10.15.2022 –
The Goetia Diaries is now available on streaming platform, Tubi!
8.10.2022 –
The film was submitted to a distribution service (Filmhub) on 7/20. A couple of platforms (Amazon Prime Direct and Mometu) have selected it, but we are still waiting on the assets to be delivered to the channels. There is still a chance that the platform may reject it, but generally once a platform/channel selects a film and it is delivered by the distribution service (the middle man), it can show up on the platform within 2-12 weeks.
We are getting a bulk order of Blu-rays made for physical media collectors. We should have those in hand and be able to ship them out this month.
I have written 30 pages towards a 2nd feature length film script, which will be about the fetish/BDSM scene. My goal is to finish a draft by Sept. 1st.
7.20.2022 –
The Goetia Diaries has finally been submitted for distribution. It only took 3 1/2 days to upload the half a terabyte movie file and fill out all the information.
Wish us luck on a smooth distribution process!
7.17.2022 –
We began the process of uploading The Goetia Diaries to a distribution platform yesterday. It will take about 3+ days to upload the 485GB file. Once we get through the quality control check process, we will hopefully see the film available on streaming platforms soon.
I have learned a lot about all the steps (Pre-Production, Filming, Post-Production, and Distribution) of film production while making this movie. I definitely can see how 1 film can eat up years. It’s a long process, but we are close to the finish line.
5.13.2022 –
I started working on a final cut for The Goetia Diaries on Friday, the 13th, which is an important date in the occult community ( On Friday, October 13, 1307, French king Philip IV rounded up the Knights Templar and burned them at the stake).
One of the biggest lessons I have learned now that I have finished shooting a movie and I’m in the process of editing the film is… the need to place the external microphone on a stand and not a boom pole, as it is a very time consuming process to remove handling noise, which Jack Mallein warned me about.
I had a 1 hour phone call with filmmaker Matt Poitras last week and he detailed his history of working with and being burned by distributors on his first films. This is another reason why I have decided to just release and market the film myself.
4.29.2022 –
We released the teaser trailer to The Goetia Diaries on YouTube on April 18th, 2022 and we have received 1.1k views so far. Our new plan to try to release the film on streaming platforms on August 2nd, 2022.
4.14.2022 –
I have reached the end of an Assembly Cut of The Goetia Diaries and I’m glad to say that the run time is around 93 minutes. A film has to be a certain length to qualify as being an actual feature length movie. Next up is sound design and color correction and producing a final cut. Right now the goal is to self distribute the film in the Fall (September or October) as I have heard too many horror stories about film distributors.
3.26.2022 –
I was on a Zoom call earlier this week with an actor/horror movie producer/editor named Jordan (he produced House of Demons), and he gave me a lot of good insight on the distribution process and what to watch out for and some strategies and lessons he learned (having a closed caption file ready to go is important!).
The current goal is to have a rough cut done by May 1st. Then from May-August 1st: we clean it up and add a final sound design mix & score.
3.14.2022 –
After 8 months of pre-production and 8 months of shooting, we have finally wrapped filming on The Goetia Diaries. A feature length found footage-style horror film with Go-Pro style POV shots mixed in for a more personal experience for the viewer. After the funds from our successful Kickstarter campaign were used up, our budget increased, but we have stayed under 10k for this project. We definitely went for practical effects (Paranormal Activity-style) for the creepier moments in the film.
Post-production now begins with the goal to have an edit ready by August 1st, or sooner, which we will then submit to distributors or just self-distribute.
I definitely learned a lot making this film and I will keep my notes in mind for the next project, which will probably be more cinematic (not found footage). I hope that that this film will open some doors and lead to more opportunities.
A long time ago people said I couldn’t do a magazine, because it would be too hard and cost too much, and I started a magazine called Sinical Magazine. Several people said it would be too hard to make a movie and cost too much, and now (good or bad) I have made a movie (with a lot of support and backing from friends and family). If you want to do something, you just have to do it. Don’t wait on anyone… just make it happen.
