The Production

Demon Under Glass was born in late October 2001 and shot in January 2002. That's an insanely short span of time for a feature. It was low budget – very low budget. And the production team had to wear many hats. The details here will be but a snapshot of everything that happened. More on the film itself can be found on the website: www.demonunderglass.com. There is also a Making Of book in the works that will have all the gory details. We've been through the low-budget drill before. At one point, we were even on the same sound stage as The Privateers (Jon found evidence of the space station painted on the floor). But this shoot was much bigger in scale. Like with The Privateers, we did much of the casting on our own. It was Jon's first feature as a director. He had to work very hard to stay prepared for each day. But we had a lot of support from old friends and new.





















Actors

Many of the actors and crew involved in Demon had worked with us on The Privateers. During our first feature, it was really good to have some familiar faces on the set. The roll call begins with Jack Donner (President Cameron Lascar) on board as Dr. Richard Bassett, the head of the Delphi Project which captures the Vampire for experiments. Ray Proscia (Ganett Devi) played Benjamin Yarmall, the lab tech who has to witness the horrors. Denise Alessandria Hurd (Commander Qasi El-Minya) played Detective Gwen Taylor who seeks to unravel the mystery behind a string of deaths that lead to Delphi's door. David-Jean Thomas (Dogen) played grief stricken father Leroy Smith who thinks that Delphi is hiding his daughter's killer. Scott Levy (Heimdahl) makes the most startling change from The Privateers playing Captain Steubbins, Security Chief for Delphi. And David Weisenberg (Claims Clerk) is the Dentist charged with performing the most dangerous exam in the film. It was great to have all these actors that we knew well and enjoyed working with on this project.
























We were very fortunate to add some new talent to our efforts. We had some wonderful actors who worked very hard on the film. They also made the whole experience a pleasure. I was thrilled to have James Kiberd aboard. I loved his Trevor Dillon on All My Children. It was hard not to blither in his presence. The man with him in the photo is Brad Kalas. He's a great actor and a Philly boy to boot. Then there were the Commandos. Sean and Edmundo joined up with our Scott to make a group of unbelievably cute guys. Sean just got a recurring gig on Enterprise as... a Commando. He's even still a corporal. We had some great women as well. There was Jean who played Nurse Susan Harold. She was classy and bawdy at the same time. She really knew how to handle the many naughty men on the set. And then there is Kira. She's a cable and internet sensation with a sexy and glamorous image, but she's also very sweet and funny and hardworking. She was a joy to have around. Paul Schackman gave us the both creepy and sad Morris Kelp, who picked the wrong night to look for a hooker. And we can't forget to praise our leads, Jason Carter (Babylon 5) and Garett Maggart (The Sentinel). They worked hard before and during the shoot providing us with valuable input and remaining open to our suggestions as well as those of their fellow actors. They fostered a warmth and comradery on set that really helped offset the low budget resources.

























Crew

Among our crew were set building veterans Randy and Richard. We had hopes that they wouldn't have to work the hours they did during The Privateers. Unfortunately, the luck of the independent producer tends to be more bad than good. The set guys had more than a few 20 hour days strung in a row. Once again, they even missed some very nice meals making sure that the work got done. This time though, they didn't have to sleep at the studio. They did remarkable work on the isolation tank and converting that set into other sets despite the crunch in time, materials and money. 'Long Tall' Brian made a return as well.  This time he wasn't building sets, he was a grip. He was also our steadicam operator for the dream sequence. We were very proud at the industry career he's built out here for himself since The Privateers.; Gabriel Koerner also did a reprise with us on Demon. He's come a long way since Trekkies (at the moment he's working on the new Battlestar Galactica project.) He did many of the visual FX on the film. Of course, I had my Producer's Posse, Kim and Phil in the house with me. We had on way too many hats on this shoot, but sometimes we managed to have some fun.



















Craig has been on two of our sets. His presence can be credited for saving several people from being fired or maimed. He helped build sets on both projects. On Demon, he was a patient in the hospital and the hiker who finds one of the Vampire's victims. He was particularly funny in the hospital gown with the IV trailing after him. Craig agreed that he looked like an escapee from a mental institution. He really wanted to borrow a police car and take a joy ride to write some tickets. I reasoned that the film didn't have bail money in the budget. Anyway, he was fabulous in all his roles and, luckily for me and those around me, wants to come back to our next shoot.












Another important alum on this shoot is our room mate Ben. He was a set builder on The Privateers, but in Demon Under Glass, he was our lab consultant and got to be a Commando. We call him a Benmando.

Ben wasn't the only one drafted to act. Our stalwart Joan who was also the Wardrobe Mistress (never did the job before, but she was great though she was always tired) was a nurse and a bar patron and a mourner at the funeral. She had so many parts that we made up a story arc for the character. Sunshine, our Production Designer, prop gal and FX wiz also made a stellar bar wench. Even I made an appearance as a mourner as did our co-producer Marguerite.





















We were lucky to find new crew that were fun and hard working. Jon's crew was vital to the film. There was the First AD, Daniel who kept the shoot on schedule. The DP, Michael who gave the film its look and the Script Supervisor, Lecia who made sure no lines were missed or said wrong. Steve wore so many hats that we lost count on set, but he really saved the day and the film in post (along with Sunshine.) Then there was our ace PA, Kevin who rescued the mattress from the freeway, Gary who was a great grip and had lots of advice on strangling people (don't ask,) our Production Coordinator Marget who tarted up nicely when we needed a barfly for the end, and the Sound guys, Stacy and Dennis, who were very patient. Then there was the incomparable Maxi. Maxi needs no explanation. I don't think I could find one if I tried.



















We can't say enough about Lucy who was our nursing consultant and hand stand in. She gave us a great deal of information and support on the film. It couldn't have happened without her. The years of experience she had as an operating room nurse gave her nerves of steel and a whole lot of patience. Her motto was 'if no one is dying, it's not an emergency.'

















Fun

We did manage to enjoy ourselves (or most of us did.) Even in the stress of the moment there were opportunities for silliness that could not be missed.

And that was just at the wrap party. Just kidding! This film experience was mostly fun and a great education. We can't wait for the next one.

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