Talent Signed: Raney Branch

In any noir film, it's the baser, seedier motivations that drive the morally-ambivalent characters to their self-destructive acts.  And by "base" I mean those lusty, primal drives that we all struggle to keep under some semblance of control. Or not.


Though the primary motivator of all of the characters in Sixufus is greed, we need to see other motivators too, just to flesh out the universe a bit.  And when you think about it, most noir films show sex as one of the paths to destruction (Body Heat, Double Indemnity, etc.).  


This was the original purpose of the Hillary character; a young woman who's amazing physical charm and diabolical scheming fouls things up for Darwin.  


But as the story unfolded, I found she had a much better purpose than mere sex appeal.  And in fact, I ended up picturing her as something less charming.  Less made up, more shrewish and isolated, with her own problems to overcome.  Which is why her name is Hillary; something we hope snags on some previously-existing associations. 


And of course, what happens?  Our director Maurice Moore ends up casting a beautiful young woman with amazing physical charm to play Hillary.  Ah well.  Never hurts. 


The actress of which I speak is Raney Branch; who was one of the leads in Maurice's Lovely project:


A little about Raney:

While studying at Emory University - where she received her BA in Environmental Studies and minored in Arabic - Raney performed in the regional touring company ENACTE Repertory Theatre.  Upon moving to New York to teach science, Raney returned to her musical roots, performing in local blues, hip-hop, and neo-soul bands.  Since returning to her hometown, Raney has performed in several theatre productions including Hair, Anything For You, HUE , and the multimedia production Twenty-1: The Age of Ultimate Change.  In film, Raney starred in the independent feature Family Curse. as well as the shorts Freakin' Funny, the aforementioned Lovely, and LA Sales.  Raney also guest-starred on the House of Payne TV show  ("I Got the Hook Up" episode). 


Having read all that, you should now head over to YouTube to see her demo reel:  Raney's demo reel

Concepts and Storyboards - Intro scene and the "Sixufus Location"

When this project was started, it was me and...

Well.  Me and my mouse.  Computer mouse that is, and I wielded it with abandon; firing up various pieces of software, generating concepts and storyboards and spreadsheets and whatnot.

Now that Maurice Moore and his team are doing the hard production work, thought I might share these concepts with the interested world, lest they fall into digital oblivion.  That, and I thought they're kinda cool, in a geeky sort of way.

Before presenting the media, however, a few explanations are in order.

Intro Scene
During preproduction, it's the natural order of things that the director bring his/her vision to the story.  Translated, that means re-writes to the script.  Typically, this is a good thing for the project, for a myriad of reasons.

For Sixufus, Maurice thought we needed an additional scene at the start.  An introductory scene.  It adds interest and backstory, perhaps enough to even give our main character a little much-needed sympathy.  Because this was fresh on my mind, I generated a few images that I thought were appropro.

Sixufus Location 
In our story, the main character, Darwin, has multiple personalities.  All of Darwin's personalities know that the others exist, and there's a fair amount of argument, banter, and unpleasantness that goes on between them.

These interchanges, though interesting, would lose some (if not most) of their impact if we just used voice-over.  We need to see them; their expressions and their gestures (or lack thereof), in order to understand Darwin, to see what it would be like to have a group of people living inside of you, and them rarely agreeing on anything.

Thus was born the "Sixufus Location".  It's not a physical place (though it resembles one), but a meta-setting.  A place where there are just the six characters, around a table, and nothing else.

Technical Details

I'm the world's worst hand-draw artist.  However, I do know how to run software, generally speaking, and that's what I used to generate these images.

The intro scene stuff was generated in Poser 7, using the toon renderer.  Has a nice hand-drawn look.

The "Sixufus Location" concepts started life as Poser 7 scenes, which were then imported into Vue 7.  Added  a stock table, some chairs, and a pistol, then rendered 5-second animations, using radiosity.  I then brought those clips into Adobe's After Effects CS4 and applied the Toon Effect for the final hand-drawn look.  Heh, not perfect, but as Maurice says, it is what it is.

Finally  
These are concepts generated by me, the writer.  These are NOT concepts generated by Maurice Moore or his team, and the final film will look much different.  That said, I'll then add that this will give you an idea of what my mind's eye saw as I wrote the script.

