Locations Locations Locations

Posted by – July 12, 2009

I was talking to a Dad at my son’s school. He’s a professional Toronto scout for movies, so I hit him up for location ideas. He seemed to be fond of construction sites, but I think they denote progress, what with constuction going on, which this world isn’t about. He suggested new condo sales offices for futuristic looking buildings. He also told me about Absolute.to, a database of locations around the city. Perhaps out of our budget though. It’s at http://dla.absolute.to/Login/Login.asp

A friend and I made a day of it and traveled around the city taking photos of suggested sites, and found sites of our own we thought were neat.

Here’s some photos… More

Because Paper is Cheaper Than Film

Posted by – July 8, 2009

By editing to make sure key things are working in script form, especially at the beginning of the movie, I’m hoping to save us the hassle of trying to fix it at the end: here’s the fourth draft.

Tweaks aplenty, but most notably:

  • the “flycam” device only used in the bar gettogether scene, cut elsewhere
  • restructured the end studio show to end on Serina/Oscar
  • changed the beginning to be less of a crazy game show

Most of the changes are in Oscar’s seg:

  • cut the Willy kid character
  • restructured a lot of the segment to clarify that the setting is 2040 though he works in 2020, and clarify what his job was
  • cut the collision detection bits
  • made it so that he’s running from the doodlefaces because they’re transferable viruses, and that this is what ends up putting him into the clinic

Inside Out City

Posted by – June 30, 2009

Sanford and I scouted some possible locations for establishing 2040s Toronto. Based on conversations with people and previous exploring, we’ve hit upon the idea of using alleys that have front doors leading onto them — there’s something inherently strange and inverted about them to begin with, and the narrower scale and ramshackle construction gives the feel of a third world country.

On revisiting them I realized a lucky thing — that the laneways with front doors were also public laneways with street names, as opposed to the majority of the private laneways. The private laneways require releases from the owners to clear E&O, while the public laneways do not.

The permits are free but you need to be a production company insured for $2M to get them. I talked with Patti at the city today and she said that while hypothetically you can be fined for shooting without a permit, it’s more an issue with liability — if someone trips over a cable, you can be sued. The day we visited was really quiet, however, no cars or people in sight.

Revisions A’Rollin’

Posted by – June 22, 2009

Above is my favourite variant of the 2040 Tower that Sanford’s done.

And here’s my latest variant of the script, taking into account the excellent feedback I have gotten from folks directly and indirectly involved with the movie. This will be the shooting script, apart from the tweaks and additions and changes that come with next month’s weekly meetings.

We’re currently meeting with potential DOPs and directors to fill the few remaining slots we have. Feel free to encourage folks to send their reels to casting@ghostswithshitjobs.com/productionblog. We’ll be scouting some alleys later this week to brainstorm ideas for futuristic set-dressing and costuming, so email me if you want in on that.

The Pre-Production Meetings

Posted by – June 10, 2009

Starting the last week of this month, the directors and producers will be having weekly meetings until the shooting begins. Here are some of the things we’re going to be discussing, feel free to add suggestions/concerns in the comments.

  • casting and locations: scouting, workshopping
  • gear: sound training, camera insurance, lighting options
  • cinematography: DOPs, limitations/characteristics of the flycam, style
  • world building: physical effects, digital effects, ads, signage, props, wardrobe

It seems to break down pretty straightforwardly into four topics for four meetings. Any preferred order?

Auditions Report

Posted by – June 7, 2009

We held auditions yesterday in the basement auditorium of the Parkdale library, seeing nearly fifty people in five hours. Having gone out for 300 auditions himself, Anthony masterminded the session, getting folks to try out for all the principal roles via ads on craigslist.org, aactionauditions.com, and Mandy.com — Mandy really brought in a lot of talent, and is quite a resource.

For me, it was the first time I’d been to an audition in any capacity, so I found it pretty fascinating. It was very cool to hear the actors bring the characters to life. There’s a ton of talented and focused actors in this city!

We’re still looking for DOP/director types and older Asian men who can speak Mandarin. Let us know if you have any leads!

Concept Art: Oscar’s Gear and a Snapped-off CN Tower

Posted by – May 29, 2009

Some more of Sanford’s marvelous photo-sketch conceptifyin’… click for larger versions.

I never imagined a mask, but Oscar doesn’t necessarily need to see, after all.

This is neat, though I’m favoring a ball-bearing flooring surface rather than a treadmill for a few reasons.

This ref pic was taken from the roof of Sanford’s friend’s condo.

