Photos from the first time that we actually got to see Roy (Stan Davis), in full wardrobe and makeup.
Behind the Scenes: Roy’s Make Up Test Shots
Category Archives: Cast & Crew Profiles
Congrats to Colby Raines
Congratulations to Colby Raines (Matt in Summer) for his upcoming Nat Geo Appearance on Remote Survival
Each episode features two new ‘Remote Survivors’, or contestants. One is guided by Cliff Hodges, the other by Alex Coker. Contestants must follow the experts’ instruction to travel from a drop point to an extraction point of a period of several days (exact length unspecified) while performing various survival skills along the way. Contestants have the option to be evacuated at any time by using an emergency GPS transponder located on their shoulder strap.
Find out more:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4457950/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_ov_pl
James Strong Show Radio Interview with Tony and Trinka
Tony and Trinka did a radio interview last month with the James Strong Show .
We wanted to post this earlier, but due to a nasty case of the flu and a funeral we didn’t get it posted.
Radio Interview Part 1
Radio Interview Part 2
Radio Interview Part 3
Radio Interview Part 4
Much more to come.
Stay tuned.
Intro Gallery Added
Little Miss Sunshine
Greco’s Editing Nightmares won’t be seen this week. After a month solid of editing, getting everything to it’s nearly finished form. The last bits are just about finished, and instead of my bleary-eyed, computer glazed over eyes telling you exactly how tedious and time consuming the whole editing process is, we bring you the last of the crew blogs, from our resident ray of sunshine Kelly.
She’s fun, funny, a great talent behind a camera, and willing to do whatever to get a shot. Exactly the kind of person you want to work with. Our long time readers will remember that we lost Kelly after beginning to shoot Summer due to a new job. But due to a wonderful series of circumstances (not really) , a sizable ransom, a team of crack mercenaries were hired, sent into an area department store, I am pleased to report that Kelly was returned to us unharmed.
Kelly writes:
Sooooo, as you heard we are done with shooting and it feels very bittersweet. (yeah, clichéd I know however, my word document thesaurus isn’t giving me anything better) Anyway, I will miss filming A lot, yet I can’t wait to finally see the film all together and also see how every one of our fabulous fans react to the finished product, yay! As some of you may know I was a camera person on The Year after Infection and was lucky enough to be a part of almost every aspect of the film.
The only time I was not there was when I accepted a job for about 3 months at a department store selling kids shoes which was definitely an adventure in itself. I must say, there is nothing like tying a child’s shoes then looking up in their bright face just long enough to catch a juicy droplet of saliva landing right between the eyes. Oh and I couldn’t possibly forget seeing the crazed look in the parent’s eye when you tell them you don’t have the shoe they want for their “little darlings”. Let’s just say, even though I wasn’t working on a horror film at that time I was definitely still getting the whole creepy vibe. Some of the things you witness in retail have the potential to haunt you the rest of your life. Retail Hell, it’s no joke.
So I’ve never filmed a movie before, or acted, or really anything regarding a talent. Don’t feel bad most of it was due to me just not trying. I do like drawing, however most of that was killed by an art teacher in the third grade who held up my project to the class asking “who does this….thing belong to?”
At least you could tell what I was drawing unlike Joe what’s his name in the corner who ate his boogers and thought Elmer’s glue made a delicious midafternoon snack. (Admit it there’s always one, unless you’re it, then you can keep it to yourself) Anyway, let’s just say I hadn’t really found my niche until I started helping out with the film. What an amazing experience, I would say you should try making one sometime but seeing our director and producers put in that immense amount of hard work, and believe me I know what hard work looks like. I’ve spent many years avoiding it, I figure it’s really not for everyone.
