Digital Cinematography Feature

First, Shoot the Trailer...
By Michael Wiese
Nov 10, 2003, 14:59

I started by breaking the first rule of filmmaking: "Never spend your own money." But I did it because it's my dream project.

That dream is to direct an independent feature titled Bali Brothers based on my novel On The Edge of A Dream: Magic and Madness in Bali, which itself was based on an experience I had in 1970 as a young Vietnam-era American trying to find my place in the world.

But before taking that directorial leap, I wanted to shoot a "video sketch" or pre-production trailer. I believe there are some projects for which this is an excellent way to evolve your ideas. It gives you get an extra chance to correct judgment errors in casting, crew, or script for next time around, when it really counts.

The story of Bali Brothers centers on the character Art Williams, a recent college grad drifting around the world who has landed in Bali. He invites his childhood friend, Eddie Sommers, a seminary student, to join him for summer break, but Eddie arrives with his own agenda. And as the two go deeper into Bali, he takes a quest for truth to the edge of madness.

I've written countless scripts over the years based on this idea and have always heard the same things: "Why Bali? What's it look like? What's the visual style? Can your actors act? Can you direct?" So rather than send the script out only to hear this chorus of impossible-to-answer questions I decided to make a "video sketch" to demonstrate what I want to do and to build interest so that an investor's only reply will be "Yes!"

Taking the Plunge

Last December I took Los Angeles actors Brett Sorensen and Colby Kane, line producer Deke Simon (dekesimon@attbi.com), London-based DP/cinematographer Nick Gordon Smith (nrgsmith@btinternet.com), and still photographer Geraldine Overton to Bali for two weeks. Julia Wiese, my ten-year-old daughter, came as well to shoot "behind-the-scenes" photos and stand at the ready with fake blood for the scenes requiring it. This crew was supported by local liaison and cultural advisor Rucina Ballinger, village head Dewa Nyoman Batuan, choreographer Dr. I. Wayan Dibia, prop man I Kadek Gunarta, PA Alejandro Plesch, as well as a bevy of other PA's and support staff.

We arrived in Bali at an extraordinarily poignant time; it was only six weeks after the horrific nightclub bombing that claimed 202 lives. The Bali I had come to know and love more than 30 years earlier was no longer the idyllic world I had known. Although it's still an extraordinary place, Western values are seeping into what was once a communal society, one that I believe held many values that we Westerners could learn from. Fortunately, all one has to do is scratch the surface to find more than a hint of the old magic I experienced 30 years ago, which is so essential to my story.

As always, I found the Balinese tremendously supportive and eager to do something creative and uplifting in the wake of their terrible tragedy. Any fear of terrorism that we may have had before we arrived left us fully the minute we landed. We had no problems whatsoever.

I had two days to look at locations before the crew arrived. The plan was to hit the ground filming-literally-when Sorensen and Kane landed at the airport. The next half-day was spent in a full script read-through with cast and crew, and then we shot for about nine days for ten to 12 hours each day, banking about three-plus script pages a day.

When "Less is More"

The Balinese are extraordinarily gifted and natural performers, and so I chose to use real people (not actors) in the Balinese roles. Some of the people who appear are the same people who were actually a part of the "real" story of 1970; they include the village head, the shaman, and the priest.

Having been a filmmaker for many years, I knew that "going small" in Bali was the only way to go. A film's authenticity can diminish in direct proportion to the escalation of gear size and crew members. For this reason, Nick and I decided to work quickly and efficiently with two Sony PD 150 DVCAM's, Century Optics anamorphic lenses, and image-enlarging Century LCD Widescreen Magnifiers (the anamorphic lens is a bit fussy and focus is difficult; next time around a 16:9 camera will be preferable).

The scenes were staged and blocked very quickly and much of the shooting was done with moving masters (using a Moy Pogo stick) in order to bank more coverage in a single blocking shot as opposed to multiple fixed camera set-ups. This generates more "eye candy," keeps the viewer in the center of the action, and gives an edgier verite style more in keeping with the story. Some of the more successful scenes, which involved dozens of Balinese extras, were improvised from the script. I quickly saw that if you want naturalism, this is the way to go. The results were better than anything I expected (this was especially true for large ritual and performance scenes, the guys coming into the village for the first time, and in other parts of the story). For close-up night shots of the leads Nick used a Photon Beard Hyperlight 471 sun gun (a fluorescent unit with built-in ballast drawing 12.5 watts) with double frost. This gave a very soft glow and gave the eyes a highlight.

