Never a Dull Moment

Well yesterday was day 3 of filming Love is Undead and on one hand it was the best day of filming so far, on the other it was a bit of a let down.

The good news is we got another like 1/4th of the movie done which is awesome!

The bad news is we did not get done which was horrible, because of one little incident. During filming we were about to go on lunch break and the kitten we are using the film was in the garage with us. One of the actors that was filming with us opened the doors without remembering the cat was in there with us still. When the owner of the cat (Ashley) came back she thought it was gone because we couldn't find it anywhere. For the next two hours we looked and looked. After that I had to let everyone go because my actress had to find her cat and we weren't going to be able to get anything done.

After 6 hours of searching I let my dog out in the garage again to see if she could sniff out the cat and she started freaking out. Lo and behold there is the cat still in the garage somehow and somewhere hiding. So just as we were giving up we got her back which is awesome but we have to schedule one more day of shooting.

This film I feel will turn out well but I just wanted to get it done like yesterday. But we can't win them all and that is why there is never a dull moment.

~Dan

The Weekend Was A Success

Well this weekend past was a huge success, however draining it was. Dogfest at the Baltimore Humane Society was great, all kinds of dogs and people and events all at once. A lot bigger than I expected to be but it was a lot of fun.

The football game ended up being Bishop Mcnamera vs. Good Counsel which was at Bishop Mcnamera High School. It took an hour and ten minutes to get there from the Human Society and it was a pretty boring game. Good Counsel killed it 35-0 over Mcnamera.

After that came the Funk Formal which we got to a little early since we thought the DJ was going to get there early but we got in for free and it was a unique party which I have never experienced before. The fact that it was in a graffiti filled alley in the city was awesome and there was all kinds of fun stuff going on, arcarde machines, movies playing, full bar. Not an ordinary party by any means. I am so glad to have been invited by Sean (the DJ) and to have been able to make it no matter how tired I was.

The next day I had to get up at 5:30 am after being out til 2:30 am to get to New Jersey. Thank god Ashley was there to help me get up because I couldn't do it at all, she had to actually pick me up out of bed...it was bad. It was a long drive in a packed van but seeing the Statue Of Liberty and the museums all around it was awesome. The ferry ride was cool and I got some amazing pictures to say the least. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Well that was my weekend in a nutshell, easy to type out but a crazy experience that will not soon be forgotten. This Wednesday we are wrapping up shooting on my zombie short film as well, so October has by far proven to be the busiest and most fun month so far for myself and To Tony Productions. Wish me luck and I will have pictures/videos soon guys.

Thanks for all the love,
Dan

October 15th = A Big Day

This coming Saturday is going to be a big day for To Tony Productions. In the morning we are going to be at the Baltimore Humane Society covering their annual DogFest where they try and get as many dogs as adopted as they can in one day. Also in the morning we are going to be at Loyola Blakefield for the Gilman vs. Loyola game at noon. In addition we are going to be at the Funky Formal which is a big charity dance/art/funky event in the city. Around that same time we are also going to be at Shallow Creek Cafe and Bookstore covering a small acoustic concert for a friend.

How is this possible? I can not be personally everywhere so I am hoping that I can get a team together to be at the BHS and Shallow Creek while I am at Loyola and the Funky Formal. If all goes well this will be the biggest day for To Tony Productions yet. Never before have we been able to cover four events at once.

Recently I have been doing a lot of High School Football games for IBN sports and you can find a ton of highlights at Rivals High TV. However below I will post links for games that I personally covered.

Gilman vs. Calvert Hall 10-7-11
Good Counsel vs. Dematha 10-8-11
Gilman vs. ArchBishop Spaulding 10-1-11
Gilman vs. Maryland Christian 8-26-11

Wish me luck everyone!
Dan

Love Is Undead or Love Is Not Dead?

So with one more shoot date scheduled this short film of mine certainly is coming along. While filming will have taken place over 3 months time we will have in all reality only filmed 3 days worth of content. The reason this process has been taking so long is due to a lack of truly dedicated crew and severe scheduling conflicts. But that is besides the point...

I come to you today however with a proposal for the title of the film...should it be Love is Undead or Love is Not Dead? Remember this is a film about a strange couple who finds a common bond in killing zombies. For me though I have fallen in love with both titles so that is why I need your help! You can either comment on this post, or send me an email at mind_confided@yahoo.com or go to the To Tony Productions facebook page and let me know what you think.

As a special thank you though I am going to post a single screenshot from the film so far. This is a very raw image and has not been cleaned up but I think once you see it you will get a feel for the strange vision of this project.

Thanks so much guys!

In Need Of...

Hey Everyone,

 On September 25th I have a film shoot which will be wrapping up my zombie short film, which I did half of about a month ago. Due to on set technical difficulties at the time I had to stop filming that day and postpone everything until next Sunday. However I am in need of two key roles for the shoot: 1.) A Production Assistant to hold bounce cards/scrims to assist with the lighting process 2.) A zombie to try and eat our main character. Anyone interested please send me an email to mind_confided@yahoo.com


Thank you,
Daniel Hess

Too Long

So it has been too long since I last posted information on TTP. A lot has been keeping me occupied and away from almost forms of social media.

