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Cast & Crew Premiere — February 10, 2007
The cast, crew, and friends of Like Magic are invited to the premiere screening on Saturday, February 10th, at The Banshee in Burbank, California. Over 40 people come and have a blast.
The beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres had nothing to do with it, I'm sure.
Music Score — February, 2006
I've decided to complete my filmmaking education by composing the score to the film myself. Where I get the gall to do this, I don't know. Maybe it's revenge for being forced to practice the flute outside in sub-zero temperature while I was in band during high school. Maybe it's just ignorance.
The deeper I get into it, the more I realize I don't know the first thing about composing music. I'm in for a good ride!
 Picture Locked — December 31, 2005
Earlier in the year I took the opportunity to tweak the cut some more.
I'm now driving through Salt Lake City for the holidays. I meet up with Blair and give him the final cut. The picture is now "locked".
It ain't gonna change no more, whether I like it or not.
The Audio Pro Calls — November 5, 2004
Blair Sutherland, my audio post-production angel, calls me regarding the ADR I did in February. The recording levels were too hot and there's clipping.
"What?" I say, "I can't hear you, Blair. The line's cutting out..."
Editing Handoff — June 11, 2004
I'm in Salt Lake City, Utah, on business, and take the opportunity to bring the movie to Blair Sutherland so he can do the audio editing and post-production on the movie.
You would not believe the amount of work that goes into the audio on a film. Those of you who are old enough to recall the arrival of Dolby sound in the movie theatres of the 1970s will remember what it was like to watch a film without awesome audio. Some say audio contributes more than 50% of the movie going experience.
Blair has his work cut out for him. The "final" cut is coming in at 22 minutes. That's a lot of audio work. First he'll edit the dialogue, then lay down background sounds, effects, even record some of those — a process called "foley." Eventually, he'll lay down the music track, and then mix these different tracks to achieve the proper balance of dialogue, effects, and music. Tons of work.
I think I'm done for while.
 Black Hole — 2004
Rebecca and I separate, then divorce. I'm pretty much on my back for the year. We work through it with love — yes, I mean Love — and we come out the other side on good terms. Damn fortunate, I say.
Musical Setback — January 20, 2004
Mary Beth bows out of the project. She doesn't feel her work is well suited to this film. Darn it.
Check out Mary Beth's work. I'm quite fond of her Wish album, myself.
ADR — February 17 – 19, 2004
Mark, Rebecca, Tom, and Michael each in turn come to my apartment for homemade automated dialog replacement (ADR). Except there's nothing automatic about it.
Having done ADR at Warner Brothers Studios for my stint on China Beach, I'm now dreaming of the sound stage with the big screen on which to project the footage, and the fancy recording machine that automatically records and places the audio in the perfect place on the sound track.
I've cobbled together a cubby in a closet space of my one bedroom apartment, with cardboard boxes taped to the ceiling, egg shell foam, and a couple of sleeping bags drapped down the walls. I've set up a monitor and run a cable to my computer so I can playback the clips for my actors to watch while they re-record their lines in a DAT tape I've rented from Wilcox Sound.
All goes well. Or so I think. Read the November 5, 2004 entry to find out more...
Lepers — October 3 – November 22, 2003
I direct The Lepers of Baile Baiste, by Ronan Noone, at the Celtic Arts Center. I get to work with the best bunch of actors since Like Magic. The audience loves this production of a difficult play to watch — about the sexual abuse of young boys by a Catholic priest in Ireland. The Los Angeles Times gives it a Critic's Choice, and Back Stage West, a Critic's Pick.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this an exceptional theatrical experience. Read more about Lepers...
Publicity Shoot — May 29th, 2003
Mark, Rebecca and I went to our friend, and excellent photographer Miguel Perez to shoot some publicity stills. I'm thinking "DVD Cover". It turned out very well with, I believe, just the right tone for the piece. I'm not going to show you any until I've go the cover put together. Can't wait.
Music Score & Audio Post — March 17, 2003
I go to Genghis Cohen, local chinese food joint that's also a hot performing space for musicians. Blair Sutherland, a lifelong friend of Rebecca's, is performing as Mary Beth Maziarz's bass player. Blair feels that Mary Beth would do a great job composing the score for Like Magic. In addition, Blair has become an accomplished audio engineer, partner in counterpoint studios, and accepts to do the audio post-production work on the movie.
