All dates posted are the anticipated film submission deadlines. We’ll soon be posting more comprehensive information (i.e. festival websites, early submission dates, prices, festival location and submission costs).

Scroll to January 2011 to take a sneak peak at the calendar.

Casting for the role of our protagonist’s wife, Ana, was one of our biggest concerns because her character requires an actor who’s comfortable going deep and exploring the themes of manipulation, control and the possibilities of love.

Ana needs to have a particular thirst for life. A thirst that she uncompromisingly pursues. We want to see the poetry in her actions, relationships and behaviour. Someone who’s aware of the microscopic details of life. Someone who doesn’t simply exist in a functional sense of the word, but instead is aware of the patterns of the moon, psychological effects of color, the importance of romantic bliss, uncompromising love (or at least the pursuit towards this emotional potential). She’s an adventure seeker and someone who’s in love with the potential of the world.

Distortion of Truth

We had a mountain of submissions for the role of Ana and we called in roughly 30 actors to audition for us. All of the actors did a great job but some of the actors were slightly too sentimental with the part. Jane Campion’s quote kept running through my mind warning me against the dangers of sentiment.

“I hate sentiment, which I believe is a distortion of truth”.

What we were looking for is a much more genuine belief in the character’s dilemma. We were not looking for a calibration of an emotional outcome, but instead we wanted to see a deeper understanding of the experiences of the character.

Many of the candidates had incredibly strong auditions, but in the end it was Erika Walter who captivated us. Erika embodies everything we’re looking for in our character of Ana. We need an actor who can be  booth cold and bohemian, warm and elegant, flawed and confused, calculated and smart and beautiful in a natural and honest way.

As an actor exploring our character of Ana you’d be forced to explore the darker sides of your personality. Not darker in the cartoonish sense of the word. For example, it might be emotionally less risky for an actor to play the role of a sex worker, a thief or a scoundrel because they will likely have no experience with those modes of living. Therefore it will inevitably lead the actor down a path to create something completely fictitious.

Of course, even when exploring such obviously fabricated characters an actor will still use emotional replacements which will allow them to draw on their own personal history to bring something unique to the character, but in the end they can still hide behind the fictitious mask of the character. Something obviously not real, which can potentially make the role a little safer in the emotional sense of the word.

Of course there is a substantial amount of character development and research that needs to go into the characters mentioned above, but the roles wouldn’t be intimidatingly personal. The actor when playing one of the roles mentioned above would likely be judged on how well they absorb information and present it on screen. Essentially, it’s an emotional research project. On the other hand, an actor playing a role that has some truth in their own character will be judged on how much of themselves they expose. Our character of Ana is a risky role to play because we’re not giving Erika a mask to hind behind.

However, I believe that his is what makes our script “actor friendly”. It’s full of subtext and is a story in that will be both challenging and unusual to navigate through. This gives actors a lot of room to breathe life into the script and make it their own. My strong guess is this will be one of the most magical elements of making this film – Seeing actors pour their hearts and experiences into their character and relationships.

Essentially, with our character Ana we were looking for someone who we sensed would be brave enough to take emotional risks, both by themselves and with the other actors. Brave enough to expose their darker side on screen. We all have this side to us, but most of us would rather keep it secret, work on suppressing it or at least minimizing it. To ask an actor to explore this part of their personality on a deep level and then show it to the world is a lot for us to ask. However, it was a challenge that Erika was up to.

Audition Process

After her initial audition we called Erika in for a callback and had her read with 5 potential characters for our protagonist of Liam. We wanted to see the dynamic between Erika and the other potential male leads. The day of callbacks went incredibly well and at the end of the day my strong suspicion was that it was Leif and Erika that should be matched together. They both have a slightly more bohemian and tender look. The type of couple that wouldn’t live in a modern condo downtown, but in a cozy little loft somewhere in a more artistic part of a city.

The most important thing for us was keeping the relationships believable. There are a lot of magical moments in our script but we want to have a firm footing in reality and this is the relationship where we will achieve that. We wanted our characters to have a strong creative, imaginative and adventurous slant to their personalities.

Erika  minored in Theater studies from St Mary’s College in Alberta and she’s taken acting classes at Shoreline Studios in Vancouver as well as audition classes with Ty Olsson. She’s worked or lived in Tokyo, Thailand, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macau, Paris, Milan and Rome to name only a few of the places.

