Sniff - The Best Dog Movie Ever Made

Trailer for Sniff the Dog Movie

2020-10-13T03:59:00.000-07:00

Film Production Snapshots

2020-07-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Making a movie is hard work, and a lot of great fun, too. We hope you enjoy some of these behind the scenes moments of the stars and crew.

Diary of a Film-Maker's Wife

2019-07-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

A note from Kim: Scroll down to the end if you want to read this in chronological order. (Recommended, but not strictly necessary…)

Review on Dogster.Com

2010-08-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

By Maria Goodavage, July 2010 on Dogster

Sniff, director Barry Stone’s second film about dogs, is like a Snausage: It’s one delicious morsel wrapped inside another very different but equally tasty and intriguing one. Dog lovers are sure to devour it with gusto and lick their chops waiting for the next course.

Sniff is a dog documentary that’s swathed in the cozy blanket of an odd but appealing fictional comedic storyline. Two somewhat beleaguered British actors, Neil (British star Neil Morrissey: Bob the Builder, Men Behaving Badly) and Richard (Richard Huw: The Four Minute Mile, Splitting Heirs) travel to San Francisco for what would be humiliating roles for actors who weren’t so down on their luck: They’re to be dressed as dogs and act as concierges to well-heeled dogs and their people in the new Infinite Paws dog hotel. (I hope Stone has trademarked that name.)

The leap across the pond isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. They’ve been hired by Neil’s former girlfriend, Juliette (Amanda Plummer: Pulp Fiction, The Fisher King), who owns the high-end boutique pooch hotel with her somewhat jealous husband, Derek (Maurice Godin: House, Monk, Working). The company Stone assembled pulls off the fictional part of the movie with aplomb. Plummer — Christopher Plummer’s daughter — really shines in her role as the quirky, dynamic entrepreneur who still isn’t quite over Neil.

Neil and Richard decide that on their days off, they’re going to put together a documentary on dogs in San Francisco and other parts of the West Coast. You can almost hear echoes of a young Mickey Rooney chiming, “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!”

This is where the hot dog meets the bun, and the fiction becomes the holder for the documentary —the meat of Sniff.

Since Neil and Richard have different days off, they don’t really collaborate much while filming their various segments about dogs. But this setup allows us to see them interacting with each other, describing their projects, kvetching, and still working like dogs on their days at the hotel.

The dogs they follow are treasures, and Stone’s background in cinematography makes most scenes visual gems. As good as the humans are in the movie, the canines steal the show. Here’s how the director’s synopsis describes some of Sniff’s real-life canine stars.

* Meet Mikey, a yellow Labrador retriever, who completes his training to become a working guide dog.

* Meet Gabby, a black Lab who is socialized at Guide Dogs but switches careers mid-stream to become a Search and Rescue Dog.

* Take a romp in the ocean with Zoe, a Jack Russell, at the Coronado Bay Surf Dog Competition.

* Run on the beach with Gus, a McNab herd-dog, who has taken to rounding up seagulls for want of a good sheep.

* Marvel at Retriever Harley as he and water-shy Rover tag-team ball retrieval from the Klamath River.

All the dogs are ridiculously appealing, and their stories are riveting. The parts about the search-and-rescue dogs are eye-opening and fascinating. It’s enlightening watching these dogs – some of whom didn’t make the cut as guide dogs – train to rescue people in disasters. We think of them as heroes, living to save lives. But to them, it’s just one great big joyous game. These dogs work hard, and they love their work so much that they don’t even know they’re working. We humans could learn a lesson from them.

You’ll want to have a Kleenex handy for some of the segments, particularly the guide dog graduation, and the poignant look at the man whose elderly dog is not long for this world.

