Getting Gaught - The Production Finale on 11/20/09

We were really trying to shoot this last scene before the rush of the holiday season. When it’s that time of the year, people begin to make plans with friends and family or they’ve committed themselves to “holiday entertainment”, it is hard to do business. However, the Creator has blessed us once again and everyone was locked in for the shoot on November 20th. We’ve been anxiously waiting for this day to arrive and it we still couldn’t believe it that it had! No more scheduling dates, confirming cast and crew availabilities or chasing down locations. Yes indeed, there was a sense of joy and relief. However, the day was touched with a little sadness. After 5 or 6 months of working with a group of individuals, striving for the same goal each one determined to give 150% of themselves while, at the same time, bonding together then coming to the realization that “it’s over, done and finished” the letting go can be a little difficult. With those months working side by side with cast & crew, you become emotionally attached to the routine of the project and people. But that “letting go” and onto the next gig is normal for actors & the production crew. That’s the way it is working in the film world. The positive thing is that hopefully relationships were built and business connections made for the possibility of working on each other’s future projects.

The intimacy of small, independent films allow for more one on one interaction where people are forced to deal with each other good, bad or indifferent. The sole purpose is to make a good film and we were blessed to have assembled a fabulous collective of cast and crew who believed in what we believed in with “Getting Caught”. We were back at Kesha & Alex’s Newark, New Jersey apartment. We love it there, the vibe is so serene and Kesha is always accommodating, the gracious hostess that she is whatever we needed she provided without question. Jerry was the first to arrive bringing in the film equipment, then CB, his Administrative Assistant made his way in shortly thereafter. They quickly began to prepare the set clearing the area and creating Mike Andrew’s apartment.



Before CB got himself ready with the script, release forms etc., he had to make that Dunkin’ Donut breakfast run (He always remembers Amanda’s (Jenny Rivers) whole wheat bagel with cream cheese!). Akineyle Stephen, our resident photographer wanted some fruit, however, the deli shops and mini grocery marts in the area either don’t sell fruit or sell really weathered looking fruit, let alone anything nutritious. Anyhow, luckily Kesha had a ripe mango that she gave to Akinelye to eat. The actors, CJ, Amanda and Derek soon made their way in. They were looking cheerful and energized for a full day of filming. They settled in and had some breakfast, got into wardrobe and once Jerry and Gary, our Director of Photography were set up they were ready to shoot.







Making his acting debut, Larry Meracado (The Policeman) arrived earlier to get a feel of what it is like being on a film shoot. He had some business to take care but returned when it was time to film his part in the scene. Mr. Meracado did a wonderful job on camera, convincingly so since he is an actual Newark police officer!
Before we realized it, lunchtime was upon us. This time Jerry offered to make Lunch interesting by suggesting something other food alternatives. Ahhhhhh…”CHINESE!” everyone replied back. It’s easy, simple and everyone is familiar with it. We ordered a lot of food with plenty leftovers, once everyone had their fill, it was back to work. Our “fearless leader” is always on point when it’s time to work, it’s time to work, so he gently but firmly gathered us all back on set. We put in 4 more hours and once Jerry and Gary were contented with the playback, we began to break the set down and clean up. Tired and exhausted, everyone still found a little energy to say his or her goodbyes and exchange contact information. It was a perfect ending to 7 months worth of filming, but our work has just begun. There is now the tedious task of bringing the story to life in postproduction. With our team of creative and talented crew they are ready to face that challenge head on.

We want to once again extend our most deepest and heartfelt thanks to all those who made the production of “Getting Caught” happen: CJ Maldonado, Amanda Yachechak, Derek Brantley Vanessa Morales, Renada Romain, Joey Mintz, Keisha Zollar, Claudia Mora, Todd Gardner, Tee Alford, Larry Mercado, Michelle Lorelli, Christopher Cunningham, Douglas Sines, Wang Smith, Daniela Miura, Johanna Trejos, Amanee Rice, Danielle Howard, Carlton Rosebure, Juan Silva, Celeste Lisa Simpkins, Shala Abbasi, Akineyele Stephen, Shakira Gill, Kesha Lewis & Alex Estrada, Hiram Ortiz of ASH Lounge in Bloomfield, NJ, Mr. Eddie Nicholas of the Neighborhood Childcare Center of Montclair, NJ, Joshua Suggs of Delta’s Restaurant in New Brunswick and DJ Manny for his assistance along with Mr. Felice Tanga, owner of Club Dolce in Elizabeth NJ.

