Tuesday, August 23, 2011

ABIGAIL 2011 - UPDATE

August 23, 2011

30 days ago, I started work on ABIGAIL 2.0 or 2011. Five of the main cast had been replaced from the 2010 production, including Abigail, Rebecca and Tituba. This basically meant that the film I created in 2010 was no longer useful. Actually, about 8% of was reusable, the rest had to re-shot from scratch.

What is ABIGAIL? This is an original ROCK OPERA based on the Salem Witch Trials that is currently performing live in San Francisco. It was created by local artists Skycastle Records and Buzz Presents, who had put on successful productions of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, TOMMY, THE ROCKY HOROR SHOW and PINK FLOYD THE WALL in the past. This is their first original rock opera. I was recruited in 2002 to create the backdrop film for PINK FLOYD THE WALL. Last year, i started work on ABIGAIL with the original cast, creating a backdrop film to play behind the performers to help tell the story more clearly. I had actually planned to finish shooting the remaining gaps in the original backdrop film this year. But then the show was re-casted...and everything changed.

So on July 23, I show up for shooting and meet the new Abigail for the first time and we set off to try and remake/redux/reboot ABIGAIL. We shot for 5 days. I edited for 10 days.

And I'm confident we made a better film. It probably helped that since last year I had written out an ABIGAIL screenplay, dramatizing several ideas within the songs.

Some of this has made it's way into the new film -- a lot is still left to shoot.

Three more performances this week and then it's back to shooting to try and complete the gaps in the film. (Currently we have about 60% of footage needed for the Backdrop Film)

It's been a crazy 30 days. From a blank page to a live backdrop film.

ABIGAIL: 2011 Cast Sampler Director JOHN JANSEN

ABIGAIL: Pre-Show Short-Film (2011)

ABIGAIL - The Story of Abigail (2011)