Under His "Wing" — January 11, 2003
I screened my first assembly of the movie to my long time friend Jim Rohrig. Jim is an Assistant Editor on The West Wing. Can I share with you that their standards are pretty high? Nonetheless it feels really good to have him look at Like Magic with the same critical eye they put The West Wing together. His advice was basically to tighten it. He, as a viewer, was ahead of the story a number of times. I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks revisiting my cut.
 Turtle and the Hare — December 5, 2002
I hope you're not all going bezerk waiting for Like Magic to land in your mailbox, oh supporters. It will get there, I promise, but I can't quite say when...
I work on it for an average of ten hours a week so far, I'd say. Where am I in the overall process? Well, I have about 10 minutes of assembled footage that I can bare to watch. By "bare to watch" I mean watch it over, and over, and over, and over again. Putting shots together in a fashion that makes sense, and furthermore has a forward momentum, is an art. I'm learning every time I sit down at the editing bay. All part of the reason I made this film.
Getting back to "the overall process". So, I have assembled 10 minutes of what will ultimately be a 20-25 minute movie. That'll be the first cut. Then I'll show it to my trusty advisors, the same crew I bounced my script off of, and some newbies who've never heard of "Like Magic" before. Digest their comments and make final adjustments. At best, that means edit it differently; at worst, it means going out and re-shooting some stuff, then editing that in. Then I'll do the post on the audio. The movie should thus reach its final state.
Fundraising — November 9, 2002
I received another donation in the mail today. Yep, in response to the letter I mailed on July 23rd. As I wrote back to the donor, "There is no such thing as too little, too late, in the world of film!"
This contribution brings the percentage of letter recipents who made a donation up to 51%. To all of you I say again, thank you.
Back in Business — November 5, 2002
Sean did indeed work his magic, and my hard drive is fine. Got it back to my "editing suite", and all is well.
Just so you know: editing is a slow, painstaking process, and doing it only for a couple of hours a day after a day's work at my day job is proving to yield even slower, more painstaking results. Please be patient. I think you'll be happy with the finished result.
I'm sure you will.
Disaster — November 2, 2002
After three weeks of editing, my computer won't recognize my 120 GB hard drive where my footage is stored. Terrifying to think I may have lost my editing work up to now. I'll take the drive in to my partner Sean at DataEmporium, and let him work his magic on it. Please, oh please, God let the drive live...
Brain Dead — October 24, 2002
It's two weeks since we wrapped, and I have accomplished precious little during that time. My mind and body need time to recuperate, I guess.
I have managed to start the editing process, though. Immediatelly after we wrapped, I started logging my footage and editing (actually, I started editing DURING production to check that I was getting stuff that could be cut together...).
You do-it-yourselfers out there might be interested in how I'm doing that. I'm editing with an Apple G3 iMac, with 120 GB FireWire hard drive for storage, using Final Cut Pro 3. Pretty easy, eh? This system is set up in "Grandpa's workshop" in the backyard and I haul my butt out there to Rebecca's chagrin every week night for a couple of hours after Gabriel's in bed.
 Day 9 of 6 — October 10, 2002
A short day I hope. Mark and I start at 3:00 pm by picking up a "glide-cam" shot at the motel. Sam, the motel owner, hits me up about a pane of glass I broke the time I did reconnaissance with Mike T. Sam wants $15, despite the fact he had told me not to worry about it back then. I sigh... "Fine".
Mark and I get our shot. As we leave for my house, Sam comes up and tells me to forget about the $15, and says "I don't want to loose a friend for $15." Thanks, Sam.
Back at the house, Kati covers the bedroom windows with some black material to make it look like night time inside, and we shoot some close-ups of Howard and Meg I feel I need for the last scene.
By now, night has fallen and we go out to shoot a couple of exterior shots of Meg's house, and one last section of an exterior scene between Meg and Howard. I have rented a set of lights for the day, and they end up being much too bright to be of any real use to me tonight. I futz with the light (yes, one light) for the better part of an hour. I'm not a D.P., let's make that clear right now. Mark is starting to look a little distressed. We eventually get rolling before he melts down.
