Attaching a cast... Drama Drama Drama.

So Jane and I spent an entire Sunday at the IFP Independent Film Conference last week and one of the things that pratically every panelist agreed upon was that to get your film financed nowadays you need a name attached. Any name, any role. This is frustrating to hear yet exciting at the same time. It shows a shift in the industry; that bigger-named stars are taking a closer look at Independent films - beyond the paycheck and into the meatier stuff.

This is why Mike and I have really stressed to Jane the importance of flushing out the characters in the script - making them unique and interesting and really intense roles that any actor would covet. Clever dialogue, interesting situations, a new outlook on a familiar situation.

This week was a big deadline week for us all. Initially we had wanted a business proposal to target financiers, but then we realized that the cast is the first major hurdle (in addition to the initial pitch to our private backer). So we in essence abandoned the proposal and went to work on a cast attachment packet. Outlining the visions of our director and writer, a breakdown of characters, and visual references to both the characters and the locations we envision. As producer I also gave a brief overview of finances and why we went the short film to feature film route. I think I'll post the note once I finish it - I've kind of hit writer's block! In addition to this packet we've each submitted our top 3 most-wanted actors/actresses for each of our leads. Of course the top 3 ended up turning into the top 4 or 5. We're holding a "whittling down" session tonight and will aim to really target actors who are based in NY (to avoid travel costs) and possibly those with smaller more approachable representation.

Also, as a side note, at IFP we learned about SAG's Diversity incentive. One of the leads of our film is written as Indian and several of the supporting characters are open ethnicity. It was wonderful to hear how large unions like SAG (and off-shoot SAGindie) are looking out for smaller independent productions by offering incentives for diverse casting - I think it is a plus industry-wide.

Always so much to do in a film project!

-Traci x

The Re-Write Process

I've been trying to hammer out a really solid new draft of the feature
script for the past month. After shooting the short film in August, a
little over a month ago, I felt mentally drained from the story. I
needed a break. It was a wonderful and satisfying experience to
create the short. But to immediately dive into more re-writes on
the feature was taxing. Especially because this is a film about
depression and mental illness affecting friendship. (The subject
matter of what I'm writing always seems to impress itself upon
me. I wonder if all writers feel this way.)

But about two weeks ago, I had a breakthrough. I was talking to Mike
(our director) and we came across a new idea that really took the
story in much more structured direction. We decided to have these
girls go on a hike together to visit an old landmark. On their hike,
they encounter a young couple tending their dog with a broken leg.
The girls decide to help the couple out, and in the process are
separated for a brief span of an hour. The separation, however brief,
allows them to re-evaluate and get themselves together, so to speak.
When writing this weekend, in my mind, I likened this experience
to spending a whole weekend with your significant other, and maybe
having on hour apart to run an errand or something. And you sort of
come back from the errand feeling like you got your individual
bearings again.

Anyhow, I always find the writing process to be fascinating, so
I thought I'd share mine. After Mike and I came up with this
idea, I was re-invigorated to work on this story again.

I promised Traci and Mike I'd have a draft for them last night
by 8 pm. So, I spent most of the weekend hibernating and writing
in my apartment. It felt strange at points. At one moment yesterday,
in the late afternoon, I looked at the early fall light streaming in my
apartment, and realized exactly how silent it was, and how long I'd
been working and absorbed in this world. I think those moments of
realizing how deeply you can live in your own head are incredible.
And one of the main reasons I write.

Making Short of Feature to Raise Money?

In our mission to make this feature film, we decided that it would be

best to shoot a shortened version to show at festivals and to 

producers in hopes of raising funds to shoot the feature. 

Luckily, both the director and myself work at SVA (School of Visual

Arts)- where we are able to borrow equipment as long as we paid

insurance.  So, we were able to shoot the short film on a feasible budget. 

I've been told that this works by some, and others advised against it. 

The feature film out in theaters now, Frozen River, began as a short

as did Half Nelson. So, those films and filmmakers have given me 

inspiration.

It's tough though, because our story is about friendship, depression

and how to deal with people from our past when their mental state

is precarious...To show that in a short film is incredible difficult. 

So, the elements of the story that we highlight in the short are only

hints of what we're going to take a long journey into.

That being said, I just wonder how you adapt a feature into a short 

without compromising your vision. I think we managed to create an

interesting story with an ending that makes it a short onto itself,

but also leaves the viewer sort of wanting more. 

Rosamunde Pilcher & WISDOM by Andrew Zuckerman

"I'm writing for women, basically. And a lot of women lead pretty dreary lives, and they're stuck up in a high-rise flat with a kid, or they're maybe in some lonely little farmhouse with no running water, or something miserable. They've found your book or they've bought a cheap copy in the supermarket. You want to take them on a sort of journey. You are bringing them into your own environment.

It's lovely when you're really in a good writing mood, when everything you do turns into fiction as you're doing it. It's not black-and-white photography, but really lovely color. It makes life much more interesting because all the time that you're living it, you're embroidering and turning it into something else. You go to a rather dull party and you meet a cracking character, maybe a poisonous, bad person- or a nice person- but a really good person to write about. And all of those things make life very entertaining."

