4,047 Entries!

The deadline for the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest has come and gone. Now, for the 4,047 entries it’s a waiting game to hear the announcement of the Top 6. With over double the amount of entries from last year, the competition has definitely increased. Production values are up, celebrity sightings are present, and an abundance of zombies have taken over the Doritos contest. On January 5, the big wait will be over and voting will begin. For now, you can view our entry, Protect Your Doritos, as well as the 4,046 other entries! [*be sure to click 'skip intro' in the bottom right of the page to bypass]

Stay tuned for our predictions on the Top 6.

Top 10% Internationally for ‘Walter’

We were contacted with some very exciting news this week!! Walter the Wolverine was deemed in the top 10% of the 2009 48-Hour Film Project competition. 76 cities in 17 countries on 4 continents competed in this year’s 48-Hour Film Project. From Atlanta to Amsterdam, Boston to Beijing, Hong Kong to Houston, Las Vegas to London, Minneapolis to Mumbai, Paris to Pittsburgh, and San Francisco to Seoul – it truly was a world-wide competition. We are so thankful to our cast and crew for making it such a great weekend.

‘Protect Your Doritos’ Pics

On Monday we uploaded our commercial to the 2009 Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest. Click here to see it. To bypass the opening, click the ‘Skip Intro’ button in the bottom right corner. After you’ve checked out the spot, here’s a few behind-the-scene pics from our Doritos shoot.

‘Protect Your Doritos’ – November 9, 2009

This morning around 6 a.m. we uploaded our entry into the 2009 Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest.

After a week of pre-pro, we kicked off production at 9 o’clock Saturday morning at the middle school teachers’ lounge – a forbidden place for most students. John + Tyler [or soon to be known as Big Tyler on set] arrived at 10 a.m. to go through blocking. After a meltdown, we got our first shot off at 11:35 a.m.

Once we thought John had eaten his weight in Doritos we decided to call it a wrap. So, without further adieu, here’s our official entry: Protect Your Doritos.

Coming Soon…

2 Past Videos Getting a Second Chance

Poptent/XLNTads + VidOpp are giving online videos that did not win the original contests they were created for a second chance at winning. 2 of our favorite videos that did not win last year have been submitted for their second chance. Each month a new video will be chosen as the winner. We submitted Carmex – Do You Share? and Food Baton Relay – Pretzel Dog vs Hot Dog.

The first winner will be announced on November 9th.

‘The Ride Home’ Behind-the-Scenes Photos

Courtesy of Keith Grauman, here are some more behind-the-scenes photos from the production of ‘The Ride Home.’

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A FUN AND SAFE HALLOWEEN!!!

‘The Ride Home’ Premiered at the LeDuc

Last weekend, our latest short film, The Ride Home, premiered at the LeDuc Mansion’s annual Harvest Festival.

The film screened about every 15 minutes from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. and aside from the one lady who walked out half-way through the first screening and the boisterous ghost in the cellar, the screenings went well and the film was well-received.

The best screening was a room full of high school kids who laughed at all the right times and were at full-attention during the more suspenseful moments.

The film was written, produced, and edited in a matter of three weeks. Obviously, we couldn’t have done it without the cast and crew. So, here’s a shout out to those who contributed to the film: Thank You!!!

The Ride Home credits
CREW
Director: Justin Schaack
Producer: Kristn Schaack
Cinematographer: Luke J. Ogrodnik
Editor: Justin Schaack
Special FX: Luke J. Ogrodnik
Best Boy: Mike Schaack
Grips: Michael Kampa, Joren Skov + Tom Wright
Music: Michael Kampa
Still Photographer: Keith Grauman
Writers: Justin Schaack + Kristin Schaack
Special Thanks: Dakota County Historical Society, Heidi Langenfeld, Chad Roberts, Green Mill Hastings, Lights on Minneapolis, HCTV14, Jake Berens

CAST
John Burgess
Ryann Berens
Crane Adams
Robin Starch
Jahnna Randall
Mike Rylander

New ‘Freaky Flick’ Wrapped

For the upcoming Harvest Festival at the LeDuc Mansion, we were asked if we had any new Halloween/scary films that we could show at the event. Although, we didn’t have anything in the can, we knew we could make something happen in three weeks…Nothing like always putting a tight deadline on our projects!

So, our thinking caps went on and our story emerged. Friday night we started filming. Shooting the first few scenes at our house, aka ‘Lovers Lane’. Although, cold with light precipitation, we successfully finished our outdoor shooting with only one visit from the city police at 2:30 a.m. No worries though, he was extremely friendly and just interested what all the lights were about.

Saturday we shot the majority of the film at our favorite location – the LeDuc Mansion. Many thanks to Heidi + Chad and the LeDuc Estate for their great hospitality, as always. To us, it feels like a second home. And a special thanks to the Green Mill for donating pizzas for us. It was greatly appreciated especially at 11 o’clock at night with 7 hours still to go!

We had a lot to shoot, inside and out [in 30 degree weather]. In order to finish our last shot, it truly was a race against the sun. It was a close race, but we won! We had a great cast and crew who were troopers. From 5:30 p.m. Saturday to 8:00 a.m. Sunday, no complaints and great energy all the way through. Thanks everyone!

So, here are few behind-the-scenes photos from the night. We will have some more professional photos to share, thanks to Keith Grauman. But for now, you can enjoy my point and shoot pics!

Friday + Saturday Shoot Nights

Jahnna + Mike

Jahnna, Mike + Justin

Justin setting up the mic in the car

Justin + Luke

scene in front of house

Luke + Justin

doin’ the skeleton dance

Crane + Ryann parlor scene

Justin, Mike + Luke