Bad Squirrel Productions

Bad Squirrel Productions first movie is HOUSE OF FLYING SQUIRRELS, the 2012 film project of the Martial Artistry Shaolin Kung Fu and Chinese Wushu Movie Stunt Class. In this highly unusual film, each of the 21 students came up with their own character, and a full-length feature film -- giving all of the characters roughly equal weight and screen time -- was written. The movie was filmed almost tot

ally against a makeshift blue (or occasionally green) screen, and the backgrounds were chroma-keyed in using Sony Vegas. Only two of our gang had any acting experience, yet we typically did only one take per scene. The person who did all the post production work had no experience, and learned chroma-key and the workings of Sony Vegas with no help or training. We didn't even get a pro version of Vegas until the film was at the 80% post production mark. A very conscious attempt was made to film the scenes in chronological order, in order to track our improvement as film-makers. We started off with the floating tables and undulating floors of a handheld (doh!) camera, and progressed to special effects like a squirrel in flight, toting a bomb with a lit and sputtering fuse. The flickering 35 year old overhead florescents, hung two stories above our heads, gave everything a lovely greenish cast. Their insistent buzz, coupled with the fabulous "barking hamsters" - the dogs of the nearby boarding kennel - and roaring trucks of the penile-challenged locals made for some really fabulous ambiance. Or not. The main camera used was a Canon T2i. Sometimes, we even remembered to take the lens cap off before shooting. The movie premiers at Martial Artistry Shaolin Kung Fu and Chinese Wushu on Saturday, February 9, 2013 (Chinese New Year's Eve) at 1:00pm. The showing is open to the public and admission is free. Seating is limited, but room is not, so bring a chair and enjoy! If you miss the premier, Belen will also be showing the film - which just goes to show you there is no accounting for taste. Time for that showing to be announced, but the date will be Saturday April 6, 2013. See the trailer for HOUSE OF FLYING SQUIRRELS at: http://youtu.be/td9OMm8z6Q4