Sometimes I look like this on set

As I was driving to Taco Bell last night around 12:30am, I couldn’t help but think that driving delirious was eerily similar to driving drunk. The only real difference is that one is legal. We had wrapped about forty minutes prior, but should have shot for another hour. I decided the rest of the shots would have to wait when we filmed an entire scene (three times) in which I never once caught that my sound man (Aaron Gaffey) was taking up a portion of the right frame. I made peace with the fact we were in no shape to continue on and called it a night.

Pennywise from Stephen King's, IT. Started off scary, ended up a spider. Sigh.

It was a long, as well as physically and emotionally exhausting weekend on the ghostly set. In every production there’s gotta be at least one day that makes chewing on tin foil seem like your favorite thing to do. Friday was that day for us. Friday’s beast stepped through the door with balls the size of ____ (insert large fruit joke here). He was ready to shoot the shit of of things. The day started with a full on musical number that I thought would look cool completely done on a steadycam. With movement galore I set out to de-virginize myself with the hand-held stabilizer. It was harder than I anticipated and soon my arm was reminding me that I really didn’t have a lot of muscle mass. Shots took much longer than I had hoped and we ended up taking a generous amount of takes due to focus and movement issues. Because of that we were quickly losing daylight (which was important since we were shooting at the windows and we have no way of mimicing daylight through them due to the fact we are on the 3rd floor). So by the time we finished the number the sun was going down and the light had change considerably. While I am confident the shoot will cut together, there will be a lot of work in post to match the lighting from shot to shot. But whatever. We got it done and it will be swell. So we decided to move forward with the day. We had two scenes to shoot, and scenes require sound. Any movie-goer will tell you that sound is good in scenes. Go ahead, ask any movie-goer. So we set up for the first shot…but wait! The sound recorder isn’t working. It’s picking up nothing. Just white noise. Lovely. Gaffey fiddle’s with it for almost an hour. Tech support is also no help and stops talking to us because he’s “driving in the middle of a thunderstorm”. We’re at a loss with no real options but to cancel the rest of the shoot and hope that we can get the issue resolved by morning.

Audry 2 from Frank Oz's, Little Shop of Horrors. Best singing space plant monster ever.

Saturday’s beast slammed out of the gate, grabbed Friday’s beast by the shoulders and decapitated it with a single upper-cut. It then generously gorged itself on Fridays blood before taking a monster size shit down its neck-hole. My hero. Sound was back up and running (faulty XLR cable) and everyone was on top of their game. We started the day with another musical number. This time things went smoothly. We even got to play with some blood which is always a joy. After the song we moved in to one of the scariest scenes in the movie. I was nervous going into this scene because it really had to be handled right. The end result had to be terrifying and I had no clue what to expect. Just a few shots in and my mind was breathing a sigh of relief. It was looking amazing, and one of the shots even made me jump! The day ended later than usual as the scene was meaty, but we rocked it.

Pumpkinhead from Stan Winstons, Pumpkinhead. Bad-ass, revenge laced monster.

Sunday’s beast walked through door with a sleepy confidence and shook Saturday’s beastly claw. “I’ll take over from here” it snorted. The shoot the night before left everyone in a bit of a foggy state, but it worked perfectly for the tone of the first scene we shot. After that, energy returned and we set up for one of the more emotionally draining scenes in the movie. Lots a tears and dark truths revealed. The actors both had to really bring their A game to this scene and that can be a very nerve-racking thing for a director. There’s a careful balance of making sure they are able to get into the right mindset and knock out a great performance while also trying to make the scene technically awesome. The more shots you compose the more time passes and the more the actors lose the intensity. So it’s a tricky dance, but one that is well worth the results when done right. That being said, we succeeded. I got my shots and the actors brought what they had and even a added a few extra spices I didn’t know was in their rack. Nice work lady and gent! After we chewed the scenery on that lovely scene I decided that since we still had some time we would try to get some fallen brothers we’d left behind in the madness of previous shooting days. We quickly knocked out a bedroom scene and then moved into the office…and this is where this blog began and the shoot came to a crashing end. Everyone was drained. The shoot had to stop.

Here I now sit. Monday morning at my desk job. I’m oddly considering a second cup of coffee, which is very uncommon for me. I sit here pondering a question, and that question is this; what unknown universe am I living in, where my days off are spent at work?

