Well it’s been another hectic week in the Casimir Effect production hole, and this week is shaping up to be nonstop. I have insurance to get sorted, eBay auctions and locations and crew to start finalising.
Cromwell Jackson suit has arrived, the much awaited Valentino Milan suit, all I can say it it’s very nice all of the costume department were there to open it and see. It was like a birthday. All I can say is Cromwell Jackson will look damn good, and hopefully in the next week or so we will have some pictures of Neil in costume.
The meeting with the Cinematographer went well we got through most of the script and rough out some shots and scenes. Visited some of the locations again and got some more shots of Mir Steel and the Coal Exchange.
It’s all coming together now, we have our schedule it’s still a work in progress but we have a week to get everything firmed up more before I let it loose for the crew to tear to bits. Most of it is location dependant, followed by makeup needs. Because we don’t have a massive budget we need to priorities the schedule to low cost and minimise lighting setups, so we may have to suffer some grumpy crew one day to shave an hour off filming, I’m sure they won’t mind as they can get to bed earlier (I’ll provide good ketchup for them).
The Senedd in Cardiff might be Cromwell Jackson office, if we can arrange it for the day we need. However as it is a public place we will need to ensure people are safe and we don’t cause a hindrance.
The Save Ianto Jones community has raised £435 in the Valentines campaign, we would like to thank them for their help and anyone who has donated. This money will help greatly in reaching our goals. It looking like we will hit our budget, however it would be fantastic if we went over it as this would make our lives a bit easier during filming.
Interviews
We have two interviews we are working on at the moment, these should be out soon and I will let everyone know which magazines and journals we are in. It’s good to see that there is some international and industry based interest in what we are doing and as We always say were open for any interviews or questions.
After Filming
It’s been pretty much decided we have 2 months post filming to sell off all the props, costumes and set dressing we can, these will come with a certificate of authenticity. This should cover expenses and any outstanding invoices, and start out marketing and festivals fund. So get ready for April and pick up a costume, prop or set piece.
Any wish list items bought for the film will be posted back to the buyer with a certificate of authenticity, unless the buyer wants us to auction off the items for the festivals fund. So if there is anything on the wishlist you want and don’t mind us using it a great chance to support the film.
Our Amazon Wishlist, for anyone who wants to get us some props or other things. However it seems to not work for market place items, so if there is something and it won’t ship to Casimir Productions. Feel free to paypal us the money with instruction of what you want to buy for Casimir Effect.
Well it’s been a few weeks since our last update, and a busy few weeks it’s been, I haven’t had time to do anything much. This weekend was the first time I had a few evenings off. So I’ll put a lot of things in this post to get you back up to speed with where we are at the moment.
The Clobber
Our costume department is and running, we should have photos soon of the costumes as we get them done we get our publicity shots for each character. I have added them to the gallery for costumes. The Major’s uniform is now complete and I’m heading out tomorrow to collect Cromwell Jackson’s costume. As these will probably be the first to be complete expect them to be some of the first shots on the site.
Art Department
Our art department is coming together we have found just about everyone we need locally, and will be working with the University of Glamorgan’s Production Design course offering some of the students a chance to get there first professional credit.
We have also started to put our props together and building and painting many of the smaller items. I’ll get some pictures together in the coming week so you can see what we have been up to, also thanks to those who have bought some items for us. Anything that is bought for us will be sent back to the buyer after the film with a certificate of authenticity, or auctioned off if requested to raise funds for marketing.
Locations
We have our bay location sorted and signed up, also the steel works is all signed up so that’s 2 down. We are currently looking at Cardiff Coal Exchange as our major location, were now to the point where we need to get a price sorted and book it with them. They seem quite happy to have us go wild and get what we want, so hopefully they can be good for a price, as we will hold our marketing fundraiser there with a special preview of some of the scenes. I’m going to have a word with them about costs for getting local bands in to see if I can get a discount.
There are a few photos of the Coal Exchange and Atrium in the gallery, were still working with the Atrium but as were using most of their students as our art department we should get a good deal.
Fundraising
Everything is going well on the fund raising angle at the moment; I haven’t had time to do the accounts, so the total is a little out of date. A rough estimate we expect we’re well on our way to £8000. I’ll get to the accounts on Monday and update the fundraising section.