HANGIN’ OUT WITH THE GETTING CAUGHT CREW!

Scouting for locations for a particular scene is often times met with anticipation, uncertainty and/or frustration. For obvious reasons, the indie-independent filmmaker has to bank on other resources and personal contacts as opposed to the big budget film production camps when securing locations that are ideal for a particular scene. Pressed for time, the indie Production Manager feverishly calls his or her contacts and after explaining what is needed, he or she hopes they understood what exactly is going on. He or she feels confident that the locale is in the bag—until that "weird-sounding" follow up phone call. Ah well, onto the next contact and the next while the clock is ticking fast toward the day of the shoot. With the blessings of the Creator—EUREKA! A location is secured! The Producer is happy, the Director is happy and the Production Manager is happy—OK time to shoot! Let’s get the cast and crew together! That’s how the Getting Caught (GC) production crew found their way to Delta’s Restaurant to film their next scene.

Nested in the heart of downtown New Brunswick, New Jersey, owned and operated by the forward thinking, Joshua Suggs, Delta’s Restaurant is an expansive, ultra modern, bi-level dining/entertainment paradise. As usual, we had an early call time for the crew and New Brunswick is not around the corner, so we greeted the morning’s night with a hearty yawn, unsteadily stepping into dawn’s sunrays that began to etch across NJ’s landscape. First to arrive was GC’s fearless leader, Jerry J. Cunningham, who was busy unpacking equipment from his jeep and waiting for the rest of the crew. By the feel of that morning, he knew that this was going to be a long shoot. When Gary Powell, GC’s Director Of Photography (DP) arrived; he and Jerry brought all the equipment inside and began to map out where and how the scene was going to be shot.

CB Flowers began to prepare all the paperwork, examining the script, then went on the usual breakfast run of donuts and bagels before the actors arrived. The Makeup Supervisor, Shakira Gill finally found her way to Delta’s and she needed some coffee to pull herself together. The lovely Kesha Lewis (GC’s own ray of sunshine!) arrived and CB directed them both to the restaurant’s coffee station where Mr. Suggs was graciously prepared several pots of hot java. Amanda Yachechak (Jenny Rivers) needed a place to park so CB pointed her in the direction of the lot. Our wonderful extras, Christopher Cunningham (GC’s fearless leader’s brother), Douglas Sines and Michelle Lorelli soon made their entrance, as did Vanessa Morales (Lisa Hendricks) and Derek Brantley (Dave/Mr. Holmes) as Shakira ran them through makeup. Jerry signaled CB that he was ready and for him to get everyone on set—time 11:30am. After three hours of intense shooting, stomachs were growling and Jerry shouted, “Lunch! CB, see what everybody wants…ask Joshua for what around, he knows”. Joshua handed CB a stack full of menus from hundreds of local eateries. Everything from fast food to African to Thai! “NO PIZZA! NO CHINESE,” everyone yelled! The cast and crew decided on Mexican and when the food arrived there was one less order to be accounted for—our fearless leader’s order! YIKES! CB put his order in but apparently it got lost in translation. He was cool about it and ate his trusty apples—what a guy! After lunch, it was back to work and the latter part of the day was the most grueling. It still is amazing that the cast & crew were still standing! By 10:30pm, the crew had most of the equipment broken down and they cleaned the place of “GC” debris while CB was taking care of the actors, extras and thanking Joshua for being so patient and generous with his time. It was truly a blessing for the GC team to secure Delta’s and Mr. Suggs was definitely the hero of the day!