On the second day of filming I was asked to work the second camera. At first I thought they were joking, thus after the fifth time of hearing “no really” I decided to accept the offer before they changed their minds. My first mission: walk across a dark field backwards while keeping one of the three actors in frame, sounds easy enough. Now before I continue I must say that this field was not that large yet took all of two nights to shoot. So, there I was slowly walking across the field, and thinking to myself my feet are soaked from the dew, I’m tired, I’m still a little shaky from the shock I received earlier from trying to plug stuff in on the dewy ground, and I’m having the absolute best time EVER! Mike said it best when he said “The absolute worst day of filming is better than the greatest day at our regular jobs.”
The very last day of filming just passed us and I must say what a great note to end on. I also got the great pleasure of two of my marvelous parents, Bill and Laurie, being there and one (my dad) actually got to be a reporter! I’m not just saying this because he’s my dad, but he did absolutely incredible. I guess after so many years of thinking your parents are lame the phase ends and luckily in my case it was replaced by this truly talented individual who can act, and write/play his own music. (You’ll hear some of it in the film!) Anyway, I just had to give a shout out to my dad! So proud of you!
So, that’s pretty much it for me, I hope you all enjoy the movie!!
The Mike Breaks His Silence
As I finish up editing duties, this week blog is so big it has to be introduced by Three Hosts
It’s time to hand the blog over to our resident tamed sound man.
Some say that in the front of his pants is another microphone.
and that he whistles while he works, but only dogs can hear it.
All’s we know is, he’s called “The Mike”
This week comes to you from a DQ in Hillsboro. Sponsored by the letter B, and the number 437. I’m not sure what it is but I cannot write at home. My mind is a jumbled mess. Put me in a fast food restaurant with a cheeseburger , fries and a coke and I’m good for at least a good hour or more of solid writing. It does sound like a lot of time but I can crank out a good chunk of material. So in addition to the next screen play we will be filming, I’m taking over for Tony on this weeks blog. We took last weekend off for the holiday. Even if we wanted to shoot last weekend, It’s impossible to get things together on a holiday weekend. And we have tried before… FAIL. And we have tried again… FAIL
So this weekend I’m to film the last two shots for the opening scene. Finally when someone asks me “Hey, are you done filming yet?”, I can say “Fuck Yeah!” Don’t get me wrong, I love filming. I wish I could have done this years ago, but I’ve moved back to St. Louis almost two years ago. Just months before we started production and haven’t seen most of my friends in months. I couldn’t tell you the last time I was out at a bar or club or concert or anything like that. To say I was in a drought would be kind.
Back to this weekend! We have enlisted the help of family again. Lisa is to fill the role of a reporter. She checks all the boxes: Professional. Check. Pretty. Check. Has wardrobe. Check. We’re glad she is one of our biggest fans. When you talk to her about the film, she lights up like a girl who just got a pony for her birthday. It’s nice to have someone outside of the crew and cast to be as genuinely excited as you are.
Any way, if all goes well, Tony can say”Cut” for The Year After Infection.
But wait! It’s not over yet. Haven’t you learned yet, not to leave during the credits. You could miss something.
T in da HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And as I am still editing away this weeks blog post was written by Tina, or just plain old T. T-money. T-dawg. T-rannosaurus Wrecks. T-Bag. Hey-T. I think you get the gist…. I know what you’re thinking… you have time to make these stupid pictures, but not enough time to write a blog. Well, the answer is… YES. That’s exactly right.
Anyways we interrupt this infomercial as T writes:
Breaking news from the KCUF News Team…
We are down to the last scene to be shot and winter editing is pretty well complete!
It has been a very eventful year + of filming and the project is almost complete…bitter sweet isn’t it?
Q & A
Q: What will I do with my weekends now?
A:
- Not inhale toxic smoke.
- Not shovel unknown materials out of a barn.
- Not stand in 35 degree water.
- Not spend 10 hours waste deep maneuvering canoes.
- Not deal with Sullivan Missouri’s finest. (You know who you are)
- Not drive up to Hannibal while there is a blizzard.
- Not clean up a half blown away home that smelled of mold.
Q: What was your favorite filming day?
