Building the trenches - Day 1

Today has been a pretty exhausting day but far from boring. Exciting indeed.

Took the sacks to the battle field together with some twenty five worker soldiers to dig the trenches. As soon as they started I noticed the progress wasn't moving along as fast as expected because the soil was mixed with rocks so the shovels weren't doing any much of a deal. I needed an excavator but couldn't find any around in time nearby.

I finally found a front loader that I could use to dig deeper holes and move the heavy rock-mixed soil for the workers to scrape and shovel faster. Front loaders are built to load heavy soil not to dig necessarily but it was handy and did the job.

It took the whole day to do some progress but it was faster than I expected. Things need to be improvised sometimes and this time it payed off. After the front loader was over, the workers filled the sacks with the sand and started piling them up as sandbags ready to be painted at the end to make them look like fabric bags.

Tomorrow: another full day of work at the battle field. I'm dropping dead-tired in bed and with a happy face. :)

Filmscore decisions

Saturday night.
People must be really enjoying this long weekend here as Monday is holiday too.

Much of my friends have traveled out of town to have fun. I wish I could too but tension builds up as filming time approaches. two weeks more and the camera starts rolling!

I met up tonight with Fernando De Lucchi, good friend and awesome music composer, to discuss more things about the film score.

It's been a year since we started talks for him to write the filmscore and now things are more clear. We listened to a few themes online so we get to be on the same page with this.

What came as a possibility months ago is now a must: the mix of digital orchestra samples and real ensemble musicians. Recording sessions will begin by December/January. I want the most real sounding orchestra that even purists can tell and enjoy and Fernando thinks alike so, it's good to know we are gonna do it.

It's such a crazy feeling to know that in just a few months as I finish editing this, all what we are talking now will be finally reality.

Battle field set up starts

Went today to pinpoint the exact places to "dress-up" as the Peruvian forts and trenches for the Arica battle.

I'll be making two trenches 40 meters long (131 feet) and 1.75 mts deep (5.7 feet) to be the Ciudadela and Este forts.

Construction and works begins now employing around 50 people to dig the trenches and also cover some irregularities in the land. I'm bringing around 2,000 bangs to fill them with the sand taken out from the trenches and the big tents to be the improvised Chilean headquarters at Condorillo hill.

Days later, I'll be bringing the 20 Krupp canons to be used for my film.

Later today I took to the studio more bullet carriers and soldier accesories to alter, paint and age them.

Deadline is approaching so...I better run fast with this!

Bayonet: my new idea works!

If someone is following closely these rants of mine about this war film for the last 14 months or so, remembers how "real" I want it to look, specially the battle scenes.

The face-to-face fights between soldiers need to be as crude as the real thing as possible (without falling in the "gore" category of course) and one of the things I wanted was the stabbing and the bayonet charge actions to be seen onscreen.

For safety reasons (and for obvious reasons, of course) no bayonet could be stabbed into any actor's body without causing harm. So, for those scenes to look real I thought of work-arounds for it and came with this solution: retractable bayonet mechanisms!!

A week ago or so, I commissioned a couple hammer-smiths to work with me on this stuff. Borrowed a real bayonet from the Mausers I'm using for the film and took measurements.

Today I went to check for the first prototype test of it. So far, the knife needs to be longer and the retractable mechanism needs to be faster. A stronger spring is needed but so far it does seem to work.
After all is tested, a few spray paint here and there and its ready for battle!

Last try-ons with Ochoa as Belaunde

Went again to Juan Manuel Ochoa's house so he could try on his uniform's touch ups.
It was a bit baggy in the neck area the last time. Now it's all fit.

As stated in a prior entry months ago, he will be playing Peruvian colonel Agustin Belaúnde.

Second additional extras meeting

Second meeting with the additional extras for the film that will play as random soldiers.
Can't feel more pleased to know the excitement this thing draws in people, specially young ones who still hold true to the cause.

I brought with me a few Peruvian uniforms to have them try it on. Sadly, just a couple pics turned out blurry but only these ones I post here.

Third meeting coming soon in a week or so to test the full uniforms and practice with weapons.

