tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68772664611474248212024-11-01T02:46:27.688-07:00Keep track of productions I'm involved with, things I'm writing and the general struggles of navigating through this half business, half art, all chaos world of science fiction and horror.HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-37089885638965529722022-05-14T10:01:00.004-07:002022-05-14T10:01:52.052-07:00

 One of the easiest ways to have multiple sci-fi baddies played by only a few actors is to put a mask on your bad guy's lackies.  Science fiction is especially helpful for this, because there are all sorts of reasons guys in space are wearing masks or helmets.A super quick way to do this is to buy inexpensive plastic masks after Halloween, try to find a bunch of matching ones, glue on

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-46060164342998520382021-08-05T18:56:00.000-07:002021-08-05T18:56:16.527-07:00

 Actually, maybe even shorter than that depending on how quickly you read.I took a drone shot I pictured being able to use as an establishing shot the other day.  It's slow decent from over main street down to the street sign.  Trouble is, I didn't have a specific project in mind when I shot it. I just used the available light, which was pretty lousy because it was an overcast day

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-77158533081622759532021-08-04T13:23:00.000-07:002021-08-04T13:23:00.092-07:00

 By now it's no secret that I love FREE resources.  In fact, I have begun to build my own set of free images and videos, including armored soldiers and laser blasts, for the indie sci-fi filmmakers among you.  You can find those resources on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HocusFocusProductions or my Facebook page: Indie Streams | FacebookBut, I want to

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-40558645420175911542021-07-31T13:52:00.001-07:002021-07-31T13:52:13.944-07:00

 Going lazy today and reposting a link to someone else's blog, but putting it in the Indie Film Production blog, because I think it may be helpful for some of us.It's no secret I'm more of a Monster Movie guy than a slasher type of scary movie fan.  That said, when I ask for permission to film a horror movie on someone's property or put out a call for extras, most people think Halloween

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-21661113076000042842021-06-19T15:25:00.005-07:002021-06-19T15:25:50.936-07:00

 I made Jack vs Lanterns, quite awhile ago.  Did a little independent release of it and didn't really make back the production costs.Finally, I got up the courage to submit to the one distributor I thought would handle right, Wild Eye Releasing.  They needed some deliverables I didn't yet have and being already a few grand down on the project, I got to work on them myself.  I

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-1927319347696521152021-05-18T10:06:00.002-07:002021-05-18T10:06:26.111-07:00

 Recently made another one day short, "Visitor's Day" and wrote in some scenes I wasn't quite sure how I would work out.  The big one was the prison scene.  Shot in a corner of my garage, I pictured it at a table, with the concrete block wall in the background.  Simple and easy, but I wanted a touch more of "something" to add to the prison feel.  I had hoped for a stock

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-26063626530922382562021-05-01T09:39:00.002-07:002021-05-01T09:39:43.222-07:00

 A bit of constant distraction comes with being creative.  If you only see what everyone else sees, you'll never come up with new and exciting ideas.  But, this desire to explore new and old ideas alike can lead to some bad distractions too.  I've got a shoot planned for tomorrow.  It's already uncertain which movie I'll be shooting, because we're basing it on the weather

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-90810901776956416812021-03-22T08:47:00.005-07:002021-03-22T08:47:57.778-07:00

 This piece of advice is less important nowadays when nearly everyone has a fairly high quality camera (or even a 4K) in their pocket as part of their phone.  But nine or ten years ago when I visited NYC my phone camera was poop.  I used an HD pocket camera and grabbed shots of buildings as we drove out of town to  head "home" to Florida.Years later I would be playing around

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-57543734450987191602021-03-21T11:05:00.002-07:002021-03-22T09:11:49.774-07:00

 I saw a post from Dead Glow Makeup, LLC about an eye the artist had made.  It had veins out the back and was shiny and goopy looking and just looked great.  I remembered I had bought a pack of 6 eyeballs for a dollar around Halloween with the intent of using them on puppets and monster masks (You can see them on a pumpkin monster in Jack vs Lanterns ) and thought trying to

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-34956101912308969282021-03-20T10:29:00.002-07:002021-03-20T10:29:49.139-07:00

 So, for no reason at all, I started gluing together space ships made from index cards I had laying around.  It seemed like a harmless enough, free way to pass the time, but then I needed paint, some new brushes and now I'm going to need more movies set in space in which to use my ships, which means more aliens, monsters, puppets, stop motion, miniature sets, etc, etc.So much for

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-9441786787246668802021-03-17T10:07:00.004-07:002021-03-17T10:07:52.959-07:00

 Saw a light at Dollar Tree.  It's a little LED, but pretty bright and it reads as "white" on camera.  The demo shots of my face aren't the best because the exposure was set when I wasn't in the shot.  I could have opened it up a bit more, but you can see from six feet away that it does cast light and in a fairly small, controlled area.  I think as a practical light

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-34588588733092307392021-03-16T11:10:00.000-07:002021-03-16T11:10:00.870-07:00

It's been awhile.  If you've been following me on Facebook, you know last year I wanted to shoot 20 shorts.  I think I got 4 done, plus six episodes of This is Space Force.  So, halfway there?  I actually wasn't going to count individual episodes, but that makes it really sad.I also have one in editing.  We kicked off this year with "Legacy of an Invisible Man" and have

