Shooting Day 1

A long (but fantastic) day of shooting on Wednesday, with amazing professionalism on display as we moved from one complicated set-up to another. Truly great work served up by all involved.

The Storm

This was the first day of shooting Ragged Isle and it was a long one. 12 hours, 4 actors, 5 crew members, 4 locations, 2 darkened rooms, 4 make-up, outfit, and hair changes, and a whole bunch of other things. It is one of the longest days that we will have shooting Ragged Isle Season One. It was a very exciting day and I will be energized about it tomorrow when I am not so tired. I want to give a hell yeah to Meghan. She was in all of the scenes and went through all of the items listed above. The actors are the heart of this and without their talents we would just have some words on a page so thank you! Thank you!

The calm before the storm

Tomorrow is the official start of principal photography for Ragged Isle! There have been moments this evening when my brain slows everything down and I am allowed a second to consider what is about to happen tomorrow. In those moments, I am so happy.

I can't wait to go play with my friends.

AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Tonight is a race against time. Time will not win but it sure is being a bitch.

Hooked Up and Hard Over

We are going full tilt now. Woo. Eric's cottage is coming together in the corner of our living room. We also paid a visit to our local library where we will be shooting on Wednesday and found a few good options inside. I'm looking for set organizational tools. Busy. Busy. Busy.

We're Back!

It was nice to get away but it is good to be back. Camping in Bar Harbor is not as relaxing as one might think. We jumped right back onto Ragged Isle upon landing in Gorham. There was a very successful shopping excursion for set pieces and then a shooting schedule revision. We also had plenty of time in the car to iron out other details. Well, we could talk about that when we were not discussing, horrified by, or intently listening to the wretched sounds my car was making. Thank you Chris and Bob for letting us know we could drive home without blowing the car up!

There was no writing around the camp fire as we were too distracted by the family fun we were having and all the marshmallows we were eating. That is what will be going on tomorrow as well as the beginning stages of turning portions of our house into Eric's cottage and an office space into the Ragged Isle Star. E-mails will be sent out tomorrow for those who are involved with Wednesday's shoot that will hold detailed information.

See You Next Week

We are off but the scripts are coming with us. We made some notes at the reading for some minor changes to the script so we'll write some around the camp fire. A camera is coming with us so maybe we'll get some fine shots to add some more allure to Ragged Isle. Why not? Next week we shoot our first scenes!

A Selection of Late Night Ramblings

Barry and I are off to Bar Harbor all weekend for the Annual Family Camping Trip in Bar Harbor (my Mom and Step Father's back yard in tents.) It is the land of no signal so we'll try to stay connected but it'll be pretty tough. I am very excited about this trip, though and am hopeful that all of the physical activity and lovely views will inspire and awaken us. Will we bring the camera? There is a thought and I am having it at this moment. Maybe we will.

I have spent some time today ordering more things online and discussing hair and make-up with the people in charge of these things. Lucy is back on make-up. Anyone who worked on Criehaven has already had the pleasure of working with her. Grayling will be doing the hair and he is someone that Barry and I went to Belfast Area High School with so that is real cool.

I'm hoping to do some shopping and get some communicating done tomorrow before we leave. I should probably go to sleep now for that to happen.

I have all this poetry that I keep writing down and smartly erasing about how I feel right now. There's an abyss involved and other heady concepts but the main point of all of it is - I am confident. I am excited. I am ready.

So Much Wow

Just wanted to echo what Karen and Barry wrote so well in the post below. I was so excited and nervous going into this reading, having lived with and sweated over these scripts for months now. For some of the characters, I had even imagined some literally impossible casting, like "a young Peter Falk" or "Burgess Meredith" -- neither of whom is really available.

But I forgot all that the moment these actors began speaking their lines. This is an amazing group, and I cannot wait to see them in front of the cameras.

