Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 354
April 17, 2016
April 17, 2016: The Dark Matter picnic!
Because I just can’t get enough of them during our 12 hours workdays, I met up with members of the cast and crew this weekend for the very first Dark Matter Picnic! Organized by Melissa O’Neil (TWO) and (conspicuously absent) Executive Producer Vanessa Piazza, the event promised “fun, picnic potluck, and hangs!”, “12:30 onward til sun sets”. Hmmm. Since the sun sets at approximately 8:00 p.m., that would give us roughly seven and a half hours to pack in the fun and/or hangs.
“Is that set in stone?”I asked Melissa. “What if I want to stay past dusk?”
“You can stay as long as you like,”she informed me.
I brought along the family – Akemi, Bubba, Lulu – along with treats: pork buns, curry beef buns, chicken buns, bottled water, a Jodelle Ferland, a Jodelle Ferland’s sister, and a Jodelle Ferland’s dog. Others brought dessert.
And sporting equipment. Melissa had it mostly covered: basketballs, a football, frisbees but, sadly, no jai alai pelotas or xisteras. When I asked her about the oversight, she pretended she didn’t know what I was talking about and suggested we play hornussen instead. Which was cool until stand-in Matt was injured by a faulty shingle and someone’s labrador made off with our nouss. Should’ve just gone with my second choice: sepak takraw.
April 16, 2016
April 16, 2016: Maintaining that all-important online presence!
At then end of this year, this blog will celebrate its tenth anniversary. That’s ten straight years of daily blogging, over 3500 entries, and lots and lots of dog pictures. It’s been a huge commitment, but an enjoyable one nevertheless. The demands of daily posting leave me with little opportunity for much else in terms of online activity. Still, that hasn’t stopped from trying to cover my bases…
Facebook: As Akemi put it to me last year – once parents start using Facebook, you can be sure their kids will be abandoning it soon. I mean, it’s a nice way to keep up on the mundane developments in your “friends” lives (Status update: I ate toast!), but otherwise, I find it a complete waste of time outside of the opportunity to share my daily blog entries – along with LOTS of “lost dog” and “dog in need of a good home” posts.
LinkedIn: I’m sure this site offers great career connection opportunities for those who need the introductions but I honestly haven’t used it outside of its messaging feature – and then rarely. In fact, I’ll go months without checking this site out and maintain a sparse presence only because I’m not at all sure how to deactivate my account.
Google+: Does anybody actually use this? Judging from the feedback I’ve received to date, I’m going to guess “No.”
Instagram: Akemi loves it – so much so that she manages my account, constantly pestering me for behind-the-scenes photos (that eventually make their way onto the blog anyway). I use it to follow a good three dozen accounts and their adorable pug pictures.
Twitter: A good way to track breaking news. Also a fine way to interact with the fans although the limited character count keeps that interaction to a bare minimum. Twitter does offer the opportunity to reach a wider online audience thanks to the retweet appeal of my Dark Matter-related links. That’s when I rely on the amazing online support of @SyFyUK @SyfyDE @SyfyAU @SyfyAsia @Syfy_Spain @Syfyfr @Syfybr and @Syfyla who have done an amazing job of liking, retweeting, and generally getting the word out/keeping our international audience informed. Broadcasters closer to home? Not so much, which is why I’ve just stopped tweeting them altogether. I live-tweeted though the show’s first season with, uh, arguable results. I mean, yay, we trended. Congratulations? I do like twitter’s Periscope feature in that it offers opportunity for great live content with all of its potential pitfalls and unforeseen consequences.
Reddit: I’ve been aware of reddit for quite some time but only recently began using it as a means to getting the word out about the show. As time has gone on, however,I’ve become increasingly active in other subreddits, among them books, food, pugs, science fiction, and, of course, Stargate. I’m having such a good time that I’m planning to do an AMA in May once Dark Matter’s second season ends. Stay tuned!
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
April 15, 2016
April 15, 2016: Welcome to Zawraq-4!
Welcome to planetary station Zawraq-4. Just a few things to get out of the way before we proceed…
Okay, now that that’s done, let’s proceed into the market. Right after you read this…
And this –
Okay, then. In we go –
Right this way…
They call him The Master of Hot Metal! While some simply refer to him as Maurice.
The most elaborate steak knives this side of Enriss Sector.
Stunt coordinator John Stead supplements his meagre income with his mobile blade sharpening station.
Sure, they make look familiar, but they’re grown on alien soil! The maitakes taste like erygniis. And vice-versa!
Impoverished crew members outside their tent city.
The wrangler and his charges. Apparently, one of them made a run for it, bolting for the nearest exit the second our director yelled “Action!”. It was like Run Lola Run. But with goats.
Bizarre siamese goats logo compliments of Roxanne Borris.
Jason is coming down with a touch of Fury Road.