What’s most impressive about Erika is her level of commitment to her craft. Seeing her work on her character backstory,  voice and relationships will undoubtedly prove advantageous.

Searching for a Cinematic Look

From the beginning of the audition process we knew we were looking for a couple that had a very cinematic look. It’s hard to accurately describe what that look is, but most film actors look very different than TV actors. On the one end of the spectrum you have the casting of arteur films which use hyper realistic actors to embody a generally hyper realistic world. On the other far end of the spectrum you have soap operas which use hyper unrealistic actors to portray a hyper unrealistic world. If I had to draw it out it would look something like this.

On the far right you have a focus on the physical in a very two dimensional way. It’s lowest common denominator. It’s a very sexualized sense of beauty. As we work our way left the sexualized component of the characters start being tamed. The characters start becoming a little more rough around the edges, more textured, conflicted, tortured and experienced. It’s this left end of the spectrum we we wanted to explore.

Erika falls within that spectrum beautifully. Of course, she’s a very pretty actress (just as Johnny Depp is a very handsome actor), but there is something interesting and poetic about their look and something richer about their personalities. Something that says “I’ve lived”.

Welcome aboard Erika!

Our Other Characters

1. Liam – Leif Nygaard
2. Young Liam – Coming soon
3. Ana – Erika Walter
4. Chunga – Coming soon
5. Marni – Coming soon
6. Jackson – Coming soon
7. Poldy – Coming soon
8. Giom – Coming soon
9. Paulo – Coming soon
10. Sara – Coming soon

For this part of the process I lay out the individual scenes on small cue cards in front of me and focus on making sure everything fits together well. This also gives me a chance to see a visual overview of how our story will unfold on a scene by scene basis. This also allows me an opportunity to see the film’s structure, pacing and placement of major dramatic beats. Of course it’s possible to find these story elements by reading the script, but I find this visual presentation helps me see the story more clearly.

This is our 7th month of script writing  and we’ve seen many changes along the way. Some of those changes have been dramatic and consequently we’ve lost some of our story’s logic along the way. Constructing a visual breakdown like this helps me realign our story so I know that there are no jarring scene transitions or errors in logic.

If you’re currently writing a script you’ll likely be using a software program that can create  digital cue cards for you. However, I personally feel that having physical cards in front of me helps me make changes much quicker and visualize my scenes more effectively. I’ve tried both approaches but I like the pen and paper approach much more.

A little while ago I found this place…

Life in Bosnia

When I recall my life in Bosnia the first thing that comes to my mind is Edgar Alan Poe’s verse: ¨All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream¨. To feel strongly about certain experiences in such a way they have to exist within realm of the past; distant enough so that we are not able to claim them as real or unreal. This, I would say, is a dream.

Therefore, Bosnia is a distant past, a dream that I purposefully don’t want to forget. Because forgetting it would mean, among many other things, ignoring a valuable writing resource. Living afterwards as a refugee in Slovenia, under different circumstances, going through challenging experiences, being compelled to see the world in a different way brought out many fears, opened the floodgates and allowed  confusion and conflicts to settle in. But it was here, for the first time, that I dared to think, and then write, about the relationship between now and then.

Obsession in symbols / Magic / Tarot Cards

Obsession with magic. I would not say I have one. Magic as a deceit or magic as a story about the magic of deceit. It would be very interesting, it would be magical, to write story about a person ( A fashion designer ala Karl Otto Lagerfeld lets say) who thinks he found an elixir of eternal life. He wants to live forever and thus perpetuate his stupidity, because it is usually those kind of people who don’t want to grow old and die (myself not excluded).

But then one day, just before he is about to drink his elixir he gets a letter from Count of St Germain dated from 1754. In this letter St Germain is expressing his desire to meet with Karl Otto and have a little chat with him. Eventually they do get together and then the story evolves.

When it comes to astrology and Tarot cards I still wouldn’t call it an obsession. In those I saw a tool for story telling. Why do people go to astrologer or Tarot reader? Why are people interested in reading a cup of coffee? Simply because… you want to hear a story in the form of the truth about yourself and others or lies about yourself or others; it depends how you look at it and how much you believe in all that.

