Just got the Panasonic AG-DVX100B
Sunday's meeting should be much productive :-D
- Antoine Bandele (Director)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Welcome to the Blog
Hey blog readers!
Back in February 2007 I was in a Black History performance with a friend of mine named Courtney Case. I had just come off of making my first little short called Whoopi vs. SilentBat, which was all well and good but was not exactly original.1 I also wanted to do a legitimate film with dialogue and decent acting but I did not have any ideas. At the performance we did a skit about a protest that happened in the 60s (something about black students getting accepted into all-white colleges). Courtney played one of the racist Whites who came in to disturb the peace by shooting a few bullets into the crowd and shouting obscenities (good times). While we were waiting in the wings I looked over to her with the gun and I thought to myself, "Jeez, Courtney sure looks cool with a gun in her hand." Then I went on to say the same exact thing to her aloud and I think she said a hesitant "thank you." When I wasn't on stage I was writing in my notebook. A diarrhea of ideas game rushing through my fingers and by the time the performance ended I had a pretty decent concept that I ran with.
That night, I got on my computer and started typing up a screenplay entitled The Devil's Company. Looking back on it now it was a real mess but in 11th grade I thought I had a masterpiece, a real page turner. My video production teacher, Ms Iannacone, bless her soul, read it too and told me it was fabulous (but she loved anything I touched). At the time, if I got approval from her I went ahead and did it, and so I did! I already had my lead actress, all I needed was the villain, who was to be my dad, and a female antagonist, who was to be another friend named Sacha Stackhouse.
Everything was going so well at first. All the pre-production stuff was coming together seamlessly. We had a motel location, which we had set up, the main villain's office, which would be at my friend's house, and a beach, which we were going to film in a secluded location. Even the props and make-up were coming together nicely; we almost even went to a shooting range to train Courtney as an assassin (but her mother wouldn't have it). Hell, we even had a read through for a scene:
But then I got grounded for failing English and my camera was taken away, which meant production for the entire film was shut down indefinitely. But I knew I was going to come back to this project and here I am and I think the whole project is better for it.
Now I've had the opportunity to go through the summer program Inner-City Filmmakers where not only I (A) learned how to write a much better script (I won first place for best screenplay for my summer project Uncover'd), but (B) I was able to make a great network with the other filmmakers in the program, who have helped a lot with every single project I've done since the summer until now.
Directly after ICF2 I picked up the old script and reworked it but I still didn't see how I would find the means to actually shoot it. That was in July. I didn't pick up the project fully until I entered a 48 hr. Halloween film festival with my ICF buddies which reconnected me with Courtney. I had forgotten how good of an actress she was and just seeing her on screen again got me excited. Plus, she seemed just as excited to continue with The Devil's Company as much as I was. I remember we were watching the crew setting up lights and I turned to her and I said, "Well, now I have a crew," which made her and me laugh. But seriously at that point I thought to myself again and again, "I now have a crew," a crew that was as dedicated to making movies as I was. This had to be the time, this was the time!
After finishing the 48 hr. film fest, I ripped through another draft of the script and got it to a pretty comfortable point. I even showed it to the writing group in the winter class I was taking. A majority of them liked it but said it was either too long or reminded them of Kill Bill, to which I retorted that it was nothing like Kill Bill. That film is a revenge/action flick, mine was and is an action/drama. The sole purpose of the protagonist in Kill Bill is indicated by the film's title. I would like to think my film was a little more than that (but I don't want to discuss that, as I may give the plot away). This put me down a bit and I was even considering cutting out the female antagonist. One of the writers in my class who didn't think the script was like Kill Bill told me that everyone is always going to think my work is like someone else and that I should just continue with what I wanted.
So, I just forget my writing group, and made the film I wanted but I took their notes into consideration. I wrote yet another draft and I shared it around with a few trusted readers, even a few new readers to get new opinions. The feedback was tremendously better and I asked each and everyone of them if they felt it was emulating Kill Bill. They all said no. One of my friends even showed it to his friends, which he shouldn't have done but it's okay with me now, and his friend, who usually dislikes action/melodramas enjoyed it. Most of all, though, I was satisfied with the script and ready to continue with it into pre-production, which is where we are now!
Again, welcome to the blog! Here you will find posts and updates on everything Devil's Company related, all the way up to it's release and beyond. I thought it would be fun to track the progress of this film from start to finish, from script to debut, and a blog is a wonderful way to do it. Aside from blog posts from just me you'll be getting updates from some of the cast and crew. Currently we are in the developmental stage. The script is in a spot I want it but now I'm cleaning off the edges. This Sunday I should be purchasing a new camera: the Panasonic DVX100B, which will be our main shooting camera during production. In a few weeks I think Courtney starts her basic training with her combat instructor and a little after that we'll start casting. This weekend I should have a tentative crew list put together and I'll begin drawing up storyboards. Lots and lots will be happening. I'm very glad I'm starting off the year with this film. It's been two years in the making and it's finally coming to life.
- Antoine Bandele (Director)
1 Some people wouldn't exactly say a film about a female assassin who is trying to leave the business to be with her daughter is original either, but eh, to each his own.
