Dreamstalker Films

Welcome back fans!  It’s been quite awhile since I’ve had a chance to update the site so there’s a lot to go over.  First, I am proud to announce our second completed short film of 2010, “Laptops’ Revenge”  is now live!  This project has pretty much consumed every waking moment (not already consumed by my day job) for the last couple of weeks.  It was a difficult pre-production and the most complicated post-production I have ever had to do on a deadline.  So thanks to everyone for their patience on this, and thanks especially to the entire cast and crew that made the actually shooting of the film fast and painless.  Watch the video below and  check out the full page for the film here.

Second, I’d like to update everyone on the Slayer Wars 3.  In June we shot the last external day sequence for the film and the last night of several that it took to complete the Zombie Onslaught of the VSJ HQ sequence.  I’d like to thank everyone for both shoots, but especially for coming out and shooting in the very, very hot day (especially little Beverlee for enduring the heat under the dreaded Jar Jar mask for much of that time).

Completion of these shoots marked passing the halfway point in the shooting of the entire film.  We have since been on hiatus on this project for two reasons.  1) To give us time to complete some quick short films before the end of the year.  2) To allow the hot Phoenix summer to pass the hottest months.  3) Finally, to give us some time to figure out where our sets will be for the last half of the production schedule (we’re still working on this, but I think we have some good ideas).  We should be going back to Slayer Wars 3 hopefully by mid-September to complete at least one of the sets that takes up the bulk of what is left.

Additionally, I have continued to work with local band, 49 ‘Til Midnight.  I recently videoed 3 songs for them at their studio in Tempe (You can see the A Camera footage on our YouTube page).  I recorded A and B Camera footage and hope to have those all edited together to make a full video for each of the three songs soon.

Next up for shooting, a short shoot for a video of the Amoric song, “Who Are You (Spooky)”

Keep checking back and become a fan on Facebook for all the most up to date info from DreamStalker Films!

Welcome, DreamStalker Films fans!  We have a brand new section on the site for Music Videos/Performances.  The section has been set up to showcase local bands and composer’s works filmed by DSF.  We’ll be adding music videos that we will be producing for artist Scott Kos, composer of most of the DreamStalker Films.

Now, however, we are proud to announce live performances by local AZ band, 49 ‘Til Midnight, available on our website.  The first 3 songs from their 6/5/10 show are now live, check out the new 49 ‘Til Midnight page on DreamStalker Films here and be sure to check back on the site soon for more songs from this show!

Welcome back everyone!  It’s been quite awhile since I’ve had any updates here so we could get everything prepared for the Phoenix 2010 Comicon May 27-30.  Here are the DreamStalker Films’ details on the event.

Firstly, DSF will have a table for the entire Comicon, located at the Phoenix Convention Center in the Vendor Room, table T120 (look for the DreamStalker Films banner).  We’ll be showing the DreamStalker Films DVD Reel with all of our completed films, trailers, and special features on a small T.V.  We will be selling copies of the DreamStalker Films Shorts Vol. I DVD ($5 each), DSF logo T-Shirts ($20 each for S, M, L, XL, or XXL -Small pictured left as modeled by Shannon Griffith and the logo above), and DreamStalker Films logo car decals ($5 each, pictured below).  Additionally, the first 10 people to buy any item will receive a free copy of the original Slayer Wars: Uber-Special Edition.  Don’t worry if you’re not one of the ten, everyone else that buys anything will receive a ticket for our prize drawing that will be on the last day of the Comicon when we’ll be giving away another ten copies of Slayer Wars!

While you’re there sign up for one (or all) of our e-mailing lists so you can keep up to date on everything DreamStalker Films is up to and volunteer to help out with upcoming projects!

Secondly, on Friday, May 28th, at 1:43 pm, DreamStalker Films’ most recent film, “The Family That Decays Together…” will premiere at the Phoenix Comicon Film Festival!  Be sure to check it out, and then, feel free to stop by the DSF Table and talk to the creators about it (and pick up your own copy of the film on the DreamStalker Films Shorts Vol I DVD )

Finally, a Slayer Wars 3 update:

Last weekend we had two more nights of shooting on Slayer Wars 3 that went extremely well.  We got more great footage for the Zombie Onslaught of the VSJ HQ Scene and it’s really coming together now.  I’d like to thank everyone who came to be extras and help out this weekend (especially the whole Noel clan, Morgan, and Matt who made up our zombie cast this weekend and made it easy for me to fill up each shot with zombies).

