15/16-11-09: The Blood Bond Saga (part 40)

Jesse's office and Tremayne's hut

As we move into the final leg of production, the schedule is folding in on itself, and we're shooting and re-shooting various scenes over the course of some very long nights.

Making a film is like pushing a very large boulder up a hill, and then chasing it down the other side!

Jennifer Blanc will be a familiar face to s-f fans for her recurring role in the James Cameron produced series 'Dark Angel'. It was a blast to have her in 'Blood Bond', and we certainly got our money's worth. She makes an entrance blasting a shotgun, next we see her in her opulently appointed office, with a (specially commissioned) portrait of her on one wall and her weapon of choice mounted on another.

Its freezing cold on the stage, and the actors have to dig deep to deliver the dramatic dialogue exchange.

Note to would-be movie performers: you all too often get called on to do your very best work when its too hot or too cold or when you're too tired...

Meanwhile, four of our stunt team are freezing their butts off out back as we shoot a scene where a Durmese SWAT squad storm a residential building to try to locate one of the blood donors (before the bad guys do).

Having looked at the footage we shot on location, we've decided to reshoot the scene at Tremayne's hut where he and Deva first meet. The reason is that, during the course of the shoot, the actors have grown to inhabit their roles better, and it just felt like we could do a better version of their first encounter.

The original plan was to shoot on the grass field on the backlot. The weather turned on us, so now we're on the green screen stage. When you watch the sequence in the film, you won't (hopefully) see the join where Deva (Phoenix Chou) walks into the shack (in sunny rural Nanhai) and ends up inside (in a freezing studio at 4am).

Despite the cold and fatigue, everyone's spirits remain up. I don't think anything can keep this gang down, not the hours nor the weather.

Phoe does a great job of recreating the scene, and also redefining her earlier performance.

I'm lucky to be bundled up by the monitor. Phoenix is just in a tanktop and light jacket, and MB in even less!

We finally wrap and stagger off to our respective abodes.

Note to all the prospective film-makers: its sometimes glamorous, often fun and always work (at least, it should be!).

Next : Superslam#1 - Biehn VS Yam!