In the last post, I spoke about my on-camera talent, so this post will detail the talent behind the camera.
To begin, we have my wonderful Producer/Production Designer/Intimacy Coordinator: Sam Perez Laurenza. In all honesty, Sam was always going to be a part of this project, it was mostly a hope of getting Sam somewhere I knew they'd be best in. Sam and I in the past both produced a weekly news show during our time in High School, so I knew they were qualified more so than some of the other options I had at the time. As an effective communicator they were the one doing a lot of the contacting of people and holding me to a deadline. They also helped to get me out of few pickles here and there especially with the whole casting call flop when we only had 2 auditions for only 1 of the characters. They also helped a lot during production making sure we'd stay on schedule, ordering food, and as well as serving as another pair of eyes when I wanted another opinion on a shot.
In terms of Sam's other responsibilities, they brought to the table many cool ideas when it came to character costumes and makeup. Sam also uniquely served as our Intimacy Coordinator; we have never done a film where implied intimacy was at the forefront, especially with actors that we either haven't met or worked with prior. Like yes, obviously its standard practice for professional actors and films, but it was new to us and the last thing we wanted to do was make anyone uncomfortable. From the call back to production, Sam made sure to annoy our actors in an effort to make sure they were comfortable both with what they had to do on camera and simply speaking with Sam about any issues that could arise. Fortunately, we did not run into any problems, which I'm very happy and thankful to Sam about.
Moving on, I briefly mentioned her at the tail end of my prior post, but I was luck enough to secure Marin Hodge as my cinematographer. Similar to how it was new for me to create a casting call, it was also new for me having someone else take the reigns when it came to cinematography as in the past I've always had some form of major input whether doubling a director/cinematographer or by splitting the work load with a partner. I'm also a very big fan of storyboarding while I write, so I'm in production I have a pretty good idea how the shot and lighting is going to look, but not for this one!
While writing the script for the film, I knew early on that I would want someone else to be the cinematographer, so I didn't storyboard... except for 1 shot (it was a bookend and was my main piece of concept art for the film and would term what location we'd use). I had a general vision for how I wanted the film to look, but had no plan for specific shots or sequences. While exploring Pinterest and writing, I thought a subjective yet naturalistic look in terms of the blocking would've fit the story really well, especially considering the voice over and Asher's reflection on his relationship; voyeurism was something that interested me since I wanted to put the viewers in the shoes of Asher.
For my search, I looked through some of my classmates' Instagram accounts and films to gauge who already had a similar niche for capturing images in the way I wanted. By far, Marin was the best fit. Now admittedly I was unsure if I'd be able to get Marin onboard as she studied aboard during fall and I only really knew her from my Astronomy class, and was also one of the least familiar options as most of the other candidates I meet either in Fall semester, Summer semester, or from High School. With a bit of encouragement from Sam, I shot my shot and SCORED BIG. I didn't even have to convince her all that much. We met several times during pre-production to discuss the story, my vision, and how'd we split the workload. One of the main things I was glad about was that this was a new yet exciting experience for Marin; she too has never really gotten the chance to focus on just one single thing when she's made films in the past, often serving as director/producer/cinematographer/actor/etc..., so we were both really excited for the film. We agreed that Marin would storyboard and create a shot list, while I would create the setup schedule for the days of filming; Marin would also send progress updates with her storyboards. I told her from the start that she had freedom to suggest ideas of her own and experiment, which she took to heart. There were many things with this production I was happy with, but securing Marin and her mind for this film is probably up there.
Knowing I was going to edit the film, the ALT positions were filled and we'd now be moving on to BLT positions. From the start I knew I wanted two people to be on board for the film: Saron Bahre and Christopher Monzon. Saron was one of the people I met in Summer who is (no pun intended) like a ray of sunshine with a heart of gold. We had worked together prior on one of the films in Fall that never made it to production, and it was simply a joy working with her. With her work ethic and personality in mind, I initially invited her on as my Production Designer, but around that same time she up and got a job >:( She told me that she was willing to help in other ways that didn't involved as much of a time commitment, which I was still happy about. During some of the production meetings with Sam and Marin, I'd invite Saron to get her take on the story and certain ideas we had. She was also one of the people I had asked about getting a location for the film (I wanted a location for that bookend shot). She ended up sending what basically became the final shot. After some back and forth about the filming date, we were able to secure her apartment which made her our Location Manager!
In terms of securing Chris, it kinda just happened. For context, I met Chris in the Fall last year since we were both volunteering on sets left and right (him more so than me because he had a car), but from the times we spoke on set our vibes clicked easily. They clicked enough that he invited me on to a set of his during finals week which was a fun way to get to know him better and a chance to work with a potential classmate as we were both applying as Transfers for FSU Film class of '27. Anyways on that set even though our time was cut short (cops kicked us out) I enjoyed working with him and we expressed desires to work again, so when I posted the casting call he was quick to message me saying "I can't act, but if you need help I'm here". With that I asked about his apartment for film (this was prior to Saron sending that photo), and I told him I'd let him know if I would need more crew help when I got more concrete details. During a meeting with Marin, I asked if she would want a 1st AC or perhaps a general grip/gaffer, to which she answered the ladder. With the need for a pair a hands and for a car, I formally invited Chris on board to which he accepted. He also offered us his LED light panels to which we happily took advantage of since most of us left our equipment at home rather than bring them into a small college dorm.
With the cast and crew confirmed, about a week before shooting, we had a meeting with ALT to go over the script, general story, vision, and filming details. And with that my dreams of making a film were materializing in the form of a producer, actors, cinematographer, grip/gaffer, and location manager.
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