Zone Zero: Decampment--Cast List

First of all a sincere thanks to everyone who auditioned! We had some very tough calls to make. After careful consideration, the cast is as follows:

Melanie--Melissa Molano
Jason--Ben Herrera
David (formerly known as Bennett)--Cameron Davis
Craig--Daniel Nepveux

The parts of Abbey and Scott have been cut from the final script because:
1. They were under-developed and served no real purpose/contribution to the story (they were just kind of there...)
2. Logistics were carefully considered, and the two characters presented more logistical issues than we deemed neccessary (Both of these characters were very prop heavy, also taking into account costumes and scheduling, etc.)

Our apologies for this, we just feel that this cut is for the better.
Speaking of the script, I am currently polishing the script and meticulously editing it before I send it out. (several grammer/spelling mistakes, and a few too many 'f-bombs' that don't belong. I also have to change all the "Bennetts" to "Davids" >_<)
In about a week it should be ready.

Just because you did not get cast as a speaking role, does not mean you cannot be a part of Zone Zero! Remember, the most important part of a zombie movie is LOTS OF ZOMBIES!!! =) Check into the "Zone Zero:Decampment" facebook page for production updates!

We are slated to begin filming the first unit on the 11th of January and go until the 16th. We will need a couple of zombies and corpses as well, so if you are available and interested please let me know! More detail on the schedule will come next week after I send the script to the primary cast.

Once again, thank you all for auditioning, and good luck with your final papers, projects, and tests!

--Sam

Minutes for 11/9

5:11 - Meeting starts/Minutes

5:12 - Gerald's treasurer report.

5:13 - Ashley collects t-shirt sizes. Give your shirt size to Ashley if you ordered one.

5:15 - Raven Review was a success. We need a table set up.

5:17 - Alex has created a Raven Films Twitter account. The name is ravenfilmsshsu.

5:20 - Film shoot this weekend is at Ashley, Stick and Cody's place (Montgomery Village 118). Crew call at 7 PM Friday. Extras called at 6. We will be done by midnight. Saturday crew call is at 8 AM. Actors called at 8:30. Crew discussion.

5:33 - Tonight we are shooting the comedy piece for Activity Night. Alex is directing. 8 PM at The Village 116. (Canceled)

5:36 - Next week's meeting will have a big announcement.

5:38 - Meeting adjourned.

Extras Needed for Friday, 11/12

Hey, everyone! So, as you may be aware, we're making a movie this weekend and we need extras for Friday night, November 12. Call time is at 6 PM and we'll be running until about 11:30. Our location is the parking lot of Montgomery Village.

As for what to wear, dress comfortably in something that you would normally wear relatively late at night and then you hear a disturbance and rush outside to see what it was. You can also bring a jacket to wear in-between shots if it is cold.

The plan is to get all the scenes filmed with extras on Friday night, but there's a slight (though unlikely) possibility we may need you again on Saturday night. So, if you can be available on Sat just in case, that'd be great, but Friday is the big issue right now.

Also, tell your friends. Spread the word. Post this on Facebook. Post it on your blog. Make cupcakes with the information written on it on delicious icing. Rent out a skywriter to write the information in the sky. Whatever you have to do. Just hook a brotha up.

<3 Alex

Minutes for 10/26/10

5:09 - Meeting starts. Ashley filling in for Sam, who isn't here.

5:09 - Minutes.

5:11 - $306 in account. Talk to Gerald about payment plan if you haven't payed dues. Need them ASAP.

5:12 - Sam arrives.

5:13 - Sam thanks people who aren't here.

5:14 - Tonight is first night of filming Jerat's script. Tonight is horror. Ashley is directing. Next week is comedy with Alex directing. Crew needed.

5:16 - Mary Beth is directing Nov. 12, 13 & 14. Tentative crew list made. Mainly filming at night. Time not set yet. Need to have auditions soon, possibly Nov. 4. Looking to get HS students. Some crew positions still available. Talk to Mary Beth if interested.

5:22 - Raven Review. Wanting to do interviews of students on Mondays about the weekend's new film releases. Tentative crew: Mary Beth, Morgan, Jeremy, Gerald. Maybe more. Tentative plan is to do it 10-11 AM. Dept. says 12-2 is better. Looking to possibly start Monday.

5:27 - Call for editors. One editor for these projects is not enough. Talk to Gerald if you're interested in editing. Need 3-4 people.

