As co-producer of "The Lashman", my responsibilities were great. Helping hook up locations, vehicles, cooking a few meals, helping with equipment, etc. etc. is all part of the job.
This was a project that was filmed in the western Kentucky area last year in the summer. The hot, miserable, humid, scorching southern summer.
When you're involved in a low-budget film (and I mean low budget) you do whatever it takes to get the job done, with whatever you have and however you can. We all love horror films. There seems to be an abundance of them popping up everywhere. Personally, I congratulate those who actually complete a film, and still congratulate anyone who actually tries to, because it isn't easy. You run into snags all the time; from failing equipment, to the loss of a location, the "no show" actor, running out of money and scrambling to finish up, the re-shoots...the list goes on.
But with careful planning, dedication and the desire to actually get the job done, it can be.
I worked with a great group of people. Of course we had our moments, and even though I'm the 40 year old dude that comes from a construction background and tries to stay cool on a set, I had my "bossy" moments. It's just that I like to get things done even if it means speaking up at times.
Director Cameron McCasland had his hands full. He has done many projects from music videos to participating in features here and there and of course the "Dr. Gangrene" show with Larry Underwood.
But this time around, it was a feature length horror film, and I for one, know how serious you guys are about horror. My attempt at a horror feature in 2009 with "Gun Town" left a lot of people satisfied, and some not so much. Yet we as filmmakers do our best with what we have, somehow we make it work. We certainly made it work with The Lashman.
Finding people to participate behind the camera is quite the task sometimes. Enthusiasm is very low when there's not much or no money involved. But then again, you find those who are very interested in working with you. In our case, we did just that. There were a few locals who were more than willing to go above and beyond the call of duty during our shoot. I also give them credit for some of the things we acquired for the film. People like that are high on my list for sure, they are the ones I want to work with in the future. Any filmmaker would.
In conclusion, my experience as co-producer was good overall. Typical minor mayhem took place, but show me a film set without even a hint of mayhem, and I'll show a non-existent film set. We got through it, no big deal.
Some may ask, and have..."why do you take such a risk? why is there so many things involved? why do you have to do so much work to make a movie?"
We're filmmakers...that's what we do.
Keep an eye out for "The Lashman"...lashing you later this year.
Find The Lashman on the web at http://www.LashmanMovie.com
http://www.Facebook.com/lashmanmovie
http://twitter.com/LashmanFilm
