A Special Thanks To Cody Ketcher

It all started a year and a half ago in December of 2012 with inspiration from Fallout: Nuka Break's first season.  As the idea grew and matured it became a goal, then as that goal was worked on and improved it became a project, finally the project was in motion and was to become the real deal, a legit film, something awesome... everything seemed to crash down.

1. The day before a couple actors & a crew member messaged that they couldn't participate in filming the next day.
2. A key actor was feeling ill production morning.  With some coaxing he still came along, being a good sport but feeling weak the whole time.
3. On location some equipment & props were discovered forgotten and makeup & hair were turning out bad due to the lighting.

With the weight of the all the responsibility, of having taken all these new & old friends valuable time (including the fact that Cody Ketcher had traveled all the way from Salt Lake City to help), and the disappointing developments creating a impossible adequate film... CK could've been no closer to giving up 100% on the whole project/goal/idea (even with all the time and great amount of money put into it all).  Just as he sat down in the dirt pondering on how to tell everyone "Sorry, thank you but let's go home," but leave out the despair he felt and how he was not only going to give up this Fallout project but FILM altogether and forever, he heard Cody say his name.

We don't know what Cody was thinking or why he was prompted to speak at that moment, but he loudly took a sort of charge and suggested to CK that the day's shoot and the coming couple of film shoots be just a rehearsal.  Coming from the one person that had given the most, second to CK, that meant so much more than anyone can understand.  ...So with that we move on and begin again, going on to create & build a great idea.

Whew, That Was A Close One! :j

So sadly we were not able to get Episodes 1 & 2 filmed these last few weekends.  Though it may have turned out for the better because what was supposed to be a really awesome setup, was not really prepared like it was supposed to be after all.  That's all an afterthought anyways, so let's back up a bit to mid October:

Day -14
It's two weeks before the first scheduled film shoot, we have had a short meeting with a bunch of the extras already and now we're meeting with Cody Ketcher (playing Running Red).  We do a Skype meeting with him since he's moved up to Salt Lake City, most of the crew are physically present along with a couple other actors.

Day -10
All actors, actresses, & crew are still commited and keeping their schedules clear for the film dates (bless their volunteering hearts).  CK & John Johnson meet with Darrell Phillips to see their prosthetics being created for the film, they look great!

Day -3
Due to school, work, and other film duties CK isn't able to get some costumes made for some of the characters till today.  Some of the accessories aren't mailed on time and arrive the following Monday, clearly after the scheduled film shoot (but it's due to a babysitter's slacking, not the seamstress that created the parts).  Another full costume is made and ready the day of filming.

Day -2
7:00pm  ~  A actor playing a raider extra texts CK telling him he wants to drop out.  CK spends the next 30 minutes recommiting him to show up (he was needed because another actor had to work, making this recommitment essential).

Day -1
11:05am  ~  Cody sends CK a text telling him due to unexpected financial difficulties he might not be able to drive down to STG from SLC for the film shoot.
12:00pm  ~  CK pulls out all the stops and tries to see if any of his many great relatives in the Salt Lake valley can talk to Cody and/or help him out.
2:05pm  ~  Cody sends CK a text telling him that CK's Grandpa & Grandma Stratford visited him and that he should be making it down to St. George.
5:45pm  ~  CK speaks to Katherine Tyler for some advice about creating a prop and gets a second confirmation that Cody is indeed coming down for the film.
7:00pm  ~  Due to time constraints CK has to tell a actor that since the actor can't get a ride, and CK is swamped with other film duties (preventing him from driving up to Cedar City to pick the actor up), he'll have to let the actor go for this coming film shoot.  Thankfully the actor understands and is still willing to act later.
7:05pm  ~  One of the main characters, one of the guys that know parkour, texts CK telling him he's sick and can't show up.

