Mars On Mars Productions is an independent, micro-budget, production company. We are focused on creating character-based comedies and dramas, and are located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

We can be reached by email at: marsonmars@gmail.com

For exclusive content, updates, production notes and more, visit us elsewhere on the web:

We’re also producing a new series called The Seventh Art. The Canadian Film-centric ‘video magazine’ features long-form interviews with Canadian filmmakers. We shot one with Academy Award-winning animator Chris Landreth at the end of last month and are shooting an interview with the exceptionally talented Guy Maddin tomorrow. The first episode of that series should be released very early next year. Keep an eye out for updates!

Additionally I’ve been making some changes to the EILS website, transitioning it to be about the upcoming web series as opposed to the pilot we shot last year. As our new series moves forward, those changes will continue, so we will be perpetually ‘under construction’ – my apologies if you encounter any issues. I hope to post detailed blogs about the development of this project with some other cool content as well, so keep an eye out for that.

PM

We originally began development on Everyday Is Like Sunday over two years ago. In fact, it was the premise of EILS that spawned our 2009 web series “Ten Sundays” as well as the 3-minute demo trailer we produced for Everyday Is Like Sunday later in 2009. Needless to say, this pilot has been a long time coming. Check it out, let us know what you think, and hopefully with your help we can get this series on Canadian television screens soon!

With that said, I do feel pretty pleased with the final result. There are some minor technical issues present but to be honest I’m not bothered by them at all (though I’m sure that won’t be the case with some others). I wish I had framed a couple of shots differently, but again it’s nothing that will keep me up at night.

We wrote this pilot last April and I had no intention of filming it on my own, but eventually decided that this was the direction I had to go in if the project was going to move forward in any way. I knew there would be technical limitations, not just the result of non-existent funding, or using some consumer-grade equipment, but from mistakes made as well, both on my part and the part of the non-professional crew. Speaking of the crew, it was comprised entirely of friends or friends-of-friends, with the vast majority of whom having no experience whatsoever nor any desire to pursue a career in film. Taking that into consideration, I think the final product we’ve come up with is nothing short of a miracle and should serve as some form of inspiration for other self-educated filmmakers who may not have the ability to put together a well-trained crew- you can go a long way with good friends who are willing to go to bat for you every now and then.

So if I knew that there would be unavoidable issues, why did I move ahead with this project in the first place? Why not wait longer, try to put together some money and hire a crew to ensure for more production time/utilize proper lighting setups etc.? Well ultimately, this is just a pilot. It’s intended to showcase the writing, the characters, the premise and the general vision I have for this series moving forward. If we’re lucky enough to proceed with it in any official capacity, it’s my plan that we’d re-shoot the pilot with a proper budget to put together something a little more slick (though still generally maintaining the aesthetic we’ve already established).

The pilot has been largely finished for the last two weeks, and in that time I’ve been previewing it for various people to get a general idea of what to expect when it’s officially released. Not surprisingly, the opinions have varied drastically. Some people take issue with the acting, others think it’s great- some take issue with the writing, others think it’s a strength. These are all opinions from people I know and respect, and I suppose the lesson from this is that I can’t get hung up on the response that we receive (and as the opinions come flowing in, I’ll be doing my best to keep my mouth shut). I know I certainly have no issues whatsoever with the acting- there were some rocky line readings and some stilted writing, but I feel that I was able to work around that and address those issues in the editing- to the point where the finished product that’s going to hit the web in about an hour, is something I’m very, very satisfied with. I suppose at the end of all this, that’s all I can really ask for.

- Pavan
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If you’re curious about the production, there is an on-set documentary viewable on Facebook. Things went very well. We held a brief rehearsal the night before filming to give everyone a chance to get on the same page, which proved to be beneficial. We had 25 pages to shoot on our production day, which is just a ridiculous amount, but all the actors were prepared and although it was a long and exhausting day, things generally went very smoothly.

We had a scene on a dance floor that required extras. Of course on our budget, we weren’t able to pay them, which made procuring extras very difficult (especially on the weekend before Christmas). We had 17 people confirm attendance as recently as the day prior to filming. I fully expected less than half to show up and I was right, we had 3 people actually come through (one of whom may or may not have been pulled off the street, I’m not sure on the specifics). This could’ve been disastrous but we ended up changing the context and purpose of the scene that we required the extras for, and it actually ended up working out for the better and probably comprises my favourite scene of the episode.

That said, some of our other bar scenes are sorely lacking extras, despite some manipulation to the audio the place looks awfully bare, but that’s just something we have to accept when you embark on a project like this. We had a crew of about 14 people and just about every one of them appear on-camera as an extra at some point. Speaking of the crew, unlike past projects, the entire crew was comprised of either friends or friends of friends, the vast majority of whom have no experience outside of my previous projects (or any professional aspirations in this field). Amazingly, working with a non-professional crew was not a liability at all. We had four locations to hit in one day, all the moves went great and we were either right on time or even early in relation to our schedule.

The trailer for the pilot has been posted online for about a week. I haven’t been promoting it very hard, focusing instead on the editing and planning on ramping that up once the final cut is locked. The response to the trailer has been mixed, which is what I expected. Some people seem to be excited, which is great, but others can’t seem to either get over the technical aspect of it or understand why they would want to watch a show that aspires to be about “real life”. That said, I’m more than confident that we do have an audience out there, and it’s just a matter of finding them that’s the hard part.

I’ll get into the intentions behind making this pilot (and with essentially no money) and my thoughts on the finished product in the next blog, which in all likelihood will come shortly before the episode’s online debut.

Happy new year,
Pavan
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Please help us get the word out and share, share, share! Thank you!

We shoot this Saturday, and will have a full rehearsal on Friday. Pretty much everything is set from a technical perspective, just confirming final details and ensuring we have enough extras.

We’ll be aiming to shoot 25 pages in about 10-11 hours. That is definitely a torrid pace, which will be made possible by the fact that we’re shooting with two cameras, almost all practical lighting and I’ve already storyboarded and floor-planned every shot. Hopefully the actors will have all their lines down and we don’t have any major location-related delays.

The scope of the production is pretty big, especially for a single-day production: 4 locations, 9 actors, 10 crew, 17 extras- there’s definitely potential for things to go terribly wrong, but if we’re able to pull this off it will be one hell of an accomplishment.

Stray Observations:
– I bought a slate on eBay coming from Hong Kong, hoping it arrives in time. Will probably end up using a white board instead.

– People don’t really read mass emails. Especially if they consist of a lot of bold and underlined text.

– I hope the 24-70mm, 2.8 Canon L lens is as good in low-light as I remember it being.

– Class 6 SD cards really aren’t fast enough for the T2i like everybody says they are.

– Self-deprecation is not the greatest personality trait for a director (suppress it!).

My next entry will be after filming has wrapped. Follow along on Twitter for more frequent updates.

- Pavan
Twitter | Facebook | On YouTube