From the insular Orthodox Jewish communities of Brooklyn, NY to the harsh underworld of international drug smuggling, Holy Rollers follows Sam Gold (played by Academy Award Nominee Jesse Eisenberg) as he struggles to straddle these two starkly different worlds, while watching as his decisions begin to tighten around him like a noose.

Holy Rollers – nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival – is a suspenseful, vivid, and – at times – claustrophobic film, loosely based on true events that unfolded in the late 1990s when young Hasidic Jews were recruited to smuggle ecstasy from Europe to the United States. The film is stark, emotionally rich and a clinic in character study.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Antonio Macia, the screenwriter of Holy Rollers, about his process in the development of his characters and how he approached translating a true story into a beautiful work of fiction.

Lights Film School: Holy Rollers is based on actual events that took place in the late 1990s involving young Hasidic Jews taking part in an international ecstasy smuggling ring. As a screenwriter, what drew you to this subject matter in the first place?

Antonio Macia: I wasn’t drawn to the scandalous headline, but to the humanity of the journey. I instantly gravitated to the idea of moral compromise. How does a Hasidic Jew or a person of faith become involved in a crime and then justify their actions.

I’m fascinated by choices. I believe we all make small compromises each day. We each have a moral code we swear by, but then we face the world, or our aspirations, and we begin to rationalize our code.

I don’t believe that a singular choice defines our lives, but I do believe in the cumulative effect of small choices.

Lights: How much research was involved when writing this story and what sources did you use?

AM: I read various books and watched documentaries focusing on the Hasidic community. More importantly, I boarded a subway and walked the streets of Brooklyn in Hasidic neighborhoods. I was able to see and visualize Sam’s world.

As the material progressed and the director (Kevin Asch, who won the Breakthrough Director Award for this film at the 2010 Gotham Awards) and cast became more involved, each of them brought personal experiences and research to their characters. We were very concerned with accuracy and detail, but we didn’t want to be beholden to a particular sect.

Lights: Are the characters in the story based on particular people or are they amalgamations of different people?

AM: They are not based on anyone. After the film was completed, I heard comparisons to particular youth, but Sam Gold was a fictional creation. His family, Leon (Jason Fuchs), and Rachel (Ari Graynor) were fictional creations. I based Jackie (Danny A. Abeckaser) on an amalgamation of a few Israeli drug dealers.

Lights: What was it like writing about a traditionally insular community such as the Hasidic Jews of Brooklyn? What type of research was done to understand and write from that perspective?

AM: Great question. The irony is that I feel like I completely understand that perspective. I’m Mormon. I converted to Mormonism in my teen years, so I have a very clear understanding of this worldview. We are constantly reminded to “live in the world, but not be of the world.” The secular world is viewed as a potentially dangerous place.

The producers and I felt that it would be easy to make a religious sect the ‘scapegoat’ or have religion be the bad guy. The fact is many people enjoy organized religion. It provides a spiritual paradigm. I thought it would be a much more interesting moral compromise if he loved his culture and family. The seduction is that much more complex.

I wanted to write the film from an ‘inside out’ perspective. I didn’t want a detective investigating a neighborhood. I wanted a member of the small community to investigate the world at large.

Also, I think it’s easy to forget that Sam’s family is like any other family. They are happy, and fight/argue with each other like any brother and sister. There is no mystery to writing the family dynamics of a Hasidic family.

Lights: There are quite a few scenes where the audience sees the two worlds of Sam – his conservative religious background and his foray into the secular underworld – grating up against one another. When developing your protagonist, how did you go about building these juxtapositions? Did you have specific scenes in mind that showed Sam’s slow slip beforehand, or did they rise organically throughout the process?

AM: I think you can walk down the street in any major city and see that juxtaposition. Early on, we wanted to see Sam with peyos (sidelocks worn by some Orthodox Jewish men) inside the nightclub. That to me was striking. How does he get there?

Kevin Asch (the film’s director) and I spoke at length about the religious experience of temple and the religious experience in a nightclub in the late ‘90s. We wanted to take advantage of Sam’s ‘fish out of water’ view of the world. I think that Kevin captured that so well in the clubs.

I was also interested in Sam trying ecstasy for the first time. We didn’t want to sensationalize the drug experience. Kevin was adamant about that.

Lights: The metaphors of temptation and hiding from God play a big role throughout this film – from the Rabbi’s sermons to the almost serpent-like role of Yosef (Justin Bartha) in his temptation of Sam. Did this metaphor serve as the focal point to form your story around, or did it come later once you had your characters and plot in place?

