Producing My 10th Short

So, I was on Oahu for the past month. Originally, I was there to work as an Assistant Director on someone else's film, but due to producing issues the film got pushed back. I was already there though, so I suggested taking a day and shooting a Proof of Concept. We did, and in short it was awesome!

On set of “Fractured” Dir. by Hunter Procter

Well, of course I was inspired. In my short time there, I met so many other wonderful creatives either for the first time or the first time in person. I kept brushing the urge off. No way I'm gonna produce a film while I'm here. I have nothing planned, not even a usable script.

The urge kept growing though, and 3 days before I was supposed to fly home, I decided to take the leap and shoot my 10th film.

(Fun fact: it was at this moment we realized I was the shortest person on set)

WRITING:

Well, if I was gonna do this, I had to prep for it. At the start of the trip, I had no idea what I wanted to shoot that would be feasible to shoot. The only story that I kind of had in mind was one that would require significantly more time to prep and shoot than I had. During my stay, I feel like God was continuously putting a specific story on my heart.

I had made a short film a few years ago called A Different Voice. Maybe you've seen it, maybe you haven't. It follows an anxiety ridden teen trying to suppress the voices in her head as a classmate's expectations leave her feeling inadequate.

Still from “A Different Voice”

I've been considering expanding this film for a while to be a feature, as I just don't feel like 10 minutes was enough time to fully capture the character's story and the message I was trying to portray. I especially wanted to capture how the character's thoughts was like an anchor sinking her, and her unwillingness to confront it right away prevents her from allowing God to heal her. It's an aspect not captured fully in the short but I believe can be something beautiful if given time to evolve.

During my trip I started brainstorming ideas for a feature. Brainstorming led to an outline, and as I was reading the outline I zeroed in on a scene I thought would be great to shoot. It was simple, engaging, and I had access to everything needed to shoot it.

It was also refreshing to write because as a creative it's easy to let perfection get in the way of completion. This script, if I wanted to shoot it before I left I had no time to harp over unimportant things. This was meant to be a fun challenge. There will be plenty of time to obsess over small things as I'm writing the feature, but simplicity is key for this one.

PRE PRODUCTION:

After having my script locked, I spent A LOT of time in producer mode, securing locations, finding a cast and crew. I mentioned before that everyone who worked on the film was either someone I met during my trip or had met virtually and got to meet in person during the trip.

This was actually the easiest part of the whole process. All it took was a few messages to those people and they were in!

Our team was small yet efficient. We had me, the Director, two actresses, and an assistant director. And, I was so excited because I got to work with a DP (Director of Photography) for the first time!

All female cast and crew!

PRODUCTION:

We shot the whole film in 1 day, less than 6 hours. Everything went smooth fortunately, and we had a blast! Not to mention, God's presence was clearly on set and everyone felt it.

Our DP even said the verse used in the film (Philippians 4:6-7) was one she had been studying and revisiting for the past few weeks. I love when God does stuff like that on set, as it just shows how He's moving!

POST PRODUCTION:

One of my favorite parts of the process. This is where the film really started to come to life. I really had to experiment with this one as far as structure and sound design. And...after about a week of editing the film is almost done! So excited to share this one!

“Define Me” Timeline

Excited to share the film (Patreon Members get first looks!)