Persephone Production Complete!

My cast and crew worked two 16-hour days.Often this story is heard with independent productions... small budget and great expectations combined with enthusiastic ambition - in some cases, unchecked.Fortunate were we that the ambition to complete a weekend production with 37 set-ups, 49 shots, and 196 takes went off without a hitch.Of course, taking 6 hours to build a woman, made of chocolate, in SFX make-up is no easy task - not for talent who must sit through it or for the make-up artist who must apply it. I must say that it was impressive watching Christina Kortum from Ravenous Studios slowly build the make-up with the skill only a talented artist like her possesses from years of experience and a true love of the craft. Her husband, Ira, was dutifully next to her, helping with every stage required in preparation so she could hone and build Alex Lazar into Persephone - the woman made of chocolate, imprisoned for life in a candy shop by her wicked guardians.Of course, make-up stretches beyond SFX and Rose Barclay was ever present on set to detail, highlight and caress the skin of our talented cast; Sean Morelli and Trish Egan, the guardians, and Kevin Dahlgren as Persephone's wooing boyfriend.It must be noted that this short film is narrated, so there was no on-set dialogue. The actors all had to convey the necessary physical and  emotional context for this story to be properly told during filming. This is not easy to do... and it was impressive watching everyone bring their talents to fruition in each of their characters. Sometimes moving an eyebrow, every so slightly, conveys meaning beyond simple words.The story of Persephone takes place during the turn-of-the-century in the Netherlands region. Researching clothing, costumes, and traditional styles fell to the talented Crystal Shade. She designed and sewed the clothing from the ground up - which is no easy take for the limited time-frame we were all operating in.On set, the team from ADiassisted in many aspects of the production - from green screen lighting and framing to the blocking of key-scenes which involved fragile moments of CGI relevancy for post production. Sean Hutchinson, Nick Nakadate, and Seth Cameron Short were all amazing to work alongside. Special thanks go out to Kate Ertman, President of ADi... for teaming up with me on this project.Production took place at Dan Ackerman's Stage 13. A fully equipped, green screen cyc wall studio which is also fully outfitted for stop-motion animation and many other production needs. Dan shot the Persephone project for us and did a remarkable job lighting the set alongside his two grips, Travis Becker from Becker Productions and Mia Paige Mikowicz. Many thanks for your great attitudes and smiles...Rebecca Micciche, with an "e", handled all our props, set-design and art direction. Rebecca took the time to research, build, and hunt for all the necessary props which properly fit the time period and location where the story takes place. I always received new prop breakdowns during prep-production, was constantly kept in touch with, and overall... I was impressed with her on-set suggestions and keen eye for continuity. Her assistants, Mike Wilson and Matt Boucard were both a great pleasure to have on set.Our set photographer, Deneb Catalan, spent every second, from being almost first on set to the last few standing at the end of day, shooting stills of the production. His captured imagery was impressive, set-etiquette... most professional, and always was stealthy maneuvering around, taking photos at every good, available opportunity. Thanks for your work Deneb!Lastly, but certainly never least... was Susan Funk and Martin Vavra. They made sure coffee was always made... hot food (sometimes unfortunately ignored because of our intense schedule) was always there in the morning... and overall, they both were dedicated to making sure everyone was fed on set.My new iBook, "Weevil and Nightshade's Compendium of Farables & Tales" will be released June of 2011. In it, you'll find the story from which this production was conceived, "Both Bitter and Sweet Was Persephone Inside Most Incomplete." You'll find many other stories and farables as well... including, "Troubled Frederick McLinger Had Ten Tiny Mouths on the Tips of His Fingers" and "Shannon Shee Had a Shadow She Liked to Eat."Much more to write... but I don't care for long blogs.