Gill - Making a Short Film - pt. III
Before turning over the footage to the editor I selected my favorite clips from the stringouts. And I got to tell ya, John & Laura VonMutius knocked it out of the park with the edit. They got the tone of the film, and particularly important to me, they understood the timing. Editing is weird because so much of it is about feeling and beats. Cut a millisecond too soon and you change the whole feel of the scene.
Our original stunt fish with notes for Dustin.
Eventually Dustin Seltzer took over the VFX. The effects are subtle, but they’re there. Things like the heat rising from the toaster, removing some reflections, and the big one that’s on everyones mind—did we kill Gill? No, we did not. We got our hands on an already deceased fish. There was a problem though, he looked nothing like Gill. Gill was more bulbous and funny looking (something I requested). The deceased fish was one of those puny little goldfish you get at the county fair. But I’ll be darned, Dustin was able to work his magic and make that fish look funny and chunky (see photo for unedited “stunt” fish).
How the music came to be is a little serendipitous. I was hanging out with my buddy Chad Brewer, lamenting that it was hard to find good reggae stock music. He turns, looks me dead in the eye with a slight smirk, and says, “you know I used to be in a reggae band in college, right.” Apparently I didn’t know Chad as well as I thought. He and some friends lent their talents and came up with the intro song and augmented the music during the bedroom scene. The film wouldn’t have been what it was without their help.
On a side note, making this took time because everyone was lending their talents. All throughout it I was chomping at the bit to get it done. But there’s one thing I’ve learned from directing docs in the past—some of the best ideas come in that waiting period, and they often strike at the most random times. Take the idea for the frenetic music in the bedroom. I didn’t have that idea originally. But after watching the movie several times I knew I wanted to add more gravity to the scene to match Jennifer’s performance. And what do you know, one day while on the toilet the idea for the music struck me (but maybe the key to unlocking the idea was the toilet and not time, who knows?)
I’d be remiss to not mention Derek Hansen as the colorist. Derek has done some killer work on projects you’ve probably seen. Having him work on this tickled me pink. From the outset I wanted the interiors to be relatively drab and desaturated so as to reflect Sally’s inner state. The outside would be angelic and serene, it needed to represent a fresh start and the place where her life would turnaround. Derek nailed it and brought an enthusiasm that was infectious.
Now about the mixing and foley work of Jason and Ding. Since seeing a children’s program where someone demonstrated foley work, I’ve always been amazed at what they do. It looks like backyard magic. In post, Jason and Ding added a lot more than what was initially captured. The sound of the kids playing outside in the Florida heat, the toaster, the squeak of the toilet seat opening and many more were added thanks to them.
Looking back on it, I’m amazed how many people lent their time and expertise to make this happen. Throughout the whole process I was surrounded by some very awesomely talented people; which gets me really pumped about my next project.
Be sure to check out Pt. IV where I talk about the promotion of the film.