Kerberos, the new movie from Kely McClung is in Production
What a difference a hint of money and a film crew make!
BLOOD TIES, the international action movie written/directed/edited by Kely McClung, produced by Kely and Robert Pralgo, was done on an absolute "shoe string" budget with the most limited of resources. It's quality and originality was able to attract a lot of talent as we went, and its success on the festival circuit and in the eyes of its audience proved we could make a movie.
With that bit of history and proof behind us, and my short film, AM SESSION, now playing on HBO, tackling Kerberos should be an easier project, right?
Well, I guess it would be except that I have written an even more ambitious story, and with greater expectations and self-imposed demands, I am determined to make a better movie on all levels; better story, better characterization, bigger action, higher quality in the filming and sound, more ambitious effects, and a greater audience.
The first couple parts of the equation have already been accomplished. Kerberos is a kick-ass action script with great density and deep characterization. Once again breaking all rules of low budget filmmaking logic, the complete cast call is for 56 actors. The level of acting and attention to detail in the directing of those performances will be even greater. Blood Ties will actually be hard to outdo on just the quality of performances, but the greater amount of deep characters and the strong scenes and story structure may allow them come across better.
Second, Kerberos has more funding. While not a big budget by any standard of filmmaking, I have already proved that I can make something out of nothing, and so now of course I have an even greater expectation from both myself and all those around me. I feel the pressure! But with those additional resources comes even more -- an actual crew this time!
Even that is a double edge sword; it should certainly add to the quality and the pool of talent contributing to our final result, but as the director and producer, it means I have more to direct and manage, and guide into the vision I've carried in my head for the past year. Still, I am excited by the challenge and am thrilled with the small team I am assembling.
It'll take another couple of posts to describe our Executive Producers and their talents and marketing resources, so for now I'll just mention the first couple of my burgeoning team.
Dan Slemons is officially the Kerberos Gaffer. Dan is one of the hardest working guys any of us know, is experienced in many crew positions and will be wearing multiple hats on this one as well. Always a pleasure to work with, Dan takes a huge amount of justifiable pride in his work, and I plan to take advantage of that.
Robert Pralgo is the official casting director, once again using his contacts and his experience with the best of Atlanta's talent to help populate my story with the level of acting I am demanding. Every role is important, and every performance will be critical to the film's success.
Attila Alexander will act in some combination of Producer/AD, helping to manage the shoot and the additional resources. Attila's experience ensuring the completion of dozens of production in town with really low budgets will be crucial in helping me pull this off.
One thing I regret on Blood Ties, with its huge crew of two and sometimes three people traveling around the world, was not having anyone to help document our efforts with behind the scenes stills and video. This time we are making sure to document our efforts with several different photographers and behind the scenes video and interviews, much of it coming from the very talented director Future. His advice and opinions will be useful throughout and he'll also act a co-producer.
It may be interesting to the filmmakers reading that even though the six names above are far from a complete crew, it is already twice what we had on BLOOD TIES! Blood Ties filmed in 3 countries, and six major cities. This time we'll be filming close to home.
I am currently in talks with an amazing makeup/special effects team, a very strong sound mixer, my choice for make up and hair, costumers, and property masters.
Locations are being scouted, vehicles secured, action being choreographed, and meetings with local police and the city.
In some of my teaching of martial arts, and in other blog posts or interviews, I sometimes equate these new experiences to food. I can talk about some exotic dish, but until you actually take a bite, you'll never really know what I am talking about. I am getting my own small taste of what Robert Rodriguez described in his book "Rebel Without A Crew".
It's almost time to make a movie! For now, watch the teasers and wonder what the heck this thing is all about!
Kely McClung
Posted at 03:05PM Jun 23, 2008 Read More... by William McClung in General | Comments[0]