AM: This was the heart of the story from my point of view. This was the first thing I discussed with the producers when I pitched my take.

This morality tale of the Garden of Eden was told to me when I was a Mormon Missionary and has always stayed with me.

Lights:: Sam’s pseudo-love interest, Rachel, is an extremely complex character. As Jackie’s girlfriend, there are signs in Act III that a dangerous love triangle may be forming. However, the romance between Sam and Rachel quickly dissolves. What was the role you envisioned Rachel filling in this screenplay? Was she there to expose a facet of Sam’s character that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise?

AM: Rachel represents a lost innocence. They are dual spirits. She acts much older than she really is. They recognize that innocence in each other. Early on, she was our ‘Penny Lane’ character.

I believe a stronger love triangle would have developed and in earlier versions of the script we play that out. Ultimately, those scenes were dropped for scheduling and budgetary reasons.

Lights: The character of Leon is also very interesting. If his brother Yosef is the devil on Sam’s shoulder, Leon fills the role of the angel. What was your intent on giving the audience a character – such as Leon – who never strayed from what was expected of him?

AM: Leon is very personal to me. He is morally grounded and doesn’t have the same questions or yearning that Sam develops. I’ve always felt a certain yearning as an artist, as a storyteller, and I like to ask tough questions.

Part of me wishes I could ‘settle down’ and be a Leon. Maybe on a subconscious level, I am rewarding Leon for his diligence. I’d like to think that Sam’s education will be all the more richer through his experiences, but we all know “Leons” in our life that have chosen safer paths and are quite content with their decisions.

Lights: There is a powerful scene near Plot Point #2 where Sam is virtually disowned by his father, Mendel (Mark Ivanir), followed by Sam’s cutting of his peyos. However, instead of being a completely devastating scene – there is a feeling of liberation in it as well. Could you speak a bit about the duality of this scene?

AM: I believe there has always been a duality to the scene because in my mind the father always knew what Sam was doing, and while never stopping him, he himself is complicit to a degree.

So, this scene is just as much about Sam’s father as Sam. I don’t know if Sam’s father is upset at Sam or himself. I also wonder if there is an underlying resentment that Sam is able to explore in the world and live life on his own terms.

And lastly, yes, Sam is liberated from living a double life.

Lights: The film ultimately ends on a high note, with Sam reconciling with his father. Did you consider the possibility of not showing the scene, to leave the film with a more ambiguous feeling? If so, how do you think the tone of the film would have changed?

AM: We didn’t want to spell out the ending and give a complete resolution. Our objective is to show that the father and son are communicating to certain degree. They are listening to each other, which is a far cry from the beginning of the film.

Lights: Do you have any advice for indie screenwriters looking to adapt a true story into a fictional screenplay, especially if the subject matter might fall outside of their knowledge base? Are there any pitfalls to avoid?

AM: I would say two things:

1.) Ask yourself what the heart of the story is and how do I tell that story?

I say this to indie screenwriters because I’m assuming you want to tell it via an indie film. The beauty of an indie film is its limitation. Embrace those budgetary limitations and find the heart of the character’s story. You probably won’t be able to pull giant set pieces, but you can focus on making it character driven.

2.) Make it personal.

We ask our actors to make it personal. Make the writing process personal. Why do you want to tell this story? What is it about this story and character that you want to explore? Why? And what do you bring to the material?

Whatever genre you face, you need to make it your own.

INTRODUCTION

Can you tell me a little about yourself and how “Fissure” came to be?

For 16 years, I worked in a cubicle in Corporate America doing technical and product marketing for two Fortune 500 companies. In the mid 90′s, I started to dabble in multimedia. As a child, I was around photography quite a bit. My father was a professional photographer, so I spent my entire childhood in his studio playing around with his cameras and photography equipment. But, in the mid 90′s, something interesting happened while I was working as an engineer — the arts went digital, and all of sudden, my technical prowess had a creative path.

I convinced my wife to let me use all of our savings to buy a video editing system. At the time, it was a Media 100 system with Adobe Premiere. So, I bought it and learned how to edit. Someone told me I should also learn After Effects. So, I did. I started small editing home videos and noodling around with the software. In 1998, someone actually paid me to do a small project for them. I thought, “Wow, you can make money at this.”

In early 2000, my corporate employer learned about my video production “hobby” and asked if I could do a tradeshow video for them. I jumped at the chance and over delivered, and they were pleased. All of sudden, I started getting calls from the marketing department for more tradeshow videos, promo videos and commercials, all the while still doing my day job as a product marketing engineer.

