Summer Update

Hello there! I haven't posted here in a while because I'm in the process of moving to my own website instead of using blogger. Also, friends, I had to move the Watching Patch studio. Kind of a bittersweet time. The place I rented where I made Heavens and Speed of Sound was sold and I moved 30 blocks north to the Green Lake neighborhood. A lotta blood, sweat, and tears. But this new neighborhood is soooper nice, I must say. It reminds me of Italian horror movies from the 70's when its dark. And during the day its this ridiculously idyllic neighborhood. I've been busy directing social awareness short film for the university but look out for some more Watching Patch adventures this summer.

((Speed of Sound)) Diary Part Three

Part Three. Post-Production.

Based on my therapist's suggestion, I went to Whidbey Island to go camping. My brother lent me all the camping gear I needed. I bought a magazine. It was a Discovery magazine with hammerhead sharks on the cover. I also brought some food and booze and a toothbrush. I drove out to the ferry and made the trip, about sixty miles from my house.

It started raining when I got to Whidbey Island. When I got to the national park where I was going to spend the night, the rain let up for a while, long enough for me to pitch a tent. Making the tent was pretty much slapstick comedy. There were too many parts. I wanted to make a simple teepee and get my nature on. 

I wondered off, along the ridge that overlooks the sound; solitary and aimless, feeling crazy.

((Speed of Sound)) Diary Part Two

Part Two. Pre-Production and Principle Photography.

"Thinking it over" often means you're either waiting for your intuition to appear or waiting to see if it changes. Saying "think" is misleading, since it isn't a rational process. If it were, someone might say "thinking it through," like it was a plan. In January 2013 I was thinking it over. Whether to make the movie David and I had been planning, Speed of Sound.

I was relying on David for psychological support. 16 speaking parts. 32 locations. 2 weeks. 65 pages of script. 70 scenes total. And I still thought feature films had to be made with expensive cameras I'd never seen before, with armies of people working on them, who spoke a secret Hollywood language that called clothespins C47's. David was the first person to encourage me to make a feature, and had experience acting and producing in them. He was a warm and creative friend. He was irreplaceable.

At the end of January, my intuition hadn't changed and I decided to make the film on our original schedule. I divided the work David would have done for separate people and approached two friends of mine, Chy Chi and Erica Karnes.

((Speed of Sound)) Diary Part One

It's just about the one year anniversary of shooting Speed of Sound, I'll be posting the year-long production diary here in three installments.

SPEED OF SOUND Production Diary by Brian Perkins

Part One. Before Pre-production.

I spent most of 2012 working on a project called You Poor Thing, which was supposed to be my first feature. It was a psychedelic monster movie that had some metaphysical ideas and film noir elements, and was going to be potentially so scrappy and lo-fi it could be shot on our phones. At first it was going to be shot in Milwaukee, then in Portland.

It was an eccentric project for sure. The script was a mess, a loosely-knitted patchwork quilt of diverse influences. Ghosts and monsters appeared in it, filmed with lots of color but also with a documentary quality. That's what I wanted, anyway. It was myself (in Seattle) and several others in Portland, a small group of creative people but inexperienced film producers.

When David Fetzer told me he was moving to Seattle, the news was fucking delightful. 

Johnny Plays With The Squirrel Disco Ball

Came across this phone video from just before the shoot a year ago...

Speed of Sound *new* Trailer

Speed of Sound -- Trailer from Brian Perkins on Vimeo.

New Facebook Page for (((SPEED((OF))SOUND)))

Please like the SPEED OF SOUND Facebook page for updates and photos as we enter the festival submission rounds. Thank you!

More Post-Production Adventures

More post-production adventures today as Elijah and I put finishing touches on the VFX for Speed of Sound, utilizing the tools of modern videography.

Winter Update

Brrr. It's February and it feels like it. I know I'm from Wisconsin, but still. You adjust, and then you say "Brrr" again. 

The big winter update is that "Speed of Sound" is reworked. While holed up with the flu, watching Anthony Mann westerns all day long, I had a bunch of ideas. I thought I was done with the film back in November, but it was not so! Of course. 

I was eager to be done with it back then partly because I was stubbornly sticking to a crazy schedule drawn up by me and David Fetzer in the fall of 2012. I'm really excited about the changes--- 95 total (I'm a big list maker). We're still getting the effects done and this new version is still probably about a month out.