Talent Signed: Nathan Huntley

For the lead actor, Sixufus will either be a real show-piece or a masochistic acting exercise:  He must convincingly play 6 different characters.  At some points, he will have to morph between characters, insinuating this shift to the audience without the benefit of dialog, much less voice over.

Guy's gotta have chops.

Lucky for us, Maurice Moore, the director who has optioned the Sixufus script, has already identified the leading man and got him committed (so to speak):  Nathan Huntley.

Maurice had the privilege of directing Nathan in "Inseparable Hearts", a short romantic comedy that's now making the film festival circuit.  That piece has Nathan playing an actor, roaming through various roles with the ease of a shark in bloody water.

With Maurice's permission, we've managed to create a small clip from his performance in "Inseparable Hearts":

Here's a bit more about Mr. Huntley:

Nathan holds a B.A. in theater with an emphasis on performance and a minor in playwrighting from the University of Tulsa. While attending the University of Tulsa, Nathan received the American College Theatre Festival’s commendation for excellence in the arts.  Not just once, but twice:  Once for his performance as Billy in the 1996 production of "The Game Room” (a role he originated), and again in 1998 for "Mr. Lucky’s Pub and Grill" (his original work). While in Tulsa, Nathan also co-founded and served as a co-artistic Director for OK REP! (the only theatre company in Oklahoma that consistently produces a full season of equity plays).

Nathan’s most rewarding work is as an actor.  In the summer of 1997, Nathan had the opportunity to premiere "Nation", a play by Tony Award nominee Joe Sears, in the principal role of “Tassel”.  This honor comes second only to being asked by Yvegeny Yvevdeschenko (Russian Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize Winner) to create and perform in opening piece for Yvevdeschenko’s poetry performance  in 1999.

Since moving to Los Angeles, Nathan has performed with THE PROP-TARTS comedy team. He also served as an actor throughout the process of developing a new play called A Place at Forrest Lawn (written by Jim Bontempo and Luke Yankee). This piece was honored with third place at the Palm Springs International Playwriting Festival, where Nathan read the play alongside Pat Carroll, Barbara Rush, and Ian Abercrombie.

Talent - Director/Producer Maurice Moore

In earlier posts, I blithely mentioned Maurice Moore as "the director", without so much as the briefest explanation, as though you and he needed no introduction, but were already good friends from waaaay back.

Let's fix that.

I met Moe... I dunno, 4-5 years ago.  We've worked on different projects together, in a variety of capacities: I directed him in Mind Reader 8 (which he also acted as producer on), I edited his short film "In One Lifetime", he directed (the short version of) a script I wrote, "The Maid".

And those are just the projects I've worked with him on.  The man's got a ton of other credits to his name, in a bunch of other capacities.  He's been busy acting, writing, producing, and directing.  And not just movies, but plays, classes.  Etc.

As an actor, he started early:  When he was a kid, he had a speaking role in Spielberg's classic "The Color Purple".  He's since gone on to work for other high-profile directors:  Alan Parker ("The Life of David Gale" with Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet), Marcus Nispel ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre" with Jessica Biel, produced by Michael Bay), and Steve Mims ("One Eye Peeled", where Moe played five different characters).

As a producer, he founded ReelEyes Productions in Austin, then F.L.O.a.T Films in Los Angeles.  He's produced a number of short films (including the aforementioned Mind Reader 8) as well as a feature film (Alan Ray's Deadland Dreaming).

As a director, he's done plays (Athol Fugard’s "Master Harold and the Boys", Bruce Bonafede’s "Advice to the Players", and August Wilson's "King Headley II") and a run of music videos and short films for his F.L.O.a.T Films entity.

And I haven't even mentioned his writing.

Let's just say that, for every project I've seen him work on (both mine and other's), he was The go-to-guy.  The man gets it done.

So when Moe told me he wanted to option Sixufus?  I knew that it would get done, and by a man who would do it with excellence and professionalism.

And to close, it turns out that Maurice's (director's) demo reel is on the web.  Check it:

I quit. But then -

We've made a few short movies here and there, and... it's a lot of work.  Though we shot "I Am Jesus" in 3-4 hours, it took weeks to align everybody with our location and our time frame.  And let's not forget the writing, preproduction, post production, the marketing, blah blah blah blah blah.

Extrapolate that out, 11 pages to 90 pages, and you're looking at a significant chunk of time.  So faced with that, with Christmas coming up and other expenses on the horizon...

I quit.

