How to be a Player Issue #41

Four feisty filmmakers take us through the motions of motion pictures

By Erica Phillips
Published: August 1st, 2009 | 12:00am

What do you get when you invite four ladies, well-versed in the ups and downs of producing their own on-screen entertainment, to get together in a Skype chat-room during their rare downtime? The answer: a healthy dose of wisdom, commiseration, and encouragement, along with whole lot of “LOL.”

Recently, Venus Zine chatted with Celine Diano (LA-based production designer and generally handy lady), Amy French (actress, comedian, and writer-director of El Superstar: The Unlikely Rise of Juan Frances), Megan Hill (Hello Super 8’s vintage filmmaking expert), and Hayley Stuart (21-year-old co-owner of Pretend We Don’t Exist Productions) all at once — and we learned a thing or two about the indie movie biz. Silver screen, here we come!

Collaboration Nation
VZ: how do you get people involved and excited about a project?
Celine Diano: Connections, networking, phone calls, or people you worked with in the past who recommend you.
Amy French: I think that with El Superstar, it was a fun script and people got excited about the bicultural story with lots of opportunity for visual comedy and color and fun. It certainly isn’t ‘cuz we were paying ‘em a lot.
Hayley Stuart: I usually work with the same three person crew, so if I have an idea for a film, I’ll just ask my best friend, who does the cinematography and editing, and my other friend who is a sound designer, and if everybody is interested, we start production.

Fully Equipped
VZ: How do you acquire your equipment?
Megan Hill: eBay for me. And B & H is my new best friend. I’m slowly starting to build an arsenal of old cameras.
AF: Rent for us. But we rented it from the cheapest possible place, so there were constant problems.
HS: Green/blue screens can just be painted walls really. Editing software was, acquired somehow...
MH: I use friends for stuff a lot.
AF: I borrowed tons of locations from friends. We shot 35 locations in 17 days and used a lot of favors.
CD: Every project is different and you need to know where to shop. For low budgets — thrift stores, Craigslist, sometimes prop houses. You might bring stuff from your place as well.

Social Butterflies
VZ: DIY film sounds like something that requires a good core group of supporters funders, collaborators, and friends with equipment. when you got into film, Did you know how social an art it was?
HS: It is one big collaboration, yeah. A big, happy family. When I first started making films it was quite the opposite, I was so anti-social, locked away editing. It’s only in the last two years I’ve realized how social it is.
AF: Just like family, we talk behind each others backs and get pissy, and then hug and say how important we are to each other, ha!
MH: I’m a bit of a control freak … so it’s been a process of letting a bit of that go and delegating!
CD: I had to leave part of my shyness in France
That Gutsy Feeling
VZ: What would you say was the first “big lesson” you learned in filmmaking?
CD: Leave your ego at the door.
HS: That it isn’t just a creative process; it requires a lot of planning and organization.
MH: I think mine is to trust your gut instincts. When you start second-guessing yourself is when you get confused.
VZ: I talked to some musicians recently who said that the longer it takes to write a song, the less satisfied they are with it in the end. Is that true with film too?
MH: I think so.
CD: Me too.
MH: I can cut something for days when the original cut is sometimes the best.
HS: That’s true, my favorite film that I made was written, planned, shot, edited, everything in two days. I worked on another one for eight weeks and I can’t even watch it.
AF: I’m working on a story right now where I’ve gotten all wrapped up in piles of funny quirky details, and the core of the story is suffering! Like the skeleton has osteoporosis and there is too much funny tubby flesh hanging on it that it can’t support.