Also the #barrowpants campaign is going well. Yes these are John Barrowman’s boxershorts, yes really, the one he wore for his number on Children in Need. The original winner has kindly donated them to help raise funds. They are on eBay now and ready for your bidding.
We have also created an Amazon Wishlist, for anyone who wants to get us some props or other things. However it seems to not work for market place items, so if there is something and it won’t ship to Casimir Productions. Feel free to paypal us the money with instruction of what you want to buy for Casimir Effect.
Anything bought direct for the film will be offered to whoever has purchased it for us, once we have done with it, or auctioned on request. We will create certificates of authenticity for each item.
We have the support of Torchwood Australia who are doing a but around there group to help out, we thank you for your help and hope to make it over there one day fr a film festival. And Save Ianto Jones have put one of there fundrasing planing into full swing, for the few weeks over Valentines Day. It good to see that Gareth’s fanbase is coming together and and showing there support. It’s going to be a fun an exciting ride over the next few months and we hope that we can give something back to those who are supporting us. With set photo’s regular blog updates during filming and post-production.
SFX Weekender
What we got up to this weekend, well…
We met many new faces and found we had sent them stuff, it’s nice to put a face to a name. Thanks to all those that came over to our chalet and wasted much of the night chatting about life the universe and everything; big hugs to you all. We spent most of our time at in the signing area selling our wares and handing out flyers and generally saying hi a lot.
Well we arrived Friday evening with the #barrowpants, and had a few people coming knocking just to see them. I think it was around midnight we heard Sarah, Tess, Giorgia, and someone whose name escapes me (comment here so I can make a mental note) and dragged them in. I think we had Carol-Anne and Fee turn up at one point and a number of other people who came to say hi and have their photo taken with the #barrowpants.
The next day was not so much hectic, but we wish we had a bit more of an idea of the structure of the day. Sitting behind a table selling is harder than you think. We did well though and the remaining stock will be added to the website in the next few days along with a new print of Dr. Bob from Eloise Moffat. I overheard a lot of Cosplay people talking about Dr. Bob’s outfit, Well hopefully we will be getting the Dr. Bob publicity shots up soon. If anyone wants outfit tips we can do a breakdown of each costume and where we got each part from and what was created for the film. It would be good to see a lot of Casimir Effect Cosplay at future events.
The awards were interesting and fun, Robert Rankin made it and the random Tennant Cosplayer made the show. After that it was back to the chalet, were we had more people come over for a natter and a few drinks. Nicki, Fee, Carol-Anne and a few others turned up to escape the music of Pat Sharpe, and Neil Buchannan.
The weekend had its problems but they were all managed well and for the first event it went very well and I hope next year is better. At the moment were hoping to be there next year, with a few exclusive clips from the film, lots of Merch, costumes and props. Hey if they want us to do a talk about how we did it then were up for it. So start poking SFX to get us up there on the stage, this also might mean we can get the cast there if they have no work commitments. If we can get something off the ground, we will sponsor an outside party, something low key no loud music, a row of BBQs, marquee and heaters and hopefully a good time for anyone who wants to have the Saturday night chilling and chatting about sci-fi. So let’s start looking at putting together an outside BBQ event and chill out zone. Either way we plan on having a massive chalet party in one of the areas.
Anyway it was a good weekend and we wish we had more time to drink, sleep and party.
They say imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, though this may be the case we have has our first impersonator who I can only presume is trying to scam anyone who wishes to help the film. I won’t link to the scam account but I will say it is on twitter and it would be advisable to check who is following you and who you are following the only twitter accounts we use are @casimirfilm @gstrange42 @lydiainsane. If anyone is claiming to be Casimir Productions or Casimir Effect that isn’t using one of those twitter accounts please email us and we can file a formal complaint to have the account suspended and removed.
I have listed all out our current web pages, social media links and other links that we use so if in doubt you can verify that any link someone is sending you is valid and is part of Casimir Productions.
At the moment we only have two e-mails address we use for main mail outs and contact. If you are in doubt about the authenticity of an e-mail don’t reply create a new e-mail using one of the following addresses. The first e-mail address is the only valid one for paypal and all donations unless people set up a fundraiser, then we will post such an event on here so you can be sure that they aren’t scamming you.
casimirfilm (at) googlemail (dot) com
g (dot) strange42 (at) googlemail (dot) com
Locations
We have been out an about in the last few days trying to secure a location for the opening scenes of the film. Mir Steelworks in Newport is more than likely going to be the one. It’s stunning and epic in scale and has everything we could possibly want at the right price. Being an abandoned factory gives the production flexibility to do more and create the visuals we want. Our Production designer has given me the deed to his soul after finding this location, I get the feeling he likes it.
