Shooting the flashback on 16mm

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Evan Lieberman and I just returned from a quick weekend trip back to Bradenton, Florida to shoot the last scene for Stomp! Shout! Scream! It’s a flashback where John Patterson tells the story of when his parents went into the everglades to collect samples for their lab and disappeared. Their airboat was found adrift with the smell of the Skunk Ape on it and John has been chasing the creature ever since. The scene is only 6 or 7 shots, about 45 seconds in the film, but it’s pivotal in setting up John’s character. Evan and I have decided to shoot it on 16mm film, using the kind of film stock and cameras that were used in the early 1950’s, the era we’re flashing back to. We’ll shoot everything twice-with two cameras (a Bolex and a Bell & Howell) and two different kinds of film.






My best friend from high school, Rhett, helped out when production was in full swing back in October, cooking for the cast and crew. Now, he’s offered up his Dad’s back yard as our location, a canal off the Braden River, a perfect double for the everglades. And he found an airboat for us to use for the shoot, courtesy of his friend who I only know as "Hoss." Absolutely amazing. Rhett will play the Dad in the flashback. My mom is playing the mom. Playing John as a kid is Will Harrison, the 8-year-old son of family friends.

Evan and I shoot for an hour Saturday morning before the “cast” arrives-- beauty shots, swampy detail shots. We go out in Rhett’s dad’s bass boat and get some shots that glide just above the water’s edge. Will, Rhett, and my mom are all good as the flashback actors and we shoot lots of different set ups. At the end of the day, I put on the Skunk Ape outfit and traipse around the palmettos while Evan shoots from the boat. I don’t know where we’ll use it, but you can’t have enough Skunk Ape footage.

All totaled, we shoot about 20 minutes of film. We’re not sure what it’s going to look like, but that’s all part of the fun.

End of first week of shooting, 10/10/04

At the end of our first week of shooting, I can say, with out a doubt, this is the hardest thing I've ever done. I've been editing for 15 years and I do things a certain way. I get all my source materials right in front of me, figure out what the limits are to whatever I'm doing, and start making decisions based on all the parameters. Directing an indie feature film gives you plenty of limiting factors, but you also have endless options at the same time. I'm essentially trying to edit the film in my head, on set, on the fly. After a couple of hours of this, my brain in mush. Luckily I have people like Evan Lieberman, the D.P., Alex Orr, the Assistant Director, and Reagan Brandon, script supervisor, to help me out. They, along with a very talented, very hard working crew, are helping make a real feature film. We have shot almost every shot we've planned to shoot, which by all accounts is remarkable for an indie film, or any film. I have plenty of stories, but it's very late and I'm very tired. Here's pictures from our first week.