Matt's Film Blog

Day 14!!!!!

matt — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:15:09 +0000

Day 14 was the day where we finished up all of our reshoots. No pictures were taken that day… how sad But we finished up all the stuff we needed to. We have one more day of filming, and that’s not until May, when the weather gets a little bit better. But stay tuned thought. I will try to update with more info, including some screenshots and stuff like that.

We have a release date! The Abandoned will be premiering on June 6th at The New Uptown Theater, in Utica, Ny. Then the next week it will be showing at the Glove, in Gloverstown. We are also working on a few more locations so stay tuned to see when it will be playing near you!

Day 13: The ending of the film!

matt — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:11:28 +0000

Day 14… we filmed the “top sceret” ending to the film that i’m not able to tell you about, for we wouldn’t want to ruin the film for you guys, that would be rude. So what can I say about it? It’s something that will make you want to see more…;) We also filmed some re-shoots and finished up some of the little things. So here are some more shots for your viewing pleasure.

Days 10, 11, and 12: Charlestown

matt — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:00:06 +0000

Well we made it to day 10 and found ourselves wandering around in the decrepit complex of Charlestown. Charlestown use to be something great, and it’s in our favor that it is falling down and looks like an abandonded city. This location worked out great for our film. We filmed there on Saturday and on Sunday, and finished up the following Saturday. We filmed both of the underground city scenes, deep in the basements of Charlestown, and also used it as a creeper base. The place is amazing photographically and has a lot of character that it lends to the film. It’s really something to find a location that has so much history to it, and to be able to use it in a way that can revive memories of it that have been long forgotten. We have been getting a lot of responses from people who heard that we were shooting there, and were very interested on its status and what not. And you know what I say to them? Watch the film so thats about it today. So enjoy some of the behind the scenes action.

Day 9: The Creeper Holding Cell

matt — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:24:46 +0000

Today we filmed inside of the old “Gas Station” that was featured in Brackish. Today though we did have some major problems with the camera. A very evil tape destroyed the head of the camera and forced us to down-grade for the shoot to our behind-the-scenes camera. No need to waste a day of filming! So we went ahead and filmed it. It still came out pretty great, and has a very creepy feeling to it. After the holding cell scene we went and filmed a little bit more of our great end battle scene that I know you’re all excited for. I hope you enjoy some behind- the- scenes shots for now. Also, make sure you check out the trailer!

And now some stills

Day 8: The Snowmobile Chase!

matt — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:10:42 +0000

Saturday was the day we decided to go out and film the snowmobile chase scene that will be featured at the end of the film. Wow, what an experience that was. One of our most fun days of filming, as we were buzzing by on those snowmobiles. It was also one of the most challenging days of filming. We were presented with the question of how would we piece together a highly intense chase scene that would cost Hollywood a few million, with us having little to no money to spend on it? Well don’t worry your favorite director had no problem at all with it. I got a lot of great shots from everyone’s perspective, from all diffent angles, to make it somthing that will keep you at the edge of your seats. Thats a promise you can take to the bank, or so they say. Also we filmed the top secert ending battle. (I can’t tell you what happens, it will ruin it for you). But yeah it was a great day, and the cast I think enjoyed it the most. So here is some behind the scenes action for your pleasure.

And here are the stills:

Day 7 (Re-shoots)

matt — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:29:27 +0000

Day 7 was an easy day. We didn’t do much, just reshot and added to a few different scenes. We did do the Gena’s chambers scene, but other than that it was an easy day. I think the cast needed a day where they could relax and do something that wasn’t physical or bloody. So we took it easy, because this coming weekend it’s gonna be rough! Not too much to write about, but here are a few pics.

Day Six: The Lab of the Evil Dr. Gero

matt — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:17:33 +0000

On day 6 we filmed Dr. Gero’s lab, which was actually an embalming room of Scala & Roefaro funeral home in Utica. This worked out very well. We had built our own little Death Box for it and everything and it came out great. It was our longest day of shooting so far. There was a lot to do in oh so little time, and it was good to see how we were able to get so much done in a rush. I cant go into detail about what we filmed because i don’t want to ruin it for you guys, seeing we filmed a very important part of the film. It’s basically the ending of the film. But yeah, there was a lot of blood and gore to keep you horror fans excited. We are getting tremendous help from the community and this film is coming along great. Look forward to a trailer soon.

Behind the Scenes!

Stills

Well that’s it for now.. stay tuned.

The Abandoned Poster!

matt — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:13:58 +0000

As the title says, here is the poster for the The Abandoned. If you ask me, it looks pretty sweet. It’s custom made by me, so you better say only nice things about it. So here it is…enjoy it! Also, today starts another weekend of fun shoots. Yay!

Day 5: The Frigid Cold of Utica, NY

matt — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:24:34 +0000

Well day five of filming took place on Sunday and i’m finally recoved from the cold. It was like minus 20 with the wind chill. It was a really really rough day, but the cast was in full force and ready to film without a problem. Makes me feel warm inside Their dedication to this film is something great. So let’s talk about day 5. We filmed the opening chase scene in Birchwood Ave, in Utica. A special thanks goes out to the city and especially the police force for blocking off the road for us and making sure we had everything we needed, which was really cool of them. Filming went off without a problem, just a little trouble here and there with wind and the cold, but the footage came out great! After filming in the alley we went to lovely Barns Ave where we filmed on the train tracks as well as the old train bridge. This turned out to be the hardest thing we’ve filmed yet, due to the extreme cold. But yeah, we are about half away done with filming and everything is coming out great. Early next week we will have our first trailer ready to show you some of the progress. Here are some behind the scenes shots.

And here are some stills!!!

Until next time… keep it real!

Day Four : “Invasion of Little Falls”

matt — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:21:25 +0000

Well it’s day four and we traveled to the great city of Little Falls to film. We used a few different locations, from a little tunnel underneath the railroad tracks to Lock 17 of the Erie Cannal. We also used some really cool locations along the Miracle Mile trail. Little Falls proved to be a beautiful loction to film in, and we owe our thanks to the Mayor and the good people of Little Falls who allowed us to use it. The day went well, but we were a bit nervous because we had to cancel last week due to no snow, but the gods gave us what we needed to go ahead and film. The cast came together really well and had themselves a really good time. It’s good to see a bunch of people come together and have such a connection on and off screen. We filmed what would be the end of the second act, where Nate really mana up after getting his ass kicked for the last time, we hope. The film is coming along great, lots of action and a good story that everyone will enjoy. And speaking of enjoying, here are some behind the scene shots.

And here are some new stills…

So enjoy, and thanks again to the good people of Little Falls.