From Someone Who’s Already Walked A Mile in Your Moccasins
By Pamela K. Johnson
2006 Duke City Shootout Finalist
Writer/Director Talk Me To Death

Congratulations on being chosen as a finalist. You’ll soon discover how crazy it is to try and shoot a movie in four days and edit it in three, even if it is only a twelve-minute film (thirteen with credits.) But people before you have done it, and soon you too will add your name to the list of Duke City Shootout filmmakers.

Have some fun with the process, take some chances, stay open, and remember, whenever things hit a snag, remind yourself and everyone around you: “We’re shooting a movie here.” Which is another way of saying forget the dumb stuff. On that note, as you move through the process, make decisions as quickly and intuitively as you can, and handle disputes as peacefully as you can. Don’t let anything get in the way of you reaching the finish line. As the old folks say, Keep your eyes on the prize.

If you’re on the fence about whether or not to direct, direct. As a first timer, I was petrified, too. Rely on your mentor to shepherd you through. Your director of photography will be a big help, as well.

Since it’s pretty universally agreed that the director — not the screenwriter -- is the author of a film, don’t miss out on this rare opportunity. Your team won’t let you fail. You’ll be shaky at first, but your confidence will grow.

On the other hand, if you’re certain you don’t want to direct. Establish an understanding with your director about your vision for the film, so he or she doesn’t run off in some odd direction with your movie, which makes you regret your decision.

The moment you accept the challenge to come to Albuquerque and shoot your film, whether you’re the writer or writer/director, you’re on our way. Here are what I consider to be the most important things to do or remember:

Connect with your mentor This person very likely has made films and can give you plenty of useful advice. Early on, sketch out how you’ll work together. Get his or her feedback on your script, and any other suggestions they have about bringing your vision to the screen. Listen. Listen. Listen.

Rewrites  They say writing is never finished only abandoned. But don’t abandon your script yet. Yes, you won your way into the Duke Shootout with those 12 or so, fine pages. But your mentor, producer and actors may have questions about the flow of your story, the pay-offs of certain scenes, logic that doesn’t track for them, etc. Thank them for the feedback, and use what works for you. Your script, though good, could get better. After I got the call that I’d been chosen, I rewrote my script a couple times before I flew to Albuquerque, incorporating suggestions from my producer and mentor. Then I tweaked it a few times after I arrived. I have to say, it improved. Sometimes the ideas weren’t mine. An actress misread a line during auditions, and it was better than the one I had, so I incorporated it. During shooting, a couple more ideas bubbled to the surface; they got included as well. I finished my final draft two days before shooting. That wasn’t bad for my production because most of my characters had small parts and they’d been through rehearsals and knew the gist of their roles. But you might want to set a little earlier deadline for your final draft.

Casting I actually flew in for casting, because I got a cheap ticket. But not to worry, the casting director will send you DVD’s of everyone who auditions for your film. Sometimes I had a completely different idea for a part, but someone just came in and wowed me with his or her take on it. Go with the actors who wow you. That’s less work for you to do, and believe me your plate will be crammed. I came in for auditions around the 24th of June, and the casting wasn’t made official until about three weeks later. Most of the people I wanted, I got. But I found that this, particularly, is an area in which flexibility is a must. Actors you want might choose to go with another film. (Seven DCS films are being shot over the same time period.) Or you might find that an actor you thought would work, doesn’t for some reason, or that someone who said “yes,” now can’t do it. Also, consider non-traditional casting. Be open to casting a different race, gender or type that you had in mind. In an earlier draft of my script, I had a St. Peter character, who was going to be on the phone when my dead guy arrived at the pearly gates. Before the part got cut, I’d cast a black guy with locks. It would have made for a funny twist. If you need help working with actors, check out the book: Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television By Judith Weston.

Rehearsals The more the better. I had three with my cast of thousands (actually about 20 people). Some couldn’t make it to one rehearsal, but came to two others. This is where you want your cast to become intimately familiar the overall story. You may initially have your actors simply read through the piece without doing any acting at all. Then consider talking to them about whom they think the character is, and what their character wants. Now they might start trying the role on. You want the performance to feel natural, not like some put-on. Some actors will be very natural, others will do too much “acting.” That may mean you have to dig deeper into how that character feels; what the character’s come-from is. Example: One of my actors kept playing his role the same way over and over, so I actually looked at my dialogue for him and did some rewriting. Then I sat with him and talked more in depth about what his character had been through. His performance evolved. Rehearsals help your actors live into their parts, and turn in even better performances. Strong acting, along with a solid story, contributes a good 80 percent of the success of your film.