2.13.2022 –
We are 86% done with principle photography on The Goetia Diaries with 31 out of 36 scenes shot. We shot POV-style ritual scenes with a GoPro-style camera (attached to Jay’s head) which will showcase a more personal experience of ritual magick. We hope to finish filming in early March.
12.13.2021 –
We shot 3 more scenes on 12/11/2021 – 12/12/2021 and we are now at 69% completion with principle photography. I’m definitely learning that making a full length film with virtually no crew is very difficult and it is about making compromises and it doesn’t leave much time to focus on the actors (and give them notes) when I’m trying to keep track of all the technical stuff, such as making sure everything is recording and recording at the right settings. I may start the day wanting to shoot 3-4 scenes, but may only end up with enough time to shoot 2, so which 2 scenes will it be?
The good news is that there’s only about 10-11 scenes (spooky/creepy stuff) left to shoot and most of them will be shot at the same location with a much more controlled atmosphere.
Also, I’m getting a lot of helpful advice from other filmmakers about what the next step will be after post-production as far as film festivals and trying to find a distributor or self distributing a movie, but that step is still months away.
12.6.2021 –
We will resume shooting this Saturday and we are at 60% completion with principle photography with only 6 days of shooting left to go. Our deadline has escalated and our goal is to be done with filming by January 7th, 2022.
11.15.2021 –
We finished another day of filming yesterday. Jessica Anderson was kind enough to let us shoot at the Thorn and Moon shop in Houston. The scene involved a tarot card reading given by Janie Black (Brittany Stygion) to Richard Deakin (Jay Short).
10.25.2021 –
We finished another day of filming yesterday and wrapped up scenes with J.D. Stanley and shot more footage for the opening credit sequence. We are now at 50% completion with principle photography.
10.9.2021 –
We shot 4 more scenes on October 9th and we are about 44% done with principle photography. There is a film festival in Houston that we would like to submit our film for. The deadline is March 31st, 2022 (late deadline is April 30th). We are going to do our best to try and make that deadline. Jack Mallein has been editing early footage and is working on a rough cut as I simultaneously shoot new material. The next things we have planned to shoot are more of the occultist/scary moments (we hope) for the film.
I also wanted to mention that we’ve received a lot of supportive of messages from people who practice the Goetia and other forms of magick. There definitely seems to be an audience who is interested in this subject matter.
9.26.2021 –
We shot 4 scenes yesterday and we are now at 30% completion with principle photography. The goal is still to have all filming done by February 2022. I’m hoping that we will be able to submit The Goetia Diaries to several film festivals for the Summer or Fall of 2022, as we look for a film distributor.
9.19.2021 –
Official Movie Poster for The Goetia Diaries. Designed by http://cbergdesigns.com/
8.16.2021 –
We wrapped our 3rd full day of filming last night. We shot 3 scenes that involve Richard Deakin (played by Jay Short) and his vlogging channel, East to West. We will begin to shoot some exterior scenes on our next shooting day.
Also, in other news… after reviewing several audition clips, we have decided on casting Austin-based, Bane Jane, for the part of a seductress/occultist in the film. We are looking forward to shooting her scenes for the film.
7.18.2021 –
We wrapped day 2 of filming. Scenes that involve Richard Deakin (played by Jay Short) and his friend in the film, Alan Zimmer (played by JD Stanley). Also, a solo scene where Deakin talks to his Vlogging channel audience about his interest in Aleister Crowley and his plans for his latest project, The Goetia Diaries. I’ve been pretty happy with the raw footage I’ve seen coming out of the Lumix S5 camera.
6.29.2021 –
Our Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded! I’m very grateful that to have backers and the support we have on this project. We will be launching a web site for The Goetia Diaries in a few months and will be crediting our backers on the website.
We officially started shooting on 6/27/2021 with an interview scene between the main character, Richard Deakin (played by Jay Short), and an occultist, Trevor Mane, he is interviewing for his YouTube channel: East to West. Paul Fredric is playing one of the occultists and is a published author, podcaster, and musician, and is respected in the occultic community.