Saturday October 3rd was a warm yet rainy morning that gave way to bursts of sunshine as the day progressed. The “Getting Caught” crew was in Elizabeth, New Jersey filming at the infamous, Club Dolce. This time, the courtesy goes to DJ Manny Donoso, a good friend of Jerry’s who regularly spins at the club contacted the owner for use of the venue. Incidentally, if you want to get your “party” on, Dolce is the place to “boogie on down”. It’s another ultra chic, NYC styled nighttime venue boasting a full service restaurant that offers American, Spanish & Italian cuisine. Jerry informed CB that the call time would be 11am for the crew and 12noon for the cast. That was a welcomed relief for cast & crew to catch some additional hours of sleep and not having to rush about and forget things. However, this was going to be a half-day shoot so that wasn’t too bad. It was short but intense nonetheless. Production Assistant, Juan Silva was on set and the beautiful, and quite sexy, Claudia Mora lent her barmaid skills and helped out as stand in for Vanessa Morales' lead character, Lisa Hendricks. Claudia read with one of the lead actors and GC’s resident comedian, CJ Maldonado (Mike Andrews).







Vanessa arrived and she immediately got into makeup (Shakira…where are you HELP!), wardrobe and ran through her lines before her call time—in ten minutes! Mr. Tee Alford (Funkypeopleonline.com) stepped into the bit part of playing Vanessa’s co-worker. Mr. Alford operated several record labels and owns a marketing/consulting company. He was a natural on set, rocking the coolest black Kangol cap (Yeah, yeah…no worries, you’ll get your cap back!). The scene with CJ & Vanessa went by smoothly and without incident. When she yelled, “Book”, CB scrambled to find the line, after a few seconds he found it. Script Supervisor is not an easy job. They have to pay attention to EVERYTHING at all times while the scene is being shot and be ready to quickly recall whatever line or continuity issue in the last take.


DB a/k/a Derek Brantley is the epitome of coolness. He takes his profession seriously and his performance is a shining one. Off set, he is quite the character, cutting up with everyone (like CJ) or chilling out in a corner reading his lines or finding a secluded area for “DB” time.
In the scene with CJ & DB, Brantley has a gun concealed in his jacket. By the looks of it, DB handles a gun pretty well; let’s hope he received his training on the range LOL!

The cast is really a group of fun loving, “keep-you-in-stitches” sort of folk. From Douglas Sines to Keisha Zollar who plays DB’s side moll Zack, Keisha is a professional comic and she is hilarious. When she gets into Zack’s character, she is so convincingly menacing it’s hard to believe she cuts up as she does—fantastic!
Even the production’s fearless leader JJC lent his acting skills for a brief cameo appearance (Good job brother!). Akinyele Stephens, the photographer on set captured some great stills. He pulled Claudia to the side had his own photo shoot and mini video interview with the GC’s diva extraordinaire. He’s a marvelous photographer and we’re sure he did Ms. Mora justice. Overall, it was a productive day and once again The Creator shined his blessings on the Getting Caught crew to acquire Club Dolce. Finding and securing locations for filming can be an ordeal for the indie-independent filmmaker; he or she has to really tap into their resources, contacts and friends who may be able to assist. All things are possible when there is faith. JJC & Getting Caught crew humbly extends special and heartfelt thanks to DJ Manny and the Dolce's owner, Mr. Felice Tanga for their time, consideration and support. See you on the next set!

On Location with Getting Caught – ASH Lounge, Bloomfield, New Jersey

Saturday, September 12, we were back on location at one of our favorite places to shoot, ASH Lounge, 141-142 Bloomfield Avenue in Bloomfield, NJ. We discovered the lounge via a bi-weekly, Monday night music event that showcased new and seasoned talent in electronic dance music called ThinkSoul presents “Demonstrations In Nu Sounds”. JJCMedia.net was hired by ThinkSoul (TKS) to shoot their live performances and interviews with DJ’s and scheduled recording artists. Chris B., JJCMedia.net’s Administrative Director/Assistant also handles administrative duties for TKS thought that ASH would be an ideal locale to shoot the restaurant scenes in Getting Caught. ASH’s forward-thinking owner/operator, Hiram Ortiz welcomed JJCMedia.net with open arms and on May 31st we began shooting at the lounge. Ortiz graciously allowed us full access to the lounge and we couldn’t be more thankful for his generosity.



