The Original Battle Royal Ending
The final faceoff was scripted atop a gritty parking garage.
Concrete pillars.
A sea of battered cars blasting lights pointing in unison.
Otto steps out. His crew lines up behind him.
Steel barrels flash in their hands.
“The Man in the Mask” emerges from the darkness with bare knuckles.
The plan failed.
We could not lock down a location.
Co-director Christopher Kuiper and I scoured through Milwaukee’s parking garages. The scouting was fun. The dead end denials were not.
Parking garage attendants were polite.
Managers shot us with crooked eye blank stares.
We left a trail of voicemails in our path.
Even with our best manners, all we got was silence.
Our film INDEFINITE hit a dead end.
Luck in the Shadows
After days of grinding through the city streets the smoke cleared. We lucked out. Dodging that location idea was the best move we never planned.
We planned to run dark on set. We lacked enough punch to power film lights in the night.
The uproar of the city soundscape would wreck the film. No control. Booming sires. Loud echoes. The toughest nemesis is the howling wind rolling across the rooftop.
And forget about bathroom breaks. Where would we go? We could be blocks away from the nearest “open” facility. This is a night shoot on a student budget. There is no trailer.
New Location – “The Office”
A friend answered the call. He offered his hard-edged hydraulic car lift shop. The final battle scene now has a rugged grease-stained factory vibe.
Otto’s “office” was forged with rusty metal, cracked concrete floors, and the echo of grinding machinery.
The location was centralized for most of the cast and crew to travel without a hassle.
“The Office” was hands-down my top pick to fuel the story. The place oozed character.
Trucks growl in the yard.
Battered equipment stacked high.
A blistering garage to capture “The Man in the Mask”.
Finally, a chain-link fence wrapping it all up.
The hydraulic shop was better than anything I could have dreamed up.
Location scouting images below of “The Office” garage.
Setting Up The Yard
We parked the company trucks in the yard for their tough looks and to throw light into the scene. The rigs boxed in the space. The trap was set for “The Man in the Mask.” He was caged to battle Otto’s crew.
A few extra lights were clamped to the rooftops. The beams of light blasted away the darkness of the building’s edge.
I wish we ran a test lighting day in the yard. We should have dialed down the light. Fewer lights and smaller rigs clamped to the buildings would be better.
We needed more shadows crawling across the concrete.
The fights were too bright. Mystery needed to fill in the voids of each punch and kick.
Below is an image of the fight choreography planning stage in front of the garage entrance.
Below is an image of the van staging area before filming.
The stage is set.
The battle begins when the chain linked gate shuts behind “The Man in the Mask”.
P.S. We closed the fence by hand off screen. It felt right in the moment to “motorize” the fence.
For a deep dive into “The Office” battle royal, check out the full blog here. ➜ Fight Choreography Analysis
Setting Up The Garage
Inside the garage the van is parked dead center for the showdown.
“The Man in the Mask” crashes in to square off with Otto.
Ka-pow!
“The Man in the Mask” is down.
A shockwave rips through the story. “The Man in the Mask” is revealed.
In the garage steel beams crisscrossed overhead. A rough grid provided the perfect spots to rig up lights.
The scene was covered in raw energy. The actors’ faces were carved with sharp colors.
We crafted a truly evil boss layer.
More Office Scenes
We rolled in with just two scenes locked and loaded. With more time, the script would be overhauled to showcase more of Otto’s office.
The location had more cinematic gold waiting to get caught on camera. Other buildings and untapped corridors were not captured in the making of INDEFINITE.
That place was begging for bigger gritty moments. Add screen time for Otto. Build a backstory about the mysterious orange vials. Most of all, show the driving force that splits Otto and Jonas.
The extra scenes would hit as flashbacks to punch up the story. They would cut into the twisted melee of “The Man in the Mask” running for his life in the neighborhood.
Our kitchen scene fell flat on the page. Filming more stories at “The Office” would save it.
Overall “The Office” Rocked
“The Office” was a hard-hitting win.
No budget.
Zero pro fighters.
A scrappy crew running on pure adrenaline.
We tore it up in one night.
I was stoked and proud of what we pulled off in that place.
I salute everyone who rolled in for production that night. You brought the spark to fire up the final scenes of INDEFINITE.
Big thanks to the property owners for letting us turn their place into our concrete battle for one unforgettable night.