I am hoping that there will be plenty of news for The Beast of Bottomless Lake but for now there is just one piece of news.
Beast will be back on SuperChannel for fourteen showings in January.
Craig and I are at work on other possibilities, but it simply wouldn't be cricket to talk about them now.
01 December, 2011
25 November, 2011
One Month to Christmas
Ya know...
If you order now... or even in the next ten days... you can still get copies of The Beast of Bottomless Lake for the folks you love the most... or even those you just kinda love in time for Christmas.
The DVD store is open on our website. Don't be shy.
Or...
Do you know someone who loves The Beast of Bottomless Lake? I don't mean in an unhealthy way. Not in a "well then why don't you marry it" childish kinda way either. Merely in that way that they are too often heard saying "hey, have you seen that really cool rather unknown film The Beast of Bottomless Lake?" Well then you can help them get their message across and save yourself having to hear that tiresome refrain by getting them something from our CafePress Store. 'Cause if they are wearing a Beast hoodie and drinking from a Beast coffee mug and tweeting (probably about Beast... don't forget the hashtag "#thebeast") on their iPhone with a Beast phone cover... then they won't feel the need to keep chatting you up about the film, now, will they?
If you order now... or even in the next ten days... you can still get copies of The Beast of Bottomless Lake for the folks you love the most... or even those you just kinda love in time for Christmas.
The DVD store is open on our website. Don't be shy.
Or...
Do you know someone who loves The Beast of Bottomless Lake? I don't mean in an unhealthy way. Not in a "well then why don't you marry it" childish kinda way either. Merely in that way that they are too often heard saying "hey, have you seen that really cool rather unknown film The Beast of Bottomless Lake?" Well then you can help them get their message across and save yourself having to hear that tiresome refrain by getting them something from our CafePress Store. 'Cause if they are wearing a Beast hoodie and drinking from a Beast coffee mug and tweeting (probably about Beast... don't forget the hashtag "#thebeast") on their iPhone with a Beast phone cover... then they won't feel the need to keep chatting you up about the film, now, will they?
23 November, 2011
The Beast's New PAL
At long last...
Have you ordered a PAL DVD version of The Beast of Bottomless Lake?
Well expect to see it in your mailbox soon!
We recieved our order of PAL DVDs yesterday and they will begin shipping over the next week.
We are delighted that this has finally come to fruition. The technical differences between NTSC and PAL versions slowed down the process of getting the DVDs ready, but the good news is that the DVDs will be going out with th complete set of features that the NTSC discs went out with - indeed with slight tweaks (dare I say improvements?) that we will include in future batches of the NTSC DVDs. (If you happen to have the original NTSC discs, don't fret, the tweaks are truly slight... we'd probably have to point them out to you for you to notice the difference. It is simply a matter of our perfectionism and pride.)
So the Beast will soon be seen in places like Britain, Australia and Japan...
Hooray!
Have you ordered a PAL DVD version of The Beast of Bottomless Lake?
Well expect to see it in your mailbox soon!
We recieved our order of PAL DVDs yesterday and they will begin shipping over the next week.
We are delighted that this has finally come to fruition. The technical differences between NTSC and PAL versions slowed down the process of getting the DVDs ready, but the good news is that the DVDs will be going out with th complete set of features that the NTSC discs went out with - indeed with slight tweaks (dare I say improvements?) that we will include in future batches of the NTSC DVDs. (If you happen to have the original NTSC discs, don't fret, the tweaks are truly slight... we'd probably have to point them out to you for you to notice the difference. It is simply a matter of our perfectionism and pride.)
So the Beast will soon be seen in places like Britain, Australia and Japan...
Hooray!
28 September, 2011
More On Set Interviews
I crossed a threshold yesterday that I didn't realize was there until it was passed. I completed what was more thn likely the last piece of creative work on The Beast of Bottomless Lake. Though, when I say "creative" I have to admit that the amount of real creative work that was involved was pretty limited. The last few pieces have really been little more than deciding how to present on-set interviews: editing out a few spoilers and the odd rambling bit that was too littered with in-jokes or deciding which camera angle to use when more than one was available - that kind of thing. Truly the shallow-end of creative endeavour. In many ways the most creative decision I made at the end was to not edit one last featurette which I ultimately decided wasn't as entertaining as I once thought it would be.
With this behind us the number of things worth blogging about is bound to dwindle. Sure I could report on the minutae (We got a full 10 out of 10 from CTRC, meaning we are worth 150% time-credit to broadcasters! Interesting, huh?), but with DVDs released and our theatrical run over, the big events we are now waiting for are going to be pretty spread out and will amount to "Hey everyone, we just got a broadcast deal on the Iceland National Broadcasting Service!" (We didn't. Yet. We aren't even in negotiations. But stanger things have happened.)
Meantime, here are the last two interviews:
Leanne Jijian Hume:
David Nykl:
With this behind us the number of things worth blogging about is bound to dwindle. Sure I could report on the minutae (We got a full 10 out of 10 from CTRC, meaning we are worth 150% time-credit to broadcasters! Interesting, huh?), but with DVDs released and our theatrical run over, the big events we are now waiting for are going to be pretty spread out and will amount to "Hey everyone, we just got a broadcast deal on the Iceland National Broadcasting Service!" (We didn't. Yet. We aren't even in negotiations. But stanger things have happened.)
Meantime, here are the last two interviews:
Leanne Jijian Hume:
David Nykl:
08 September, 2011
A Bunch of On Set Interviews
It's the eve of The Beast of Bottomless Lake's theatrical run.
