Guest Post - Peter Regan (part one)...

Peter Regan was one half of the two-man film crew who made Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spellbook! Here are his memories of the shoot...

On the weekend of 13th/14th of April 2013 I shot Jenny Ringo!

Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spell book to be more specific.

Over two days we hoped to bring to life the most ambitious Jenny Ringo film yet. A film with dinosaurs, killer clowns, hellish landscapes, 'Tron' style in game escapades and bizarre monsters from other worlds...and so we did.

Director Chris Regan and Producer Andrea Regan had strategically planned everything down to a t so we could fit everything in, so I grabbed my camera, batteries and memory cards and dived into the car to get underway.

Day One - 13th April 2013

First stop, Under-cliff.

There were a number of scenes that took place outside and it looked as though we had been blessed on this bright and sunny Saturday morning in April.

 
This was the first issue I had. Having an inability to see properly I need the use of spectacles to see properly. Also suffering from migraines in bright sun, I had adapted these spectacles to "react" to the harsh UV rays, creating a darker lens protecting my eyes. Had I known that this combined with reflectivity of the LCD screen on the camera, would result in an inability to see what I was filming properly, along with a lot of guess work relating to the focus, I may have re-thought my previous eyeball solution.

Anyway, we managed to get through the first few scenes well enough. The bright weather was holding up and we were still on track.

We had one final shot to make in Brighton, overlooking Madeira Drive for a giant pizza.

Unfortunately it was decided that the best place for me to film was next to a playground. Now I know I was there to film Jenny Ringo. Chris and the cast knew I was there to film Jenny Ringo. However I couldn't shake the feeling that anyone else passing by may have thought I was there to film children playing.

Luckily we got the shot we needed and moved down to Madeira Drive for close ups, and to prove to all those questioning onlookers that I was in fact making a Jenny Ringo film.

However someone still wasn't happy and the heavens began to open. With the first few drops of rain. Rain that would decide not to stop as originally forecast and later forces the well planned schedule to be reassessed and split into multiple shots.

So back to Worthing we went to continue the adventures of Jenny Ringo and to Lime Café to battle the evil clowns.

It's always a bit of a struggle on films with few crew members when faced with a room full of extras. You're trying to plan a shot but also make sure everyone knows what’s happening and will be ready when the director calls “Action”.

Saying that, on this occasion there wasn't really any major difficulty. Everyone who arrived seemed quite happy chatting until it was time to get transformed into clowny evil-ness.

I don't think I'll be forgetting anytime soon, having to film close up after close up of menacing clowns, especially when it seemed it was me they were after.

Unfortunately that was where day one ended. The rain continued to pour, light was beginning to fade and we still had a couple of exteriors left. These would have to be moved to the next day. A day of monsters, babies and sea foxes...

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You can see Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spellbook here -

http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/4903/jenny-ringo-and-the-infinite-spellbook

To vote, click the Tweet button under the video!

Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spellbook!

Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spellbook has been entered into this years Virgin Media Shorts contest and I could really use your votes!

I've tried to cram as much cool stuff into the 2 minute 20 second running time as possible, including dinosaurs, monsters, evil clowns, spaceships, tentacles and more!

You can check out the film here -

www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/film/4903/je...

To vote either click the 'Tweet' button under the film, or Tweet '#VMShortsVote Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spellbook'

As always I meant to blog a lot more during the production, and then got caught up in the actual production itself. This one was a lot of work, partly because there were so many different elements but mostly because I took on the edit myself. BUT I will be posting behind the scenes stories and some bonus video content over the course of the week so watch this space! AND I'll be unveiling the brand new Jenny Ringo website very soon!

Jenny Ringo and the Cabaret from Hell...

...will be released online tomorrow for anyone subscribed to the mailing list. You can subscribe at www.jennyringo.com for free. We won't spam you or send anything too annoying, I promise.

I feel like I should write a whole post about what it's been like spending the last year and a half on this film, but it's late and you could just as easily watch the trailer...



...or read one or all of the following reviews....

http://www.mycinemaonline.com/500/

http://blueprintreview.co.uk/2013/06/jenny-ringo-and-the-cabaret-from-hell/

http://joshuamreynolds.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/on-stage-at-the-cabaret-from-hell/

http://horrorjuice.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/jenny-ringo-and-the-cabaret-from-hell/

http://www.horrormoviediary.net/2013/06/jenny-ringo-double-feature-cabaret-from.html?spref=fb

http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2013/06/short-film-review-jenny-ringo-and.html

http://cassieshouseofhorror.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/jenny-ringo-and-cabaret-from-hell-review.html

http://the-bone-breaker.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/jenny-ringo-and-cabaret-from-hell-short.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/filmsploitationpodcast/permalink/552129471495750/

So please go www.jennyringo.com and subscribe to the mailing list so I can send you the link to the film, and then feel free to come back here and leave a comment - I'd love to know what you thought of it.