The night before the 9/12 shoot, Jerry was busy finalizing last minute details with cast and crew, as well as going over the shoot’s checklist with Chris B. They were both unable to sleep, too excited about the long day of filming ahead of them. The next morning was cloudy but a tad warm as intermittent rain showers soaked the ground.By 9:45am the crew was set up and our Director of Photography, the talented Gary Powell. A seasoned DP, Powell has worked on multiple films such as Attackazoids, Foxy Mammas and Killing Mark Twain to name a few.


He signaled our fearless leader, Director/Producer Jerry J. Cunningham that he was ready to film. Their relationship is a unique blend of interrelated visual ideas that complement each other. Cunningham doesn’t express absolute authority and allows Powell to discern what a shot needs and what it doesn’t.



Our wonderful cast, Amanda Yachechak (Jenny Rivers), Derek Brantley (Dave Holmes) and Keisha Zoller (Zach) arrived and quickly changed into wardrobe and were off to makeup courtesy of Shakira Gills. Our host photographer for this shoot, Johanna was snapping away taking “before and after” shots of the actors while they were sitting with Ms. Gills in makeup. The extras, Wang Smith, Todd G. and Daniela were also primed and prepped our fearless leader. After grabbing donuts & bagels then washing it down with cups of hot java, “Are we ready to shoot?” JJC exclaimed and the cast and extras made their way on set.

Watching the script come to life is thrilling as Jerry instinctively reaches inside of the actor’s core and draws out the tenderness, angst, doubt and self-awareness demonstrated so effortlessly by the actors. Working through several takes and a few five minute breaks, the aroma of lunch blanketed the set as ASH’s serve staff brought out the delicious looking buffet of breaded fresh chicken in lemon sauce, pasta with Alf redo and marinara sauces, a tray of toasted miniature oval bread topped with seasoned fresh tomatoes and chopped basil. Somehow lunch seemed to have made it’s way into the next take as the extras brought their “mile-high”, food packed plates to the bar to eat on camera. Before we knew it, it was 5pm and we still had an hour left to work, however Jerry informed us that we were done and he captured what he wanted and content with the day’s shoot.


Everyone took a minute to rest before they start to pack up. As the cast and extras gathered their belongings, they left the lounge saying their goodbyes group by group. Only JJC and the crew remained as they started breaking down the set. Chris B. watching everyone while taking care of paperwork realized that the end of the production is fast approaching and he felt a little sad about it. However, he was overcome with a feeling of accomplishment and looked to Jerry and asked, “What did you think about today’s shoot?” and through his bright smile, being a man of few words, he remarked, “Good job…good job,” as he turned and continued to pack the equipment. Stay tuned for more of “On The Set” with the Getting Caught crew.

On Location with the Getting Caught film crew!

Our short film is no longer a "short" film. After all is said and done, it looks like we're clocking in at an hour and fifteen minutes. Originally, we did set out to do a "short" but imagination and creativity got the best of us and we are now a "feature" film. We're happy about that! Over the weekend of Aug 29 - 30, we managed to shoot 3 scenes, one on Saturday and two on Sunday. We had a very productive day on Saturday. Call time for the crew was 7:30am, 8:30am for the actors and administration. However, we didn't start shooting until 11am, things happen, oh well. Next. I always enjoy the shoots at the Newark location, courtesy of Kesha and Alex. This amazing three story building was once a very active department store back in the 1950's & 60's. Kesha and Alex purchased it about five years ago and singlehandedly renovated each floor into three beautiful, ultra hip apartments. We shoot the scenes that take place in the main character's (Mike Andrews) apartment on the first floor, it's the biggest space out of three apartments in the building. The decor is very modern but minimalistic fitting neatly with that character's persona.

