A Good Plan B Should Be Your Plan A

Like most things in life, it started with an idea. Instead of dead end novel attempts and overly ambitious life-swallowing comic book concepts we decided to change our approach - why not try something smaller, something a little more self-contained and collaborative? Why not try film?

About The Girl was our first project, a simple story of lost love with an investigative twist; a murder mystery that intentionally bordered on cliché and proved to be a much more ambitious undertaking than we had initially planned. Early drafts of the script leaned towards a film noir set in a small Northern Ontario town sensibility, a concept that proved to be conceptually appealing, but somewhat beyond our range as a starting point for what we were dubbing “our experiment in film”. And that really is what the film was to us, an experiment to see if we could bring together the people, technology, and artistry required to produce something that would not be a cringe-worthy and abject failure.

Keep it simple, was the request from Kevin Hoffman, our elected director. After nearly two weeks of back and forth deliberation about the merits of concept vs. the benefits of practicality (primarily conducted as an internal dialogue with myself), the script was completed – now re-purposed with 50% more simplified dialogue and a streamlined story. Attentive viewers will notice that a few of the initial noir elements remain in the script, mostly in the form of some of the more colourful wordplay. I think it makes for a nice everybody-wins compromise, and a handful of entertainingly awkward line deliveries.

Our First Day of Filming
Ed Regan and Michael Humble

With the shooting script finalized, we were ready to start filming and on a chilly evening in September of 2007, we filled a small apartment bathroom with lights, cameras and the slightest hint of action – and were hooked right away. The first scene we filmed was a pensive bathroom mirror scene, a last-minute addition to the shooting script that was designed to create an added layer of intrigue in the story. It was a small scene, but a perfect test of everyone’s mettle, from the acting, to the direction and technical aspects of film. We spent the better part of an hour rigging up light reflector panels; angling and repositioning lights; testing sound levels and ambient noise; and setting up a simple yet dynamic shot. It was not an overly exciting process, and it took an insanely long time to capture the ten seconds of footage that appeared in the final scene, but it was exhilarating, methodical, thrilling and above all immensely satisfying.

Everything exploded from there and we spent the next several weeks jumping from location to location; shooting and re-shooting scenes; uploading, reviewing and editing footage; and planning our shoots days in advance to ensure that we were able to cover all the angles. Having multiple speaking parts and a single camera to shoot with meant that even the simplest scenes required multiple takes to get all the coverage and multiple angles we would need to build a dynamic scene. Our baptism into film was never destined to be a smooth procedure and we hit a number of bumps along the way. Here’s the thing though, each time we did hit a bump we came up with a quick and effective Plan B.

Here is my first piece of advice to any budding film makers in the audience today. If making movies is something you think you would like to do, make sure you plan everything in advance and know that your plans most likely won’t play out the way you anticipated.

Inclement weather, technical issues, wayward cast members, medical emergencies… There are any number and combination of things that can and will get in the way. I would even say that you would be wise to make sure you have a Plan B… for your Plan B. Improvising is a great skill to have in film: it can be used by actors to build a better scene and rapport, and it can also be used to achieve equally wonderful results by directors, cinematographers, producers, editors and writers.

This post seems to have turned a little educational – I’m still figuring out the voice. Next time I promise more laughs, more explosions, and some dramatic insight into some of the many insane things that nearly kept us from finishing About The Girl. Again, comments and feedback are always encouraged. Thanks for tuning in!