It's more than just a little weird to not be there, but such it the way these things go. I'm a new Dad... well, it's practically been a year - four days shy at this point, and between that and work-related commitments I simply can't be there.
As my daughter naps I've been grinding away in these past few days getting the last few extra videos of behind the scenes material finished.
I have five new interviews that our EPK cameraman, Kevin Roberts collected on location in the Okanagan up and ready. There are more to come soon.
Interview with Bronwen Smith: Interview with Roger Haskett: Interview with Alex Zahara: First interview with Gordon May: Second interview with Gordon May:
It's more than just a little weird to not be there, but such it the way these things go. I'm a new Dad... well, it's practically been a year - four days shy at this point, and between that and work-related commitments I simply can't be there.
As my daughter naps I've been grinding away in these past few days getting the last few extra videos of behind the scenes material finished.
I have five new interviews that our EPK cameraman, Kevin Roberts collected on location in the Okanagan up and ready. There are more to come soon.
Interview with Bronwen Smith: Interview with Roger Haskett: Interview with Alex Zahara: First interview with Gordon May: Second interview with Gordon May:
26 August, 2011
Some Silly Extra Fun
The next video in our series of supplementary "Extras" that wouldn't fit on the DVD is now available on YouTube.
This a compilation of the cast on set exercising their vocal chords.
This a compilation of the cast on set exercising their vocal chords.
25 August, 2011
The Beast of the Silver Screen
Alllll....righty then!
Have you got it figured out?
Have you got it figured out?Yes, there is going to be a theatrical run of The Beast of Bottomless Lake next month.
It is going to be small and more than likely short - like a week, but who knows if things go well.
Landmark Cinemas has chosen three theatres in the Okanagan Valley to run Beast in starting September 9th. Specifically, the Paramount Theatre in Kelowna, the Capitol Theatre in West Kelowna, and the PenMar Theatre in Penticton.
We are currently working on a gala preview on the 8th with special appearances and stuff - more news on that as it happens... to be clear, the gala part is not 100% certain yet, but keep your eyes here for details - they will be coming soon.
19 August, 2011
A Cagey Announcement
So really this is more of a tease than an announcement.
Back when I was writing about the impending DVD release party I hinted that we would be making a cool announcement at the screening. Well, that didn't happen. We didn't have the details confirmed, so we didn't mention it.
Well.... we still don't have the precise details, but at least we do now have a confirmation that is is happening. (Whew!)
WHAT IS IT!? You scream.
Well I'm afraid I can't say much yet - and some of the details are still a bit vague - I can say that it has required us to re-edit our trailer to end with a title card that reads "Surfacing September 2011."
More details to follow soon. I promise.
Back when I was writing about the impending DVD release party I hinted that we would be making a cool announcement at the screening. Well, that didn't happen. We didn't have the details confirmed, so we didn't mention it.
Well.... we still don't have the precise details, but at least we do now have a confirmation that is is happening. (Whew!)
WHAT IS IT!? You scream.
Well I'm afraid I can't say much yet - and some of the details are still a bit vague - I can say that it has required us to re-edit our trailer to end with a title card that reads "Surfacing September 2011."
More details to follow soon. I promise.
18 August, 2011
The Real Deal
This is kind of entertaining.
From the National Post, an article about a real-life Ogopogo hunter.
Good ground for a game of "Name that Logical Fallacy."
To his credit he seems to be making an honest effort to properly dissecting the evidence. Good for him on that.
Looked at with any degree of rationality, the only Ogopogo that exists is the cartoon representations that he detests so much.
From the National Post, an article about a real-life Ogopogo hunter.
Good ground for a game of "Name that Logical Fallacy."
To his credit he seems to be making an honest effort to properly dissecting the evidence. Good for him on that.
But it's in his persistence that he fails.
"We’re finding new species of stuff all the time, all over the place: butterflies, frogs. I mean, it goes on and on. Why couldn’t there be something in the lake?" The short answer is that it just isn't logically plausible. But there is more...
For the record, proving that there is no Ogopogo is technically impossible. You cannot prove a negative. (Which is something briefly touched upon by my character in the film.) But every day that passes by without real evidence of a 40 ft. serpent in Lake Okanagan is effectively more evidence that it doesn't exist. Everyone has a camera these days - video cameras in most cases. How does something that has been vaguely seen so many times in the past 100 years not get caught on video now? Every existing video is either clearly something else or is far more easily explained (via Occam's Razor) by something far more mundane - something that Steciuk is clearly capable of doing as he identifies the long rolling waves that form in Lake Okanagan as the reality behind many sightings. (Various other animals and logs make up most of the other sightings.)
Yes, Bill, we are finding new stuff all the time. LITTLE THINGS. The big stuff has no where left to hide. Especially if they exist in the size of a breeding population. He himself acknowledges that they have to exist as a species... which severely complicates his theory that they exist. It is diminishingly likely that a single creature could evade decisive discovery over the period of time under consideration (to say nothing of the fact that it would now be prohibitively old). To suggest that a minimum viable population could remain a mystery is nothing less than absurd.
Looked at with any degree of rationality, the only Ogopogo that exists is the cartoon representations that he detests so much.
09 August, 2011
Additional Bonus Videos
Have you been over to the Provost Pictures YouTube page? There are all kinds of additional video about The Beast of Bottomless Lake over there.
On the DVD we made a promise to add more bonus video to the YouTube page, and starting today that is coming to fruition.
It's going ot happen gradually, but over the next month or two I will be posting (as they are ready) a number of additional interviews and behind the scenes featurettes. They will all be things that didn't suit well to going on the DVD for various reasons - too long, too weird, or required too much work to get them up to an appropriate level of production. None of that need be an issue on YouTube though!
