In this homage to the black and white adventure serials of the 1940s ... our hero Johnny, AKA 'The Reflex', leaps into action with both fists flying as he faces down Nazi spies, gangsters, and the insidious Crime Wizard!
Released in 2009 Running Time: 9:50
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"Masters of Daring" was produced, in association with Inside Creative Minds, for the Almost Famous 72 Hour Heroes & Villains All-Star Challenge (yeah, that's a mouthful). The nature of this special invitation only challenge was unique, because in addition to the theme, prop, and line of dialogue we had to integrate into our film, each team was also given a randomly selected character. More specifically, a hero or villain designed by Kleos Studios. The character we drew was "Reflex", who wore a jogging outfit and could see ten seconds into the future. We were also given the character a full week in advance so that we could cast the role and make costumes.
We decided to fulfill one of our long standing dreams ... to make a black and white 1940's adventure serial. We changed Reflex's outfit to reflect the genre, and then went on a mad dash to secure props and locations. Luckily Cortney McLeod's set, from her film "A World of Trouble", was still standing, which we used it for the opening scene. Costumes were also mined from Adam Rini's film, "Jerry Gold." Because we had the time, we could jam pack each scene with era specific props at a very low production cost (the whole movie only cost $200 to make). The office scene with Logan and Gabby, there's at least fifteen era accurate props on the desk alone.
The production was a whirlwind. With a production crew of only two, myself (Nathan) and Bracken Batson, along with Art Director Basl McIntyre, we shot at a blistering pace, racking up our all time record of eighty-one camera setups in a single day (previous record was forty-six). Editing took a full two days, with myself and Bracken taking around-the-clock shifts. The film tied for First Place, won Best Use of Character, Outstanding Individual Performance for Gabrielle Van Buren, and Second Place Audience Award.
Related Links: Photos, Blog - Making "Masters of Daring"
Directed by Nathan Blackwell. Produced by Bracken J. Batson. Screenplay by Brian Blackwell, Nathan Blackwell, Craig Curtis. Director of Photography Bracken J. Batson. Art Director Basl McIntyre. Starring Logan Blackwell as Johnny 'The Reflex', Gabrielle Van Buren as Kit Carlyle, Brian Blackwell as The Crime Wizard, Michael Peterson as Nazi Officer, Noah Klinge as Nazi Soldier, James as Hoenscheidt as Gangster Goon #1, Craig Curtis as Gangster Goon #2. The character Reflex was created by Kleos Studios.