One segment – with the bird-chasing dog – is wince-worthy, though, at least to me. I live two blocks from the beach in San Francisco, and my leash-free dog-walking has been severely curtailed by the presence of the snowy plover, a threatened bird species. Dogs are no longer allowed off leash on the beach for most of the year, when the birds are here, because they’re seen as potentially dangerous to the delicate plover population. I’m not sure what species of birds cute Gus is chasing – I’m no bird watcher – but some look kind of plover-ish to me. The people who would like to ban dogs from the beach entirely would love to get hold of this if plovers really are in the mix. Even if the birds are gulls, dogs shouldn’t be chasing them. It’s pretty stressful to the birds, and makes for bad PR in the “dogs vs nature” realm.

Other than these chase scenes and some scene transitions that could have benefited from someone who wasn’t quite so enamored with “special effects,” the film is a walk in the park. Any dog lover worth his or her spots will enjoy it. It’s great for families, too.

Harley the River Dog

2010-05-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

May 13, 2010

We got news this morning that dear Harley passed away last night. For all the joys of making the film, and hearing updates about our "stars," it is sad to learn of their passing. We've had many endearing encounters with Harley over the years since we first met him and the wonderful Holter family - mostly up on the Klamath River, or in nearer-by Ross, California. Barry used to throw the ball for Harley almost as addictively as Harley would chase it, and when day was done, Harley would patiently let Barry tousle his floppy ears, as good pals do.

September 11, 2010 Diablo Valley Film Festival Preview

2010-04-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday, September 11 at 7 pm
Martinez Masonic Lodge
700 Masonic Street
Martinez, CA 94553

Tickets $12 available on-line (click here) or at the door.

The Contra Costa Animal Shelter is one of this film festival's benefactors. A perfect fit for SNIFF!

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September 17, 2010 Wine Country Film Festival Premiere

2010-04-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

Deerfield Ranch Winery
Grand Room of the Cave
Friday, September 17

10200 Sonoma Highway
Kenwood, CA

6:00 - 7:00 pm Meet and Greet (Rogan, our starring Irish Wolfhound will be there, along with our trainer Francis Metcalf and Chomskie, actor Mauric Godin, singer-song-writer Laurie Lewis, composers Jon Herbst and Ken Kearney, film-makers Barry Stone and Kim Webster, and we're hoping the Mighty Chiplings will play for us too!)

Show starts 7:00

Check back for more information and a link to ticket sales.

This popular roving film festival takes place outdoors in spectacular setting and in select theaters and venues in Napa and Sonoma Valleys, CA. Perfect for Sniffers and other film-buffs to whine and dine ;)

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September 23, 2010 Crest Theater, Sacramento, CA

2010-04-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 23 at 5:30 and 8:00 pm

Crest Theater

1013 K Street

Sacramento, CA

Info Line: (916) 442-7378

The 5:30 show is a regular screening. Tickets are $9.50 General / $6 Senior/Child available at the door or click here for advance tickets. Bring the family!

The 8:00 show is a fund-raiser event for the Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue and Morris Animal Foundation's Canine Cancer Campaign. Tickets for the 8:00 PM show are $20 which includes a chance to win some great door prizes and, of course, a generous contribution to these two organizations. For tickets for the 8pm event click here. You'll be helping two wonderful canine organizations and you'll get to meet the film-makers!

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On the Road in the Southwest

2010-03-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

March 18, 2010

We’ve successfully finished screenings in Phoenix and Tucson. Yesterday Barry and I went to see the cliff dwellings at Gila National Park and I even took a few minutes to sketch a view from the river. Spectacular! (The view, I mean.) Last night we drove to Santa Fe well in time for tonight’s screenings, but not without incident.

In his research for the New Mexico leg of our journey, Barry discovered that there is a train (the Rail Runner) that runs from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Barry loves a train ride, and the price was right at $6, so we decided that I could drop him off at the train in Albuquerque and then meet him at the station in Santa Fe.