5:28 - Sam wants to hold a workshop for producers/ADs. Anyone interested talk to him. Need to produce/AD before you direct.

5:31 - Sam and Jerat would like a scary movie night this Saturday night. Apparently there's a scary movie festival going on. If that's not free, there will be something held on Saturday.

5:33 - Need to show up to meetings to stay a member. If you don't participate, you will be dropped from the roster.

5:36 - Bennett and LaToya are in Dead Man's Cell Phone. You should go see it.

5:37 - Meeting adjourned.

Minutes for 10/19/10

5:06 - Meeting starts. Sam congratulates crew from this weekend.

5:08 - Minutes.

5:09 - $302 before filming, took out $66. Dues still due.

5:13 - Ashley's talking shit. Sam still loves Ashley.

5:13 - Script choices. Jerat's script will be filmed over 6 activity nights. Heather's script will be directed by Mary Beth. Filming in November.

5:16 - Need crew for Jarell's dance showcase this Thursday, 7-10. Talk to Sam if interested. Also need behind the scenes crew for theatre project, TBA.

5:18 - Raven Review webshow. Need crew of 3 - camera, sound and interviewer. Mondays from 10-12.

5:20 - "Scare on the Square." Still need donations of glue, candy and possibly food coloring. Volunteers needed 5-9 on Oct. 30.

5:23 - Activity night is pre-production for Jerat's and Heather's script.

5:25 - Jeremy had a lot of fun filming, apparently.

5:27 - Meeting adjourned.

Raven 101--Screenwriting

Last night, our very own Kevin Bowden gave a short presentation on the bare bone fundamentals of screenwriting. To re-cap:

Film is VISUAL, and therefore must be written so. Avoid writing about the character's feelings, or expressions. Only state essential information that is visual. When it comes to writing, feelings are for novels not screenplays.

Follow a three-act structure. The first act entails introducing the protagonist, antagonist, and the inciting incident that pushes the movement of the second and third acts. This includes establishing a want/need of the protagonist, or an urgent goal that needs to be accomplished. It should be easily identifiable.
The second act is the chain of events that unravels as the protagonist makes his/her journey. They will usually fail...
Until the third act, in which they can succeed or fail again. This is usally where the climax of the film is located and everything is resolved...or not.

Create CONFLICT. What needs to be acheived, and what are the obstacles in the way?

A well written scene is its own mini three act structure. What character has the power in the scene? What do the character's want? What are the obstacles in the way?

This is all a very brief skim-through of Kevin's presentation on screenwriting. I didn't get into formatting structure, because that is a whole crazy topic by itself. However some GREAT resources to help guide you all and further your research:

http://www.screenwriting.info/
Great website that contains almost everything you need to know.


http://store.scriptbuddy.com/
Has a wide variety of professional and well known screenplays, plus software, and an assortment of books about screenwriting.

http://www.script-o-rama.com/
Contains many screenplays of well known movies...for free.

http://celtx.com/
Free screenwriting software. Will help you get the hang of formatting a basic screenplay on your own.

Minutes for 10/5/10

5:01 - Meeting starts. Ashley is filling in for Sam, who is absent. Sam apologizes for the miscommunication last week.

5:02 - Minutes.

5:03 - James acts like a fool.

5:03 - Gerald gives financial report. Dues are due.

5:05 - New DP announced. Full crew announced. Behind the scenes crew announced.

5:07 - Gerald announces pitch session. Pitching starts.

5:19 - Pitch session concludes.

5:20 - Jordan announces "Scare on the Square." Science experiments. She needs candy, epsom salt, wax paper, rubber bands, cups, plastic spoons, Purel. We will be filming it as well.

5:34 - Ashley announces Jarell's dance project. Anyone interested in helping should contact Sam.

5:36 - Screening announced tentatively on the 28th.

5:37 - Ashley announces potential webshows.

5:39 - Activity night at Gerald/Alex's. Screenwriting workshop.

5:40 - Meeting adjourned.

Minutes from 9/21/10

5:04 - Meeting starts. Minutes.

5:05 - Gerald gives financial report. $164 current total. $10 dues/semester, $10 for t-shirt, due in 2 weeks, not next week.

5:07 - Last week's activity night was discussed.

5:09 - Sam passes around contact sheet for corrections/new members.

