Tyler Gibb – Writer, Director, Editor, Filmmaker

I have notes scribbled in margins all over my shooting schedule reminding me of one thing:

Get coverage.

I know there’s an important reason those notes are there (Past Tyler’s always looking out for Future Tyler) but sometimes, in the heat of the shoot, I neglect the importance of this self-directed wisdom.

I have a tendency toward pragmatism when time allows which is why I storyboard and plan like a madman before getting down to the fleeting business of shooting. What I’ve realized while shooting Refrain however is that my pragmatism has led to me to trim the fat as it were where insert shots are concerned. Maybe this comes from my animation background where if you don’t need it in the final cut, why on Earth would you create it in the first place? So I have wound up planning very few superfluous shots. Superfluous or so they seem at the time when the clock’s against you, your volunteer cast and crew are waiting on you and you’re about to collapse from exhaustion. In reality such inserts become a very valuable asset to the editing process where what you took painstaking measures to plan comes out slightly different when filtered through reality.

Or so I’ve noticed while venturing into the editing process while still activily shooting Refrain… Which is why the “get coverage” messages are scribbled in the margins rather than typed bold face into the schedule itself.

You can never have too much coverage. And you can never have too much footage of that coverage. When something just isn’t playing right in that simple dinner scene between two people and all you’ve got is two sides and a master… You’re left wondering why you didn’t just shoot someone’s fork digging through their meal, just a little more of each person simply chewing, or even a shot of the damn salt shaker would do!

Anyway. This week’s advice from someone with no real credentials to speak of: From Past-Self to Future-Self, do yourself a favour and get coverage.

T

I can’t remember the exact percentage or who said it but there’s a quote that goes “Casting is X% of directing.” The mighty oracle that is Google tells me that the percentage was 65 and the person who said it was director John Frankenheimer.

With my very finite experience I’d argue that that percentage is probably a lot higher.

If the script is the blueprint and the production is the construction then the actors must be the windows in this structure that is a movie. Without the performances to bring everything together you’ve got no way to see inside what you’ve made, no connection to the outside world – the audience.

We’re wrapping up two months of shooting (weekends mostly) on Refrain and the truth is I’d sooner have traded in my HD camera and all my fancy peripherals for a cell phone camera than have traded in one of the performers we managed land. And I mean, forget about the perfomances per sey (which have been phenomenal), but to have people on board who just understand their role and are committed to the cause and come to the shoots as prepared as you are – that’s just indispensible. Because through that preparedness come the performances. And when – as a one-man crew – you’ve got two dozen other things to look out for at a shoot that’s when you realize just how imporant making the right casting decision was.

It all comes back to being prepared I guess, and casting right is the equivalent of storyboarding before shooting, or writing an outline before laying down a script.

How did we cast Refrain? A number of ways that all started with me getting over my self-deprecating notion that I’d never be able to find like-minded souls out there willing to go balls-out and make a movie with me. Once Vidya smacked that idea out of my head, we put the word out to every drama school, association and federation in the area. Want ad sites like Craig’s List and Mandy.com were also really helpful in bringing in potential candidates. And of course putting the word out on the street to friends and family. The ads were short and to the point, log line, nature of the project (short or feature), character breakdowns, budget (don’t dick around, if you don’t have a budget just say so) and whether you’re taking on union or non-union talent.

That’s what worked for us anyway. I’ve already covered the actual casting process a little in a previous post.

So there you go. My advice for what it’s worth – it’s my damn website – is find the right people for the job. Next week: Water quenches thirst and more fairly obvious factoids!

I don’t know who first said it but I’m a firm believer in the notion that luck is when preparation meets opportunity… But when you watch a number of independent meteorological sources forecast your doom for a solid week and then pull off a dusk til dawn outdoor shoot without the predicted severe thunderstorms then it’s hard not to wonder, just for a moment, if there aren’t greater cosmic forces at work.

Compound that with the fact that you’re shooting on Friday the 13th, 150 yards from a cemetery five days after a black cat crossed your path several times while you were out there scouting the location and you may start to think about buying a lottery ticket on the way home.

But I don’t know… You go down that road to superstition and before you know it you’re pulling your car over by a park to jump out and knock on a tree because you had a negative thought about the meeting you were headed to.

What? … It can happen.

I’m just saying; coincidences that masquerade as serendipity are great moments that make you feel like maybe there’s more to what you’re doing than what you yourself can take responsibility for but that’s all it really is. A feeling. That kind of feeling can get pretty addictive to anyone in a creative field where so much of what we base our careers on seems to come down to luck. Chalking things up to bad luck is the slippery slope that comes next and before you know it, you’re not even trying anymore you’re just throwing salt over your shoulder and calling it a day. But the truth is, the Refrain crew and I got what we needed shot this weekend because we were prepared and despite the odds stacked against us, when the opportunity not to get rained on presented itself we were ready.

Preparation meets opportunity. No luck required.

Meteorologists are charlatans anyway.

T

With shooting still underway and going very well I thought it was time I introduced you to the faces of Refrain. Above is a collage of frames pulled from the footage that’s already in the can. Clockwise from the top left we’ve got Brad Carmichael, Rachelle Néron, Mark Waters, Vikki Wong and in the center spot as Riya is Vidya Lutchman.

These days I can’t seem to shake the lyrics “You can always depend on the kindness of strangers…” out of my head. The line is from a Streetcar Named Desire but the lyric is from The Simpsons‘s musical version of the Tennessee Williams play… Because I, like most red-blooded americanized kids out there, have picked up most of my important cultural education from The Simpsons.

Anyway, the reason I can’t seem to shake the line is because lately I’ve been putting a lot of faith in that kindness of strangers and so far it’s been going really well… Which comes as a bit of a surprise to a crusty cynical curmugeon like myself. I didn’t spend nearly half a decade by myself animating Minushi because I have a lot of faith in other people, know what I mean?

But lo and behold the universe has yet a new curve ball to send my way (just to mess with my head, I’m sure) in the form of kindness. The kindness that seems to be eagerly bestrowed upon the independent filmmaker by those he calls on for support.

Seriously, I have yet to be disappointed by anyone I’ve gone to with hat in hands, be it to ask for locations, time, talent, back-muscles – what can I say? I’m not sure why I’m surprised; I’d love to help me out. I guess I just didn’t expect such positivity from people sight unseen. It’s led me to question the nature of this kindness… I know, I know, why look a gift-horse in the mouth? Crusty cynical curmugeon, remember?

But wait now, what I’ve come up with isn’t so bad: I think people just generally want to be a part of “the movies” – even little independent ones. And not literally in the movie… I think people just like movies (duh!) and just want to see them succeed.

So – I don’t know – I guess what I’m saying is: Just ask. It’s become my motto anyway. Need help with your project? Just ask.

Cue music!

“You can always depend on the kindness of strangers…
To pluck up your spirits, and shield you from dangers…
Now here’s a tip from Blanche you won’t regret…
A stranger’s just a friend you haven’t met…
You haven’t met…
STREETCAR!”