According to our GPS though, we weren’t quite going to make the connection in Albuquerque, so we phoned up and found out what other places the train would stop along the way. I set the auto cruise to 80mph and we were making good time – 15 minutes to spare if we went to Rio Rancho. We noticed though, that the sun was getting low in the sky, so we decided to try to get to an earlier station (Los Ranchos de Albuquerque), so that Barry would get in as much daylight train-riding as possible. According to Garmin (our GPS) we had about four minutes to spare. So we got off the highway at the Los Ranchos exit and… traffic was held up. The train would leave the station at 6:45. I called and the cheerful woman assured me it was running on time. (Darn!). Garmin began changing its mind, saying we’d get there at 6:43, then 6:44, then 6:45, then a break in the traffic and we were back to 6:44… Pedal to the metal, we charged around the last corner and could see the arm of the level crossing rise up. The train was at the platform! We wheeled into the parking lot. Barry slammed the car into park and flew out the door, with his blue bag of Sudoku and train snacks flying horizontally behind him. 5 yards to go and the train started to move. I looked on as Barry leapt into the air and hauled himself up on to the ladder between the engine and the passenger car, disappearing from sight. A moustachioed man on the platform raised his fist and pulled it down vehemently toward his upward-rising knee as he grinned and shouted “Yessssss!” in my direction. With something between a grimace and a smile, I acknowledged his enthusiasm and then noticed that the train had come to a halt only a few feet from where my husband had so valiantly flung himself.

“Curious,” I thought with a mixture of concern and relief as I noticed a few other late-comers board the train in the conventional manner. I waited, but the train remained stationary. Eventually I inched out of the parking lot and began the drive toward Santa Fe. Then my cell phone rang. It was Barry. “They’ve kicked me off the train. You’ll have to come back.”

I felt so sorry that he had missed his train-riding opportunity, but once we were re-united, I learned that the plot had thickened … as with most good adventures. Apparently once Barry had arrived on the train's ladder, he faced a chain at the top barring him from climbing onto a tiny platform above the coupling. Concerned that he'd have to hang on until the next station as the train gathered speed, he decided to straddle over the chain so he could stand on the little platform and then push the bar on the coach door to enter into the passenger seating area. Once he'd done this, the train had come to a screeching halt. Trying to look non-chalant, Barry found a seat and feigned fascination with his Sudoku puzzle as the train attendants scurried up and down the aisle looking for the culprit. Eventually one of the uniformed men asked Barry if he had just gotten on the train – to which Barry answered “why, yes!”

“Get off my train,” demanded the Conductor, to which Barry responded that he was terribly sorry. Gathering angry momentum, the Conductor said “It's too late for sorry. As a matter of fact, stay right there. I'm going to call the head office. What's your name? Where are you from? I may even call the police.”

By this time, Barry was more than willing to exit the train, and as the Conductor made calls on his cell phone, a woman piped up from behind him and asked quietly, “Are you from the film?” To which Barry, confident that any publicity is good publicity, responded affirmatively.

“I thought so,” the lady replied with admiration. “When I heard you were from California, I just knew you must be a stunt-man.”

I’m not sure what film she was referring to, but presumably it wasn’t Sniff. And I'm not exactly sure how Barry extricated himself from the train situation either. But we both felt sheepish rolling into Santa Fe, thinking that at any minute the police might cuff him … the geriatric train hopper caught at last! I would have thought a little train-riding bravado would be well-received in cowboy country. I guess the spirit of the Wild West doesn’t extend to commuter choo-choo’s.

Guide Dogs for the Blind

2010-01-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

From Joanne Ritter, Director of Marketing

Guide Dogs for the Blind is thrilled to be a part of this playful and informative film. We'd especially like to thank Barry and Kim for their commitment to making the film accessible to people who are blind; they've gone the extra mile and created a descriptive version. The two of them are now part of our Guide Dog family, and we sincerely hope this film will inspire others to get involved with us -- as puppy raisers, volunteers, and clients, and to help spread the word about our services that are offered free-of-charge. Our sincere thanks to everyone who was involved in this film. Congratulations and "Woof!" (November 5, 2009)

Bay Woof, December 2009

2010-01-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

"A Buddy Movie Goes to the Dogs"

Barry Stone's first film was a short called "Dog," four minutes of doggies wandering around doing doggie things as a voice-over puts words in their mouths. At the Grand Lake Theater on November 5, lucky viewers got to see it, followed by Stone's latest effort, a dog lover's dream of a movie called Sniff...

