Long ago, before I was an internet celebrity, my hobby was independent filmmaking, with some modding on the side. Then of course the modding hobby took over my life and became my job, while other hobbies faded away… As of 2008 it’s been 6 years since we’ve done a movie – which might not sound like a lot but in the old days the biggest gap between our indy productions was maybe 11 months.
This snake slithered onto our filming location so I put it in the movie. Hopefully it’s not SAG because I didn’t pay it…
Not content with this state of affairs I set out to make a movie this summer, dammit. On a couple occasions we’ve almost made a sequel to our “amazing” 1995 effort Possumus Man and I decided this time we’d actually do it. Also it’s somewhat easy to film, compared to say Port Washington, as it takes place mostly in the woods. We’re shooting in hi-def using the Panasonic P2 camera – no more manual tape capture!
Mike Adsit and Jason Jones standing by a campsite where a horrific battle is about to ensue. Mike co-stars in this movie, while Jones thus far is mostly cameraman. Hi-def requires more emphasis on good focus, and he’s doing a bang-up job.
We started filming this last weekend and expect to continue about every other weekend this summer. Locations are mostly south central Wisconsin, though we may also do some shots up north around the Rice Lake / Birchwood area.
For up-to-date info, or to just check out another Benheck blog, visit The Official Possumus Man 2 blog.
Can’t wait to see it guys.
Great to see you working a new movie 😀
hopefully this movie wont have 4 years of post production.
Bjorno, I hope so too! The plan is to not loop dialog unless ABSOLUTELY necessary, film only on Saturdays (because planning Saturday-Sundays like PW never works cause after filming on a Saturday people are too pooped to do the Sunday and then you get behind) and most of the effects are in-camera, probably no more than 20 CGI shots.
I have a secret “finish date” in mind but I’m keeping it to myself to avoid jinxes. HINT: It’s not 2012.
Wow. 20 CGI shots? I remember when that would have been a *LOT* for any movie.
I’m about your age Ben.
When did we get old?
(love the podcast BTW)
20 is pretty low for 2008… Port Washington was a romantic comedy and it had I believe around 220… Considering this is an “action film” it’s quite a difference.
Well it might go higher… I’ve got about 13 minutes rough-edited already and there’s about 3 effects already. But they’re pretty simple. Guns, for instance, will always be actually fired unless it’s unsafe to do otherwise.
Hossrex, I find it funny how indy film technology has changed. When we did “The Adventurous” I had 7 gigs of total hard drive space and that was a TON in 1997. Then Port Washington took about 120 gigs, now PM2 will be around 500 I’d guess, since it’s hi-def and probably around 90 minutes long.
Which is why we need electric cars… electronics only get better & cheaper, unlike a lot of things!
This is gonna be sweet, Port Washington was so great. But will you still be finishing Alien Hunter?
I’d like to but that’ll take a LOT more work and especially pre-production that PM2. So we’re doing this first.
I am glad to get back into filmmaking, even though I don’t make any money at it 😉
I can’t wait! Even though Benjamin Heckendorn movies are corny, I love to watch them over and over and over again. I will be one of the first to download when it becomes available! I am so cranked now!
How about the FX in “Adventure” (or am I mistaken in the name – I’m thinking “Adventurous” was the sequel)? That dinosaur was killer. And where can I download “Port Washington” so that I can finally see it!!
@Jelpi
You can find the download of PW on the Movies page.
http://benheck.com/movies
Just under the Synopsis of the film there is a download section with a couple different versions available for download.
Enjoy!
Hey guys,
I am making an Indie film this summer too! Ben Koelsch and I started editing small sample clips just today so I can begin filming. We are using Final Cut Pro on his Mac, and I am still learning the ropes, but what we have done so far (don’t get too exited, only like 5 mins) looks good for my first GOOD attempt at making a movie (hopefully its not like Hawaian Detective).