It's pretty cold outside at night -- yes, even in Southern California -- and Rebecca is wearing a very light dress. She keeps having to put her jacket on and off between takes to stay warm.
Jeff, the owner of the house we're using for the exterior of Meg's house is extremelly kind and helpful, as he was on Day 3. He ends up holding the sound boom pole for us, dodging oncoming traffic in the middle of the street!
I can't say enough for "the kindness of strangers" on this film. The movie couldn't have been made without it. Thanks to all who donated their property, time, and effort.
We wrap at 10:30 pm after going back inside for one last shot. And this, my friends, is indeed the "wrap" for the shoot; the end of "principal photography".
Day 8 of 6 — October 6, 2002
We're shooting yet another scene we had to push out. It's a short scene in Howard's apartment. Kati, and I completely remodel an extra bedroom in my house to make it look like Howard's place. Mark and Rebecca are in good form, and I think we pull off the scene. We wrap within a few hours of shooting.
Mark wants to talk about a section of scene which we have yet to shoot. He's not comfortable with what I've written for the character. We feverishly talk it over for close to an hour while Rebecca and Kati silently look on. Mark agrees to "trust" me on this. We'll see how it turns out next Thursday when we shoot it.
 Day 7 of 6 — October 5, 2002
Locksmith. Last crazy day, I hope. Car stuff, sidewalk stuff, kissing stuff... Everyone does great, and we make our day. Except for an insert here or there, of course.
We're shooting in the parking lot in the morning, and two huge helicopters are lowering new air conditioning units onto the roof of the neighboring shopping mall the entire time. Can you say ADR?
This is the last day Mike T. can be with us. He's returning the lighting and grip equipment tomorrow. I give him a little something as a thank you for his great work on the shoot, and he shares the loot with his "crew". James Silverman, in this case.
Day 6 of 6 — October 4, 2002
We're shooting at the motel today. A crazy day, some more. Everyone does well, yet I still lose one shot. And it's a shot I rented special camera equipment for. Plus I make a mistake: I don't get a close up I need. I'll try to come back next week and get the shots.
Rebecca recommended our good friend Susan Brindley for the role my eighty-three year old neighbor was to play. Susan has kindly agreed and performs flawlessly, giving the scene a whole new twist.
My four year old boy Gabriel falls on the sidewalk outside our house and cuts his head open. Rebecca and Kati are at the hospital emergency with him until 10 p.m. Gabriel falls asleep on the operating table while the doctor gives him his four stiches!
Day 5 of 6 — October 3, 2002
I pick up Michael Cudlitz's truck to haul the dolly tracks to the restaurant terrace and he's clean shaven. "They didn't tell me until Tuesday.", he says.
The restaurant terrace shoot goes off okay. We have to squeeze a whole scene in a few hours before the sun goes down. Even though I'm "high" on moving things along, I lose a shot.
But I planned the shoot so the actors carry the scene, and Rebecca blows me away. She's really marvelous.
Day 4 of 6 (For real this time) — October 2, 2002
Today we pick up the scene we rescheduled from Sunday. It goes very well.
Filmmaking is such a technical art form that getting ANY kind of real life verisimilitude is like magic to me. No, really. And Mark and Rebecca have been amazing at "staying alive" under wild constraints like "please don't move you left eye because you lose the light, blah, blah, blah". Great to be working with them.
A wonderful neighbor of mine, an eighty-three year old sweetheart of a lady, has agreed to make an appearance in the motel scene of the film. I first noticed her while I was walking the dogs one day and thought she would make a wonderful addition to the picture. Well, I get a call from her daughter today informing me that "she's in the hospital and won't be released as soon as we thought, and I doubt very much she can be in your movie on Friday." Gotta find someone else. May my neighbor get well soon.
Day 4 of 6 — October 1, 2002
I wake up early. Take my son to school.
By the time I drive back home I have decided to try to give everyone the day off and reschedule the terrace shoot to Thursday. What's the point of shooting a beautiful terrace with parasols and smiley people enjoying their meal if it's raining?
I contact all eleven people involved in this shoot and fortunately everyone can do it. Some even seem appeased not to work today...
By 10 a.m. it starts to rain.
Day 3 of 6 — September 30, 2002
Another day with too much work scheduled. Again, I push some work out to another day. I'll certainly have a better understanding of scheduling requirements after this shoot is over...