Thanks!

Looking for reviewers for Jenny Ringo and the Cabaret from Hell...

Jenny Ringo and the Cabaret from Hell is now finished! Here's the trailer -


 
The full film will be released on the 18th of June but you will need to subscribe to the mailing list at www.jennyringo.com to see it.
 
In the meantime I'm looking for people to review the film. If you have a blog or website and you would like to review the film, just let me know and I'll send you a secret link to the full film. You can leave me a comment here or e-mail me at whatwritesatmidnight[at]gmail.com
 
Here's a brief synopsis -
 
Jenny Ringo is a witch who lives with her slacker flatmate Gavin. When a spell to help Gavin audition as a singer in a Cabaret club backfires Jenny finds herself trapped in her flatmate's body! But there are far worse surprises waiting for her in the mysterious Cabaret club where the audience feast on the souls of the performers and the MC keeps a terrifying secret in a bucket in her office. Can Jenny reverse the spell, save Gavin and defeat the demon MC before they both become lunch for the thing in the bucket?
 
If you do decide to review the film here are some stills you can use (photos by Kristina Sälgvik)

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Day or Night - The Results...

Read the previous post first if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

I would have left this a few more days but I could do with actually getting on with the edit. Also my voting widget went weird and stopped working so I'm counting up the results from the various comments people left for me on here and on forums and Facebook etc.

And the night shot won!

By one vote...

Night - 9
Day  - 8

This at least validates my indecisiveness as it seems to have divided everyone else too!

From reading the comments and feedback from everyone I've come to the following conclusion - the night shot is better in theory, it's just that technically the day scene looks better. This is mostly because we were on the beach at 10pm after a busy weekend of filming so we were trying to get it finished as quickly as possible. Plus we were in real danger of being eaten by weird jumping beach bugs.

This outtake just about sums it up -



I think with a little more time and preparation it would have come out better, although we were always going to be filming late at night so there was no way around that. And I'm not sure what we could've done about the beach bugs (shoot the antennae maybe?).

Despite this I am still going to go ahead with the night shoot as decided by the voters! This is partly because I want to see the whole thing in context with the other scenes before making a final FINAL decision. So I may still be editing two versions and could well be asking for your help again in the next few days.

Thanks to everyone who voted and left me comments about the shots! It definitely helped me make a decision and I really appreciate the feedback.

Please sign up to the mailing list at www.jennyringo.com and/or the Facebook page for regular progress reports! 

Jenny Ringo 3 - Help needed!

I'm currently editing the third film in the Jenny Ringo series (visit www.jennyringo.com to see the first film and sign up to the mailing list for news on future adventures!)

 

This one is called Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spellbook, and it's a little different. It's a lot shorter for a start. It also features dinosaurs, clowns and spaceships. And a couple of monsters.

 

My plan is to enter it into the Virgin Media Shorts competition, but before I can even think about doing that I need to finish editing the thing and for that I need your help!

 

Because it was so short I was able to experiment a bit more and filmed a few scenes a couple of different ways. One of these scenes is the main dialogue scene between Jenny and Gavin which we filmed on Worthing seafront. It was written to be set at night, but this posed a bit of a problem for a three-person crew with no money. So we improvised.

 

However, fearing that the night shoot wouldn't work I also filmed a daytime version.

 

The issue I now have is that I kind of like both of them. So I need you to help me decide which one to use.

 

Please forgive the sound quality and the shoddy editing - this is a very rough edit just to give an idea of how the scenes will ultimately look.

 

Here is the daytime version - 

 

Here is the nighttime version - 

 

Here is how you vote - 

Which version - Day or Night?

If you have any more detailed feedback I'd love to hear it! Please leave me a comment below or on the Facebook page.

And if you want to keep up to date on how it's going, sign up to the mailing list at www.jennyringo.com

Thanks for your help!

Jenny Ringo and the Funhouse of the Damned...

Ever wondered how Jenny escaped from Hell at the end of Jenny Ringo and the Monkey's Paw? All will be revealed in the soon to be released webcomic Jenny Ringo and the Funhouse of the Damned!

Sign up to the mailing list at www.jennyringo.com and I'll let you know the moment it's available!

Oh, and I totally filmed Jenny Ringo 3. More on that to follow...