What makes these things interesting is where are you looking for the story or the reflection of ourselves, of what we are and what we are not. In Astrology you are looking for the story in signs positioned in certain planets, houses and fields. In tarot you tell the story by deciphering various symbols depicted in the cards. In a coffee cup you are looking for shapes, lines and “accidentally” formed figures to help you tell the story. What makes it even more interesting for me is that their origins trace way back into a distant past. You see, it is all about past. That is why I could never be a Buddhist. Or is that so; because why teachings, whether conveyed orally or read in centuries’ old scriptures, if not to preserve them, if not to preserve the past. You see, it is all about now and then.

Biggest challenges

The biggest challenge is to recognize the chaos, to give a form to that chaos and then tell the story clearly.

Your writing process:

It would be the best If I could write in accordance to Kurosawa’s suggestion; `”One page a day and within one year you would have 365 pages.” But we both know that in our case that is not possible and so I have to write at least five or more pages a day or every second day.

I’ll usually go to places where there is a lot of distraction so that I can procrastinate my writing. But once I get into it I move to place where I will not be distracted.

Canon 5D Mark II vs. Canon 7D vs. Nikon D90

We’re planning on shooting with the Canon 5D Mark II as our primary camera becuase it has the largest sensor and it has better light sensitivity than the other two cameras. The Canon 5D has a full frame 24mm by 36mm sensor. This is about 24 times the size of a standard compact camera sensor. The Canon 5D’s sensor size is the same as a standard film camera frame and it is even larger than the RED camera’s 24.4mm x 13.7mm sensor.

The Nikon D90 on the other hand has a 16mm by 24mm sensor. This is still 11 times the area of the average compact camera’s imaging chip.

Sensor size is important to us becuase the larger the sensor, the better the camera will handle in low light environments. We plan on shooting many of our scenes at night which means we need a camera that is sensitive to light. If our primary camera’s sensor is too small the resulting image will suffer from having too much “noise” (which is the digital equivalent to “grain” in film).

You can also see that the Canon eos 5D Mark II has an ISO range from 100-6400 while the Nikon D90 only ranges from 200-3200. While it’s likely we won’t be shooting over 3200 ISO with the Canon 5D (as doing so you increase your chances of “noise”), it’s always nice to have the option.

All three cameras use CMOS sensors (instead of CCD’s) and all three camera’s have been criticized for this to varying degrees as well. One of the main criticisms of the CMOS sensor is that it produces a “jellocam” effect (also known as rolling shutter). What this means is that the image may warp slightly if there is too much movement in a shot (i.e. actor movements, dolly or jib shots etc).

This happens because the CMOS sensor (unlike the CCD sensor) doesn’t capture the entire image simultaneously, but instead captures the image from top to bottom. This means if there is too much movement in the frame, the image may “lag” causing a jello effect. Using a larger off-camera  monitor will help you identify when this problem does occur so you can re-take your shot if necessary.

However, we’ve shot quite a bit of footage with the Canon 5D and we’ve incorporated a lot of movement into our shots and have still not experienced a problem with the jello effect yet. The more expensive RED camera also uses the CMOS sensor but the jello effect doesn’t seem to be as big of a problem with this camera either. However, it has been cited as an issue with the Nikon D90.

The Nikon D90 is also criticized for its onboard microphone. The fact is, that all three cameras have terrible onboard microphones. The Nikon D90 has an 11khz mono track which is simply not compatible with professional broadcast standards, and with no auxiliary inputs for sound you’ll be forced to find some type of double system solution. On the Canon 5D Mark II we use an adapter call Beachtek which allows us to insert our XLR cables for our Sennheiser microphones.

But there are some major drawbacks to the D90 that are not found in the Canon 5D or 7D cameras. For instance the Nikon D90 has no  power zoom, no auto-focus and virtually no manual control over the camera’s shutter speed, aperture or ISO when in video mode.

The 5D (before the 2 most recent firmware updates) suffered from some of the same criticisms of the Nikon D90. However, Canon released 2 firmware updates. The first gave filmmakers more manual control over their settings in video mode and the second update allowed for 24p shooting. Therefore in our opinion, the Canon 5D is a much better first unit camera if your budget allows for it.

That being said, the Nikon D90 has a price tag under $1000 dollars while the Canon 5D costs over $3000 with lenses.  The price difference is dramatic and filmmakers should not let the technical limitations of the Nikon D90 deter them from undertaking both short film and feature film projects. The video quality the camera produces is still great for the price of the camera.

