Ultrakids: Something Is Rotten
So here's the movie that started it all. Basically, what happened was that I had been making short 3 minute videos for a while. Then around October 2006, my dad asked me if I wanted to make a movie for the Jr. Church presentation at the 2006 Winter Retreat. I said sure, and wrote a script with Over-the-Hill-Good-Guy. We filmed it in November-December 2006, and the rest is history.
Ultrakids 2: Much At Steak
After I finished the first Ultrakids, I immediately had ideas for a sequel. There were so much more to tell about the Ultrakids: their personalities, their conflicts, their beginnings. It was too much to ignore.
I started outlining the script in January 2007, right after the premiere of Ultrakids 1. This is probably the longest script write for me ever, whereas Over-the-Hill-Good-Guy and I kept writing and re-writing until the end of summer 2007. Even then, the script was constantly being changed throughout filming during fall and winter 2007, which made me wonder if we were actually filming a complete movie. The outline started out with 30+ scenes and went down to a solid 13 scenes.
The craziest thing that happened while we were filming Ultrakids 2 was when our borrowed $4000 camera broke. I put it on the tripod and it just wasn't on right. Tip, smash, silence.
In ended up being that the only scene filmed with golden camera was the flashback sequence at the beginning of part two. Then it was back to el cheapo but el...reliabo (I don't speak spanish).
This was the first movie to actually use Adobe After Effects 6.5 for visual effects. Despite looking kinda cheesy, the VFX took up 65 gigabytes of memory on my computer. What made it more frustrating was that I was still using Windows Movie Maker to edit the thing. Don't get me wrong, WMM is great, but it can't handle all those 'bytes. I had to render, re-render, and render the files to make them smaller, which was a pain in the neck.
There's a lot more about the production of this movie, but that is to be saved or put in a blog...
Ultrakids 3: A Sudden Death
"There's no way I'm doing Ultrakids 3." -Josh, early 2008.
No way, I told myself. Especially after that hectic Ultrakids 2 experience. But the months went by and my mind was taken off Ultrakids. Until one day, Veggie boy and I were hanging out in the Poconos fall 2008 when...
"Yo, let's make Ultrakids 3!"
Those fateful words.
Honestly, I had a story in the back of my head...one about OTHGG dying, and a new superhero group called Superkids...and I really wanted to tell it visually. Besides, the actors were older and I was a more experienced director and screenwriter now. I made a quick outline and a mock schedule and location plan...and saw that it was possible! Woo hoo!
But first, ask the actors. Without the actors, no Ultrakids.
I received a unanimous yes. So on we went, getting over half the movie filmed by the end of October. Not only that, I was using the latest technology from Adobe: the Creative Suite 3 Production Premium. Good-bye Windows Movie Maker; hello Premiere Pro! I had also storyboarded the entire movie shot for shot, and I was certain this would get done in no time.
Except that we filmed only one scene in November.
Suddenly it was a crazy rush and rewrites to get the movie done (in fact, I wrote the climax of U3 on the back of a kid's menu in a diner). And there was a whole heck of visual effects to be finished, including an entire minute of lightsabers. Now that doesn't sound like much (a minute? You wimp! Yeah? Keep reading!), but we were going 30 frames per second or fps, so 30 times 60 seconds per minutes is an painstaking 1800 frame by frame rotoscoped sabers. Ouch.
But it was finished! And it is over...well, not really. The movie ended on a cliffhanger, right? Oh my fault. I had to rewrite it a week before the Winter Retreat deadline so yeah.
There will probably never be another 'real' Ultrakids movie but hey. Maybe we'll just do a spin-off with some of the new actors for fun.
Until then, film on!
Ultrakids 4: Hero Camp
How did this all happen. Hello, read above. Last Ultrakids movie right? Finale of the trilogy?
Well, after a year and a half break from anything Ultrakids, Timmy Ong (Odor boy) and I formed a small youth group in the area. We had both previously taught VBS so we had some experience in teaching kids. Then I got the idea for the group that we should do a small movie. Small. Something to, you know, strengthen the group's unity, blah blah blah.
We let the kids vote on what movie to make. The unanimous decision: Ultrakids 4.
"Okay," I thought, "I'll write a funny script, make it big on comedy and stuff." I started writing the script. Timmy gave me some ideas.
Half-way into the script, I realized something: the script was pretty good. Two-thirds into the script: Hey this is better than Ultrakids 3.
By the time I had finished the script, I was pumped. It not only had a lot of comedy, it had action, drama, music, everything (except romance). This was gonna be the best Ultrakids evah!!!
The only problem was finishing it.
We started filming in November. And it had to be done by the end of December. No problem, I thought. I purposely wrote the script so that it wouldn't be too long and the scenes were relatively simple.
It turned out to be 35 minutes long. WOW. The longest Ultrakids filmed in the shortest amount of time. How's that for intense scheduling?
Some actors literally spent every weekend filming this movie. They really put their heart and soul into it, and I was so thankful for such a great team.
I could write for a long time about how all the new actors did such a great job. Or how I sweated over every single frame in the movie. But ultimately, all praise and glory goes to Mr. G.
I remember sitting in bed, sweating over the hectic schedule, wondering if we would get the movie done in time, frustrated that some parts of the movie weren't going as I planned. Blink. I've gone through this phase every single movie, I thought. Shouldn't I have learned by now?
Right there at my bedside, I got down on my knees and prayed. "God, I'm stressed out right now," I said. "Things aren't going exactly the way I planned it but...but I know you've got a bigger and better vision for this movie than I could ever have. I'm giving this movie to You. It's Yours. Not mine. So this movie is now Your problem, not mine anymore!" Then I went to bed, sleeping peacefully.
I can't tell you how many times I laid awake in bed in the past five years, stressing out over my precious project. But now I've found a peace that only comes from God. This movie is all about Him and His glory.
Thanks God. You rock.
The Recruits - an Ultrakids movie
In the summer of 2011, I had the opportunity to make a fun movie with my students at VBS. They had watched all the previous Ultrakids movies, and many were excited to finally see themselves in one of the movies. One student told me that I had made his dream come true. I felt like Walt Disney.
Then came the actual filming. It was an intense 9-day shoot (if I remember correctly), intermixed with our usual activities and academics. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of pressure. I kept reminding everyone that in the end, it would be worth it. Adding to the pressure was that this would be the fastest filming schedule for an Ultrakids movie, from writing the script to final video.
"Don't think of it that way. There's a battle going on that's bigger than any of us. I suggest choosing the winning side." - Travis
We finished the movie a day before we were supposed to present it. I finished the movie at 1:00 A.M., then slept for five hours before I would have to leave for VBS.
We had an awesome premiere. A majority of the parents came to the presentation, and my good friend Robert gave a cool speech about the themes of the movie before we showed it (which I'll probably talk about in a blog post).
In the end, it felt good to return to the city and make yet another Ultrakids movie. No, it's not Ultrakids 5. I told people it's like the Shrek movies. There were four of them, and now Dreamworks made a spin-off on Puss in Boots. So this movie is like a spin-off.
God, I ask that You use this movie to speak to everyone who watches, that it may be an encouragement and a piece of positive entertainment. I thank You for all these awesome opportunities You've given me to make these movies. I now give them and all future movies to You, completely, wholly, and soley for Your glory. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
