“The Last Ride”

This was one of our first greenscreen shoots. We have tried to avoid virtual sets as much as possible. But Far Reach was way too expensive to build. We tried. And it became one of the things we gave up in the interests of finishing the film. It's a choice I'm quite alright with. It will still be beautiful.

I feel blessed that I get to work with such a talented group of people. They all bring their own unique talents and personalities to the production and it's never a dull moment. Especially when Nicol Razon is on the call sheet for the day. Her portrayal of Bryn was such a delight that I actually expanded the part because I thought she was being under-used. So Bryn became the fourth friend when she'd only been a minor character in the original version of the story. This was one of the days Nicol got to shine.

This is a wonderful scene between Elena and Bryn. A lot has happened by the time our story gets to this point. Both women are a bit older and a bit more sad. I wish Nikki and Nicol had more scenes together because this is definitely one of the more emotional moments in the film. I can't wait for everyone to see the finished product.

“Alex Leaves - Part II”

Once more we revisited Elena's Apartment so we could film the rest of the scene where Alex leaves Elena. This turned out to be one of our longest nights. We had already shot pickups during the day and then turned around and shot this stuff well into the night. Our shooting days were starting to get longer because we had so much stuff to shoot in so little time. Nikki was going to be unavailable very soon and for a very long time. More on that later.

This is also the first scene Nikki wore my favorite costume in the film. Elena's army uniform is simple and no-nonsense, but it looks great on her. It is courtesy of Trevor Hawkes, not only is he an actor, producer, but he's also a costume designer extraordinaire. Lynnsie Whitaker also provided some assistance on this wardrobe centerpiece. Much respect to both of them.

“Star-Crossed”

This is the scene that reminded me why I cast Nikki and Kat in the first place. Not only are they both beautiful. Not only are they both talented. But they are both aces at memorizing pages and pages of my dialogue. No kidding. This was our longest scene when it comes to dialogue and they both handled it like champs.

It probably helps that they have been working on this project for more than a year and know their characters inside and out. Seriously, if I wasn't there they could probably just turn on the camera and bang this stuff out without me. That has been one of the interesting benefits of such a long production.

This scene is the beginning of the star-crossed love affair between Elena and Alex. Let me just say briefly that I never have regrets about having a lesbian relationship in my film. It was something that I've always felt strongly about and have always tried to fight to keep, even after others have tried to get me to drop it. But to me that is a big part of what this film is. It wouldn't be Archangel Alpha without Elena and Alex and their tragic romance.

“The Glass Sea”

December 28th...

A day that will live in infamy...

Just kidding. But this was definitely the hardest day we've ever had filming Archangel. The weather was frigid, the sun bright and the snow was thick. We were a small band of intrepid filmmakers who journeyed out into the middle of nowhere in a foolhardy attempt to capture our climactic battle scene on the last weekend when we could get it done.

We damn near froze our asses off. Some of us were probably on the edge of hypothermia and/or frostbite. But we soldiered through and came together in a way we hadn't since we first started shooting a year ago. We were tired and stressed and things had been pretty rough the last few weeks before then. But once we got out there all of the evaporated and we were one unit, indivisible and working for a common cause.

In the midst of our misery we had a blast.

“The Tankers”

One of our big rules on Archangel Alpha is to always make our movie look as big as we can. So we make a point to try and find locations and sets that will really shine. We'll climb a huge rock in the middle of nowhere. Stage a battle scene atop a volcano (No. Really.) And pretty much go as far out of our way as we have to so we can get those great shots. Such was the motivation behind this scene. We needed a great tank interior for the scenes involving Markov, Jinx and Bear. We considered building a tank set. We laid some plans down and even started construction a little.

Then we decided to go all the way.

All I can say is the fall of the Soviet Union has been a blessing in more ways than one to this production. It's allowed us to find a lot of cool stuff that is just slightly unfamiliar to most people but is inexpensive to acquire. So we get a great look to our film at low cost. And I can't think of a better production value than to film your tank interior scenes in an actual tank.

This was a fun scene to shoot. The "Tankers" (Bob Lanoue, Dani Jae and Trevor Hawkes) were a blast to work with. This was also our first day with our new makeup artist, Carrie Dawson. She did a great job on short notice and I'm happy to have her on board.

“Alex Leaves”

Next up was the scene where Alex leaves Elena. There is still more to shoot, but I wanted to show what we have. This was another day with lots of time constraints and last minute changes. Never seems to show up on screen though, which is a good thing.

This day definitely added some gray hairs though. Its strange that the most frustrating days we've had are the ones I thought would be the easiest. Been learning a lot shooting this film. I'm very strongly considering writing a book about it. Taking notes just in case.

“Coming Together”

We revisited our bar location to finish up showing how the four friends first come together. This was a fun day. Smooth and relatively stress-free. A nice contrast to the Elena's Choice scene shot the day before. What a difference a day can make.

Nicole Razon, who plays Bryn, was in rare form that day. She threw in some ad-libs that had us all laughing hard between takes. All I can say is that the "cock-block song" will be an instant movie classic. Archangel needs to have a soundtrack just so I can put it on there.

“Elena’s Choice”

Our next scene shot was "Elena's Choice". This is where Elena (Nichelle Aiden) makes a moral stand and defies her old friend. It's a short scene, but an important one. Kind of a troublesome day to get it in the can, but not every shooting day can be fun, right?

“The Adversaries”

On November 2nd we shot the scene where Elena (Nichelle Aiden) and Grigori (Don Lee) first meet Alexandra (Katherine Taylor) and Bryn (Nicole Razon). There's a lot that goes on in this scene. It's the first time Elena and Alex get to speak to each other. Elena's optimism and hope are challenged by Bryn. And this is the first time the two legends, Alex and Grigori, have met. This sets our two "Torries" (Elena and Grigori) and our two "Reds" (Alex and Bryn) on a path to friendship that ultimately will have tragic consequences.

Alexandra (Katherine Taylor) studies the man who was once her enemy.


Alexandra sits back and let's Bryn (Nicole Razon) say what's on her mind.


Bryn finds Elena to be a bit naive.


Elena (Nichelle Aiden) defends her optimism about the future.


Alex takes her turn testing Grigori's motives for doing what he does.


Grigori (Don Lee) sets her straight.


Bryn is a dyed-in-the-wool-skeptic. But at least she likes Grigori...