Call me a coward.  I just don't think making it half way to being done is the same as Success.  So instead of pushing forward, with a very real possibility of not making it, I postponed shooting my zero-budget feature.  It's not good form to get people involved, then pull the plug because of time or money or whatever.

So yeah, big quitter.  That's me.  But then?

Talked to Maurice Moore, a director/producer friend of mine in Los Angeles.  Said "Hey, you know anyone that would be interested in shooting a zero-budget film?"

He said "Yeah.  I would."

In the interest of making a long story short, I won't mentioned that he liked the script, that his people liked the script, etc.  We'll just report that Maurice is now gathering a team of LA-based talent to shoot Sixufus.

And ya know?  This may be a better ending than the one I had envisioned.

As we work through pre and post production, we'll be posting reports and film clips and whatnot here, so....

Why this is hard (aka, who we are)

Just to clarify, in case someone wondered:  This isn't a full time job.  No.  I'm just another middle-aged maniac fighting off mid-life crisis by taking out one of his "I should do that someday"'s and dusting it off.

My real job (ie., the biggest time sink) is as a software developer.  Just another cube dweller in the bowels of a huge corporation, exchanging his time for the payola to support the wife, kid, and a suburban lifestyle.

Trying to make a movie in my "spare time", such as it is.  Between staff meetings, deadlines, Boy Scouts, mowing the lawn, walking the dog.

Can I quit my day job to do this full time?  No way Jose.

But I'm OK with that.  This way, there's no great loss if it never gets finished, nor great expectations if it does.

What Sixufus is About

No screenplay is really complete, in my opinion, until the synopsis is generated.  So what better place to unveil it than here?

Ever since he’s been accused of killing his mother, Darwin Russell has lead a reclusive and shunned life.  And during this private, un-ambitious hiatus, Darwin has healed by developing a coping mechanism:  Multiple personalities.  Some of them are nice.  And some… not so much.  And when some particular personalities are “in charge”, the others can’t see what is happening.  Blackouts occur. 

 Irregardless of their differences, all of them work together to hide his secret.

 But at his father’s death, Darwin once again comes under scrutiny:  He is the primary beneficiary of the will.  Millions of dollars, plus untold income in real estate and stock holdings.

 And with the inheritance comes the fortune seekers.  Family members with grudges and power.  Family friends with blackmail and other enticements. 

 All seeking Darwin.  All scouring him for manipulatable crevices in his character armor.

 And in the light of investigation, the glow of fortune, and the grip of blackmail, Darwin unleashes the forces within in a final effort at self-preservation.

The logline, however, is always a trickier hatchling.  It must be pithy and intriguing and... Well, you know.  Here's the current batch.  Let me know which one is your favorite.

An insane man inherits a fortune, but must first fend off blackmailers and backstabbing family members.

A man plagued with multiple personalities becomes the center of intrigue when he is named as sole heir of a fortune.

Or you know what would be cool?  If you generated a better one.  Give it a shot, I'd love to see whatever you come up with!

Preproduction: Morphing into a production monster

Finished draft 2 of the Sixufus script, and have handed it off to someone I respect.  Which means now I have to to take that deep breath before plunging into production mode.

For me, this means shifting out of creative hermit mode and into my Columbo-ish production weenie mode.  Time to poke the people I know (and some I don't) for stuff.  For free stuff.  For time, for locations, for talent, for equipment.  To beg and plead, cajole, and otherwise make a nuisance of myself in the name of Art.  My art.  Let me be clearer:  For me, this part is more squeam-inducing than any other part of the production process.  Despite my ironclad convictions of the value and worth of this project, I still hate to impose, hate to convince others to give me stuff, for free, to make it happen.

For this project, I'm just asking for time and assets.  Imagine how I'd feel if I had to ask for millions of dollars.

This is why I'm not a salesman.

So if you see me coming your way, and I ask you, in my mealy-mouthed manner, for some item or location or talent?  Have mercy my friend.  This is not my best role.

Preproduction: The Script

Hey:  I finished the first draft of the screenplay!  Sweet.  Went ahead and registered it with the WGAw, #1380655.

For some reason, I feel as though I've gotten through the hard part, the two-a-days before the real season begins.  Is this common?  As a writer, this would have been the moment of glory, the point at which I would sit and bask in my (now not-so-uncommon) accomplishment.  But for this project, I feel like it's just the first hurdle.  I'm glad to be past it, but I've still got 12 zillion more to hop over.  Is this how Christopher Nolan feels?

