"Our Secret Season" Film

Festival News!

2010-11-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Our Secret Season was pre-selected as a "must see film" at the 2010 SNOB Film Festival where it will screen at 7 pm on Saturday, November 20.

We also won the "El Capitan Award" at the 2010 Yosemite Film Festival last month!

Congratulations to cast & crew! We'll update as we hear about more festivals.

EKU University Premiere

2010-04-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

The EKU University Premiere of "Our Secret Season" will be held April 28th at 6p.m in the Library theater 108. Thanks to everyone at EKU who helped out with the financing and production of the film!

More on the Lexington Premiere

2010-02-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

It's official, the Premiere will be held on February 18, at 7 p.m. at the Lexington Public Library, Central Branch!

Admission is free, but you are welcome to make a donation to the library.

Here it comes!

2010-01-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Finally, we can announce the Premiere(s) of the film. We hope everyone who supported the film, played a direct or indirect part in it's creation, or just plain showed an interest will have a chance to see it.

One big change to announce -- copyright law being what it is, we had to change the name of the film from "Girl on Rocky Top." The new name is "Our Secret Season."

Premiere
Date: Thursday, February 18.
Time and location: TBD (it will either screen in Lexington or on the campus of EKU).

New Hampshire Screening
Date: Thursday, February 25.
Time and location: 7 pm., Smith Recital Hall, Silver Center for the Arts, Plymouth State University.

After that, it goes to the festival circuit. We'll keep you posted...

Postproduction...

2009-07-28T20:25:00.001-07:00

Just a note to cast, crew and other interested parties. Now that "Girl on Rocky Top" has finished shooting, we move on to post-production: editing, sound and image correction, scoring, etc. It's safe to say that the film will not be ready until early winter at the very soonest. We'll continue to post information as we get it so check back periodically for updates.

Wrap.

2009-07-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

We started the last day of the shoot with a black cloud rolling over and rain coming down in sheets. Chad feared intermittent rain more than steady driving rain--it would have been difficult to match up shots if it's raining in one and sunny in another. Fortunately, by the time the camera and light equipment were in place, the day had turned hot and sunny.

A local TV news crew came out and interviewed Emerson and I while the the rest of the company shot close-ups. You can follow this link and click News at 6, July 25 2009, in the side bar. Unfortunately, they didn't mention the rest of the cast or crew by name.

Jim from the Wombles Bus co. brought a bus over so we could transform a parking lot at EKU into a bus station. He was a great sport and even agreed to be an extra, crossing and recrossing the same stretch of sidewalk all day long.

This scene was the climactic argument between Scott and Brian--the moment when Scott, furious that Brian and Wendy didn't return the night before--takes them to the bus station to send them home to Missouri. The actors had to summon fury and regret for take after take after take. All four did a splendid job (even after I helped Jenna to take a nasty fall on a marble floor).

The day ended appropriately: Emerson yelled for "Quiet on set!" as Brendan recorded the sound of Jim's bus firing up it's engine, backing into the next lot, then slipping into a forward gear as it drove away.

And that was a wrap.

THEN the thunder started.

Many thanks to Eastern Kentucky University and the good people of Berea, Richmond, Lexington, and Irvine, KY. Thanks also to the many people in New Hampshire and Illinois who gave their financial support and encouragement to the project.

And special thanks to cast and crew who worked in rain and heat, on mountain tops and in lakes and rivers to make this film happen.

Crew: Tommy Paulson (First Assistant Cameraman), James Webb (Second Assistant Cameraman), Brendan Townend (Location Sound), Kurt Riche (Key Grip), Zach Lynn (intern/grip/extra), Angela Hudnall (intern/grip/extra), Ian Hummeldorf (intern/grip/extra), Kenny Lawrence (intern/grip), Marshall James (intern/grip/extra), and Nick Haney (intern/grip/extra).

Keys: Andrew Kramp (Director), Chad Cogdill (Director of Photography), Emerson St. John (Producer & Assistant Director), John Fitch (Producer), and Emily Hofelich (Producer & Script Supervisor).

