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EXPLORE HOW WE MADE
Bad Influence
Production Timeline
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CUTTING ROOM FLOOR:
BEHIND THE SCENES
First Shot Filmed
Before Bad Influence was even an idea, I was already filiming Culdee Fell Engines up in the mountains!
July 2017
November 2018
Script Writing Begins
After briefly entertaining the idea that Bad Influence could be a half-hour Thanksgiving special, gears shifted to developing the story into a full feature-length screenplay.
June 2019
First Script Draft Finished + First Crovan's Gate Sheds Set
On June 19th, the 1st draft of the full script for Bad Influence was completed. The first 4k Filming block begun that month, including the first Crovan's Gate set- very different from what the final would look like!
Spring 2020
Production Continues
Filming kicks into a higher gear, focusing mainly on countryside sets like the NG Water Tower yard, the Wharf signal box, the gristmill canal, and more, resulting in the first "official trailer," which included a large amount of test footage and was unlisted 2 years later, after the style of the film had changed.
June 2021
Macro lens filming and reshoots begin
Following extensive rewrites, a new camera, and a reimagining of certain scenes to fit a more cinematic/realistic depiction of a forest fire, filming resumed, including reshoots of key moments in the climax of the film.
December 2021 - January 2022
To the Mainland
After a brief hiatus during my first semester at college, principle photography neared its conclusion, focusing on the interior of Mr. Brown's factory, James' mainland yard, and Knapford Station back at his new home.
January 2023
Second Teaser + Animation Tests
On New Year's day 2023, we released the second "teaser trailer" for the film, which showed off the first usage of the unique animation style we had begun testing, which combined the usage of Trainz Railway Simulator recorded and fan-designed facial assets and Final Cut Pro motion tracking on top of raw wooden railway footage.
June 2024
Figure Construction
Within the short timeline of a couple weeks, Annie C. sculpted and painted the human figures in the film.
June - September 2024
VFX and SFX
Throughout the summer and fall, I worked tirelessly to add the facial animation that animators had begun in March 2024, in addition to the final polish of the look and sound of the film to prepare for release.
Summer 2018
More Stock Footage Filming/Conceptualization
Rumors of the idea that would become Bad Influence begun being developed, alongside intermittent roadside location filming while on vacation...
March 2019
Principle Photography Begins
As the script was being worked on, the first official film shoot of the movie got underway, involving the first tests of the digital VFX that would scale the standard and narrow gauge engines realistically.
July 2019
First Trailer Released/Wharf Filming
While attending Thomas fan event "Shining Time 2019", I filmed the Wharf Inspection scene for the film, and even premiered the very first teaser!
September 2020
Trestle Bridge Constructed
+ "red sky in the morning..."
The next filming block focused on third act setpieces like the trestle bridge and the dual-gauge forest yard, but was brought to a halt when filming conditions outside became compromised by an actual forest fire.
July 2021
Rebuilt and Reshot Crovan's Gate
After 2 years, the Crovan's Gate sheds were built again from the ground up, with new buildings and set design by Alex Townsend, featuring throughout the film.
August 2022
Rough Assembly Edited
Throughout Summer 2022, I worked to edit together all the footage and audio we had completed to translate the materials into a cohesive narrative to show off at the first ever test screening of about the first 2 hours of Bad Influence.
August 2023
Rough Assembly Finished
A year after the first rough cut was screened, I completed the assembly of the last half hour of Bad Influence, in addition to continuing to film additional scenes missed in the first years of production.
May - July 2024
The Final Filming
In the last few months before the release of Bad Influence, we filmed the last scenes and inserts missing from the movie, including the exterior of the factory, the river underneath the trestle bridge, and the station at Crovan's Gate.
November 2024
Final Shot + Premiere
After 6 years of continuous production and post-production, we filmed the last scene of Bad Influence -the post-credits Misty Island gag- the Monday before the film finally released in full to a public premiere event November 23rd in Edison, New Jersey.
Bad Influence Production Timeline
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