A: It is truly hard to pick one…there are so many talented people on this film, and there were so many fun days! One that stands out to me thought was the evening at the barn, in the middle of the night when the bats were dive bombing Joe…we had to stop filming because somebody in the general vicinity was having a karaoke party…noise travels in the middle of nowhere you know? There was a lot of laughing that night.
Q: What was your least favorite filming day?
A: Hands down…diving into the water that was 35 degrees in November. I use to love being in the water, swimming, boating, canoeing…now I am scarred for life. Just kidding I still love all these things…when it is 80 + degrees.
On behalf of the whole crew…it has been a pleasure working with all of you! You all are very talented, fun to work with and we hope you all have successful careers!
HEY THERE.
Tony May’s again. If you act now I will throw in this Teaser Trailer absolutely FREEEEEEE. So act now!
And Now a Word…
The Joy of Editing will not be seen this week…
Okay, so I’m completely swamped with editing duties right now, so in true TYAI style, I’ve enlisted some of the behind the scenes folks to write a bit, so you can get their take on their experiences with the film making process.
This week’s entry is Karen
Ok, bear with me. Because now I am sitting in that same damn kitchen and I have never done this before.
It has been a very long journey from when we started until now and we are almost there. I never thought we would see the finish line that is just right around the corner and I am not sure how any of us are supposed to feel. Relief, that we actually did it! A little sadness that it’s almost over & very grateful for the amazing people we have met on the way.
We have traveled from one end of Missouri to the other. Spent almost a month cleaning and setting up a hundred year old barn, that a wonderful woman & her husband in Washington let us use. Burned hay that glowed greenish yellow in 100 degree weather, when it rained we thought we were in heaven it would stop and we thought we would die.
Spent nights playing with the bugs, bats and one very ornery gopher, and with all of that the cast & crew were a blast, even on some of the hardest nights until the wee hours in the morning the just kept going with the best of attitudes. They are a joy to work with!
Moving on to the next location that I think had to be one of the hardest to work with outside, very large cast, crew & extras. Weather challenges, scheduling, constant change in location, hours of driving and countless visits from the surrounding population (some very nice & some that stopped us filming all together.) Countless encounters with officers of the law that thankfully turned out to be very cool and fun to talk to.
We know your jobs are not easy and running into us had to be strange to say the least. So thank you, gentlemen & ladies for your understanding, help, & some very good advice!
Props to the cast, extras & crew that would not give in. Even after the encounters with strangers toting guns, being sprayed with rocks the never ending interruptions from weather, planes, cars, boats, some very interested drunks, and live bands that you could hear for miles.
Then off to Hannibal! To an old 3 story building with the promise of heat LOL that happened to be on every floor but the one we were on Ha. I would love to give the owners name and plug his business but can’t without his permission. He not only let us invade his place of business but let us rearrange his entire top floor. We would show up unexpected stay all day and he was nothing but helpful.
He even found a location that was so much better than the one we had chosen, introduced us to his friend that had never met us before, who invited into his home and his sons stayed and helped us out THANK YOU!
Hannibal was a very cool city. The surrounding business owners would come out to watch and not once caused a problem we would yell action and everyone went silent I even turned to see a woman and her 4 children getting ready to cross the street and she pulled them back had them be very quiet until the director yelled cut and she went on her way like this happened every day. Hannibal was like the twilight zone and I can’t say enough kind things about the people there.
Our very ornery cast never faltered. Always on time happy to be there, came up with some very good ideas and made everything seem so easy.
Our next location was mostly outside in the snow yes very cold again. One of our longest drives in Vandalia and a very wonderful family and I do mean the entire family!
Our smallest cast. An amazing little boy with a hell of a lot of talent! & a very quiet, kind man with a beautiful voice and talented! He made every thing look so easy and natural you sometimes forgot what you were doing and just stood and watched them in some cases you actually felt like you were intruding thank you guys so much!