My “hobby” was soon generating some good money. My wife and I were using it to pay off all our debts so that we could start our own production company. In 2005, I resigned my cushy, corporate job and started my own production company, Top Pup Media.

Up that point, I had made about 5 short films, with our latest “Growing Up” winning the audience choice award that year. Winning this festival really encouraged me to take my filmmaking to the next level, which was to produce and direct a full- length feature film. We put out a query for scripts, and after receiving more than 450 submissions, we selected the script “Fissure” as our debut, feature film project. I knew this story was the one when I was completely captivated by the script after only twenty pages into it!

WRITING

How long did the script take you to write?

Nick Turner wrote the script. It took him about a year to write it.

What filters and methods did you use to ensure your script was put past enough people that you could be confident with it?

I really appreciate Nick’s patience as we ripped apart his script. The first thing we had to do was get the page count down. The original script was something like 115 pages, and that would put our budget too high, so we trimmed the script down to a tight 89 pages. We also worked on changing the ending as well. I was wanting more of a commercial ending instead of his original ending, so Nick worked with me and came up with an incredible ending. I also had other writers help me with a few polish passes as well. By the end, we had gone through about 11 revisions from his final version.

CASTING

How many actors did you get applications from?

We had two actors we cast out of LA, James Macdonald and Scarlett McAlister. The rest were cast locally here in Dallas. We put out our breakdown and were quickly flooded with headshots and resumes. My local casting director and I sorted through them and picked out our top 5 or 6 actors per role, and scheduled auditions.

How long did you cast for?

Casting the smaller roles happened pretty quickly — within a few weeks. We had two key roles we wanted to fill with some name talent, so we spent longer on those. I hired an LA casting director to help me with the bigger roles. We worked together for over a month going out to some of the other names we were interested in.

How did you run your auditions?

Our two LA actors were auditioned through tape. I sent them sides and they recorded their auditions on tape for me. The local auditions were all done in person. Since I was ramping up production, my local casting director managed the first round of local auditions by herself, finding the top two or three actors per role. Then I auditioned all the call backs.

PRODUCTION

How long did your film take to shoot?

We shot the entire film in 18 days — three 6-day weeks. One of my script requirements was to use limited locations. For 2 weeks, we shot in the Ulster home, and the final week, we shot around town in various places. Through some strategic “day for night” shooting, we were able to keep somewhat normal hours, shooting from 7am till about 7pm almost every day.

What was the budget of your film?

Our budget for the entire film from production to marketing was under $300K.

What were some of the technical things you found most limiting? Lighting? Moving locations? What is the advice you would give to filmmakers who are looking to run as smooth of a set as possible?

Amazingly, our production ran smoothly. We were under budget and on schedule for the entire production. And, it wasn’t because of my producing ability–it was my line producer, Jennifer Beasley, and my first AD, Bobby Basterache.

My line producer was amazing. She managed the crew and the operation of the production. Even though I was the only producer on the project, Jennifer took over the day-to-day operational responsibilities so I could focus on directing. Bobby, the first AD, was in charge of the set. I never had to schedule anything or tell people where to be or what to do. My advice to filmmakers is to make sure your line producer and first AD are top notch. In doing so, it’ll take a lot of pressure of you.

What camera did you shoot on?

We used the Panasonic Varicam for our movie. The 720p, 24 fps was a great format to work with. It was very filmic, and the DVCPro format provided a very affordable post path for us as well.

How did you go about licensing music for your film?

The music for the film was scored from scratch. I worked with a musician and audio team out of Burbank who did the score, the foley, the sound design and the final mix for me. I also had a custom song written for our closing credits. Custom music is much easier to license and secure for productions.

EDITING

How long did your film take to edit?

After shooting the film, I had all of the footage–every take–sitting on my editing computer. I spent the summer of 2007 editing the movie. Since I loved editing, my goal was to get it as close as possible to a solid first cut, and then hand it over to a more seasoned editor to finish it out. After three months of editing, I showed the “rough cut” to my co-producers, and they were surprised at how far along the edit was. They told me with a few tweaks, it could be locked quickly. I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to editing, so “rough” for me is quite finished. So, instead of hiring an editor to finish the edit, I saved the money and worked with my creative team to nail down the edit.

Once the edit was locked, I handed it over to our colorist and our sound team for finishing it out. It took them another couple of months to wrap it up. We had our finished product by the end of that year.

MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION

Are you your film’s own publicist? What have been some of the most effective methods in finding an audience?