The first thing keeping me busy is working with ibnsports.com. Which is a company based out of California that does live streams of big football games around the world. Last weekend I was filming at Morgan State for the I-95 kickoff classic and this weekend I am going to be up at Navy Stadium for the Patriot Bowl. You can check out the livestreams online the day of events and they also do highlight recaps for Yahoo Sports. So after the game I have to do a highlight reel as well which is proving to be harder than I thought because I need to make it a small quicktime file which is difficult to encode.

The other thing keeping me busy is school which has been hectic to say the least already. I am a Senior now at Towson University so the classes are harder than ever, it doesn't help much that over the first two weeks I have changed my schedule around a lot. However not that I have a solid schedule and I am getting used to the classes I should be more able to relax.

The final thing keeping me at bay is the injury I suffered at work on the 27th of August where I cut my finger on a nice jagged piece of broken glass. Since then my right hand was almost completely useless and just yesterday was when I finally got the stitches out, now for another week I have keep it completely dry and leave little butterfly bandages in it so that it heals all the way on the top not just underneath the skin. 

So these are the things holding me up, I am still going to try and finish my zombie short film on the 25th and I am going to keep giving you guys updates as soon as I get to it.

Thanks for the support,
Dan

First Photography Session

So this week on Monday I had my first every photo shoot for two local actors/husband and wife Nate and Shannon Nelson. I did head shots for the two of them because they were looking for some pro style photos for when they audition for future roles. It was my first time taking pro style photos for anyone and I think it turned out really well. Posted below are a few of my favorites from the day. Thanks again guys!

Zombie Shoot

So last Thursday I had the zombie film shoot which I have to say was a little crazy but a lot of fun. We had about 14 zombies at the end of the day. Among the great zombie actors were David Lukes and his two sons, Derek Stroman, Nate and Shannon Nelson, Zach and Mike Stuprich, Jeanne Graham and her daughter, Skyler Newman, Mary Keeney, and Shannon and John Cosgrove. Everyone of these actors/friends was completely patient with the makeup process and performed GREAT! Of course I can not forget the makeup help I received from Ashley Saville, Gabe Romero, and Geetha Stachowiak. My two main actors for the day were Ashley Saville and the ever great Nick Hanson. I have to thank my sound people Jesse Purpora and James Stansfield for helping boom. Also a big shout out to Anthony Rose for letting me use his light kit and my family for getting the house ready for the big day. Finally I have to thank Shane Messick for being the featured zombie even though the light going out prevented him from getting more than one scene down. I can't wait to finish up the rest of the film in September.

Thanks again guys!
Dan

Youtube News

So after a lot of thought I have decided to stop doing weekly videos for youtube. I am instead focusing my attention on a few bigger and higher quality projects a year. I have this big zombie shoot on the 18th, which will hopefully go well; but besides that I am really just taking my time.

I wanted to really just stop doing ehhh kinda videos and really wanted the quality to shine, I appreciate the weekly support I have been getting, but these few good videos a year will be better than just ok videos every week.

Patience for the quality.

Thank you,
Daniel H.

Photo by Mairo Ferreira

Big Thanks

I would like to extend my biggest thank you to everyone who has been helping me so much with the upcoming zombie short film shoot going on August 18th. It means a lot that I have been able to get so many extras together for this completely free of charge and not only that but so many of these extras have been helping me outside of that. I have some that have been willing to help with makeup and others who are constantly sending make up artists my way. I am truly honored that so many of you have taken time to help me out, it means more than any word could really sum up.

It is going to be a tough but fun shoot and I have to say once again THANK YOU!

~Daniel Hess

Paranormal Playground

After watching too much EVIL DEAD these past few weeks I guess this is what happens lol. I wanted to put up ONE GUN but after looking back over the footage I saw that it needed to be tweaked some more to make it a little bit better so I am going to hopefully have it all good by next week. But after raiding the vault this is the video I have to share with everyone, enjoy it people!

New Video Tomorrow

So yesterday me and a few buddies of mine came together to film One Gun my first ever action style video. There were a few set backs and all that but overall it is a nice package. I am going to be filming all this evening and splicing together what is projected to be a 3 to 4 minute short film, maybe shorter. For now though all I really have are some behind the scenes pics, enjoy and come back tomorrow for the full video!

Photo Work

I wanted to put up a few of my best photos for people to see this morning. All photos are ready for download if you like them feel free to use them as wallpapers or to show to others.

My Girlfriend and biggest supporter Ashley! Just a random shot of her at Buffalo Wild Wings.

My first time at the Charles Theater, a really cool rustic place to watch a flick.

My dog Lexi looking away from the camera as usual.

One of my earliest pictures of my dog Lexi looking out at the many rabbits that roam in my neighborhood.

Guitar Explosion Fail

An old piece of footage from the filming of Gas Guzzlers. A friend of mine Jordan has an awful lot of trouble with this off brand Palmer guitar, mainly because it is electric. Check it out and enjoy a good laugh with this weeks video.

Wonderful World Around

Today made me really see a world I have not seen in a while, the world that is simply around me. I usually go places, do things, meet people, and think to myself that it would make a good movie or a script. I went kayaking with my amazing girlfriend Ashley and friend of mine Joe, and just experience nature. I did not let the world of film take away from the true and honest experience. It was a real eye opener for me, that I need to become a person who loves doing film but I shouldn't let it absorb my life the way I do. I have so much passion it almost hurts who I am.

The ideal reasoner, he remarked, would, when he had once been shown a single fact in all its bearings, deduce from it not only all the chain of events which led up to it but also all the results which would follow from it.
~Arthur Conan Doyle