Cast: Nick Swarts ("Scott" & "Narrator"), Jen Donnelly ("Tab"), Thomas Gibbs ("Brian"), and Jenna Taylor ("Wendy").

I kept my brother's journal from the real trip in my pocket for most of the shoot. On the first page, he concluded the entry with "This will be a great adventure." It was...and was again. Thanks.
~Scott Coykendall

Shoulder Deep

2009-07-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today we filmed several scenes at the lake: the accident, the wish, and the writer's daydream. Angela (a professional lifeguard) and Ian (a trained diver) and John (who knows Kung Fu) were sent into the lake to spend much of the day holding boats, guiding boats, retrieving typewriters.

Whoever scouts these locations deserves an ice-cream cone.

Girl on Rocky Top

2009-07-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we shot on the ledges of a place called "The Pinnacles" in Berea, KY. This is the title scene in which Scott, Brian, & Wendy spend the day hiking and having a great time. At one point, Wendy sings a verse of "Rocky Top" and the others join in -- in a hammy way. One pleasant surprise in casting: Jenna ("Wendy") can really sing. In fact, the whole cast can. The scene therefore played out less campy than intended. Serendipity.

The bugs at the bottom were fierce and the trail up to the ledges was steep--especially for the crew carrying camera equipment. So once we got there, we shot enough material for two feature-length films...just to make it worth the climb.

Jenna sang the first two verses of "Rocky Top" about 40 times...a painful chore for a UK fan.

It was the most fun day of the shoot.

Rain Delayed

2009-07-22T11:01:00.001-07:00

Filming today (the hiking scenes at the trailhead and at the lookout) was called on account of rain. We'll try to wrap up shooting at the lake in one day, instead of two, later in the week.

Two crews diverged...and re...verged

2009-07-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

After filming a brief scene in the little town of Irvine, KY, yesterday morning (just a brief shot of "Scott" and "Tab" walking on the sidewalk eating ice cream...something that NEVER happens, but we have to indulge the film-makers here), we split into two crews.

Most of the cast and crew went with the DP, Chad, to film more driving scenes in the hills and hollers between Irvine and Jackson. Thomas ("Brian") had a bit of a stomach bug, so driving on those serpentine roads was just what the doctor ordered.

Nick ("Scott"), Andrew (the director), Brendan (sound) and I went back to the EKU campus to record the voice-over tracks and some poetry. In the evening, both groups reconvened and we shot the "boo-bee!" scene and some more driving/car scenes.

It was a long day.

"Making our day" at Moores Grocery

2009-07-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

Last night, we had our first and only night-shoot. The call was at 5:30 pm at a little country store called Moores Grocery in Berea, KY, where we shot until 1 am. We were shooting scene 13, in which they have stopped for supplies at a roadside store. The scene is intended to introduce some of the tension between all four characters. It was the best scene we've shot so far. Jenna (Wendy) and Nick (Scott) were relaxed and having fun, Thomas (Brian) and Jen (were conflicted, but subtly so). Overall, you can really see the cast bonding and the effect it is having on their scenes.

Too, the crew is functioning like a well-oiled machine. Not only did they get all of their shots (what they call "making their day"), Andrew (the director) and Chad (the Director of Photography) even talked John (one of the producers) into getting a few more night-time driving shots for the can.

Thankfully, we are off today. Night shoots will wreck you.

Emerson St. John's Production Photos

2009-07-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

One of the jokes around the set has been that we have taken so many production photos that we could probably sell a few thousand shots of the crew to films that didn't have enough material for their DVD extras. Last night was day 6 of the shoot and I have already taken almost 500 pictures. Emerson handed me three CDs with probably twice that many pictures. Here are some of his highlights from day 5 of shooting driving scenes:

Above Silver Creek Falls

2009-07-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

After an early start on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University for the morgue shots, yesterday, and a long afternoon of filming at the falls, I just didn't have the energy to post. The latter was a fun shoot--Thomas (Brian) learned to skip stones, Chad (the DP) learned the virtues of sunblock, and I demonstrated how to fall into hip deep water with an expensive camera.

