Just finished and posted this short film: THE SUNNYSIDE MURDERS [SHORT FILM]

It’s 19 minutes and 18 seconds long, so I don’t expect people will watch it instantly. If you have watched it, thank you, and if you haven’t watched it, maybe this blog entry will pique your interest. It does contain spoilers, but who really cares?

The working title of this film was The Robbery. We shot it on-location in Queens, NY, over the course of 12 hours. Considering there were no rehearsals, and, besides Peter and Lauren, none of the actors knew each other or had met before, I think it turned out well. But because it was filmed in such a rush, I wasn’t able to give the actors much direction, so the fact that it turned out to be so close to what I had initially imagined, is a testament to the people in it.

It’s certainly a slightly more experimental film than you’ll find in a cineplex theater. The feel and mood of the film changes often. I love the dancing in it, which was all choreographed by Stephanie Danielson. I suggested some songs and she came up with these fabulous routines within a day or two. We shot the dance for the opening credits a week or two before the other ones within the movie (the latter two were filmed during the main 12 hour shooting span). Essentially, they stand-alone, and I find them interesting to watch irregardless of what happens before or after. That’s one of the reasons the film changes it’s aspect ratio during those sequences (including the opening credits), switching between 1:85 and 2:35.

In the past, I’ve made a film or two in which “nothing happens”. Well, something happens, of course, but not what an audience would expect, I guess. I completely understand this gripe, but at the same time, I’m a fan of the avante-garde, so it’s okay with me. I’d probably be down to watch a film about a hallway with a flickering light. To some extent, this film, The Sunnyside Murders, might have too much happening in it, but I like the pacing and it seems to work fine, as far as I can tell.

I think a lot of people will find this film unsettling for two primary reasons. One, being Stephanie’s character arc. I think she, as a person, ends up in a different place by the end of the movie (besides winding up dead, of course). But what exactly her revelation is, remains ambiguous. Her moment of catharsis is obviously the death scene, just after she is stabbed by Bob. As she is dying, she evolves, but the audience is left to make up their own minds about how exactly that might be, or rather, what she learned. People want clarity in those matters, I know, but I preferred to leave it open-ended in this film. I find those kinds of things force a certain level of self-consciousness from the viewer, because he or she must project many more of their own ideas and thoughts onto the film in order to completely understand it. A certain amount of people won’t do this, and will likely feel alienated by other similar moments in the film.

The second reason this might be an unsettling film, is because there’s very little “heart” in it. In Hollywood, you might insert a scene of the main character helping some old woman load groceries into her car, or cross the street. In The Sunnyside Murders everything just happens, and you’re never really asked to like any of these characters.

I shot this with the Canon 7D, with the help of some key people listed in the credits. I couldn’t be happier with the way it looks. The night stuff was shot in the dark, and we used a few $4 flashlights from Home Depot to light it on the sidewalk. Nothing was storyboarded; it was all run-and-gun style. Of course, being in New York City helps (light-wise), but trust me, I couldn’t have done it without the ISO of the 7D. It was also freezing that night, apparently – that’s what the crew tells me. I didn’t notice it as much, because I was too immersed in getting the shots, but looking back, I’m amazed that all of these fine people showed up and stuck around to film this with me until the end.

I love the score by John King (http://www.mettaaudio.com). I met him during my year in Indiana (1999-2000), and it’s been a blessing to know such a talented composer, willing to help me for nothing in return. While he was writing the music for this, he had his second child, so he was forced to leave it about 25% incomplete, and we never had a chance to tweak it. I extrapolated from what he had already given me and was able to finish the score by arranging his tracks in different ways for the scenes that needed music. It also helped that I had already planned on using some pop songs for the dance sequences. All things considered, I think the score turned out excellent.

If I was to submit this to film festivals, I would need to officially license all of the pop songs (fat chance), or replace them with same-tempo songs by lesser-known, independent artists (that grant me permission to use their music). I would also want to go back and dub (ADR) all of the dialogue in a studio to give it a “tighter”, more professional sound. As it stands, about 50% of the sound is “live” (recorded on-location with a Zoom H4n), and while it sounds okay, New York City is a noisy place, so it’s not as clean as I’d like it to be. There are lingering artifacts in the sound.

I had a great time doing all of the post-production on this, including the fire effects and the “montage” sequences. The sound mix was a monsterous, time-consuming task for me. I was a sound engineer for years, having engineered records for artists such as Alicia Keys and Jay-Z, but mixing a 20 minute film – and getting it to sound good – was far more challenging that I ever thought it could be. (I’m still not confident that it sounds good, actually.)

I didn’t do anything arbitrarily, and it all means something to me. If it ends up meaning something different to you, that’s a-okay. It’s certainly not a perfect film – far from it – but I think I’m getter better with each one, and close to hitting my stride.

I don’t believe in intellectualizing your own work, and I certainly don’t want to place any self-importance in this, so if you take the time to watch this 20 minute film, thank you. I know that’s a sizable investment, and hopefully this blog entry helps bolster that experience for you.

If you want more info on the actors:

Stephanie Danielson:
http://www.stephdanielson.com

Peter Ganim:
http://www.peterganim.com

Lauren Fortgang:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2473063

Dan Chen:
http://dramalaw.com

From the crew:

Christopher Camp, aka Logrithmic, is a filmmaker in his own right, and turned me on to the Canon 7D. I highly recommend checking out his videos at: http://www.logrithmic.com

Sumeet Bharati, co-producer, is also a singer, and about five years ago, she had a popular song out called “Agony” featuring a Jamaican artist named Elephant Man: http://www.sumeetmusic.com