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-26949581713030505722020-03-29T03:38:00.000-07:002020-03-29T03:45:02.561-07:00

So, the whole Covid-19, self isolating thing?  My wife and I started that over two weeks ago.  We have been working from home, did some photography for agents who had property or empty houses, but aside from our yard and walking the dogs, we did little else outside the home.  We even sat in the car or out in the parking lot during most of the closing, until one of us was actually

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-52366363581814112982020-02-03T19:20:00.003-08:002020-02-03T19:20:46.018-08:00

Instead of following political stories and doing random videos this year, "This is Space Force" will follow a full season story arc.  The episodes will lead into each other and continue from Season One's last episode. Don't worry, the main elements of the show will still be there.  It will still look at social and political goings on from today as seen through the eyes of a future "

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-64494444182764108892020-01-10T14:39:00.000-08:002020-01-10T14:39:00.901-08:00

So, while trying to cast my Christmas sequel to "Hey, Doll!" and then schedule that cast alongside when I have access to my rental cabin, I met some new local talent.  They were free to shoot, but my other cast for that movie wasn't gelling.  I had the cabin, had some willing people and had a big need to film. I looked at my existing props list, asked for opinions of monsters on&

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-48178561539975850102019-12-24T20:08:00.002-08:002019-12-24T20:08:44.768-08:00

Sometimes it's just easier to ramble about  what's going on in a video rather than type it all out and since it will be Christmas in an hour, I'm going with the simpler option for this blog.Happy Holidays, gang.  See  you before the year is out.

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-90430177924449263812019-12-23T06:20:00.002-08:002019-12-23T06:20:42.177-08:00

Recently I took a second shot at casting a short I've been trying to make since last year.  I got some good submissions, but did not gather the cast I needed to get this short produced.  This time, rather than wait until the perfect cast comes together, I decided to write a new script for the actors I do have. I have short stories dating back 20 years.  I have props I've built

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-40056626856438962912019-12-20T00:43:00.001-08:002019-12-20T00:43:14.756-08:00

I did a blog video on this subject a few years ago and I'm reposting here and revisiting the idea because I'm going to the "opportunity" well again. While casting for a short I really wanted to do before Christmas things went wrong.  A planned shoot.  One I wrote for, bought props for and have a location for just didn't gel in time.  But, I met some new actors and they WANT to

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-52165447623985819272019-12-16T17:35:00.001-08:002019-12-17T19:02:55.547-08:00

Nothing Like Kisses from a 75 pound Dog Aside from getting my Real Estate License and doing my seasonal tour at the Halloween Store, most of my life has been at home.  We've added a new member to our pack and he takes a lot of time and effort, because, happy as he is, he has some health problems. But, the trip to get him certainly prepared me for life with Dom. This is not my best

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-88187712797670811182018-08-21T12:08:00.001-07:002018-08-21T12:08:08.208-07:00

Last time I talked about preparation before stepping out on  your own to make your own movies.  There are some books out there that can help you with the legal stuff.  Don't ask me about it.  I only know enough about the law to know that I'm not qualified to give advice about it.  Do everything you can to keep yourself, other people's property, your cast and crew safe.&

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-39377674265688447432018-08-14T06:40:00.002-07:002018-08-21T11:23:29.576-07:00

A friend of mine posted a video about what actors should consider before making the jump to L.A. and it struck me that there were some things I did before I decided to start doing my own productions more "full time".  If you follow my blog you know I've gone back to a "day job" sort of lifestyle in recent years.  It's more of another business, but something more stable and slightly

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-1344249241878799062018-07-02T07:43:00.002-07:002018-07-02T07:43:06.991-07:00

It's probably pretty obvious if you have visited my YouTube Channel or This Is Space Force, that I often adlib the shorter videos I produce.  Lots of improve and stream of consciousness going on there. I do this for a few reasons. First, I usually have the concept for my YouTube instructionals and T.I.S.F skits living inside of my head for quite awhile.  I'm "writing" them during

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-62799163475634637442018-06-22T09:59:00.001-07:002018-06-22T09:59:35.162-07:00

Recently President Trump announced the historic creation of a sixth branch of the military, the "United States Space Force".  Naturally the kid in me was super excited to think about laser blasting space ships protecting earth from giant meteors and flesh eating aliens.  The creative in me wanted to do something with this idea.Of course, the whole world wanted to joke about or make a

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-79707447546479275072018-06-18T03:36:00.002-07:002018-06-18T03:36:26.305-07:00

Basically, I started talking about Amazon Channels because someone asked me why I didn't have one.  I remembered wanting one, but there were a few reasons I don't yet have one.  I discuss the basic reason in this previous post.  After that Vlog, someone asked me more questions, so I decided to look it into more deeply and found more reasons why a "little guy" like me may not have

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877266461147424821.post-20810413796098040122018-06-16T14:24:00.001-07:002018-06-16T14:24:53.207-07:00

Someone asked me the other day why I don't have an Amazon Channel.  I had planned on one.  It was a goal for awhile, but the short answer is, they keep moving the goal posts and I haven't been able to keep up.  The long answer...is in the video below. Here is a video about the way the targets moved last time I tried to get a channel approved. See "Jack vs Lanterns" on

HocFocProdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13303009552634716785noreply@blogger.com0