Your shot list/storyboards These are critical. They are the bridge between your written script, and the movie the audience will see on the screen. Every shot should be accounted for, so that you can translate your words into images. If you don’t have something on the page and you forget to shoot it, you may be sitting in the editing room with a long face, and your editor’s face will be even longer. Visual gaps in storytelling are jarring to your audience. Go over your shot list and storyboards with your producer (for scheduling purposes), as well as your mentor and director of photography. Get absolutely clear. Duke City will insist on a shot list and storyboards. Find out what the deadline is and give yourself plenty of time to do this part of the process, even if your drawing is lousy. It’s not easy to make storyboards, but its well worth it. While you may ultimately be assigned a storyboard artist, you may not be get this person onboard until too late in the game. Don’t wait. A book that might prove helpful: The Art of the Storyboard: Storyboarding for Film, TV and Animation by John Hart.

Working with your producer I had challenges working with mine, I think because he perceived me as going over his head a couple of times, when in fact, I didn’t know what the lines of demarcation were, in terms of what I was supposed to do and what he was supposed to do. So a conversation about what’s expected of each of you is critical. Do it up front with plenty of follow up conversations along the way. Some producers fight for the director, others are more sticklers about the rules. Either way, you two are joined at the hip, so find a way to get along. You may have to sacrifice a few things owing to the budget, but find a way to get the things you really want if they help tell your story. Your film will have your name on it forever and ever.

Working with actors Some are easy to deal with. Some are divas. Some will have their idea of their character and you will be loathe to pull it out from their clutches. For the divas, give them plenty of reassurance and compliments and, at the same time, impress upon them how little time there is to get everything done, how much pressure is on you, and how much you’re depending upon their cooperation. Repeat as necessary. For the actors who seem entrenched in playing it one way, spend more time with them talking about your vision for the character, about a nuance they might try, about not being so set on one interpretation, because something more interesting might occur to them. In general, give them lots of acknowledgment. Acting puts people in a vulnerable place, and your encouragement willmean a lot to them.

Working with the crew Mostly this is your producer’s job, but as a director, you will work with the director of photography, the assistant director, and the script supervisor. So have lots of chats with them to sort through how you will get the job done. Your assistant director, aside from managing the set, is there for you. If you need a bottle of water, if you need something from your car, if you need a person summoned, get clear with you’re a.d. and/or a production assistant that you’ll be asking for these kinds of things, because there will be times that you simply can’t leave the set. In general, as the director, you set the tone for the set. Be pleasant, be respectful, and avoid barking at people, even when you’re stressed. A pleasant environment will benefit your production.

Dealing with extras This again is the responsibility of your producer and his or her team. But I found on my set that people kept telling me how horrible they felt for the extras who were kept waiting. But here’s the deal: Waiting goes along with being an extra. You wait until you’re needed, if you’re needed. Extras need to be informed over the phone, before they arrive, that there may be considerable wait times involved, so they may want to bring a book and a friend. We had games and puzzles on set. If you have extras over several hours, you will need to supply snacks or even food for them. Since budgets are very tight with the Shootout, if possible, schedule one day to shootyour scenes with extras.

Location, location, location Your producer and members of your crew will probably have to do this leg work before you arrive. Have some idea of what you want. For my film, about rampant cell-phone use at a funeral, I needed a church. I held out for one with steps outside, pews, and a look that was not too denominational. My team looked at church after church after church, and finally came up with a beauty (2801 Lomas Boulevard at Girard). The church was very flexible with us and didn’t cost us a lot of money, if any. It’s even better if you can do all your shoots on or around the same location, because changing places takes time, and during the Duke City Shootout, you don’t have much.