There are a series of great short films being shot on the Nikon D90. In fact some of the best short films I’ve seen have been shot on the Nikon D90. For example, I’m really drawn towards the aesthetics of the French film director Jean Julien Pous. He too seems heavily influenced by Chinese filmmakers as can be seen in his short film “Drifting Away” which was shot on the Nikon D90. Enjoy!

To watch another great project of his of his watch “Seeking You”

RELATED POSTS:

Screenplay writing
How to audition
Nikon D90 for filmmakers
Independent feature film
Feature film Canon EOS 5D Mark II

One of the ways we’re going to be doing this is by shooting our film on the Canon 5d Mark II and the Canon 7D. These two cameras offer exceptional image quality and both handle well in low light environments. Unlike other video cameras in their price range, they also allow for interchangeable lenses (including Nikon lenses if you have an adapter). And while the Canon 7D has always been able to shoot 24p (24 progressive frames / second) the Canon 5D could only shoot 30p which made the camera unattractive for shooting a feature length narrative film. However, recently the Canon 5D Mark II was updated with the ability to shoot 24p making it a realistic choice to shoot our film on.

We’ve used the 5D and the 7D to shoot various projects in the past with great results. As a filmmaker who loves shooting at night, the sensor size of the Canon 5D (with its full-frame 24×36mm CMOS sensor) is what attracted me to the camera in the first place. We recently shot a short film entitled “Mars to Jupiter” on the Canon 5D. As usual, we shot at night which allowed us to test the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor. There is a little bit of “noise” in some of the darker shots, because we used a slower telephoto lens, but the quality is still incredible and would be even stronger if we used faster lenses.

Now that the camera has been updated to shoot 24p our goal is to shoot another promotional short film for Lullaby for a Lunatic. This will allow us not only to do camera tests but it will also let us test our actors and allow us to see how a small segment of our story plays out on screen.

Even though the Canon 5D and Canon 7D are digital SLR’s they have, in many ways, surpassed the capabilities of traditional video cameras in this price range.

Before these cameras were released the HVX200 was the go-to camera for many independent filmmakers. The only problem with this camera is that it didn’t allow for interchangeable lenses without the additional of a depth of field adapter (such as Redrock, Letus or the Brevis Adapter).

That being said, independent films were being successfully shot on the HVX200. Two popular examples are the recent independent film Medicine for Melancholy and the Canadian feature by Charles Officer Nuse.Fighter.Boy.

As far as video cameras go, the HVX200 was able to give independent filmmakers the closest thing possible to the “film look” without having to shoot 16mm or 35mm.

However, with the introduction of the Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D  and Nikon’s D90, filmmakers are opting for a these cameras since they have both a larger sensor size  and don’t require a depth of field adapter, which in tern means they are not cutting as much light from hitting their camera’s sensor which in the end means better image quality.

Not only are these little cameras rivaling video cameras such as the HVX200, they are also rivaling more expensive cameras such as the RED ONE camera which was used to shoot films such as Steven Soderbergh’s “Che” (see below):

I haven’t heard of too many other independent feature films being made using the Canon 5D or 7D or Nikon D90 cameras. We hope to be one of the first teams to release an independent feature film that can showcase the camera’s cinematic capabilities.

Not very many feature films are out yet shot on the Canon 5D in large part because the firmware update for the 5D (which allowed it to shoot 24p) only happened in March. This means that most filmmakers wouldn’t have had the time since the update to shoot and edit a feature length project.

We don’t expect to be the first filmmakers to do it, but we won’t be far behind them!

RELATED POSTS:

Screenplay writing
How to audition
Nikon D90 for filmmakers
Independent feature film
Feature film Canon EOS 5D Mark II

At the heart of this project lays a story. It’s a story about love that we are all excited to tell using our individual talents. As auteurs, our primary focus is doing what we want to do and telling stories we want to tell. We don’t plan on changing this philosophy for our first feature film.

That being said, we know we need to develop an approach that will allow us to become sort of…. umm…populist auteurs.

If we plan on making this process sustainable, reaching an audience will be of paramount importance. We don’t want to drift into nothingness or get so burnt out and under-rewarded with this process that we never undertake another film project again. Therefore, this process involves having a strong team that is capable of both creating a film that is worth watching and then finding an audience to watch the film. This blog post will introduce you to some of our independent film strategies that will hopefully allow us to make this happen.

SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT

Igor Serdarevic is writing a script that rings true to his own experiences and ideas. We have no moral agenda with our story and we don’t want it to be full of the dogmatic undertones found in many independent films. Life is way more interesting and complex than that and we’re happy to leave the teaching of moral codes and standardizing behavior to churches and schools.

In fact, we all expect to feel uncomfortable with some of the ideas the film will explore as our characters travel through their world. If we don’t find the film at least slightly controversial and uncomfortable then why would we do it? Film should challenge the filmmakers and we should feel like we’re growing with the process. We have an opportunity to make ourselves feel uncomfortable, challenged, scared, uncertain and conflicted… we should use this as an opportunity to grow and experience a new world. So let’s experiment with shadows and bad behavior.

If you’ve watched Igor’s last two short films (Codependence and Mars to Jupiter) you’ll notice he embeds a strong sense of poetry in his writing. Those two short films called for a more poetic approach to complement the visuals and story.

However, this time he’s working within a more traditional narrative structure familiar to North American audiences. Lullaby for a Lunatic, will still be peppered with poetry, challenging and thought provoking elements but it will just fit more comfortably in the mould of western dramatic structure.

Igor is heavily influenced by some of the world’s best writers, theatre directors and filmmakers. In fact, he was forced to see a psychologist after his family, concerned that Igor had an unhealthy obsession with film,  found out he watched a 9 hour film at the cinema. His parents are, without a doubt, correct that he is unhealthily obsessed with books and film. But it’s this unhealthy obsession to storytelling that drew me towards his eccentric personality in the first place. If he was my son, I too would send him to a shrink… but he’s not my son, so his psychological hang ups are sort of an asset to me.

At a party last week, he was yelling at a few of us that the book Demian by  Hermann Hesse and the book Prophet by Kahil Gibran should be a mandatory readings in the curriculums of schools. We were all politely listening to his rant but he still felt the need to shout at us “In fact, it shouldn’t just be mandatory… it should be fucking LAW to teach our children about love”. As a side note, you should know that Igor doesn’t even have a child.

My job at this point is to act as a bridge between Damian and Igor ensuring that Igor isn’t falling prey to some of the criticisms of his heroes. Igor could easily fall into the trap, like Tarkovsky, Pasolini or Bergman of being criticized for being overly academic, dry and yes I hate to say it but…. boring. So my role at this point is to ensure that Igor feels confident marrying the pedantic concerns of Tarkovsky with Damian’s concern of creating commercial narrative cinema. It is my goal to have the film exist both in some remote library in Bosnia and in a neighborhood DVD store in Manhattan.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Speaking of commercial, narrative cinema it’s important that we enter into this process with an understanding of the current state of film production today. Generally speaking, in order to make something marketable to an international audience you generally need 2 things:

1. Big named actors
2. High production standards / Strong sense of design

This is why co-productions are currently seen as the only way to secure the budgets necessary to compete internationally. While there is nothing we can do about not having big named actors, or our small budget or the fact that we won’t be partnering with Switzerland anytime soon to get this film shot, there is something we can do about high levels of production design. We have a powerful weapon. His name is Timothy Hung (applause).

Designing our film is a huge concern of mine. I’ve been so fortunate to meet Tim, who will be one of the film’s designers. In a lot of ways Tim will be the films architect and philosopher. He will be responsible for each of the pixels you see on the screen. He will build the stage and help convince you that our world is real. As an audience member, when you look at the film and you “feel” something, that will largely be due to Tim’s ability to communicate mood and emotion.

Tim has a shockingly strong set of floor skills (i.e. he understands decoration, propping, makeup, hair, color, design, wardrobe etc) and he also knows how all of these pieces of the puzzle fit together. We’re taking a little bit from films, art, Hollywood, photographs, sexual experiences and conversations with our mothers (to name only a few sources of design inspiration) and we’re using it as a base to come up with an aesthetic approach to our film. We’re still in very early stages and much of what we decide will depend on a polished draft of our script, but we’ve started this process early for the sole purpose of allowing Tim to inspire us with his ideas.

There is a lot resting on Tim’s shoulders. He will also be working closely with me to help ensure we find the most design friendly locations for the film. Once we have our locations we’ll discuss props, wallpaper, lighting, lensing, storyboards, texture, color palettes, makeup, wardrobe etc.

Tim is the backbone of an ambitious project like this. He’s a genius eccentric with a lot of style and class all his own.