I’ve used a couple of publicists at various phases of the project. During our festival season, I used someone to help me with the PR and the news interviews. It was very helpful. The following year, when we moved into distribution, I used another PR person to help with the press releases and news interviews. Today, I’m doing all the marketing for the film.

Did you start your marketing efforts during your pre-production phase? If so, what strategies did you use?

One of the key things I did to help build awareness for the film was to setup a blog of my production experience. I started blogging the process from day one of “I want to make a movie” all the way through to distribution. Other filmmakers were encouraged by the information. I like to learn by doing, and so I wanted to share what I learned along the way. It became a great avenue for building my audience.

You’ve had different degrees of success with different social media sites such as twitter, Facebook and myspace. Can you outline how you’re using each social media site and how each one is performing for you?

Of the three social media sites, Twitter was the most effective in getting the word out. It was a quick way to get the word out and connect with other movie folks. Facebook was good for capitalizing on those connections and building the audience. It was also good for scheduling events and promoting screenings. MySpace was a disappointment. It’s more of a music community, so we didn’t have much success with it.

Are there other audience building methods that you’ve used that you’ve been surprised with for better or for worse?

We scheduled some private screenings around the US, and I was trying different ways to get people to the theater. Facebook and Twitter were okay, but not generating the response I had hoped for. So, I started searching for some “meet ups” in the area, and plugged into the filmmakers, writers and movie fans, and this was very successful. I was able to drive lots of traffic to our screenings.

You’re using Youtube’s rental program. How is this working for you? Would you change anything about the program?

We’re just getting started with the YouTube rental program, so it’s very new at this point. My two biggest questions are how to drive traffic to the rental and will people really sit and watch an entire feature film on their computer? If Google TV were in mass market right now, it could be a very viable option, but it may be a bit premature at this point. In the end, it still all comes down to marketing–driving traffic to your film.

Are you using other VOD platforms as well? Can you give a comparative analysis on which ones seem to be working better than the others?

At this point, we’re not doing anything else. I’m speaking with a guy now who can get Fissure into iTunes, and he feels it would be a pretty good revenue path for us. So, we’re still exploring a few different options at this point.

AFI has seemed to be a helpful resource for you. Can you explain your relationship with the organization and how they have helped you gain exposure for your film.

AFI was purely a film festival experience for us. AFI Dallas picked up our movie for the festival in 2008, and screened it at the festival. It was a great experience, and it provided some excellent exposure for us.

What is your film festival strategy?

Film festivals are good, and you should be a part of them. Get plugged into “Without a Box” and find some key festivals to apply for. Focus on festivals that fit your genr and apply wisely. It can get expensive, and you’ll find that you receive more rejections than acceptances, so be ready for that.

What was the biggest technical lesson that you’ve learnt during your filming process? In other words, what would you not do again for your next feature film?

From a technical perspective, our production was quite smooth. Our camera and lighting crew was amazing. Our post production workflow was solid. Because of my technical background, we had a very smooth technical production.

However, there are a few things I would change regarding the business and marketing side of things. Name talent is essential. You need to really focus on name talent, because when you start sending out screeners to distributors, they always ask two questions — who is in it and what is it about? Talent and genre are your keys to get in the door with distributors. It’s very important. Also, start your marketing early, from day 1. And, know who you are marketing to. Make sure you have a very clear understanding of who your audience is and market specifically to them. Don’t waste your marketing energy and dollars trying to reach a broad, vague audience. Be specific. Focus equals impact.

KEY LINKS

The movie website: http://fissurethemovie.com
The movie trailer: http://fissurethemovie.com/media.html
Online movie rental: http://j.mp/WatchFissure
Online movie buy: http://www.fissure.tv/store/

You can read our in depth interview and watch the trailer for the film below.

CAMERA

What camera did you shoot the film on?

We shot the movie using a Sony FX1 in PAL 1080 50i. The intro sequence was shot with two Panasonic FX12 digital cameras in video mode (about DV resolution). I must remember we shot this movie in summer 2007. It was the best camera we could afford back then.

What did you use to edit the film?

We used a cheap quad-core PC with Premiere Pro CS3. HDV Rushes were capture in the Cineform Codec and then 16-9 DV-PAL offline files were created. Edit was done in a 16-9 DV PAL timeline. Project was then imported in After Effects CS3 where the offline files were relinked to the original Cineform HD ones.

What other hardware did you use?