Over the course of 87 minutes, we meet Labrador Retrievers Gabby and Mikey, two pupils at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael; Zoe a Jack Russell Terrier who happens to be a champion surfer; and numerous other cute, courageous and thoroughly captivating dogs.

They all play themselves to perfection and threaten to steal the show, but the human characters are engaging too, as they take in the delights of the Bay Area while suffering the stresses of low-budget film making. We find ourselves rooting for all the dogs and most of the people, even ditsy Juliette (played by film veteran Amanda Plummer) and her stuffy jealous husband Derek (dittto Maurice Godin).

The film is not all fun and games. Serious segments include a touching monologue by a man contemplating the the death of his long-time furry friend and blow-by-blow training sessions with real working dogs.

Sniff manages to entertain and educate at the same time ...

Sniff is alternately funny, amazing, moving and just plain silly. It all adds up to a must-see for dog devotees...

Launch Day

2009-11-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

Update November 5, 2009

In the midst of the madness of preparing our thank you's, organizing our volunteers and trying to find a cheap red carpet within driving distance - I just got this from my gardening clients Lisa and Gia Rinella:

"Look what we saw on our way to school"

Flowers just arrived too! The excitement mounts....

Speak!

2009-11-04T05:34:00.000-08:00

Now that you've seen Sniff, tell us what you think! Critics, fans, well-wishers and hecklers are all welcome to leave comments here.

Note: Comments posted on this forum are moderated to ensure that no offensive content appears on our site.

Go to bottom of list for most recent comment.

A Three Letter Word

2009-10-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

Update: October 16, 2009

I was never allowed to say the word “bum” when I was a child, and still consider the word unworthy in comparison to “bottom”, or perhaps “rear-end”, the continental-sounding “derriere” or even “tush” (never tushie, though.) But Barry, with ever-different sensibilities, has indeed used the word “bum” in our film, in the context of what dogs do when they greet each other. So now, I have produced a film with the questionable word featured! What a bummer… (did I say that?)

We’ve had an audio description of the film made for blind people to hear a description of the action in addition to the dialogue, so that they can imagine the visuals on-screen. One night this week I stayed up all night to (among other things) listen to the audio description and check for errors. Today I wrote the following to Jill Jacobson at CaptionMax who has been so helpful in guiding us through the process of getting the closed-captioning and audio description onto the DVD master:

"Hi Jill!

Now that all the technical insecurities have been assuaged, I wanted to take a moment to tell you how much of a kick I got in the middle of the night on Wednesday listening to the audio description delicately avoid using the word "bum"! Please thank your copy-writer ... I just played it for Barry and we both had a laugh! Kim"

(What was their choice, you may ask? I believe it was ... "rear end". Provincials unite!)

Evidently Blondes Do Have Fun ...

2009-10-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

Update: October 14, 2009

In another response to our e-mail announcement, I found out some news about Rogan – a statuesque Irish wolfhound who features prominently in Sniff:

From Ann Gould:
Oh ... Rogan had a litter this past year so he is a very proud papa. We kept 3 of the litter ... so that means I have 5 of the blondes running around my property. Thanks again ....

Rogan (standing) with his lounging mate and son.

A Blast from the Past

2009-10-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Update: October 13, 2009

We sent out a big email last night and responses have been coming to us in an encouraging volume. Among these, I heard from (conservatively) septuagenarian Mili Rosenblatt who I haven’t seen in years. She wrote to tell me that she and her husband Bill are great friends of Laurie Lewis who will be playing at the Nov. 5th gala at the Grand Lake. So I wrote to Laurie to tell her Mili and Bill were coming to the show, and she asked me how I knew them. Taking a welcome break to think about something unrelated to the film, this is what I wrote to Laurie:

Hi Laurie:

I'm not sure that I've ever met Bill, but I met Mili through an artist neighbour when we first moved to California and became Mili’s "project" for a while, as she tried to get my glass work in to the New Leaf Gallery. It was quite the adventure, going there in our electric bus with Mili talking a mile a minute, and one of my glass sculptures (a giant pea pod) rolling around in the back.