For starters, here is a (long) video of the panel discussion we did at VCon in October of 2010.
More to come!
On the DVD we made a promise to add more bonus video to the YouTube page, and starting today that is coming to fruition.
It's going ot happen gradually, but over the next month or two I will be posting (as they are ready) a number of additional interviews and behind the scenes featurettes. They will all be things that didn't suit well to going on the DVD for various reasons - too long, too weird, or required too much work to get them up to an appropriate level of production. None of that need be an issue on YouTube though!
For starters, here is a (long) video of the panel discussion we did at VCon in October of 2010.
More to come!
08 August, 2011
Congratulations are in Order...
I have been remiss.The Beast... DVD release party at Denman Place Cinema has come and gone and I have been too distracted to comment upon what is now behind us.
By all accounts it was a great night. Over two hundred people showed up - the biggest single location audience for the movie ever. While it made for an only half full theatre, it made for a very full lobby - and considering the heat of the evening, that was as much as anyone would have fairly desired.We ended up adding one late-addition short film to our roster for the evening on short notice. 20 Minutes of Oxygen a music video by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - a Vancouver band that has a song in Beast....
20 Minutes of Oxygen was directed by the editor of Beast..., Mike Jackson. Mike also edited and did the effects on the video and it was shot by our Director of Photography Naim Sutherland.
Following the screening of the shorts, we took an intermission where everyone was treated to a great set by The Pucks, who have two songs in the film. (they played both in their set.) Lots of excitement in the room through intermission. The short films were extremely well recieved and it almost seemed as though the response from the audience got better with every film... which I am somewhat hesitant to admit, as a short film I wrote and am featured in was the second one shown of six. The buzz in the lobby about the films was great as everyone clamoured to get their vote for the audience choice award into the box.
The Pucks rocked out - and how can you not rock out with a tuba? People enjoyed the wine (and audience choice award) sponsor's product - Township 7 wines as well as the beer alternative (who didn't sponsor us so it wouldn't be fair or right to name them). A French documentary crew doing a film about independent film in Canada showed up (they were following Beast... cast member Fabrice Grover) and shot the event and interviewed me.
Once all the halftime hoopla was over, everyone returned to the cinema for the main attraction. Craig, I am told, said all kinds of nice things before the film started - I wasn't in the theatre at the time (there was SO much to be done).
The film, as always, spoke for itself. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Many people walked away surprised by the quality of both the production and the depth of the plot. We sold a lot of DVDs.
Once the main feature was over we drew for the 50/50 draw (I must admit I'm not sold on 50/50 draws... I don't win even close to half the time.) and other door prizes and then announced the winner of the Township 7 Audience Choice Award. And here is where congratulations are in order. The winning short was Death Wish, directed by Chad Costen. I didn't think it was appropriate for me to vote, but if I did it would have been for Death Wish. (The film I was involved in wasn't eligible... because I was involved.) I had picked it as a favourite as it had been chosen as part of the shorts program at the Missisauga Independent Film Festival for this year. MIFF was where Beast... won it's first festival award on it's festival circuit pilgrimage last year. |
| The tiniest (and cutest) audience member. |
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| We have a similar photo of them at the Provost Pictures launch. |
13 July, 2011
The DVDs have arrived!
"The new phone book is here! The new phone book is here!" - Steve Martin as Navin Johnson in The Jerk
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| Totally not staged at all - this is exactly as it naturally occurred. |
Eventhough I have watched every piece of the DVD more times than I can count, it was very exciting to pull out a copy (okay, copies) and run my hands over them and look at the pretty pictures.
The first ones should be going in the mail either today or tomorrow, and of course anyone attending our screening on Friday who has ordered a copy can pick up theirs then.
The party is looking like it's going to be a lot of fun. We've sold a good chunk of the tickets - but there is always room for more. And of course if we have any copies of this run of the DVDs left over, you can purchase the DVD right there.
Also, expect an exciting new announcement at the party... which of course I'll reveal here too a few days later after I've recovered from the hoopla.
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| Why everyone should order three dozen copies - so your baby can swin in Beast of Bottomless Lake DVDs too. |
09 July, 2011
Red Carpet Preview
I'm just sticking to what I know and only dealing with the principles here.
The Director, Craig March will of course be on hand. I, myself, will be there (Kennedy Goodkey) - co-writer and the actor playing Stewart, the grumpy physicist. Bronwen Smith who played Leslie, the earth mother-y ecology scientist is going to be there with her husband John Prowse who is also in the film in one of my favourite cameos. Fabrice Grover, who plays documentarian Ernie McKellar is going to be present - and on a side note is somewhat ironically going to be being followed by a documentary crew doing a film about Canadian independent film. I do not know if Roger Haskett will be in the house - he just had a new addition to his family (four weeks early!) last week, which understandably has changed his priorities. Leanne Jijian Hume who plays Paul Moran's assistant (and love interest) will be in attendance - this is kind of special as Leanne lives in East Timor now so her being here on the right day is an unusual treat. And of course that leaves the person who will be most asked about - David Nykl, the star of the film... Unfortunately I just got word from David. He has been trying to switch around some obligations, but it has not come to pass. We will have to welcome the DVD into the world without him in attendance. He will of course be there in spirit (and of course he is featured on one of the two commentaries on the DVD.)
And of course... The Pucks (who have two songs in the film) will be there rocking the house.
So... if you don't already have all the info:
What Day?
The 15th of July - that is FRIDAY coming up.
When?
Doors open 6:30, Short films start at 7:30, our feature starts between 9:00 and 9:30
Where?
