Then we actually watched it.

I have never been more emotionally affected by something that I’ve been involved in making. I have never been more proud in anything I have made before. Even in its rough cut, the movie is solid – with a center of gravity that I honestly think can rival any film made for a thousand times its budget and resources.

Let me explain something, because I feel as though we have pulled a minor bait-and-switch in regards to what people think this movie is about. Sure, we’ve posted pictures of the alligator, the lemonade stand, and the classroom, we even released a teaser trailer that was jam-packed with the “anything goes” war scene. But those are all just moments in the film, mere scenes. The emotional backbone of this film is really what the overall story is about.

The movie is excellent – I say that at the risk of coming off as arrogant since I was the writer and director. But through the blood, sweat, and tears of this production (of which there was a lot – and still ongoing), I know now, more than ever, that it was worth it. We have a film. We have a film that we knew we had to make, no matter the cost. It was too important of a story to leave on the back burner.

Apologies if you think all I do is pass out congratulations, but this film is the work of about 400 separate people. It’s easy to assume that a film belongs solely to its director, but this has never been the case on any set I’ve ever been on – and perhaps more-so with Natalie. Every crew member, every cast member, every investor, every extra, and every person on the sidelines cheering it on is the only reason why this film not only got finished, but is just damn good. I can recall at least 12 different instances where we were on the verge of packing up and if we lost even one of those 400 people, that would have been true. The fact that new people are still coming up to offer support is only more proof that what we have here is phenomenal.

Our first few film festival submission deadlines are right around the corner, with the first one being October 30th. And trust me, once it gets a public showing, the entire world will know.

After four days of hard work, the Production House has been cleaned up and Brian and I are once again on the nomadic homeless route until we find a place in Stuart to edit from.

Right now, my top priority is putting together a teaser for the film – not only will it help us finish funding the production, but it’ll give you all an idea of what “Natalie, Queen of Scots” actually looks like.  For now, take a gander at an early matte and composite test Brian put together for the alligator with the kids — looks pretty nifty.

Now that we’re in the post-production stage, Brian and I have a lot more time to answer questions and talk about the process, so please feel free to comment or ask questions! I’ve pretty much given up on sleeping, myself – we have a film to edit!

Came before we knew it, but suddenly a bunch of us were in Harborage Yacht Club and Marina celebrating the wrap on Natalie, Queen of Scots, our very own freaking feature film.

It was a pretty unbelievable day.

The video above was our “congrats on five weeks of hardcore filming” present to the crew — I edited together some of our footage and photos, and it’s a cute little video, I think.

Some pictures of the party below, courtesy Chelsea Parker.

Principle photography has wrapped, wrap party was enjoyed by all, grip equipment and camera package were returned over 300 miles away from each other, and now I finally have a small window to quickly recap the events of the last few months before a tidal wave of more work knocks me back into near-radio silence.

All I can say is, “wow.” We did it. We took a script and a huge leap of faith and accomplished what a lot of people only sit around talking about doing. It’s hard to think that less than a week ago we were knee-deep in production since it feels like forever ago that we wrapped. Right now, Ren and I are living in the LobsterHouse, covered in the grime of blood, sweat, and tears of over 15 people who called this place home for two months. An old calendar with days crossed out, empty film cans in the living room, an inch of sand and shells clogging up the bathtub, the garage covered with random props and forgotten call sheets – it’s like Ground Zero.

The Treasure Coast now knows our names. Every other day we were featured in the local papers. We were even in it again today and there’s a huge write-up that’s going to hit in a month. The hype and the community surrounding this film has insured that my company and I will have a home in the Treasure Coast to make films for quite some time.

Quite a different story three months ago. When we first moved to Stuart in June, after over a year of pre-production in New England, we had nothing. Due to several unforeseen mishaps, Ren and I were left practically dead in the water. The crew was on their way in only a few weeks and we didn’t have a dime to make the film. Any other team would pack up and leave, with their tails between their legs – but the fact was, Natalie, Queen of Scots had to be made. It was the right story at the right time. That’s all that mattered – every other problem, be damned. I don’t really have to go into what happened next, since the romance of this shoot has been chronicled so well in other mediums. Fact is, we did it.

The time now is my favorite season of the year. I eat it up. Everyone on this crew should enjoy it. Bask in it. The time when all the people who thought we were crazy – the “I told you so” people (if the film failed), magically turn into “Oh, I always knew they would do it” people. The more polite way to refer to them is “Fair Weather Friends.”

Obviously, there is still work to do, still money to raise, still loose ends to tie – but that all pales in comparison to the movie, itself. I am extremely lucky and grateful that I was able to write and direct this film at the age of 24 (I get it, I’m an infant).

So now we look to the bigger picture. Shifting gears to a post-production mindset. Two major NQOS projects are on the table – one for the movie and one to promote the movie – but both are secret for now (as I’m still trying to convince Ren that the first one is a good idea [for the record, it is]).

Congratulations to everyone involved (and there are a lot of you), I’ll be thanking all of you in the upcoming weeks ahead, but for now, well done!

I am now off to enjoy my first real day off in three months. “You just wrote and directed your first feature film, what are you going to do now?!”

See you all in the Magic Kingdom!

Day: 29

Location: The Jensen Beach parking lot, in Jensen Beach, FL

Phrase of the day: “That’s a wrap!”

More to come, but here are some photos from Day 29, the last day of filming.  Temperatures at 4 p.m. were in the 90’s. Even so, morale was high and the air full of electricity! A big thank you to the Martin County School District for supplying the buses for the afternoon (talk about production value!) and to all the extras for coming out and participating.

Check out some of the photos below (taken by Misti Guertin and Chelsea Parker):

Location: The Jensen Beach Causeway in Jensen Beach, FL

Phrase of the day: “Get this girl some electrolytes!”

Thanks to all the kids who came out to be extras for the shoot today! One of our last outdoor shoots, and it was a blast for all involved (well, maybe not for sound – it was awfully windy the entire day).

This was also our first shoot day with Phil Morales, the stellar actor playing Natalie’s father. This week is all about bringing in the parents and filling out the film, and on Monday we introduce Natalie’s mother, Jennifer Jones, to the movie. We’re really excited about all of our actors, and hope you will be too!

For now, check out some great pictures from the shoot today.

(They can’t be eaten yet! We still have a film to finish!)

Yeah, she’s real.

Day: 23

Location: The hills of Jensen Beach, FL

Phrase of the day: “Whoa!  Is he, like, a trained alligator?”

Today we abandoned working with children and chose a different, equally challenging path – working with animals.  Tim Williams, Gatorland handler extraordinaire, came down with the lovely lady you see above and two trainers to get us (in my opinion) one of the best shots of the film.

See, about eight months ago, Brian and I were sitting in a restaurant, talking about how Natalie and Nicholas would meet.  And, for whatever reason, Brian thought it would be hilarious if they bonded over escaping from an alligator.  A twelve foot alligator.

Well, eight months later, after about 80 pages of paperwork with SAG and Gatorland and American Humane, Brian got his alligator – he even got to pose with it at the end of the shoot.

His producer concedes that yes, it was pretty fantastic.

Photographs by Misti Guertin.