I seem to remember that we ran out of electricity in the van and had to pull over at some stranger's house to plug in! Poor Mili - what I put her though!

It was somewhat mutual though: the New Leaf Gallery was completely uninterested in the work, and in Mili and me. But we had a nice lunch together, and I immortalized the experience by having one of my fairy characters sign a tiny glass flower with the moniker "Mili Pillywiggin". (I don't think I ever told her that!)

xo Kim

A Red Letter Day!

2009-10-13T00:58:00.000-07:00

Update October 12, 2009

We finished the sound mix with Dan Olmsted at Berkeley Sound Artists yesterday and Barry went golfing to celebrate! I stayed home looking at Oprah's site with Awele, a new friend who was full of ideas for marketing our film.

We were all set to send a finished master to CaptionMax for the addition of a descriptive audio track, when Barry serendipitously discovered a 2 second hole in the audio! So I raced off to the studio in Berkeley and Jim LeBrecht made us another audio file so we could meet still meet our captioning deadline. Phewff! As Barry says, those files are all just ones and zeroes ...

Credits to be added next... and there are loads of them!

The Sniff Dramatic Cast

2009-10-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

Neil Morrissey (Neil)

Neil Morrissey is one of Britain’s most popular television actors. Having also acted on stage and screen, he has become a well-known and well-loved personality.

On graduating from the Guildhall School of Drama, Neil went on to make his name in numerous TV programmes. They range from Boon to Roll Over Beethoven, and Gentlemen and Players to My Summer with Des.

Neil also took the part of Tony in the BBC sitcom, Men Behaving Badly. With seven series behind it, it’s clear the show and it’s characters became a part of television history, as viewers took them to their hearts.

Good at raising a laugh, Neil has appeared with many of the country’s top comedians, in series which include Reeves & Mortimer and ITV’s Monkey Trousers. Latterly Neil has also been known to viewers for Paradise Heights, Murder in Mind and Carrie and Barry.

Neil also had a starring role in Waterloo Road for two seasons, for which he’s received a Best Actor nomination by the TV Quick awards, and last year Channel 4 followed Neil and Richard Fox in their brewing adventure, Men Brewing Badly.

In the last few years, Neil trod the boards in the West End with the stage version of Victoria Wood’s Acorn Antiques, followed by the role of Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. This autumn Neil is touring Britain with Rain Man, playing the role made famous by Dustin Hoffman.

Richard Huw (Richard)

Richard trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has worked extensively in repertory theatres across the UK. TV credits include Inspector Morse, Van der Valk, Silent Witness, The Bill, M.I.T., Midsomer Murders, The Buccaneers, Family Ties, Casualty, Eastenders and Holby City.

Films include The Four Minute Mile (playing Roger Bannister), Splitting Heirs, She’s Been Away and Stormbreaker.
He currently runs a company called dramalab with his wife, Janice. Dramalab provides theatre workshops for young people and is based in South London.

He has two daughters – Carly and Lucy, and one grand-daughter, Chaya Star. He has two cats, Tango and Tizer, but no dogs. Yet! (He fell in love with a pug called Jack Black during the filming of “SNIFF”.)

Amanda Plummer (Juliette, Owner of the Infinite Paws Hotel)

Amanda Plummer has appeared in a wide variety of films, including: The Fisher King by Terry Gilliam (British Film Academy Award nomination for her performance as Lydia); Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarrantino (American Comedy Award nomination for her performance as Honey Bunny), Butterfly Kiss by Michael Winterbottom as Eunice; My Life Without Me by Isabel Coixet; Pax by Eduardo Guedes; Daniel by Sidney Lumet; Ken Park by Larry Clark; and recently "The Making of Plus One" and "Inconceivable" both by Mary McGuckian.