Showtime
VZ: Let’s talk about showing the final product.
AF: Terror of terrors.
MH: Panic attacks anyone? I just send it to the client. I can’t be there for the reaction, which kinda sucks and is kinda good. But basically I can’t sleep ‘til I hear back from them.
CD: It’s exciting, except when they cut your best set!
VZ: Anyone ever had a super bad screening experience?
AF: I made the mistake of giving my investors a copy of the two-and-a-half-hour rough cut — so stupid.
HS: I recently had a film shown in Seattle Cinerama — which is huge and thus terrifying — and I sank into my seat and rocked like a child. Then I had to talk about it in front of all these strangers without being pre-warned, and I just remember rambling on in my silly British accent about how cute the actor was. Ugh, I forgot how to function.
VZ: Americans love British accents. It doesn’t matter what you say, you always
sound smart!
AF: Bloody brilliant. “Wanna beer” becomes “fancy a pint.” So snazzy!

The Gist on Distro
VZ: Let’s talk about distribution. How do you get your film out there?
HS: I’ve never had anything distributed. I’m “in talks” about it, but I don’t really even know where to start with all that stuff. I highly advise young filmmakers to go to and submit to festivals. However, some are ridiculously expensive and difficult to get into, and others are probably not worth entering.
AF: The usual way is through festivals. But that wasn’t how I did it ‘cuz I didn’t get into the “right” festivals. I took matters into my own hands. I bought a two-day pass to the AFM (American Film Market), stuffed a bag with DVDs, put on power-heels, and hit the market. By the end I had six companies interested in the film.
VZ: Was a blazer involved?
MH: Shoulder pads, people!
AF: There was a blazer. With jeans, though — LA casual, ya know. Heels: green spike-heel penny loafers that I put pennies in to symbolize the money that I would make back for my investors!
VZ: Investors love pennies.
AF: If it’s all they can get, they’ll take ‘em! I think it is really important to get with the company that feels most strongly about the film, and will push it, as opposed to the more “name” company where it might get lost. Time will tell if I’m right on this one, but I have a feeling I am.

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Amy French’s DOs and DON’Ts of writing comedy

DO: Subscribe to the rule of 3s. I don’t know why, but it just works. The third time is the funny time. It’s weird gut math.

DON’T: Overwork things. Jokes are usually pretty simple. Knock knock.The spit take. That’s what she said — all really simple ideas. Don’t try too hard when you’re writing, because once you’re on set with the actors and their comic timing, that’s when the real magic will happen.

DO: Feel the pain. Most comedy comes out of the awkward, the painful, and the difficult. Making comedy out of that stuff is what brings the relief and redemption. So if you’re stuck on what to write about, go back to your most embarrassing teenage moment, or something that makes you cry. It’s funny to us!

DON’T: Dumb stuff down for your audience. I’m all for poop jokes. No really, I like them. But let the subtlety of things come through, too. Sometimes only three out of five people will catch that reference or that aside or that little wink, but those people will laugh really hard.

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Celine Diano on DIY set building

A “real” production designer doesn’t build, she designs. She hires experienced construction people to make the design happen. On low-budget projects, of course, the designer often does everything or helps in every area. Like every other job, the more you know, the better you become — and it’s fun to learn new techniques. Getting experience on an actual set is the best way to learn, even if you’re not getting paid.

Often times, the director only cares about cinematography (camera movements, shots, lighting), and production design or costumes aren’t very important. It’s the same with some producers who think they can shoot the movie “as is” on location, with white walls and bare spaces. They think you can get everything for free, so the budget they give you is ridiculously low. It can be very frustrating. But sometimes, you find good collaborators. Then, the process can be amazing and fun even if it’s challenging, because you know that all the energy and work you’re putting into the project has meaning and is recognized.

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Hayley Stuart’s DL on DIY Fundraising

To raise the money to make How to Say I Love You, the crew held yard sales, baked and sold cakes, and asked for sponsorship in exchange for a copy of the finished film on DVD. Asking fellow filmmakers for help with the promise of helping them in the future is also a good way to save money and/or use equipment for free. I recently offered to clean a studio floor in exchange for use of their lighting kit and that worked out well. Getting a part-time job is also pretty handy, but don’t let it get in the way of making films!