Day 1
7:00am  ~  A actor texts CK telling him he's really sick and can't show up.
8:45am  ~  CK sends a couple actors to pick up the still sorta sick/queazy parkour actor.
10:30am  ~  CK contacts Darrell to make sure he doesn't waste time showing up to a "practice" film shoot

Then on the morning of that first scheduled film day, BESIDES the actor problems, a bunch of the equipment was either missing or didn't work (gunshot effects, missing batteries, forgotten camera parts, etc).  So CK had gotten so depressed and lost at this time, not because he couldn't do the film he wanted to create but because he was letting everyone down and felt he was wasting everyone's time.  Especially those that had truly gone out of their way to help him out.  It was at this point that CK Stratford very seriously considered pretending to film for just a couple hours, canceling that night's shoot, and then never EVER look to film or anything like it again.

Thankfully at this extremely low time, Cody of all people (the one that had given the most time & money) suggested that the filming just be considered a "rough draft" and that we just film at a later date.  So that's what we've decided, have done, and will do.  :)  We'll see you later!

Bzzt! ...Is Secure! I Repeat, Location Is Secure!... Shhsk!!

Well, we've done it!  =D  And we are now more committed than ever before!  We have spoken with the desired film location's owners and have been granted permission to shoot the coming webisodes on their land.  CK went to a meeting a few days ago and presented his plan of filming and discussed the responsibilities & the desired compensations.  We were crossing our fingers and praying that we'd be granted their permission, partially since the permission for an alternate location that would've been in a couple scenes was denied.

Now due to the agreement, we are not allowed to tell you where we are filming so if you just happen to know: DO NOT REVEAL THE LOCATION, please.  Thank you.  :)  In addition to other various contracts being made, we're in the works of creating a contract so that all those involved with the film (collectively) will be held accountable for all the involved's actions done to the land during their times spent on set.  This'll include responsibility for helping make sure things are better than when we found it.  Just a head's up to those involved and actually reading this.  ;)

Getting Better And Better!

Boy, this is just getting better and better! These coming film shoots will be two webisodes filmed at once, officially episodes #1 & #2, and thankfully the Lord's blessed us with even more interested talent. The few flyers around town (& on Craigslist) have produced many more connections to create a MUCH better film. How much better will these episodes be than the pilot? Let us count the ways...

1. Bob Willard
• Professor at Dixie State University, but before teaching he'd worked on a multitude of films (most recently Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) with special effects. He teaches classes in special effects, lighting, & production design. He'll be lending some of his effect equipment.
2. Cragun Clayburn
• Excellent makeup effects artist with body parts, but learning how to create great face masks too (he's a sort of apprentice to Darrell). Deals mostly in pretty gruesome prosthetics, hopefully he'll branch out.
3. Darrell Phillips
• Awesome face mask/prosthetic creator, has done legit creations for many films.
4. Eric Pickett
• Great guy beginning into the lighting field, owns a few lights with gels to create the right mood. Also an aspiring actor!
5. Chris Johnson
• Good amount of audio experience by helping his father who has been dealing with audio (including DJing) for over 40 years.
6. _____ ________
• Great portfolio of music experience, has the ability & talent to go really far in life with their work.

So how does all that sound? Oh, you want pictures too?!  ;)  Okay, here's a few samples for you:

Interest Growing On It's OWN!

HOLY SMOKES! We didn't think there'd be much interest in this series so early! As you can see from this photo, there is already curiosity growing just from the Wanted Ads that have been posted around town. In one location, actually at the restaurant that CK works at, someone took a photo of the flyer and posted it online.

As you can see from this screenshot it created a great amount of interest within only 20 hours, then within that 20 hours a musician named Sasha Szlafarski contacted us for more information due to the shared interests in Fallout fan films.  Sasha looks promising, but like the Boy Scout Motto "Be Prepared" we have other music options in the works.

Actors Signing Up, Costumes & Props Being Made!