This morning, they began the long process of filming driving shots (something we will devote at least two days to). After a couple of hours of standing on the roadside, I realized I could be more productive to the project posting photos. After the first draft of this post, I returned to the spot they were when I left only to find the whole cast and crew gone. Since cell phones are strictly off during a shoot, I opted to return to known-territory rather than wander the hills of Kentucky looking for a wayward film crew.

Some more cast and crew pix...

Jenna Taylor (cast, "Wendy")

Marshall James (intern)

Zach Lynn (intern)

Thomas Gibbs (cast, "Brian")

Nick Haney (intern)

More production photos from July 17 and 18...

Some press for the film...

2009-07-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Check out the front page story about "Girl on Rocky Top" in the Richmond Register...

Here comes the rain

2009-07-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we scrambled to shoot scene 12. This is a pretty quick scene in which Scott, dogged by the narrator, encounter a random couple as Scott is leaving a convenience store on the way home from work some time after the accident. The couple--more their behavior than physical resemblance--reminds him of Brian and Wendy and takes him out of the present. It was a race against the rain to get all of the shots required for this short scene. Kurt (pictured below) became our unofficial "project meteorologist" by staying glued to his iPhone all morning warning us of approaching storms. We got all but one shot in before the rain started and Andrew had to call a wrap.

Notice how I used the word "wrap?" It's rubbing off on me. Chad had a bunch of clothespins on shirt yesterday. I asked someone about them. "You mean the C-47's? Those are for clipping gels over the lights." they said. Clothespins are C-47's. I will find a way to work that into this blog again.

In the afternoon, the rain cleared off and Andrew, Chad, Emily, Emerson, Kurt and I went to check out Friday's locations. One is the morgue scene, another is the waterfall. They worked out the shots and blocking for the morgue scene in hopes that we can wrap there by 1 pm or so and leave plenty of time (and light) for the waterfall.
~Scott

Cast and Crew

Chad Cogdill (Director of Photography) and Kurt Riche (Grip/Gaffer)

Tommy Paulson, First Assistant Cameraman

Andrew Kramp (Director) & Nick Swarts (cast, "Scott" and Narrator)

John Fitch (Producer)

Brendan Townend (Location Sound), Angela Hudnall (Intern & Extra), Ian Hummeldorf (Intern & Extra)

Jen Donnelly (cast, "Tab")

Kenny Lawrence (intern/grip)

Emily Hofelich (Producer & Script Supervisor)

James Webb, Second Assistant Cameraman

Me (Scott Coykendall, Screenwriter) and Emerson St. John (Producer & Assistant Director)

More shoot photos from Scene 12

Speed...

2009-07-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today we filmed scenes 15 and 16 that take place in two separate hotel rooms. It was a long day, the crew set up the two hotel rooms very quickly, but we did several takes of each shot. Some of the highlights:

Thomas (playing "Brian") and Jenna ("Wendy") playing the "slapping hands" game in Scene 15.
The phone call from home in Scene 16 (with Nick as "Scott" and Jen as "Tab"), and (my favorite) Thomas (playing "Brian") and Jenna ("Wendy") at the end of scene 15 whispering in one bed while Nick (Scott) stewed in the next bed.

Some more pix from the shoot...

Filming Starts Monday

2009-07-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

Production gets underway tomorrow--Monday, July 13 (right on schedule)! I won't be there to report first hand, but I arrive Monday evening and will post briefly based on Chad & Andrew's account.
~Scott

Film Synopsis

2009-05-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

Seems we didn't think to include an actual synopsis of the film:

Working Title: Girl on Rocky Top

Synopsis: Based on a true story, a young couple makes a cross-country trip to start a new life and they bring along two friends for the ride. But as one relationship dissolves, another develops, testing loyalties and driving wedges between brothers and friends. Before they can resolve their turmoil, a boating accident claims one of the pairs, leaving the survivors to wrestle with remorse and their own culpability.

