Matt Kieley
01-19-2008, 10:51 PM
I've been trying to keep a diary on the making of my first feature film online, so I thought I'd talk about it here too. It's mainly for posterity, and to keep me going. First off, I decided to start making a feature, as I feel I've outgrown the short film format. I wanted to start painting on a bigger canvas, so to speak, and I thought ti would be a new challenge for me.
So for nearly two years, I've been trying to get a feature film off of the ground. For about six months I wrote various drafts of a script about an amnesiac plagued by people who claim he wronged in the past. I even went as far as to cast it, and have a table read of the script. A couple of factors went into why I didn't make that film: 1. The Script just wasn't that good, and 2. The Actors were good, but not as right for their roles as I thought they were initially. I also knew in my gut that it just wasn't the kind of film I needed to be making at that point in my life. I abandoned the film for something more personal.
In September 2006, I started writing this film, which was called "Next Exit" at the time, and was much more character/dialogue-driven than the previous script, which was very plot-driven. It's gone through different incarnations and storylines, but the characters have always been the same. For this story, I decided to throw away conventional plot in favor of a day-to-day portrait of a small group of characters and the incidents they experience. The story is told through four characters' points of view, via their dialogue and their behavior/actions. 14 months, six drafts, and three titles later, "Next Exit" became "Romantic Misadventures" (well, for now, until I can think of a better title). It's about four young friends coping with the tragedy of heartbreak, and their attempts at finding love again.
So for a couple of months now I've been trying to get things done, pooling a crew together, getting ready to (hopefully) start casting.
The production crew as of now consists of me directing and shooting
My friend Corey Ferdinand (who is also a filmmaker) will be doing sound.
His fiancee Shannon Willette (who is also my friend) will be doing production design (fabricating and arranging wardrobe, dressing the set, doing props and graphics, to a lesser extent, as well as the artwork of an artist character--she's really, really talented in all of these areas). Check out her arts and crafts stuff on myspace: Juice Box Love (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=184609774)
A very talented local make-up artist, Rachel Contreras, will be doing, well, the make-up.
There will also be a few more friends who might help out, doing various grip jobs, and I have a few talented photographer friends who will do the production stills.
As for post-production:
I'll be editing.
The score and sound design will be done by this talented composer from the netherlands, Herman Witkam. Right now Herman is scoring my next short film, as a sort of "practice" long distance collaboration. And so far, it's working great. Check out his stuff: http://herman-witkam.com/
My friend Benn Wheeler (and his band Cockeyed Caucasian Cockfight) will be creating some songs for the film. Check them out on myspace: www.myspace.com/cockeyedcaucasiancockfight
As for the current casting situation: Kimberly Chin, a former teacher, now friend, and theatre director, will be helping me find actors. I also have an actress friend who's involved in local theatre, who's passing the script around to actor friends of hers, and helping spread the word. Casting is the most important step, as this film so heavily relies on the characters and dialogue. Bad acting, and improper casting will ruin this movie. I hope this goes well, as if there's no cast, there's basically no movie.
I'm going to update this thread with production journals, once things really get going.
So for nearly two years, I've been trying to get a feature film off of the ground. For about six months I wrote various drafts of a script about an amnesiac plagued by people who claim he wronged in the past. I even went as far as to cast it, and have a table read of the script. A couple of factors went into why I didn't make that film: 1. The Script just wasn't that good, and 2. The Actors were good, but not as right for their roles as I thought they were initially. I also knew in my gut that it just wasn't the kind of film I needed to be making at that point in my life. I abandoned the film for something more personal.
In September 2006, I started writing this film, which was called "Next Exit" at the time, and was much more character/dialogue-driven than the previous script, which was very plot-driven. It's gone through different incarnations and storylines, but the characters have always been the same. For this story, I decided to throw away conventional plot in favor of a day-to-day portrait of a small group of characters and the incidents they experience. The story is told through four characters' points of view, via their dialogue and their behavior/actions. 14 months, six drafts, and three titles later, "Next Exit" became "Romantic Misadventures" (well, for now, until I can think of a better title). It's about four young friends coping with the tragedy of heartbreak, and their attempts at finding love again.
So for a couple of months now I've been trying to get things done, pooling a crew together, getting ready to (hopefully) start casting.
The production crew as of now consists of me directing and shooting
My friend Corey Ferdinand (who is also a filmmaker) will be doing sound.
His fiancee Shannon Willette (who is also my friend) will be doing production design (fabricating and arranging wardrobe, dressing the set, doing props and graphics, to a lesser extent, as well as the artwork of an artist character--she's really, really talented in all of these areas). Check out her arts and crafts stuff on myspace: Juice Box Love (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=184609774)
A very talented local make-up artist, Rachel Contreras, will be doing, well, the make-up.
There will also be a few more friends who might help out, doing various grip jobs, and I have a few talented photographer friends who will do the production stills.
As for post-production:
I'll be editing.
The score and sound design will be done by this talented composer from the netherlands, Herman Witkam. Right now Herman is scoring my next short film, as a sort of "practice" long distance collaboration. And so far, it's working great. Check out his stuff: http://herman-witkam.com/
My friend Benn Wheeler (and his band Cockeyed Caucasian Cockfight) will be creating some songs for the film. Check them out on myspace: www.myspace.com/cockeyedcaucasiancockfight
As for the current casting situation: Kimberly Chin, a former teacher, now friend, and theatre director, will be helping me find actors. I also have an actress friend who's involved in local theatre, who's passing the script around to actor friends of hers, and helping spread the word. Casting is the most important step, as this film so heavily relies on the characters and dialogue. Bad acting, and improper casting will ruin this movie. I hope this goes well, as if there's no cast, there's basically no movie.
I'm going to update this thread with production journals, once things really get going.