Denman Cinemas, 1779 Comox Street, Vancouver
How much?
$15 in Advance
You can buy tickets online at http://www.stubmatic.com/Promethian/event/6690
Bring your friends!
02 July, 2011
New Swag!
If you don't know about the DVD release you haven't been reading this blog.But wait there's more.
We would like to take this opportunity to announce that the formerly paltry number of items in our CafePress store has expanded... a lot.
Where there used to be about a dozen different shirt styles in 4-5 colours, there are now more things than anyone will ever buy.
While of course there is standard fare... like the aforementioned shirts - now in more styles, roughly the same number of colours, but with four different images that configure in a metric tonne of different ways - like hoodies and pyjamas
There is also fairly common stuff like coffee cups, water bottles clocks, baby-onesies, hats and iPhone cases....(Note that the images here are merely the smallest sample.)
As well as utterly stupid stuff like Dog T-shirts, coasters and throw pillows... that is if you really need a Beast of Bottomless Lake Dog T-Shirt..30 June, 2011
Canada Day Special Programming
Just a quick note to point out that Beast of Bottomless Lake is back on Super Channel this long weekend.
Appropriate don't you think? Some kick-ass Cancon comedy for Canada Day.
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And don't forget to grab your advance tickets to the DVD Release Party - they will not be available at the door.
Appropriate don't you think? Some kick-ass Cancon comedy for Canada Day.
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And don't forget to grab your advance tickets to the DVD Release Party - they will not be available at the door.
29 June, 2011
Tickets Only Available in Advance for the DVD Release Party.
So there is a change...
Due to limitations on our liquor license we cannot sell tickets at the door to the DVD Release party.
It's fairly cut and dried. If you are coming you will have to buy on line in advance before you come to the show (or directly from one of us with tickets in advance.)
To buy on line just go HERE.
A quick reminder, the party will include - the distribution of DVDs for anyone who pre-ordered one; the screening of several short films - one of which will get a prize from Township 7 for winning the audience choice award; music by The Pucks (who have two sings in The Beast of Bottomless Lake; as well as a raffle and 50/50 draw (and there is currently at least one really cool prize for the 50/50 draw.); and of course, the last big-screen showing of Beast... in Vancouver probably for ever.
Hope to see you there!
Due to limitations on our liquor license we cannot sell tickets at the door to the DVD Release party.
It's fairly cut and dried. If you are coming you will have to buy on line in advance before you come to the show (or directly from one of us with tickets in advance.)
To buy on line just go HERE.
A quick reminder, the party will include - the distribution of DVDs for anyone who pre-ordered one; the screening of several short films - one of which will get a prize from Township 7 for winning the audience choice award; music by The Pucks (who have two sings in The Beast of Bottomless Lake; as well as a raffle and 50/50 draw (and there is currently at least one really cool prize for the 50/50 draw.); and of course, the last big-screen showing of Beast... in Vancouver probably for ever.
Hope to see you there!
28 June, 2011
DVD Sneak Peek
Here is a sneak peek at the main menu animation for the Beast of Bottomless Lake DVD.
Pre-orders for DVDS are already open: http://www.provostpictures.com/TheBeast-DVD.htm
With the official release date being July 15th 2011.
If you are in Vancouver, there is a DVD release party and screening at the Denman Cinema on the 15th....
DETAILS & TICKETS
Pre-orders for DVDS are already open: http://www.provostpictures.com/TheBeast-DVD.htm
With the official release date being July 15th 2011.
If you are in Vancouver, there is a DVD release party and screening at the Denman Cinema on the 15th....
DETAILS & TICKETS
23 June, 2011
Ten Years
I don't know if I've written about this on this blog at all, but even if I have, this is still an appropriate time to do so again.
It was ten years ago this weekend that I was sitting on the couch in my tiny apartment in the West End watching a documentary on SPACE (the Canadian equivalent of SyFy). It was a truly ridiculous documentary about sasquatch hunters. These guys were so clearly beyond reason that the documentary was pretty much an unintentional comedy. I knew that it was prime inspirational material for the film that Craig and Keith and I were working on. I picked up the phone and called Keith. There was no answer. I left a message on the answering machine encouraging him to watch the show when it re-aired in six or eight hours, whatever the rotation was.
At that point we had developed the script to a fairly high-functioning treatment (basically a detailed outline with substantial sections of dialogue). We had the interest of a local producer and things were looking really promising.
Several hours later the phone rang. It was Janet, Keith's wife. Janet and I were friendly, but my relationship was clearly with Keith back then. It was instantly odd that she was calling - the last time she had called me was months earlier, to prepare for Keith's birthday.
Janet told me about the accident. He was already gone.
I don't know what exactly I said. "Oh my god, Janet." Or something equally as shocked and empty. She asked me if I would make phone calls to get the word out. Naturally I couldn't turn her down. That was one of the most difficult tasks I ever had to do. I did a terrible job of the first call. I approached it like any other phone call with small talk off the top. The news totally blindsided the person I called. I'm still sorry about that, T. Sure the news was going to blindside anyone, but it was immediately clear that the only remotely "good" way of imparting the news was as immediately as possible. I did tell one friend to call me when he was home, or at least not in public on his cellphone. I'd recently been party to a pair of sisters getting bad news about their father on the bus on a cellphone. The worst part of that experience was the sister who wasn't on the phone was getting the news the same way all us strangers who had unwillingly been pulled into the conversation as eavesdroppers were getting the news.
I called everyone in my phone book who knew Keith, then went into my bedroom and screamed into my pillow for god knows how long. Somehow I managed to go to work and put in a full shift - though I booked off the next few days.
