STATUS: IN POST-PRODUCTION
GENRE: drama
THE PITCH: TBA
TAGLINE: TBA
LOGLINE: A teenager questions her mother's normally unforthcoming date to get to know him and see if he is a good match.
TONE: It has serious moments, but overall, the tone is LITE, with humor to keep it from being too dark and to add to the entertainment value.
Think "HOUSE MD" tv series: it was a serious program, but had humor that came from the character interactions and personalities.
Lit cinematic and dynamically - not all bright and cheerful despite the overall tone.
NOTES:
A 3 day shoot. Filmed November 11, 12, & 19, 2023.
Hoping to be accepted in the fall of 2025 at one local 254 Showcase" - a film festival that exhibits local filmmaker's projects in the Waco, TX area. After that, the short film will be available online.
It was inspired from that scene in the UNCLE BUCK movie where Macaulay Culkin questions John Candy, but wanted a more serious approach and incorporate FLASHBACKS ("show don't tell!"); also, heavily influenced by a 1911 short story "The Open Window" by "SAKI" Hector Hugh Monroe
This is a 20 minute SHORT FILM. Originally, a 17 minute version was submitted to a big festival, but they had too many submissions to choose from and were unable to accept our project. While the plan was to make an extended, 23 minute version including scenes that were shortened or deleted for the original festival version, it was decided, after a year and a half, to simply put this project behind us and present it to the world as soon as possible. A 19 minute, 30 second running time was decided to be the definitive, director's cut. Though it has a shortened (1 minute less) opening scene, and missing an entire 2 scenes ("Do you like to try new things?", and a few little, minor snippets here and there, only three and a half minutes grand total of footage was cut form the final, definitive version. The pacing of and relevance to the overall story makes these cuts acceptable.
WHAT DID WE LEARN ON THE SHOW TONIGHT, CRAIG?
Have a checklist before EVERY location, not just at the beginning of the day. Be prepared for every possible scenario you can think of.
A CREW is vital. Two is good (audio and slate), four (with Camera operator(s), Grips, P.A.s) would be great.
No matter how overwhelmed due to many tasks, ALWAYS CHECK THE MONITOR for any reflections, shadows, and CREW/EQUIPMENT IN THE SHOT!!!!
Having to erase out light stands in the shot is 3 days of post I will never get back & could've been working on more productive tasks!!!!
When shooting characters playing a game like billiards with one camera, film every possible angle with characters standing in every possible direction and movements. Having too much coverage, and choices, is vital compared to not having enough coverage. Continuity is a be-yatch on these scenes.
When using professional cameras, that record in a "raw" format that easily allows the manipulation of the image in post-production, the image is filmed with a "flat" color scheme, making the color grading much easier later. However, using a Canon 90d HDSLR camera, that does NOT record raw in itself, it has been decided the color grading (especially when we have to use Topaz AI to upscale footage), is unnecessary and creates more trouble than it's worth. So the NEXT film project will be recorded using the BEST image quality the Canon 90d allows, thus making the coloring a MUCH easier and less time consuming endeavor. (Almost five full weeks total was spent on coloring Teenage Inquisition.... that's about 26 more days than it should have taken!!)
CAST
Frankie Nixson, Hunter Boyd, Victoria Bellamy, Alexandria Yates
