Action Sequence

When the cats away the mouse doth play. I've been trying to board up one of the action sequences in the movie I'm making, 'Ciplak'. I've never had to storyboard something before so I thought I'd have a practice run at it, see if I can get the shots in my head and put them to pen and paper.

One thing I had to make sure I kept in mind was the fact that this would be the first action sequence I've ever shot, and to top it all off it involves a car and a skateboard (with a slight homage to Back to the Future and Trainspotting thrown in the mix). I need to keep in mind that

(a) We have no stunt drivers or stunt cars, so a lot of the car scenes will have to be easy and safe enough for anyone to pull off, yet with the cunning use of camera trickery look badass.

(b) I also have to keep in mind the fact that I have no stunt double, and will be doing as much skating as I can. I'm planning to meet up with Paul at some point and see if he knows any pro skaters that could pass as my double. Worst case scenario, stick a pillow in the guys t-shirt and it'll pass for my belly. If we can't get a double, tricks will have to be kept to a minimum. After all, if you're being chased by three thugs in a car the last thing you're going to do is try and pull some kickflip-backside-tailslide-shuvit-out's. Unless you we're really trying to show off.

(c) I haven't figured out the location for this action sequence. It needs to be somewhere open with quite a bit of road, but also very quiet, with minimum cars around.

(d) I'll be shooting without a permit, so wherever it is, it better be somewhere the cops rarely visit.
At one point I was thinking of taking out the skate-car-chase-scene but it's too damn fun and leads the action to the third act. By this point in time in the film you need a little balls-out action to keep the story going and interesting.

It's also quite funny in it's homage-y-ness.

Further updates as the pre-pro progresses: Right now half the cast is agreed, which includes myself, my parents (who'll be playing my characters parents, which shouldn't be too much of a stretch), Nazneen, Farah (Saiful's sister who looks nothing like him. All the good genes went to her), Saiful (as Farah's character's brother. See, we keep it all in the family) and an assortment of others. I'm trying to figure out who else to cast, a lot of the other roles are minor but would be fun to do (if any of y'all are interested holla back).

Either way, this Sunday my production manager (Diana) and I have to start scheduling everyone. Shouldn't be too difficult. Only problem is I need to finish and polish my second draft before we can start scheduling. Aargh.

Man Meth'! Any idea what kind of camera your film-buddies have? If it's looking to be something decent enough, holla back. I'll figure out how to wire you a budget for tapes and postage and stuff. Still haven't worked on Zash's character yet. Will let you know.