“Dumb humans!”

Posted on September 1, 2009 by doggans

Now that the first episode of the season has gone wide, I can talk about it without spoiling people! So, without further ado, here’s some of my recollections from shooting The Guild S03E01: "Expansion Time".

* First off, everybody involved in production of this show is awesome. EVERYBODY. Felicia is very sweet and very hard working. All the cast members are extremely witty people, and much nicer than their characters indicate. The crew was very helpful and tolerant of my occasional beginner-itis, and they gave me both positive and negative feedback on my work.
* The "Codex Webcam" segments for the season were all shot on the first day of principal photography, which I wasn’t called in for. So I have no insight on the Felicia’s brain freeze.
* The GameStop scenes were all shot on the final two days of principal photography. This particular GameStop is near Anaheim, a little way down the road from Disneyland. Driving back to the freeway on the final day, I could see the fireworks from over the fence, which was nice since I missed them when I was actually AT the park this year.
* It was very, very, VERY hot those last two days. The inside of the GameStop, where (among other things, but most importantly) Craft Services was set up was air conditioned, but I would get used to it within two seconds and it started feeling like ordinary room temperature…until I stepped outside again.
* Side note: GameStop, especially when the demo for "Ghostbusters" is set up, is the second most distracting place you could possibly have a film crew wait. (More on the MOST distracting place later this season.)
* Yes, that is the lovely and talented Kim Evey, web producer extraordinaire, under layers of costuming and grungification as the homeless woman.
* Obviously I didn’t actually talk to Wil Wheaton all that much, since most of my fraternizing was with the crew and not the uber-celebrities, but from our limited interaction, he was quite friendly. It was clear he was having a lot of fun in the role. He also appears to be terrified of large bugs, as the outtake reel will probably demonstrate.
* It’s weird being credited as the electrician. It sounds so much more professional than I feel.

More thoughts as the season continues…

“I have DOZENS of loyal fans! BAKER’S dozens!”

Posted on June 17, 2009 by doggans

For those of you who don’t keep up with me on Facebook or Twitter, you may be surprised and delighted to hear that the exciting internship I’ve secured is, in fact, on Season Three of The Guild.

Like many people, I discovered the show shortly after seeing Dr. Horrible and wondering just what else this lovely and talented Miss Felicia Day person has done. Despite not being a World of Warcraft player, I really enjoyed the characters and kept watching through Season Two. On a whim, once I got out here, I decided to use the contact form on the website and see if they had any internships available for Season Three. I thought the odds that they were going into production while I was here were slim, but hey, it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right?

Turns out they were indeed moving into production, and were very happy to talk with volunteers about being production assistants. One thing led to another, and I ended up being an intern with the lighting department!

I’ve been on set two days so far, and they’ve been very busy and tiring, but a lot of fun. I haven’t really interacted with the cast all that much (aside from constantly almost bumping into them carrying C-stands down narrow halls), but they have all been perfectly friendly. But no, I will not get Felicia’s number for you.

Obviously, I can’t tell you much about what we’ve been shooting, and I haven’t read the full script for this season, but the scenes I’ve seen shot have been very funny (I was actually grateful to have canker sores on my first day because I could bite them to keep from laughing), and from the story bits I’ve been able to piece together in my mind, I think it’s safe to say that this season is going to be pretty amazing.

Even though my duties mostly consist of relatively menial things like grabbing C-47s, guarding the front door, standing in for Zaboo, generally doing whatever I’m told, etc., it’s still very exciting to play a part in creating something I enjoy watching so much, and that so many others enjoy. I’m proud to be able to work on such a great show, and I can’t wait to see the completed season.

California, here I am, right back where I started…fram.

Posted on May 23, 2009 by doggans

For those of you who don’t stalk me on Twitter or Facebook, yes, I have graduated, yes, I did get an iPod nano as a graduation gift (Goodbye, crappy old CD player!), and yes, I am at the Oakwood Apartments in Los Angeles, California, home of the slicked-haired sunglasses-wearing suited executive who is so out of touch he thinks YouTube is a brand of swimming pool floatation noodles and yet somehow has the power to greenlight “2012”. (I, personally, have not met this guy yet, but I’m sure he lives around here somewhere.)

I flew in, departing from Hartford early Monday morning (meaning I just missed the JoCo/Paul and Storm concert that everybody else on the entire internet attended, from Wil Wheaton to Felicia Day to Al Yankovic), changing planes in Dallas, and arriving in LA in the early afternoon. Because I couldn’t exactly annoy you all via Twitter during the flight, I instead took notes to share with you all at a later date.

