We are really close now to locking down our locations. We just need to get the OK from a few folks and if all goes well, all we need to find now is a creek/river for two scenes that we'll shoot in November. But if we get the permissions we think we'll get, we should be ready to go for locations for the August shoot. Here are the results from Monday's scout:
We found our dirt road crossroads set! We may need to sort of minimize the tire tracks in the dirt but as the scene will be shot in the twilight maybe it won't be too much of a problem. Just pretend Kristine (in the foreground) is Tom, and the people in the distance are his wife and kids. It's meant to be a dream/surreal shot and I think with a light twilight sky behind them and the family in silhouette this will be pretty cool.
There is a sweet stretch of prairie facing the sunset just east of the old Estlan school building that we think we might be able to use for the scenes where Tom is building his ship. This is pretty close to Regina (only about 15 miles away) so hopefully won't cause too much trouble for any carpenter who would be willing to help us construct the ship ribs skeleton.
I used Photoshop to mock up my dream shot using this location (below):
We needed a tool room that could pass for a tool or work room from the turn of the century in a shipyard in Finland. It will be a quick scene and all shot in sepia, and we think this angle of the blacksmith shop at the Sukanen museum might work perfectly. I've given it the sepia treatment here:
I think we settled on a bedroom to use for Dami's bedroom in Finland, circa 1890. We all like the wooden bedframe and using this room will really distinguish it from the other room with the metal bedframe in the scene in the Minnesota bedroom in 1906.
And finally, I think we've finally settled on the perfect location for our little dance scene. It's a small get-together for a few families after threshing has been completed for the season, with lemonade, pies, and a fiddler or two on the porch, with a few folks dancing and visiting on the lawn. Here are a couple of shots of the outside of the old farmhouse at the Sukanen museum...
... and here is Raul's beautiful Photoshop concept painting of what this would look like when it's dressed. I love this painting and saved the best for last!
The next post should be an update on the costumes and props. We're losing Brette to a French immersion program in Quebec for six weeks in a few days, so the push is on now to get as many costumes nailed down as we can, as this is one of her strongest areas. Things are really picking up speed!!!
Until next time, Sisu!
2 comments:
Having been a 'student' of the Sukanen Saga for well over two decades, I am blown away by your honest enthusiasm, depth of research and attention to accuracy and detail.
Many film makers get so caught up in their interpretation that they lose site of the real story. Tom Sukanen's story certainly does not need any embellishment as the real truth is bigger than life. I am proud to be associated wtih this fabulous project and look forward to meeting and working with the members of the cast.
The good karma surrounding this initiative is enormous!
Thanks for your feedback, Rod. I am getting pretty excited myself.
I am trying to be as true as I can to Tom's story, and sifting through the layers of myth and legend, trying to find the real man, has been a challenge. Ultimately there are quite a few holes in the story, which provided the challenge that prompted the framework of the film, which is a series of memories Tom has from his bed in the North Battleford Mental Hospital.
In the final analysis I have realized I will never know or understand Tom fully but I hope with this project to introduce a new way of looking at him that introduces the poetic and artistic side of the kind of nature that would conceive of such a marvelous idea.
So in many ways it is my story too. Be prepared for my vision to be part of the project! It's not a documentary, it's an art film after all!
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