Much love

Travis

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Dustin Fasching plays frustrated photographer, Wes

Things started to get a little dark this weekend. I had almost forgotten we were shooting a horror movie because all the upfront scenes are so much fun, bookended by a couple toe-tapping musical numbers. But last night we met a ghost…and those cheery, sing-songy voices became choke-hold whispers. I’m really loving the evolution of shooting this movie, and it’s nice to be going in order (for the most part).

We’ve shot for seven days now and two musical numbers are in the can (yes, yes…it’s HD, but “in the can” is such a great phrase. It simply HAS to survive), as well as most of the first act. The actors are thrilling me in their roles as the artistically blocked Fi and Wes and I couldn’t be happier working in such an intimate environment. Someday I’d love to work with more money, but I’d always like to keep things small.

Sarah Lassez plays the spunky novella author, Fiona Cella

It’s an odd thing, writing these blogs. I’m not sure how much to really say about the movie, as I always love to keep a bit of mystery surrounding the story. I guess it’s best to drop little teases and talk about my experiences on set. Every night when the shoot is over, Shannon and I are zombies with smiles. That’s the best way way I can describe it. We are dead to the world from a very long and hard day, but are always bursting with excitement at all the cool shots we got. The fortunate thing about shooting only weekends is it gives me the week to start editing the footage. This allows me a good idea of what we are doing right and what we need to fix.

The shooting schedule has been a bit like a naked nerd in a jocks locker room. All seems fine for awhile, but suddenly my ass is stinging from the wet towel that kissed my cheeks and fled. Some scenes go smooth, but others hit me hard then eat up at my time quickly. In the end, we are only slightly behind schedule as we were able to make up many scenes this weekend. We do not wish to rush the project as we want it to look its best. I sacrificed a lot on my last feature, Lo, due to time restraints. This time I am making sure I get the shots I want and giving the actors enough takes to shine their best (Acting, however, did not suffer in Lo…I just didn’t get all the shots I wanted).

Sound Master Aaron Gaffey hanging in the bath tub with banana-eating Travis Betz

It’s funny how some things have just fallen into place in the last minute. We were shooting a big musical number on Saturday that requires a podium. We thought that we had one secured until late Friday when I was told we did not have access to it. I did not want to push the shoot for the number because the schedule is already very packed and we were not ready for any of the other numbers or scenes. I had all the extras lined up and ready to go, as well as the special effects make-up artist. I had to shoot it Saturday. On the day of the shoot, Shannon came back from taking out the garbage and said that there was a slender bookshelf that looked exactly like a podium just sitting in the hallway a few doors down. I checked it out and it was pretty damn perfect. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I came back an hour later, but still no answer. That perfect podium/bookshelf was glaring at me…giggling. “You can’t be so perfect, so timely and so twenty feet from my door. I hate you lonely book case/podium.” So I did what any true indie filmmaker would do…I took it. CALM DOWN. I left a note with my apartment number and phone number and explained the situation. If they had any problems they could personally punch me in the face. So I took it. A few hours later I quietly returned it to the exact same dust outline in which I took it. My note was where I left it. The perfect crime. Life is funny like that sometimes. Thanks for the podium good sir in #304.

So we now have four days off…well, four days of no shooting. We’ll still be working hard to prep weekend threes shoot. Side note: I also swore off all alcohol until we wrapped production. Haven’t had a drop in twenty-two days. We anticipate the shoot will go to the end of February, so I’ll be clear-headed for two months. It’s tough not to crack open a delicious beer after a long shoot, but it’s a great personal goal and a healthy one as well. But I tell you this, the minute I call cut on the martini shot (the last shot in a movie), I will pour some liquid brown straight down my throat in celebration of a job well done.

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend two wrap up. Stay tuned for more fun stuff!

Much love

Travis

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About two and a half years ago my girlfriend hopped on a jet skiing kangaroo and relocated herself from down under, sweetly planting herself into our lovely one-bedroom apartment. At the time I was in the final post-production stages of my latest film, Lo. She was hot off the Melbourne gallery scene where she showcased and sold her photography. It seemed we had both eaten a lot of dirt and were preparing to shit out pearls…but we didn’t. Instead we found that we really enjoyed living together and because it was the beginning of our new life, we took some unintentional time off our art forms. In a way, the excitement of living together for the fist time replaced that gnawing need to create. It was a very full experience and one that not only required a lot of time but was at its best when fully immersed. So art would have to wait. And it did.

Present day. A knock at the chest. “Hello? Who’s there?”

