Son of the Sunshine

Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC · May 21, 2008

This last monday I wrapped a low budget feature in Toronto. The budget was a 50k and some how I survived the experience. I've never been so challenged in my life. We did some extremely long days and battled many many obstacles throughout the shoot. My crew was about 4 people. I had a great first AC and I couldn't have done it without her. My Gaffer and Key grip were awesome! They stuck with me and had my back even on the hardest days. They were both inexperienced but after the first week they knew what I was going for, it was an honor working with both of them. Cinematographer David Moxness really came through for me on this project. The man is a true gentlemen. He gave me a home with is son in toronto and made my grip and lighting package happen for me on my no budget.

The film was shot on S16mm with a Panavision SRIII Advanced. I shot the entire project on Fuji Eterna 500T. I used Old Zeiss Super Speed MK1 set and a 70's Angenieux 10-50mm Zoom. Unfortunately we could only afford a low budget SD telecine for everything... but I hope that if the film makes it to a festival we could do a decent DI.

The story is about a young man with tourettes syndrome. He discovers a fictional cure for his syndrome and the story depicts his life after tourettes. The story has a spiritual twist.

Director Ryan Ward whom also stars in the film was great. This was his first Feature. He was hard nose at times but really passionate. We both collaborated really well together. I have a great apreaciation for directors whom are inspired during production and collaborate for great ideas. The side effect is that its hard on the crew but I personally love it and enjoy pushing myself to the limit to capture something great. His unwillingness to compromise really pushed everyone to give it their best every day. I look forward to working with him again on something with a more money ;-).

During the shoot I was accepted into IASTE 669, Vancouver's cinematographer union. I feel very blessed to be allowed in. Apparently I'm the youngest person in guild history to be givin membership and I'm hoping to really work hard to get out there and hopefully start shooting 2nd unit for some of the city's most gifted photographers. I think it would be a great opportunity to learn from great DP's.

Here is a link to some footage i pulled from week 1 and week 2 Dailies of Son of the Sunshine.

http://chayseirvin.com/video/sots1.mov

Jayson Crothers · May 22, 2008

Chayse~

Congratulations on being accepted into the union - that's fantastic news! And congrats on wrapping and surviving your feature. =)

Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC · May 23, 2008

Thanks Jay!

Andrew Brinkhaus · May 25, 2008

Agreed, congrats on your IATSE acceptance and wrap of your feature!

It looks like I will be shooting an independent feature in Vancouver towards the end of this year, maybe we can meet up if you're still around.

Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC · May 26, 2008

Thanks Andrew. Hell ya we should meet up. Drop me a email when your in town. What's the project about?

Gus Sacks · May 26, 2008

Really nice stuff, Chayse. Nice use of the Fuji stock :)

Jon Rosenbloom · May 26, 2008

I did some calculating and came up with a film budget for a s16mm feature of a $22,000, (on an 11:1 shooting ratio). Well, out of your $50K that leaves only 28K for everything else: camera, lighting, grip, art, costume, transpo, labor, etc. So, how do you do it and maintain any kind of standard? The footage looks great, no evident compromises.

Did you do an anamorphic squeeze on the transfer?

Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC · May 28, 2008

I did some calculating and came up with a film budget for a s16mm feature of a $22,000, (on an 11:1 shooting ratio). Well, out of your $50K that leaves only 28K for everything else: camera, lighting, grip, art, costume, transpo, labor, etc. So, how do you do it and maintain any kind of standard? The footage looks great, no evident compromises.

Did you do an anamorphic squeeze on the transfer?

Not sure of the actual numbers outside of my dept. My camera, lighting, and grip came to a total 2.5k total (camera 1k, grip and lighting 1.5k) for 4 weeks which was an amazing deal for a full SR3 panavision package and a HMI package (1 x 4k par, 2 x 1.2k, 2 x 575w, 1 x 400w Joker and 1 x leko, then a bunch of grip gear) through William F. Whites, something David Moxness helped me get as he was a gaffer in toronto for years and knows them well. We had a lot of keen volunteers for most of the film. Most of our cost came from locations and the animals in the film.

No anamorphic squeeze on the transfer.

Matt Garrett · May 29, 2008

Those are some amazing deals!

The footage looks great.

Can't wait to see the piece cut together.

Arni Heimir · May 29, 2008

I don't understand the big deal of joining a labour union. But CONGRATULATION ON A WELL DONE JOB. It looked beautiful.

Árni

Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC · May 29, 2008

Those are some amazing deals!
The footage looks great.

Can't wait to see the piece cut together.

Thanks Matt!

I don't understand the big deal of joining a labour union. But CONGRATULATION ON A WELL DONE JOB. It looked beautiful.

Árni

It means I can work on films that are union which is most the shows in Vancouver. I think I can also work around canada and maybe the USA as a sister member. Its a pay hike too. Its not really a big deal, making good films is a big deal... this really means nothing but that I can make a better living if I can get work union shows. Thanks for the comment on the footy!