PRODUCTION PHOTOS
○ February-August 2011:
Pre-Production
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February-August 2011:
Pre-Production
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February 25, 2011: Ben
visits Jefferson Community School in Port Townsend to talk about
filmmaking. He uses the trip to scout locations for a new screenplay
that he is writing about shipwrecked teens. |
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March 8, 2011: Ben finishes
the first draft of ALONE TOGETHER. He edits with the free program Celtx. |
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May 20: In April & May, Ben
does preliminary special effects tests using Cinema 4D, a 3D
computer modeling program. |
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May 21, 2011: Ben expects
to create the short opening ship
scenes via
green screen and perhaps a friend's sailboat. A visit to
Northwest Seaport,
however, inspires an ambition to use a big ship. |
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Ben asks Northwest Seaport
for permission to shoot on the tugboat Arthur Foss. They kindly agree. Pat Hartle,
Northwest Seaport Board Member,
lets Ben on board the tugboat Arthur Foss to scout. |
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The 100-year-old tugboat
Arthur Foss starred in the 1933 film TUGBOAT ANNIE. Ben rewrites
his script to highlight the ship. |
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May 30, 2011: Ben and Carl Kadie (Ben's dad) scout Cougar Mountain park, only five miles from home. Shooting some
scenes so close to home will simplify the production. Although they
record
this location with GPS, they later have trouble finding it again. |
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June 20, 2011: For the
film's underwater action sequences, Ben tests green screen special
effects. |
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July 4, 2011: On a family
visit to Illinois, Ben finishes his storyboards. |
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July 7, 2011: For the first
time, Ben casts via auditions. He posts to several Seattle-area actors’
callboards. |
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July 7, 2011: Family friend
Bob Davidson loans Ben a Zodiac inflatable boat. It will play the part of
the three
lifeboats. |
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The Seattle area has many
beaches, but most have views of houses and other land. To find close beaches with
open water, Ben uses Bing maps and “discovers” the Strait of Juan de Fuca ("Inside Passage" on this map). He scouts it twice by car, even
getting some of his Driver’s Ed miles in. (Stars show scouted
locations.) |
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July 11, 2011: Scouting
Fort Ebey State Park, Ben finds the open water and quiet beach he needs. |
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Scouting Deception Pass
State Park, Ben finds open water and interesting features. |
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Ben at first hopes this inlet at
Deception Pass State Park can be used for shallow water scenes, but he
when he gets in, he
decides that the water is too cold. The GoPro underwater camera,
however, works great. |
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Ben finds this wonderful
cliff at Deception Pass State Park. When he gets home, he re-writes the
script to use this location more. |
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July 20, 20122: Ben feels happy that so
many strong actors respond. He reports that one part of the auditions is
weird: Sitting in his basement, judging adults on how well they pretend
to be on sinking ship. |
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July 21, 2012: For the
first time, Ben raises outside money for a film. He sets up an
IndieGoGo site, including a
pitch video. The campaign meets and
then exceeds its goals. Generous donors give enough to cover both the overnight trip to
Fort Ebey & Deception Pass and to license music. |
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July 22, 2011: Ben designs the costumes via a photo montage. In the upper right, family friend Dr. Ed Sobey becomes the model for the biologist dad. |
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August 2, 2011: The week
before shooting, Ben designs
the make-up for the shipwreck injuries. He applies the design to himself and
makes a photograph of the result for reference. |
Sunday, August 7, 2011:
Arthur Foss and Seattle
Country Day School
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We pack two car loads of
props, costumes, equipment, and food. |
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Carl Kadie (Ben's dad) and Ben arrive
early at the Northwest Seaport |
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Actor Jeff Zornes finds his
shirt. |
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Actor Bria Lynn Massie
applies her make-up. |
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Nanci Vaeth, Ben's Mom, helps the actors. |
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The day's first shot with Sherie Shuter, Asher Jordan, |
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Asher Jordan |
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Jeff Zornes |
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Samantha A. Camp talks to Bria Lynn next to the Arthur Foss while
Camilla Franklin records the sound. The Arthur Foss, built in
1889, is owned by the |
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Samantha A. Camp |
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Camilla Franklin |
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Ben Kadie |
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Carl tries not to blind the actors. |
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Asher (not in character) and Bria Lynn |
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Nat Levy, from the Bellevue Reporter, watches the filming and
later publishes
a story. |
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Ben on the dock |
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Action on the ship's upper deck |
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Bria Lynn and Asher run forward. |
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By late morning, behind Ben, more people visit the dock area. |
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Actors Simone Leorin, Bill Begorre, Sherie Suter, Mark Zornes, and Greg
Marks |
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Along with the usual high-flying passenger planes, the production must
also wait for landing seaplanes, and then even the Blue Angles. |
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Bria Lynn and Asher do a
scene from a different movie. |
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Simone Leorin and Greg Marks play sailors. |
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Greg Marks |
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Simone Leorin |
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Samantha and Bill eat the lunch |
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After lunch we move to
Seattle Country Day School. Ben
and Camilla are alumni of the school. It sits near the top of Queen
Anne Hill, a few miles from the Arthur Foss. |
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Nanci and Sherie help Jeff
get into character. |
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Jeff swims across the
stormy basketball court to the safety of the lifeboat. |
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Bill Begorre |
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Hope that watch is
waterproof. |
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Oh no! Who is up there?
