WhiteRock Studios

Cadence

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:43:00 +0000

Whew! This blog has not gotten any updates for quite awhile. This doesn't mean we've stopped working though! Since our last post we have produced a short movie. In my opinion its the best piece of work we've done so far. The movie is called 'Cadence' and it stars Ann DeGaetano (from local rock band Slur and also of 'Blood Money' fame ;) ) as Hannah.

Hannah is a born musician whose virtuosity is laid bare on the keys of her softly played piano. Her genius is about to get her into a prestigous music academy when she contracts a hearing disorder that slowly starts to rob her of her passion. As her hearing grows weaker and weaker, we see our protagonist in the throe's of her last remaining notes.

How will she play them out?

Open for Business

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:38:00 +0000

WhiteRock Studios is happy to announce that we are now open for businesses and persons who would like to get some creative footage of thier products, services, events and other material for public display or personal viewing.

Feel free to contact us for details.

Blood Money - Bell Tower Behind the Scenes Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 10:15:00 +0000

Slur Behind the Scenes Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:35:00 +0000

"Back To You" Music Video

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:24:00 +0000

Moving On

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:03:00 +0000

A long time has passed since our last update, and a lot of stuff has happened. We've finished shooting 'Blood Money' and editing is practically done too. Total time is 1 hour and 25 minutes. You think news like this would come with a lot more fanfare and glitz but as I've already said before, Blood Money was our education in filming. And we outdid our education when we were still in the middle of it. Our technical level grew faster then the film and so differences between scenes that were shot in the beginning and those towards the end are quite drastic.

We are already looking to our next project, the details of which will be revealed in time (not much time as we start production in a week or so!) But it will be our entry into the next opening of the Sundance Film Festival.

We've also completed our very first (of many, I hope) music video. It's for an entry in the XFM Virtual Rockstar competition, for Ann de Gaetano. (She played Yana in BM). I'll post it on here soon. I think it came pretty good, also check out my awesome on-location photography ;)

Later

C+

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 23:43:00 +0000

I can't look at myself on screen.

Imagine watching yourself making the same mistakes over and over again, and your helpless to do anything about it. Now imagine a room full of people watching this with you.

They're not really mistakes though, let me explain.

Have you ever come out of an exam and thought "Damn! I should have done that question this way!" and you go over it endlessly till your pretty sure you flunked the whole exam. And it's obviously to late to go back and change anything cos it's in the editor..err, examiners hands now. Well, that's how I feel after a scene has been shot, except my paper is gonna be shown to as many people as possible. However, they won't see these 'mistakes'. Thankfully, these mistakes are only for me to bear, as my mind plays out all the different things I could have (should have?) done to improve my character.

We are almost at the end of the film.

I don't think anyone will ever know the lesson in expectations this sentence has come to symbolise for us. As a producer I feel tired. Weary. But I smile as I see to the completion of this production I helped create.

As an actor I quickly turn away from it, and try my best to forget it, till the report card comes in.

Neil

oh, hello

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 16:38:00 +0000

Its been a long time since I lasted posted here... Just to bring you up to date: We refilmed the scene at Mdina and it came a lot better than the old one. Today we filmed a talking scene between Adam and Hollie on a boat at Msida. We were cramped in a small place but I think it came good. I'm going to start editing it soon. We really are very close to the end of the film now, which is a relief. I'll post again after I've edited the scene and I'll upload a couple of screenshots.

An Update!

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:58:00 +0000

Hey,

Few updates. I went over to Ann's house with Neil to dub her lines from the garden scene. Then we drove to Ian's house and did his. I've put the scene together and it's come quite good. It's our first fully dubbed scene, from voices to background sound, but it came good. In fact, the sound quality is probably the best we've got in the whole film so we're probably going to start doing all scenes like this from now on.

However, dubbing will bring about problems in its own way. The lines must be synchronised with the person's mouth. The tone of the voice must match the actor's expressions. Also it means it will take up more space on my computer... something which we are soon out of.

This coming Sunday we should be going back to Mdina to redo the talking scene with a new and improved script... It's not surprising really, seeing as the previous script was written past midnight the night before after coming back from a meal with friends...