Alright! We're getting where we want to be, we've recruited most of the actors (& actresses for those curious), we've bought better equipment (a legit sound recorder, recommended by the YouTube Personality DiCasaFilm, & a flycam nano), and we're in the process of securing permission for three great locations. Now mostly all that needs to be done now is finish designing the costumes, building a few props, and keep looking for a film crew and a few people for our main leads. Just today we had two people show interest in one of the ads we've posted around town, and they each sound like the type that we want for two of our leads.

We're really excited because these first two episodes of the series will be MUCH bigger with more cast, more locations, more dialog, more story, more fun! If you've seen the pilot episode then you may know that, while it was a good short film... it wasn't the great short film that we wanted.

Now just a word of warning though, cus these two episodes will be long in coming since the following film dates are the Saturdays in February 2014 (this shoot's scheduled for the Saturdays from (October 26th - November 9th). As we all know, when one has school, work, family, & holidays demanding attention, it's harder to do everything one wants to do for themself. Also, without a film editor CK has to edit the coming footage himself. Special Thanks To His Family & Friends For Their Support. We'll do our best to keep y'all updated, stay tuned for more!

Fallout: Light of New Canaan (FLoNC) Intro Description

Okay, many of you fans & applicants have asked "What is F:LoNC about?"  Well, to put it simply it's going to be a new style of story that follows not the "heros" or even the "villians", but an object or idea.  You may be wondering "What in the freakin world does that mean?!"  Let us expound, first with some background:

The Fallout series is takes place in a unique world that is not quite set inside the genre Steampunk.  Although set in and after the 22nd century, its story and artwork are heavily influenced by the post-World War II nuclear paranoia of the 1950s. The series is lightly based on the Mad Max film series. The series is sometimes considered to be an unofficial sequel to Wasteland, but it could not use that title as Electronic Arts held the rights to it.¹  Our favorite way to explain the Fallout universe as if our world's culture froze with the late 1940s & early 1950s, but the technology grew leaps and bounds ahead anything in our world we've currently created (though strangely mixed with Acceptable Breaks from Reality).

Before the nuclear exchange took place, great underground Vaults were constructed across America, supposedly to protect the populace from the dangers of radiation. Although only 122 were constructed, over 400,000 would be needed to protect the entire nation. This is because the Vaults were not intended to save humanity; rather, they were social experiments being conducted by the United States government. Most vaults featured some variable to test how certain things influence people (and presumably the personal characteristics of the vault's occupants) such as Vault 69, which reportedly contained 999 women and one man.²

Our series specifically extends the storyline from the Fallout: New Vegas expansion Honest Hearts (which deals somewhat with Mormon descendants), and will continue to do so all the way to mid-east America and then even expand the story from there if fans & other support permits.

Each installment of the series takes these facts as the context to the subsequent adventures: much of the landscape the player travels through is scarred with wreckage as well as radiation. These effects are not limited to the environment. Mutated survivors - those who lived through the attack outside a vault - are often physically unrecognizable as human. Even livestock - mostly represented by cows - are rarely if ever seen with fewer than two heads.³ And those cows are called Brahmin, just FYI cus they're used in caravans like mentioned in F:LoNC's pilot episode.

Well, we hope this post helps you understand this series a little bit more and kickstarts you into watching & supporting the series.  Thanks for your time!

It's Up! It's Up! It's Really Really Up!

Just a short announcement... The pilot episode of the Fallout: Light of New Canaan series is up!  If the link isn't enough for you here's the actual video, enjoy:

I hope you enjoyed it.  Remember that this was all done with two prosumer video cameras, prosumer audio equipment, and volunteer beginning (first time for some) actors.  Went pretty well considering all that.  Thanks for your support and keep checking back for more!

First Draft (FLoNC 01x00) Is Done!

YES!!  The first draft of the pilot episode is done!  Now all we need to do is add sound effects, add the music Lisle Crowley is composing, create the series logo, type up the credits, and rerecord the sound!  Before you get lazy and think that's gonna take too long, remember that that's actually not much left for post-production compared to all the duties pre-production & production had.

