Imagine + Create = Imaginate!

Medieval Dreams

2010-04-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

...As in, a dream that feels Medieval, but has enough anachronisms in there to remind you that it's not the real thing.

A sequence Rachel edited based on scenes from "The Called and the Chosen" and the Celtic Mysteries song, "Brian Boru's March."

The Little Gladiator

2010-03-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

Rachel's remix of Andrew, Joseph and Little David's battle last summer.

High-Impact Training Swords

2010-01-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

Joseph and Little David present Joseph's new professional-quality training swords. Imaginate That highly recommends!

Why We're Asking For Your Vote

2009-11-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

Imaginate That is a candidate for "Best Family or Group Blog" in the 2009 Homeschool Blog Awards. We would be most honored to receive your vote before the polls close on November 21st.

Click here to read the biographical profiles of the Imaginate That Cast & Crew

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." - Proverbs 27:17

Imaginate That is not just a family group blog. It is a family group effort to make our fun and precious time purposeful and use our movies, music and other creative projects to one day win hearts for Christ. That doesn't mean we're currently working on a phenomenal masterpiece film, or even that we will all continue to work in the small independent film industry as we all grow up. But learning to work together and encourage every team member's gifts, talents and interests to pursue great things beyond the limitations of plywood swords and shields and homemade costumes makes the effort, the drama, and even the silliness worthwhile. Among other blockades, we live in separate States and are only able to work on filming sporadically. This little website provides a way of keeping our projects and creative tradition alive.

"For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things that are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God." - 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

Click here to read about the Read and Abbotts' 25 year friendship and life long homeschooling

To vote for Imagine + Create = Imaginate!, click the dot next the blog title and then click the "vote" button at the bottom of the page. Thank you so much for your support!

Click here to vote for Imaginate That as the Best Family or Group Blog 2009

The Called & The Chosen "Movie Poster"

2009-11-05T17:53:00.001-08:00

It's rather goofy and quite unofficial, but I couldn't resist. It was just too much fun. Hopefully we will one day have a "real" poster with photographs instead of an artist's impression...

~Amanda~

Ode To Kinco

2009-10-30T15:42:00.001-07:00

We thought we'd pay a tribute to the character of Kinco (ha, and a few others)...with this video. Enjoy!

Post Scriptum - October 23rd was Imaginate That's 1 year anniversary!

The Called and the Chosen Portraits

2009-09-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

Painted character sketches for The Called and The Chosen:

Jasyar (Joseph Read), Kinco (David Abbott), Sarkov (Andrew Abbott),

Young Jasyar (David Read),

Adelia (Angela Abbott), Colette (Abigail Read), Cecily (Mary Read),

Eleanor (Rachel Read), Constance (Amanda Read),

These offer a more refined glimpse of our costume designs. This time the sketches are actually portraits of the characters. I based them off of the actors, and tried to subsequently create a visual image that they could live up to when we film. We're recycling a lot in this project - the only parts of the costumes made for the girls are the bodices, which are worn around the outside of dresses that we already have (the Eleanor and Constance dresses are homemade dresses that Rachel and I made with our grandmother a few years ago). We've done some filming without the bodices, however, and the result can be seen in the screen shots (note: the burgundy sash that Angela is wearing in those pictures was the first woven piece that Abigail and I completed on the table loom). The boys' costumes have been doubled up with extra jerkins added underneath (made from white sheets - but you can't tell in the screen shots).

I had most of these completed for a long time but didn't upload them for lack of time and will. You see, the original Young Jasyar portrait was ruined when I accidentally spilled black ink on it this summer (note: sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone when it comes to tiny ink touch ups that nobody else notices...the ink spill risk is just not worth it!). It was sad.

So, just this afternoon I finally completed a copy, which involved both tracing of the salvageable aspects of the sketch and some free hand work. But I've found that you just can't make the same portrait twice, even when it is a copy (I don't care how many copies Gilbert Stuart made of George Washington's portrait!).