Concept Art: Baby Factory and Busted Up Buildings

Posted by – May 22, 2009

Sanford‘s been hard at work with some visual ideas to inspire us, such as this possible take on Karen and Gary’s baby-making workshop…

…and here’s one of the AGO…

…and one of the Gardiner expressway. Amazing huh? And there’s more to come!

Casting Call on Sat. June 6

Posted by – May 20, 2009

Please forward to people you think might be into acting in the movie — if you’re posting, use this link:
http://nomediakings.org/vidz/ghosts_with_shit_jobs_casting_call.html
…as it’s viewable by the public.

We’re in pre-production for a new lo-fi sci-fi movie called Ghosts With Shit Jobs. Involving many of the same people as our last one, Infest Wisely (imdb / official site), it’s also a no-budget, multi-director project written by me — but with approximately a million times more planning. We’re going to be starting shooting this summer.

In 2040, a generation of Torontonians have grown up after the economic collapse of the west. The movie consists of episodes of a documentary series popular in mainland China about the bad jobs some white people have — the plucky and resilient souls unlucky enough to be born into the slums of North America are both amusing and moving to the Chinese audience.

We’re doing auditions on Saturday, June 6, 12-4. If you’re in Toronto, please check out the roles we’re trying to fill — there’s a variety of ethnicities and ages.

We are looking for non-union actors for the following roles. If you have any questions or are interested in trying out email your details to casting@ghostswithshitjobs.com/productionblog and we’ll give you the details for the auditions on Saturday, June 6, 12-4pm in Parkdale, Toronto.

Oscar is a digital janitor in his 20s/30s, and has to manually cover up logos for copyright reasons in the future’s answer to Google StreetView maps. He doesn’t really know why he’s on a show about bad jobs, because he thinks his job is pretty great — he gets to see history come alive in front of his eyes, like the garbagemen who fancy themselves like archaeologists. But the long hours and loneliness are getting to him, especially since the death of his mother.

Gary and Karen are baby-makers in their 20s/30s. They assemble robot baby dolls for the children of the wealthy in Asia. They’re so indistinguishable from real babies that the crying, diapers and feeding of a half-dozen units at once is driving the couple a little crazy and straining their relationship. Both of them are hugely overqualified for the job, but while Gary has a reasonable ten-year plan, the more ambitious Karen would do anything to be making battlebots now.

Anton and Toph are silk collectors in their 20s. Twenty years ago a herd of gigantic spiders ran amok over the eastern seaboard after a genelab outbreak, leaving behind buildings swathed in spider web silk. Although highly toxic and difficult to collect, people like Anton and Toph risk their lives to get it — it’s worth its weight in gold as an ultrastrong building material. Anton, the enthusiastic and delusional older brother, loves the idea of becoming famous for collecting the Tower silk. Toph, the more intelligent younger brother who actually does the collecting, knows it’s a deathtrap.

Serina is human spam in her 20s/30s. She makes a living by mentioning brands and products in casual conversation, and is credited based on their status and wealth. Because of the life she’s chosen, she’s disconnected from friends and family but protected by a lipstick-sized tazer and her “people” in the Nigerian cartel. A chameleon and professionally skilled at reinvention, her good humour and friendliness is only skin deep — beneath it is a cold and ruthless survivor.

Other parts

  • the Documentarian, an Asian man (Mandarin speaking a plus)
  • the show host, an Asian woman (Mandarin speaking a plus)
  • Harry, a heavyset Caucasian in 40s/50s/60s
  • Tom, an alpha male office worker in his 20s/30s
  • Leo, a beta male office worker in his 20s/30s
  • Avinash, an east Indian male in his 30s/40s
  • Nat, a Caucasian male in his 20s/30s
  • Mr. Wilson, a Caucasian male in his 40s/50s
  • two eight year old boys
  • two Asian men, 30s-40s
  • a man in his 60s-70s

This is such an ambitious project that if you’re interested, I’m pretty sure we’ll find a part for you to play — it might be as a background extra or it might be as a Director of Photography, but you won’t know if you don’t get in touch!

A Sinocentric Future

Posted by – May 18, 2009

So I’ve been researching China with an eye towards giving GWSJ more of a sinocentric (a word I just learned that regards China to be unique or central on the world stage) feel.

  • Might be nice to have something like the above Buddha in the Scarborough Bluffs;
  • have someone drinking mao tai at the bar;
  • Yuan (Chinese currency) should play a part;
  • I’m imagining India is a secondary superpower, but more low key — maybe China/India have a US/Canada relationship;
  • thinking about a more confident, relaxed China — what’s their relationship with Tibet and Taiwan;

Anyway, if you have links or research suggestions please shoot them over via email or comment — I’m watching Up the Yangtze soon. Just discovered this English language blog about China.