final thoughts - "Fridge"

When one of my closest friends (and actor in the short) came up with the idea for "Don't Look in the Fridge", I was elated to be given the opportunity to make it a reality. "Fridge" was not only my directorial debut but also my first opportunity to perform duties in cinematography. Lighting for a cinematic feel and proper mood were of importance for this story.

Principle photography occurred over two afternoons and was shot with a consumer camera (Canon HV20). It was edited on a MacBook Pro using Final Cut Studio 2. With my team of friends and family, I feel I was able to accomplish my goals and am proud of my first short film effort.

"FRIDGE" poster art

Craig finished up the poster for "DON'T LOOK IN THE FRIDGE". Check it out!

watch "FRIDGE" now!

our latest short, "DON'T LOOK IN THE FRIDGE" is finished!



story by: james mcelyea
screenplay by: val
directed by: val

"FRIDGE" was a test in lighting and VFX for us. i'm pleased with the outcome, as it was a good learning experience. craig did an awesome job helping me learn and kudos go out to him for the VFX also. and a big thanks goes out to james and jake. they both did a great job!

watching the footage, i already know of several things i can improve upon. one of the biggest things is camera movement. i want more movement so that the scene transitions will have more energy. even if it is simply peaceful, flowing energy, it would be an improvement over plain cuts. that's just one of many things i hope to 'do better next time'.

i appreciate everyone's help with this project and cannot wait to make another movie! i'm very eager to use what i learned on something new.

"FRIDGE" is in the can!

our shoot sunday went really well. everyone was prepared which helped us move along quite nicely. our nephew, jake, was a joy to direct. he hit his mark every time, followed my suggestions to the letter, and gave a great performance. james did great, too. his interaction with jake was very believable.

i'm also happy to report that we had no lighting or blocking issues, which is good considering how much preparation went into filming. since we filmed at our house we had ample time to prepare.

craig has already built the end sequence with the f/x and it looks good. i'm very pleased with how it turned out! we will work on editing this week and hope to have the timeline ready for music and foley soon.

stay tuned!

"FRIDGE" special f/x and visual f/x

how does an old married couple spend their friday nights? making movies, of course! hahaha

craig and i spent last friday evening working on the special f/x and visual f/x for "Don't Look in the Fridge". Without giving anything away - because I'm NOT! - it turned out well.

Muahahahahahahahaha!

filming: "Don't Look in the Fridge"

filming for "DON'T LOOK IN THE FRIDGE" will commence on sunday! woohoo! james mcelyea, a cinegore cast/crew regular, came up with a story idea a few months ago that i agreed to write the screenplay for and direct. it will be really short, but it should be fun.

james will also star in "FRIDGE" along with my nephew as a horror-movie-loving kid. could horror movies be bad for our health? nah....

update - degree of blood

filming has been sorta slow on degree of blood. scheduling and weather have caused a delay. but that's the life of independent art. you have to go with the flow sometimes. once the weather warms up a little we should resume filming.

in the meantime, i'm working on various things:

short film - an idea that james passed along to me. if we can get together with those involved, we should be able to knock out 80% of the shoot in one day.

short story - working on something that is in the vein of "murders in the closet", a fun horror story i wrote last fall.

val