[Gallery not found]
Marketing
We have put together a new flyer/handout for people to use, this has more information about the production and how the film is being put together. This is a double sided full sheet flyer designed to be folded in half. It will compliment the flyers and can be used at conventions and festivals for anyone who wants to know more.
Added: 07/01/2010 Downloads: 93
A small easy to print leaflet that can be used to spread the word about Casimir Effect, it contains some basic info to entice the reader to visit the site and find out more.
Added: 07/01/2010 Downloads: 97
A small easy to print leaflet that can be used to spread the word about Casimir Effect, it contains some basic info to entice the reader to visit the site and find out more.
Using a unique funding model Casimir Productions is on schedule to reach their budget.
Casimir Effect is a lo-to-no budget film originally developed as a student film; it rapidly developed into something larger and more ambitious. Now Casimir Effect is being developed as a short feature for festival consideration. The aim of the producer and director is to develop high quality science fiction with minimal budget.
Casimir Productions had reached their first funding goal on schedule and they are set to hit their final target ahead of time. This is the first milestone in the development of Casimir Effect, and from here development will go ahead according to plan. With a planned budget of £10,000 GBP the producer is looking at potential investors to push the budget higher to give each department more flexibility and freedom to experiment and produce something stunning.
Instead of using a limited number of high profile investors Casimir Productions are using a model that relies on donations, eBay auctions and special events for supporters. Using unique ideas and the support of Gareth David-Lloyd’s and Neil Rayment’s fan base; Casimir Effect has established a core following of loyal supporters who are helping market and spread the word about the film and everyone involved.
Redeveloping this model during post-production Casimir Productions aims to get sponsorship through their planned festival circuit. With each festival being coordinated and supported by their developing community. Casimir Productions will have a number of promoters ready and eager to give Casimir Effect a strong presence wherever they go.
At this point Casimir Productions would like to thank all those who have helped out fund-raising and promoting the film. Though it’s impossible to list everyone and their individual contributions, they know who they are and should give themselves a pat on the back. With the New Year we will dig in and reach a larger audience and drive forward to our final funding goal.
Casimir Effect: Is a high concept and ambitions film developed as an independent low-to-no budget production. A story of unrequited love set on the backdrop of a temporal paradox. The film will be developed with the assistance of Skillset Screen Academy Wales.
Added: 02/01/2010 Downloads: 96
CASIMIR EFFECT REACHES THEIR FIRST BUDGET GOAL: Using a unique funding model Casimir Productions is on schedule to reach their budget.
In the last few weeks things have been on the hectic side in preparation for Christmas and being able to take a few days off and doing nothing much other than watching TV and playing games. So this is more of a consolidation post covering the odds and ends of what we have been up to.
Teaser Trailer
One of the main things we managed to get out of the door is our teaser trailer, it took a few days to put together and animate but were happy with the end result. Over the last week it has had a good number of hits on Youtube and its coming up well in searches.
This is the extended version of the trailer; there is also a shorter version, both can be used embedded and spread around the internet if people want to help promote Casimir Effect.
Fundraising
We have been doing well with our fundraising, were close to our goal for the end of 2009. The eBay auctions we have currently listed will help bring us closer to that goal. We also have our product page open as a way you can help us reach our goals, and any donations even small ones will help us hit our target.
First Budget Goal
£5,000 GBP / £5,000 GBP
31st December 2009 (On Schedule)
Though our funding model is not wholly unique, we have taken ideas from any different models for lo-budget films. But in doing this our model has become something different. It shows the power of the internet and how it can be used for small or large scale production, helping it develop and find an audience that has some vested interested in the production either through an actor, story, genre, original work or just the tenacity of the people involved. With the current film industry obsessed with event films of little substance or derivative works taking from an already existing franchise, a hand full of people are looking for something different and it has become easier to find with site such as Facebook, Youtube and MySpace.
Not only can this model of film making offer something to the audience, it makes the audience part of the film making process, by bringing them in to help market the film, and raise funds. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped us so far and for the continued support, and lets make a difference in 2010.
