Intelligent but hip.

Billy(The Pizza Guy):

Caucasian, late teens early to mid 20s, dorky.

The Hitchhiker:

Any ethnicity, late 40s, scraggly and ungroomed.

Cletus:

Caucasian, mid 30s, Over the top redneck.

Jed:

Caucasion, mid 20s, Over the top, but goofy redneck.

Delilah:

Caucasian, mid to late 20s, Trashy but attractive.

News Anchor:

Any ethnicity, Any gender. Late 20s, early to mid 30s. Typical local news caster.

Caleb's Mother:

Caucasian, late 40s, loving yet stern. Typical mother.

Lisa the reporter:

Any ethnicity, female, late 20s to early 30s. Strong willed tv news reporter.

Sheriff Rankin:

Caucasian, late 40s, Tough and stern.

The Paramedics:

Any ethnicity, male, late 20s, early 30s. blue collar guys with a sense of humor.

The Jock:

Caucasian, male, early 20s, random class clown.

The Woman:

Any ethnicity, female, late 30s, high strung. Gets irritated easily.

The Party Guys:

Any ethnicity, male, early 20s. Party animals, some of Blake's friends.

EXIT 101 in the news!

2009-10-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

So, myself and William Mahnken (set photography/promotions) met with Peggy King, news editor of the local newspaper; The Cordele Dispatch. She interviewed me regarding our film. I figured it would be some smallish article in the middle of the paper and noone would care nor bother to see it. When I got up Sunday morning and went down to the store.. I was shocked to see a very LARGE picture of me, stretched across the top of the newspaper with the film being the top story on SUNDAY! This has spawned numerous emails and contact from those wanting to help, and some just emailed me with some kind words (which is stinking awesome).

I met with Doug also, and we went over some possible script changes. None of the proposed changes, changes the plot in any way.There were just a couple of iffy places that need to be fixed.

Also, we are still getting some donations from kickstarter. We are no longer using kickstarter. If you have already donated at kickstarter, you won't be charged. We changed over to a paypal payment button.

1st Crew meeting

2009-10-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

We had our very first crew meeting Saturday night at the local Mexican Restaurant. Everyone got a chance to meet, and we got into a more indepth conversation with Monica Simmons the chamber president. We have the green light so far on everything we need access to. We have changed the route we are going with the camera, after debates and budget concerns. We were actually able to borrow the particular camera we are going to be using, to do some test shots. I'm pretty pleased with the images it produces. I won't say the model or brand, since it really doesn't matter. Just wait and see! I'm taking the kickstarter link down for now, since we have a paypal donate page setup. This seems like a better way to go for our needs. Please, donate via the paypal button on www.blackflightstudios.com.

Taking Shape.

2009-10-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

So, We've added a few people to the team. We are scheduling another meeting soon to discuss the script and other issues. We aren't doing so hot on kickstarter.com. I'm not sure whats up with that, but we'll get by. I thought it might be better to give people options. So, I've added a paypal donate button on the blog AND on the website. WWW.BLACKFLIGHTSTUDIOS.COM. The film itself will have a website eventually, but its too early for that right now. I just got charged for another year of hosting on this old domain, and figured if I have to pay for it.. I might as well use it for something right? We'd love it, if you have donated on kickstarter.. to just donate again on the paypal button. It doesn't look like we'll be making our goal of 2000.00 on kickstarter currently, and any little bit helps. The whole "ALL or nothing" idea seemed good to start with.. but funds accumulate quickly, in small amounts which to me.. makes more sense than saying "hey, here's 1,999 dollars.. but since you didn't get the last 1.00, you don't get any of it". Not too useful right? If you've already donated via kickstarter, and want to donate via paypal instead. The rewards still apply. For anyone "new" who wants to donate. If you donate 25.00 or more, you get a copy of the film when its done and everyone who donates.. no matter the amount gets a special thanks in the film credits.

The Ball is rolling!

2009-10-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, just another update.

Some exciting news. Myself and Branden met with Doug Cole last night to talk about the project. Doug is a graduate of Savannah College of Art and design and he currently works with the Nationally Syndicated Outdoor Channel. We discussed our goal with the project and where we wanted to go with it, and it turned out to be a great meeting. It looks like we'll be bringing Doug on board with us as Director of Photography, and whatever other "hats" he chooses to wear! We hope to learn alot from him. Also, I'd like to welcome William Mahnken to the team. William is a local photographer from Cordele. He's volunteered to help us with promotions and behind the scenes photography. We're getting things moving with preproduction. I'm going to start storyboarding soon, once I'm happy with the script (several people are reading it now). We STILL need a camera. Doug suggested that we try to shoot on HD if at all possible. I agree with him for numerous reason, but currently we do not have a HD camera in our possession. We are trying to raise money for different things, but right now without a camera we are stuck. We are still moving along with everything, but casting and production cannot begin until the camera has been aquired. We are getting somewhere now though! If you want to assist with funding, we have a link to our kickstarter page. If you'd feel more comfortable just donating to the project you can email me at blackflightstudio@gmail.com and we can set that up as well.

Things are rolling along.

2009-10-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

Script is done. Clocking in at 96 pages. I'm currently revising and rewriting some parts of it, but the core is there and done. I've been in contact with several DP's over the past week. We haven't nailed one down yet, so I still may be shooting this myself.. but I'm still trying to find someone knowledgeable who wants to work with us. I'm meeting with a DP this weekend who graduated from the Savannah College of Art. That will be cool. I've learned so far, that finding people to be "in" the film will be easy. Finding people to "work" on the crew, is the difficult part. Or at least finding people who know what they are doing.

EXIT 101 is officially in preproduction!

2009-09-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I've posted a few times over the past few weeks about what we have been doing for the development of the film. My main objective thus far has been securing a major location for the backstory of the film and we've gotten the support of the Cordele GA Rotary Club, and with the help of Monica Simmons it looks like this project is on its way to becoming a reality. I met with her today to talk about the ideas I had for the film and what we wanted to do with it. I'm excited to say that we are moving forward with the project faster than I'd hoped with support from our local community. We want to put our little town on the map with something cool and creative that everyone here will have a chance to have a hand in. There will be some BIG news soon.. so stay tuned!

LOCATION SECURED!

2009-09-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

So, last time I blogged I was talking about one of the locations I have been scouting for the film. I wanted to make sure we could get it before I continued on, because if I couldn't.. I was going to have to make alot of major changes to the script that I really would rather not have to do. I have been in contact with Monica Simmons, the president of the chamber of commerce here; and she has given us her approval to shoot at the location, and has stated she will assist in any way she can. AWESOME! So, I am supposed to be meeting with her soon to show her the specifics.. but I decided to go out there today and shoot some sample footage on my handycam. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a batter.. derrrr.. But luckily had my wife's D40 with me. So I still was able to get some stills and get a better idea of how its going to look and how the scenes are going to be laid out. So far, everything is pretty much perfect. You can't really tell in the stills (I'm no photographer) but I think this is going to be great. Take a look.

By the way, I just wanted to mention something really quick in case people are reading this and are interested in working or helping us with the film. This is a super low budget movie. We are working out of the money (very little of it that we have) from our own pockets. So at this point, we expect everyone working with us to make this happen..to have the same vision. Everyone will get a copy of the film, credit, some good food (hopefully) and some fun times. Probably will be on IMDB as well. I'd like to offer payment to all those who help at some point, but the uncertainty of whether or not the movie will succeed once its complete is not something we can say for sure. The reason why I am saying this is because we've already been garnering some interest from crew/actors and I just want to be up front and honest with what we are doing. We believe that if we can get the ball rolling with this film and we DO actually make some profit from it.. We can be in a better position to be able to pay our cast and crew something for their efforts. Noone likes working for free, and we hate asking for it.. especially those who outweigh us by tons in the experience dept. We don't want to get more than we pay for, if that makes any sense. We just want everyone to know exactly what we expect and what we are about. If your still interested after my long spill, then you are who we are looking for. If not, maybe we will pick you up when we are making money with this stuff! Our number one goal is to do something noone else has done in our town, and out our little town on the map!