A friend of mine picked me up from after my shift and took me home to her place and held me all night. We had been lovers, but that was not on the agenda at this time - we were beyond it. This was strictly me needing someone to hold me until I was ready to face the first full day without Keith. I didn't sleep that night. I just lay in bed. methodically re-playing every moment of my friendship with Keith over in my head.
I still can't believe he is gone some days. I definitely can't believe it has been ten years - more than twice as long as we were friends. I am now almost two years older than he ever was. I cannot look at a photo of him and see an older man. That seems amazing and even a little impossible to me, but despite that kneejerk reaction, it is true.
I'm alone tonight, no one to hold me. Jodie and December are visiting grandma. But I think I'm going to try re-imagining those years when Keith was one of my best friends as best I can. It has been ten years, it's time to honour him once again.
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| Keith Provost 1960-2001 |
At that point we had developed the script to a fairly high-functioning treatment (basically a detailed outline with substantial sections of dialogue). We had the interest of a local producer and things were looking really promising.
Several hours later the phone rang. It was Janet, Keith's wife. Janet and I were friendly, but my relationship was clearly with Keith back then. It was instantly odd that she was calling - the last time she had called me was months earlier, to prepare for Keith's birthday.
Janet told me about the accident. He was already gone.
I don't know what exactly I said. "Oh my god, Janet." Or something equally as shocked and empty. She asked me if I would make phone calls to get the word out. Naturally I couldn't turn her down. That was one of the most difficult tasks I ever had to do. I did a terrible job of the first call. I approached it like any other phone call with small talk off the top. The news totally blindsided the person I called. I'm still sorry about that, T. Sure the news was going to blindside anyone, but it was immediately clear that the only remotely "good" way of imparting the news was as immediately as possible. I did tell one friend to call me when he was home, or at least not in public on his cellphone. I'd recently been party to a pair of sisters getting bad news about their father on the bus on a cellphone. The worst part of that experience was the sister who wasn't on the phone was getting the news the same way all us strangers who had unwillingly been pulled into the conversation as eavesdroppers were getting the news.
I called everyone in my phone book who knew Keith, then went into my bedroom and screamed into my pillow for god knows how long. Somehow I managed to go to work and put in a full shift - though I booked off the next few days.
A friend of mine picked me up from after my shift and took me home to her place and held me all night. We had been lovers, but that was not on the agenda at this time - we were beyond it. This was strictly me needing someone to hold me until I was ready to face the first full day without Keith. I didn't sleep that night. I just lay in bed. methodically re-playing every moment of my friendship with Keith over in my head.
I still can't believe he is gone some days. I definitely can't believe it has been ten years - more than twice as long as we were friends. I am now almost two years older than he ever was. I cannot look at a photo of him and see an older man. That seems amazing and even a little impossible to me, but despite that kneejerk reaction, it is true.
I'm alone tonight, no one to hold me. Jodie and December are visiting grandma. But I think I'm going to try re-imagining those years when Keith was one of my best friends as best I can. It has been ten years, it's time to honour him once again.
22 June, 2011
So what exactly IS on the DVD?
Hey, I am glad you asked. I'm pretty darned happy with the package we've created, and I'm itching to boast about it.
Of course the movie is on the DVD in full resolution and in the unbranded equivalent of a major stereo format.
Deleted scenes including:
- The original end of the film.
- A sub-plot line revolving around the character I played, Stewart.
- A secret insight into the background of Lesley Morgenstern.
- More of Stewart at the police Station.
- Neville's encounter with a very frightening creature (played by my niece, Kaz).
- Several extended sequences of Neville absurdity.- A nod to Canadian film royalty.
Two commentaries:
- One featuring Craig and I having a lot of fun talking about the process of making the film.
- One hosted by our star, David Nykl, featuring a discussion with the Science Advisor on The Beast of Bottomless Lake, Stan Orchard (who was one of several scientists involved as experts in one of the most famous Ogopogo sightings, "The Chaplin Film.") and Daniel Loxton, editor of Jr. Skeptic Magazine and a big fan of cryptozoology. They discuss the history of Ogopogo sightings and other cryptozoological oddities, the relationship between ambition and science, the role of pseudo-science in society and of course just how accurate (and innaccurate) the science in Beast is.
Three 'making of' featurettes:
- One highlighting the course of one entire day on the set of The Beast of Bottomless Lake.
- One showing the highlights and hi-jinx from over 24 hours of behind the scenes footage that was shot during the filming of the movie.
- One that is guaranteed to be the highlight of the bonus features. I can't even say much about it, as to tell anything not only spoils one of the great moments in the film, but also ruins the surprise of one of the most ironic things that could have (and did) happen to us while we were filming on Okanagan Lake. If you've been to a Q&A session with us you may have heard about this. Otherwise get ready for some great footage of the best behind the scenes story we have about making The Beast of Bottomless Lake.
There will be other additional behind the scenes footage released on YouTube in the coming months, but the best will always only be available on the DVD. The purchasing page is now live. So go order your copy today.
20 June, 2011
The DVD Approaches....
The Beast of Bottomless Lake DVD is imminent.
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Much of last week - between Stanley Cup Final games - was spent tweaking audio levels on commentaries and picking fonts for chirons in the featurettes. By now everything is out of my hands and we are working on plans for the release party while the manufacturing is completed.
If you are in the region (of Vancouver) on July 15th and you haven't had a chance to see The Beast of Bottomless Lake on a big screen this very seriously could be your last chance.
The party will be at the Denman Cinema starting at 7:30. We will be screening five short films that we have selected from a heap of entries and giving away a prize to the film that the audience deems the best.
