Trailer

Finally I have finished cutting a little trailer sample of the short. I have taken a long time in finishing this movie, partly because of huge technical issues (I must say they seem to follow me whereever I go) and also because I just wanted to remove myself from it so I can come back with a different perspective. A lot of people are waiting for a cut in anticipation and frankly this film has come to be an albatros around my neck.....but there is a film and I believe in it whole-heatedly so I must put it out there so that I can move on to another project that's been in gestation for a while. Its been an incredible journey with Restless and I also cannot wait to see the finished product, which will hopefully be sometime next month. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer. (That's to those who follow this blog :-) Till next time.

Please can you follow this link which will lead you directly to the trailer.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=10150199818213243&subj=644333242

The restless mind

The short is completed and ready to be screened. I will be cutting a trailer and uploading it on line. I have also decided to change the title of the film to Restless. It sounds more definate and less pretentious. I am glad about the final product and I can not wait to test it and see what the reaction is like.

So what next? A bit more writing, holiday and the future (whatever that may be).

Look out for the trailer soon.

Well, at least the hullabaloo of shooting has passed and frankly,I am so relieved. Now the real work starts and this will probably require every single skill and resolve I have amassed in the last couple of years.

I started the edit and a slightly rough version of some scene, some have turned out better than expected and some.....lets just say require a bit of tweaking here and there. Over all, I think the project has a lot of potential and I can't wait to see the final cut.

Hopefully I will be releasing a trailer soon, look out for some stills.

Til next time.

The low dweller

seeing the same vision

This is taken on the same day as the other still. Here we look at the samples that I have just shot of Brett and we were both impressed with the quality of the camera as well as the emotion he conveyed in that impromptu scene. One thing I have observed about him is that he is a very intuitive actor. During rehearsals I found myself not being able to articulate the direction in which a scene is supposed to go and he would come up to me and ask me if he can try something and it would work perfectly the way I saw it. I liked the fact that he took control of his performance instead of relying on my direction. There is so much I can say about Brett but thats for another time.

Brett getting in to camera: This was done after our rehearsal. This gave me an opportunity to brush up on my acting skills and it was a lot of fun playing the character that Robby Collins is playing. I decided right afterwards to take a camera and go to the park and film something with Brett. As a theatre actor, I wanted him to be familiar with the camera and to be comfortable with it at this distance. He was a natural, and the camera loved him. He has such an expressive face and every single strand of hair and line on his youthful face was visible. I guess that is the beauty of new age technology 

in anticipation of clear skies

The madness, excitement and the stress has crept in. We have only but a week to go before principal photography and to be honest...I am not sure where we are in terms of readiness. I love what the actors have done with their characters and the script. The rehearsals have been great, there is one crucial scene still to be done and this will clearly indicate how far these actors are willing to go with their characters. This is where trust comes into play. I've decided to give them freedom to interpret these scenes and let them flow before I give my input and from my observation they have been spot on. This is a new method of directing that I have applied. I have seen a much more natural approach in their delivery when they use their own interpretation.

So far so good but one major concern I have at the moment is the budget. Within a week to go we should have a clear indication of what we can achieve. This makes things difficult to plan and manage production. Up to this point I have used my resources and it has put me in a predicament....I cant postpone the shoot as I am working around my actors schedule, one day missed and the whole production suffers. I have faith that our financers will come through so I am looking up at the skies in anticipation of sunlight. I won't say more on this to keep my frustration in check.

I have promised some stills on the production so check the next post.

The light shines on

There seems to be a film movement in South Africa. This movement is taken to the streets. Local filmmakers have refused to wait for their projects to be commissioned or funding to arrive, they are just simply making their film in spite of these odds and bearing the costs. It seems that the need to tell stories is far greater and more urgent than waiting for a king size blockbuster budget to arrive.
The new Sollywood movement has been an inspiration. It is proudly South African and concerned about telling meaningful South African stories set within our community. They are aiming at creating a positive image of this beautiful country. What’s not to like about them? We have just recently seen what a unified nation can do to the image our country. It’s a great idea but I also do not think Sollywood should limit itself solely to telling South African stories. We have seen how important some of these stories are but I think we can tell universal stories while retaining our local flavour. But that’s for another day, the good news is we are seeing more and more local films being made with exciting platforms to showcase the talent such as the DIFF along with informative workshops and seminars.
Even aspirant filmmakers such as myself can showcase their talents and at local festivals and film challenges. African cinema may not win a lot of Academy awards but that still does not deter us from making movies with passion and enthusiasm. Looking up at the heavens is is indeed clear that the future is bright.