So I'm officially directing and producing a feature-length Vietnam War film

[PhillyB]

After a long period of filming last month we're about to move into the final phase of production. We grabbed some of the best footage of the entire shoot, building a reproduction of a Mekong Delta FOB complete with Nam era tents (GP Smalls and Mediums pictured) oil drums, sandbags, M37 transport, jeeps, etc.

 

We also built a Vietnamese village. This particular set took a good two weeks in total to build, from clearing the ground to designing the huts, building them, attaching the palm thatch, and rigging up a system that allowed us to remove the thatch and move it to other sides of the buildings. This was a necessary task on such a low budget - I'd have needed another $3,000 to cover the buildings completely. Instead we filmed all the A-side shots (facing one direction) together, then moved all the palm thatch to the other sides of the buildings and shot from the opposite direction. Full camera coverage, full palm thatch coverage.

 

At the end we torched the thing. Scary take - that's a lot of money worth of material going up in smoke, and I don't have the budget to just rebuild the village and retake a shot like that.

 

 

Final phase of shooting: we're going to Orlando in a few weeks to film on Lee Ranch, a film set that's been used in GI Jane, The Walking Dead (1995 Vietnam movie), and a few others. We'll do a couple of combat scenes there. After that we just need a half day with the Huey helicopter again (all interior studio stuff) and it's officially in the can and off to post production. I'll do some pickup shots along with a brief return to Southeast Asia and we'll be on target for completion by September 26, in time for submission to Sundance.

This has taken up well over a year of my life and I'm excited to be finished with it.

[PhillyB]

6 minutes ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

Philly this looks fantastic! Stellar job!

When will you be in Orlando???

thanks! june 24-25. if you're still interested in taking a production role i can definitely get you out there. i'm gonna need all the production guys i can get my hands on to run the hazers, reflectors, camera assistance, etc.

[Bronn]

Did you ever get anyone to score it?

Keep up the good/hard work, bud! I'm so happy for you to be out there doing the things you dream of, and I wish you nothing but success!

[PhillyB]

4 minutes ago, Bronn said:

Did you ever get anyone to score it?

Keep up the good/hard work, bud! I'm so happy for you to be out there doing the things you dream of, and I wish you nothing but success!

haven't reached that phase yet, but i'm currently looking to get most of it done as original vietnamese-language pop and ballads. it fits the tone of the film. i will need someone to do empathetic tracks and such, but most likely whatever post house agrees to take on the editing will also package in a composer for free. we'll see what happens.

[Kevin Greene]

More good luck moving forward.

[stirs]

Hope it turns out great, but either way, props you and the set of balls it takes to undertake and finish something like this.

I will be able to say, "hey, I argued politics and religion with Philly B Demille"

Much props