Pinmonkey - The Journey of a short film

Here it is

2006-07-15T20:43:00.000-05:00

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Hot Damn, Caravan! and Editing News

2005-12-15T10:54:00.000-06:00

I would like to announce that my cinema production film, "Hot Damn, Cavaravan!" is on the web! Unfortunately I don't have much web space so the quality is pretty bad and the screen is tiny. But nonetheless, it's on my homepage at http://www.students.uwosh.edu/~zieglt72/ under "directing samples."

Also "Megadeth" Lynn is working hard in the editing room. I watched a rough edit of Scene 10 and 11 last night and it looks good. We are showing it in our Motion Picture Workshop class tomorrow @ 9:10am.

Post-Production Begins!

2005-12-10T12:24:00.000-06:00

We the footage back a couple of days ago. It looks great. Now on we're on to the exciting process of editing and sound design. Meredith Lynn (better known as Producer Extrourdenair, or her new nick-name "Megadeth Lynn") will be holing her self in the eternal darkness that is the Avid Adreneline room and piecing together the shards of our movie. She will be joined by Shelli "Hey Boo" Wenzel.

Pictures from Scene 2 and 6

2005-12-05T15:08:00.000-06:00

Here are some more pictures for you. One is of the second scene at the bowling alley and the others are of Pinmonkey's bedroom. Why is there a tree branch in Pinmonkey's bedroom...bonzai?

More Music

2005-12-05T14:59:00.000-06:00

My brother Sean came up with another little ditty. He wrote and recorded this in one day. He did not have a specific place for this mind. After a rough-cut is assembled I may have a good idea where to put it if we choose to use it. Either way it's a disturbing 1930s-sounding piece. My brother mixed guitar, concertina and, oh yes, that's a musical saw. The mixing is rough, but feast your ears on this.

Scene 1 Pictures

2005-11-30T20:38:00.000-06:00

Scene 1 was shot in two locations with some creative geography--Rec Lanes and Brew's Eagle Lanes. Thanks to Chris Renton for filling in for the Angry Bowler, our extras and, of course, Mike Van Ryzin.

Music

2005-11-29T17:45:00.000-06:00

My brother Sean has been wracking his brain ever since I asked him to compose a song for the film's intro. I asked him to make it a bizzarre, improvisational jazz song--one that Kerouac would dig. He sent me a unfinished mp3. It's called "Spinning Head." I think sounds good. Take a listen.

Production is Wrapped!

2005-11-29T17:39:00.000-06:00

The long and strange journey of production wrapped last Sunday! Everything went swimmingly thanks to (honestly) the best crew I've worked worth. We should recieve the footage by the end of the week, and then begins the long and strange journey of post-production. Don't fret more pictures are on there way.

Shooting the Bowling Alley

2005-11-15T12:48:00.000-06:00

We had the chance to go to our bowling alley this sunday and shoot some opening montage-type stuff. It was a last minute descision, but we had plenty of crew and got the shots we wanted. We go back next Friday.

Scene 14 Pics

2005-11-11T11:40:00.000-06:00

Here's some pictures from scene 14--the spooky conclusion. Thanks to Jim LaMont for letting us film in his bathroom.

Pictures (cont'd)

2005-11-10T00:53:00.000-06:00

Keep 'Em Coming

2005-11-09T18:10:00.000-06:00

Here's some more pretty cool pictures of us shooting scenes 11 and 13:

More Pictures

2005-11-08T17:37:00.000-06:00

As promised...

Decay, Flies, TV Dinners--Shooting Resumes!

2005-11-07T21:19:00.000-06:00

What a weekend! Our production resumed this past weekend.. We knocked off scenes 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14 without a hitch (well, except for some runaway flies). The actors were great. Maria was an excellent sport, despite having to stay motionless for hours, being dipped into a cold tub, eduring layers of makeup, having to smell decomposing food and being covered with flies. The crew worked especially hard, making the shoot a complete success. Nick Gumm deserves much praise for putting up with me and keeping us (relatively) on schedule. Here's a couple of pictures courtesy of Adam Haas and Meredith Lynn. Stay tuned for more.