Also I finally heard back from the filter people! My filter should be arriving pretty soon. It's called a Day For Night filter, and basically arranges sunlight to look like moonlight, so soon we can start have night time scenes! Can't wait! Although we don't really need it for Blood Money, but a lot of the sequel is set at night.

Anyway, that's all for now. Keep checking for more updates!

Bit Burnt Out

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 23:48:00 +0000

Hey.

I know it's been a while since I (or any of us for that matter) last posted, so I'm going to fill you all in.

I'm actually feeling pretty burnt out with the film at the moment... But I don't think it's the fact that it's taking so long to finish that gets to me. It's just extremely stressful organising days to meet and tryin to plan out the scenes... I don't expect the actors to have to do that themselves, they're just friends who were asked to be in the film. But if someone wanted to be credited as a creator of the film, then I'd expect that person to dedicate as much effort as I to get this film done soon.

For example, Christmas has come and gone and we have filmed a grand total of 2 times. We had ample chance to film, to meet and plan out all that was left, but we didn't. On a more positive note, we filmed at Ann's grandmother on Wednesday. We had 6 hours to shoot 5 scenes. Luckily Neil and I wrote out a schedule so that we would know how long we have for each scene. It worked quite well. We finished on time anyway.

Unfortunatly it was extremely windy that day. 60kmh wind in Mellieha according to maltaweather. The dialogue in the garden scene has been ruined by the wind and has to be dubbed completely. The rest came okay I suppose. I haven't really edited anything properly yet, haven't been in the mood...

Will post some screenshots of the scene later.

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 16:50:00 +0000

We'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. May this year be a good year for all.

Scene... Complete...

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:59:00 +0000

It was tough, but we did it. We had to battle through thunderstorms and hail, cold winds, the occassional downpour, and the searing sun, all in the space of 6 hours... but we did it. Literally, we would be filming in peace one moment and suddenly it would start raining and we'd have to run for cover. At one point I was even filming a shot in the rain, with Neil walking beside me and holding an umbrella over the camera. Some of us were on the brink of starvation, but we didn't stop until we'd finished everything... and that took a lot of determination on our part! Neil and I finished with the script at 2 a.m. which barely gave me 4 hours sleep. And that didn't help.

In spite of all that, I've finished editing the footage and I've gotta say... that scene is now one of my favourites... although it is not yet complete - we still have to film the first part on a boat.

Yesterday was our first time filming with Hollie, so that was interesting. Sadly it was also our last time (for a looong time at least) filming with Charlotte. Neil came down to help with behind the scenes stuff, which really sped things up. Behind the scenes stuff really means helping carry the stuff around and quickly hiding objects before we start filming and generally making life easier for us all. He was also the only one who brought an umbrella... We had our final After Filming Meal together at Caesar's restaurant, snapped a couple of photos, and that was it.

Yet Again...

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:07:00 +0000

It's 01:07 am... been writing the script for tomorrow (or should I say today?). I've been pasting the same line over and over to Neil, each time changing a word or two, always getting it wrong. Finally managed to get it right. Now for the rest of the script...

We're filming at 10 o'clock, but I've gotta wake up at 8. None of the actors have seen the script yet, only Adam, and a very old version. Hopefully tomorrow won't be utter chaos. HAve a feeling it will be. We're going to be at Portomaso. We're all worried we'll be arrested and taken away... also worried about the weather... and finally I'm also worried that we won't finish it, or it'll come really bad. It's our last filming day with Charlotte!

Anyway, I'm too tired to even think anymore. Don't know what I'm writing here, even less idea what I'm writing in the script. Will have to look through it tomorrow morning. Will post again after filming.

Bye!

The Calm Before The Storm....

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:38:00 +0000

Hey again,

Just woke up, its like 7am, we have filming in like two hours. Today a very very big scene and also very important. We got around seven actors, acting together, so we expecting quite a confusion. Hopefully not!

Anyways yesterday Neil, James and I went to Chris to arrange the room, there was quite a mess and I mean a mess, around 3cm of dust all around the room, including on the chairs and tables. We cleaned the room, and made it look more like a “Meeting Scene”, we added maps and blueprints to the table, stuck up lots of cutouts on the walls, added some computers to the table…etc. It came very good I must say.

