The Gloria del Pacífico film brochure

Tonight it's been a long night. Very upset with the delay and stalling of the printing people, I had to personally be there until very late at night to pressure them to advance quicker with my brochure. Got myself a few of them done and the rest is ready for pick up on Saturday.

I ordered 1,000 brochures but plan to add another page to it in a couple of months so I'm just having 100 of them folded and stapled to hand over to potential sponsors, cast and crew to please them with the feeling that things are close to be done.

Being in the final stage almost is quite demanding too so...being in an industrial printing place like this makes me feel like in a a hospital helping my new baby be born! :)

The cover. The picture in it is an actual still frame from the movie.

The special process applied to the logo to make it shine.

Like a new father watching his baby be born.

The special process over the logo.

The logo photolith.

The cutting process.

Beautiful matte finish.

The gratitude page :)

Cochrane almost done

Finally, the Cochrane chilean battleship is almost done. Alejandro's work on it is simply on the spot and great. Just needing a few touches here and there as to apply rusting bolt lines and "used" finishing and it's perfect for the takes I need it for.

Here, a few pictures sent by him from his workshop before I pick it up for the first tests.

So far, so good :)

Ready for applying "rusting and used" painting finish.

Notice the fume pipe stains.

Ready for used wood finishing.

The Cochrane almost done.

Teaching again

Mmm...Teaching and learning.
I got a call a month and a half ago from a co-worker/friend from my teaching times at Inictel to teach the course of Non-Linear Editing, just as back then. Last time I saw him was at a get-together we all coworkers had last year. He asked me if I was interested to teach again. Couldn't answer right away as I was in the middle of filming and had to think about it.

It's been almost 6 years since I left teaching at Inictel. In the latter years, it has been annexed to the Universidad de Ingenieria-UNI (Engineering University) and has changed quite a bit for what I heard. All of my coworker friends are long gone from there and he is the only one still in it. I truly thought about it as teaching is a thing I always enjoyed. Did it from 2000 until 2006/07 aprox and also now its very frantic times because of the film. No time even for a personal life! But the offer was just weekends and for just a couple months. So I agreed.

It is good to be back to teaching again -even for a while- as sharing knowledge is a way of progressing and also having feedback from new generations of filmmakers or communicators in order to grow oneself. You never stop learning. Back in the days I had students from all walks of life, from video enthusiasts, future filmmakers, TV station editors, news reporters, gossip show camera men, counter-surveillance intelligence officers, army officers, navy officers, audio editors, musicians, etc.... and all either studying the whole career in Inictel or just as a free course.

Teaching....gives me a purpose to keep pushing strong in life.

The projector showing my computer screen for the students to follow.

Nice to be back.

The audio sessions.

The students practicing what has been taught.

Wooden barrels and life at the valley

This weekend, this long holiday for us (it's Labor's Day on Tuesday and the government has declared labor-free Monday too) has been on a deep frantic search for wooden barrels all over Pachacamac and the "haciendas" in the valley. Found some but they are either not for sale or simply too expensive (they think im gonna use it as an adornment for it's quite common here in the wine areas and liqueur businesses.

We found ourselves driving from Pachacamac's main plaza and the old part of Surco district where in both places there was a big fair, just like in province.

I so love province and the coast towns. Their food, their customs, their party mood and their "small town" feeling inot it where the "neighborhood" sensation and coziness is quite stronger than in the urban parts of the city where not even ur neighbors are your friends. Even old customs from way ago are kept and "grandma's recipes" are passed from generation to generation. I see old women leading their younger daughters and sons the proper way of cooking anticuchos and picarones, cuy, fresh cheese and toasted corn....so delicious. And the wines and piscos....good for get-togethers and friendly time. Just stopped to eat some in Pachacamac's main plaza but not in Surco where the party was bigger. Was just looking for more wooden barrels as there are wineries all over there. Found many, but some were too big or too expensive to buy. I could get thre or four but at that price and just for looks and scenography...mmm...not quite a practical expense.

Cutting the round wood parts that give structure support.

Gustavo sandpapering.

After wetting the long wood panels, they are given the curve shape.

Cesar nailing the panels to the round structures.

Almost done before applying painting and finishing.

One interesting fact I was told is about a house where general Baquedano used to sleep and decide war tactics with his staff before invading Lima. I looked around for the house but sadly it's been demolished for the past 10 years or so and only a wall with ads was surrounding it protects the empty lot. I wonder what in their crazy minds would the owners be thinking for doing this atrocity.

Finally at the end of the day, went to the workshop to see the progress of a more homemade wooden barrel; small ones for the santabarbara. So far it looks promising and with some paint and finishing touches it will end up looking good.

So tomorrow, carpenter time!

Too big of a barrel but beautiful.

Pachacamac's pergola at the main plaza. Baquedano saw it standing there also.

The church.

Delicious picarones.

Making wooden barrels the hommade way.

The Ciudadela artillery trench almost ready for filming.

This past week has been focused on finishing the last touches to the Ciudadela fort and trenches. Finally, brought the Parrot and Voruz cannons and placed them over the preplanned spots. With the Voruz base we didn't have any problem as it is small compared to the bigger one for the Parrot that I made back in June last year. Was supposed to be used at the top of the morro and not in a trench but beside the huge Vavasseur also built around that time, so the base had longer legs to support the weigh of the whole structure. The front part had to be sawed off.

The next days were mostly dedicated to put more sandbags around the fort and trenches apart from painting the cannon bases. Once dry the next day, decided to put some artistic touches to it by painting "rusting bolt lines" below the fake bolts and dirtying all the wood and metal parts to make them look worn and beaten by months of war use.

The powder and ammo location in the trench is a vital part of the film as it plays an important role for it was ignited -as history has stated- by young hero Alfredo Maldonado when it was all lost and mostly all killed by the enemy. Back in those days, wooden barrels were used to keep the gunpowder protected from the elements. Wooden barrels aren't used nowadays and most of what I've seen around are in old vineyards or wine stores/wineries, usually big in proportions. Thought that maybe a trip to Ica or Cañete was necessary to get smaller ones or probably make them myself. While driving to Puente Piedra, noticed some plastic barrels for water on the way there and thought of just covering them with wood panels and painting them like wood. Bought myself three to see what can be done. Sew some parts off but I wasn't at all convinced it would work. Or perhaps it will....not sure yet. Still looking.

UPDATE: While asking around, got a tip that at some old flea market midtown, some barrels like the one I need were seen so went there and bought me one (they are not cheap anymore so will have to make the rest myself with this original as a guide) and also found a good nice-looking wooden old case. Dates back easily to the early 1900's. Thank God it fit in the car to bring it home with me.

Bringing the new Parrot and Voruz cannons (plus my old dolly tracks)

Arriving at filming location.

Huge babies!

Sawing off the front legs of the old cannon base.

Painting the Voruz base.

Painting rusting bolt lines as an effect.

Painting the sandbags to make them look old.

Sawing off the plastic barrels to paint them as wood.

Painting rust lines.

Hard work for everybody.

Painting rust water lines.

The artillery trench of the Ciudadela as seen from the top defense line.

Finishing at night.

Building the entrance to the powder and ammo hole (the santabarbara)

The santabarbara.

Got myself finally wood barrels.

...and an old case.