DIRECTORIAL CONCEPTS

I’ll be directing the feature film. It is my responsibility to maintain a consistent tone throughout the story. I need to look at our film in terms of its “moments” and I need to consider an assortment of things when I make decisions about each of these moments.

I need to ensure design complements the script, casting complements the story, locations are design friendly and that atmosphere and spectacle are all well thought out. I also need to make color choices, find locations, cast actors, dress actors, chase light, create light, experiment with subtext, work on blocking, find the emotional gut of a scene and think about how all of this fits together in some sort of cohesive manner.

Our story is off to a potent start and I’ve given Igor a smorgasbord of visual ideas that may or may not fit within the confines of the story in the hopes that it will allow me an opportunity for some directorial flourishes.

Our intention for our first feature is to work on a film that has it all: Story, character, style and attitude. We’re not only shooting for substance, but also a sense of style very rarely seen in independent film.

More than ever before I have confidence in my technical abilities. I have countless notebooks filled with technical and creative ideas for our film. This isn’t to say that I don’t have a lot to learn, I do. Or that I have made all of the necessary technical mistakes, I haven’t. But I have a growing pool of experience and inspiration that I will draw from.

I know this film will be shaped not only from my own experiences but also by some of my favorite filmmakers. Namely: Mathieu Kassovitz, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Andrei Tarkovsky, Pasolini, Wong Kar Wai, Park Chan Wook, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gaspar Noe, Werner Herzog, Roman Polanski to name only the filmmakers who’s names I know how to spell. These filmmakers are so articulate and exhaustive in the research of their films, that watching their films or reading their essays helps me better understand my own blind spots.

I also draw inspiration from books, music, photographs, paintings etc… I hope to respect these different influences but maintain the uniqueness of my own ideas. In the end my goal is to create a film more powerful than the sum of its parts. I want to find a way to incorporate this film into my existing body of work because I feel, for better or worse, like I am developing a style that is all my own. So far, the films I’ve worked on have been personal pieces that have allowed me to work out parts of my own identity.

It’s difficult at times to think about your story ideas not finding a home. Movies designed for mall audiences seem to be the only way to make your film projects sustainable. I know in large part audiences are responsible for the conservatism of film today and it’s this mall audience that allows and supports filmmakers to create a product that popcorn sales can piggyback off of. But filmmakers are also to blame because although they complain about having to tell fart jokes in their films to sell tickets… they do it… they don’t search for an audience they would be more interested in communicating with and they lazily rely on existing, conservative and safe models for distribution, which inevitably shapes their story ideas.

I hope that with this film we can introduce North American audiences to a style of filmmaking they are unfamiliar with but excited about while at the same time staying away from the styling standards so familiar to independent cinema: Poor control over lighting, poor camera placement, lack of story structure, two dimensional characters, lack of arc, cliché scenes, “on the nose” dialogue, miscast characters who are more the filmmaker’s best friends then they are actors and so on. Even just making a mistake with 1 of these seemingly technical elements will wipe your project into oblivion.  My obligation as the director, besides interpreting script and working with actors, is to make sure that doesn’t happen (With Damian’s help of course).

INDEPENDENT FILM DISTRIBUTION

You see, I also fall prey to the independent filmmaker cliché:  (use index finger to push my glasses up, then gently cup my chin with by thumb and index finger, and in a monotone English accent say) “my perception of the world differs from the Hollywood paradigm”.

But it’s this snobbish attitude towards Hollywood that ensures most independent films don’t have two legs to stand on. The truth of the matter is that Hollywood (most of the time: See Uma Thurman’s Motherhood: $131 opening weekend. haha) understands the mathematics and algorithms of creation and distribution and we as independent filmmakers have a lot that we can learn and borrow from them.

It then boils down to the process of picking and choosing which parts of the Hollywood system we find most attractive. While we, as independent filmmakers, almost unanimously agree that we feel confident forfeiting the car chases and Vin Diesel as our lead, we should learn something about the systemization of their production process, their care for professional crewing, their attention to detail, their aesthetic, their marketing template etc.

The point is… that it’s not all bad. It’s not all cleavage, shallow character archetypes and backlot studios with underdog protagonists named Tyson. There are lessons embedded in this institutional approach to filmmaking that independent filmmakers can learn from.

Fortunately for us, we have one such open minded, creative, professional thinker on our team: Enter Damian Kuehn (applause).