We also did a run through of our lines, and went over the script. Hopefully well enough for today.

Anyways time is running out… I gotta go. Hopefully the scene will come good today. We will let you know how things went later on.

That’s it for now :)

Race Against Time

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 11:39:00 +0000

Sunday is going to be a scary day. We have a lot to cover, and we're going to be a lot of people. Tomorrow, Neil, Adam and I are going to go to Chris' house to tidy up the place where we're going to film (it probably has 3 inches of dust) and go over the lines so that, come Sunday, we'll know exactly what we have to do.

But Sunday is just the start. We have exactly 1 week (Next Monday to Sunday) to finish off all Charlotte's scenes. We still have to find a day for each of them. We might even have to find another location, and if that's the case, I have NO idea what we're going to do. And if we don't do this, the entire sequel will be messed up.

At least 2 out of the 3 scenes are written. I'm going to start on the third one now. Adios.

Well It's Not Just Bad News...

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:45:00 +0000

So, I haven’t written here in quite a while. At the moment things seem to be very tense, we have a lot of very important scenes to film in the coming days. Also to add to the tension Charlotte is leaving Malta in two weeks, so we have got to try and finish all her scenes before she goes.

I just got back from James. We discussed and planned a few things regarding the upcoming scenes. Now tomorrow we are going to Ann to discuss her scene with her. Basically the scene we are going to be doing at her house this coming Saturday.

Anyways…..today I spoke to someone regarding the film, and whether it will be possible to go on one of the programs on television to speak about the film, the company, what we are planning to do etc. Maybe even show a few scenes…who knows. Although nothing is for certain, he still needs to give me a reply.

Also some more good news….I think we might have found a possible location to use for the Film premier, although it’s not the ideal place, I think it could still be used.

Im off for now, I'll post again soon :)

Scenes Scenes Scenes

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 14:30:00 +0000

Hey.

I think we're all set to film the scene at Ann's grandmother next Saturday, and even the 'Meeting Scene' on Sunday morning. Also, we will hopefully be filming Charlotte's important scene on Friday. If we don't do it then, we're in trouble... 'cos i doubt we'll find another day with everyone free (it's a public holiday).

So we've just written a new character into the story. She only has one scene in this film (which we've got to film before Charlotte goes abroad), but she will appear more in the sequel. Adam and Neil should be coming to my house later today to discuss how the scene is going to play out. We've also gotta go over the other upcoming scenes... Adam wants to rehearse his lines, etc etc.

Hmmm. If filming this week goes according to plan, we may actually manage to meet our Christmas "deadline"! Maybe. Possibly.... Doubt it.

Got to Think Positively

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 18:43:00 +0000

Just reread the last two posts (by Neil and myself). We're beginning to sound too depressing. Let's look at things positively:

1) At least we know about the problems beforehand and can maybe think of ways to work around them.

2) We shouldn't feel bad asking people to come... afterall, they all wanted to be in the film, and you've got to have at least a little dedication for it to be good. If they have important work, I fully understand, as what happened last week with Neil, and this weekend with Aaron.

3) Yep things are looking tough from where we are, but things always have a funny way of turning out OK in the end.

Update: A bit more good news. Franny and Chris can also make the meeting scene on that day.

It's All About The Long Term

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 14:55:00 +0000

It's been one hectic week for me and a whole lot of problems for the studio seem to be getting ready to dump themselves on us weeks in adavance! It's ok, I can take it ... I can take it.

Well, I won't offload the details of the problems, I'll leave that luxery to James. But the hill looks very steep from where I'm standing. What with school and a few dozen assignments, personal projects and life in general. I can only imagine how busy the other actors are right now. Most of them attend University, all are in some kind of school. Since the start of the film the team has lost touch. I always end up feeling awkward asking an actor if they can film or not on some date because a) They are doing it for free and b) I'm not thier closest friend, I don't have much right (read none) asking them to film. But, we will all benefit from this, and hopefully, if this studio works out, the benefit will be long term for all of us.