2 ICF = Inner-City Filmmakers
DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THIS BLOG TO KEEP UP WITH THE UPDATES!
Back in February 2007 I was in a Black History performance with a friend of mine named Courtney Case. I had just come off of making my first little short called Whoopi vs. SilentBat, which was all well and good but was not exactly original.1 I also wanted to do a legitimate film with dialogue and decent acting but I did not have any ideas. At the performance we did a skit about a protest that happened in the 60s (something about black students getting accepted into all-white colleges). Courtney played one of the racist Whites who came in to disturb the peace by shooting a few bullets into the crowd and shouting obscenities (good times). While we were waiting in the wings I looked over to her with the gun and I thought to myself, "Jeez, Courtney sure looks cool with a gun in her hand." Then I went on to say the same exact thing to her aloud and I think she said a hesitant "thank you." When I wasn't on stage I was writing in my notebook. A diarrhea of ideas game rushing through my fingers and by the time the performance ended I had a pretty decent concept that I ran with.
That night, I got on my computer and started typing up a screenplay entitled The Devil's Company. Looking back on it now it was a real mess but in 11th grade I thought I had a masterpiece, a real page turner. My video production teacher, Ms Iannacone, bless her soul, read it too and told me it was fabulous (but she loved anything I touched). At the time, if I got approval from her I went ahead and did it, and so I did! I already had my lead actress, all I needed was the villain, who was to be my dad, and a female antagonist, who was to be another friend named Sacha Stackhouse.
Everything was going so well at first. All the pre-production stuff was coming together seamlessly. We had a motel location, which we had set up, the main villain's office, which would be at my friend's house, and a beach, which we were going to film in a secluded location. Even the props and make-up were coming together nicely; we almost even went to a shooting range to train Courtney as an assassin (but her mother wouldn't have it). Hell, we even had a read through for a scene:
But then I got grounded for failing English and my camera was taken away, which meant production for the entire film was shut down indefinitely. But I knew I was going to come back to this project and here I am and I think the whole project is better for it.
Now I've had the opportunity to go through the summer program Inner-City Filmmakers where not only I (A) learned how to write a much better script (I won first place for best screenplay for my summer project Uncover'd), but (B) I was able to make a great network with the other filmmakers in the program, who have helped a lot with every single project I've done since the summer until now.
Directly after ICF2 I picked up the old script and reworked it but I still didn't see how I would find the means to actually shoot it. That was in July. I didn't pick up the project fully until I entered a 48 hr. Halloween film festival with my ICF buddies which reconnected me with Courtney. I had forgotten how good of an actress she was and just seeing her on screen again got me excited. Plus, she seemed just as excited to continue with The Devil's Company as much as I was. I remember we were watching the crew setting up lights and I turned to her and I said, "Well, now I have a crew," which made her and me laugh. But seriously at that point I thought to myself again and again, "I now have a crew," a crew that was as dedicated to making movies as I was. This had to be the time, this was the time!
After finishing the 48 hr. film fest, I ripped through another draft of the script and got it to a pretty comfortable point. I even showed it to the writing group in the winter class I was taking. A majority of them liked it but said it was either too long or reminded them of Kill Bill, to which I retorted that it was nothing like Kill Bill. That film is a revenge/action flick, mine was and is an action/drama. The sole purpose of the protagonist in Kill Bill is indicated by the film's title. I would like to think my film was a little more than that (but I don't want to discuss that, as I may give the plot away). This put me down a bit and I was even considering cutting out the female antagonist. One of the writers in my class who didn't think the script was like Kill Bill told me that everyone is always going to think my work is like someone else and that I should just continue with what I wanted.
So, I just forget my writing group, and made the film I wanted but I took their notes into consideration. I wrote yet another draft and I shared it around with a few trusted readers, even a few new readers to get new opinions. The feedback was tremendously better and I asked each and everyone of them if they felt it was emulating Kill Bill. They all said no. One of my friends even showed it to his friends, which he shouldn't have done but it's okay with me now, and his friend, who usually dislikes action/melodramas enjoyed it. Most of all, though, I was satisfied with the script and ready to continue with it into pre-production, which is where we are now!
Again, welcome to the blog! Here you will find posts and updates on everything Devil's Company related, all the way up to it's release and beyond. I thought it would be fun to track the progress of this film from start to finish, from script to debut, and a blog is a wonderful way to do it. Aside from blog posts from just me you'll be getting updates from some of the cast and crew. Currently we are in the developmental stage. The script is in a spot I want it but now I'm cleaning off the edges. This Sunday I should be purchasing a new camera: the Panasonic DVX100B, which will be our main shooting camera during production. In a few weeks I think Courtney starts her basic training with her combat instructor and a little after that we'll start casting. This weekend I should have a tentative crew list put together and I'll begin drawing up storyboards. Lots and lots will be happening. I'm very glad I'm starting off the year with this film. It's been two years in the making and it's finally coming to life.
- Antoine Bandele (Director)
1 Some people wouldn't exactly say a film about a female assassin who is trying to leave the business to be with her daughter is original either, but eh, to each his own.
2 ICF = Inner-City Filmmakers
DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THIS BLOG TO KEEP UP WITH THE UPDATES!
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