- Rosamunde Pilcher, International Best-Selling Author

I came across this quote in Andrew Zuckerman's newest book, WISDOM. It is the most beautiful book I have ever been blessed enough to read. In it's pages are the wisdom of numerous men and women over the age of 70 - everyone from Clint Eastwood (cover shot) to Desmond Tutu, from Bill Withers, to Madeline Albright. Simply turning the page left me close to tears. If only we all could make 5% of the impact these men and women have made - wouldn't the world be a better place?

Do yourself a favor and get this book- there is also an amazing documentary that comes with it. You can learn more about the book here:

http://www.wisdombook.org/

And more about Andrew Zuckerman here:

http://www.andrewzuckerman.com/

I'm sitting here thinking the same question many of you are probably thinking... what does this book have to do with our feature film? I think the answer is this: inspiration comes in so many forms - and this text is something that truly inspires me to want to be a better person and use my creativity for good...

"Inspiration is for amateurs, most of us just show up and get to work." - Chuck Close

If inspiration is for amateurs then I'm the 1st grader in Quantum Physics.

Till next time,
Traci

p.s. we've set deadlines - 1st cut of the film: September 26th.

And you would think the hard part was done...

OH-MY-GOODNESS we did it!

I said this to my cast and crew as well - but I honestly cannot believe what started as a few notes in a composition book over 8 months ago and a conversation at the Clinton Hill Diner in Fort Greene (so good; so cheap awesome place for writing, FYI) has actually become a real tangible film! To be a part of this incredible process, with the best writer and director I could have ever imagined, has truly been a blessing for me.

Now the real work begins.

We have a feature to shoot ladies and gentlemen, and a lot of work still to do. I think we're going about it the right way though. We've decided between the three of us to allocate responsibilities. Jane is going to handle the festivals circuits, competition entries, and general film awareness. I'm going to be working on the business proposal - and our director is going to FINISH THE FILM (which is kind of important of course!).

The thing I'm most excited for is actually getting out there and networking with some amazing production companies and financiers. I spent a week in London at an NFTS workshop where all we did (mostly) was work on pitching exercises. I must have pitched to close to 25 people in the span of 5 days. Intense, but well worth it... hopefully I can put to good use what I learned.

Okay, I'm outtie. I'm going to leaving you with an article from Entertainment Weekly by Mark Harris (if the darn thing uploads) to keep in mind one of the focuses of this blog.

See you at the movies (I know I totally stole that.)

-Traci

Day One of Shooting!

And the short film is shot! From August 14th to the 18th, we completed principle photography on the tentatively titled "Ten Second Exposure." Four twelve hours days in which we managed to shuttle from NYC to Long Island, to farther out in Long Island, and ending up in New Jersey. Thankfully, there were no major mishaps, so we lucked out there.

Mumblecore, Alicia Keys, and the Friendship Deficit.

I'm Jane, the writer...Thanks for checking in, and joining us

in this process. 

I read once that Alicia Keys said "The key to songwriting

for me is just honesty. It resonates with people." And I  love

that, because I know that personally I can definitely sense the

difference between films written with stereotypical characters

and films that written from real experience. Specifically, I’m

talking about women’s roles. And when I find a film that 

captures a true female perspective and experience, it's rare,

unexpected and wonderful. And I think seeing the success of

films like Sex and the City proves that there's an audience

starved to see female centric films. 

In terms of stereotypes, I think of Sex and the City (and 

while, I enjoyed the movie) which definitely catered to a

particular audience, and portrayed one type of female.

Someone with whom I could not fully relate. That film seems

to make me nostalgic for a world I've never been a part of.

But that being said, it did capture some of the inner workings

of female friendship, and that was a start.

You know when you see a movie, and there's a character dealing

with something you're dealing with, and intrinsically, something

feels wrong? You feel disconnected with this character though 

you're going through the same thing?

I hate that feeling.  That was one of my main motivators in

writing this film. I was watching so many people I knew fall

into deep depressions, more than would seem average. And

then, so many of us were having problems with childhood 

friends we were becoming emotionally distant from. That’s the 

place and the emotions I wrote from.

One of the reason I fell in love the mumblecore* (shudder)

genre movies, is that sense of realness and honesty. While I 

didn't absolutely, 100% relate to these films, these characters 

were more in-line with people I knew, emotions I was

experiencing. I talk particularly of Andrew Bujalski's

Funny Ha Ha. Yes, perhaps plot is somewhat lacking,

but I overlooked that for characters that felt alive and unlike

people my age had been portrayed on screen before.

I was recently reading an article on the Huffington Post

about friendship, and the author, Irene Levine, had used the

term “Friendship Deficit” in describing our society’s friendship

habits. And it felt perfectly fitting. We seem to be starved for

meaningful, close friendship. Anyhow, it reminded me of my

daydreams of reconnecting with friends from my past

- friends who have shaped me in innumerable, inexpressible ways.

And ultimately of what I hope this film to be, a movie about

friendships, our ties to our old relationships, and the people

we become when our past can no longer anchor us.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumblecore