Posted by judithbshields on April 21, 2014

Posted in: Crew Blog. Tagged: actor, c47 houston, Drama, Dustin Sturgill, houston, microbudget., movie, nomination, steampunk, texas, Tim Ashby, Victor Frankenstein. Leave a comment

Congratulations to Dustin Sturgill (Victor Frankenstein) and Tim Ashby (Clerval) for their nominations for C47 Houston Best Actor! Along with Matt Risoldi, this makes three nominations for the award. Best wishes gentlemen!

Dustin Sturgill (Victor Frankenstein) Works in lab

Dustin Sturgill as Victor Frankenstein works on body

Victor Frankenstein (Dustin Sturgill) and Clerval (played by Tim Ashby)

Victor Frankenstein played by Dustin Sturgill

Victor and Clerval in lab

Optional steampunk costume that was chosen not to be used in the film. Dustin Sturgill as Victor Frankenstein

Clerval and Victor go to the Frankenstein house

New Trailer for Frankenstein’s Monster Released

Posted by judithbshields on April 4, 2014

Posted in: Cast Blog, Crew Blog. Tagged: film, frankenstein, Frankenstein's Monster, independent, indie, indy, Judith B. Shields, mary shelley, Matt Risoldi, microbudet, monster, movie, Ryan Cockerham., steampunk, teaser, texas, Tim Ashby, trailer. Leave a comment

Trailer 4 for Frankenstein’s Monster (2013) is a short length trailer which emphasizes the Monster’s character. Original music by Ryan Cockerham.

Way to go! New film in development from Slava Vlad and Nicola Matrangolo

Posted by judithbshields on April 2, 2014

Posted in: Crew Blog. Tagged: art, artistic, cinematography, film, houston, indie, indy, texas. 1 Comment

Way to go! Here is the trailer from an upcoming film, I.C., created by Nicola Matrangolo and our Cinematographer/Co-Editor Slava Vlad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx93M4ADWSg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Posted by judithbshields on March 5, 2014

Posted in: Actors, Cast Blog. Tagged: 2013, actor, best, budget, c-47, cast, Drama, film, filmmaking, Frankenstein's Monster, houston, low, Matt, microbudget., movie, nomination, risoldi, steampunk, texas, theater, theatre. 1 Comment

MVI_0025.MOV.Still002

Congratulations to Matt Risoldi for his nomination for C-47 Best Actor 2013!

Matt Risoldi tackled the role of the monster. His interpretation of Mary Shelley’s character brings the monster “to life” by connecting with the audience. He provides a compassionate character who later falls from innocence.

From “Land of the Nerds”: http://landofnerds.com/2013/12/28/steampunkfrankensteinsmonster/

<<What I really liked about the film was how actor Matt Risoldi portrayed the Monster. Instead of Electrodes, he had a steam apparatus attached to his neck, releasing steam in bursts as he talked and moved. Risoldi towers over the rest of the cast. He emotes well, and is quite believable as the Monster. The Monster is sympathetic, even to his creator for a moment. He screams, he rants, he rails, it is the Monster, not the Mad Scientist, who admits that he “IS ALIVE!!!!”>>

I couldn’t have written that better.I will also make note of Matt Risoldi’s co-star, Dustin Sturgill and supporting cast member, Tim Ashby. Sturgill was an anchor for the entire film. His excellent line memorization provided stability especially since his lines consisted of nearly half of the script. Sturgill’s Frankenstein was perfectly selfish and obsessed. Tim Ashby played Clerval, Frankenstein’s best friend and provided light comedic relief as well as sympathy for everyone influenced by Frankenstein’s decisions.The entire cast worked well together and were top notch professionals. It is not easy to accomplish a microbudget film in 14 days with little time for practice.

Snapshot 1 (1-10-2013 12-02 AM) copy

Frankenstein’s Monster at Weird West Fest

Posted by judithbshields on December 16, 2013

Posted in: Cast Blog, Crew Blog. Tagged: ApolloCon, chilly, cold, Comicpalooza, conventions, ed erdelac, film, Frankenstein's Monster, gary clark, giddings, indie, indy, Judith B. Shields, Mike McDermott, movie, panel, screenwriting, steampunk, texas, Travis Wayne Hamilton, weird west fest, western, westren, wild west, WorldCon. 1 Comment

Frankenstein’s Monster at Weird West Fest

I want to give a big thank you to those who braved the cold and got your gears to Giddings! Weird West Fest welcomed Frankenstein’s Monster and we were proud to be there. Mike McDermott (Captain), Travis Wayne Hamilton (Krempe) and Judith B. Shields (me–the screenwriter/filmmaker) were able to meet many folks there. A big shout out for Mike and Travis for making it from Houston. Preacher’s Powderworks and Projectiles who made our amazing steampunk lab goggles is one of the co-founders for the event.

About Weird West Fest–it is a Western and Steampunk 1 day festival. This was their first year and they made a difficult decision–to postpone the festival by a week. The original date had that icy conditions and made it unsafe to drive in the Texas Hill Country. While the new date was still chilly, at least it was safe for folks to travel.