We had to make a few "on-the-spot" script adjustments that worked out fine, but as we were inserting new dialogue, I noticed that this script on our hosts Macbook was an older version of the script (I wonder who printed that out? Hmm?) so Amanee Rice, our new production assistant and I had to make a mad dash to my place to do the rewrites on the latest script and get back on set in 20 minutes! Fortunately, I live nearby and we made it back on set in 10 minutes. Phew! Once we arrived with the script changes, we quickly handed them to the director and actors. In about 15 minutes, they were ready to shoot the scene, "Quiet on set", Jerry J Cunningham, our illustrious director yelled out. "Action", he commanded as the actors began the scene. Watching Jerry direct is fasincating. He is masterful at taking the script to the next level, zeroing in on the smallest detail whether changing an actor's gesture or the way he would quickly reworking a line in sync with that gesture or movement. CJ Maldonado (Mike Andrews) and Amanda Yachechak (Jenny Rivers) are just great. It's a blessing when you find humble actors to work with. Jerry leaves the floor open for them to give their input and we all exchange ideas to make whatever scene we're shooting work. Juan Silva, our PA and budding screenwriter extraordinaire was on set for a bit to help out where he could. He's a wonderful and very talented writer, someone to watch for in 2010. After several takes, we broke for lunch (how'd you guess, Chinese!) and by faith everyone received their correct order. A few more takes, some different angles, sound bites and stills taken, the shoot finally came to an end. Everyone felt confident that we all did our best and it was another great day of filming.

For Sunday's shoot, we had to trek to Montclair, New Jersey to film two of the office scenes. It was a sleepless night for the crew but we had a job to do and managed to somehow walk into Sunday's dawn bright-eyed to say the least. But before we filmed at the Montclair location, we (Jerry and I) were on another project he was working on in New Brunswick, NJ. It's a short documentary that featured a section on the 60's R&B vocal outfit, The Four Kents. I had a great time interviewing this awesome group and they still had the pipes after 40 years of not singing together! Once that filming was over, we made our way to Montclair to set up. I hung in there unloading the equipment and taking it up three flights of stairs to the office we were going to shoot in. I was happy to see Amanee when she arrived and we began the arduous task of transforming the set into Mike's office. These two scenes staged and shot singlehandly by Cunningham is independent "guerilla" filmmaking at its best. It's a beast of a position to be in, solitary yet totally in control, never exactly following protocol but getting the job done. He's adept at conceptualizing a scene and with his quick fire dissassembling and reassembling of the script whereby the actors taking his direction perform in a more logical, streamlined manner.

Juan even stepped in the actor's role and filled in for the part of Alex Martin, cast originally for Joey Mintz. Joey called and said he was stuck in traffic and would be arriving around 5pm. We had a late call time anyhow and not to waste the moment, we shot the scene with the Juan portraying the character of Alex. He did a good job for his very first time at acting on film. This is "guerilla" filmmaking at its best! Soon, the other actors began to arrive, our resident comedian (we love this guy!), CJ Maldonado (Mike Andrews), the lovely Renada Romain (Debbie Alford), Steven Van Attema (Oscar) and last but not least, Joey Mintz. As I got them all settled, checking wardrobe and makeup, they started to prepare for shooting rehearsing their lines. Once they were ready, I brought them upstairs on set. By 7pm, it was all over and I was exhasted but we had to restore the office to its original state, clean up, breakdown the equipment and pack it in the truck. With all of that, we still maintained a high energy level. Where did it come from, God only knows! The important thing is that we got through it and we were happy with what was captured on film. We want to take this time to thank Mr. Eddie Nicholas and Mrs. Beek for use of their Montclair facility. The Wood Pit restaurant on corner of Bloomfield & Maple Ave, also in Montclair, for their great barbeque and hospitality. Our production assistants, Amanee Rice and Juan Silva, you guys are the best! Thank you so much for your time and support. Gary Powell, you know you are da man! Kesha and Alex, thanks for the use of your Newark location, we love you guys to death! And, lastly all the actors for believing in this project and bringing it to life. We, at JJCMedia.net applaude you all.