We wrap at 1:30 a.m. Good work all around, but the pace is already starting to take its toll. I'm trying to do too many things: Drive people onward (1st A.D.), dress the set (art department), help Mike T. move as fast as possible (grip), capture actor's dialogue (sound department)... Have to focus on directing, but how can I without enough people to go around? Still, I manage to put in my two cents ó ask anyone on the set!
Tomorrow, we're scheduled to shoot outdoors on a restaurant terrace. I figured this is Southern California, how much of a risk am I taking by scheduling outdoor shoots? I find out tonight that they're forecasting rain for tomorrow. I'm too tired to figure out what to do.
Day 2 of 6 — September 29, 2002
First day on location, albeit my house. Get up early to dress the set. I look forward to the day where the Art Department takes care of that!
By the time lunch comes around, it's clear that I have scheduled way too much work for one day. I push an entire scene out to Wednesday, one of our two days off...
In spite of the crazy pace I have set for everyone and the crazy technical demands I'm placing on the actors, Mark and Rebecca perform admirably. Wonderful stuff. Can't wait to show you!
 Day 1 of 6 — September 28, 2002
No one shows up as extras for Howard's audience at the Magic Show... Will have to make due. Cheap and sleazy, says I. Just get it done.
The Magic Theatre footage looks great. Mark Bennington performed beautifully. The magic looks great. Mike T.'s lighting is lovely.
Big day, and everyone pulled their weight and more. Very proud of everyone.
Day 0 — September 27, 2002
Last day before production begins.
Run around all day getting more stuff for the shoot. Camera equipment, sound equipment, etc.
My Screen Actors Guild representative calls me to say she still hasn't received the certificate of insurance my insurance agent claims he sent her last week... "You can't start shooting until I get it." Great. Make some calls...
Michael Edwards pulls a 12 hour day helping put the Magic Theatre set together. By the end of the night, Mike T. has it lit for tomorrow. It looks great.
Break a leg, everybody!
Michael Cudlitz, CalArts — September 26, 2002
I call Michael to let him know I can't use him. He really wanted to help us out by being in the picture, but I can tell he's kind of relieved to be able to focus on his upcoming jobs without one more project to worry about. Mark Bennington recommended Tom Kiesche for the role of Tom. I've decided to go with him.
Second coat of paint on the flats with Kati's help. I think the Magic Theatre's going to look great on Saturday.
Kati and I revisit our "Free Lunch & Magic Show" flyers and tear off a couple of the RSVP tear-off thingies at the bottom to make it look like people will be flocking to the set on Saturday.
Ran around all afternoon doing things for the shoot.
CalArts — September 25, 2002
Walked the "Steven Spielberg Soundstage" with my good friend Michael Edwards and my DP, Mike Tessaro. Michael E. will help build the Magic Theatre set where Howard performs his magic tricks. Both guys tell me they think we can accomplish what I've planned. Good news. Kati and I stay late to paint the flats we'll be using Saturday. We plaster the walls of CalArts with flyers offering "Free Lunch & Magic Show" to anyone willing to be an extra Saturday.
Michael Cudlitz — September 24, 2002
After a number of phone calls from Michael warning me that he's been booking a lot of television gigs lately, and that they may interfere with our shooting schedule, Michael called me to tell me that his 2 episode stint on "24" with Keiffer Sutherland may require him to shave his goatee.
Now, we shoot the last scene of the movie on this coming Monday night, September 30, in which Michael appears, then we shoot Michael's first scene in the movie on the following Saturday, October 5. Michael tells me that technically, "24" does not have to officially tell him if they need him to shave until Wednesday, October 2nd... Do I keep Michael? Shoot the last scene of the movie on Monday and take a chance he won't have to shave? If he does have to shave, it will look like he grew his goatee in a couple of days. Gotta think about this.
 Production Manager — September 23, 2002
Kati Trottier, Rebecca's niece, arrived in Los Angeles today. Kati will be our Production Manager for the shoot.
Crewing Up in L.A. — September 20, 2002
You out-of-towners will enjoy this one. I called one of my friends with film production experience to help us out on the shoot. She said she was starting a fast and didn't know what shape she'd be in by then. Ah, the California life style.
