Welcome to Gehenna is a monthly series of journal entries taken during the production of our next film, Gehenna. Follow along as I share the experience bringing this story from script to screen. Except when discussing plot points, these entries are completely unedited.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
It’s my grandpa’s birthday. So much of my childhood was spent with him nurturing my artistic talent. I was still a teenager when he passed, so he never got to see me try to make a living doing this crazy thing of trying to make art for a living. This time of year, I can’t help but wonder what he'd say if he saw me today. Whatever it’d be, I’m sure it would have an awful pun attached.
We’re shooting Gehenna on my Pyxis, my twenty-plus-year-old DVX100, and my iPhone. Shooting in multiple formats isn’t new. People have been doing that for decades, but today I found out that the team behind Primetime (still need to see that) shot parts of it on the DVX. That’s fun. I wouldn’t mind if DV made a comeback. Not everything has to have this clinical look that’s so popular today. Maybe I’m just being sentimental. Unfortunately, they’ve stopped making MiniDV tapes, so it won’t be long before you have to really hunt for them. At least for now. Technology is constantly circling back.
Friday, October 9, 2026
I started outlining a new story today. It’s an idea I had roaming around in the back of my head for months. It just felt like the right time to start playing with it. Something to keep my writing muscle strong. If I can’t work on Phantom People after Gehenna, then I see this as a good option. Unlike Phantom People, I could self-fund this one as well.
Saturday, October 10, 2026
I woke up with a headache and a kink in my neck that I couldn’t explain. Happy birthday, Edd. Welcome to 43.
Last night, April and I watched Exorcist II: The Heretic on TCM. I’m a huge fan of both the original film and the book, so when I first watched The Heretic years ago, I was completely let down. Last night, though, I caught myself thinking, “huh… I actually enjoy this.” It’s not a great movie, but it swung for the fences and certainly has strengths in it that I admire. I think it just wasn’t what the world wanted at the time. You really have to watch it on its own terms. That’s the problem with sequels.
It was a quiet morning. We watched a Dr. Kildare movie and the final chapter of the 1949 Batman & Robin serial. God, I love movie serials, espcially the two Batman ones. That cowl is so terrible it’s awesome.
After that, I went out for a few hours. On my way home, I almost dropped by Fred Meyer to pick up some of their bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers, but I decided against it. Every cent I don’t spend on something (especially something terrible for me) is a cent I can put toward Gehenna, and though it seems small now, that really does add up.
Time to watch a bit of the Avs game, and then… Svengoolie! Tonight it’s Munsters Go Home and Berserk. I love Munsters Go Home, and I’ve never seen Berserk. It’s going to be a good night.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Day 3 of production. I drove Angie and Murri out to Astoria to shoot for a couple of hours. The drive took longer than the shoot, but it was worth it. I gave them my phone for part of it. They got to shoot whatever they wanted while I hung back. The goal was to use that time to just have fun, and I love how it turned out.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Damn weather.
Got up early today, picked up Patrick, and headed out to Welches to shoot scene 57. I was a tad nervous. This was the first day we were shooting actual pages from the script. Still, I felt prepared. It was only supposed to be a light rain in the early morning, so I prepped my camera rig to make it work. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was anything but a “light rain.” Ugh. When we left Portland, it was clear skies, too. I love the rain, but today just wasn’t the day for this.
After seeing if we could wait it out, Patrick and I decided to cut our losses and find a place near the day’s second location that could work instead. We headed back into town. It felt like a waste of time and money. Patrick was helpful. I was embarrassed (by the weather? Seriously?), and he encouraged me that this is just how it goes sometimes.
On the drive, I hit a massive pothole. I freaked out, thinking I thoroughly fucked up my car. Thankfully, my little Prius is a hell of a lot tougher than she looks. Patrick drives next time, though. Ha.
We shot at our backup location for maybe an hour or so, then headed to the second location. The plan was to have lunch, wait for Anna and Aileen to show up, and shoot scenes 57A and 118.
Lunch was unreal. It was hilariously late, and when it did finally arrive, it was cold. Once again, embarrassment set in. I wonder how much of that was because I was hangry. Thankfully, it wasn’t a huge deal today, but I made a mental note to avoid them next time. We can’t afford to lose that much time in May.
While we waited, Patrick gave me a couple birthday gifts. They were an X-Files mug with “I want to believe” written above retro-style painting of Mulder and Scully and a David Lynch figure. He will fit perfectly on my ever-growing nerd shelf.
Scenes 57A and 118 went off without a hitch. Everyone seemed genuinely excited when we reviewed the footage. It’s amazing how quickly morale can rebound. Then again, I think I may have been the only one who needed that boost.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
I spent the last two days hammering out rough cuts of scenes 57 and 57A. For these scenes, we’re experimenting with step-printing. I love how it fits into the story, but I always go back and forth on whether something like that will draw too much attention to itself. Still, I love taking risks.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
I wrapped the rough edit of scene 118 today. Of course, there’s a lot of work to be done, but for now, it’s good just to see the skeleton.
With the rough edits of these three scenes done, I sent them off to Patrick for his first impressions. Getting another set of eyes on something so rough is always nerve-wracking, but he knows his shit. He came back with one note that would really help a plot point. Thankfully, it doesn’t need any reshooting, but I do need to write it down for when it goes out for sound design next year.
Track our progress on the film’s official website.