Our next shoot will be on Sunday, May 16th, 7PM.  This will be a short shoot (I hope to wrap by 9) that will allow us to get the last shots we need with Jake, which are only a few but at least one is going to be rather difficult and is important to get right as it’s the whole reason I wrote the scene.  So, any of our principle actors that can show I hope to see you there, and we’ll also need at least a few zombies, so anyone else that can come would be appreciated, whether they have played another role in the film yet or not.

The shoot after that is planned for the morning of Saturday, June 5th, which we’ll be filming the scene that will be at the very end of the film.  Tentatively I am thinking of also filming that evening in what would likely be the final night for the Zombie Onslaught scene.

Alright, that’s all for now (isn’t that enough?)…

Welcome back returning DSF fans, and a hearty hello to any new visitors to dreamstalkerfilms.com!  If you are new to the site, please be sure to check out the FILMS link above and take a look at some of our completed short films before you leave (and come back often).  For our regular visitors we have something new to watch… A brand new short film!  “The Family That Decays Together…” was shot and completed over President’s Day/Valentine’s Day weekend for A3F’s Annual 48 Hour Film Competition.  Unfortunately, our film fell in the bottom and didn’t even get an honorable online mention.  However, I still think this is one of the better short films we have put together so far, and certainly the best we have done in 48 hours.

Click here to view the film or for more details on the production of the film.

For more behind the scenes pictures, check out the Facebook album for this film here.

Upcoming Events:

More filming for the final chapter of the Slayer Wars Trilogy picks up this weekend with Day 11.  This should be our first glimpse of zombies for the film.  Still plenty more to do on this project (as I have seen in my immense shot list for the rest of the film) so watch for more updates coming throughout the year.

I am focusing strongly on the Phoenix Comicon coming up at the end of May.  In the next few days I should have a special feature for the DreamStalker Films Short Film Collection Volume 1 DVD completed.  This will be a short preview of the films to come from DSF.  The DVD will be available for a small fee at the Comicon.  For certain it will include “Dreamscape Excursion,” “Game of Stamina,” “Down and Out,” “PSA: Don’t Drive and Text,” and “The Family That Decays Together…”  In addition to the preview special feature I’d like to get a gag reel assembled for it, and possibly some short films from some friends who’d also like to help get their names out there, but no promises.

The original Slayer Wars will be available for free on DVD at the Comicon on either a first come/first serve basis or we’ll be raffling them off as we will have a limited supply.

More to come on the Comicon as it develops.  Hopefully we’ll have more swag to give away as well as shirts and decals to sell.

It’s gearing up to be a pretty hectic few months coming up, so come back often to read more updates on the happenings of DreamStalker Films.

After a very short post-production, the Public Service Announcement on not texting while driving is finally complete.  I’d like to thank Nick and Scott for there fast work on the soundtrack over the holidays.  Thanks to everyone else (especially Shannon) for their patience with me while I absorbed myself into finishing this project.

Now that the films are online we need all of our fans to be sure to watch all of the versions (and as many times as possible) and pass the link onto your friends.  The more hits we can get the more that will help us in getting the 30 second spots to be broadcast on local television.  So please help us out with that.  We encourage you to also leave comments on the film here on the main page and/or on the YouTube pages (where the films are actually hosted).

Here is the direct link for the PSA page on this site so you can email it on:

http://www.dreamstalkerfilms.com/films/psa-dont-drive-text/

Click here to go to the PSA page and view the films now.

Remember DreamStalker Films is also on Facebook and MySpace.  Click here to see the Facebook page. Be sure to become a fan on that page.  Click here to see the MySpace page. Be sure to send a friend request.

The 30 Second Spots will also be available directly on the Facebook and Myspace pages.

Don’t forget to bookmark dreamstalkerfilms.com if you have not already and come back often.  Stay tuned for our next post about 2009 in review and our upcoming plans for 2010.

Welcome DreamStalker Films fans and anyone visiting the site for the first time!

First, I’d like to update everyone on the Public Service Announcement that we have been working on with Boy Scout Troop 87 about not texting while driving.  The project is going amazingly well, especially considering the short amount of time that there has been to work on it at this point.  It has only been about a month since we first broke down the concept.  We finished the pre-production in a week and a half, shot the film in one weekend and two weeks later we have a third take at a rough cut that is pretty close to a finished cut.  You can see it here.

Second, a quick update on Slayer Wars 3.  Day 8 was completed amidst the shooting for the PSA.  This finishes up all of the “graveyard” shooting.  We should be getting back to shooting in the early part of January.

Hey everyone just a quick update.