Anyway, I've got 15 hours of college classes to tend to, so I've been relatively absent from the internet world. I hope to gain a flexible rhythm and change that, however...

~Amanda~

The Called & The Chosen: Laugh Along

2009-07-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

It speaks for itself...see the past screenshots come to life - in normal, slow mo and fast forward!

Bittersweet Farewell

2009-07-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

As you can see, we've found slices of drama in ordinary life as well as in our film projects. Rachel masterfully edited our "goodbye" video, which was filmed last month when the Abbotts were departing after our fabulous visit. Ah, it's just so sad...

I can't help but rub it in a little...notice how nice and STEADY the camera suddenly gets when Rachel hands it off to me (at 2:00 minutes/seconds, start at 1:58 to see full effect).

Far Away and Never Alone

2009-06-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

I hope Rachel doesn't mind me borrowing her Facebook album name for these pictures as the title...but it just fits so nicely! {Considering that you've watched our music video}

So, we stayed up all night filming the Tavern night scenes, and then got up early to film the outside morning scenes while the sunlight was beautiful (great rooster crowing and bird tweeting sound effects were abundant too!). In the movie, the morning scenes will come first.

The young Tavern maids doing their chores.

Mischievous Eleanor (Rachel Read).

Eleanor runs away.

The young Tavern maids search for Eleanor. The sash that Angela (center) is wearing is the first piece that Abigail and I wove on the table loom.

Young Tavern maids Colette (Abigail Read), Adelia (Angela Abbott) and Cecily (Mary Read) confront Eleanor.
Eleanor explains herself away.

Jasyar (Joseph Read) realizes there is a mysterious man in the corner watching him.

The ominous symbol tattooed on the bicep of Sarkov (Andrew Abbott) {Note: Just the work of my black ink and paintbrush ;-)}.

"I'm sure I've seen that symbol before..."

"Have you ever seen that man before?"

"That man? Sarkov? Never seen him before in my life!"(obviously, the teasing Tavern maid Eleanor doesn't give a wit. ;-)

Adelia makes up for it. "Actually, he comes here a lot, but he never eats...just sits there..."

Kinco (David Abbott), Jasyar's comrade. "Is he looking for someone specific?"

Constance (Amanda Read) fusses over the Tavern guests' menu.

"That man? He just takes up Tavern seating space and scares away the other guests!" The head Tavern mistress is no-nonsense and rather harsh!

Adelia.

Sarkov goes ballistic...and Andrew messed up the scene more than once by misunderstanding the use of the direction, "knock over the chess pieces". Of course, Rachel pranked him by pouring real wine in his Tavern glass, which might have made him a bit tipsy. Haha!

David just about had it with this scene.

Trivia: Over a dozen lit candles were used in the Tavern night scene.
Trivia: Amanda Read (age 19) is the camera director, but Abigail Read (age 12) takes her place when she is acting in a scene.

I've already added some of these screenshots to the Flickr album (which has a slide show on the sidebar). We improved the costumes...but I'll admit that they look much better on camera than they do in reality. The sewing machine all but broke down on us (it really needs a tune up), so we had to make do with what we had already completed before we couldn't stand using the thing anymore.

Coming Soon: Costume design drawings/paintings that I did of each of the characters...you might be surprised!

Also, Joseph and Andrew have a light saber duel production of their own that I filmed and will be posted as soon as the editing is done. Also, check out this funny video on Andrew's YouTube of six year old David Read (who actually plays the role of young Jasyar in The Called and the Chosen) beating up boys twice his age: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjnGa3D0wkU

~Amanda~

Medieval Dance Party

2009-06-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Before I get a chance to write up a long post detailing our latest filming events, here is a behind the scenes glimpse of what we did in costume before going on set (video edited by Rachel):

You see, it made our complexions robust and ruddy for portraying the medieval characters. ;-)

Toss the Tripod and Cut the Costumes!