CK's been working his butt off getting ready for this webseries since he was inspired to do so last Fall of 2012.  He's invested a lot (maybe too much) into it and will keep it going till he physically/financially can't or some person stops him.  Well, try to keep up and we will do our best to keep you informed!

Beginning Webseries Looking For Part-time Actors

Here's a little post we put in the classifieds on Craigslist recently:

We have just filmed the pilot episode of a webseries (self-funded) based off the video game series called Fallout.  For those unknown to the game, it's set in a post-apocalyptic world but has the culture of the late 1940's combined with advanced technology...  Interesting setup to many, just search out the genre (it's not quite Steampunk, but you could say it's a branch of that) that we fans call Fallout. 

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR YOU SAY???

Well, we have some actors & actresses already cast.  What we really need are twelve male actors (at least somewhat fit, & ages from 18-35), though we have one opening for a female (must be fit but not necessarily athletic, & age 18-30) that are willing to work/play alongside their regular lives & jobs with the definite opportunity to progress in the entertainment industry.  Three of the male actors will need to be able to commit to long-term, possibly another year.  We know due to currently limited funds that's not yet appealing, but if you could just live in southern Utah for that while & take time off from your regular job during that year when we film (we'll work w/ ya) it'd be very appreciated.

We have a great musician/composer doing the music for us, we have decent equipment, we have a great script, we know of great locations, we have the tentative dates ready, we just need maybe someone like YOU!

If you have any questions feel free to look up our Hawc Productions blog or email us.  Have a great day!

• Location: Southern Utah
• FUTURE possible pay! No pay currently, investors will come eventually though.

Annnnnd We're Off!! (Our Rockers?)

Wow!! That was a intense film shoot!  We should've taken pictures afterwards that night because many of us were very sunburned.  Oh, and sorry for not getting back to y'all sooner.  We filmed on the 23rd of March and just today are beginning to edit the footage, though we may have to go back and do a little more with some of the actors (individually if we have to).

As one can tell from these photos, everyone said they had a great time.  For being a pilot episode with non-experienced actors & prosumer equipment, we put forth a pretty well done video.  Oh, and since we're calling this the pilot episode now, it's been changed to episode "0". This revises the last post and makes the episodes being filmed in October 2013 episodes 1 & 2, and the February 2014 episodes 3, 4, & 5.

With only being self-budgeted on a practially no-budget, we may be thought of as crazy but we're determined and with the grace of God we will get it not only all finished, but it's going to look darn awesome!  We'll be looking for additional actors (& a actress or two) during the summer to prepare for the October filming so keep an eye out for new posts!

Location, Location, Location, & Acting!

 Well, it's been awhile since the last post, but that doesn't mean we've been laying around!  There's been a lot of prepping going into making the first F:LoNC episode, which will be filmed at the end of this month of March 2013 and posted by the end of June 2013.  Due to other projects & mostly due to lack of finances, the second & third episodes will be filmed the end of October 2013 and posted at the end of January 2014 with the fourth, fifth, & sixth episodes done the end of February 2014 and posted by the end of May 2014.

Though just last week CK showed his first three lead actors the shooting location and gave them their scripts.  They all seem very excited to be a part of this, Cody even posted his Instagram photos of it to show the world.

Here in these photos the actors are shown with the pendant that the series will circle around.  CK's gone to great lengths to keep the feel of Fallout: New Vegas going with the webseries script, along with hooking up with two legit prop makers known as "SkruffyNerfherder" and "emptysamurai" (a very special thanks to each of them, along with best wishes to their projects).  Emptysamurai is actually working on a film himself that'll take place in the Washington state area.  Thankfully as far as we know their projects won't interfere in the Fallout Universe with CK's background story he's created.  Just as a teaser we'll reveal that the story will eventually end up in the area of Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, & Wisconsin with two great factions that would overshadow NCR, The Legion, The BoS, The Enclave, or The Commonwealth should any of those individually venture into the two said factions' territories.

Well, pray all goes well with the film!  This is a long-term project that has BIG goals!