STORM
Scott arrives at school on his first day. After missing the buses, he meets Autumn, a shy book-worm. They quickly become friends and then begin dating. What Scott doesn't know is there is something unusual about Autumn that just might tear them apart.
ABOUT THE FILM
"Storm" was dreamt up on a rainy, April evening. The wind was whistling through my bedroom window while I was on the phone with a friend and he said, "Who is causing this weather?" That was all he needed to say. The idea formed almost immediately in my head and at the opening of my laptop, the script was started and completed that night.
From a production stand-point, this was the most production heavy piece that I have worked on so far in my career. I pitched the idea, wrote the script, casted the actors, created the shooting schedule, mastered the props, scouted locations, filmed the scenes, and ultimately edited and produced the final product. The crew consisted of the two actors and a partner, who monitored shots and audio levels throughout the process.
As far as difficulties, the scheduling was the most difficult part. Before shooting, the actors and my partner met for a quick read-through that allowed the actors to ask questions about the script pre-production. Once shooting began, filming took place over the course of five days, recording roughly three scenes each day. The time required of our actors and crew was extensive, on the days we shot (I blocked out at least 4-5 hours each day to allow for mishaps and reshoots). It was vital that we have both actors on each day of shooting, but often times, my partner was not able to make it and I was left to shoot, monitor, direct, and make the decisions on my own.
The entire film was shot with one field ENG camera, one wireless microphone and one XLR lavalier microphone. At times we only had one microphone and had to pass it back and forth according to whom was the main focus of the scene at that time. Each scene was shot at various different angles to allow for maximum content. The goal was to overshoot in order to have more material as opposed to less. The estimated time for the film was 12 minutes and when completed, came out to be about 17 minutes. I'd say we accomplished our goal to overshoot.
The actors were phenomenal. They came memorized to each shoot and barely needed any direction as far as acting goes. A few notes were given here and there but mostly they were perfect in their roles and caused little to no problems in terms of communicating conflict. The four of us made a great team.
Overall, I am happy with the final product. I love short films; being able to tell stories and share messages. I hope that this is the first of many to come.