FALL 2015 FILMING UPDATE WITH MATT BUSCH

November 2, 2015By Aladdin3477Production News

Writer, Director, and Editor Matt Busch gives us a welcome update from the set of ALADDIN 3477:

“There may not have been a lot of updates as of late, but that is actually an indication of how hard everyone has been working. The work we are doing gets better and better and I couldn’t be more pleased. We keep raising the bar with every set piece we do, and I know you’re going to love what you see.

“Since getting back from our mini promotional tour last spring at Full Sail University, Star Wars Celebration Anaheim and Con Carolinas, we’ve been moving forward and picking up the pace. Even on days we aren’t shooting, not a day goes by where hours upon hours aren’t being put into this by myself, Lin Zy, and others. The scale of this is just incredible.

“For the most part, we’ve been utilizing the warmer Summer and Fall months to shoot outside. Sometimes this will be a real location, like abandoned buildings in shadier areas of Detroit that serve as a backdrop for futuristic poverty areas of Hong Kong. Other times, we are building full outdoor sets on lots. One such set was even in my own back yard!

“Simultaneously, we built some amazing sets and kept things moving at the Kaliedoscope Koi Soundstage. Sets we built and shot in the summer included Pich’s Apartment and the interior of a Hong Kong Pub. Right now we are wrapping up our coolest set yet- Aladdin’s Apartment. This place gets a fair amount of screen time, so we put a lot into it. Guillotine-style doors, secret panels, lots of custom robots that Aladdin builds, not to mention, a life-size Sky Sail!

“On days we aren’t shooting, I’m still at it from sun up to sun down. I’m either building props, drawing storyboards, or editing the working comp of the movie. On top of that, you have no idea how much time goes into the little things, like figuring out everyones’ schedule. Costumes are always being made or altered. Food is planned out for every shoot. We are very professional with it all, but at the same time, this is a very hand-made work of art. To say ‘I get by with a little help from my friends’ is a monumental understatement.

“One of the summer highlights was filming an epic martial arts action scene that takes place behind a Japanese-style spa garden. It was the first time for Lin Zy to really show off her skills- fitting, since she is currently the 2015 Martial Artist if the Year at Romanelli’s International School of Martial Arts. The whole scene was choreographed and rehearsed for about 9 months before we actually shot it. I cannot wait for you guys to see this scene!

“One of the other outdoor challenges was shooting with the life-size SkySail. We haven’t even shot any scenes of it flying, as the wing changes positions for that. But in its’ parked mode, we had a number of locations where we physically dragged this thing out just to have it in place. The SkySail has to be dismantled to move, and even then, it takes 7 guys to lift!

We keep raising the bar with every set piece we do, and I know you’re going to love what you see.”

“We tried our best to schedule outdoor shoots with good weather, and then we’d shoot at the soundstage on days where the weather was questionable. Luck was usually with us! One of the things we were also able to take advantage of on soundstage days was shooting hologram scenes via green screen. Among the characters, Pich- played by Robert “Seven” Shannon, is often seen as a walking hologram. We also shot nearly a dozen hologram Princesses that you’ll see from around the world. The green screen stuff by itself always looks underwhelming, but each shot is meticulously planned out, so what you ‘ll see in the final product is amazing. It’s seriously good stuff!

“Hopefully we will wrap the rest of the scenes in Aladdin’s Apartment this month. After that, we have a quick build and shoot for the interior of ‘The Intruder‘, which is one of the villain ships piloted by Slag Warriors. After that- we begin building our biggest and most epic set in the movie- the Throne Room of the Taj Mahal!

“So what’s coming up soon? Later this month, just in time for the holidays, my Online Store will be updated with a plethora of new Aladdin 3477 products! Movie Posters, T-Shirts, Hats, Patches, and Glow-In-The-Dark Wristbands!

“And- at the end of the month, we’ll have a new Behind-The-Scenes video Featurette showing our trip to Star Wars Celebration promotion Aladdin 3477, and your first inside look at shooting the movie! Steve “Oz” Pankotai is an award-winning filmmaker who is just killing it on a ton of these videos!  Can’t wait to unleash this first one soon!”

-Matt Busch