At any rate, it occurs to me that perhaps I can add a tidbit to the body of screenplay-writing knowledge.  It's this:  Drop the 3-act structure for a 4-act structure.

I've written enough feature-length scripts (13?) to recognize a pattern:  Start off gangbusters, then somewhere between pages 28 and 40, BANG.  You hit the wall.  Maybe this has happened to you before.  My hypothesis is that for you 3-act folks, that huge honking Act 2 is too big of an elephant to eat in one sitting.  You're looking at all those pages left to write, and there's no milestones between pages 22 and 72.

Furthermore, you may be tempted to think that nothing really needs to change much in your story for those 50+ pages.  Apart from the rising tension, that is.  So, force that change by splitting that sucker in two.  Or rather, force your mind to recognize that something significant needs to happen somewhere around there.

Imagine now you're writing 4 acts.  You get to page 32 and, instead of picturing the next milestone 40 pages away, you can look up and see the thing leering down at you, a mere 18 pages away.

No guarantees here.  Just sayin'.  It works for me, consistently.  Might work for you.

Up next:  Some tidbits from the script.  Don't want to give too much away.  Not yet.

Preproduction: Concept, Part 3

Getting back to concept.  Thought about a lot of different things, but noir seems more my style, personally.  Love Raymond Chandler's stuff, and look at Mind Reader 8.

So, where are we?  1) Zero budget (priority one), 2) Minimal locations and actors, 3) Compelling; never seen before.

If we think further along the lines of being minimal:  Back in the old days (ie., Hellenistic Age), actors would cover their faces so they could play multiple parts.  So what if we get people to play more than one role?

First, thought "is this like a variety show?"  Our actor sings, then dances, then does a dramatic reading?

Hm.  Doesn't really play to my strong suit, really.  Meaning it would take me longer and I'd probably wish I'd spent my time doing something more interesting.

But the idea is compelling enough to explore a bit.  How to get one actor to play a lot of roles...

Hey, what about split personality, a.k.a., "Dissociative identity disorder"?!

So there ya go.  A noir-ish piece about a guy or gal with multiple personalities.  Add something of value that our characters are willing to do ANYTHING for (ie, loads of cash), and now we've got... Sixufus.

Next:  The script.  (Or maybe something else.  Don't hold me to that.)

Pre-production: Concept, Part 2

So how do you make a feature-length movie with little or no money?  'Spen done and written about, most famously by Robert Rodriquez.  Basically, you use what you have, beg and borrow what you don't.  Production resources, I'm talking about.  

With that in mind, started thinking about the cheapest kind of production you can have.  Or I could have, specifically. Minimum locations for starters (so you don't spend time carting your equipment all over the planet).  Mostly interior (so you're not slave to the weather or the time of day).  Small cast (so you don't... OK, you're getting it).  Zero number of things I can't do myself, like model and animate Godzilla, or shoot at the Eiffel Tower.

And still be interesting to watch.  

Taking all those factors, and then munging them whilest I slept, I concluded that we should do something noirish.  You know; crime & punishment, passion, bad guys and bad girls with guns and lethal weapons, and a lot of money involved.  With a psychological angle.  (Hey, I majored in Psychology in school.  That needs to pay off somehow.)

So that's how Sixufus was born.  

[Well, if you want to get technical, "Sixufus" was just a word that popped in my head while driving to Starbuck's one morning.  Wasn't quite awake yet, really.] 

Up next:  What's Sixufus, and how far along are we? 

Preproduction: Concept

Usually, you start with an idea. It fascinates you, you think about it when you should be concentrating on... Oh, you know, something more pressing. Like traffic.

This time though, it came backwards. It started with a want. You know what I'm talking about: "I want to...."

I want to make a feature-length film. Too bad I have no money to do it with.

So... I want to tackle a feature-length film using the money I DO have. Which is chump change. We're talking zero-budget.

Hey, it's possible! It's been done, and by people I know even (check out Deadland Dreaming).

There ya go. Now we've got our dramatic question to answer: How? Or are you just insane?

But now, in typical serial fashion, we'll leave you hanging there, and promise to answer the question of Sixufus in the next post.

But before we leave it at that, let me add a small note about frequency. Blogging-wise. My goal is to update this blog once a week, usually on a Wednesday, before high noon CST. Call me on it if it doesn't happen, 'K?