My friends, that later date is today. You’ve all been warned. Continue reading →

In a world where everybody else already made the In-a-world reference, one man mourns Don LaFontaine

Posted on September 3, 2008 by doggans

Part three of the Cape May Pictures Post Trilogy is coming soon…I moved into the Philly campus on Saturday, and have been spending all my time settling in and starting classes and stuff, so adding sardonic comments to pictures of the beach hasn’t been my top priority.

This post isn’t about Philly, however, it’s about one man: Don LaFontaine. Continue reading →

The ultimate geek flick: Batman vs. Dr. Horrible, directed by Edgar Wright, riffed by Mike Nelson.

Posted on July 30, 2008 by doggans

This past weekend in San Diego was the infamous Comic-Con, perhaps the largest annual gathering of geeks in the world. But as I live on the wrong coast for the event, and could definitely not afford plane tickets to attend, my weekend of geekery, or “geekend”, had to be the weekend before. “Then why wait for a whole freaking week to blog about it,” you ask? Why, because (A) I’m a lazy bastard (come on, I thought you knew me by now) and (B) I’ve been too busy plowing through the rough draft of the “Austentatious” screenplay to do much other writing. But now I have a brief window of opportunity to discuss last geekend. Continue reading →

The old overanalyzing-the-movie- based-on-the-sixties-TV-spy-spoof- in-the-blog-post trick.

Posted on June 26, 2008 by doggans

On Saturday, Lizzy and I went to catch a matinee of the “Get Smart” movie. As a fan of the classic series, despite the fact that it was cancelled seventeen years before I was born, I had been anticipating the movie’s release for quite some time. I’d been following the development of the film since way back when Will Ferrell was considered for Max. I had read the early script reviews, which kept my expectations astonishingly low. So, on Saturday, I went in, hoping to be entertained.

Was I entertained? Yes, to an extent. Did it feel like “Get Smart”? At parts, sure, but overall, not really.

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE GET SMART MOVIE. ONE OF YOU MIGHT CARE ABOUT THIS, ALTHOUGH I CAN’T IMAGINE WHO. Continue reading →

My Top Five Favorite Christmas Specials/Movies

Posted on December 24, 2007 by doggans

It’s Christmas Eve, and what better way to celebrate the season than with passive entertainment? Christmas specials and movies abound, with more produced every year, ranging from the classic to the not-so-classic. And because I have nothing better to write about at the moment (unless you want to hear about my uneventful dentist appointment this morning), I figured I’d try one of those newfangled “lists” that all the popular young bloggers have been compiling for generations. Here are my five all-time favorite Christmas bits o’ cinema/television. Because I’m too lazy to compile multiple lists, this particular list includes everything, be it a feature film or a half-hour episode of a television series. Continue reading →

Of Ghosts, and the Busting Thereof.

Posted on November 5, 2007 by doggans

You know how it is with fanfilms. Some of them suck, quite a bit. Others are pretty decent, with at least a few well-done aspects that make them worth watching. But there are a select few that are incredible, and stand high above the rest. You’ve got your “The Formula”, your TESBY/TENCLO, your “Fanboys” (the 2003 one by Peter Haynes, not the upcoming cheesy-looking theatrical one)…seems like most of the great fanfilms have been Star Wars related. Isn’t it about time somebody made, oh, I don’t know, a really solid “Ghostbusters” fanfilm?

Ask and ye shall receive. Continue reading →

It was thirty years ago today…

Posted on May 25, 2007 by doggans

Thirty years ago, a bearded guy who enjoys wearing flannel released a fun little sci-fi flick. Filled with cheesy lines, less-than-stellar acting, and a good old-fashioned “hero’s journey” plotline, the film hearkened back to the sci-fi serials of yore. Sounds like a decent summer popcorn flick, right? Bring the kids. Maybe rent it once or twice. And who knows, maybe someday a sequel would be made.

On May 24, 1977, nobody could possibly have predicted that the very next day, this movie would be released, and it would become so embedded into our culture that some people to this day can’t walk through an automatic door without waving their hand, pretending to be a Jedi. Nobody could have predicted that an asthmatic amputee in extremely protective headgear would become one of the most iconic villains in movie history. Nobody could have predicted that this movie, essentially a kids film, would go on to ensure that thousands of full-grown adults would continue to act like children, collecting action figures, playing video games, dressing up in costumes, living in their parents’ basement, etc.

Say what you will about the direction the “Star Wars” franchise has taken in recent years; you simply cannot deny the impact the original film had on the world. I’ve not watched any of the films in quite some time, but whenever I do–when I sit down and watch Luke swing across that chasm, when I hear Vader’s stunning revelation, when I watch the destruction of Jabba’s sail barge, and so many more moments–I feel like a little kid again.

Happy 30th birthday, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, 3P0, and R2. May the Force…ah, nevermind.

doggans.com

David Ganssle. On the internet. For a change.

Category Archives: Movies