We will announce the chosen short films in a day or two.
Also there will be music by The Pucks who have two songs of their CD Martha in The Beast of Bottomless Lake.
There will be door prizes, 50/50 draw and of course beer and wine and popcorn.
Tickets are available at the Denman, online at Stubmatic or if you happen to know one of us, we have tickets available too. They are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
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Much of last week - between Stanley Cup Final games - was spent tweaking audio levels on commentaries and picking fonts for chirons in the featurettes. By now everything is out of my hands and we are working on plans for the release party while the manufacturing is completed.
If you are in the region (of Vancouver) on July 15th and you haven't had a chance to see The Beast of Bottomless Lake on a big screen this very seriously could be your last chance.
The party will be at the Denman Cinema starting at 7:30. We will be screening five short films that we have selected from a heap of entries and giving away a prize to the film that the audience deems the best.
We will announce the chosen short films in a day or two.
Also there will be music by The Pucks who have two songs of their CD Martha in The Beast of Bottomless Lake.
There will be door prizes, 50/50 draw and of course beer and wine and popcorn.
Tickets are available at the Denman, online at Stubmatic or if you happen to know one of us, we have tickets available too. They are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
20 April, 2011
They Kicked Ass Again...
We clearly brought the right guys on as crew.
They just won the Telus WSSF Filmmaker Showdown.... AGAIN.
Poached Earth - 2011 Telus WSSF Filmmaker Showdown - BEST IN SHOW from Patrick M. Henry on Vimeo.
Well done guys!
They just won the Telus WSSF Filmmaker Showdown.... AGAIN.
Poached Earth - 2011 Telus WSSF Filmmaker Showdown - BEST IN SHOW from Patrick M. Henry on Vimeo.
Well done guys!
18 April, 2011
DVD Pre-orders
It was going to happen eventually - you knew it.
We are currently working on the extras for the DVDs with the intention of having them available for purchase in late June.
What do we have planned for the added features?
(With the necessary disclaimer that any of these planned items could fall through before we get to the final authoring of the discs for any of a variety of reasons.)
We are working on two separate commentaries. A whole bunch of deleted scenes, including an alternate ending. Several short "making of" featurettes.
We do not yet know the sticker price on the DVDs as it in part is a result o the cost of making them - which of course we are not finished doing... and as with the cost of Mastering tapes, the price of DVDs is unstable right now due to trickle down from the fact that Japan is where most DVDs are made.
As soon as we have the price fixed we will make orders available on our website, but for now, you can do us a big favour by letting us know if you would like a DVD - the closer we can match our demand the better we can price the final product. Send us an email at ogopogodvd@gmail.com and give us an email where we can let you know the details as they come in (IE. When DVDs are available we'll tell you precisely how to secure your order and how to pay.) If you can also let us know how many DVDs you would like and the format (NTSC, PAL, or even Blu-Ray). We will assume NTSC region zero on all orders unless specified otherwise.
And for those of you in the Vancouver region, we have plans for a DVD release party which should be a lot of fun!
What do we have planned for the added features?
(With the necessary disclaimer that any of these planned items could fall through before we get to the final authoring of the discs for any of a variety of reasons.)
We are working on two separate commentaries. A whole bunch of deleted scenes, including an alternate ending. Several short "making of" featurettes.
We do not yet know the sticker price on the DVDs as it in part is a result o the cost of making them - which of course we are not finished doing... and as with the cost of Mastering tapes, the price of DVDs is unstable right now due to trickle down from the fact that Japan is where most DVDs are made.
As soon as we have the price fixed we will make orders available on our website, but for now, you can do us a big favour by letting us know if you would like a DVD - the closer we can match our demand the better we can price the final product. Send us an email at ogopogodvd@gmail.com and give us an email where we can let you know the details as they come in (IE. When DVDs are available we'll tell you precisely how to secure your order and how to pay.) If you can also let us know how many DVDs you would like and the format (NTSC, PAL, or even Blu-Ray). We will assume NTSC region zero on all orders unless specified otherwise.
And for those of you in the Vancouver region, we have plans for a DVD release party which should be a lot of fun!
12 April, 2011
How Surreal....
Well, there we have it folks! Not that The Beast... can't do more, or go further than a Canadian cable broadcast - indeed we hope it will and are working on possibilities, at least one of which is essentially a certainty.
Last Wednesday night - almost late afternoon here on the West coast - Super Channel had it's first screening of the film.
I had taken my family back to my hometown on short notice to see my father who had recently had knee replacement surgery. It was good timing. While we were there, Dad and his wife ordered Super Channel and we invited some of their other grandkids as well as the band that lives in Prince George that plays two songs in the film - the Pucks - to come over and watch the film with us.
I must admit that it was kind of odd.
On one hand, I've seen the film on TV before... or at least on A TV. So in that sense there was nothing remarkable about the viewing. Indeed, I sat in the kitchen (still in view of the screen, but very off-axis) and drank beer and listened to people's reactions. But on the other hand there was the knowledge that at the same time there could be people in Halifax and Montreal and Kenora and Moose Jaw and Kamloops all watching the same broadcast. It's something I could really only grasp intellectually - it didn't really feel any different than watching a DVD screener.
I grudgingly suppose it is now only a matter of time before the damned thing is available in pirated form for download*.... sigh.
*THIS IS NOT AN INVITATION!
Last Wednesday night - almost late afternoon here on the West coast - Super Channel had it's first screening of the film.