A couple years went by and the two lovers formally known as artists decided it was time to get back to doing what it is they did. Create. Easy-as-pie…Commando war-zone pie. We tried (oh, we tried) to get back on our game. Shannon longed to figure out a new series to photograph, while I sat down at my computer a number of times only to hack up some of the worst drek I’ve ever written.  What the fuck happened to us? It was as if our muses had long packed their bags and hopped aboard a moving train. She was gone. Dried up. Never to return? Sweet Jesus!

Lo was, at the time, doing the film festival circuit. Shannon and I traveled to a few cities and I showed off the movie I was inspired to make three years prior. While the acceptance we received was very positive, I still couldn’t figure out how to get re-inspired. Where the hell did that Muse go and who was she fucking?!? I’ll kill um both!

Boston Underground Film Festival. We eat, we drink, we screen Lo. When it’s all over we head up to New York City for a few days of adventure. There we were in Shannon’s favorite city when she is smacked in the face with a terrible cold. She spent most of our time in NYC in bed. On the last night of our trip, we were both sleeping soundly when I was awaken by one of the creepiest sounds I have ever heard. A moaning. NOT the “Oh yes, right there. That’s the spot you animal!” type of moaning. This was the, “Hello, travis. My name is the Devil” type of moaning. And it was coming right out of my sleeping girlfriends mouth. Inhale. Moan. Inhale. Moan….

At first I dismissed it as her having trouble breathing due to the cold. We arrived back home in California and I forgot all about it…until that night. I was awaken once more buy the moaning from the night before. Only this time a little louder. Only this time a little creepier. For almost a week I endured this. Some nights I would watch her sleep and moan and the thought (the serious thought) went through my mind that she might be possessed. There were nights it spooked me so bad I had to sleep on the couch.

Finally it stopped. Both of us were relieved. Then…a knock at the chest. Can you believe who it was? Both of them. Standing there! As if they had never left. Shannon took hold of her muse and I hugged mine. Together, in beautiful harmony they whispered, “ghost possession musical”. I sat down in front of the glowy screen that had been giving me such pains. I sat down and attacked the keyboard that had forgotten how to string a sentence. I sat down with my inspiration intact. I sat down and wrote, The Dead Inside.

Cheers to the final day of pre-production. Tomorrow Shannon and I step behind the camera and begin, what I am confident is, a very long and inspired lifetime of creating.

Much love

Travis

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I felt a bit guilty last night when I went to bed leaving Shannon (my cinematographer/lover) still working hard on the set of THE DEAD INSIDE. She had been busting her ass all day getting things ready for our Friday start date. I too had been working very hard but in a slightly different way. I couldn’t focus on a single task in front of me because I was mentally exhausted.  Two days until we go to camera and there is one fraking sequence I just can’t wrap my head around…and it’s the one we need to shoot first!

I’ve tried everything. I even took a walk at 11:30pm last night to clear my head but it did me no good. Now I am starting to think I may be over-thinking, which is just as deadly. The problem is I have the crust, I’m just lacking the filling. I see the scene in my head but the execution is off at the beach or something cause I can’t find it. To quote my own movie, “I type, I read, delete and think. Please tell me God’s of art…” It’s a funny little thing when you write an entire movie about the horrors of inspiration and then experience the fuck out of those horrors.

All that being said, I’m super excited to start shooting. It’s been almost three years since I’ve shot a feature and I could ask for no better experience than to work with woman I love most on a musical horror. We’re making something special because we are making this together, and it’s that fact that allows me to breathe a little easier about the haunted sequence. I know that even if I show up to set with no clue how to shoot it, we’ll figure it out right then and there and it will be awesome.

Now if you will excuse me, there’s still a few shafts of hair sticking out of my head that need pulling.

Much love

Travis

Discussion: leave a comment! »

Can ghosts shit their pants? I mean even if they were wearing pants they would be made of the same paranormal goo that the actual ghost was made of. So if one were to believe that a ghost could even (or need to) take a shit, that it would fall right out its ghost ass and through its ghost pants. But even then, the shit would be a ghost as well, so shouldn’t that fall straight through the ground, out the other end of the Earth and on into space?

Well, I’m not a ghost, but I am shitting my human pants a little, because this is the last week of pre-production on my ghost possession musical, The Dead Inside. It’s not that I’m scared. I’ve made three features before this. It’s just I always get this way right before a shoot. All the last minute details. All the money we don’t have but desperately need. The gnawing doubts about artistic choices. It’s enough to force the poop from my ass and into my jeans. I guess we should just call it an all encompassing energy.