A Visit To Ragged Isle

Ragged Isle is a place that I have lived with, worked on, thought about, fought about, and sometimes wanted to blow up throughout this year. It has taken over my life. After my visit to Ragged Isle tonight, I am filled with such pride. Listening to all of these amazing people breathing life into the pages that have been, to me, things to fix and tools of organization was beyond words. It allowed me to stop thinking about what props we need, what clothes people are going to wear on what day, what time the sun is going to set in mid-August, etc. and to just hear the story. I was transported to the island tonight and it's a place even more intriguing than I could have ever imagined. I cannot wait to get this thing done so I can watch it. If the read-through is any indication of the potential of Ragged Isle then we have something really special here that will change everything.

We had a very productive meeting today with Krystal Kenville from the Maine Film Studios who got us all energized. We worked out some locations and such. Big time stuff getting done. I love it.

We did some script revisions to Episodes 1, 2, and 6.

I also did some to the shooting schedule and e-mailed those out.

The Sheriff and Deputy costumes have come in and now I have to call the company we ordered the patch from because they do not want just anyone to have a Knox County Sheriff's Department patch. I hope they let us have them. We'll see tomorrow. The shirt and pants are wicked sharp. Now for a sleek belt of black w/ silver accents.

Tomorrow is a big day with lots of lists, checking out a location, maybe shopping, and phone calls. Oh, also only the awesomely awesome read-through.

Operation Red Beard

We went to see the Gorham Library where we will be shooting soon and got some good ideas about that scene and some others. There is a lot of traffic there, which sucks but the flowers are so pretty right now, which is nice. They have some Stargazer Lilies over there that are twice the size of ours. That area has the potential to lend some charm to the island.

We are still revising the scripts and hope to finish tomorrow. Finish? Not quite the word as things will change even on set but maybe settle is a better term. The script will be settled like an old, rambling farmhouse in Maine in the spring.

We are also revising the schedule due to conflicts and location stuff.

We will be handing out new scripts and new schedules at the read-though. It will be glorious and I can't wait. The read-through is going to be truly an amazing time.

Let us not forget...

... the contributions of Rasputin Dodd as well to the scripting process

If there's any discrepancies in our production schedule you'll have Igor to thank for it.

Island approved!

Just got a great phone call from Suzanne Rankin. She will be playing the mysterious part of Gertie Kendrick in the series. She called to tell me she got stung by a bee on the foot this morning and had to sit for a spell. She had just earlier received a copy of the whole first season and this was a perfect opportunity for her to sit down and get started on it. Turns out she couldn't put it down and read the entire thing in one sitting. I had been nervously waiting to hear back from her as I had a vested interest in her opinion of the story. You see, Suzanne resides on Matinicus island. She is also the island historian and can trace her roots to the island's first white settlers in the 1700s. She is quite familiar with the real Ragged Island as Matinicus is right next door. I always kind of figured if she liked it, then we would have done our part as writers to not portray the island and it's people in any way other than positive. Let me tell you, Suzanne LOVED it! This bodes well for the series, my friends. We are island approved!

Stuff

People are actually bidding on the speaking role. Very cool. There are two days left if anyone wants to get in on that good stuff. The fun can be found here.

Barry is working on the button design and I am pining for a Ragged Isle bumper sticker.

The schedule is getting to be more specific as I hear back from locations on what is good for them. This is my big project for tomorrow after work.

A Sea of Details

We have done some shopping today. That is for sure. A lot of law enforcement items and Ragged Isle t-shirts. We'll have to go with different badges because the super fancy ones will not be ready in time. We'll get those next year.

All day I have been making contacts and sorting things out. There are so many details that we settled today and still, a lot to go.

No time to waste. I'm off to look for a cane.

The Sheriff and The Deputy

It is at last decided. The Sheriff and the Deputy will wear brown and tan. This may not seem like a earth quaking decision but really, it is. There were color schemes flying about. We went back and forth and landed at the most obvious conclusion of brown and tan. The uniforms will be ordered tomorrow as will the Knox County badges, etc. Progress.