I had taken my family back to my hometown on short notice to see my father who had recently had knee replacement surgery. It was good timing. While we were there, Dad and his wife ordered Super Channel and we invited some of their other grandkids as well as the band that lives in Prince George that plays two songs in the film - the Pucks - to come over and watch the film with us.
I must admit that it was kind of odd.
On one hand, I've seen the film on TV before... or at least on A TV. So in that sense there was nothing remarkable about the viewing. Indeed, I sat in the kitchen (still in view of the screen, but very off-axis) and drank beer and listened to people's reactions. But on the other hand there was the knowledge that at the same time there could be people in Halifax and Montreal and Kenora and Moose Jaw and Kamloops all watching the same broadcast. It's something I could really only grasp intellectually - it didn't really feel any different than watching a DVD screener.
I grudgingly suppose it is now only a matter of time before the damned thing is available in pirated form for download*.... sigh.
*THIS IS NOT AN INVITATION!
23 March, 2011
BIG News!!! ...that is pretty much out of the bag already.
If you are a member of our Facebook group or are connected to us by just about any other means but this blog you already know this...
The Beast of Bottomless Lake has been purchased by Super Channel!
The first showing is April 6th with over a dozen and a half showing scheduled for April (and possibly beyond.)
Obviously this is very cool from our perspective. Rewind in time to the first post of this blog. Back then we were just a couple of guys with a big dream, no budget and a lot of heart. We are now just two weeks away from being film-makers with a broadcast history - which is a BIG threshold to have passed.
I've mentioned the idea of the "four Everests" before... each stage of making a film is like climbing Everest. Pre-production; production (shooting); post-production and distribution. Over this past month I have really had to face that metaphor. Distribution has been a rough road. We "finished" the film in early 2010. (The quotes are because we had to do more work on it to close this deal.) It took a long time, more than one aborted attempt, plus sucesses at film-festivals and so on to get to this sale - and I for one had all but given up hope. But getting a first sale, makes secondary sales much more likely. When the call came from our sales agent we could hardly believe it. Fortunately we had just asked one of our investors for assistance with his business acumen on a number of things (most of which are still up coming), and he was indispensible to have available through the last month.
At some point I may write about the sometimes Kafka-esque process of getting the film ready for broadcast, but to be perfectly honest portions of it were simply too emotionally exhausting for me to want to revisit it so soon... which is also part of why it took so long to get around to posting this announcement on the blog.
Back to the fourth Everest... It occurs to me now, that as arduous as these past few weeks have been, and how satisfying it is to know that Beast is going to be on TV, and that that represents in a sense the scaling of the fourth Everest... the reality is that the fourth Everest either never ends, or only ends when no one wants to see your film anymore. Sobering thought.
I will share one small funny story about un-anticipated issues...
When I say "funny," I should be clear - I do NOT mean "ha-ha funny." Not in a million years as in this case the background to what makes it "funny" involves the deaths of thousands of people.
In order to prepare the film for broadcast the movie had to be mastered to HD-SR tape. There is one factory in the world that makes HD-SR tapes... in Sendai Japan. Since the factory was severely damaged ten days ago there has been a worldwide run on HD-SR tapes - check this out on eBay, the price is outrageous. Our budget for tapes practically doubled as trickle down from the earthquake. Which compared to the chaos in Japan is nothing - beyond insignificant. And to be doubly clear... the couple hundred dollars extra we have to pay is really nothing even compared to our own budget. We suck it up. We move on. We hope the best for people in Japan.
The Beast of Bottomless Lake has been purchased by Super Channel!
The first showing is April 6th with over a dozen and a half showing scheduled for April (and possibly beyond.)
Obviously this is very cool from our perspective. Rewind in time to the first post of this blog. Back then we were just a couple of guys with a big dream, no budget and a lot of heart. We are now just two weeks away from being film-makers with a broadcast history - which is a BIG threshold to have passed.
I've mentioned the idea of the "four Everests" before... each stage of making a film is like climbing Everest. Pre-production; production (shooting); post-production and distribution. Over this past month I have really had to face that metaphor. Distribution has been a rough road. We "finished" the film in early 2010. (The quotes are because we had to do more work on it to close this deal.) It took a long time, more than one aborted attempt, plus sucesses at film-festivals and so on to get to this sale - and I for one had all but given up hope. But getting a first sale, makes secondary sales much more likely. When the call came from our sales agent we could hardly believe it. Fortunately we had just asked one of our investors for assistance with his business acumen on a number of things (most of which are still up coming), and he was indispensible to have available through the last month.
At some point I may write about the sometimes Kafka-esque process of getting the film ready for broadcast, but to be perfectly honest portions of it were simply too emotionally exhausting for me to want to revisit it so soon... which is also part of why it took so long to get around to posting this announcement on the blog.
Back to the fourth Everest... It occurs to me now, that as arduous as these past few weeks have been, and how satisfying it is to know that Beast is going to be on TV, and that that represents in a sense the scaling of the fourth Everest... the reality is that the fourth Everest either never ends, or only ends when no one wants to see your film anymore. Sobering thought.
I will share one small funny story about un-anticipated issues...
When I say "funny," I should be clear - I do NOT mean "ha-ha funny." Not in a million years as in this case the background to what makes it "funny" involves the deaths of thousands of people.
In order to prepare the film for broadcast the movie had to be mastered to HD-SR tape. There is one factory in the world that makes HD-SR tapes... in Sendai Japan. Since the factory was severely damaged ten days ago there has been a worldwide run on HD-SR tapes - check this out on eBay, the price is outrageous. Our budget for tapes practically doubled as trickle down from the earthquake. Which compared to the chaos in Japan is nothing - beyond insignificant. And to be doubly clear... the couple hundred dollars extra we have to pay is really nothing even compared to our own budget. We suck it up. We move on. We hope the best for people in Japan.