We shot the scene with a Lumix S5 full-frame mirrorless camera with a Sigma 24-70mm zoom lens and some handheld footage with a DJI Osmo Action Camera. Joe Schafer plays a character that introduces Richard Deakin to Trevor Mane. Joel also assisted with boom pole assisstance.
We have a couple more shoots planned for the month of July. There’s 37 scenes in the script and it will take several months to complete filming. Stay tuned for updates.
5.8.2021 –
We did a rehearsal shoot with JD Stanley. He is playing Alan Zimmer, a friend of the main protagonist, Richard Deakin. He has three scenes in the script. His character warns Deakin about what he’s getting involved with when working with something like the Goetia. The shoot went well, but we definitely need to re-work some of the dialogue.
The Kickstarter campaign is at 35% with 20 days to go. I’ve reached out to several people who have produced occult and Goetia related items and used Kickstarter to help raise funds. The best advice I have reached so far is that the content will have some people running, but you have to “be as bold outside as you feel inside” and to be “fearless” when trying to execute a project I believe in. There is a huge audience out there for occult media.
4.30.2021 –
We have revealed the title of our movie: The Goetia Diaries. And today was the 1st day of our 30 day Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. You can see more details and pledge here.
4.26.2021 –
Kickstarter approved our crowdfunding campaign! We will be launching our campaign on Saturday, May 1st, 2021. This is campaign is to raise additional funds for production costs.
4.17.2021 –
Today we shot some rehearsal footage. Adea Love came over to our place to shoot her monologue. She discusses the dissapearance of her fiancee and warns the viewer that they are about to see scenes of rituals that involve demon summonings and demonic sigils.
I used LED lights covered with paper lanterns I bought from IKEA, but the lighting was too dark, so we ditched the lanterns after a bit. I learned this technique from watching David Sandberg’s YouTube channel: PonySmasher, where he discusses various filmmaking techniques that can be done on the cheap. His story is very inspirational. He made several horror shorts with his wife and uploaded them to YouTube and Vimeo. He shot them with a Black Magic Cinema Camera (I need to get one of these!) He was eventually hired to adapt one of his shorts into a full length movie and is has gone on to direct movies like Annabelle: Creation and Shazam!
We shot about 16 takes. Brittany assisted with the sound and held up the boom pole. I made it out of a Long Arm painter’s stick I bought at Home Dept and a Zoom H1n microphone adapter (another Sandberg tip). Adea Love did really good and I feel that we are off to a good start.
4.11.2021 –
I met Cyrus for brunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in Houston. He was thirty minutes late due to a fixing his girlfriend’s flat tire, having to wash up, then head over to our meeting spot. He is playing one of the main characters in the movie. A an occultist who practices black magick.
We discussed the script, his character, magick, and getting out of the rat race. It was a very productive meeting. I had some concern’s about Cyrus’s committment, but after our meeting, I feel that we are on the same page and on track.
After talking it out, we have a better feel for what his character should be like. I also have a better idea of how to strip down the descriptions of the ritual scenes so that they are more cinematic. I’ll be doing some script revising.
3.6.2021 –
On 3.6.2021, we started production (scriptwriting/pre-production started on 11.6.2020) on a feature lenth horror film project about the occult. The working title is The Invocation. We are keeping the actual title hidden for now until we get closer to the release of the film. We plan to shop the film to several horror film distributors and streaming platforms once the film has been completed. This film will feature: Jay Short, Cyrus Faircloth, Adea Love, J.D. Stanley, Paul Fredric, Dana Dark, Michael W. Ford, and Brittany Stygion, among others. It will be edited by Jack Mallein and it is being produced by Sinical Enterprises and Scratch Space Studios. It has been a 20 year plus goal of mine to make a feature length film, so I’m very happy and excited to be working on this film project.
Come back to this page often for updates. ~ Danny Stygion