Ways to donate

Our website www.raggedisle.com has just been updated a bit. We now have a few ways folks can help us with production costs. Under the "donate" tab, supporters can purchase one of three package deals for varying amounts. Depending on which package you purchase, included in them are the first season soundtrack (this will be available after the conclusion of the first season) a spiffy Ragged Isle t-shirt with custom artwork on the front by co-writer and graphic designer Jacob Lear and also for the top donation bracket we'll also include the entire first season on DVD. Each of those packages also include a yet to be designed Ragged Isle button for your collection. If the packages are more than you can afford but would still like to throw in, there is also a button for whatever amount you can spare. A big thanks to any of you out there that can help. It's not cheap putting this project together and anything you donate will be going directly towards our production costs.

Lastly, there is a special auction we have put up on eBay for one small speaking role in the series. It's a one day commitment, with the majority of our wonderful cast on set that day, this promises to be a ton of fun! Don't be shy, this could be your chance at stardom. At the very least it will be a chance to say you worked with a group of amazingly talented Maine actors for a day. Come join us on the island!

The REAL Ragged Island

Years ago, when I was trying to find a name for the island where we would base our Soapnet video contest entry (another story for another blog post) I was looking on a map of Maine and happened to notice an island called Criehaven that I mistakenly thought was pronounced "Cry-Haven" instead of the proper "Cree-Haven." I thought "This is perfect! We're doing a dark dramatic soapy story and "Cry-Haven" just sounds perfect.

It wasn't until we were deep into shooting before anyone corrected us but by that point the pronunciation stuck and that's what we rolled with through two rounds and a number on local television interviews. Well, now we fast forward to present day and I once again wanted to travel back to the island but wanted to call the show something different. Something more in line with the tone and style I was hoping to bring this time around. Luckily Criehaven was know by another name. Ragged Island.

Since we were doing a fictional tale of what happens on the island I thought it fitting to abbreviate it slightly to Ragged Isle but, there it is. Right on the map. Criehaven/Ragged Island is a real place that you can find on a map. I like knowing that. I hope it only ads to the mystery and lure of the real island. Hopefully, when we're all done shooting, I can take some of our cast and crew out to Criehaven to see it for ourselves. Chances are pretty good that it could happen too. One of our talented actors, Suzanne Rankin is from the neighboring island of Matinicus. How cool is that?

How to get there

Some great shots of the island

http://www.criehaven.org/

Criehaven Wiki Page

Electric Entertainment

We went to Alive at Five to see Dominic's (Ragged Isle's Mac) band The Lucid play, which very cool and fun. On our way home we looked at a couple locations and dropped a prop off to Jake to fix up. Now I sit here and I think it is time for some food and sleep. I've done some work on the schedule but need to shuffle a bit and talk to a couple locations before I can be sure it is complete.

Thank you Barry for putting "The Project" on DVD!

Last night Barry and I watched my senior project at Ithaca College that Barry Directed, I AD'd and we co-wrote along with another friend 11 years ago. It is called "The Project" and it is a thrilling, funny, charming, and flawed romp with some ancient spirits. Aside from home movies this was our first big venture that we created during our partnership in film and life that stretches back to 1991. This film was so much fun to watch and it was ambitious for the time shot on 16mm, 22 minutes in length, and the most expensive project we have ever made. Watching this re-energized me. If we could make this at that time when I had 4 other courses besides my film class, he had a full-time job, and we were separated by several states without the true benefit of the internet, then we can do anything. So, I got a crapload done today and am ready to get this thing done. What I'm ready for, I guess, is to enjoy the process and stop freaking out.

What were we thinking?

I am working on the shooting schedule. I will be doing that and costumes tomorrow. I really can't say much about that as my brain is tied in about 1000 knots.

There is a read-through of the script with as many actors as we can muster mister on 7/21. That will be really cool. I can't wait.

Heat, Peril, Ocean Voyage, and Adventure

This golf cart gave us possibilities perhaps. We are mulling this over.>> There's our ferry landing.

