Rabbit Hole Day 1 production blog

Rabbit Hole Day 1 production blog

Well, here we are...day 1. You work so hard to prepare for the 1st day of shooting...you stress, you worry and you even panic at times. I sat down last year and wrote this story; completely different than anything else I've done before. I've said it before, I truly feel that this will be my entry into the Midnight movie craze of old. 

I sought out Mike O'Mahony because I truly believed he IS the guy for this. Mike is a great guy and is extremely knowledgable in filmmaking. I have all the faith in the world. He's well read and appreciates all art. Once we got going, we were on the same page and we haven't looked back.

Sunday April 6, 2014

Star of Rabbit Hole, Megan Cunard

The cast and crew all head to New Jersey to our first location. Our first day would be our first real test, as it would see how well Mike and I gel, plus the on screen chemistry would be really put to the test. Plus, Mike and I worked our day that would allow me to be behind the camera with him, instead of acting...that will be this coming week. 

Mike really came to get this done. I was extremely happy and really felt like this is going to be special. We shared notes and worked great together.

Megan Cunard, our star, really came prepared and LIVED the role of "Dottie". I could not have been prouder. She fits this role great. 

My wife, Kim, who you would know from No Clowning Around and Baggage has a small role in this and again, did great and was invaluable behind the scenes getting this project together.

Lexi Lebo, our child actor also was terrific. You just never know when you deal with children actors but wow, Lexi is fantastic. She also, knew all of her lines and came completely prepared...very professional.

Rob, Lexi and Mike

Our crew of Lisa Fisk (Make up and small special effects) has been practicing for weeks and knew exactly what we wanted. Her Husband, Ed is helping with some set design and props and really hit a home run. Deirdre Kinnevy is back with behind the scenes and photos and is always top notch. Plus, we welcomed Mark Cunard as our sound design specialist and Erich Ficke as our production assistant. We had a few extras on set, day one also in long time supporters Dave Sitbon, Russ and Diane Hackett who were super patient and great additions. 

Overall, Day 1 was fantastic. While a long day, it was satisfying. Again, I thank everyone who has helped make this a reality. We still have 5 days left of filming...some will be tough. Some days ahead will push some of the actors and crew to our limits but I know, as a team, we accomplish this!

This weekend we welcome new additions to our team...but as a team, we are one.

The Shaky Camera - is this the scariest?

 The Shaky Camera style

why so scary?

by : Rob Dimension

The whole shaky camera footage (Point of view) has been around for sometime now, Cannibal Holocaust was my 1st Horror film to give me that point of view and it's made what I was watching, believable. Looking back at said footage, after 30 + years it has lost it's affect (at least for me), but I still enjoy what Ruggero Deodato did for the evolution of modern cinema. While the first half of the film, you see what leads up to the bitter demise, all captured on "Found footage".

The Last Broadcast, was a movie that made me take notice in 1998, since I grew up near the Pine Barrens and was always fascinated by the Jersey Devil. This film also used the Shaky Camera style and it is still looked at today, as the beginning of the Point of View camera angle. While Stefan Avalos and Lance Weiler aren't really EVER given any credit, these guys kick started this genre form.

The Blair Witch Project is the mother of all of the shaky cam style films, for me. Many claim that The Last Broadcast was the blueprint for the Blair Witch, but the Blair Witch really made everyone stand up and take note. They took what the Last Broadcast did and ran with it.

My opinion on the Blair Witch Project - Let's keep in mind, this film debuted back in 1999 and this was pre-internet hype era. The Blair Witch Project had the hype...they had the crazy stories surrounding the event. The actors were nowhere to be found, probably because they were unknowns anyways. It was believable. When you would go to their site, it came off more like a search and rescue than a site promoting a film.


When I went to see this in the theater, it was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was rough, gritty and the story was believable (notice that word - BELIEVABLE). Was it hard pressed to think that 3 students headed into the woods alone? No. Was it far-fetched to think that they could get lost? No. Was it highly unlikely that they could stumble upon something super-natural? Of course not. It all made simple sense. The biggest selling factor for me.....they never showed the Witch. You envisioned what the witch looked like. I felt the actors emotion, their anger, their fear. It came off very real.