Her highly acclaimed work on Broadway has garnered her a Tony award and two Tony Award nominations as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award. Amanda has been honored with three Emmy Awards, one Emmy nomination, a Saturn Award, DVDX nomination, Cable Ace Award and Golden Globe nomination. She is the recipient of the Anti-Defamation League Award for Woman of Achievement.

Maurice Godin (Derek, Juliette’s Husband)

For over thirty years, Maurice Godin has been acting in theatre, television and film. His theatre career has taken him from coast to coast across Canada where he has starred in the major theatres of almost every province, including the prestigious Shaw Festival and the Stratford Shakespearean Festival as well as on Broadway. His film career has taken him around the world and he has appeared on television in dozens of guest star, recurring and series regular roles. Maurice had so much fun playing with the dogs on this film he almost forgot he was working.

Eileen Page (Richard's Mum)

Eileen Page is an accomplished British theatre actor, known recently for her award-winning portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine in Mother of the Pride. She has appeared in films such as The Secret Garden and Remembrance, and a variety of British TV shows including Absolute Hell.

Elizabeth Daly (Commercial Director)

Beth Daly holds a degree in theatre from California Institute of the Arts. She has appeared in the film Dream with the Fishes, and she has performed with numerous theatres in the Bay Area. She currently teaches drama and film at San Lorenzo High School.

Jay Lopez (Car Salesman)

Bay Area's Jay Lopez has been acting since the age of 7, starting in theatre and slowly migrating into film. He has appeared in a wide variety of films, including Sister Act, Mercury Rules, The Amazing Mr.Excellent, Unfamiliar Waters, and now, Sniff the Dog Movie!!! Jay has appeared on stage in Rivets (where he met Barry and Kim), Grease, A Raisin In The Sun, and MotherLand. This summer Jay toured with Disney Theatre starring as “Chad” in High School Musical 2: Live on Stage.

The Crew Who Made it Possible

2009-10-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

Written and Directed by: Barry Stone
Produced by: Kim Webster
Original Music Score: Jon Herbst
Original Documentary Music: Ken Kearney
Directors of Photography (Drama): Frazer Bradshaw and Barry Stone, C.S.C.
Editors: Barry Stone, Eric Sullivan, Hypatia Porter
Assistant Editor: Susan Berger Law
Production Designer (Drama): Schuyler Robertson
Consulting Art Director (Drama): Andrew Lewis
Sound Design: Berkeley Sound Artists
Producers: Barry Stone, Eric Sullivan, Joe Lachoff, Jeff Marvin

Story Consultation
William Farley, Robert Gardner, Richard Levien, Bob Phillips, Eric Sullivan, Finn Taylor

Technical Advisors
Rick LeCompte, Richard Levien, Chris Martin, Frank Salvato, Eric Schultz, Jesse Spencer, T.J. Kearney, Video Arts Team, David O. Weissman

Production Consultation
Jonathon Barker, Debbie Brubaker, Michele Dennis, Norm Hunter, Wendy MacKeigan, Vivian Moens, Starr Sutherland, Johnny Wow

Dramatic Film Crew:

First AD: Bradley Marshland
Second AD: Mark Runnels
Camera: Timothy Kerns
1st Assistant Camera: Cisco Riviera
2nd Assistant Camera: Anne Lee
Jib Operator: ColinDucey/Film Motion
Key Grip: Gary Gill
Grips: Andrew Clark, Justin Malone
Additional Grip: Ernest Kunze
Sound Mixer: Bob Gitzen
Mask Designer: Angela Thomas
Mask Painter: Clelia Scala
Mask Hair Dying: Alice Norton
Mask Jaw Mechanics: Chris Clifford
Costume Designer: Angela Thomas
Props Design: Angela Thomas
On-Camera Drawings: Patti Garrett, Schuyler Robertson
Set Decorators: Jane Altaffer, Peter Altaffer, Stacey McKusker, Greg Runnels, Evan Yu
Hair and Make-up: Sparky Jaxsun
Production Stills: Tara Gill
Production Manager: Emily Pierceall
Production Assistants: Easton Grainer, Evan Yu
Animal Trainers: Francis Metcalf, Gregg Holland

