COMIC STRIP

I've spent the past couple of evenings working on the shot list we'll be using for the film. Part of that process has included story-boarding specific shot compositions and sequences I'd like to shoot during particular scenes. 

Now, I've always enjoyed this process because it gives me the opportunity to exercise drawing muscles I haven't used very much over the last several years. But I'd be lying if I told you it hasn't been a bit arduous and time-consuming. 

Sketching out slightly more detailed story boards - as opposed to say, drawing stick figures - gives me a chance to really think about how I'd like a shot to look... what textural elements I'd like to employ... and the kinds of camera movements, if any, I'd like to try. It's fun, but can be creatively tiring at times. I've joked that when we're finished, I'll have an ONLY YOU comic strip to go with the film.

Of course, the true purpose of both shot list and the story board is to provide Daniel, our DP, as detailed and precise a blueprint as possible. That way, when it comes time to shoot, we won't be wasting time trying to figure out how we'd like the scene or shot to look. It's all part of the preparation.

Ken Cheng

LA, CA

MEET COREY AND JENNIFER

 

"Andrew" and "Jessica"

After a week and a half of auditions and obsessive audition video watching, I'm really pleased to report that we've found the actors that will be playing the lead characters of ANDREW and JESSICA in ONLY YOU.

Corey Saunders and Jennifer Ross (above) have graciously agreed to join the team and I could not be more thrilled.

Corey hails from Chicago-by-way-of-Oklahoma where he did a ton of classical theater work before seguing into the world of modeling and screen acting. He brings a really genuine and sincere quality to the character - something I didn't necessarily expect at the onset. But he had me convinced from his first audition on that he was "Andrew." 

Jennifer - who moved to LA from Montana a few years ago - radiates a truly magnetic, emotional, warmth as "Jessica." It's no wonder she's already appeared in several films, TV shows and commercials. And that smile you see in the photo? Nothing compared to how it looks on screen. I can virtually guarantee you guys will fall in love with her after you see her in our film.

Now that we've found our leads, it's time to get cracking on the next step of pre-production... rehearsals and rewrites. I'm so excited for you guys to see what we have in store.

Ken Cheng

LA, CA

CASTING

 Headshots galore

We've spent two days this week meeting and auditioning actors and actresses for the film and I have to say, casting is tough. I've been so pleasantly surprised by the quality of actors willing to come in and read for our little film that narrowing down our top choices - all of whom have been fantastic in their own ways - for the lead roles of ANDREW and JESSICA have been much more difficult than I expected. 

In any case, thanks to the fine folks at CAZT in West Hollywood for graciously hosting our production team as we've done our auditions and being so accomodating with their physical and digital resources. Independent filmmakers everywhere: if you've never used CAZT and are looking for an affordable place to do your reads, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I'm going to rewatch our audition videos over and over again this weekend and hopefully, we'll be closer to having our lead roles cast by next week. Stay tuned!

Ken Cheng

LA, CA

PREPRODUCTION

Welcome to the official production blog of our upcoming short film, titled "ONLY YOU." Those of you out in the blogosphere with even the slightest interest in following the neurosis and progress of our film can come here for updates, behind-the-scenes goodies and other fun stuff.

But before I go into my schpeel, some introductions to the key team...

PRODUCER: Ellen Ho - the spriteliest ball of energy you'll ever meet - is co-producing the film with me, to my utter delight. She's not even out of college yet but she's got a resume longer than yours and mine combined so I'm definitely thrilled to have her on-board shepherding the project to its ultimate destination.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Daniel Zhao is a recent graduate of USC Film School (aka, the place I always wanted to go but would never accept me) and a talented camera wizard. He's shot several shorts and commercials and will be making his feature debut shortly after we finish ONLY YOU. Excited to work with him? You better believe it.

EDITOR: Carlos Haynes and I worked together on an independent feature last year and I'm psyched that he's coming on to cut the film with me. A talented filmmaker in his own right, Carlos certainly knows his way around Final Cut Pro - which will be so so key to the success of our project. 

WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Well that, of course, would be me. "ONLY YOU" will be the first short film I've written and directed since college so as you can imagine, the nerves are running a little on the frazzled side as we get closer to production. With that said, I couldn't be more excited.

As you can guess from the title of this entry, we're currently in the pre-production phase - looking for the right actors to play our characters, planning all the details (both tiny and large) that go into making a film and figuring out how best to translate the story that lives so vividly in my head to the screen for all of you guys to eventually see. 

Stay tuned for more updates to come and thanks for stopping on by!

Ken Cheng

LA, CA