In order for us to achieve our goals we need to have an ambitious, professional producer with occasional kamikaze flare ups at the head of our ship. Damian Kuehn, has experience  working both within the institutional film world of the NFB (National Film Board), but also jumps off that ship to run wild in the realm of independent cinema now and again. The result is an individual with the professional standards of a studio executive but the bravery and naivety of a 16 year old who just got their first video camera and refuses to believe it’s all doom and gloom for us independent filmmakers. It’s a pretty rare combination and I can’t believe we’re lucky enough to have him as our captain.

Damian will be hero of this project if it takes off. While we’ll all feel like we’re fighting an uphill battle trying to accomplish such a daunting task with incredibly limited resources, Damian’s role is the role that quite simply may be impossible. While Tim, Igor and I will be able to create this film, It essentially falls on Damian’s lap to find an audience for the film. This is the area where virtually all independent films fail. They have such a weak production backbone that they have no idea what to do once the film is completed.

As the producer of Lullaby for a Lunatic Damian needs to constantly reinvent his job description, sometimes on the spot. Not only does he need to manage and shape his team and story (to ensure we create something he can find an audience for), but he also needs to think of new ways to tell stories, package the film and find an audience for the film. He also needs to ensure we don’t simply exist within our own little independent film bubble. His job is to implement self imposed checks and balances to ensure quality and high probability of financial success and therefore sustainability as independent filmmakers. This idea of sustainability is something that is very important to us. We can’t simply make this film and not have the steam or resources to make others in the future.

Therefore, our going-in position for this project is that we don’t want a distributor. Our plan will be a festival release as our theatrical release and then gorilla DIY distribution strategy. Damian and myself will spend an extra 12 months on the project, starting now, to find our own audience and develop our own marketing strategy.

Our reason for choosing this path is simple. Independent filmmakers are consistently on the loosing end of the stick when it comes to working with distributors. There are countless examples, but let’s look at the film “Ballast”.

Lance Hammer’s film was a Sundance sensation. The film won a prize at the prestigious Park City festival for both Best Director and Cinematography, but Lance pulled out of a deal with IFC Films in order to maintain the rights to his film since the offer, which was a normal offer (most offers currently range from $25,000 – $50,000), could barely cover the expenses for the film. Not only that, but the terms of the contract seemed “crazy” according to Lance who was referencing the part of the contract which would have him give away internet rights for 20 years. In an interview with indieWIRE Lace states:

“IFC is a really good company…The problem is the larger issue that’s plaguing every filmmaker right now: The distributors don’t really offer any money. That’s not that big of a deal if they would allow you to have control of your project, but they don’t.” Lance continues by saying: “Now that the film is done, I have to think responsibly because I want to have sustainability as a filmmaker. If Sundance is considered the acme of American festivals, and ‘Ballast’ was one of the films that was rated highly there, then it would be a total tragedy if I couldn’t make another film like it again.

It’s disheartening to know that independent filmmakers are having difficulties even just recouping the cost to make their films. Companies like IFC or mini-majors like Sony Classics, Fox Searchlight or Focus Features, are offering filmmakers back their cost (or less) for their advance in exchange for giving over virtually all creative control.

Not only that, but based on their purchases, your film could also be shelved, leaving your film to drown in obscurity. The little, if any, money you get in exchange for your film is simply not worth giving up DVD, TV and international release rights. Our goal, therefore, is to maintain ownership of our own film.

Our problem will then be “we’ll then how do we secure public awareness, ticket sales and DVD sales”?

In our opinion straight to DVD is better than oblivion and a DVD release doesn’t have anything to do with the caliber of film or the film’s prestige at all. The fact that films like Ballast had virtually no theatrical release yet films such as Hot Tub Time Machine is in virtually every theatre in town speaks to the falsehood of this perception that a theatre release has anything to do with good story telling. If it’s time to put our egos away and forego a traditional theatrical release, then we’re perfectly fine with that. We can use the festival circuit as a type of pseudo festival release and we’ll progress with VOD, DVD sales and art-house screenings from there.

We are not being reckless or defiant in our approach. Damian and I have been to countless production seminars where everyone is talking about the same thing. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) is searching for a new independent distribution strategy because the current strategy stopped working a short while ago.  Damian and I have an extensive document in the making which outlines our strategy in great detail.