I've also been working often on a new feature script, and several shorts including PSA's. Spending a lot of time in the laboratory this winter, as it should be. I was thrilled to finally dust off my nice record player and put it up in the office. It's been great to get out all the soundtracks, waking up to the Electric Company theme, and having one less screen to look at if I want to listen to something. And sunny afternoons have been lovely with the squirrel disco ball.






Above, Anna Huckabay, who plays Dave's girlfriend, Kelly, in Speed of Sound, stops by.

Above, ye old faithful. Making music more mechanical and valuable, and making me more nerdy and happy.


Above, a wintry David dreams of tropical Wisconsin.

(((SPEED((OF))SOUND))) Trailer

(((SPEED((OF))SOUND))) Trailer from Brian Perkins on Vimeo.

Here it is! The trailer for the so-close-to-being-done-it-feels-done film I've been working on all this year, SPEED OF SOUND. There's some effects shots still being worked on while I'm traveling, and a few things to do when I get back. But from pre-production through post the whole movie was made in 2013, which was the plan, but still kind of surprising it worked out that way for my first feature. It's already getting submitted to festivals, more news on that and its availability here in the future. Stay tuned!

SOS 1

This is the eternal hard drive that's done most of the heavy lifting during post-production. It speaks to me like the car in Knight Rider. And lately it's been through some shit with the space heaters and circuit breaking in my house. Here's to you little buddy.

Fall Update 3

In the lobby of where I meet Elijah to talk about the visual effects, its so windy, and there's no other sound here. The sound of wind fills this space like I'm in some country mansion.



I'm submitting the film to a second film festival this week. But I'm also still completing the film. There's still about half the effects to do, several shots of color correction, credit additions, and sound mixing. We're on track to be done in mid-December, if not before.

Foley Artists

Here I am doing some foley sound recording for some of the finishing touches on "Speed of Sound." Actually Matt was recording, I'm just holding the zoom handy so he could take this picture. Our first festival due date is next week and we'll be doing work on the film til the very last minute!!

Fall Update 2

Since reaching picture lock on October 11th, there's still been plenty of work for us to do, with title card tests (top), effects shots (there are 25 of them), much soundtrack work (in addition to Matt composing the music we're both doing work on the sound mix) and I'm about to start working on getting the webpage up. The first festival we're submitting to has a deadline of November 14th, and that's the goal we're all working towards, minus some of the effects shots which will be completed after the fist submission. 

Its been a foggy, colorful, drizzly fall here. Good atmosphere for getting shit done.



I still can't help noticing these cell towers all over the place, and wanting to photograph them:

Speed of Sound Poster Art by Cecily Kuoc

Really excited to have these poster designs for Speed of Sound by Cecily Kuoc. They were recently accepted into the Look Here's Look See Director's Cut Exhibition 2013 in New South Wales, Australia.

Reaching picture lock over the weekend

More like 9 hours FCP.

Illustrations by Norah Borges de Torre + page 86

These wonderful illustrations are by Norah Borges de Torre, the younger sister of Jorge Luis Borges, and are in the 1964 copy of The Invention of Morel that was used as an important prop in Speed of Sound. 







And I thought I would the below screen shot here, too. Also from the copy of Invention of Morel. It's from a part cut out from the movie, when this footnote was read out loud by Dave (Zach):

Vincent Marcus RIP

Vincent Marcus is the character in "Speed of Sound" that leaves the message on Dave's phone. This was made for a sequence that's not in the finished film. Maybe I should've used a photo of him looking less glum?

Weekend Audio Work

Kind of a spooky, murky weekend here in Seattle. Matt and I have been working on the soundtrack across the street from a former church, above, that's now used for "scientific" experiments. We got a lot done yesterday, smoothing out the audio.



Here's Truman in the studio, showing off his sweater and triangles:

Fall Update

Working on the sound mix, and, starting over the weekend, we're off to a good start. "Speed of Sound" is on to its last phase of post-production, with effects being worked on by Elijah Tiegs, Matt Pomykalski and I are working on sound mix and he's composing and performing the soundtrack, still doing a little editing as well. Then on to titles and color correction. Aiming to start submitting to festivals in November. Here's a photo I took of Matt's little studio:


I'm hoping we get to use this at some point:


And the rainy view, from this old house: