| Page (2) of 2 - 05/27/05 |
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DMN: Digital video has really empowered a lot of independent filmmakers who work outside the Hollywood sphere but still would like to take on Hollywood. How long have you been working with DV and when did you realize that you could make a movie with the format?
Jorge: This was the first project either one of us had ever shot on MiniDV. After getting the camera and performing several tests we knew we could get the look we wanted for the limited budget we had.
Alex: The second I saw 24p I knew that I could finally be able to get that polished look without shoot film. I love film but it is too slow of a process for me. My directing style is very fast, I barely ever sit down on a set. I am always moving, keeping the energy high. Film is too slow and cumbersome. Digital lets me not only fly on set but also in post.
Sean: DV is a nice format, not the greatest for VFX (although sometimes it is more forgiving), but our camera was really nice as was the lighting which played a big role. The file size is great as well. If this was filmed at 2k, I would've needed 10x the storage. The data rate is also ALOT smaller, so things moved quicker than normal. Out of the box, DV has that "video" feel that everyone hates, but with the tools available today, its not a hard thing to change. Some knowledge of film and skillful color-correcting can take you a long way.
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| Broken was shot entirely in a mental institution in Florida. |
DMN: You made BROKEN with $8000. What did the $8000 buy you and what was donated by generous folks to get the movie made?
Alex: Jorge can take this one.
Jorge: The majority of the money went to crew and equipment (cameras, lighting, sound, etc). The production design was entirely done by Alex and myself along with a couple of other crew members. Alex directed, edited, and operated Camera A while I handled the majority of the actual production duties on location. Alex, Sean, and Dan provided the extensive post and visual effects needed for our ambitious project.
DMN: How many days of shooting did it take to make the movie and was it all done in the hospital?
Alex: We shot for five days. All in and around the hospital location.
Jorge: Everything in the script was designed around one location (the hospital) in order to simplify our shoot and its cost.
DMN: How many hours of footage did you capture?
Alex: The final total was 14 hours on two cameras, but I love to let the camera roll so I could capture some magic from the actors when they were not looking. You get some really cool stuff that way.
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| Director Alex Ferrari calls the shot. The film was shot with a pair of Panasonic DVX-100A DV cameras. |
DMN: What was the most challenging aspect of making a film with your own money, and so little money at that?
Alex: Being able to find creative ways to get what you need and put a cork on the money hose because its your money. I am very aware of the budget when I am shooting. I am extremely responsible with others money. I was paying for half but Jorge was my partner and he was trusting me to pull it through.
Jorge: I don't think of it as a challenge. The constraints of the budget gave us a kind of structure from which to work. We couldn't buy things, we had to build things, sometimes from scratch, to get the desired effect without having to dig into our already empty pockets.
DMN: You shot with Panasonic cameras (DVX 100A) and edited the film using Final Cut Pro. Why did you go with the Panasonic cameras and Final Cut Pro? And your compositing was done in Shake?
Jorge: It wasn't my idea. I wanted to shoot the whole thing on VHS-c and edit it with two VCRs, but nooooo. Apple this... Final Cut that... I just went with the flow.
Alex: More bang for your buck! FCP is the best editing software on the market today. I was an Avid editor for six years and let's say I went over to "the good side of the force" with FCP. You are able to compete with the big boys at a fraction of the cost. Thank GOD for the good people at Apple!!
Sean: All of my compositing was done in Shake. It was done during my off-hours at my full-time job. Shake makes life very easy when dealing with tons of layers and footage. Considering my job is 1.5 hours away from home, I needed to complete the work as fast as possible. Shake enabled me to do that.
Dan: Shake is what I was trained on but not too many smaller organizations use it. It's the industry standard to a certain degree, but only if you are making Star Wars or Titanic. I was just happy someone at a smaller post production house wanted me to use my skills.
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| Jorge F. Rodriguez on the set of BROKEN. |
DMN: How have you use the Internet to market BROKEN once you completed it? And were you able to show it at Sundance?
Alex: We are attempting to get the word out using a grass roots approach to market BROKEN. First we needed to have a kick ass Internet presence so www.whatisbroken.com was born. People from anywhere in the world can log on and find out anything they want about our project. In the old days, this type of approach could not have happen. We contacted websites and journalists about BROKEN and people seemed to be responding. It all started with a good project!
Jorge: The response at Sundance was overwhelming. We had several meetings with industry professionals who were blown away by what we did. Honestly, it took us by surprise. And although we were basically showing the movie from our laptops we began to get a buzz going that we could build on when we got back home.
DMN: What is Enigma Factory currently working on now?
Jorge: Primarily we are working on the feature script for BROKEN but Fortuity Films will also be producing a romantic comedy early this fall.
Alex: Currently we are continuing our core business which is post production but we are also working on bring BROKEN to the big screen. Jorge and I are feverishly working on the screenplay and we are in talks with some Hollywood producers about financing the project. Wish us luck!!
DMN: Thanks guys and good luck!
Editor's note: For a breakdown of the effects shots in Broken, or for more information, please visit www.whatisbroken.com
John Virata is senior editor of Digital Media Online. You can email him at jvirata@digitalmedianet.com
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