Closing time. You don’t have to go back to your home world, but you can’t stay here!
Tagged: #DarkMatter Dark Matter
April 14, 2016
April 14, 2016: New Dark Matter episode title revealed! Multiplanetary logos!
The polls have closed, the results tabulated, and we have a winner. The fans have selected one more episode title for Dark Matter’s second season. And, this time, it wasn’t all that close. The results…
“Episode 22: Doing Out Fighting”
Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote!
A busy morning, afternoon, and early evening on set today, chock full o’ fun: llamas, goats, chickens, Mad Max-esque vehicles, and cagey locals. Priceless pics and behind-the-scenes insights tomorrow. For now, I leave you with the visual stylings of 1st Assistant Art Director Roxanne Borris:
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
April 13, 2016
April 13, 2016: Vote on a new Dark Matter episode title!
Well, as promised, today is the day YOU get to help choose a new Dark Matter episode title. For those of you not-in-the-know, Dark Matter fans have helped select the names of every season 2 episode to date. To date, these have been your choices:
“Episode 14: Welcome To Your New Home”
“Episode 15: Kill Them All”
“Episode 16: I’ve Seen The Other Side Of You”
“Episode 17: We Were Family”
“Episode 18: We Voted Not To Space You”
“Episode 19: We Should Have Seen This Coming”
“Episode 20: She’s One Of Them Now”
“Episode 21: Stuff to Steal, People to Kill”
And, today, we move on to Episode 209 (“Episode 22”). The nominees are:
Take Our Poll
The polls are open for the next 24 hours. Cast your vote!
Looks like we’ve got a lockdown situation, courtesy of the Art Department’s Sumeet Vat.
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
April 12, 2016
April 12, 2016: Dark Matter – The Home Stretch!
Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel! Following a day chock full o’ meetings, we’re in the home stretch. Episode 212 starts shooting on Monday – which means our season finale starts prepping that same day – which means YOU’RE all that much closer to watching Dark Matter’s second season! (Photo above courtesy of Renee Chan).
Awww, it’s a kid’s fingerprinting station. How adorable – uh, hang on. That’s not paint! (Disquieting on-set visual compliments of Ivon Bartok). 
Mystery corridor. Note the stark Kubrickesque red and white color scheme.
Mystery box. What’s inside? I’m pretty sure it’s nothing good.
Mystery lab. The spotlit table with the metal restraints is a tell.
Mystery crew. What is the gang up to today?
Last day to post your questions for Melissa O’Neil Dark Matter’s TWO (as if you didn’t know).
Tomorrow, the voting commences for yet another Dark Matter episode title to be chosen by YOU!
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
April 11, 2016
April 12, 2016: Daggers, Dark Matter, and Drones! Ask Melissa!
We kicked off the day with our Episode 212 stunt meeting. It mostly involved director Will Waring, stunt coordinator John Stead, and me debating the merits of various daggers. With that done, I left the blades behind (despite my better judgement) and headed out for a two hour clear-the-air sit-down during which I watched a heavy-set customer beside us consume an entire family bowl of breakfast chicken tenders. From there, it was back to the production offices for a quick lunch, then cross town to Urban for an afternoon of cuts and corrections with editor BenWilkinson of Episode 209.
While I spend my day in the relatively warm confines of civilization, Ivon was out in the wilderness of Rockton, overseeing production on Episode 211. Apparently, the snow-encrusted forest looked absolutely gorgeous this morning…
Then downright miserable when things warmed up and the surroundings turned into a muddy morass.
Meanwhile, there was a little dronery going on as captured by Ivon Bartok (he snapped the above pics as well). What’s the deal? Well, it won’t be long ’til you find out!
Speaking of Things To Look Forward To – Dark Matter’s TWO, Melissa O’Neil, will be doing a fan Q&A on this blog. If you have a burning question for #2Boss, post it in the comments section. You’ll have until Wednesday night!
On a non-Dark Matter-related note – If you liked this commercial:
You’ll love these outtakes:
Finally, back to Dark Matter, let me leave you with this:
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
April 10, 2016
April 10, 2016: Melissa O’Neil (Dark Matter’s TWO) wants to hear from YOU! Behind-the-scenes pics!
DARK MATTER — Season:1 — Pictured: Melissa O’Neil as Two — (Photo by: Dennys/Ilic/Syfy)
I’m pleased to announce that Melissa O’Neil (Dark Matter’s kick-ass commander, TWO) has happily offered to find the time in her busy shooting and stunt rehearsal schedule to answer YOUR questions. Leave your burning queries in this blog’s comments section. I’ll gather them over the course of the next three or four days and then send them her way. She’s ready…
So post ’em if you got ’em.
A few behind-the-scene photos of a rare Saturday second unit shoot.
Director Mairzee Almas sets up at her impromptu work station.
A couple of questions here. What’s the deal with that cage? And what the heck are those metal obstructions?