Second Unit Film Crew (Oakland)

First AD: Curran G. Engel
Camera Operator: Steve Buckingham
Gaffer: Ben Casias, Justin Malone
Production Manager: Emily Pierceall
Production Assistants: Max Borge, Evan Yu

Second Unit Film Crew (London)
Director of Photography: Ian Clark
Sound: Martin Scanlan
Locations: Martin Scanlan
Production Stills: Brigitte Cavanaugh

Documentary Film Crew:
Camera: Barry Stone, Kim Webster, Eric Sullivan, Easton Grainer, Dianne Griffin, Cynthia Gill, Steve Ford, Elijah Lajmer, Steve Friedman
Sound: Dan Gleich
Boom Operators: Eric Sullivan, Kim Webster, Jessie Audette
Production Assistant: Miranda Orich
Intern: Jimmy Armentrout

Making-Of Camera: Diane Griffin, Kim Webster, Eric Sullivan

Post Production
Audio Post-Production: Berkeley Sound Artists: James LeBrecht, Patti Tauscher, Dan Olmsted, Alex Wilmer, April Rodriguez, Jamie Branquinho
Post Sound Effects: Elijah Lajmer, Babe and Rick
Video Post Production: CaptionMax, Spy Post, Video Arts
Motion Graphics Designer: Jeremy Martin
Motion Graphics/Transition Animation: Frank Salvato
Consulting Colorist: Heather Lyon Weaver
Music Supervisor: Kim Webster
Attorneys: Richard Lee, Daniel Riviera
Accountant: Patel and Associates, Oakland
Book-Keepers: Lindy Steele, Kim Webster
Insurance: Chuck Whelan Insurance
Publicity: Tara Gill, Alison Huetter, Heidi Kearsley

Location Appreciation
Z-Space Studios, San Francisco
HFH Ltd., Emeryville
Every Dog Has its Day Care, Emeryville
Anderson Motors, Alameda
KPIX/CBS 5 Studio, San Francisco
Absinthe, San Francisco
The Old Dairy, London
Gevertz Jewelry and Loan Company, Oakland
Grand Lake Theatre, Oakland

Toe-Tapping Music Cast

2009-10-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

You're Going to love the Music - and the People who've made it!

Original Score: Jon Herbst, Kensington, CA
Original Documentary Music: Ken Kearney, Berkeley, CA

Lawrence Blatt: “Standing in the Rain”

Dick Dale and His Del-Tones: “Night Rider”

Andrew Edlen and Steve Edlen: “St. Patrick’s Day”, “Tell Me Ma” with Louise Moore

Jon Herbst, Coventry Studios: “Family Fun/Old Home Movies”, “Country”, “Back Porch”

Ken Kearney: “Bubba Risks It”, “King Surfs!”, “Experiment in E flat”, “Dr. Dog”, “Good-Bye Gabby”

Dessie Kelliher: “O Deas, Paddy Fahys”

Jim Kimo West: “Popoke Lolo”

Kitka Womens Vocal Ensemble: “Pol Polju”, “Shen Khar Venakhi”

Laurie Lewis: “Hills of My Home”, “The Maple’s Lament”

Bobby Mc Ferrin Jr: “Baby”

The Mighty Chiplings: “Blackberry Blossom”

Outback (Graham Wiggins and Martin Cradick): “Cuban Connections”

Sam Paglia: “Sweet Lavalamp”, “Strip Tease Organ”

Sharon Shannon: “Blackbird”

Leonard Shaw: “Experiment in E flat”

Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quintet: “Old Timey Dance Party/Kangding Qingge”

Western Aerial: “Whores and Housewives”

Andre Williams with The Diplomats of Solid Sound: “Thunder Thighs”

Sarah Wilson, Sasstone Music: “Fiddle at Macy’s”

Zydeco Flames (Lloyd Meadows, Bruce Gordon): “Zydeco Sont Pas Sale”

Next: Film Production Snapshots…

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2009-10-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

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Update October 3, 2009

2009-10-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

A Note of Encouragement

This came to us yesterday from Joanne Ritter, Director of Marketing at Guide Dogs for the Blind:

"Barry -- I finally had a chance to watch Sniff last night, and I was thoroughly charmed. Kudos to you, Kim and the gang. Very creative, funny, and poignant. I believe it will be successful. Nice job!"

Barry's been walking on air ... even while sitting at the computer.

2009-10-03T01:31:00.000-07:00

On Partnership Dec '09
Made for Guide Dogs for the Blind

Update October 1, 2009

2009-10-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

Counting Down!

Barry and I came up with a song this morning called "not enough hours in the moment" following a just-waking-up discussion of a new script for the trailer and wondering how we’re going to organize the massive number of credits.

Jim LeBrecht, our sound mixer, asked us to get some audio of a skateboard for our story of Oggie. Our neighbour Elijah Lajmer was happy to oblige. Here he is, flying through the air while Barry chats to Joe in the background:

We’ve hired Caption Max at work on doing a descriptive audio track so that blind audiences can enjoy their home DVDs. They’re also working on closed captioning. We want everyone to be able to enjoy Sniff!

Late last night Motion Graphics Designer Jeremy Martin delivered a great animation to accompany Dr. Ian Dunbar’s description of who chooses the mate, the male or the female?

Joe Lachoff is making great strides organizing our website affiliate marketing program and preparing for DVD and ticket sales through our site.

We’re having a “Community Gala” screening at the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on November 5 at 6:30 and 9:00 pm. We'll also have screenings at the Smith Rafael Film Center on November 7 and December 12 at 4:15 pm. Kitka might even perform at the gala!

Signature release copies of the DVD (with a few “extras”) will be available after each screening. Be there, or be square.

All Sniff systems are go!

P.S. This just in … Gus the Bird Herder, one of our star dogs, is featured in a new magazine Coastal Canine. He’s evidently multi-talented!

Update September 4, 2009

2009-10-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

Galloping

My friend Tara Gill (fellow gardener, fellow artist and stills photographer for Sniff) sent me a new word from Merriam Webster’s dictionary: “Tantivy” – a noun meaning “a rapid gallop” or “an impetuous rush”. Why, you might ask, did she think to send me this? Here goes…

In the last month, we have locked the picture and thanks to Berkeley Sound Artists Jim LeBrecht and his team, the sound elements are being smoothed-out. Composer

Jon Herbst is making wonderful transition music.

I’m clearing music rights for music by Laurie Lewis, Bobby McFerrin, Dick Dale, Sharon Shannon, Outback (with Martin Cradick now of Baka Beyond and Graham Wiggins now Dr. Didg), Kitka, Zydeco Flames, etc., etc. Our dog stories are delightful and the music rocks! But so much is involved in getting it all together, jeesh!

Barry is using the One-to One tutoring classes at Apple to create some wacky transitions between scenes using Final Cut Pro.

We met local musicians Andrew and Steve Edlen who are going to record a piece specially for our Search Dog story. They came to our place and over my home-made rhubarb crisp (starve a fever, feed a musician), we watched some of our out-takes, just for fun. The Edlens single-handedly rescued our surf dog montage set to Dick Dale’s “Night Rider” from the cutting room floor, with shouts of “Are you crazy? You can not cut this!”

So, having re-established our sanity, with a little help from our friends, the surfing dogs are back in, and we can tap our toes to “Night Rider” (if I can get the license finalized, of course).