Props and wardrobe Give your props and wardrobe team a script and a list of everything you think you’ll need as soon aspossible, and then a few days before the shoot, meet or talk withthem to see where things stand. You may be working with people for whom this is a first film. If there’s something they haven’t gotten that’s important, press for it. Again, try to be flexible, but don’t settle for something that doesn’t work. In my film, I wanted big hats and crazy ties. When there weren’t enough big hats, I made a big deal of it at the 11th hour. They come up with the hats.

Shoot days They are long. At times you will feel encouraged, and other times you will feel like the tide has turned against you. If you are a new director (and possibly even an experienced one), you may shoot too many takes on your first day. Work closely with your script supervisor, who keeps track of all your takes and all the scenes you’ve shot, to see where you are at any point in the process. Check off the scenes you’ve shot. Ideally, you’ll want one quarter of your film shot the first day, another quarter the second day, and so on. You may find yourself ahead at a certain point, or behind. Don’t just plow ahead. Stop periodically and assess where you are. If you find you don’t have time to shoot everything in your script, think through how the cuts will affect the story and the editing. Come up with alternative ideas for how your editor can still make your story coherent, while your shooting. A couple of good books on directing: On Directing Film by David Mamet and A Sense of Direction by William Ball.

Security On Set Don’t bring anything valuable on set, a lesson I learned the hard way. If there are valuable props/wardrobe pieces, consider having your actors and extras check them in and out with their drivers’ licenses. Lock up valuables not being used in the current scene in a closet. Pay attention to who comes onto to your set. Don’t let people move around your location unattended.

Taking Care of Yourself There are plenty of parties. Make an appearance, meet people, exchange cards, and then go home and get sleep. Keep a notebook for ideas that occur to you, credits you need to include, phone numbers of people and things to follow up on, and just for whatever comes up that you need to remember, but probably won’t. Keep some protein bars on you. I lost five pounds during the shootout. Not that that was a bad thing, but you need to keep your strength. Try to ignore things and people that annoy you. Shake it off, and keep moving forward.

Watching Dailies After you shoot all day, you may want to go back to the hotel and chill. A better idea is to go to the facility where they’ll be editing the DCS movies and watch the video shot for your movie that day aka the dailies. You can see what you’ve got and how it will fit in to your overall story. Watching the dailies will refresh your memory of what you shot that day,and give you a feel for how your project is coming together. This is part of the pre-editing process. You can see some things you definitely want to keep in, and perhaps some things you’ll have to work around, because they did not turn out as you thought they would.

Working with your editor Your editor may ask for a day to do a rough cut. That’s fine. But get in the editing room as soon as you can, because you must be the one to say, wait, there was a better take than the one you used, or I think we should go with the close up, in this instance instead of the medium shot, because the actress does X better in this shot than in that one. It’s a fluid dialogue with your editor, marrying his or her expertise in cutting a story together, with your overall vision for the project. Work from your shot list, storyboard and memory of the actual shoot.

Audio Movies go better with music and sound effects (doors closing, keys dropping). Sound makes a film feel more authentic to life. Think about what your movie should sound like. What’s its rhythm or pace? What sound effects will you need? Some may be recorded on set, others in edit. In terms of a soundtrack, you will receive a lot of free CDs from people who would like to have their music used in DCS films. Listen to them for possible use. I have a friend who is a singer/musician, and she got people together to record music for me. Then my editor got a cool song from a DJ in Poland, which we ended up using. If you choose to use music, make sure your producer/production team gets right- to-use clearances for the music. There are forms, and there are deadlines by which they need to be turned in.

Credits Keep a running tab of your credits. I started mine as a word document. Get down correct spelling of your cast member’s names, get your crews names from your producer, include your mentor, of course, and anytime somebody does something for your film, add them to the credits. You do not want to tackle this task last minute when you’re stressed. Try to do something stylish with your credits. We just ran ours. But look at the credits for “Maklar Anyone,” they did something fun with theirs. Why not give your audience a cool send off with stylish credits and a great song?

Deadlines DCS has several. Make yourself a checklist. Also create some deadlines of your own for your production and your team, include those in the checklist as well. Have your producer and mentor look over the list to make sure you’ve covered everything and that the time frame is realistic.

Have a blast What I mean by that is, um, have a blast.

Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. Wishing you every success.
Pamela
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