“Down and Out” had it’s first premiere last night at the A3F One-Shot Film Festival.  Unfortunately as we did not make the top 20 our premiere was at 6:30 pm.  Not many people got notice of this and therefore missed it.  Nonetheless we had a very good turnout and the film seemed to have a positive response.  Since the top 20 were shown at 8, there was some time for some Q&A with the directors of the Honorable Mention films (the ones that did not make top 20).

I was the first up and answered some technical questions as well as some fun ones (like how many times did Derek get slapped?

The top 20 were very enjoyable for the most part and my hat is off to all the teams that made it into that group and to Minus Mitchell Productions for their much deserved best film award.  A3F will be posting those top twenty on their site in the next few days…

But you don’t have to wait for “Down and Out” because it is live now.  Click here to go to the “Down and Out” page and take a look.

Another weekend of filming completed, but this time, not on Slayer Wars.  This weekend we competed it A3F’s 48 hour One-Shot Film Challenge with 29 other teams.

The fun began with a mixer in Phoenix on Friday night.  At the end of the gathering they revealed the details for the 48 hour films.  They needed to be one continu0us shot of 1-3 minutes (that part we already knew), needed to have a specific line of dialogue, theme, and prop.

To make a long and sleepless story short, we did it!  We completed the film fulfilling all the requirements and actually with a few hours to spare.  I don’t think it is the best film we have ever done and I am somewhat concerned with whether or not it will be seen as a comedy when we were going more drama (you’ll understand when you see it), but I am extremely proud of all of the cast and crew for all of their hard work and support.

We should be hearing back on whether we got into the top 10 or not by the end of the week.  The top 10 will be screened on October 22nd at the A3F Festival.  If we make it, I hope everyone can try to make it, I know it’s a Thursday night…  But if not, the film will be available here on dreamstalkerfilms.com after the festival!  In the meantime you can check out some further details on the film, “Down and Out”  on it’s new page here.  Also, there are more pictures from the set on the DreamStalker Films page on Facebook.

Hey everyone, dreamstalkerfilms.com actually has films on it now!  What a concept, I know!  If you click on the films link on the upper right navigation you’ll be able to get to all the individual film pages for all the DSF projects past, present, and future, embedded straight from YouTube.

Currently, that means that our second film, “Dreamscape Excursion,” third film, “Game of Stamina,” and the teasers for Slayer Wars 1 and 2 are available.  I know everyone keeps bugging me to get Slayer Wars 1 on the web but that thing continues to be the bane of my existance.  I am currently having problems converting it to a format that will work over the web (that isn’t a tiny image with horrible resolution).  I have to go back one version and reconvert, now. I’ll get that started before I crash for the night.

As far as the fourth (“Cubicell”) and fifth (“The Right Knight”) films are concerned, they are both awaiting visual effects and music and it may be some time before they are up in any form.  I will update the pages with photos and possibly the rough cuts (the rough of “The Right Knight” is currently on our MySpace and Facebook pages, by the way).

Welcome everyone!  This is our first full post!  As you can see dreamstalkerfilms.com has just had it’s skeleton structure put together thanks to the talents of Zach Reddy.  Now it’s up to DreamStalker Films co-owner, Joe Benzer (Herr Direktor), to provide with some muscle and skin to the site.

We’ve had many people asking us if our films are online.  Well, they soon will be.  Currently “Dreamscape Excursion,” “Game of Stamina,” and some unfinished films and clips can be found on our MySpace and Facebook pages.  We’re working on making them all available on YouTube as well and of course making this site a one stop shop for all things DSF.

Just a quick update on the current film, “Slayer Wars 2: Revenge of the Vampyre-Slaying-Jedi”  before getting back to work on the multiple projects we have right now.  Yesterday we completed the 22nd shooting day and it went wonderful. We have 63 very good looking shots and have completed the entire scene which has already been captured and is being backed up.

More pictures can be seen of this day on the DSF Facebook page.

We would like to thank Chrissy and Jeremy Palmer for feeding the cast and crew before we got outside to get baked in the AZ heat for several hours.

Also a big thanks to Matt for toughing it out in full makeup and falling down the hill.

Thanks to Scotty Kos for toughing it out and doing camerawork.  Without you we would not have been able to get the beautiful footage we got yesterday.

Last, but not least, thanks to Shannon Griffith for taking the wonderful pictures, driving everyone to set, and doing all the other stuff a P.A. does (which is everything!)

Our next shooting date is on September 5th and will be the last major shoot for Slayer Wars 2.  We need plenty of extras, so if you’re interested contact us here or on Facebook and bookmark this site, their will be plenty of new stuff to come!

-Herr Direktor