|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Babes of Denizen: Anna-Maria E. Angles Hart,
Julie Lisandro, Dianne Sullivan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From
out of the deep with Denizen
By J. A. Steele
Denizen started out as a dream —
literally — the night before I struck out for the Sundance
Festival in January 2008. While driving to Park City, I passed the
time talking with Fred, my executive producer, who laughed as I
recounted my dream of a creature from beneath the depths of Lake
Tenkiller in Oklahoma. When Lake Tenkiller was created by the damming
of the Illinois River in 1947, a town was displaced, and today, you
can dive to the bottom of the lake and explore what’s left of
its structures.
The day I arrived at Sundance, I ran into some
guys from Avid. My first two features (The Third Society in
2004 and Salvation in 2008) were edited on Avid, but
due to budget constraints I was considering a change to Final Cut.
The guys from Avid asked that inevitable question for filmmakers,
“What’s up next?”
“Uh” I stammered, trying to buy some
time to think. Operation Overlord was supposed to be my next
feature, but at $5 million, it was too expensive at the time. “Uh…
there’s this creature — a ‘denizen.’”
The Avid guys listened intently, as I waited for the laughter. There
was none.
“When do you start shooting?”
“Uh, April.”
“Cool. So why don’t you edit this one
on Avid too? We’ll send you free software.”
I called Fred. His laughter soon died down as he
realized we were doing a third feature: Denizen. There’s
no denying that I was apprehensive, but the challenge was set.
The Denizen story is simple: peace is
shattered in a small town when a mysterious creature begins leaving a
bloody trail of human victims. The last hope for the residents to
fight the terror and prevent the destruction by military forces rests
on the courage and the resourcefulness of a small group of
scientists.
Jernigan's
Army (Glen Jensen, Jody Mullins & Oklahoma Cast)
By the middle of February I had knocked out a
script and even added a character, a renegade Army general, who was
determined to capture the creature for his own purposes or destroy
the town. Lawrence White, my comic collaborator, came up with
sketches. Script. Check. Money? Uh… financing would once again
be provided by yours truly with a little help from Mom and Dad.
I had written the script with specific actors in
mind. For the three main male characters, I tapped the talent pool
from Salvation: Glen Jensen, Ben Bayless and Jody Mullins. I
wanted a new face and a hot blonde, which I found in Julie Lisandro.
She had previously been in Cheerleader Massacre, so Denizen
would be a good fit. I also got lucky with newcomer Dianne Sullivan.
The 12-second exchange between her character and Julie’s ties
with the characters of the evil general (Glen Jensen) and the smarmy
mayor (Janet Mayson).
Hartley Powell reprised his position as
cinematographer/lighting guru with the Arri Super 16mm.
We planned to film in April on location at Lake
Tenkiller and shoot during the Bare Bones Film Festival in nearby
Muskogee since Salvation was screening there (gotta love
ShIronbutterfly Ray and the Bare Bones Fest!). Then, it would be home
to Utah for a weekend shoot. No problem, right? Except for the fact
that an exceptionally wet rainy season left Lake Tenkiller at 29 feet
above normal water levels. Picnic tables and trees were under water.
No, we wouldn’t be diving in the lake either.
The downside of indie
filmmaking is that you aren’t supported by studio money, but
the upside is that you’re not bound by their rules either.
Script change? No problem. I got lucky. I had leftover footage from
my diving documentary, Dive the Deep Blue, hours of footage
for the deep underwater scenes.
 Left:
Director
J.A. checks the shot (J.A. Steel, Christina Castro, Hartley Powell)
Denizen was
captured partly on Super 16mm and partly on video. Some of the video
shots from Oklahoma didn’t turn out. They were scenes I had to
reshoot and couldn’t fix in post. A story change was again in
order, plus reshoots. It was back to Oklahoma, and this time shooting
in Super 16mm. Reassemble the team — light and fast, down and
dirty. At the end of the day, over half of Denizen originated
on film.
Everything did come
together in post, with amazing visual effects by Rob Field, computer
effects by Christian Koch and sound design by Jessica Bair. I was
able to assemble a kickass film, mostly because I had a kickass cast
and crew that were willing to go the extra mile.
Reality has a funny
way of smacking you in the face though. I was approached by several
distributors who wanted to distribute the film, but I would have to
spend another six thousand dollars for the PAL versions, a QC report,
HD conversions and every other conversion known to man. Seriously? I
have to spend more money now? Oh and lest I forget, Errors and
Omissions insurance. No wonder so many movies are made, and so few
are ever really finished! More money? Forget it.
Nevertheless, we made
the movie to be seen and enjoyed by audiences, and distribution is
the way to recoup your investment and earn more for investing in your
next project. Since Salvation was distributed, there has been
a revolution in alternative distribution methods. There are many
avenues out there for indies — you just have to hustle. We
signed a non-exclusive deal with IndieFlix, and Denizen is
now available for streaming download and DVD print on demand through
the company. The cool thing with IndieFlix is that I can still market
via Amazon, Film Baby, or any other outlet. It’s a great way
to push the envelope and get a return on your investment. But there’s
even better news. So far, I’ve made more money
self-distributing Denizen than I did with Salvation
through traditional channels.
Watch the Denizen trailer on the Indie Slate Community pages!
Los Angeles and Utah-based
J.A. Steel is currently in preproduction on her next film, Blood
Fare. Email her: ja@warriorentertainment.com [All photos by Shelly Womak]
Denizen
from Warrior Entertainment. Cast: Julie Lisandro, Glen Jensen,
Ben Bayless, Jody Mullins, Dianne Sullivan, J.A. Steel. Pr: Fred
Mercer, John & Diana Ruffner, Jessica M. Bair, Christian K. Koch.
Dir/Scr: J.A. Steel. AD: Sonja Jones Cin: Hartley Powell. Ed: Wayne
Rawley, J.A. Steel. WarriorEntertainment.com
|
Tech Specs
Shot on Super
16mm and digital video. Edited on Avid.
|
|