I was, and still am a fan of the Blair Witch Project. They are the biggest reason, at least in my opinion as to why looking through the lenses of the camera, getting to see what they see...is still effective. The simple use of dialogue to educate the viewer with passing comments, that seem natural. Fearing what we do not know.


Other popular titles to check out - [REC]* 1 & 2, do yourself the biggest favor, watch the original Spanish versions. These, by far, out class and out scare the American version.

I know a lot of people dislike Cloverfield, but parts of me enjoyed it. I think simply because I am sure a fan of Giant Monster films and JJ Abrams kind of gave me that, in a sense. 

These are just some examples, but with Paranormal Activity 2 coming out, will you make the trip out to see this? I will........just make sure you bring plenty of Dramamine.

A little behind the scenes - goings on...

"A Little Behind The Scenes"

By: Rob Dimension

Well, yesterday (June 3rd) was something. I figured I would share some of the stuff John and myself do/go through to make the show better and different. We talk just about everyday and try to keep the website updated as often as possible.

I started off my day heading to the local Comic Book shop to grab my weekly reading material, normally this happens on Wednesday but since it was a holiday week, it fell on a Thursday. Picked up :

Brightest Day #3 - DC continues to be amazing - Aquaman is no longer a pus....lol.

Avengers Prime: Siege Aftermath #1 - Asgard has fallen and Thor, Cap and Iron Man are left to pick up the pieces.

(Reviews will come next week for the above titles)

Anyways, I meet John at our Studio and prepare for our "Ghost Hunt/Debunking" experiment, keep in mind - I have NEVER done anything Ghost related. John has tons of equipment and has worked for and done numerous Ghost hunts. He has shared some of his freakiest moments with me and I am always skeptical. Notice the Ghost Rider pic? It has nothing to do with our Ghost Hunt, just gives me a chance to mention that Nic Cage owes me $8 dollars for watching that turd of a movie.

We will discuss fully what we did, what happened and both of our thoughts after all the evidence is reviewed. I will give you a teaser though - "There was a point during our questioning of the ghost/entity that we were all thinking something was there. Camera Man Mike said his heart was racing. It was a very tense 10 minutes." Watch for it.

We then proceed onto our standard writing, researching for ideas and material for our upcoming episodes. While our shows will have an underlying theme, expect more sketches. We are really trying to provide a little bit of everything into the shows plus, more stuff for the website. I expect with every new batch of episodes, we will get better, since we are both new at this. We are gearing up for a lot of personal appearances and will have our Camera crew in tow, plus we will both be at Wizard World Philly on Saturday June 12th, look for us.

After the thrilling afternoon, we headed to Kurt's Magic World in Lansdale, PA. I will give you guys some insight as to our thinking, it's usually flawed which makes it even better. We are preparing for our upcoming "Tour of Terror" tour and we want to present more than just a standard hosting gig, for many we want to have a stage show. Comedy, movie trivia and some Magic...not bad right? So, I am a huge MARK, plain and simple ( here is a description of what a Mark is, it's a Carny term - A customer that spends a lot of money trying to win a game. This term was coined because carnies would alert each other to the big spender by marking him some way ,usually by patting them on the shoulder with powdered chalk in hand). My translation is - Very Gullible. That just makes it even more dangerous to hit a Magic shop since, it's like a giant kid in a candy store.

The owner wasn't there but John, his assistant, was which of course had both John and I buying some new tricks. I don't want to give away anything, but it should be a lot of fun. I will probably go down as the Worst Magic guy...ever (note: I did not say Magician, that would insult so many magicians)!! I have 0 skills, so if anything...everyone will laugh...that's the real point. John actually has some experience in this department, so he should be able to pull off some very cool illusions, notice how he has the illusions and I have the tricks. We both will be working more stuff into the show for everyone to enjoy.