Official Movie Newsletter - Volume 1 Issue 4

Hello Friend!

It has been a very busy month, as we have been working hard to put the finishing touches on our Official trailer and get our new website launched. The good news, is that it's all online now. Visit our site right now to see the new trailer: onelongday.com

A few notes on the website: It is still in development, with many more areas to come including a whole new Director's Blog, Cast and Crew Bios, Media Download section for wallpapers and videos, and much more. I decided to launch it early, because so many people were excited to see the new trailer.

Right now is the time, when I need the help of all of you. We want to start an Internet buzz around our film, but to do that, we need people to spread the word. So take a few minutes and email your friends and family about our new site and trailer...and just start talking about it. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool, and with it, we can be all over the Internet in no time.

...cya next month.

Hello everyone again from the windy city. In this fourth installment of On the Script I will be discussing all of the supporting characters and there individual rolls in advancing narrative (or the story) as I saw it. I will also cover which of these characters were there at the inception and why I decided to add more characters on the fly as I was writing the script.

Let’s start off with our favorite martyr whose death was the catalyst for Gruff's revenge spree, Fluffy. Fluffy only needed a couple of qualifiers for her involvement in the story. First and foremost was the lovability factor. To this end, Keith chose the name Fluffy. The strength of a name like Fluffy in a story that is a dark comedy is that it is both lovable and ironic. The second was the ferocity factor. Fluffy is, after all, Gruff’s dog, so Fluffy needed to be as merciless as she is loyal. I liked thinking of her as a cross between Benji and Cujo. In the script, Fluffy dies in the noblest way – she gives her life, fighting to the death for her master. Her character sets the story in motion.

There had been some debate between Keith and I about how prominent a roll Ching Yao Sun would be playing in the movie. I was concerned that the script was becoming too character heavy to be coherent at the time. But, Keith and I started kicking around this idea that Ching knew kung fu. And, the idea of Vinnie and Rocco finally meeting up with Ching to shake him down only to end up in another battle royal for the second time in one day was too funny to pass up. Ching also shows up at the end of the movie and his reasons for returning are puzzling. I recognize that there are many unanswered questions about the nature of Ching’s relationship with Tony. But in the end the script needed coherency more than it needed Ching’s back story, so these questions will remain unanswered.

Next up is The Kid. The Kid is a character that Keith had discussed with me very early on. No real character development here. The Kid was initially created one dimensional as the guy that helps introduce the Skunk character. Keith wanted The Kid to be buying drugs off of Skunk when Gruff shows up so Skunk will be revealed to be a low life through his actions. The Kid’s roll within the script expanded due to what Keith felt was a key element needed for his movie – a car blowing up. I liked the idea of the Kid being pissed off at Gruff for screwing up his drug deal and then blowing up Gruff’s car in retribution. Keith really wanted Gruff to settle the score over his car being blown up, so he added Gruff killing The Kid at the end of the movie.

The “Cold Fingers” Johnny character was developed to create an extra obstacle for Gruff and a clear coherent connection to someone like Tony Revario from someone like Skunk. The character of “Cold Fingers” Johnny was also developed as an under boss and friend to Tony Revario, and the Uncle of Nikki Skars. “Cold Fingers” Johnny’s roll in the script is brief but crucial for story direction and he has some of the better lines in the script.

Next up will be Skunk. Skunk was developed as a low life with a connection to Tony Revario through “Cold Fingers” Johnny. Skunk is a drug dealer who happens to have information that Gruff needs. The original plan for Skunk was that after Gruff retrieved the information that he needed from him, Skunk’s story line would end. But as I was writing the script, it occurred to me that “Cold Fingers” Johnny might be in a “vendetta sort of mood” after the beating he took at the hands of Gruff. So I brought Skunk back as the person “Cold Fingers” Johnny dispatches to take Gruff out.

And finally we come to Frankie. Frankie was the last supporting character I brought into the story. He actually wasn’t added until about the fourth revision of the script, after Keith expressed concern that Tony Revario’s character was under developed somewhat and should be expanded. I agreed and after some discussion on the matter, we felt that there were several things we could do to tackle this problem (most of which will be discussed in next months letter). One of those things was showing Tonys methods for collecting debts. Frankie enters the story as a character that’s into Tony for about fifty thousand dollars and Tony wants it back. And Tony ruthlessly gets what he wants from Frankie. Frankie shows up later in the movie when he is ruthlessly tortured and murdered by Nikki Skars.

Well, that will wrap up this edition of On The Script. In the next edition, I will be discussing the incomparable Tony Revario.

Be good,
David Sean Greider
Screenwriter,
One Long Day

Well folks, here we are again, another month has flown by and it's already March. Almost a quarter of this year has gone by. Where is the time going? I am going to be keeping this month's article short and sweet. Just finished getting the trailer up online, it's the middle of the night and it's been a long time coming.

This month I want to talk about filters and some of their roles in filmmaking. A filter is essentially a piece of coated glass that removes certain aspects of light passing through the lens therefore creating a kind of effect. It can be as subtle as a polarizer filter which removes haze which will make the sky blues show through better, as well as reduce glare such as on a windshield of a car or window of a house. The filter can be stylish like the star filter which takes points of light and creates a star pattern or cross pattern. Other practical filters that I have constantly used through the whole shoot were ND filters, which reduce the amount of light coming through the lens without reducing color saturation so that I might be able to keep the Iris open more which is another lesson in itself.

It has to do with depth of field and point of focus. I used three ND filters and a circular polarizer for all of my outside shots. For my indoor shots, I usually just used a High Definition fx diffuser. Basically that filter helps soften the picture just enough to help create a more film type look. There are a multitude of different types of filters from those aiding in correcting color temperature to gradient filters to change the look of the horizon or sky without changing the look of the ground. Anyhow, that is the intro to filters. Maybe next month I'll write part two of the exciting world of FILTERS. Or maybe something else cool will pop into my head, and I'll end up sharing that with you all instead. Until next time, enjoy the trailer, and all look forward to knowing we have something pretty cool here. One Long Day.

Talk soon,
Jason Coblentz
Director of Photography/Editor/Visual Effects Artist,
One Long Day

This is an actual screen capture from the film, that also shows up in the trailer.

Yet another screen capture from the film, I love this shot because it shows how nice accidents can happen. You see that plume of smoke, that looks like a bullet hitting something? That was actually just an ashtray that got knocked over accidentally by one of the actors. It looks so cool in action though.

You guessed it, another screen capture from the film. This is the desert burial scene where Gruff lays poor Fluffy's soul to rest...and what better funeral, than a Conan the Barbarian style cremation?

Did you know that Chris Schaub (Gruff) performed all of his own stunts? Including getting punched in the nose (for real), getting thrown from an elevated pickup truck bed to the hard ground (3x) and having a 2x4 smashed across his skull...not once, but three times! All this, was just one day in the desert and at the end of it all, he only complained that the fake blood made his head hurt.

I guess it's back to corn syrup and food coloring! In all seriousness though, my hats off to Chris, he is one tough S.O.B. that is willing to do whatever it takes to get this movie done.