2009-04-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Please join us to help support the short summer film "Girl On Rocky Top", May 21st 8p.m at Natasha's Bistro in Lexington, KY.

Jim Gleason's band, "The Sons of the Frigidares" are the main attraction.
There is a $10 donation at the door. You can make reservations by calling 859-259-2754

The short film is a production for the 2009 Summer Film Internship Program in the Department of Communication/Film Techniques and Technology track at Eastern Kentucky University. All proceeds go toward the production of the film.

Please contact Chad Cogdill for further information.
912-604-4801

Meet the Interns

2009-04-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

We have lift off! Thursday night, John and Chad held the first intern meeting to get everyone up to speed. Let me introduce to you the 2009 student interns.
They are:
Jennifer Donnelly
Kenny Lawrence
Angela Hudnall
Ian Hummeldorf
Zach Lynn
Nicholas Haney
and two hold overs from last year:
James Webb
Marshall James

Pre-production and production roles were assigned and the crew is on their way. We look forward to working with this talented pool of students during the filming of "Girl on Rocky Top" 2009.

Our Fund Raising Letter

2009-04-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

As of mid-April, we're already nearing the halfway point of our funding goal and the checks--large and small--are rolling in from all over. Here is the fund raising letter we've been using for our Kentucky donors:

Dear, Friends, Family and Colleagues

We are seeking support for this summer’s film internship program production of “Girl on Rocky Top”. For the past two summers, the program has offered students the opportunity to assist with the production of a short narrative film. The experience includes working closely with film professionals, faculty and advanced production equipment. So far, fourteen EKU film students have benefited from this experience. The previous films have screened at various regional and national film festivals in addition to being broadcast on cable outlets across the country.

This summer, we have secured a promising screenplay that has been years in development. “Girl on Rocky Top’, based on a true story, will be shot in a variety of locations around Kentucky, was written for a small cast of young actors and will present many technical challenges to the crew—including its interns. This will be a great opportunity for these students to apply the technical and problem-solving skills we stress in the classroom to a ‘real-world’ project.

The Film internship program has yielded benefits in several areas including the growth of the new film program and the Department of Communication. The internship has provided the opportunity for intensive, cooperative and peer learning and instruction for students who would normally not have access to this level of real-world film training. Faculty members work alongside students and professionals to produce quality content.

The projected budget for this 14 day production is $10,000. This money will go toward lodging and meals for professional and student crew members, freelance fees for visiting professionals, rental equipment, set design and travel. To date, we have raised $4000 in donations from faculty, staff and members of the community.

Our fundraising deadline is June 1^st, 2009. If we have 75% of our target, we will proceed with our scheduled production at the end of July.

We need your help to reach our goals. Monetary and in-kind donations are welcome and appreciated. Please see our contributor options for more information.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Chad Cogdill
John Fitch III
Emerson St. John

Please visit the “Girl on Rocky Top” blog at: http://girlonrockytop.blogspot.com/

Donor Options

Patron - $5000 – Opening and ending credits, 10-VIP passes to screening, 10 copies of DVD – “Produced in association with…”

Executive Producer - $2500 – Opening & ending credits special thanks as executive producer – 10 copies of DVD 10 - VIP Passes to screening.

Associate Producer - $1000 – Ending credits – 5 copies of DVD 5 VIP Passes to premier screening
Sponsor - $500 – Ending Credits – 2 DVDs 2 VIP Passes to premier screening.

Friend - $200 – Ending Credits - 1 DVDs and 2 VIP Passes to premier screening.

Please make your donations payable to:

Chad C. Cogdill
Assistant Professor
Eastern Kentucky University
Combs 315
Richmond, KY40475

859-985-5825 (home)
912-604-4801 (cell)

The players

2009-04-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

Director - Andrew Kramp is a director, screenwriter, and producer. He holds an MFA in Film Directing and has twice been named a top ten finalist for The Academy Awards; for "Slip," in the Student Competition category, and for "No Salida" in the Short Subject category of the professional competition. For his thesis film, he won "Best Director" at the Savannah College of Art andDesign in 2005.