I also had a wonderful paneling experience. I’ve been on many panels, from ApolloCon (Screenwriting) to Comicpalooza (Microbudget Filmmaking) to WorldCon (Steampunk), but I never had had a panel where we laughed so much. I was honored to both moderate and participate in the Art of Screenwriting panel with (from left to right) @Gary Clark (actor and screenwriter), and Ed Erdelac (screenwriter and author). That panel covered comparisons of book to screenplay writing tips, character vs. action based plots, personal stories with screenwriting, and how to get your work out there. The audience asked good questions as well.

Thank you everyone who made it out to Giddings!

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This is how you screen a film in Texas!

We are very blessed to be able to have a private cast and crew screening to celebrate Frankenstein’s Monster’s completion and its starting run on the independent film circuit. Even was held at Butler’s Longhorn Museum (thank you).

Git Your Gears to Giddings, Y’all!

Posted by judithbshields on November 14, 2013

Posted in: Crew Blog. Tagged: buba, eric red, frankenstein, Frankenstein's Monster, giddings, ho-tep, joe lansdale, jonah hex, judith shields, michael flores, screenwriting, steampunk, texas, weird west fest, western, Western X, westren, zepplins west. Leave a comment

Frankenstein's Monster at Weird West Fest

Weird West Fest will hold their preliminary event in Giddings, Texas. (Saturday, December 7th, 2013)

update: event will be postponed for Saturday, December 14th, 2013.

What is Weird West Fest? Why, it’s the largest Westren and Steampunk hootenanny out yonder between Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. The historic downtown of Giddings is prepared to have a one-day shindig with music, a film festival (which we are part), traders, panels, food, and horses. Expect to see folks dressed up in western and/or Steampunk attire for the costume contest.

What’s best about Weird West Fest is that a portion of movie ticket sales go to the restoration of the 1918 Sterling Silent Movie Theatre.

Frankenstein’s Monster will screened at 4:30pm and there will be an actors-focused panel after the film.

Judith B. Shields will also moderate a separate panel on screenwriting with Keith Lansdale, Joe Lansdale (author of 30+ books, including Buba Ho-Tep, Zeppelins West, and several Jonah Hex graphic novels), Eric Red and Michael Flores (Western X). Time for that will be tba.

We’re going to San Antonio!

Posted by judithbshields on July 26, 2013

Posted in: Crew Blog. Tagged: Competition, convention, film, frankenstein, Frankenstein's Monster, indie, LoneStarCon, LoneStarCon3, San Antonio, sci-fi, science fiction, steampunk, texas. Leave a comment

Hi everyone,

First off, we’d like to sincerely thank those who supported us with the Indie Go-Go campaign for the Spring 2013 Competitions. We are touched by your generosity.

We have great news! We’re an official selection for the WorldCon–71st Anniversary (LoneStarCon3) Film Festival!

PLEASE NOTE: While the general Science Fiction convention will be located at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, the FILM FESTIVAL will be located at the nearby Marriott Rivercenter. Our film will be shown once on Friday, August 30th at 8:00pm-10:00pm in Room 13-14. We hope to see you there! Please share with your Texan friends!

lsc3-film-poster-tn

Posted by judithbshields on March 28, 2013

Posted in: Cast Blog, Crew Blog. Tagged: audio, comiccon, comicpolooza, crew, diy, effects, film, First Step Cinematics, frankenstein, houston, indie, indy, monster, movie, panel, special, steampunk, texas, visual. 1 Comment

We have two Houston events coming up in Summer: Comicpolooza and ApolloCon. Both will have different panelists and subjects.

In this post, we will highlight what we’re doing at Comicpolooza–the largest sci-fi convention in Houston, Texas.

I am honored that we’re going to be at so many conventions. I have to give special thanks to Comicpolooza which has streamlined the convention process for us.

Unlike ApolloCon which will be an intimate panel with the actors, the Comicpolooza panel gives a chance for techies to go crazy!

HERE is the link for the updated schedule of events. Once we finish post-production and the indy film circuit begins, this page will be constantly updated.

So what are we up to at Comicpolooza?

“How to Film on a Budget”

The cast/crew of Frankenstein’s Monster from First Step Cinematics, LLC will take a practical look at filming on a budget for the 21st century. Attendees will be introduced to the basics of microbudget film project planning, logistics, some DIY tech tools ideas our crew used, audio needs, makeup, sets, props, and how to adapt a DSLR camera for filming. Q&A for cast and crew after talk. If you were ever afraid to film, but don’t know where to start, this is the place to be.

Hi everyone! Judith B. Shields here. I just wanted to share some moments from the shoot.

Here we have a few moments from when Victor Frankenstein returns home and also a shot of young William Frankenstein playing in a field.

We still have 14 scenes left to shoot in March. However, we’ve started the post-production process for the other scenes. Matt G. is editing video first then the audio team will tackle the project. Even though is seems a little quiet here on the blog–it isn’t quiet in the production. The lead team has been meeting about two nights a week reviewing the dailies. We’re very excited about what we’re building. I cannot wait to share with all of you Frankenstein’s Monster. Once we hit the independent film circuit, I’ll keep this blog updated as we know when we’ll be shown at a city near you. Thank you again for your support!

-Judith B. Shields