I was wondering if any other Independent film makers or actors read this blog the other day, if you are one, drop us a comment, we'd love to discuss any aspect of independent film making and acting. Even if your not a film maker or actor really.

Coming Soon... Problems and Uncertainties

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 11:40:00 +0000

We've got a lot of filming up ahead... really nervous about it. This weekend nothing is really planned , but we're going to try and do the "Beggar scene". But next week... well, Saturday, we're filming at Ann's grandma's house. Sunday we should be filming meeting scene (It is our ONLY chance before Charlotte goes abroad because the next weekend Tasha has a horseriding competition). Now, not counting those two, which are going to be stressful enough to do if we even do manage to pull them off, there is another scene which we MUST do of Charlotte before the 17th or 18th and another scene of hers which we really want to do...

Oh yeah, another problem. You starting to notice how many of these we have? Just found out yesterday that the garden at Ann's grandma's house in Melliaha is under reconstruction or something! And it's got "cranes and dust and bricks everywhere". BUT the house is ok she said. I just hope there won't be a lot of noise. I had written a scene that takes place in the garden, but if when we arrive I see it's too... well... under construction to be able to film, we'll have to shift the scene to inside the house.

Scary thing is we're already having problems and we're still over a week from the actual filming day.... Oh yeah, and I still have to confirm if we can film the "Meeting scene" at Chris' house on Sunday morning. IF we can't... I have no clue what we're going to do. We'll have to do it somewhere else then because that is our only available filming day. I don't even know if Franny can make it yet...

Will fill you in when I know more.

James

It Went Well

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 20:42:00 +0000

Have just finished going through today's footage, and it came good. Suprisingly, we didn't have that many problems. Okay, the beanie we had for Chris had no holes for the eyes and mouth, and the room did change slightly, and the dogs below did bark all the time, and there was barely any furniture downstairs in the hall, but that was nothing next to what I was expecting...

So I'm happy.

For now.

Unfortunately, filming will probably have to be cancelled this coming Sunday because Neil has a lot of work to do. Win some, lose some.

Sigh Of Relief.....

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 19:24:00 +0000

Hey,

Just got back from Alan's house....phew, seems like we managed to film everything we had planned.
My lesson finished at 6.30pm, it was in Sliema by the way, I rushed to Swieqi in 7 minutes and we filmed mine and Neil's part. Hope it came good!

So....Trying to arrange whats happenin tonight. Have no idea yet.

Regarding this weekend, so far we dont have anythin really planned, most probably we gonna try to do the Begger scene if Aaron can.

Anyways I gotta go, I'll post again soon...

News Flash

noreply@blogger.com (James) — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 17:44:00 +0000

Alan just spoke to me. Tomorrow afternoon is our last chance to film the scene at his uncle's house! Weekend we cannot, plus on Sunday he is removing the furniture from upstairs.

Adam has a lesson at 4:30.
Neil finishes from Mcast at 4:30.
We have till 7 o'clock latest there.
We cannot go earlier, as Alan and Chris would be at Univerisity.

If it was at all possible, we would do it on another day. But it isn't. So, this is what we're going to have to do:

Chris and I will go at 4:30 and do his part of the scene, which should take the majority of our time. Now the question is till what time Adam has his lesson. If it is till 6; no problem - he'll have to come straight to Alan and we do his and Neil's bit. If it is till 6:30... we're going to have to hurry.

Still have to discuss this with Neil and Adam, but it's our only choice, literally...

UPDATE:

Found out Ann's grandparents aren't living in their mellieha home at the moment, so filming next Saturday is going to have to be postponed till the Saturday after. But I think Ian said that that is the only Saturday he won't make it, so....

Videos and Images

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 22:21:00 +0000

Hey all,
We've posted a slide of screenshots from Blood Money (which we might update in the future) and a slide of photos of us. You can view all our slides and videos by clicking on the respective link on the right. We also have a shoutbox installed, so give us a shout!! =)

I'd also like to thank everyone who has commented on our posts. Your feedback and support encourages us greatly.

Later

Crew Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Cloud) — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 21:54:00 +0000