This is why we’re starting our marketing efforts so early. We have started the process of audience building now (6 months before we even plan on shooting our film). You can sign up for a newsletter (see the sidebar above) to keep posted on the film’s progress, you can subscribe to our Youtube page, vimeo page or our brand new twitter page. We’re going to be open to sharing our experiences along the way. We’re not going to simply provide ambiguous, stock information about our production process. We want other filmmakers, who might be interested in doing the same thing, to learn from both our mistakes and victories. We’ll let you know how much money we spend, how much money we make and about the obstacles we encounter along the way.

But truth be told, we need your help starting now so come bookmark this blog or sign up for our newsletter, follow us on YouTube or feel free to contact us by commenting on our blog posts to just say “hi” or ask questions or let us know about your experiences with your own productions. We want to go through this process with you.

THE LAST WORD

Essentially what I’ve been trying to say for the last 6 pages can be boiled down to one sentence: What we lack in finances or resources we’ll make up for with sheer determination, willpower, talent and creativity.

To traditionalists we may not seem grounded enough in conventional filmmaking practices. We might even seem like bandits in the way we’re going about working outside conventional filmmaking boundaries. They may even be upset that I used the “f word” in this blog post. But for us, it’s about trying new approaches and inspiring each other to push ourselves and make each other better. In film, you’re nothing without your team. In the past when we set the bar high, even if it leads to disagreements or arguments, people respect our level of determination and ambition. Without a supportive strong team we’d be like a symphony conductor without the first violin.

This idea probably sounds barbaric to those engrained in the traditional film path… but here’s to hoping.

Our team and ideas are our most valuable assets. I can put this two ways. First, anyone who has read at least one book on film will be familiar with the stock quote “film is a collaborative art form”. However, I feel more attached to the Wu-Tang Lyrics“I got with a sick tight clique and went all out”. (1:12)

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Photograph by : Julia Kozlov

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Due to the nature of their relationship; a dependency is created which is shown by physical attachments, interconnectedness and weight sharing.

The film then explores two different scenarios. Once the codependency is created, both characters become vulnerable yet strong and work together to create something beautiful. The direction changes however when the stronger character abuses their power. The result is destruction, violence and self abuse.

We’ve also used this short as an opportunity to introduce audiences to parts of dancers that they don’t normally get an opportunity to see in a live performance. By moving the camera close to the dancers the the audience can see the dancer as human rather than a disconnected visual object. We’ve done this by showing the small details such as blinking, pulses, breathing, reaction and smaller body parts such as the spinal chord, neck, collar bone, ribs and wrists.

Starring: Caitlin Griffin, Danielle Gardner & Monique Constant

Enjoy.

While we’ve been busy casting & strategizing, the film’s writer, Igor Serdarevic has been working with, and being inspired by, the film’s designer; Timothy Hung to bring you what we hope will be not only a compelling and unusual story, but also a story backed by strong visuals and design.

Our goal is to create a film that treats the theme of love approached from a unique & imaginative angle.

By means of dreams and other symbols, which are important parts of our life, implemented in storytelling, image and sound, we will have our protagonist exploring two vastly different worlds in his quest to better understand himself and his environment.

Our protagonist; Liam, is laid off work and arrives home early one day to find his wife at home with her dance teacher Paulo. Liam begins to spiral out of control. Confused and quickly loosing a grip on his own sanity he chases Paulo down the corridor, where he is confronted with an image of himself in a hallway mirror. Our suspicions that something unreal is stirring is confirmed as Liam looks in the mirror, but the image does not mimic his own behaviour. It is at this point that we realize Liam has lost his mind.

As Liam descends into his subconscious he is greeted by the memory of a few of his childhood imaginary friends: A doctor named Poldy and a romantic interest; a girl-woman with false suicidal tendencies named Chunga.

Liam’s perception of reality is altered for the duration of the film as he sets off down a path of debauchery, to seek revenge against Paulo. During this degenerate, sometimes nasty, experience Liam becomes increasingly drawn towards his imaginary friend Chunga. Through the development of this relationship he comes to terms with what his wife did and he even has the opportunity to understand her position by being in a similar situation himself with his imaginary relationship to Chunga. He hopes in the end that his wife too, will forgive him for his own inability to control his emotions.

Here’s to creating cinema and misguided protagonists.

You can follow Damian’s (the film’s producer) on his film production blog to keep informed about the production process.

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