So we’re finally finished with all the tweaks, edits, and sound mix….it’s off to festivals. The film has a wonderful brand thanks to the talented Ms. Wright; the EPK is done and we’re ready to release it into the world.
Whew. (wipes sweat off brow) Thank you to all that made this film possible. Read more >>
Over the past few months, I’ve gotten a ton of questions about the process of making The Brave and the Kind. These questions have led me to reflect on my own experience that started back in January of 2008. Making a film in a year is considered lighting fast by industry standards, and it certainly has been a whirlwind and an absolutely amazing experience. I’ve taken the time to share the story of this process below, which should answer all of the questions you’ve all been asking. Thanks again for your support and interest in the project!
1) To start is to have the idea. I usually like to do research on subjects, talk about the idea with close friends and family…see their reaction to it. In some ways the idea for TBTK is almost the full realization that began with that first interview with my Grandpa, which subsequently ended up in the film. But in many ways, much has changed due to personal revisions and trusted feedback.
2) After the idea is planted, most people then go on to writing the script. This was my experience writing a feature length script… and it was anything but pleasant. I think there are some people who love to have it all come into focus on the written page. Having a game plan certainly helped make the film better, and for that I’m thankful. But for me, the filmmaking process itself ends up becoming a way for me to discover what the real story is about, and having it locked down word for word seems too constricting. If you ask me, there is a fine line between sticking closely to the script and improvising. When that balance is struck, amazing things happen.
3) Next comes pre-production. For The Brave and the Kind, planning was happening while the script was forming. Once we got the locations in the script locked down, we went out and made the schedule. Once the characters were finalized, we moved on to casting… and so on. Ethan and Emily were both great finds, and most of our other locations and cast fell into place. They did so because we were still flexible in our story. Would it have been as organic if we had a stone-tablet of a script? For a film like Iron Man it sure would have been a disaster. For a film like TBTK, the little moments are sometimes discovered in the chaos.
4) Production couldn’t have gone any better. The schedule held up for the most part. We had a stripped-down crew, with many people fulfilling multiple roles, but they all did an amazing job remaining flexible and getting the job done. It’s tough as a Director to also be the Costume Department, AD (at times), Continuity, etc… However, we didn’t need crowds of people standing around drinking coffee either. The few indie films I’ve worked on were always terribly overstaffed and wasteful. Read more >>
As post production winds down, and a new year approaches, I felt it would be good to take a moment and reflect on where this project was a year ago. It was just an outline and a fake trailer. One weekend while writing the script, I got the idea to make a fake trailer for the film to give IndiePix an idea of the mood and feel I wanted the film to have. Read more >>
The one film that started it all, is now posted up everywhere and on this site. “Fog” was a short film I shot in 2004 right out of college. We shot it in one weekend with all my friends from the Maine Workshops. (I worked there for 8 months right out of school.) It was shot with the Panasonic SDX-900 and was my first real experience with video as a possible substitute for film. Read more >>
I’ve found that when you make a film that most of your family and friends either know about or are starring in, you tend to hear the question, “How’s the film coming?” OR, my favorite… “You’re making a film or something….right”? It’s true. I am making a film and it is going good… I swear. I felt strange all last month; I felt a pain that constantly grew every time I was asked those questions. This pain/feeling grew until I was finally burnt out completely and had to take a four-day break. What was the pain? Longing. Read more >>
You know him as one of the guys who recorded the soundtrack. Now check out robs earlier work as a film student by clicking the link below.
what a sexy guy
Here I am sitting in Pete’s living room waiting for him and Rob to come record and I realized a few things. My current job is not a typical job. It doesn’t have the normal 9-5 day attached to it. It can be done from most anywhere including a café, which is where I am actually doing most of my work. It also makes me realize that soon I will have to find that 9-5 job or something like it, as well as a place to live. Hopefully I’ll be lucky again in both regards.
The recording has had its ups and downs with several technical glitches. Security cameras were set up as soon as we arrived. Unfortunately, I only had a short time with them as the laptop was needed for recording. For some reason John’s computer did not allow us to do anything to the music after it had been recorded. Thankfully we had the laptop to fall back on.
I’m putting up a song that I captured through the security cameras on Vimeo . Due to technical difficulties however, it was not recorded for the soundtrack. I will also be posting a 5×5 video. 5×5 videos are five, five-second clips, sort of a video haiku. So be on the lookout for the videos and maybe you can catch a sneak peak at the music that will be in the film.
After visiting the Thousand Islands I came to a realization, about change. I thought it would come to me later when I was 80 cursing the neighbor kids because they were playing in my yard or bothering me with some new technology. Little did I know that at the ripe old age of 22 I’d be confronted with the stark differences between my memory and the current condition of those people and places.
I wanted to tell everyone just how much I loved spending time with them and getting to play and work together. Of course as usual the time went quickly and not every world solving conversation got finished and not everybody’s life stories got to be told but one thing for sure is we all work hard and play hard. The nocturnal youth are impossible for me to keep up with but they were so enjoyable I did not want to miss any moments with them. Their youthful energy was appreciated at clean up and I really want to thank everyone for cleaning up their space and helping for the whole group. Mr. John Edward Yost gets a big thank you for his vacuuming skills and refrigerator cleaning. Mrs. Rodino was voted the hippest mom and Mrs. Albertson the most loving. I feel like I met people that I have known my whole life and friendships were born. Such good hard working new adults of our future on this planet, the ones we need to hear about more working with humor and kindness.
So that’s a wrap on principle photography. The shoot couldn’t have gone better and the experience more jam-packed full of good times. The footage looks great and I’m ACTUALLY excited to be editing. (I’m usually not the biggest fan.) We have one more weekend of pickups, but that doesn’t come till after the twelve day recording session in August for the soundtrack. Stay tuned to the site and all its relative pages for updates, new videos, and Behind-The-Scenes of the experience that is soundtrack recording with Rob and Pete. Thanks to EVERYONE who helped make this happen, not just this past weekend, but the entire film.
©2008-2009 IndiePix Films in association with nameinuse productions. All Rights Reserved.
 |