Rehearsals — September 18, 2002
Well... Rehearsed with Mark and Rebecca. They're wonderful. I'm very excited about shooting with them. But the rehearsals made me wonder if I was qualified to direct this movie! Writing stories is one thing. Getting people and places together is another. Coaching actors is quite another still, and EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. I found I mostly got in the way. Anyway, since I've cast wonderful actors, I figure all I have to do now is get out of their way and let them weave their magic. Pun intended...
SAG — September 16, 2002
We're squared up with the Screen Actors Guild. Security deposit, workers comp insurance, etc., etc., etc.
Production Design — September 14, 2002
My good friend Andrew Leman took me down to the garment district, downtown Los Angeles. We went looking for some fabric suitable for the stage curtain of the magic theatre where Howard performs. Boy does Andrew know what he's doing. We found some beautiful fabric at 20% the cost of retail! Now that's return on investment!
Director of Photography — September 10, 2002
I toured three of our locations with Mike Tessaro, my D.P., this morning. I feel really good. Mike's reactions were all positive. He liked the locations and figured it will be a fun shoot. Can't wait to shoot.
Locations — September 6, 2002
After scouting over 30 motels, I found one which will let us film! Turns out that motels are open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day which makes it hard for their clientelle. Add to this the fact that just about every motel within 30 miles of Beverly Blvd. and La Cienega have been burned by a film shoot at one time or another. Rejections went from a roll of the eyes, to a firm "No!", to "No matter how much you pay me..." Pretty fascinating.
Distribution — August 26, 2002
My good friend Aaron Rogers has been doing some film distribution leg work for us. He's been putting together a list of festivals we should submit the short to, and "delivery requirements". All this to make sure we have everything we need to exploit the short once it's finished. Thanks Aaron.
Magic Club — August 22, 2002
My alma mater, CalArts, has graciously agreed to let us shoot the Magic club scenes on their "Steven Spielberg" sound stage. A number of people have been involved in making this happen. I want to thank Michele Golden and Jeffrey Shapiro of the Alumni office, as well as Lou Florimonte and Andrea Janakis of the School of Film and Video.
I studied with Lou twelve years ago. It was wonderful to hear his voice again.
Magician — August 19, 2002
Mark and I met with our magic technical advisor, Woody Pittman. It was very inspiring. Woody's help is going to the make Mark look like a seasoned magician. That's magic for you!
Woody will be performing at the legendary Magic Castle in Hollywood, the first week of September. Please try to catch his show if you're in town.
Locations — August 14, 2002
The owner of the locksmith shop where I really wanted to shoot reviewed my paperwork and called this morning to confirm that we're on! Very excited.
On the down side, the motel I preferred is simply not into this kind of shenanigans, and won't have anything to do with us. Them's the breaks. I put together a map listing over 20 motels to visit in the next few days. I'll find a willing motel somewhere, someday...
Storyboards — August 12, 2002
Met with Bryan Andrews about storyboarding another section of the movie. Bryan is Mark's brother and also draws for a living. He's currently working on Samurai Jack at Cartoon Network. Anyway, enough name dropping: I just really enjoyed brainstorming with Bryan and look forward to posting a couple of drawings so you can enjoy them too.
 Fundraising — August 7, 2002
I'm extremelly touched by the response we've been getting. As of today, over 20% of the friends and family members I contacted have sent a donation. I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to get support from the people you love. Thank you. And may the remaining 80% also come through!
Storyboards — August 6, 2002
Okay, okay. Gotta share my excitement... My good friend Mark Andrews has graciously created some storyboards for one of the key sequences of "Like Magic". Mark has storyboarded for a number of films including Brad Bird's The Iron Giant, Sam Raime's Spider Man, and The Incredibles at Pixar.
Location Scouting — August 1, 2002
Scouted 13 locksmith shops in the area. Found 4 or 5 possibilities. Will make contact next week.
Read Through — July 30, 2002
Mark, Rebecca, Michael Cudlitz as Tom, and my producing partner James, came to my house. It was wonderful to watch them read through the script a couple of times. We'll meet again for rehearsal a couple of weeks before production begins.
Fundraising — July 23, 2002
Mailed fundraising letters to my friends and families. Asking for money requires a delicate touch; I tried to achieve the right tone. We'll see how we do. We may end up with a $500 picture, shot in my garage!
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