Stephen Henning's Blog, page 6
August 25, 2015
The First Class Heroes Superhero Short Films - now online
It took a year. But finally I got there. The Class Heroes trailers / mini movies are complete. And it's been a blast. Now you watch this exciting young adult thriller series brought to life.
If you've followed my blog posts, charting the filmmaking process, the casting, the shoots, the additional shoots, the edits post production, you'll get just how much I'ved making these short films.
Don't worry, I'm not going to waffle on or do a gushing 'thank you' Oscar speech. I just want to say.... Hurrah.
You've heard a lot about them. Now you can watch them.
March 29, 2015
Colour Me Bad
Now what were you expecting with an article title like that? People of a certain generation and questionable musical tastes might have thought: “No! You spell it Color Me Badd, you moron! Give me some news on my favourite 90s American contemporary R&B group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (I’m quoting Wikipedia).
February 27, 2015
The Sound of the Underground
And other foley sounds, sound effects, and the film score itself! This, out of everything in the production of my Class Heroes films, was the thing I was dreading the most. Sound design is probably one of the most important elements of any film. And I’m not a sound designer. So thank goodness for a massive dose of luck, just when I needed it!
February 2, 2015
Why Parkour is So Suited to Superhero Films
Specifically, my films :-) Back in August 2014, I wrote about the first day of shooting the Lolly Rosewood mini movie/minisode/short [I still can’t decide what to call them — suggestions welcome].
To recap, Lolly is 16 years old, has questionable morals (if any) and is a tad psychotic. She also has enhanced physical strength.
January 20, 2015
The Cuts: Why We Must Cut Fast and Deep
I’m actually not paraphrasing George Osborne, and I’m not talking about government spending or the UK deficit. I’m actually paraphrasing Nick Woolgar, my DoP on the Class Heroes shoot.
When I cut the first drafts of the mini movies, I showed them to Nick. I wanted his honest opinion and I got it. “Be brutal. Cut. Cut again. Even when you think it's too extreme, cut.”
January 12, 2015
When A Film Project Gets More Ambitious
You know how it is. You start off thinking you’re just going to make one short film, with a small cast, no special effects, keep it simple, don’t over-reach yourself.
So you write your script, you assemble your cast and crew, secure your locations and.... suddenly you realise what you’ve already achieved. How much better would your film be if you upped your game? What if you tried for a more ambitious storyline, better locations, widen the scope of what you’re trying to achieve.
January 4, 2015
The Day We Filmed in A Hospital
That's right. I still can't believe that I was given permission to use an entire ward in Ipswich Hospital in which to film the Class Heroes mini movies. This is what Indie Filmmaking is all about!
It was back in September 2014 that the Class Heroes team descended on our ready-made hospital set. In book 1, A Class Apart, James and Sam are hospitalised after their school bus is blown up — and that was a scene I really wanted to dramatise. My problem was, how do I find a hospital set when I have zero budget?
December 28, 2014
November 19, 2014
#Girlfriend-vs-Sister?
Oh my word. The heady summer. Seems like a long time ago now. But I’ve been so immersed in the continuing process of filming and editing that my write-up of our shoot at Ipswich’s historic town hall building is actually 2 months late.
What can I say? Sorry, the dog ate my homework. So a belated thank you to Ipswich Borough Council and David Wilkins in particular, and Cad Taylor from the excellent ReCreate project for allowing us to film in the building.
September 29, 2014
Location Filming at the Ipswich Transport Museum: Class Heroes Day 2
As I continue my indie film making odyssey to create dramatic trailers for the Class Heroes thrillers, I've realized how difficult it is to write about my experience while actually managing the production.
It’s been a while since my last blog entry and that's not because I've been sitting around with my thumb up my bottom. Goodness, no. Not just that. For the last four weeks I've either been planning shoots, arranging location permissions, organizing actors, juggling schedules, logging footage, getting musicians, and trying to squeeze in some editing.