The Last Shooting Day with Julian
Ext:
Vandalia, IL
A wet, nasty, cloudy day. Just chilly enough to be uncomfortable, but not quite cold. I think Yucky is the correct meteorological term. It was an intentional late start. We only had some pickup shots to do for the kitchen scene, and one last nighttime exterior scene. Not exactly a full plate, but it was the last bits we needed to wrap Winter up.
We got there late, and we started slow. Nobody was really in a hurry. It was Julian’s last shooting day.
I’m gonna take a minute and gush here. Julian is a director’s dream. Eager to get going, but willing to follow the pace. Knows his dialogue and his part from top to bottom, so you can switch gears, or change your mind as you need to. Quiet, polite, easy going, tireless. He brought this project home, and in a big, BIG way, and I can’t thank him enough for everything he brought to the role of Marcus. Without him, it would have been a very different movie, and I’m glad he found us.
We had some nighttime snow scenes to shoot, and we had a bit of trickery that had to happen to get that done in April, but I won’t bore you with the technical details, and just suffice it to say that I didn’t quite know how that scene was going to look, but having set it up and shot it, I don’t think anyone would ever assume that it was anything other than Winter.
It was a long, fun, quite kind of day. Julian’s final shot was no dialogue, and emotionally intense. Karen confessed she felt a little voyeuristic watching it. Like an awkward personal moment you really have no business being there for. It was difficult to watch. After Julian’s final shot, there was a round of applause from the crew, and we were getting the cast changed out of wardrobe. It ended at just about midnight, and we packed up and headed home.
The Fall sequence is in tweak editing, and the Title sequence is pretty much done. Down to one last shooting day. Actually, it’s probably going to turn into two. Our location for the basement scene has flooded with all the rain that April has brought us, so we will probably have to find an alternative location. On this project, it’s not the stuff you plan for that’s the problem, it’s the stuff you don’t (and can’t) that tend to jump up and bite you in the ass. And my cheek has fresh teeth marks on it.
More to come. Just really exhausted this week!
THIS is the Guy you need to find if the world ends.
Scene
Ext: Somewhere off the Bourbeuse River
When Ben first came in to read, it was pretty obvious to us that he was going to wind up in the cast. And that he would be Glen or Gary. He just looked the part. But after spending 8 weekends with the cast for Summer, I can tell you this: If the end of the world comes, I’m going to Ben’s house.
We have quite a few rugged looking outdoorsy types in the cast. Ben’s character is a office-dweller, ultra suburbanite, and he plays it to a tee. When you see Ben on film, you’ll probably figure that he’s pretty much just like his character.
You’d be wrong…
Behind the scenes, Ben is soft spoken, polite, funny, well read and the quintessential outdoors man. He hunts, fishes, canoes etc. The definition of Renaissance Man. He has a habit of lobbing joke grenades. You can tell alot about him just by seeing his printed copy of the script. Carefully tabbed with green markers, to indicate every scene he has lines and the green tabs match the green plastic spine that keeps it in it’s protective sleeve. It’s impossible to not like Ben.
deded4
Credit where it’s due.
Scene
Ext: A river in the middle of nowhere
At 20, Kelly is easily the youngest member of the crew, and the most gung-ho and cheery. When I ask her if she can move back further to get the shot, she trudges smiling into the water, wearing quite possibly the funkiest psychedelic boots I’ve ever seen. When I asked her if she could get lower for the shot, she kneels down into the water, careful not to splash the camera. She sat in the water for what seemed like eternity when we shot the scene, while minnows nibbled away at her legs. And she did it all without complaint. When she trudged out of the water, she did it with a grin.
In the past few months, she’s stayed awake until dawn shooting, after shooting all afternoon, been doused in blood for an impromptu stand in shot, helped clean a barn out, and lent a hand with wardrobe and props. The very definition of “a trooper”, and the production wouldn’t be the same without her.
She has a natural talent for photography, and can do a pan so steady, you’d swear it was a tripod shot. It’s hard not to be in a good mood when Kelly is around, and while her name will only appear in the credits for a few seconds, I wanted to give her some very well deserved recognition.