The Dead Inside begins official production this Friday. From this point on you will be getting these blog updates on the status of the film, along with photos and video to wet your whistle. I hope you’ll enjoy the journey as much as we will. I can’t tell you how excited I am to start 2010 off with such a bang! The test shoots we performed on Saturday proved that we will, in fact, make a great film. I look forward to sharing it all with you, and then one magic day in the near future having you watch the dream in its entirety.

So here we go. Ghost turds be damned, this is gonna be a wild ride.

Much love

Travis

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Lord knows I hate clichés. One of the biggest being the January 1st, all refreshed, new-battery smiling, ready to make the new year my personal space cowboy journey to king of the universe end journey. It’s a lovely thing to speak romantically of a brand new year. All the shit you’ll accomplish. The villages you’ll plunder. The hearts that will swell in the wake of your monstrous productivity and success.Well I have a small confession to make family, friends and fans…I kinda wanna have sex with Cliché. I mean, look at her…she’s hot! Those long, sexy but familiar legs. Those curvatious good intentions. The hypnotic smokey desire to kiss her all year without tiring. I want to to stick my new years inspiration inside her and I want to last like a porn star. I want my creative shaft to be so long and thick that it will take an entire year (2010 to be on-the-head specific) for the end game juices to travel the distance and propel themselves from the single blast hole that is my dirty metaphor for artistic satisfaction. In short, I have a very busy year ahead of me, and I want to bottle this current inspiration and make 2010 the year of the ME.

Here is a look at my life in art for the next year. Upon writing this new blog entry I am excited and confident that I will be able to accomplish it all with my sword held high and the dragon below me slain. Of course the reality is that time is an evil bitch and that dragon is only pretending to be dead. The only thing I can truly do is lay out my list of goals, hopes and ideas and take them one day at a time. By the end of this (at the moment) wonderful year I hope to look back over this list and see that, for the most part, I did my best for each and every project and was a good son, friend and artist.

My artistic endeavours for 2010 – Movies, writings and web things

Lo

If you follow this blog or really anything I do, then you’re most likely familiar with my feature film, Lo. Last year we took it all over the country (and some parts of the world) screening at film festivals and generating buzz. This year all that  hard work of coming up with an idea, writing the idea, filming the idea and selling the filmed idea has payed off! My romantic demon comedy is having its nationwide DVD release, which means you can finally rent and own a copy all for yourself! The release date couldn’t be more perfect, as the film is about love and we have a February 9th, 2010 release…Valentines week! I’ll be posting alot about Lo over the next month with new trailers and information on how to support and get your own copy. With a little luck and a lot of love, Lo can be a sleeper hit on DVD!

The Dead Inside

With Lo finally finding a home on DVD, it’s time to make another movie! This time around I have decided to tackle a spooky ol’ ghost story and add my own twist to it by making it a musical. Yes, you read that correctly. I am making a ghost possession feature film musical…and it will be awesome. My music collaboration parter, Joel Van Vliet, and I are very excited with how the songs turned out and filming begins January 15th! As the process unfolds I will be doing plenty of blogging and updating about it, along with photos, video and whatever else. Stay tuned!

The Receptionist

Get out your glue sticks everyone and wave um high in the air! The Receptionist is back for season 3 (yes, I’m actually labeling my web series with seasons)! There will be a lot going on in 2010 with your favorite phone answering, construction paper lovin’ desk jockey. All new episodes along with DVD’s and T-shirts coming soon.

The Baby Eaters

Everyone’s (or no one’s) favorite low-brow, low-rent, high laughs comedy trio is back for more offensively bizarre humor. The Baby Eaters has been a cathartic artistic outlet for a couple years now and it’s still goingstrong. Just me and two of my best buddies getting together with some drinks, turning the camera on and making the comedy flow. With everything else I do being so structured, it’s great to be able to relax and just have fun in a creative way. TBE strong in the 2010!

Flick Fights

Fellow Baby Eater Devin Barry and I started our first pod cast late last year and discovered what a joy it was to do. Based off the highly addictive website FlickChart, each week we sit down with a new special guests and let the computer randomly generate two movies. From there we discuss why one is better then the other. Simple as that. We do an hour show every Wednesday and can be heard at FlickChart and downloaded off iTunes.

My…ACTING career???