Help us out!

2005-11-02T00:36:00.000-06:00

Those of you who go to UW-Oshkosh, you can help us out in raising money for "Pinmonkey." We are having a dirt-cup (chocolate pudding, crushed cookies and a gummy worm) sale Thursday, November 3 in Breese Hall. They are only a dollar and they are delicious!

The Image

2005-10-28T14:36:00.000-05:00

Since I am heavily interested with the field of cinematography, I put a lot of thought into the visualization of this film.

The color saturation is very high, with passionate reds popping throughout most of the film.
The lighting is very high contrast: the range of luminance goes from slightly overexposed to crushed blacks within the frame.
The lighting is also very controlled and soft, especially on the actors faces.
Most of the lenses are fairly wide, adding abstract distortions to the characters and environment.

Artistic and filmic visual influences include

Caravaggio
Edward Hopper
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (Peter Greenaway)
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai)
Rushmore (Wes Anderson)

The Crew

2005-10-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

Here is the list of fine, hard-working people involved with the production:

Tim Ziegler - Writer/Director
Meredith Lynn - Producer/Editor
Adam Haas - Producer
Luke Kalteux - Director of Photography
Shelli Wenzel - Art Director/ Script Supervisor
Kristen Jobe - Hair/Makeup/Warddrobe
Danae Hoffman - Costume Designer
Paul Schmidt - Gaffer
Nick Gumm - Assistant Director
Erica Mazzolari - Continuity Supervisor
Scott Giese - 1st Assistant Camera
Bryce Sherer - 2nd Assistant Camera
Jason Gildenzopf - Grip
Breanne Brennan - Grip
Kasey Deringer - Grip
Alison Berkovitz - Production Assistant
Kari Frea - Production Assistant
Tom Freitag - Sound Designer
Anthony Rossi - Sound Designer
Ben Picker - Sound Designer
Sue Kiesaw - Costume Rental
Atomickatz - Prop/Costume Rental
Annette Pufall - Painter/Fly Catcher

Pinmonkey's Wall Art

2005-10-24T23:54:00.000-05:00

The Setting

2005-10-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

While we take a break from shooting (we shoot next the first weekend of Nov.), I will explain some of the vision of "Pinmonkey" in terms of style.

The time and place of the story is completely ambiguous--it really exists in its own universe (think of Wes Anderson or Tim Burton films). The art direction draws heavily from the 1940s, but there is no year. The world is slimy, morally questionable and full of decay--almost post-apocalyptic. The pictures you see from scene 10 (if you have not read the script) are from a fantasy in the mind of the main character. It is the antithesis of the "real" world: civilized, pure, sunny, and beautiful

Scene 3 pics

2005-10-21T11:28:00.000-05:00

...And here's Scene 3: The slimy streets.

Principle Photography Begins!

2005-10-21T10:31:00.000-05:00

We started shooting the exteriors early (it gets damn cold in Wisconsin!). On October 16 we shot scenes 3 and 10--two very different scenes. I think it went swell. Here's production stills from scene 10:

The Cast

2005-10-19T13:54:00.000-05:00

Adam Briesmeister - Pinmonkey

Maria Bartholdi - The Barfly

Gary Zurbuchen - Cigar-Smoking Man

(not pictured)
Mike VanRyzin - Mr. Preston

(not pictured)
Bob Ekdahl - Angry Bowler

The Script

2005-10-19T11:42:00.000-05:00

Here you are, you eager beavers: The Script

Comments are Welcome!

Welcome to the Pinmonkey Page

2005-10-19T11:14:00.000-05:00

This blog tracks the progress of 'Pinmonkey:' A short film written and directed by me, Tim Ziegler. Pinmonkey is a pitch black, character-driven comedy about a pinsetter (a guy who manually sets up pins at a bowling alley) who falls in love with a dead barfly. Produced by Meredith Lynn and Adam Haas, Cinematography by Luke Kalteaux, Art Direction by Shelli Wenzel and Kristen Jobe, Costume Design by Danae Hoffman.