We used a SGPro Rev2 (without flip module) 35mm adapter on the Sony FX1. It allowed us to have a depth of field similar to Vistavision (8perf 35mm, 24×36 gate). We used a set of Sigma lenses in Nikon mount. The main lens was a 24-70 2.8 macro zoom. A 20mm 1.8 prime was also used a lot. The last three shots of the movie were shot using a 70-300mm 4-5.6 zoom lens (at 300mm). We also used a custom build shoulder support with handles from CaVision. This support was intentionally heavy so it would be balanced and give the overall feel and stability of a 35mm film camera.

As a side note, 35mm adapters and now HDSLR’s are very popular for the short depth of field they can provide but beyond this, I enjoy these formats for the lenses they allow to use. Apart of brands and looks, it’s actually the perspective of the lens I’m interested in. For example, on a 24×36 gate (standard gate size for a 35mm SLR film camera), a 70mm is still wide enough to show environment while looking very good on a portrait. 20mm is already very wide without the obvious distortion. To get the same field of view than a 35mm lens on a 1/3 HDV camera like the Sony FX1. I would have to use a 4.5mm lens with all the issues…

No filters were used and not matte box/sun shade either (in order to maximize flares). No follow focus as these SLR lenses (especially the zooms) have very short focus scales. The very play of the follow focus is already too much to be precise. We used the camera on-board LCD screen (flipped with a magnet) and a Manfrotto 516 tripod was used for the last three shots.

What did your lighting kit consist of?

We use practical and natural light for almost all scenes apart of a couple night interiors. We did replace light bulbs in the house by 150 watts ones and used an Ikea lantern for the bathroom scene. In the bedroom and restaurant, we used a small source we built using four 60w long bulbs normally used in kitchens. They provide a very soft and warm light and are very cheap. For night exteriors we sometimes used a white cardboard as a bounce.

VISUALIZATION

Did you plan the flares in your shots near the beginning?

Actually yes. Years ago, I lived in the street where we shot this scene so I knew that the sun sets exactly in the street’s direction. I thought it would be nice to shoot this part straight into the sun. For day scenes, we always planned the schedule in terms of lighting.

Visually, your story is very strong. There are a lot of naturally occurring design elements found in many of your shots (i.e. lines, simplified color palettes etc). Your tango scene in particular is gorgeous. How much storyboarding did you do before you started shooting?

Thank you very much. I didn’t storyboard at all because I knew the locations very well. Living in Brussels, I only used locations I cross nearly everyday. I had easy access to all of these so I went beforehand and checked angles, lighting,… using a still camera. Most of them were chose at the writing stage. I tried to locate places with different light colours and interesting architecture. Brussels usually offers rather warm sodium street lighting and many pre fifties European architecture. I tried to balance these elements by also finding places with colder modern lighting and more generic atmosphere which tend to be more graphic also.

My references were paintings by Edward Hopper and series of polaroids. I wanted the framing to go from very wide and graphic to very close and intimate.

I did shot list the first three days but then decide to improvise the shots on the fly. Working very often as a commercial cinematographer, I tend to quickly find how to make a shot graphic but the real challenge here was to find the right shot, not just a nice one. I had to make compromises sometimes. I wanted to first watch the acting and then find how to translate it best into images.

LOCATION SCOUTING

How long did you spend location scouting?

We spent one week scouting the locations. As we mostly already knew where we would shoot, we also used this scout to already find camera angles, ask for permits (restaurant, bar,…),… It was very straightforward.

I tend to shoot scenes only in places that evoke personal memories. The service station for example is a location I dreamt to use since a while. I actually spent part of the night there long time ago talking with someone.

For me, the choice of locations is very important. It really defines the atmosphere and the staging. It is a character in itself and it’s important to know him well. I think it’s Kubrick who said that casting is 50% of the directing. I agree and would add that 50% of cinematography is the choice of locations.

How did you secure your locations? Did you ever need to “run and gun”?

We only asked for permits when it was truly required (train station, bar, night shop, video rental store and restaurant). The small budget also meant we had to shoot fast as we could only afford a couple of hours in each location. All the train station sequences were shot in 6 hours (3 hours at day, 3 at night) because we couldn’t afford an even more expensive permit.

House interiors were shot at home or at friends places. All the rest was shot “guerrilla”. We know that usually people in Brussels, especially in the neighbourhoods where we shot, are rather easy-going. In the laundry, there were people waiting just outside of every frame. Shooting at 4am, police passed by many times, sometimes just to see how a film shoot happens. They were very friendly and curious. Again, it helped we use locations we had easy access to and kept a very low profile (a crew of four only)

The good aspect of shooting wild is that if the shot is well prepared, many happy accidents can happen: nice background extras, a train entering the frame at the perfect moment,… It adds a lot to the sense of reality.

SOUND

Your film has a great sound mix. How long did you spend on your audio once the film was completed?

During the shoot, we mainly focused on getting clean sound on the dialog. We knew we would leave atmosphere tracks, foley,… to later. During the post-production we met Thibaut Darscotte who quickly became the sound editor. What followed was a long, fun and much needed process that took 6 months to complete.

We started by writing a sound script, followed by three weeks of atmosphere tracks recording. In-depth cleaning was done. A couple of lines needed ADR and extensive foley was added to the whole movie mixing both exterior and sound booth recordings. We had 8 days of mix in a great small studio called Chocolat Noisette. We recently remastered the sound for a DVD release. It also adds a lot to the overall quality.

We really wanted time to experiment and discover the right balance of elements. We wanted it to be immersive and yet keep a kind of documentary approach, trying to make everything very subtle. On this project, I truly discovered how important and creative sound is.

What microphone did you use to capture dialog?

We used a very cheap Azden SGM-X mini jack shotgun microphone. Windjammer was basic foam so we tried to shoot dialog in places where the wind was weak. Boom operator Quentin Aksajef did an excellent job. A lot of work was also put into the voices EQ, this microphone doesn’t sound that good.

DESIGN

Did you design your interiors? Can you tell us about this process?

For the interiors we tried to pick locations that already fitted very well. We mainly cleaned them a bit, remove elements,… We actively searched for interiors with colours, trying to avoid the low-budget white wall syndrome.

Grading was also very important in giving the different scenes a coherent colour scheme. I wanted every scene to feel a bit different, sometimes colder, sometimes warmer or greener,… and still fit in an overall look.

Did you light your interiors?

We mainly used practical light, boosting them by switching light bulbs and sometimes adding a small soft key light. We kept it very simple, didn’t want it to feel over lit compared to the exteriors. It was important to stay coherent.

Did you have someone focusing on hair, wardrobe & styling  or did these design elements just find there way into the film naturally?

We decided to use no make up. Actors took care of their hair during the shoot, pictures were taken as reference. In terms of styling, they are all wearing their own clothes which were chosen during the rehearsals. Everything was pretty locked from the beginning but there were some nice surprises also (for example, Arieh offers to wear scarf which is by coincidence the same colour as Lucie’s dress,…)

WRITING

How long did it take you to write the script for the film?

The subject of the film is a theme that I thought about for a long time. I took notes, read books (Art of Travel by Alain de Botton, Global Soul by Pico Iyer,…) for about a year. The actual writing took about a month. In terms of dialogs, I wrote mainly the content knowing I would have time with the actors to actually shape the form and tone. From the very beginning, I wanted their input.

To be honest, it wasn’t an ambitious project, more of an experiment. I’ve never written a proper fiction script before and mostly directed only short projects like commercials and music videos. I wanted to give a try at something I dreamt of since years and see if I would feel comfortable with the whole process.

Since you were both the Writer and Director, how did you go about checking to make sure your script was ready to shoot?

I presented the script to the team, both cast and crew and asked them for an honest feedback which I     knew they would give. I also knew we would have about 6 weeks where we could discuss the script and change everything if needed. For me the only way to go was to be open to change.

I always invite people to remember that actors are usually the ones on set (with producers) who have read the most scripts in their life. They usually have a great feeling to what’s good and what’s wrong. The job is to create an open atmosphere where everyone can be plain honest. I’ve been on way too many sets where the whole team agrees the script is bad and no one says a word. I didn’t want that on our project.

How much room did you allow for the actors to improvise?

I wanted to use improvisation from the very beginning but wanted it to be controlled. I think it can work well if we all know where we want to go in the scene. It has to be somehow precise in terms of content. The aspect I like most about improvisation is the fact that it pushes the actors to listen to each other carefully and on my side, to stay very focused and alert. We sometimes mixed written dialogs and improvisation. The scene would start written and then evolve freely from a certain point. We sometimes only used the improvisation part in the edit but the written part was needed to “launch” the moment.

I must mention the fact that I was truly lucky to be surrounded by actors who truly enjoy this approach and are really good at it.

BUDGET

What was the budget for the film?

The complete budget was around 10 000 euros. About the same amount was spent afterwards on promotion, DVDs, festivals submissions, travels,…

CASTING

How long did you spend casting?

I didn’t actually do any casting. I met most of the actors on other projects and wrote the script with them in mind. For the few actors I did miss, I simply asked the other actors for recommendations. It worked very well.