For daytime scenes, Alejandro hand-built two silks (6 x 6) and (12 x 12) using locally obtained parachute material. The Balinese ingeniously strapped them to palm trees when the large stands provided too limiting or were in the shot. We also used the silks to bounce light such as in the beach scenes. We did our best to reduce contrast-which video hates-and to soften daylight scenes. Only rarely did we use anything other than natural and reflected light. For interiors, we remodeled an old mud hut and used bamboo mats (which could be moved around) for the ceiling, allowing us to get the camera high and also control the light.

One of the night performances occurred in a 50- by 100-ft. area that Nick lit with one Lowell Rifa 300w light and a dozen five-foot-high torches. The effect was terrific and naturalistic. The PD 150 loves low-light levels.

The Sound and the Fury

Most sound was recorded with a Sennheiser MK 80 microphone on a boom. We also brought two wireless mikes, which were useless because the guys were shirtless much of the time. The two input channels were set one high and one low to cover the wide range of sound, which ranged from whispers to banging gamelan orchestras. Had we a soundman and mixer we could, of course, have accomplished more, but the sound we got is quite useable.

I expected more sound problems, as Bali can be very loud; it's one of the most densely populated areas of the world. Instead, our locations were fine other than the occasional "Stand by!" for a passing motorbike. The sound problems were certainly nothing compared to shooting around helicopters and leaf blowers in Los Angeles. We didn't even mind the crowing roosters or dogs barking between dialog lines.

In the nine days of actual shooting we concentrated on three basic sets of scenes from the film. First, it was essential we show the arc of the guys' relationship. Secondly, we had to show the love interest and rivalry. Lastly, we had to convey the powerful supernatural aspects of Balinese ritual life. In the schedule these were marked as "must do's."

Since I was shooting my dream project I had the furious energy of a 20-year-old and adrenalin kept me pushing everyone along despite the 100-degree heat. Although we didn't need to do full scenes for this trailer, I wanted what I called "filmed rehearsals" in order to further develop the performance level of the scenes, try improvisations (to gain ideas for rewrites), and to try out visual approaches for some of the scenes-even if they weren't as refined as they would eventually be. This was biting off a lot but nearly everyone met the challenge.

An initial worry was that the Balinese would have trouble understanding what we needed to do. Here I was very wrong. The Balinese are known for having a highly developed social structure and are able to spontaneously cooperate with one another on communal projects. Filmmaking is no exception. For example, Batuan, the village head, had some 35 families on stand-by to provide extras whenever we needed them.

Lessons Learned

We returned with 12 hours of material, which I have edited down to about five minutes. The money was well spent. Not only did we create a visual marketing tool to help raise financing, we've learned many things that will affect future scheduling, budgeting, and planning. First, we have a tried-and-tested team that works well together. For the feature shoot we will add others. We've tested the small gear and shooting style and it works very well. We will do a video-to-35mm film-out test to see what the final product will look like. I've already shot and transferred Digital Betacam to 35mm and I know that works very well. I am considering combining Mini-DVCAM (where we can quickly and as unobtrusively) and HD in order to capture the detail in the rice field vistas and landscapes.

In addition, we learned how long things take (not as long as I previously estimated), and what things really cost in Bali (props, catering, extras, transport, etc.). Our planning will be based on actual experience in Bali, not conjecture.

For the feature shoot we'll add an assistant cameraman, soundman, gaffer, grip, production designer, costume, and continuity person, and hopefully, on-location editor. We'd look to the Balinese for additional grip, PA, transport, props, construction, and virtually everything else. They're brilliant at coordinating large groups and very inventive as to the additional things we may want in a scene.

All told, making the trailer for Bali Brothers was a wonderful experience. We could work small and quickly, which was essential in a story where the filming was about capturing authentic performances and not about the "circus" of moving a huge film crew around.

In May I took a DVD of our "video sketch" and a mock-up poster to the Cannes Film Festival and met with many sales agents, distributors, and film festival directors. I've found some Indonesian investors willing to put up a portion of the budget. Also, when I asked myself "is the script the very best I could write?" the answer I got was "yes." But when I asked myself if it "is the best script that could be written?" I got a "no," so I hired New York screenwriter Matthew Bishop (mbishop6@nyc.rr.com) who has just completed a terrific rewrite.

Besides the script, the "video sketch" is a valuable tools in moving the project forward. You can see the "video sketch," which is being streamed on our website at www.mwp.com.

Now, with a superb script, the "video sketch," partial financing, a foreign sales agent, and several "interested" U.S. theatrical distributors, my next step is to secure the best cast I possibly can, raise the rest of the financing, and book a dozen tickets to Bali. Onward and upward!

Contributing Editor Michael Wiese (mw@mwp.com) is a producer, director, and author. He runs his U.S.-based production- and film-book publishing company MWP (www.mwp.com) from his home in Cornwall, England where he lives with his wife and daughter.


© Copyright 2003 by United Entertainment Media, Inc.