exceeded movie director's expectations
The date was set, the casting call for extras was posted, and the numbers exceeded the movie director's expectations for filming.
iFilmGroup and m & s Marshall Productions hosted it’s very large filming date at St John’s Presbyterian Church on Saturday, July 14th when it filmed the big wedding scene of Kaitlyn and Craig for the film “Blue Love”. Matthew Marshall the film’s director declared the event an overall success as it went off without a hitch. It ended up being a little smaller than originally planned but everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves and had a great time. 84 people had confirmed to be extra’s and wedding guests for the filming on the scene in Port Stanley but when the date came the final numbers of those in attendance were a little lower due to some illnesses going around. 73 people were the final total of those who attended the filming date and participated in the filming for Blue Love.
The casting team for the film received several sick calls in the last few days before filming. “We had a few with strep throat that is going around and some people that were missing were just under the weather for various reasons. It may have been a little smaller number but it did not affect the overall end product. Just tighten the shot up a little”, says Matthew Marshall. Along with being the film’s director, Marshall is also the film's co-producer, as well as he is the co-owner of m & s Marshall Productions and the co-founder of iFilmGroup. Both companies are working together on the film with Marshall Productions taking the lead. IFilmGroup’s other co-founder Don Hickey was in attendance for filming. Both were very pleased with the outcome. Marshall is especially pleased with the footage they got from the wedding scene as well as some other scenes that were filmed on the same day. “The day is very much declared a success,” says Marshall.
The Wedding Scene is a flashback in the film to the marriage of the lead character Kaitlyn Butler to the love of her life Craig. The scene featured iFilmGroup acting coach, Helena Rose, as the bride, Kaitlyn. As well as lead, Rose is also the co-producer and co-writer of the film. It has been an opportunity for Helena to learn more about the production aspect of film. Marshall says, “It has exposed her to how a full production comes together from a technical perspective.” The groom, Craig is played by Ryan Mason. St John’s Presbyterian Church in Port Stanley even got into the spirit of the filming changing their sign to read “Congratulations Kaitlyn and Craig”. St John’s member and elder as well co-owner of m & s Marshall Productions Sharon Marshall had this to say, “The sign was a great way to create curiosity in the community and also was way to tell extra’s that was the location”.
Marshall has had a casting call out for extra’s for over a month looking for extra’s for the film and got a very large response from the call. “This would have to be my biggest response I have ever got for a call for extras,” says Marshall. He had 174 people that showed original interest in being an extra. That was more than double what would have fit in the church. But through time and the process, the number slowly got smaller. 60 people who applied but did not message or respond back to messages that were sent to them. Another 30 were very interested and responded but were unable to come on the date due to conflicts or prior commitments. Thus bringing the number down to the 84 which in the end due to illness became the 73 that attended. “It was a great day and everyone had a good time,” says Marshall.
Along with the wedding scene, Marshall and his team also shot a few other scenes that will be part of the movie at the location. The film will continue to film through the rest of July through until fall. The next filming date coming up is Tuesday, July 17th in Chatham where an iFilmGroup member will be featured in special effects makeup.
With the completion of the scenes in Port Stanley, it brings to a close the opportunities for extras in Blue Love. However, Marshall and Hickey have plans in the works that will offer more opportunities for new and current iFilmGroup members. Preparation has started for casting and filming the short film, “Not Ready”, written by Hickey. Workshops and events are being planned for the fall as well.
PR-BL-PS-07-16-18