Personally I don’t really believe in “normal” castings unless you have a lot of time and are ready to see thousands of actors which is not possible here anyway. I need to truly know the persons I work with and it does take time. I’m constantly looking for actors. I tried to watch shorts, go to see theatre projects, acting schools,… and meet them whenever possible. I feel it’s up to me to go to them.

I’m lucky to have many friends who are actors which truly helps a lot on many aspects. I want to listen to their opinion and feel what usually upsets them on other sets. My goal is to create a space where they too feel at ease. I try my best to understand things from their perspective also.

Did you use union or non-union actors?

In Belgium, there are no acting unions, not even agents (it’s actually illegal over here). Some of the actors were still in acting schools (most of them), some are professionals,… In terms of background, it’s quite a mix.

The performances in the film are great. How many actors did you see before you narrowed it down to your current cast?

Thank you very much. I didn’t see more actors than the current cast. Most were chosen at the writing stage. I knew I could start this project because I knew I had the right people around me. It was truly a team thing.

LESSONS & TAKEAWAYS

What would you not do again for your next feature?

I can’t really answer that question in the sense that every project is different and every project requires a different approach. If I had to answer, I would say I’ll do many things differently because the story asks for it. One thing, I’ll try to keep in mind is to have enough time at every stage.

What scenes do you think are the weakest (from a technical standpoint) and what would you do to ensure you correct these issues for your next film?

I think we all did the best we could on this one. From a technical standpoint, I don’t look back and I know for sure the next one will be better for obvious reasons. We now have more experience, equipment is way better,… The real challenge is artistic.

Everybody’s style, of course, is different and part of the joy of filmmaking is putting your stamp on your projects. That being said, there are certain conventions that many documentary and narrative film trailers abide by. This blog post will help you organize your thoughts so you can storyboard for your documentary or film trailer knowing what rules you want to keep and what rules you want to break.

Your film trailer will often start out with the audience approval notification from the Motion Picture Association of America. If you haven’t put your film through the approval process, there is no need to worry. Most independent films and documentaries don’t get their film reviewed by this organization and it is by no means necessary, nor is it testament to a good film or documentary.

There is a trend amongst independent filmmakers to use similarly colored title cards, fonts and wording while leaving out the “Motion Picture Association of America” reference. You’ll sometimes see title cards that read “This preview has been approved for all audiences”. However, it doesn’t say by whom. Avoid this tactic as it serves only to try to instill a false sense of professionalism.

Next, include the name of the production company and / or distribution company. Feel free to experiment with this segment of the trailer. Some filmmakers like to use logos and creative fonts over black title cards. Others like to include the text information over the footage of the documentary or film. Some like to animate their text, others prefer static text. Your design approach to your opening sequence is only limited by your own imagination.

Next, you may want to include the title of your film. However, it should be noted that it’s not uncommon for filmmakers to choose not to include the title of the film or documentary at the beginning of the trailer, but instead include the title only at the end of the trailer.

After this point you’ll want to start introducing your footage. You should limit the length of your film trailer to less than two and a half minutes in length. This is the time cut off length in theaters and the standard length that audiences are accustomed to. You’ll notice most trailers fall within this time range.

Within this short period of time your trailer needs to accomplish a lot. It needs to immediately grab your audience’s attention, get them acquainted with the production value of your film and introduce your story.

Film trailers have structural arcs just as full length feature films and documentaries do. When you’re creating your trailer you should try to incorporate the following elements:

1: Establish what your documentary is about. Introduce your theme.
2: Introduce the conflict.
- You should give a general overview and provide at least 1 specific example
3: Introduce your protagonist.
4: Introduce your antagonist.
5: You need to provide your audience with a sense of your documentary’s tonal qualities. Audiences will look at your cinematography (movement, lighting, composition) and listen to your music to see if the artistry of the film is something they would be interested in seeing.
6: You should change your trailers music 3-5 times.

At the end of your trailer   you will want to include your film or documentary’s title (Even if you’ve already used it at the beginning) and then you’ll want to include an ending title card with the above the fold cast and crew as well as any website / contact information you want to include.

We’ve all seen the ending title cards at the end of films with the barely recognizable names of the director, producer, production designer, Director of Photography and so on. There are numerous fonts you can use to achieve this look but one of the most common is called “Steel Tong”.

Once you’ve completed your trailer you can upload it to online video sharing sites such as Youtube, DailyMotion, Vimeo. These sites assist independent filmmakers who may not be able to get their trailers shown in theaters on or on Apple’s movie trailer website.

Lights Film School Wishes you the best of luck creating your film and documentary trailers!