Missile shooting almost a GO!

2009-09-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so an integral part of the story we are creating pertains to a landmark just off "EXIT 101" and yes.. EXIT 101 is real. It is a giant confederate TITAN missile, that was cemented into the ground as a tourist attraction many many years ago. Its probably the most talked about spectacle in our town and I thought it would be awesome to incorporate it into the backstory of the film. Well, I figured before I bit off more than I could chew.. that I should contact the chamber and find out if we could actually shoot footage of it and around it. I got an email back from Monica Simmons the president of the Cordele chamber earlier today stating that we could indeed shoot footage of the missile. I'm supposed to meet up with her to show her exactly what we want to do with it. We are in the right direction!

Kickstarter?

2009-09-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

So, the script is coming along nicely. Almost halfway through writing it. There is surely to be a bunch of changes to do to it later, but.. getting the "meat" of it done is the main objective right now. Also, I've been talking to a few other low budget filmmakers to get input into the creative process of making a movie. You should check them out...

www.midnightroadkill.com

www.myspace.com/spoilsfilm
www.myspace.com/kodiemovie

Also, a few days ago I stumbled across a site called "Kickstarter". What's this you ask? Well, its a site designed to allow creative projects to raise funds by setting up a page via their site and allowing people to pledge various amounts of cash to help get your project off the ground. For doing this the pledgers receive exclusive rewards once the goal has been met. Some of these rewards are pretty awesome, and it looks like a great way to get the creative juices going on a low budget with the help of others. You can find the link to your Kickstarter page at the bottom of the blog.

And so it begins...

2009-09-08T17:24:00.001-07:00

The project has officially begun. After much deliberation and thought, The Low/No budget horror feature tentatively titled "Exit 101" has begun the development stages. This feature is being created by a group of amateur film makers who have never before undertaken such an endeavor. We live in a rural area where we are left with mostly our imaginations to find things to do. Most of us have worked together as band mates, or in big hollywood productions as extras and we found that we wanted more out of it than just standing around for 12 hrs. We wanted to take it further, but in our own area. We have set out to create something from literally nothing. As we embark on this long journey in horror movie making. This blog will mark the events that are soon to come as we attempt to create a feature film with no experience and literally no money. From the inception of the idea, to the final product. You will be able to see the project as it takes shape. I hope that we can all learn something from experience and have some fun.

Now, to get into it.

Over the past 3 weeks I have been coming up with ideas, and working on gathering gear for the shoot. I've started on the script. I'm currently 10 pages into the script for the film, and have written the first 2 scenes. I used this time to research different cameras, as well as learned about amazing resources for indie filmmakers, especially www.dvxuser.com. The nice folks there helped me narrow down my camera choices to just 1. Within our "no/low" budget constraints it looks like our tool of destruction has been chosen: The Panasonic DVX100B. Soon we will have the money raised to purchase the camera and begin learning its functions and getting out and doing some test shoots via a few makeshift short films (improvs mostly). The film's story is going to revolve around a small rural town (go figure) whose inhabitants are unaware that a biological weapon is sitting in the middle of town right off of "Exit 101".

I'm not going to spoil the story for everyone just yet. But I will add more details on the planning process. So far, I will be directing (and wearing many other hats I am sure).. Jarrod Musselwhite will be Producing as well as assisting in building of things we may need (crane anyone?) Jarrod will also be assisting me with casting. Jarrod has also already secured several locations for shooting for us. Branden Farrow, will be serving as "all around guy" since we don't know what the proper description for him would be. He's basically going to be helping with whatever needs doing. Brandon Lucas will be our boom operator/sound guy. He's got a good background in audio, and of the group he is the most suited for this position.. plus he's a pretty strong guy! We are currently looking for a camera operator, make up artist and special effects supervisor. But, I would guess we will wind up all wearing those hats as well at some point. More to come!