Rifles check

Went today to check the cleaning and oiling of the 500 rifles I'm using for the film.
As explained before in a prior entry last year, the rifles used during the war were Remington, Peabody, Chassepot and Comblain.

The ones found here handy and ready to be used (and firing) are just Mausers which were not used back then up until the very end of the 19th century / beginning of the 20th. Those are found here in the thousands and the only ones that can be used as weapons.

Having more than 600 actors and extras on set, the number of rifles needed are huge so....it figures these are the ones I can use. For close up shots where the script calls for weapon names and use, the real models are used but here just 4 or 5 are found working in museums. The strings I had to pull to have them given to me to use it in the film.

The Mauser sections were taken apart to clean them and leave the operational for filming.
Now, the paper work need to transport them with full security measures as they asked me is almost ready.

First additional extras meeting.

First casting meeting for additional soldier extras. They will merge with the actual hundreds of soldiers in the background. They are already letting beard and mustache grow as I asked them to.

Tried some of the Peruvian uniforms and hats on them and some fit and some don't so I'll need to have some more done...larger ones. I just worry about time constrains as deadline is approaching.
These guys are amazing. Their interest in the topic and the film is overwhelming and definitely worth taking note of.

Many couldn't make it as as soon as I got home I read like 10 emails from people that wanted to attend but they were late.

Next meeting: Sunday 24.

Filming time approaching

Filming time is getting closer. The excitement is building up more.
Art department is underway soon in some days to "dress up" the battlefield with sandbags and barracks.

In a couple of days I'm getting 1500 more sandbags.
All needs to be ready in some weeks

The casting call for the extras that will play Peruvian and Chilean soldiers is also going good. So far, dozens of emails in my inbox show the excitement this film arouses in people. They are gonna be appearing next to the hundreds of real soldiers I've got for this.

Club De la Union

While at the Club De La Union to attend an event, noticed the beautiful infrastructure still kept form those good old times of almost a century ago.

There were three busts of Grau, Bolognesi and Ugarte and to my surprise while reading a commemorative plaque is that they were not only members as I knew already, but founding fathers!

I set up an appointment to talk with the club's director. Some halls and staircases are simply beautiful and can pass as how it was back in those days (even though the club was originally in another building across the main plaza where our heroes actually founded it.

More civilian wardrobe and Bolivian uniforms

The final row of wardrobe and uniforms.
This time for several civilian scenes in my film and also the Bolivian officers uniforms that fought in the battle of Alto del Alianza.

Got more civilian wardrobe pics to upload soon.

One man's trash is another man's riches

This is a funny world we live in. And it's true what they say that when a door closes, a window opens.

I went early today to Huachipa, a place several kilometers out of Lima to an old brick factory that isn't working anymore. I was told it could be a possible location. It turned out it wasn't what I was expecting.

I noticed though huge amounts of litter around the area. But, oh surprise! What seemed like piles and piles of garbage were actually hundreds or thousands of used plastic sacks. Not the household type but the strong ones used to carry fruit in supermarket tracks. It was JUST what I was looking for to make the sandbags for the barrack lines!

I searched everywhere for months for sandbags but the only ones made in bulk lately around here are plastic polyethylene ones colored in white, yellow and black. Not the ones made of sand colored fabric just like in the old days. Found one actually but they are quite pricey for a bag and I need like 3,000 so...you do the math. I didn't want to spend some thousands of Soles in sandbags. Besides, these look used and worn out, just as I need them to be.

A light-bulb turned on over my head as I saw many around the size I was looking for. I asked the people in charge of the place to give me 2000 and they agreed. I plan then to build the sandbag piled barracks on the field and spray-paint them sand color. Age them and voila!.... all set and at just 90% off of the price I'd pay by buying them elsewhere.

I did tipped them well, though.

Could only pack 500 in my car. Going back now to get the rest with a bigger truck.

God truly has some mysterious ways. Specially now when the film is over-budgeting considerably and I need to save as much as possible. Only little left. It's my pocket, you know.
I thank you, God!

UPDATE: Went to pick up 1450 sacks more. Now I have like 2000 approximately to make the sandbags and trenches.

More Peruvian and Chilean officer hats.