18 February, 2011
Our First International Screening
It was pointed out to me last night that I had teased in my last post, some weeks ago now that we had news upcoming.
Well I can confirm it now - I could have confirmed it about a week ago if my head was screwed on straight!
As you can probably guess from the posting title, Beast of Bottomless Lake is going to be seen but it's first international audience in April.
At Olamot Con in Tel Aviv. It is a science fiction convention in Israel. And here's the kinda wild part... they are making Hebrew sub-titles, which we get to reuse at our leisure. So as unusual as that is, we get to include a Hebrew track on our DVD, all in the service of more people getting to understand our funky tale of ambition gone awry. Unfortunately, it doesn't help me understand more than the limited English text on their webiste, but hey - the want our film!
If you are in Tel Aviv for Passover (and let's face it, it isn't entirely out of the question that some people might be), check out Olamot Con and The Beast of Bottomless Lake!
Well I can confirm it now - I could have confirmed it about a week ago if my head was screwed on straight!
As you can probably guess from the posting title, Beast of Bottomless Lake is going to be seen but it's first international audience in April.
At Olamot Con in Tel Aviv. It is a science fiction convention in Israel. And here's the kinda wild part... they are making Hebrew sub-titles, which we get to reuse at our leisure. So as unusual as that is, we get to include a Hebrew track on our DVD, all in the service of more people getting to understand our funky tale of ambition gone awry. Unfortunately, it doesn't help me understand more than the limited English text on their webiste, but hey - the want our film!
If you are in Tel Aviv for Passover (and let's face it, it isn't entirely out of the question that some people might be), check out Olamot Con and The Beast of Bottomless Lake!
24 January, 2011
A Brief Interlude...
Hey everyone, there is some new "Beast" news coming soon that for the moment I can't say more about. Tease, tease.
But in the meantime, over the past two weeks I've been working on a short film for a contest.
In short, the idea was to pick a film and make a one minute version of it. Not a trailer, but a one minute version of the film. As it turns out that's pretty hard. To make it more difficult we decided to do something that no other team has (yet) done. We did it in stop motion with paper figures, kind of similar to south park... kind of.
Oh... and the movie we chose was Reservoir Dogs.
Part of the judging in the contest is based upon the rating that the film gets on the Virgin Radio website.
So, click here and go to the Virgin Radio website register and give our film the top rating you can. You have to do this SOON. The voting ends on Tuesday January 25th at 5pm PST. There has been a wave of cynical and capricious organized negative voting - which has totally upset the balance of the contest. (IE. Teams are organizing their friends to go and give ratings of zero to other films in serious contention.) We are emphatically NOT doing that and I want to actively discourage you from doing so.
Simply vote for our film with the highest rating you genuinely think it deserves.
Actually,
I'm just going to just cut and paste some info that Scott - one of our team members who incidentally was an Executive Producer of Beast... (and other assorted jobs on the film) - posted on our Facebook fan group (Go join!) the other day. There is some duplicate information here about voting, but the last two items are original.
But in the meantime, over the past two weeks I've been working on a short film for a contest.
In short, the idea was to pick a film and make a one minute version of it. Not a trailer, but a one minute version of the film. As it turns out that's pretty hard. To make it more difficult we decided to do something that no other team has (yet) done. We did it in stop motion with paper figures, kind of similar to south park... kind of.
Oh... and the movie we chose was Reservoir Dogs.
Part of the judging in the contest is based upon the rating that the film gets on the Virgin Radio website.
So, click here and go to the Virgin Radio website register and give our film the top rating you can. You have to do this SOON. The voting ends on Tuesday January 25th at 5pm PST. There has been a wave of cynical and capricious organized negative voting - which has totally upset the balance of the contest. (IE. Teams are organizing their friends to go and give ratings of zero to other films in serious contention.) We are emphatically NOT doing that and I want to actively discourage you from doing so.
Simply vote for our film with the highest rating you genuinely think it deserves.
Actually,
I'm just going to just cut and paste some info that Scott - one of our team members who incidentally was an Executive Producer of Beast... (and other assorted jobs on the film) - posted on our Facebook fan group (Go join!) the other day. There is some duplicate information here about voting, but the last two items are original.
1. Vote for the film. Go to the link below and register. You see our video is Stop Motion Reservoir Dogs. Then give us 5 stars by scrolling over the blank stars just under the video until they turn blue and it hits 5.... thats it. You can leave a comment as well in the dialogue box just below that.
http://vancouver.virginradio.ca/VideoChannel/FakeFilmFestival/View.aspx?PostID=35764
2. Promotion is part of the contest and we are kicking butt in that category so far, this step is as important as voting for our film! If you have a Facebook account, could you log on and go to the link below. You have to like the page which opens all the content, then select the “wall” tab. You will see a whack of entries by Scott John with promo photos for the film. Please “like” these entries and comment on them so the PR Director knows folks saw them.
http://www.facebook.com/virgin953
3. This one is for YOU if you want to win $10,000! Only for local folks who have the evening of the 28th free unfortunately. There is an invite only gala which shows the top ten films and has a $10,000 door prize plus a trip to Hollywood as the prize for the person with the best movie character costume. Its a nice free evening out regardless with some cool films and a live band. Simply go to the link below and copy our film title “Stop Motion Reservoir Dogs in 60 Seconds” into the empty dialogue field.... you could be joining us at the party!
http://vancouver.virginradio.ca/Contests/Register.aspx?ContestID=122842
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