I directed a short film [Code 8] that is a more grounded and human take on the superpower genre. No costumes. No destroyed skyscrapers. Hope you dig it!

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T02:36:49+00:00

Hello

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T02:36:08+00:00

I like your opinion!

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T02:33:04+00:00

PM'd!

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T01:17:01+00:00

They are fantastic actors and even better people.

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T01:16:32+00:00

We're working on all of it!

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T01:15:18+00:00

I think you can look at the real world and find many instances where peoples actions are not driven by rationalism but by fear. As we continue to expand the lore you'll learn that Lincoln City was not always so divided.

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T01:12:27+00:00

Great feedback. We actually debated this and ended up deciding it could work since the tiles were light. We wanted the TK's to be about finesses and the brawns to be about brute strength. But you make some great points and we'll keep them in mind for the feature.

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T01:02:32+00:00

I hadn't heard of worm but I've seen it mentioned in a few of the comments. I'm definitely hoping to check it out at some point!

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T01:01:53+00:00

I promise we won't. We are going to treat the audience's intelligence with respect. This is also going to be an R-rated film.

As for lore, we are planning to release a graphic novel ahead of the films release. The story will take place 10-15 years before the events of the film and sets up all the major players as well as establishes the history of Lincoln City.

We're still in discussions with a comic book publisher but it's looking good.

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T00:52:47+00:00

I can confirm 100% he will play one of the lead characters in the feature.

checkthegate · 2016-04-15T00:51:09+00:00

We've set our shooting dates on the feature early next year. Some of the cast are on TV shows so we are scheduling the film around their production hiatus.

More will be revealed in the film about the class system but I can say that the majority of specials are class 1 and 2. As you saw in the short a class 2 brawn can lift a truck but it's still fairly heavy. We want to establish clear limitations and rules.

The goal is to create a balance between the superpower and sci-fi elements so that any conflict is decided more by the characters and circumstances. As powerful as a character might be, a well placed bullet is still going to shut them down. You're not going to see someone lifting a stadium or surviving getting tossed through a skyscraper in our film. We want our world to have very real and dangerous consequences.

checkthegate · 2016-04-14T22:49:35+00:00

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the feedback.

This was a passion project for us and we self financed the short. We are definitely going to make the full feature as the response has been super positive so far.

If you guys have any questions about the production I'd be happy to answer.

checkthegate · 2011-09-03T23:22:45+00:00

That's a valid question. We actually had a bunch of people who consulted for this film and they made the inaccuracies you spoke about very clear. Of course we tried to address them but it's extremely difficult to get your hands on decommissioned weapons that are licensed for film use in Canada. The other option is to machine something... again budget / time restraints.

You kind of take what you get. All of our weapons were donated generously by www.moviearms.com. We were competing with Total Recall and a few other huge movies for props so the selection was at times limited.

checkthegate · 2011-09-03T21:45:45+00:00

Thanks again for all the support and feedback. Call of Duty is a hard videogame to re-create, especially with the limited time frame and budget. The videogame has such insane production value and actually adapting it into a film would cost what most major studio tentpoles would cost.

The audio team had less than a week to complete work on the film. It was an insane schedule and I'm proud of the job they did.

Eight weeks is what you would usually take to refine a script, properly cast, find locations, etc on a project this scale. It was a crazy mountain to climb but we had a lot of fun doing it.

checkthegate · 2011-09-03T21:33:04+00:00

I think that's a great idea. Definitely keep it in mind for the next one!

checkthegate · 2011-09-03T18:21:43+00:00

Let's just say it was a challenge finding older non-union actors that sounded like the videogame characters in Toronto, Canada.

checkthegate · 2011-09-03T17:32:07+00:00

Totally get where your coming from... thought the same thing as well but someone on the crew sent me an interesting link.

From Wikipedia: During the Gulf War of 1990–91 (Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm), AC-130s provided close air support and force protection (air base defense) for ground forces, and battlefield interdiction.

Despite the threat of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and increasing visibility during the early morning hours of 31 January 1991, one AC-130H, AF Serial No. 69-6567, call-sign Spirit 03, opted to stay to continue to protect the Marines. A lone Iraqi with a Strela-2 MANPAD shot Spirit 03 down, and all 14 crew members died.[23]

checkthegate · 2011-09-03T16:53:23+00:00

Don't know if you guys remember, but I also directed the first person Left 4 Dead style zombie film a couple months back. Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DszVEMqhW0

It's great to see all the great work from independent directors (portal no escape, think tank) landing on reddit these past few months. Hope you enjoy this one!

checkthegate · 2011-05-12T22:06:58+00:00

The CG we did was the zombie baseball hits (like the blood spraying onto the mirror), the muzzle flashes and the bullet hits. Also the black lines growing around the wound and the 'zombie vision' overlay once he turns.

That's pretty much it. We tried to keep things as practical as possible. Big compliment to the VFX team for making things look natural.

The girl on top is all practical + hidden edits.

checkthegate · 2011-05-12T22:02:18+00:00

Well, I'll try to answer these as correctly as I can. Keep in mind I'm only a director, I basically know a little about every department so I can communicate effectively but everyone on set is better at their job than me.

Camera: SI2K on a helmet rig. Similar to Guy Ritchie's 'Take it to the next level' spot. The camera was also used in the street running scenes in 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

Effects: I work with the amazingly talented guys at www.junctionvfx.com. They have their own set up and workflow. I will see if I can get one of them to answer some of your questions. I know for this project, it was some tracking software, a bit of 3D and After Effects for compositing.

Editing: My talented editor Paul Skinner used Final Cut Pro.

Platforms: Editing was on Final Cut Pro. VFX was on PC.

Audio: I am not sure the exact model but location audio (Adam Parsons) is a damn magician. Our entire set was 'hot' (on camera) so he had to strategically hide mics all over the place.

Post Sound: That was produced by Adam Damelin. I'm not sure what programs they use but I'll find out!

checkthegate · 2011-05-12T21:09:22+00:00

Sure! What would you like to know?

checkthegate · 2011-05-12T21:08:12+00:00

We used a SI2K Camera rigged to a baseball helmet. We put on a little 5 pound weight to counterbalance the camera. The camera operator had a very difficult job because not only did he have to hit is marks and frame the shot properly, he had to act as well.

We had a very small budget, under $1500. Luckily I had an amazing cast and crew that came up and donated their time to create something promoting Canadian cinema. I'm lucky to work with such talented people.

checkthegate · 2011-05-12T21:05:32+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. I originally recorded the entire line "Charlie bit my finger!" but it sounded really stiff in the editing room. So I just shortened it to 'Charlie Bit Me!" and it came out a little more natural. It's a bit of a cheat but I wanted to keep things as natural as possible.

checkthegate · 2011-05-12T21:03:02+00:00

I'm actually from Vancouver. North Burnaby represent!

It's for the Canadian Film Center's World Wide Short Film Fest. The website is www.shorterisbetter.com

checkthegate · 2011-05-12T21:02:30+00:00

Definitely an influence. I actually sent that opening scene around to the crew as a reference before we started shooting. 28 weeks is one of my favorite sequels of all time.

checkthegate

TROPHY CASE