Finished two more hats for Baquedano and Lagos.
I had already made those like a month and a half ago but I'm making two more for some important characters as during battle scenes and filming they can get worn out or damaged. Filming in disorder sometimes allows continuity inconsistencies to happen so, this is my way of making sure none of that happens and get all accidents covered.

Also made four Navy hats. One for Guillermo More, one for Sanchez Lagomarsino (Ship-of-the-line Captains and Frigate Lieutenant respectively) and two more for lesser rank officers.

Tomorrow I'll finish hats for an Infantry Sargent and a Captain.
So far, looking good!

UPDATE: Here are two more hats for a sublieutenant and an lieutenant colonel.

UPDATE: Finished more forage caps: One for a Chilean colonel and another for the Granaderos a Caballo regiment.

Jib crane first test

So finally, I ran the first test of my new jib crane yesterday and today. The frantic days as filming date approaches doesn't allow much time for testing out in the open for by the time I'm done for the day it's already night. So...I went ahead and tried it in the parking garage.


I used to own a jib crane before. The PortaJib was a very professional tool and I have shot much of my prior films and videoclips with it, but sold it like 3 years ago. Now, the need for a jib has shown it's face as "long shots" of the battle scenes require high positioning of the camera above the massive crowds of soldiers. It also add dynamic energy to moving takes that helps give that sense of motion typical of cinematic techniques. So, did a bit of research on the net and found new options and companies that make interesting camera support equipment that years ago weren't around. Options and designs that make the jib crane simple and easy to operate even more than before. Got myself a new one in the end.

Well, the height of the parking garage ceiling is barely 2.50 meters high and that limited me to only use the basic configuration which raises my camera to only 2.15 meters. Not bad for interior shots but I'm eager to try it with the extension kit I also purchased.

So far, the weighs I got myself are doing the trick. Was kinda tricky to find a way to balance it for the difference in lens size I use changes the counter-weigh needed and it gets off balance a bit. 1.25 lbs weighs are hard to find but I was suggested a good hidden spot downtown where they sell all kinds of sporting good things and brought it home together with two 15 kg weighs. Carrying 30 kg while walking 5 blocks in downtown (not many parking lots there) was a bit odd and cumbersome but the effort's worth it.

Tomorrow, if time allows, I'll test the extended version which raises my cam up to 6 meters high!

My camera configuration weighs around 19.8 lbs which is like 9 kg. A bit heavy so better be careful and secure it tight. Don't want it crashing down against the floor.

Stop dreaming, it's here: Panasonic AG-AF101

Just as a side note while reading in Panasonic's website about the IBC 2010 in Europe, I stumbled again of what was mentioned earlier this year at NAB. The amazing prototype camcorder. The next generation. The Panasonic AF-101.









Introduced after the earlier model AF-100 just a while back, It delivers the shallow depth of field we filmmakers kill for and a wider field of view because of it's large 4/3 inch large imager/sensor, able to handle all standard lenses, filters, and adapters of the 35mm world. It has full native HD 1080/24p recording, variable frame rates just like my HVX200, professional audio capabilities and compatibility with SDHC and SDXC media. The interchangeable lens mount is what I also truly like (which reminds me of my good old Canon XL-1 I bought back in the late 90's because of that wonderful feature), which allows me to use all available still camera lenses as well as film-style lenses I have. It records 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p (native) and 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and 24p (native) in AVCHD’s highest-quality PH mode (maximum 24Mbps) and to "ad insult to injury" (lol) it is worldwide compatible as it can be switched back 'n forth between 60Hz to 50Hz.

The built-in ND filtering is a huge plus together with HD-SDI out, HDMI, time code recording, built-in stereo microphone and USB 2.0, two XLR inputs with +48V Phantom Power capability, 48-kHz/16-bit two-channel digital audio recording and supports LPCM/Dolby-AC3. Now this baby can save footage in easily available SDHC cards (goodbye to the expensive P2 cards I so hurt to buy for just merely 16 and 32GB).

SDXC is the newest SD memory card specification that can handle memory above 32GB and all the way up to 2TB.

This thing will definetly rock! I wonder how much will it cost. Scheduled to be released by the end of this year.

Here is popular Barry Green talking about this baby directly from IBC Europe.