County's first production company begins filming

StandOff Studios was at the Lincoln County Courthouse Saturday, October 14, filming a comedy titled "The Devil and Dotty Pancake." Pictured in the commissioners' office are: (l-r) cameraman Todd Eastman; Rafael Garcia, actor and producer; Chris Marshall, director of photography; actress Cara Walters (holding the gun); and Dalton Harpe, director.

Although gunshots were heard coming from inside the Lincoln County Courthouse early Saturday, October 14, there was no need for alarm - the courthouse was simply doubling as a bank in StandOff Studios' production of a short film titled "The Devil and Dotty Pancake."

The staged robbery took place under the supervision of Lincolnton Police Chief Jim Justice.

Founded in June of 2006, StandOff Studios specializes in high definition (HD) filmmaking and currently has six projects in production.

Greg Ruddell, Sr., owner of Rocking R International, Inc., which is based in Lincoln County, serves as the president of StandOff Studios. Dalton Harpe of Augusta is the vice president and director of operations.

The company's top-of-the-line postproduction studio, with full HD broadcast capability, is overseen by editor and producer Rafael Garcia, who hails from Puerto Rico. The rest of the production team is comprised of freelance filmmakers, all drafted from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Written by Hamilton Craig of Brooklyn, New York, "The Devil and Dotty Pancake" is a comedy that tells the story of what happens when a small-town girl becomes consumed with jealousy of trophy wife Dotty Pancake.

The short film was produced by Ruddell and Garcia and directed by Harpe.

Although the history of StandOff Studios is brief, it is anything but dull.

In August, the StandOff team started shooting the feature film "12 Fluid Ounces."

According to Ruddell, "A 15-day shoot left us with only half of the movie in the can; however, that was the game plan. Since the film takes place on and around Christmas, we obviously could not shoot any exterior scenes in the middle of August. Instead, we will shoot these scenes when we start production again on December 2 and wrap on December 15."

Nevertheless, even on December 15, the film will not be entirely "in the can." Due to the movie's storyline, the three lead actors will each have to lose at least 20 pounds before the film can be completed.

"12 Fluid Ounces" will be released in the fall of 2007.

After filming wrapped on "12 Fluid Ounces" in August, the StandOff team then headed to CostaRica to shoot a reality show featuring deepsea fishing. Currently in post-production, the show is in line to debut this winter.

While in Costa Rica, StandOff Studios established itself as an international corporation named "Cara a Cara Estudios" (Face to Face Studios). The studio presently has a team of filmmakers/divers working on a year-long project to document the life cycle of sea turtles living in the ocean surrounding Costa Rica.

Closer to home, StandOff Studios has just completed two national commercial spots for Dish Network.

"We chose Lincolnton as the backdrop for both commercials because of the timeless look of the community and the friendliness of the people," said Ruddell.

One commercial was shot on location at the home of Dot Snider on May Avenue and the other was filmed at the Curry Colvin Recreation Complex. In fact, the film crew hired 56 local children and adults as extras - their job was to stage a soccer game at the complex for the commercial.

Plans are for the commercials to air in early November.

Within the next two months, StandOff Studios' new website will be up and running which will make it possible for local residents to keep up with what projects are currently being filmed in Lincoln County and the surrounding area and to view trailers from projects already completed by the production company. The address is .