WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE
A MOVIE
By:
Todd Parker
Roll camera, call “Action!”, and shoot. That’s it, right? WRONG!
There are hours and hours of preparation that
goes into movie production before a single reel is ever shot.
I am fortunate enough to currently be
directing and co-producing four movies simultaneously. All of which are scheduled to shoot before
the end of January.
The first movie, entitled BLIND DECISION, is
the story of a blind woman caught in an international embezzlement
scandal. It is scheduled to shoot
December 7th. I got the
script on November 8th. Over
the past four weeks, I have revised the script, held casting call auditions,
offered roles to the talent, coordinated location scouting, read-through, photo
shoots, off-book blocking, worked with wardrobe and props on what will be
needed, and tried to avoid pulling my hair out.
It’s a good thing I shave my head!
The second movie, entitled LONG AFTER
MIDNIGHT, is about a late-night talk show host who is taken hostage by his
carrot-wielding vegetarian guest. It is
also scheduled to shoot sometime in December.
I also got this script on November 8th. And once again the arduous task of running
through the litany of auditions to blocking began.
The third movie, entitled BRUNCH, I also
received the script for on November 8th. It is the story of five women who met once a
year to discuss what is going on in their lives. And of course, one of the principals lost her
voice the day of the read-through and photo shoot, so a second round needed to be
scheduled.
The fourth movie, CHEMISTRY, the story of a
boy getting up the courage to ask his high school sweetheart to the prom, is
the same deal as well, only this time two rounds of auditions were needed
because several of the actors looked too old to pass for teenagers...
Take all of this and throw it together with
the fact that each movie is being co-produced by a different producer and each
co-producer is in a different part of the world. One is in Texas, one in Brooklyn, one in the
Bronx, and one is in Israel. Thus, all
audition videos and taped re-through are converted to digital video and posted
online for final approval as well.
Needless to say, things have been busy. It’s been wonderful! It’s been chaotic! It’s
been filmmaking! And I wouldn’t have it any other way.