Actually, no one. Asher and Bria Lynn |
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"Jump, jump!" |
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Sailors
Simone and Greg show their affinity for the water. |
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Ben tells the sailors about
boats. |
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Survivors of the first
filming day |
Monday &
Tuesday, August 8 & 9, 2011
Cougar Mountain County Park
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On day two of filming, we
move to Cougar Mountain, a forested county park about 10 miles from
Ben's home. The clearing sits about a 1/4 mile from parking. |
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Asher and Bria Lynn perform
a scene set at the castaway's campsite. |
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A reflector provides
controlled light in the dim forest. |
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Ben applies make up to Bria
Lynn. |
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Camilla, the boom operator,
hides from Ben, the camera operator, |
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Asher demonstrates how to
open a can of beans |
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Carl makes it rain. |
Monday &
Tuesday, August 15 & 16, 2011
Deception Pass State Park and Fort
Ebey
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After a 90-minute drive
from Bellevue, we arrive at Deception Pass State Park. |
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Bria Lynn explores the
rocks on the beach. |
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Asher and Bria Lynn use the
"stunt" walkie-talkie. |
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In the background, the
bridge spans Deception Pass. |
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To capture shots of open
water, the production next moves 20 miles south, to Fort Ebey State
Park. The park boasts two miles of uncrowded beach on the Straight of
Juan de Fuca. |
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Ben shoots on a new 4'
Glideshot crane that he bought with birthday money. |
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Asher stands on the beach.
We almost lose one of the walkie-talkies by not paying attention as the
tide comes in. |
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Ben touches up Asher's
make-up. In the background, five miles across the water, is Port
Townsend. |
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Done with Fort Ebey, Ben
carries the last load back to the vehicles. |
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With shooting running a
little ahead of schedule, we return to |
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The scene involves a fish
on black thread to make it move. |
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A waterproof GoPro camera
captures additional footage. (Ben ended up cutting this fish scene from
the film, but it lives on as a special feature on the DVD.) |
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We spend the night at a
hotel in Oak Harbor, near Whidbey Island Navel Air Station. Generous
donors, via IndieGoGo, cover the hotel and a rented SUV. |
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The next morning we return
to Deception Pass State Park. In a previous scouting trip, Ben found a
wonderful cliff location. Bria Lynn claims a rock on cliff. |
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As always, we share the
park with other users. |
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Asher and Bria Lynn walk up
the hill. |
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Ben films from the cliff's
meadow. |
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Fog lasts most of the day.
(In the film, some shots ended up using the fog. Others were "fixed in
post" by replacing the white with blue skies.) |
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Nanci and Carl, Ben's mom
and dad, hold the "black screen" that Ben uses to shoot some
day-as-night scenes. Ben and Nanci made the screen from theatrical
blackout fabric. |
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Ben and his camera |
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Bria Lynn sees the kayakers
again. In every shot, Ben works to capture the backgrounds he wants
(cool rocks) and avoid those he doesn't (kayakers). |
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Asher runs toward a mini
cliff that stands in for the cliff. |
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Asher and Bria Lynn look at
a shot. |
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Shooting at Deception Pass
ends with clear skies. |
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Lake
Washington
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Two days after returning
from Deception Pass, the production moves to a friend's house on the
relatively warm Lake Washington. Ben uses the GoPro camera for many
shots. |
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With the Canon DSLR camera
set up on the dock, |
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"Duck!" |
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Asher and Bria Lynn prepare
to dive for cans. |
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Ben joins Asher and Bria
Lynn in the water. The GoPro now has its own little water wings. |
Friday, August 19, 2011
Backyard Studio & Weowna Park
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The day after Lake
Washington, Ben and Sparky set up two green screens at the house. |
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Underwater stunts: safer in
the backyard studio |
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Asher swims with Bria Lynn. |
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The indoor green screen
provides controlled lighting for close ups. |
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Asher records additional
audio. |
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Bria Lynn records additional
audio for a forest scene. |
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The production moves to
Weowna, a neighborhood park, for a few shots. |
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Downstream from Weowna's
little waterfall, the cast sets up for the martini shot (last shot of
the production). |
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Asher, Bria Lynn, & Ben |
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