Last Weekend, HenHouse Media, Film Buzz, and Bryan Agran Productions shot around Richmond for the opening sequence of this summer's film fest.

The three teams descended on Richmond in order to shoot a relatively quirky opening sequence that will be shown every night of the film festival before the main attraction.

Every year we try to do something slightly quirky. Last year we featured the local sponsors in "missing" screen tests for the movies we were showing. This year, it is a funky dance number, but don't ask more because we wont give it away completely.

"We've all had a lot going on this year, so we'll make the pre-production a little easier," explained Joe O'Brien of Film Buzz.

While Joe and his wife are in the process of building a house, he is not the only one with a full schedule. Johnny Mendez of HenHouse Media concurs about the rigors of last year and the challenges of this year, after just having a brand new baby daughter. "We still had to make it fun," he explained, citing the desire to not allow any backsliding in production values while keeping up with his own busy schedule.

The third team member, Bryan Agran (me) also had his plate full with a new baby too.

The desire to keep the values intact, keep the production a bit lighter, and still have time to put togther the film fest was a delicate balance.

This year's labor of love features one skit that will play all four nights (with a fifth, WILD CARD evening thrown into the mix.) The idea was to create one piece that would change slightly over the run of the festival. This would give our generous sponsors a real benefit as they will each be highlighted in very different ways, but within the same piece of video. But more importantly, the video had to be fun and family friendly and something that could be watched a few times in a row, changing slightly to keep it fresh.

With that in mind, we trained our mind on what these films all had in common... no easy task. We watched these movies over and over to come up with the common thread, and then we found it! But we're not going to tell you here. You've got to come and see it for yourself.

The final piece was the right actor for the part. That's where Richmond lucked out. We obtained the services of Film and Television Actor R.W. Martin. this man selflessly gave himself to the project in order to bring Richmond a piece of local fun during the film festival for this year. In grueling 80 plus degree temperatures, R.W. MArtin performed for a full day in front of our cameras.

We think you'll agree, the movie before the movie is one part courage, one part cheese, one part fun, but all parts heart and soul of Richmond. So sit Back, relax and enjoy, because next year is already in the planning phases. We're gonna knock your socks off, Richmond!

FILM BUZZ + FESTIVAL INFORMATION
http://filmbuzz.net

R.W. MARTIN'S PERSONAL PAGE
http://members.aol.com/H0LLYW00Dz/index.html