Victory Filming

I had an absolute blast filming "Victory" this weekend with a fun and talented cast and crew.  Below I have posted a few set photos about how we shot the film... ABOUT THE MOVIE

Actor Gary Cairns presented me with the idea for "Victory" a few months ago and asked if I would write and direct it.  "Heck yes," I said.

My friend Sarah Newman connected me with our wonderful DP, Marlen Schlawin.  Randy Wayne and Nick Slatkin came on board to produce.  And in the past two weeks we raised the budget, raised the crew, found the locations, and shot the movie.

FILMING

Marlen and I logged 16 hours preparing the shot list.  105 shots across 16 locations in 2.5 shooting days.

TRANSITION SHOTS

All of the movie's dream sequences were filmed on the 7D and linked together using Michel Gondry-style transitions.  In the sequence below we start with actors Gary Cairns and Janina Gavankar rolling over in bed...

Peter Marr built us a wheel mount (above) and we rolled the 7D along the plank to follow the motion of the actors.  Then Marlen rigged the 7D on a slider to follow the motion of the actors in a top shot...

Once Gary rolls and hits his mark we transition into the next shot.  Gary spreads his arms...

...and we match cut to Gary in the same position on a TV screen (it makes sense in the story)...

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Marlen's crew lays down dolly tracks so we can dolly out of the TV set...

The camera will dolly back until we reveal Gary sitting on the couch (above), watching himself on TV.

Marlen looks happy with the shot...

I look happy too.

Ravi and Janina

The next actors to film for "Men, Interrupted" were Ravi Patel and Janina Gavankar. Ravi and Janina are both really funny and like to improvise. We had a relaxed shooting schedule, so we took our time and had fun - letting the actors do as many as seven takes on a setup. When Ravi and Janina improvised, they kept the whole crew laughing. The crew should maintain absolute silence during shooting, so the poor AC had to leave the room during one take because he was laughing so hard. I had to keep hiding my face behind my binder. And during one take, the boom kept swinging into the shot because the sound mixer was cracking up. Eventually, Ravi and Janina would crack each other up and I'd just have to call the cut.

All in all it was a longer shoot than I planned on, but a ton of fun. This is when a set is at its best. When the shooting schedule is relaxed and the crew is not under time-pressure, the actors have time to stretch out and get creative.

Below, our AC and Gaffer serve as stand-ins during lighting. These guys were hilarious and I should probably shoot a movie just about them...

Final touches on lighting...

Then the actors take the place of the standins while final adjustments are made to the set, the placement of the actors, the camera, the lighting, and makeup.

And we're off and running. The most amazing thing about film actors is how they can act so naturally while placed on a petri dish...

Actors Ravi Patel and Janina Gavankar hard at work...