Boxcar Sequence Wrap!

With the weekend to recover, we're finally wrapped with the boxcar test sequence! An incredible amount of prep and work went into this little chunk of Nail House and we'll be sharing some footage in the days to come. We're immensely happy with what we came away with, and we think that the fight scene will stand out as a really unique and gag-packed sequence that's a real departure from the action movie status quo, and hopefully conveys the tone, humor, and intensity of the final product.

Some quick takeaways from our overview post mortem - a lot of things to tweak with regards to how we prep (department heads brought in earlier on specific parts of the process, our previsualization edit and process needs to be more precise and vigorous), our on-set technology stack (definitely need small handheld director's monitors especially when I'm in front of camera), and most importantly: the needs from each department for the rest of the movie.

What remains are a handful of VFX plates and off-schedule cutaways which always seem to be a hallmark of everything we've ever done - stuff like a TikTok cutaway gag, or extreme detail closeups of food plating, etc. It's the kind of stuff that is easily grabbable off-schedule (which helps when you own the camera and the lenses) and didn't make sense to have a full crew to shoot.

Our goal with this sequence was to attempt a "vertical slice" of completed movie that would give us a clearer picture of the costs and needs of a modified production approach, one with a strong emphasis on physical comedy and action at the forefront. I'm confident that we accomplished this, and now have a good idea of what the rest of the movie will require.

A huge thanks to our producers Cherish and Ashim, our crew (some new, some familiar), and our incredible team of stunt performers, who were gracious and generous with their talents and tricks of their trade every step of the way.

On to post production!

-fw

From left to right - Suo Liu (stunt coordinator and Triad), Yung Lee (action designer), Matt Arnold and Freddie Wong, Cameron Okubo (stunts and my double), Vinnie O'Brien (stunt performer - Mafioso), and Jordan Okubo (stunt performer - Yakuza)