5:10 - Cody introduces script stuff. Mentions future pitch session, TBD. Sam pitches our current project, "Bold," as an example on how a pitch is done.

5:16 - We will be e-mailing script. Ashley is DP. Rest of crew will be picked later this week, possibly tonight. Auditions for actors will be on Monday at 6 in PAC 284. There will be a behind the scenes crew as well.

5:20 - Tonight's activity night is editing workshop, editing last week's activity night. 8 PM at Gerald/Alex's house.

5:22 - Next meeting announced - two weeks from today, October 5. Script submissions then.

5:23 - Meeting adjourned.

Minutes from 9/7/10

Here are the minutes from yesterday's (9/7/10) meeting:

5:00 - Meeting "starts". Member info forms passed out by Alex. Ashley decides to wait for Sam to show up.

5:05 - Meeting "officially" starts. Officers introduce themselves.

5:08 - Explanation of what we do. Breakdown of how Raven Films works.

5:10 - Sam shows up and introduces himself.

5:12 - Gerald talks about finances, dues, t-shirts, etc.

5:15 - Sam says our next meeting/activity night is Production 101, next week, 5 PM meeting, 8 PM activity night. Week after we jump into our first script/production.

5:17 - Sam mentions "open call pitch session" for scripts in the near future. No specific date yet.

5:18 - Ashley brings up activity night: "Show and Tell" at 8 PM at Gerald's house.

5:22 - Next meeting is next week, so sayeth Ashley.

5:26 - Meeting adjourned. Return forms to Alex.

Officer Nominations for SY '10-'11

Hey everyone,

For those of you who were not able to make it to the meeting today [4/20],

the group decided on officer nominations for the next school year. For those of you listed

who were not at the meeting, contact me to agree to [or] reject your nomination.

Your candidates are:

President

-Samuel Sanchez

-Gerald Morris

-Kevin Bowden

Vice President

-Kevin Bowden

-Gerald Morris

-Ashley Smith

Secretary/Pagemaster Scribe

-Gerald Morris

-Kevin Bowden

-Ashley Smith

-Jordan Baker

-James Moran

-Alex Scott

Historian

-Alex Scott

-Ashley Smith

-Jerat Mykle Blanton

-Jaron "Stick" Moore

Treasurer

-Gerald Morris

-Alex Scott

-Jaron "Stick" Moore

-Jerat Mykle Blanton

-Ashley Smith

Director of Public Relations

-Cody Scanlin

-Jerat Blanton

-Jordan Baker

And last, but not least:

Poster Boy

-Bennett Schmidt

Nominees will give short speeches as to why they are worthy of their chosen officer post, and voting will take place next Tuesday.

Good luck, everyone!

-Ashley

Challenge Film Schedule

Just so everyone is on the same page and knows in advance, here is the challenge film schedule for the rest of the semester.
For those of you interested in writing for these challenge films, please email your screenplay to ravenfilmsSHSU@gmail.com the SUNDAY before that scheduled meeting.
Please keep these scripts under 3 pages...It is very difficult to do anymore than that in a two and a half hour span. Keep in mind about our activity nights when you write these scripts!

March 30--Crime Thriller
April 6 ---Violence in Cinema (There is a script written for this already)
April 13 ---Horror
April 20 ---Romance
April 27 ---Silent Film (already filmed! =] )

I hope this helps! =)

---Sam

CAST LIST for Soldier Project!

Here's the cast list for our latest project!

Ryan: Bennett Schmidt

Kaitlyn: Laura DuBose

Hildenbrand: Daniel Nepveux

Tom: Samuel Sanchez

Stacy: Shelina Widner

Clerk: Jordan Baker

Bar Woman: Mary Beth Adams

Pool Guy: Kevin Bowden

Army Guys(Therapist Office): Silvano Monjaras, Taylor [ ]

Army Guys(Hil's Friends): Wade Dixon, Eddie Alexander

Check back for updates and scheduling.

-Ashley

CREW LIST!

Here is the crew list for the latest project:
There are lots of producers because there is A LOT of planning needed to go into this.

Director – Kevin Bowden
Assistant Director – Sam Sanchez
2nd Assistant Director- Ashley Smith
Producer – Mary Beth Adams
Producer – Alex Segovia
Producer - Michael Marshall
Director of Photography – Gerald Morris
Sound – James Moran
Props Master – Jerat Mykle Blanton
Make-up – Ashley Smith
Script Supervisor – Alex Scott
Grip – Alexandra Conroy
Gaffer - Chelsea Hodges
Clap Board – Shelina Widner
P.A. – Eddie Alexander
P.A. – Rashad Williams

If you are interested in being cast, you must attend auditions and try out. More infomation on this production will come soon!