Doctor Who
Like most people this holiday season we watch Doctor Who – The End of Time pt1 and even though it suffers in places from being too fast paced and everything goes whizzing by. Overall it was enjoyable entertaining television, and everything a TV show should be. I have no doubt it will have its detractors, but the TV ratings show that it achieved what it was supposed to and entertain the masses. There was so much going on the two parter probably should have been a mini-series with at least five parts, where every loose end could have had time to be tied up and the return of the time lords could have been done with more suspense.
Also as a Cardiff based film we found that some of the locations might be useful in Casimir Effect. So this week is going to be digging and ringing around to get contacts and arranging visits. Alpha Steelworks in Newport will be our fist port of call, and I will see if I can cut a deal at Tredegar House, as there basement levels would be ideal for parts of the film; however the cost of Tredegar might be prohibitive.
Questions
I’m looking to expand the FAQs section, so it would be good if some of our readers can comment here and offer some questions and expand the FAQ. One new question that will be added as an example:
Why did you choose the Casimir Effect?
One of the fundamental theories of time requires vast amounts of energy and exotic matter. Using the Casimir Effect unlimited free energy can be generated, and currently science is looking into the application of the effect in power generation, anti gravity and other strange an interesting things. So with the energy situation sorted, you need to generate exotic matter (exotic matter is matter that defies the current law of physics, such as negative mass), The Casimir Effect can also be manipulated to create such matter, this is then used to open a stable wormhole through space-time and widen it. The main problem is the gravitational forces caused when crossing the event horizon. However a few theories suggest that the Casimir Effect can also be used here to create opposing gravitational forces and counteract the effect of the wormholes gravitational tide.
Casimir Effect is a quantum force even stronger than gravity it represents a level of attraction/repulsion that can be used in a story telling point. With quantum particle A being attracted to quantum particle B and becoming bound in a dance with other quantum particles to create what we know as Atoms, never touching but never being apart. This fits well into a story telling narrative of unrequited love.
This is a very fluffy description of the Casimir Effect, as it is a very complex area of quantum physics that we have only scratched the surface of. We hope that through this film that some of those who find this interesting will take this further and look deeper into quantum physics.
Well it’s been another hectic week in the Casimir Effect production hole, and this week is shaping up to be nonstop. I have insurance to get sorted, eBay auctions and locations and crew to start finalising.
Cromwell Jackson suit has arrived, the much awaited Valentino Milan suit, all I can say it it’s very nice all of the costume department were there to open it and see. It was like a birthday. All I can say is Cromwell Jackson will look damn good, and hopefully in the next week or so we will have some pictures of Neil in costume.
The meeting…
Well it’s been a few weeks since our last update, and a busy few weeks it’s been, I haven’t had time to do anything much. This weekend was the first time I had a few evenings off. So I’ll put a lot of things in this post to get you back up to speed with where we are at the moment.
The Clobber
Our costume department is and running, we should have photos soon of the costumes as we get them done we get our publicity shots for each character. I have added them to the gallery for costumes. The Major’s uniform…
They say imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, though this may be the case we have has our first impersonator who I can only presume is trying to scam anyone who wishes to help the film. I won’t link to the scam account but I will say it is on twitter and it would be advisable to check who is following you and who you are following the only twitter accounts we use are @casimirfilm @gstrange42 @lydiainsane. If anyone is claiming to be Casimir Productions or Casimir Effect that isn’t using one of those twitter accounts please email us…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CASIMIR EFFECT REACHES THEIR FIRST BUDGET GOAL
Using a unique funding model Casimir Productions is on schedule to reach their budget.
Casimir Effect is a lo-to-no budget film originally developed as a student film; it rapidly developed into something larger and more ambitious. Now Casimir Effect is being developed as a short feature for festival consideration. The aim of the producer and director is to develop high quality science fiction with minimal budget.
Casimir Productions had reached their first funding goal on schedule and they are set to hit their final target ahead of time. This is the first…
In the last few weeks things have been on the hectic side in preparation for Christmas and being able to take a few days off and doing nothing much other than watching TV and playing games. So this is more of a consolidation post covering the odds and ends of what we have been up to.
Teaser Trailer
One of the main things we managed to get out of the door is our teaser trailer, it took a few days to put together and animate but were happy with the end result. Over the last week it has had a good number…
