The Film Directive

And now for something completely different...

The Film Directive

Those who have been reading for a while may remember my first entry here, setting: Great Barrier Island - February.  Well there was one key event that happened there, that I didn't mention at the time.  It wasn't that I forgot to put it in, in fact quite the opposite.  I knew it deserved its own entry when the time came.  Well, the time has come. 'The Film Directive' is a short film that we shot back in February, and this blog is a behind the scenes look at how it went down.  We begin with the characters.

Owen Watts (McKoy): Writing - Direction - Acting - Editing

Owen is the ultimate director, constantly thinking of the end product, and will not let up until he has the footage he needs.  Case and point, the 'Snake Slapping Scene'.  This scene lasts all of 3 seconds in the film, and involves Owen's character McKoy relentlessly slapping Stu's character Snake across the face as hard as possible.  ''The body movements have to look real'' was Owen's catch phrase during shooting of the scene, and where lesser directors may have opted to cheat the slaps to avoid real contact, Owen insisted that for the integrity of the film, nothing less than full contact would do.  Furthermore, Owen pushed through the pain barrier, slapping Stu for take after take long after his hands became red and swollen from the constant punishment they took.  A true professional.

Owen and Stu, a great working relationship.

The best thing though about working with Owen, apart from his jokes, good looks and charm (he asked me to put that in), is that he knows much about the film process.  Not only does Owen write, he also directs, acts, colour grades, edits, and is the man behind the special effects, titles, and voice overs.  Owen and I had been talking about shooting a film on the Barrier for quite a while before the shoot actually happened.  And to actually be shooting the film that had been in your mind for ages, with your mate, on the Barrier is possibly one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had. 

Oh, he is also a handy stunt man.

Stu McGann (Snake): Acting - Set and Graphic Design

What to say about Stu, a man who is not only willing to go the extra mile, but a man who will often run an extra marathon.  Just one example to show you the kind of man Stu is:  Its 11pm on a Friday night.  Stu's phone rings.  He picks it up, its Owen on the line. 

Owen and Stu, a great working relationship.

''Hey Stu, hows things?''

''Good thanks, whats up?''

''Not too much, just wondering if you are free tomorrow?''

''Yeah...''

''In the morning?''

''... yeah?''

''O.K., I've got something I could really use your help with.  We are filming tomorrow, on a boat, off the coast of Waiheke, and we have just run into a slight problem.  The boat leaves at 5am, but have just realised we have nothing to charge the film camera's batteries with on location once they run out...  so, would you mind going out in the morning to hire depot, pick up a generator, take it down to the ferry building, jump on the ferry to Waiheke with it, and when you are there, take it to Palm Beach on the bus to meet us at midday?''

''Jesus Christ... I don't even have a car.''

''You can borrow mine.''

''... exhaling loudly ... what kind of Generator?''

''Just one of the small ones, they only weigh about 30kg''

''... silence ...''

''Thanks mate, I really appreciate it, just pulling up outside your place now to drop the car off.''

Dedicated

Not only did Stu deliver on the generator, but he delivered in spades on the Barrier.  His character Snake took an absolute pounding.  During the film he was dragged through the sand, dragged behind a boat, dragged behind a tractor, and mercilessly slapped around the face in the aforementioned slapping scene.  Stu, there are no two ways about it, you are a true champion.  And if his Vladimir Putin method style of acting isn't enough for you, Stu is also an incredibly talented graphic artist, designing the titles for the film (as per the first image on this blog), and all the props on set.

Props bro.

Tim Hunger (Brisco): Acting, Direction

Brisco was always going to be the star of the show.  The only problem was that we had no idea which of us was going to play Brisco.  The first read through of the script was when we got to the Barrier.  It took all of two words from Tim's mouth before we all knew he was Brisco. 

The read through.

Being from Paeroa, Tim not only acted the part, but lived the part.  In Paeroa, it seems you are taught to drive a tractor pretty much before you are taught to walk.  Tractors, boats, 4x4s, no big deal.  Pity the film didn't include pig hunting, or deer skinning.  A possibility for any sequel though. 

Tim as Brisco

Randy Jackson would say you took the part and made it your own.  I would also say that too.

Me (John): Writing - Acting - Photographic Direction

As I really can't act, you will see that my characters screen time is somewhat limited.  The upside of this though is that I got to spend time behind the camera shooting a lot of the film, which I really enjoyed.

I was also convinced, somehow, to jump off the railing of the balcony backwards onto a couple of mattresses.  It didn't seem like a good idea at the time, it turned out not to be such a great idea, and I don't recommend it.

It wasn't just the 4 that you can see in the film that were involved in the film though.  During the shooting process James Watkins and Wells Nunzio were both with us, and played important parts in the larger picture.

James Watkins: Stills - Photographic Direction

All of the photos in this blog are James Watkins'.  James was on hand to not only document the filming process, but when needed was able to jump behind the camera and film some real magic.  The opening beach scene has Watkins fingerprints all over it as do several of the mountain shots.

Watkins refused to wear clothing thoroughout the shoot.

Wells Nunzio Adam Vaiana: Crew - Sound

We met Wells on the beach a few weeks before the film shoot.  A week later, Wells was living with us, and stayed for the next 3 weeks, including during the shooting. You can never have enough good help on set, but when Wells was on set, you didn't really need too many others as he could pick up and run with anything, even while barefooting over oyseter rocks.  Hope to have you back on Barrier soon mate.

 How to do sound.

The Film

So enough of the behind the scenes, and time for the real action.  The links to the film are posted below, but first a brief synopsis.

The film is set on an island that is said to be cursed.  Many have tried, yet all have failed to shoot a film on the cursed island.  Enter the Film Direcive, an elite squad of 4 renegade film makers, not afraid to push the limits.  A grindhouse style film with action, swearing, drama, and heart.  R18 contains excessive use of profanity (to hide our fundamental acting flaws).

I would recommend loading both parts up before watching so you don't have any unplanned intermission breaks, and also turn up your volume to enjoy the soundtrack.

The Film Directive Part 1

The Film Directive Part 2

Enjoy.