We interviewed Tao about his production and distribution strategies in the hopes that it not only inspires other independent filmmakers, but also helps provide insight into self distribution strategies.

Film Trailer

Tell us about yourself and how you came to complete this feature.

FIX is inspired by a true story: My brother, a very charming, larger-than-life character in real life, was struggling with drug addiction. The law caught up with him, and he was offered a deal by the judge: if he didn’t check himself into rehab in 10 days, he would be sent to prison for three years. On the 8th day, he was arrested again, for something else. His lawyer called me while I was working on a documentary in San Francisco, and said, “If someone doesn’t bail him out of jail and get him to rehab by 8pm tomorrow, he is going to prison for three years.” So I drove overnight to bail him out and soon found out that the rehab wouldn’t accept him without a non-refundable $5000 deposit. Since we didn’t have the money, the day turned into a race to get the funds before the 8 o’clock deadline.

Four years later, my wife Olivia Wilde and I had the idea of turning this premise into my first narrative feature film. I knew it was time for me to move into scripted features and I was also dying to work with Olivia, who was developing into an incredible actress. We always joked that while we had gotten married after only knowing each other for six months, the real commitment (and risk) it takes to make a film together required four years. Given my background in guerilla-style documentary filmmaking, I wanted to use the language I had developed in that medium and apply it to my first narrative project. In that way, I hoped to get the best of both worlds: the immediacy and realism of documentary and the structure and story arc of scripted, fictional work. Given advances in digital media, I was also excited by the fact that we could do this without sacrificing my love of photography and “cinematic” imagery. The process and result turned out to be more gratifying than I ever could have imagined. Seeing Shawn Andrews bring his own vision and spirit to the Leo character was delightful. Shooting was adventurous and fun, and bringing the film to festivals around the world and seeing how the film touched people from so many walks of life was more than I ever dreamed of. I am excited for the film to now reach an even larger audience with this fall’s release.

Tell us about your film background.

I studied philosophy at UC Berkeley and took a class there called Existentialism in Literature and Film. It was that course that inspired me to become a filmmaker. I was then lucky enough to work as an assistant to the academy award winning production designer Dean Tavoularis and then for cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. While I loved those experiences and admired these masters, I quickly realized that I was interested in a very different kind of filmmaking. I was drawn to an approach that may only be possible with the digital tools we have at our disposal today which makes filmmaking more immediate, personal and less tied to financial concerns.

Tell us a little bit the size of your crew and the people involved.

The entire cast and crew was alway between 10-15 people. We would all go to set in my funky 1970s GMC rv, which served as craft service, hair, make-up, wardrobe, editorial, grip, electric and transportation

What Camera did you shoot on?

Panasonic HVX 200

What did your lighting kit consist of?

We used mostly natural light, augmented in a few of the interiors by my wonderful DP, Christopher Gallo. We then did a ton of color correction to achieve the looks we got.

How long did you cast for?

Several months with extraordinary casting directors David Rapaport and Lindsay Kroeger.

What drew your towards your lead actors?

I’m married to Olivia Wilde and the role of Bella was written for her. Our best friend is Megalyn Echikunwoke, and the role of Carmen was written for her. The most difficult part of the process was casting the Leo character. I met with dozens of actors before meeting Shawn Andrews who turned out to be more than perfect for the role.

What was your planned budget for the film?

$300,000

What was your actual budget for this film?

$300,000

What were some of the biggest downfalls to working within a tight budget?

One always wishes to have more time, but other than that we were pleased to have so much money! Hollywood accustoms us to thinking that we need millions and millions of dollars to make a film, but if you keep things in perspective, $300,000 is still a lot of money.

Can you explain how you came up with the funding to shoot the film? Did you secure financing before you wrote the script or did you get financing after?

I started out raising money online, offering anyone who gave any money to the project an “associate producer” credit. After several months of this and after working on the script, I was lucky enough to find 2 private investors to finance the rest of the film.

Did you work inside our outside of the studio system to get this film shot?

Totally outside.

Can you explain how this film found a distribution deal?

We are working with a company called E1 for DVD distribution and we are doing a hybrid theatrical release–working with a booker to get the film into individual theaters.

How much of a role do you play in helping to promote the film?

A huge role. It is no longer realistic to expect to sell your film and have someone else do all the work for you.

Do you feel the film was sacrificed at all being shot on a relatively small budget? If so, where can you see these compromised in the film?

No, given our documentary style, we were able to focus on performance much more than most films of this size; and given the extraordinary advances in high definition digital video, the film looked as beautiful as most films shot with 10 times the budget.