MY: How did you get the idea for Panzer Corps? Was it based on a true story?
AV: Panzer Corps originally was going to be a fan film based on a Japanese film called Jin Roh. In that film Japan is occupied by the Germans after WWII (fiction) instead of the Americans (nonfiction). But the film really doesn't get into the Whys and Hows but instead shows what happens after the occupation. Long story short Tokyo is guarded by the Panzer Corps, which are some heavily armed guys wielding MG42s (what Muller uses in the first half of the final battle).
Before I had the urge to make a war film, I was getting into armoring as a hobby to escape from the computer. In the midst of banging on metal I decided to make a suit of armor from Jin Roh. Then I decided to make a fan film and after several scripts I realized that a fan film was going to limit the possibilities of where the film could play. It took a long time to go from the idea of a fan film to Panzer Corps which is entirely different.
Some people have asked why I didn't change the name of the film (Panzer Corps) since it was no longer a fan film or about tanks (German tanks are called Panzers), at this point the website was drawing in a decent crowd so it seemed foolish to change the name. Yeah, there are no tanks in the film, sorry to break anyone's heart.
MY: What was your pre-production process?
AV: Pre-production was a blur of activity for myself. I was still gathering props, rewriting the script with my co-writer and the seconds were ticking off faster than I wanted. I was thinking about the film so much that my girlfriend at that time broke up with me (over the phone!) while we were filming. Good riddence! Sorry, that just got personal. *laughing* But I really didn't care I was making a film and no gal or employer was going to stop me! The boy's fantasy stays alive.
MY: Good for you for sticking with it! Did you block everything out while shooting to match your storyboards?
AV: The final battle scene was storyboarded three or four times, then after we setup the dragons teeth and the concertina wire everything had to change. In the end it worked out great, but I felt crushed, all that planning gone to waste. The cast and I went to the final battle location reading the script and blocked off who should be where for what line. I created a diagram of where each person should be for each line of dialogue. There are three guys flanking undercover fire to assault a fortified bunker, here is the first part of that sequence.
Side by side effects comparison
Short story, a few weekends before the shoot I went to scout our location (15 acres of woods) to plan each scene. I was told there was were black bears in the woods but I didn't really think I was going to see one. There I am walking armed only with an orange vest and script when a bear who was about 5 feet from me bolted away from me (oh, thank God) and I have to say, I ran. I ran hard and long before I stopped. It wasn't even like I thought "hey that bear could rip your arms off perhaps you should turn back", no, I found my body running and my head just happened to be attached. Thank you fight or flight instinct.
MY: Unreal! Glad you survived! What was the rest of your filming experience like?
AV: Filming was awesome, the crew were my friends and the cast became new friends. I really enjoyed my actors, two of them were Army Ranger Captains and one was a Marine. I looked to them for realism and how we could bend that into something that looked good on screen. When you watch these guys move you can see their training and combat experience.
Filming was a big camping trip, we stayed up late, slept in the fresh air, woke up bright and early, worked hard all day, it was great!
MY Sounds like a fantastic experience. What did you shoot and edit with? Were there things you liked or disliked about the equipment?
AV: I shot with my trusty XL1s with a manual lens on a Fig Rig. Panzer Corps was actually shot 100% with the Fig Rig, I liked that it wasn't rock steady like a steady cam but smoothed the hand held movements. While I loved the movement of the camera it made the job of tracking the footage for VFX a big deal.
We used a Sennheiser ME66 mic into a mixer then into the camera. The whole thing was about as low tech as it could get. And since everything was shot using available lighting except for the one night time scene, we were able to move from shot to shot with no setup time.
For editing I used an Apple G5 dual 2.0 who is still graceful in her old age, and two G-Drives (the second drive was a backed). Once again, about as low tech as you can get.
Dislikes, for editing, I could have used more ram at least. Also I bought Mocha for Shake (from Toolfarm!) this holiday which would have saved me hundreds of hours of pain. *shaking head*. Hindsight.
MY: Well, I'm glad you have it now!
AV: Dislikes for shooting... It would have been great to shoot on some form of HD, have a budget for a generator and lights, pay my crew, bear repellent, more time, more money, toilets, showers, and a cot.
