Student director gives insight to his film
By: Trevor Garcia
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: Entertainment
"Birth After Death" is an introspective zombie movie. Leo, the main character, is disgusted with society and everyone in it. He even gets fired from his job, but angel can see through him, to what he's really disgusted with. The movie will screen FOR FREE at the Jack Williamson Liberal Arts building room 112 on Friday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
It was during my time gripping on the set of "Illegales" when I really started to put thought into the "Birth After Death" zombie script. A lot of time I would bounce ideas off Thomas Bridgforth, my assistant director. I wrote a bunch of notes down and when the move wrapped, we came home and got to work. We borrowed thousands of dollars worth of lighting and camera equipment from both Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, and ENMU Roswell to make the movie. For us and for special effects crew Caleb Leslie and David Moore, the most expensive part was buying the make-up; Latex, scar wax, Ben Nye make-up, ingredients for fake blood, etc.
During a small project like this, necessity is the mother of invention. If something you thought would work isn't working, or the weather changes, or you only have one hour to film at a location and a million things to shoot. There was a lot of problem solving happening on set because there are hundreds of variables to consider when trying to turn fantasy into reality, and any one of them can throw off the illusion. Cinema is all about the illusion.
Film is one of the most unique art forms because it encompasses just about every other type of art as well; like an art pizza. Acting, writing, photography, music, painting, 2Dimensional animation, 3D animation, painting, carpentry, welding, wood working, and much more can go into making a single film. All of it is needed to take an idea and make it walk, talk, and feel. To take what you sat on your couch at 3 a.m. and thought up, and make it as real as your night stand.
Music is especially important, I worked with musician Chris Riggins to create a soundtrack that best suited the film and Riggins' music worked out wonderfully. In fact, most of the film is edited with the soundtrack in mind. Music adds an overall tone to the montage of moving pictures that can't be described with pictures and dialogue alone. The idea is to overload the audience's senses with all of these elements put together.
It was during my time gripping on the set of "Illegales" when I really started to put thought into the "Birth After Death" zombie script. A lot of time I would bounce ideas off Thomas Bridgforth, my assistant director. I wrote a bunch of notes down and when the move wrapped, we came home and got to work. We borrowed thousands of dollars worth of lighting and camera equipment from both Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, and ENMU Roswell to make the movie. For us and for special effects crew Caleb Leslie and David Moore, the most expensive part was buying the make-up; Latex, scar wax, Ben Nye make-up, ingredients for fake blood, etc.
During a small project like this, necessity is the mother of invention. If something you thought would work isn't working, or the weather changes, or you only have one hour to film at a location and a million things to shoot. There was a lot of problem solving happening on set because there are hundreds of variables to consider when trying to turn fantasy into reality, and any one of them can throw off the illusion. Cinema is all about the illusion.
Film is one of the most unique art forms because it encompasses just about every other type of art as well; like an art pizza. Acting, writing, photography, music, painting, 2Dimensional animation, 3D animation, painting, carpentry, welding, wood working, and much more can go into making a single film. All of it is needed to take an idea and make it walk, talk, and feel. To take what you sat on your couch at 3 a.m. and thought up, and make it as real as your night stand.
Music is especially important, I worked with musician Chris Riggins to create a soundtrack that best suited the film and Riggins' music worked out wonderfully. In fact, most of the film is edited with the soundtrack in mind. Music adds an overall tone to the montage of moving pictures that can't be described with pictures and dialogue alone. The idea is to overload the audience's senses with all of these elements put together.