While far from a master at what I do, I would like to think I’ve been making movies for long enough that I could have a few crumbs of knowledge gathered from my experiences and mistakes to pass onto others. One of those crumbs, particularly pertaining to low-budget independent filmmaking, is that one should always include things in a script that you already have access to. I’ve almost always done this - if there’s a certain location I can use, certain props or costumes, I’ll write a story around them. Sometimes these things will even be the foundation for which the script is written on. Anyone who was lucky (an adjective open for debate) to see my short ‘Spanking Monkey, Hidden Fist’ may not realize that the whole thing stemmed from the fact that I had various martial arts clothing and weaponry at my disposal, so I thought I’d make a goofy action movie. Quite often I’m thinking of things and places and how I can fit them into a movie. Or people. Careful - if I’m talking to you face-to-face I may just be wondering if you can act and thinking of a role for you.
You may have noted I said that I‘ve “almost always” done this. Earlier this year I wanted to enter Tropfest, of which this year’s theme was dice. I came up with a rather depressing horror story involving a witch and a knight, quickly banged out the script and instantly fell in love with it. It was one of the best scripts I’d ever written, if I do say so myself, and I couldn’t wait to start making it. Trudy and I went location scouting and found a couple of absolutely perfect spots to shoot it. The witch, I figured, wouldn’t be too hard to do. I knew of a great make-up artist and was after a fairly simple costume. But the knight was something I didn’t really think about. And I really should have. It turns out that suits of armour are neither cheap nor in abundance. I was kinda screwed.
I spent several months perusing eBay and various online stores trying to find cheap armour, and while I did find some great looking stuff none of it fell into the category of anywhere near cheap. Individual limb pieces cost hundreds of dollars, and even then they all had that brand new look. Not what I was after. I didn’t know what to do! Here was this great story that I wanted to tell but because I’d broken my golden rule I was hindered from doing so. I had no trouble getting a medieval axe and some bone dice for props, but that armour was just too much. I even began contemplating changing the character from a knight to something else. At one point he was almost going to be a WWII Nazi! Then one day Trudy and I were at a place called the Tender Center - which is kinda like a shop full of second-hand goods that people can bid on. Almost like a real-world eBay. Lo and behold, hanging from a rope was the most awesome armour I had come across yet! Several pieces, all the ones we needed, with glorious dents and strategically fashioned rust. Cutting a long story short, we wound up getting the lot for $135. I was far, far beyond happy. It was the start of the knight costume and the main hurdle overcome in bringing the movie to life. Since then I’ve accumulated some really great bits n’ pieces for the costume (seriously, I cannot wait for everyone to see the sword we got!) and the movie is inching ever so close to commencement. But that was all thanks to a really lucky break. Had we not been at the right place at the right time I’d still be thinking of creative ways to change the character yet always being saddened by having to compromise one of the key themes to the movie.
When I read the script to Pray For Dawn I almost fell off my chair. There were locations I would never have dreamed of trying to secure. There were fantastical monsters and creatures. There were special effects galore and scenes set in torrential rain. When I took on the responsibility of directing this film I almost had a panic attack, thinking of all the movies I’d made with that safety net of having everything already available. But when we started hearing from so many talented people who could get these things done I began to relax a little. This is going to be a big step for me, going into something where almost everything needs to be created specifically for the story to be told. But hey, this is what it’s all about, right? This is why movies cost money.
Still, if there’s anything at all in my wardrobe or box of props that can be used you can be damn sure it’s gonna end up on screen. So don't be too surprised if you see a random knight stroll past in a scene.