CB Flowers

A New Independent Film - "Getting Caught" by JJCMedia.net

Burgeoning screenwriter, Christopher B. Flowers and screenwriter/director, Jerry J. Cunningham of JJCMedia.net are currently in the middle of production of their first independent short film, "Getting Caught". It's a bittersweet tale centered around Jenny Rivers, a seemingly innocent young woman hungry for love and her distant but workaholic boyfriend Mike Andrews, a Senior Account Executive at the JBJ Corporation. When Mike finds an elaborate man's ring in his apartment, Jenny trades her innocence for lies, deceit and the promise of fortune while putting Mike's life in jeopardy.

According to Christopher, he never thought about writing a screenplay, not since his undergraduate days as a Media Arts major at Jersey City State College. "Jerry came to me with a skeleton of a script. He knew I liked to write and wanted me to take a look at it. I agreed. Looking at the script, it seemed like a good story and what I remember from my dramatic scriptwriting classes at JCSC, I started asking him questions about the story, the characters, etc. etc. Thus began a five month period of intense writing, building characters, story & plot development, script format, checking for continuity and rewrite after rewrite after rewrite. This is my first joint writing project and I love working and writing with Jerry. He's so easy going, logical and simple, if something doesn't work, it doesn't work, no holding onto it. 'Next', he would say. We would write independently and then present what we have to each other. And, before he shoots it down (LOL), he would ask pertinent questions you wouldn't think of asking but you knew the answer in your head before you had a chance to respond. His brand of logic is so precise and 9 times of 10 he's right, " he explains.

Jerry gave Christopher his production schedule and began to post casting call ads on Mandy.com, a website dedicated to finding employment or looking for talent in the arts from Film, TV, Theater to Production. "That was a great experience," Christopher says. "The auditioning process was amazing. Listening to actors read lines from sides that's from your screenplay for an indie short film about to go to into production, I felt really good being there to take it all in. It was the same rush I got when I used to write lyrics and have them realized by my collective of singers I was working with, exhilarating!"

After much deliberation, the main cast was assembled, Amanda Yachechak (Jenny Rivers), CJ Maldonado (Mike Andrews), Derek Brantley (Dave Holmes) Vanessa Morales (Lisa Matthews), Renada Romain (Debbie Alford), Joey Mintz (Alex Roberts) and the first day of shooting began in late June. About the cast, Christopher comments on what a talented collective of actors, "They are fantastic! They are on point at all times and come across with ease and a refreshing brand of naturalness." He continues, "The first day of shooting was so exciting! I have to learn to adjust to getting up for these 'at-the-crack-of-dawn' shoots. That was the hard part, because the night before I didn't get any sleep thinking about the shoot in the morning. We were scheduled to film the lunch scene with Jenny and Lisa along with a host of extras. It was fun but grueling. I had to stay alert at all times, especially so because I was holding down the job as Script Supervisor who just happens to be the co-screenwriter, so I had to be on point and ready for any questions about the previous take and I was," he says.

Christopher also adds, "The seasoned production crew were wonderful. Cameramen, Gary Powell and Mr. "Got Jokes" Jeremy (LOL) both held down the title of "professional" without a hitch. Jerry hired a very close friend of mine, Carlton Rosebure of Lollipop Productions to do the sound that was so cool of him to do. Everyone was in great spirits and seemed just as excited as Jerry and I. Right now, we are midway in production and on schedule with shoots coming up at the end of August. Hopefully, we should be done filming by October and then task of post production begins, " he explains. Look for the release of "Getting Caught" sometime in 2010. Please feel free to leave any comments, they are welcomed. For information on JJCMedia.net contact: mailto:jjcfilms@gmail.com. Contact Christopher at bc22flowers@gmail.com.