2009-05-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

This post is actually a little on the late side. The Abbotts visited the third weekend in April. I spent most of my time toting my laptop around to work on my final English assignments while fellowshipping as much as possible. The college assignments felt like a bit of an anchor at that particular time, but we did manage to get a little done...and I'm so looking forward to the next visit this Summer!

The Jasyar and Kinco costumes were completed, and thankfully they fit Joseph and David A. However, I made a tremendous goof on the Sarkov costume. I only had the dark brown undershirt finished, and when we pulled it out of the bag it was much smaller than I remembered it! Andrew could only fit it over his head and get one arm through it. It was the last costume I made, so it is rather odd that I messed it up.

But I have a good excuse, I promise!

Actually, come to think of it, I was sewing it the last night of my Spring Break and had a History exam the next day, so I was probably costuming with more than half my brain tied behind my back. Thus, the costume I had intended to make for a 15 year old guy went to a 6 year old guy: "little David" (as we call him to keep from confusing him with David A.), who plays young Jasyar.

We did manage to find the alternate Sarkov costume - an old red t-shirt we altered - and he tried that on along with the muslin outer jerkin designed for Kinco (note: the rugged, ripped look of the outfits is intentional).

The Abbott guys trying on costumes (Andrew-left, David-right). During filming David cleverly conceals his braces! You would never know he had them. Andrew thus far has worn a mask as Sarkov, so that hasn't been a challenge.

"You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Jasyar shows a rare grimace. Yeah, THAT'S what we're talking about, Joseph!

David Read dons his "young Jasyar" outfit.

The boys doing some prop shopping.

Since we didn't have all of the costumes made, we couldn't get a lot of filming done. We only got a few essentially screen-test worthy scenes of Jasyar and Kinco traveling silently through the woods. The lighting was great and we chose one of our more obscure trails as the setting. It had a very nice, mysterious forest feel to it.

Ignore the modern pants (and shoes) for the moment...the camera angle was suppose to conveniently overlook them until a more creative solution was developed.

As for filming lessons learned: I think my tripod qualms were officially confirmed. Our tripod is great for still photographs and the rare perfectly still distance shot, but beyond that it is a choppy, creaking pain to use. On top of that, you don't fully realize the choppy scrolling or annoying cranking sounds until AFTER you watch it on a larger screen with suitable speakers. All of the scenes in the trailer and music video were filmed without the tripod because otherwise flexibility was hindered. I attempted to give the tripod another chance this last time, but it really wasn't much help. I would much prefer to have a dolly of sorts that is smooth and easy to move around.

Rachel and Angela wrote a song together (beautiful piano music and lyrics!), and Abigail and Mary sang it along with them (even Beth tried to be a part of it!). Hopefully we will get a chance to record that and film the music video during the next visit.

I set up another website for Imaginate That: www.imaginatethat.wordpress.com.

Here are some photos from our very brief and casual photo shoot (Rex got in one of them!). I want to have more professional looking pictures one day (the self-timer doesn't always cut it)...but of course, we need to make our movies more professional looking too!

The musicians...oddly enough, they happen to be posing like The Beatles! I didn't even think of that when I took the picture.

Recently we've worked on planning out the rest of the script...and I need to get back to sewing costumes (need to start on the girls' costumes) and finding realistic props!

~Amanda~

Music Video!

2009-03-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the creative persistence and genius of Rachel, we now have a great music video. Watch never before seen footage! :)

Better Music Video - The Called And The Chosen from Imaginate That! on Vimeo.

The music is "Never Alone" from the album, "The Heart of War" by Jonah33.

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2009-03-27T21:30:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities

Notice how much Joseph Read looks like actor William Moseley (Peter Pevensie, The Chronicles of Narnia)! Sometimes the computer skips and you have to replay it in order to see the morph in slow motion.

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2009-03-27T20:43:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs

Notice how much David Abbott looks like actor Tom Welling (Clark Kent, Smallville)! Sometimes the computer skips and you have to replay it in order to see the morph in slow motion.

Costumes

2009-03-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

This Spring Break, the Reads worked on designing and sewing costumes.

