Hold My Beer Made The News!

Specifically, Vancouver, WA's very own local paper, The Columbian.

Big thanks to reporter Scott Hewitt for the terrific write-up, and photographer Taylor Balkom for taking some great pictures at our Pearson shoot (the one above isn't his, it's ours. Didn't want to step on any copyright toes). If you subscribe to The Columbian, you can read the online version of the article here. And I know you're a subscriber, right? Right?

Day Six Is A Wrap!

Day Six of filming - and principal photography in general - for Hold My Beer is officially a wrap!

Huge thanks go out to Hailey and Xavier from Pearson Air Museum and to all the wonderful people who participated as extras, braving the heat and the tedium (spoiler alert: filmmaking is not as glamorous as it looks) while helping to make the afternoon a resounding success.

Also, the publicity machine for the film is charging up! Check out this article in the Summer 2024 issue of Spectrum Life Magazine, and also the official Hold My Beer website.

Now, on to post-production...

Day Five Is A Wrap!

Day Five of filming for Hold My Beer was a success!

Yes, we braved the triple-digit temperatures and managed to get all the shots we needed. Fortunately, both locations that we were at for the day were nicely air-conditioned: my house, where we recorded ADR ("automated dialogue replacement" - another odd filmmaking term, because nothing about the process is automated) tracks for both Days Five and Six, and Bader's Beer & Wine Supply, where we shot one scene plus part of a montage.

As usual, our cast and crew did a fantastic job, and big thanks goes to Quintin Murchison, owner of Bader's, for graciously allowing us to use his store.

Up next: Day Six, the final boss battle!

Even More Location Scouting

More recon missions! This time, my band-slash-production team took a field trip to Bader Beer and Wine Supply in preparation for our upcoming Day Five of filming for Hold My Beer.

Of course, we've been there before (or in our drummer/brewmaster Kyle's case, many, many times before), but this time was to take establishing shots of the exterior, buy some grain to be used as a prop, and to map out a part of the scene that will be taking place there.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Day Four Is A Wrap!

Day Four of filming for Hold My Beer was a success!

As I mentioned in the Day Three recap, it took place at one of our favorite locations in town - Loowit Brewing Company. Big thanks to owner Thomas Poffenroth for hosting us, and also for being an extra!

Speaking of extras, we had some additional friends come out to play bar patrons (and a bartender!) - shout-outs go to Cody and Missy Fant, Jake Bestgen, Jason Wall, and Jon Fisher.

Thanks to them, as well as the usual stellar efforts of our brilliant cast and crew (which included Kevin Coy, trading in his actor's card for a Production Assistant credit), we got all the shots we needed and had a lot of fun doing it (although I have to admit, this was my first time spending several hours in a bar while NOT drinking beer).

Two more Days to go!

Wardrobe Fitting

Because the film Hold My Beer is a story about normal people set in present-day (well, 2018, to be exact) Vancouver, Washington, we have no need for elaborate period costumes or superhero spandex. However, that doesn't mean we don't require at least some pieces of wardrobe that the cast doesn't already have in their drawers or closets.

And so, based on a recommendation from good friend, coproducer, and local icon Elizabeth Holmes (check out her amazing podcast here), we enlisted the aid of Center Stage Clothiers, a costume rental store based right here in Vancouver. Thanks to store owner Diana Kirkpatrick (pictured above, left), we were able to secure what we needed for our actress Lydia Pentz (pictured above, right) at a very reasonable rate. If you're in the area and you find yourself needing specific clothing for a play, film, or anything else - including elaborate period costumes or superhero spandex! - we strongly recommend checking them out.

Oh, and what did we rent for Lydia? No spoilers - you'll just have to watch the film when it comes out and take a guess!

More Location Scouting

This past weekend, my band-slash-production team did an advance recon mission to Loowit Brewing Company in advance of our Day Four of filming there later this month.

Of course, this was not our first time at Loowit; we've been there many times before, mostly just for fun, but also once to shoot workprint footage late last year. This time, though, we went in with our real gear to scout out camera angles, lighting, and other logistics (like which table would be best to use for the scene - the winner being the Bicycle Chain Table pictured above). And, of course, since we were there, we treated ourselves to a couple of rounds of amazing Loowit beer.

Stay tuned for a recap of Day Four in a few weeks!