SHIFTED
back|
Produced by
Linda Nelson Michael Madison Michael Madison Scott Erickson Linda Nelson Michael Madison Jennifer Nelson |
Cast
Jill Wagner - Rachel |
Genre
Drama |
||||||||||||||||
|
Filmmaker Notes
Production Notes SHIFTED is the first feature film written and produced by Michael Madison and Linda Nelson, under the banner of Nelson Madison Films. It was produced using a SAG Experimental Agreement allowing the filmmakers to defer all payments during production. With the help of a dedicated cast and crew, the kind donation of locations by friends and family, and the inspiration of music contributed by exceptionally talented musicians, SHIFTED came to life over the course of three long years. With limited funds and based on their backgrounds, it was decided that Michael would direct and Linda would produce. Script When Nelson Madison Films was first formed, the filmmakers tried to find financing for several scripts that they had accumulated during two years of development. When no one responded to their Business Plan, they decided that they would have to find a way to self-finance their first film. Since all the scripts that they had available would have been too expensive to produce, they decided to develop their own script. After crafting a story that had an ensemble cast and obtainable locations in the Los Angeles area, the search began for a writer. After six months went by without any tangible results, the filmmakers decided to write the screenplay themselves. Within six months, they felt that they had shooting script, ready to cast. Casting Since Michael Madison had been a member of Playhouse West, a well-know theater group founded by Jeff Goldbloom, he felt that this would be a good place to start. Paul Wong and Keith Wyffels were the first to sign up. Michael already had his eye on the lead character. Another actor from Playhouse expressed interest in the second lead, but had to drop out. Jill Wagner had worked for Linda and Michael on their first film project, as an assistant, in between auditions. She had worked on Punk'd with Ashton Kutcher for the previous year and she expressed an interesting playing Rachel. Since Linda had been a resident of Los Angeles for a long time, she decided to call on some of her friends that were actors. Bridget Brookman accepted the quirky character role of Laverne. Robert Rusler considered the second lead, which was now unfilled, but he too had to drop out because a previous commitement materialized. Before he dropped out, though, he brought in Rhino Michaels, the perfect person to play the protagonist. Hector Hank, a longtime friend came on board and proceeded to bring in several of his fellow actors from the Actors Circle to read for various parts. Vanessa Johansson, sister of Scarlett, was known to the producers through her Dad. Slowly, the network expanded and each of the roles was eventually cast, except for the second lead. With two days left before shooting was to begin, Rhino Michaels recommended that we speak with Jeris Lee Poindexter, who turned out to be free to play the part. Read Through In April, the cast was assembled and we did a table read of the entire script. It was the first and only time that the entire cast would be assembled in one place. Since everyone was living in Los Angeles, except for Vanessa, who was still living in New York, we encouraged the actors in the set pieces to rehearse together, since we had very tight time constraints on shooting. Pre-production SAG required that we complete the shooting within thirty days, which we spread over two months. This meant that the script breakdown and scheduling had to conserve on shooting days, where ever possible. With twenty two locations, this was no easy accomplishment. Because we were literally making a no-budget film, we had to be sure that as many of the locations as possible were secured. Several scenes were shot gorilla style, since we could not afford permits, but we did make sure to get signed releases for all locations. Since we were living at the storage facility, where many of the films scenes were to be shot, we were able to build in some level of flexibility for those scenes. Since most of these scenes were inside with no windows, we could shoot night for day and day for night without compromising the lighting. All vehicles and homes belonged to members of the cast and crew. Restaurant locations were secured first and finally the Midnight Mission on Skid Row. We were also able to stage the unemployment office in the basement of the Mission at the last minute. Two difficult locations were Hollywood Boulevard and the railroad tracks, which we knew would have to done on the fly. With 133 scenes scheduled four days a week for two months, we set the start date of shooting and finalized our contract with SAG. Michael's Dad was kind enough to build us a car mount for our vehicle scenes and an abandoned wheelchair would serve as our dolly. We had purchased our Canon XL1s several months before and had been practicing setups, so that we would be prepared for the shoot. Michael had a red binder filled with storyboards and we assembled two big suitcases with wheels to hold our equipment, which was minimal. We had an old Shure microphone which had been given to us to supplement the shotgun microphone on our camera and an assortment of practical lights, a bank of florescent lights and lots of cables and extension cords. It all fit in the back of a pickup truck. We planned each day's shoot, so that we only had to serve one meal and we did no overtime, so that we could conform to our SAG Experimental Agreement. By June of 2004, we were ready to start shooting. Production Shifted was shot in 28 days over a two month period. We shot for four days and then prepped for three days. Because Michael Madison had a full beard when we started shooting, we had to shoot the middle of the movie first, then the beginning and then the end. The day he shaved, we prayed that we had all the footage we needed to edit the film. Most scenes were shot in practical locations with practical lights. The only sets that were created, were the storage space, the crime scene, and the unemployment office. We were so pleased to be able to shoot at the Midnight Mission on Skid Row. This amazing organization has been helping people get their lives back together for more than seventy-five years. Every day they serve 500 meals, three times a day. Most people don’t realize that Los Angeles has almost 100,000 homeless people. With Michael Madison directing and Linda Nelson working the camera, any help offered by the cast was welcome. We had one crew person, Greg Wyrick who acted as soundman, grip, 1st AD, transportation manager, and set builder. Every actor showed up on time and ready to work every scheduled day of shooting. There is a great filmmaker’s commentary on the DVD. Michael Madison and Linda Nelson discuss each scene and detail all their secret no-budget tips. Related Films
|
||||||||||||||||||