Here are some designs in pen-and-ink and watercolor that I drew and painted (click the images for a larger view):

Note: I referred to the guys' linen undershirts as "chemises" because I thought I saw a particular guy's medieval costume on the internet refer to it as that. Perhaps in Medieval days men and women's shirts were both referred to as that, but I found that nowadays it's generally referred to for only women's shirts. Sorry for the blunder, guys! :-)

The cast of characters is currently as follows:

Jasyar...Joseph Read.
Young Jasyar......David Read
Kinco...David Abbott
Sarkov...Andrew Abbott
Eleanor...Rachel Read
Adela...Angela Abbott
Colette...Abigail Read
Cecily...Mary Read
Constance...Amanda Read

_______________

"In the making" photos:(We set up our "Costume Shop" in the Guest House)

(The black suede will be for the guys' arm bands, and the chain part of Sarkov's costume)

~Amanda~

The Called And The Chosen Teaser Trailer!

2008-12-31T22:12:00.000-08:00

By the way, in case you were wondering...the plywood swords were used for safety reasons, not for lack of better props.

That music is completely original. Rachel composed and played it. She doesn't think it's the best sample of her work, but I love it!

Filming In The Cool Fall Air

2008-11-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

Today we filmed Scene IV, Scene III and Scene V. We were thankful to accomplish as much as we did, though we still have quite away to go. The cool, misty, cloudy day was perfect for filming! We were determined to never do another unscripted scene again. In a sense, we did stay by that in that Rachel had written more scenes to move the story forward (in other words - we weren't just making it up as we went along). However, the guys aren't as keen on memorizing long, poignant dialogue in a matter of minutes. They much prefer getting to the cold cut, non-relational action. Thus, we did a lot of improvising. Basically, we ended up giving them the sketchy bones of the story and letting them add the meat. There was a lot of laughter...and a little arguing here and there. But hey, we survived another day of filming! :)

The infuriating footnote of the day is that I mistakenly sent my dad the link to the wrong PCMCIA card...and we didn't realize it until today. I intended to get a PCMCIA card with an IEE34 firewire port so we can download our film onto my laptop and then begin editing. Today the card finally arrived...but it turned out to be a USB cardbus port instead. Urgh...how did I make that mistake?

Well, all is well that ends well - we still made some progress, and we now have a midi port for Rachel to record the soundtrack she has composed (in her head, not on paper).

Until next time,

~Amanda~

Post Scriptum: The Reads live in Alabama and the Abbotts live in Tennessee, so we can only film occasionally when the Abbotts come for a visit. That explains our infrequent updates.

New Ideas Underway!

2008-10-27T14:00:00.001-07:00

Isn't it a pity that all the best ideas come a bit too late?

So far we have 7 scenes written (more definitely coming soon) and we're putting the pieces together from the original plot idea, and hopefully, it'll all work out! (For whenever we can get together and film again, hopefully very soon.)

Now that we're getting an official script, that we can follow (and not make up as we go on) we'll probably get this project finished after all.

Also - We've finally decided to call our movie "The Called and the Chosen".

~Rachel for Imaginate That Productions

The Filming Begins!

2008-10-27T13:49:00.001-07:00

All things considered, things went quite well for only two days of filming this past weekend. We learned a lot about using the camera and working with one another's ideas. We also decided we would never again film an unscripted scene. When things are unscripted, everyone acts according to the way they think things should be run and nothing gets done (Congressional syndrome).
Since I've been working on a political/historical drama screenplay of my own (not for Congress, though I wish I could keep them scripted too ), I found it interesting to see how things turned out when I started trusting my sister Rachel with a lot of the creative processing for this project. She has done very well so far in helping round out the story to make the two story lines run along together - the past (which will be filmed in black and white) and the present (which will be filmed in color).
Andrew, David and Angela: Abigail's behind the scenes footage is hilarious - videos and pictures! We can post them if you would like to see them.
Check back for updates!
~Amanda~