Oh, okay. Now about that cage…
Um, this does NOT bode well.
And neither does this.
The Art Department sets up the big marshmallow-roast sequence.
I couldn’t ask for better company! From left to right: On-Set Costumes Supervisor Jozie Conte, Script Supervisor Carolyn Arbuckle, Key Hair Renee Chan, Key Make-Up Lynda McCormack, and On-Set Key Props Nicola Moss. Not pictured: EVERYONE ELSE!
Looks like another busy week ahead. Ivon will be out on location, overseeing the action with Director Mairzee Almas, while I prep Episode 212 with Stargate alum Will Waring (who hasn’t changed a bit!). Wonder how he’ll work a pineapple into THIS episode. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about (Pineapple?) or don’t know Will, here’s a past fan Q&A to get you up to date:
I’m in the editing room tomorrow afternoon with fabulous editor Ben Wilkinson, finishing my pass on Peter DeLuise’s director’s cut of Episode 208 (I’m just going to go ahead and boldly declare it a fan favorite)…which means it’s time for you, the fans, to vote on a NEW episode title. Stay tuned to this blog for details!
’til next time…
P.S. Did I mentioned Melissa O’Neil has agreed to do a fan Q&A and that you should definitely post your questions for her?
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter, Melissa O'Neil
April 9, 2016
April 9, 2016: Director Mairzee Almas in action!
It hit me early this morning, at 4:15 am on the dot, rousing me from a deep slumber and striking me with the sheer obviousness of it all. The seemingly unconnected pieces actually came together in my dream, snapping together to offer an answer to a question I hadn’t even asked. Or even thought to ask. But now…NOW it makes perfect sense. I shared my theory with someone and, while he preferred to offer the benefit of the doubt, there’s no denying the “coincidental” nature of the seemingly unrelated developments. Damn. This may get ugly.
But that’s a confrontation for another time. Today, it was all about a rare Saturday shoot that saw me catching a lift to the deep freeze wilderness of Rockton with Episode 211 director Mairzee Almas (pictured above, imagining ahead during a location scout).
Mairzee hails from Vancouver where she’s worked on productions like Smallville, Lucifer, and The 100.
Mairzee is also an alum on a longtime Toronto production, a little show called Lost Girl, that some of you may be familiar with. So, when she rolled into the office the other week, there were smiles all around. I put an immediate stop to that. After all, as 1st Assistant Director Brandon Tataryn will tell you, there’s no smiling in prep.
Since you asked – you DID ask, didn’t you? – prep week went swimmingly. We discussed cabins, markets, llamas, clones, and, of course, guns.
Day 1 of production saw us on our standing Raza sets – infirmary, mess, bridge, corridors.
Day 2 saw us on our swing stage – transit room, corridor, and Marauder.
And our third – well, that was today. We had the chase. We had the talk. And the tearful farewell. It was quite a moment – and one I’d been planning since the summer of last year. Great, great performances. And a great, great director.
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
April 8, 2016
April 8, 2016: Decisions, decisions, decisions!
All the idea spinning, story breaking, script writing, revising, rewriting, polishing, prepping, production, approvals, and post has finally caught up with me. I am officially “exhausted”. Sorry. With a capital E. “Exhausted”. On the one hand, I suppose I can look forward to the fact that the weekend is finally here. On the other, I can’t take much comfort in the weekend since we’re actually shooting tomorrow on location and I have to get up early for my 6 a.m. pick-up.
But there’s light at the end of the tunnel! Paul and I completed a rough first draft of the season finale the other day. We’re one month out from a second season wrap. And I’m two months out from returning to Vancouver. And that’s where the decisions await…
Do I convene the writers’ room and break season 3 with confidence that we’ll be getting that elusive pick-up, or do I follow my new agent’s advice and head to L.A. where I start taking meetings?
Do I concentrate on Dark Matter or do I full focus on setting up my other pilots?
Do I sell the house in Vancouver or do I hold onto it for now?
Do I adopt another pug or do I make do with only two dogs?
Whatever I decide, I can say that it has been an amazing season of television working with some of the most amazing people one could ever hope to work with. Yes, it’s been exhausting, but incredibly satisfying, and I can’t wait to blow you all away with Dark Matter’s second season. And it’s all gone perfectly according to plan, from Hyperion-8 to Eos-7, and when the final credits roll on episode 26 (title, of course, to be decided by YOU), we’ll be happily closing yet another chapter of this five part SF epic. Ideally, in time, I’ll get to finish the story I’ve envisioned – with the same people who made the show’s first two seasons such a memorable experience – and with all of its twists, turns, shocks, and surprises.
If not, all is not lost. Whether it’ll be through a novel, a comic book series or, hell, a breakdown right here on this blog, you WON’T be left hanging.
Tagged: #DarkMatter, Dark Matter
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