2010 will bring a whole new exciting challenge into my life. Seems I have been cast in a leading role in a feature film in which I can speak nothing about. Apparently the director thinks I’m ready for my close up, so I will give him a I got. Being an actor for once is going to be heaven. I’m always a bit jealous of them on set as they tend to have it made. Wait around all day, then do your thing, then wait around some more. That’s not to say they don’t work their asses off on their character, but not having to detail with the technical issues of film for once will be a much needed vacation for me. When i am allowed to talk more about the project I will be posting here for sure. Just know this…it’s gonna be awesome.

www.TravisBetz.com

Finally we arrive at the main hub. The home base for all my art and information. My personal and professional writings as well as promotions, videos and all out tomfoolery. Last year I started strong out of the gate with this website and then fizzled out when I got crazy busy. This year I have made a few changes to the way I approach things and I am hoping to keep this website up as much as possible. With all that is going on there will be a lot to say, so I hope you will join me for the ride. Sometimes it may be a lot of information so I will always try to keep it entertaining. If you haven’t already, please sign up for this websites email updater or put me on your reader. This is the best way to stay informed with my life. It all makes its way to these electronic pages.

Thank you to everyone who supported me last year. Thank you to all who are sticking around this year. Thank you to the new comers and the old goers. With out all of you, my art would sit under my bed head of obscurity. I wish you all a most amazing year.

Much Love

Travis

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With my feature film LO finishing its run on the festival circuit and heading to DVD in 2010, it only makes sense to make another damn movie! I’ve done a horror film, JOSHUA. I’ve experimented with a love story in SUNDAY. Then I squished the two genres together with my latest, LO. Looking back over my filmography, I see no reason not to continue the trend and try something completely different! I am here to officially announce pre-production status on my next feature film, The Dead Inside. A ghost possession musical.

The Dead Inside is a story that explores the dark side of inspiration. Wes and Fi are lovers whose creative muses have all but vanished from their lives. When Fi begins to show signs of schizophrenia, Wes does everything in his power to help her get better…that is until Fi’s true affliction decides to introduce itself to both Wes and the world. Fighting against her possession, they rediscover inspiration in the grimmest corners of their situation. Their muse has returned, killing Fi from the inside and haunting Wes with each passing breath.

The film will contain ten musical numbers composed by the brilliant Joel Van Vliet, and will star Sarah Lassez (Mad Cow Girl, Lo) and Dustin Fasching (Onsie, The Break Dance Kid). Shannon Hourigan (Bartokular, Black String Theory) is our all powerful cinematographer. Principle photography begins in late November.

So…here we go again! I’ll keep everyone posted on the progress. This is going to be one hell of a bad ass flick!

Much love

Travis

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Greetings demonic friends, family and fans!

My feature demon love story, LO, is now an official selection of the Austin Film Festival! I am very excited because not only is this a great festival to be a part of, but I have never been top Austin. If you’re from the area, then please come out and support the film. It’ll be screening two nights at the Alamo Draft House, so you can have yourself a libation while enjoying awesome indie cinema. I’ll be in attendance to answer all your demon related questions! Details below:

LO

Saturday, October 24th at 10:30P.M.

Monday, October 26th at 10:00P.M.

Alamo Draft House – Lake Creek

13729 Research Blvd, Austin, Tx 78750 – 512-219-5408

Purchase tickets HERE!

Hope to see you there!

Much love

Travis

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Great news for demon fans! My feature film, Lo, has been accepted into the 2009 Shriekfest Film Festival! This is a great fest for horror lovers and the best part is that it takes place in Los Angeles. that means Lo will have its L.A. premiere on the big screen! Shriekfest takes place October 1st – 4th, the perfect time to celebrate the love of the macabre. As I recieve more details about screening times I will be sure to keep you all informed.

Much Love

Travis

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Exciting news lovers of love! My experimental love story, Sunday, is going to be available for internet download!!! If you are not familiar with this project of mine just click on the title above and check it out! I will include the trailer below as well. Sunday is a movie I shot while I was in post-production hell on my horror film joshua. We had run out of money and couldn’t finish it, so I was sitting on my ass doing nothing creative. I decided I had to shoot a movie and that I would do it for no money. I grabbed camera and a couple friends and developed a story about to young lovers who make a vow one Sunday morning to not get out of bed for 24 hours…no matter what. The experience of shooting Sunday remains one of my favorite. It was the perfect balance of intmacy, talent and creative flowy juices.

 

Sunday will be available for download and purchase TUESDAY, JULY 21st at this site:

www.indieflix.com

Sunday is also available on DVD through our production companies website, www.drexelbox.com. Purchasing the DVD here instead of IndieFlix will get you special features. Audio commentary and a behind the scenes. The IndieFlix version is just the movie, and you know you want to hear my drunk ass talking smack with the actors.

We are finishing a new color correction pass on my first feature film, joshua, right now and hope to also make it available through IndieFlix very soon. 

Much love

Travis

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