Heat - It was really hot today and I again burned through my SPF 50. Back to 70+ for me and from my field work I can tell you, these higher SPF's really do work better.

Peril - Bike riding in downtown Portland sans helmets. We are not built for this as we are easily distracted and frightened by cars. We braved this to get to the ferry for Great Diamond on time. Sometimes our discussions about Ragged Isle can also be perilous.

Ocean Voyage - As you probably have guessed we took a ferry to Great Diamond Island today and did a brief bit of biking. Too hot. The sea breeze was on vacation. It's a lovely place but not quite what we were looking for except for its kick ass ferry landing. That we will use . It's all tucked away from the sight of Portland, which is what we want and it's close. Also, we have permission so that is a plus. Also checked out the ferry and got some pretty good ideas and nearly plowed down about 50 tourists trying to get our bikes on and off the thing.

Adventure - Well, we had to bike in Portland again and then it was off to the Army / Navy Store. Do people still call it that? We were discussing that today. That was not at all helpful except to help us make the informed decision to look elsewhere. Grocery shopping was also completed and Subway was consumed... again. Now I am back in computer land with Windows 7 to help me but also hurt me and make me yell stupid things and scare my cats.

Islands That Have Causeways Hopping

Barry and I went to Mackworth Island today and found two very cool spots to film. There is the best tree ever there and we want it on Ragged Isle. I will secure permission to film there this week. After the walk we became very hungry and searched for something to eat. Everything was closed due to the holiday but our clever GPS lead us to a Subway in Yarmouth where I discovered the Subway Salad and my life changed forever. Why so tasty? We ate in a park that was okay but had to exit when a shirtless man began to leer at us. Don't know what was going on there... Cousins Island was a bust. No filming will be done there. Now I am reunited with my computer and we'll spend the evening together getting crap done. I chalk this up as a good day.

Tomorrow we are checking out Casco Bay Ferry Lines.. again, and the landing at Great Diamond to make sure this is the landing for us. We'll then bike around the island to see if we can find some locations and then if we do not find what we need we are going to bike Peaks. It should be fun. We've never been to Great Diamond before. Okay, this is long enough. I will tell wild tales tomorrow of our adventures on the islands.

Hello, Computer.

I have been on the computer all day getting loads done and there is no end in sight. The good thing is that I actually enjoy all of this organizational madness. I really do. Okay. Back to it.

Organizing and Recruiting

I am organizing stuff right now onto the new laptop and learning how to deal with Windows. I am a Mac girl through and through and do not enjoy jumping through 18 hoops to download and save some simple files. Anyway. End of mini rant...

As I said I am organizing all kinds of stuff in preparation for my weekend of schedules, props, costumes, locations, and script studying. This will a very productive weekend as long as I am not called into work on an emergency as I am on-call.

Barry found us a Louis today which is very exciting. His name is Adam and his is in several local bands including Confusatron, Book of the Dead, and Man-Witch. I think he'll bring some real good energy to the project.

Back to downloading files with Windows. Wish me luck.

New Laptop, Etc.

Today I purchased a laptop to, among other things, get Ragged Isle organized and ready to go. Everything has been a bit scattered so with my new toy I will get this production working like a machine. Well, kind of. I have been working through the schedule today and will continue with that all weekend. It's looking good so far. I know this is a busy ass time to shoot this thing but it's also very pretty here in Maine this time of year thus the shoot.

Over the weekend I will be going over costumes and props in further detail and will contact individuals about that. Then on Sunday, Barry and I are going to Mackworth Island to check that out as a possibility. We have another location secured for that but still want to see if there is something else that may be even better. We are still on the lookout for a couple more locations and have to get our butts out to Peaks and Great Diamond.

Scheduling

I am in the midst of gathering everyone's information for the shooting schedule which will be out next week. I am excited by this process because I feel like it is really happening now. The time for talking and planning will be over once we get through this final sprint of frenetic activity and sleepless nights. The time for action is approaching and I, for one, am ready. This is going to be one hell of a time.