--Sam

Minutes.

For those of you who weren't able to make it, here's what went down in the last meeting [2/2/10]:

-Treasury Report: $200 in account for productions thus far.

-Deadline for dues is February 23rd. Dues are $10.00.

~If you haven't done so already, shirts are $10.00 also.

-Raven Films is now going to be a part of the Film Scoring course, taught by Dr. Hanna. The students will be working with us on productions to score our projects as a portion of their semester grade. We plan to collaborate on ten activity night 'Challenge' films, as well as our larger productions.

-The director for the first major production of the semester will be Kevin Bowden. The script has been chosen ( Treatment For Solider- written by Kevin Bowden)

-Treatment For Solider is based on returning soldiers of war and how they are affected by the ineffective psychological treatments provided for them.

-Raven Members are encouraged to obtain a copy of Kevin's script (Via Facebook or Email)

and give it a read through before we start pre-production so that we all are on the same page.

- Crew positions are being chosen now. If you have a desire to participate (I.E: assisting/shadowing/being an extra,) Let Sam Sanchez or Kevin Bowden know what you would like to do ASAP.

-The topic for the week: Silent Films. There will be another entry going into detail about this genre of film.

-Activity Night[2/2/10] Held at Gerald's house.

-Director: James Moran.

-The first 'Challenge' film for the Film Noir week is done and has been given to Dr. Hanna's class to be scored.

That's all for this week. See you guys next Tuesday!

-Ashley

Test.

Film Noir

This week marked the beginning of a series of weekly film-related topic. These topics will range from styles and genres, to production elements. The goal is to explore the vastness of film and get familiarized with the deeper nuts and bolts of the medium.

We start with Film Noir, one of the classic staples of cinema. As any other, I knew the basics of what film noir entailed; the lighting style, the old-school detective feel, the damsels in distress, and the common theme of betrayal. When I set out to do some more in depth research however, I was surprised to find out just how big film noir really is, and how it has forever impacted the cinematic world.
At first glance, it can be difficult to define what exactly a film noir is. Just because something is lit like a film noir, does not actually mean it is a film noir. Likewise, just because its a dark crime/mystery/detective piece, does not classify it as noir. Rather, it is the cultivation of visual elements combined with specific story arcs that truly narrow down the qualities of true film noir.

The emergence of the noir film came about from a series of hardboiled mystery books. These stories were pithy and dealt with sensational, sometimes lucid subjects (in those times anyways), and were printed on cheap paper made of wood pulp. These works stemmed a new form of literature that become known as "pulp fiction".
Visually, the style of noir began in Germany. This was soon brought to the US after the rise of the Nazi party. Realist Expressionism became the term referencing the specific vidual style of these films. It was ignored among the "a-listers" of Hollywood, but became an explosion among the b-list studios. German and French filmmakers were introducing a style that was new, and unfamiliar.
Film Noir was at first, not a conscious genre, but rather a seemingly coincidental mesh of style and theme. The gritty stories provided a lush landscape for the unique visual style. Most importantly all of these films had at least one, if not all, specific story arc reflective of four worldviews:
1. Human beings are often corrupt, and always fallible.
2. Human fate is fickle and can pick upon anywhere, anytime as it's victim.
3. The wage of even the slightest human sin is likeley to be death or at the very least social destruction.
4. The most the "good guys" could ever hope for was a temporary victory.

There you have it, the basics of what makes Film Noir.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some Classics include:
Sunset Boulevard dir. Billy Wilder
Citizen Kane dir. Orson Welles
The man who knew too much dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Strangers on a Train dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Chinatown dir. Roman Polanski.
The Maltese Falcon dir. John Huston
Detour dir. Edgar G. Ulmer

Neo-Noir:
Pulp Fiction dir. Quentin Tarantino
Collateral dir. Michael Mann
Taxi Driver dir. Martin Scorcese
The Usual Suspects dir. Bryan Singer
Fargo dir. Joel Coen
Memento dir. Christopher Nolan

Check out some of these films, you should not be disappointed! =)

Also...next week's film topic is Silent Film.

--Sam