Andrew recently produced his first independent feature, "Latent Lava," filmed in New York, New Jersey, and India and served as Production Manager on the film, "Assata, aka Joanne Chesimard"which recently won "Best Feature" at the 2009 Harlem International Film Festival. Andrew will be directing the film, "The Weight of Dreams," based on his original screenplay, in 2010. Andrew has served as a lecturer at various events and schools, including the American Film Institute and the B&H Event Space.

Producer - Emerson St. John received his bachelors degree in Video & Film Production from EKU, and his Business Administration degree from the United States Army Training Center in Ft. Jackson, S.C. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University. As a member of the Department of Communication, he is the Media & Technical Supervisor. Emerson also works as an actor, writer, director, and producer in television, film, theatre, & radio. Emerson has appeared in the ABC made for television film 'A Horse for Danny', on NBC in 'Real Stories of the High Patrol', on the Travel Channel in 'American Icons: The Grand Canyon', 'Passion Fruits', 'Game Show Moments Gone Banana's', and is in pre-production for two upcoming films 'Broken April', and 'Window With A View'.

Producer - John Fitch III has a M.F.A. in Film from the Savannah College of Art and Design, along with 18 years of experience in TV, Video and Film Production, Sound Design and Project Management. He has taught film and video production at Johnson C. Smith University, the Lyndon Institute, The Light Factory and Eastern Kentucky University.

Cinematographer - Chad Cogdill Chad Cogdill has worked as a freelance Cinematographer including short narrative and experimental films and music videos. He received a B.S in Media Studies at Missouri Western State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Film from the Savannah College of Art and Design. His graduate thesis film, “Ma Chere`Petite Maxyme” won best graduate student film and best Cinematography for the 2005 school year. Cogdill’s production experience includes SD and HD video as well as 16mm and 35mm film formats. He resides in Berea, Kentucky, with his wife Jen, four year-old son Dylan and six month old daughter Ellery.

Writer - Scott Coykendall is a poet and writer in New Hampshire where he lives with his wife and daughters. He received his MFA in Poetry from Bowling Green State University then spent several years as a professional writer in the software industry. He's currently an Associate Professor of Professional Writing at Plymouth State University.

The project is underway

2009-04-15T07:51:00.001-07:00

I thought I would start this off with a post describing the script we're working from. The screenplay is based on an AWFUL stage play that I wrote many years ago. The play, in turn, was based on the real-life road-trip that my wife, Tab, and I took to California with my little brother, Brian, and our good friend, Wendy. At the end of that trip, Tab and I stayed to live in California for the summer (that's where our first daughter was born), Brian and Wendy returned to Missouri. They drowned in a boating accident five days after they returned.

That little summary leaves out a lot of what happened--some fantastic memories of hiking and driving and enjoying adventures along that long, long road. It also leaves out the fact that they began an affair and that we quarreled bitterly about it. Our relationship when they set out to return to Missouri was, at best, strained.

The play, like much of my poetry at the time, was an attempt for me to process that mourning, remorse for some of our actions, my guilt over my role in their deaths. Strangely enough, the screenplay, which my friend Chad Cogdill (Producer and Director of Photography for the film) has pestered me to write for a decade, changes most of the circumstantial facts of the trip (most obviously, it reroutes the trip to Kentucky rather that westward to CA). But it manages to be more honest, more true, more effective, than the fact-based play. I wrote most of it late last Fall as my sabbatical was finishing up. Since then, Andrew Kramp (our wonderful director and a fantastic collaborator), Cogdill, and I have worked on it steadily. We've made some compromises--especially in settings--that are driven by budget concerns or technical issues (who knew that filming in a moving car was so challenging?). But they're both very committed to telling the story as I envisioned it...more precisely, we've collaborated to create a script that represents our shared vision. In other words, I'm still immensely proud of it and I hope it looks as good on film as it does in my head.

- Scott Coykendall, screenwriter