Director's Commentary 1 2
3 4
The Housebreak Scene
This was the first scene we shot simply out of
convenience, since everyone was already meeting at my place.
One of the great things about using your own locations is that
reshoots are relatively easy. For example, one of the filler
shots, a closeup of someone jiggling the doorknob (a shot that
was ultimately cut from the lite version, which is on the AsianAmericanFilm.com
website), was shot weeks afterwards, when I needed a shot to
soften the transition between the appearance of Degas and Ben
and Suzie breaking into the house. A tripod and a remote control
was all I needed.
The shot on the left, a sparse 2 seconds in the
final product, was also part of a reshoot, because I felt that
Suzie's running scene needed a little more. So my advice to filmmakers
out there is to use locations you have easy access to, because
reshoots are easier to garner up if you need them. If you do
decide to use a landmark, say, the Space Needle, just shoot the
hell out of it. Use up a lot of footage, and do a lot of pre-planning
as to what you want as a director. The shot on the left, though
short, did add a lot to the final product. Another perk about
using your own locations is that I didn't have to ask for permission
or pay a fee to break into my own house. Thing is, the cast tends
to drink all your pop. That's the downside, I suppose.
As some of you may have read in the production
diary on AsianAmericanFilm.com, on the first day I did get handcuffed
in the scene, twice. Only the second time the key was lost, and
I was stuck in handcuffs for a good hour and a half. Suddenly,
the job title "propmaster" doesn't seem so superficial.
The sunglasses that I wear in the scene
are actually prescription sunglasses, otherwise I wouldn't really
wear them for the scene. I don't think they really look the part
of Ben anyway. Yes, I was pretty much unable to see 2 feet ahead
of me when we were shooting.
In this scene we did strive to make the Degas character
more mysterious and enigmatic, thus the toothpick shot, and the
shadow shot. I don't know if that really worked, since we did
spend a good amount of time getting to know him briefly after
the overpass scene. By which way, Degas was supposed to be a
cop, and we attempted to get the cooperation of the local law
enforcement. But I'm sorta glad it didn't work out, because we
did do a good amount of time reshooting Sean and figuring out
what we wanted.
Eliza mentioned that none of the characters
really have much of a wadrobe, we pretty much wear the same thing
throughout the whole short. I didn't think that really mattered
much, but looking at the short, you'd figure that we were seeing
at least two days in their lives, because of the night scene.
So these are actually some grody people, who can't seem to find
the time to change.
The one thing I do regret is not getting a better
ending sequence for the characters. Originally, I did want to
shoot the characters from the side window, but the reflection
from the glass made it impossible. I don't really like the fact
that we spend the last few seconds of the short staring at the
back of all the characters' heads. I think I still kick myself
for not reshooting the last scene.
Well, that's my little commentary. Special
thanks to Eliza, Sean, Tim, Brendon and Maralise for all their
help and support for this little project, because without them,
it'd be a puppet show. Hope you enjoyed the short, and I could
use all the suggestions and comments anyone has to offer. Cheerio!
