WEEK I
week 1 seems to have gone well.

Everybody is very happy to be on this project, (they have to be, nobody is in it for the money!) and this reflects on a very nice, global and enthusiastic atmosphere.

The crew are a mixture of experienced film crew with students from south seas film school and they are all very motivated.
Two of the girls are shooting a behind the scenes documentary and even though their camera broke they were still on set, helping out, working for free. There camra is now mended and they have begun the doco again.

I have never worked on a film before so I had to ask around to see what the main difference between a film made using the Frugal Filmmaker protocols and an ordinary one. The first comment people made were the hours.

The crew, especially the old hands, really appreciate the shorter hours and if we finsih early early we wrap early. And the easy work flow. More about that later.

This week we shot a lot of exteriors to get them done before the Christmas decorations go up. Exteriors are easier for the actors, fewer lines and the scenes are quicker to shoot and the crew feels optimistic and motivated. We even finished earlier than schedule two nights in a row.

A second difference is the lack of hierarchy. And this can be a good or a bad thing, as I understand.

I have noticed that people are surprised that the director and director of photography do not have interns running off doing their errands, making them coffee etc. Although this doesn't really have to do with the way we are filming (but more with them being good people, in my opinion), it does show the global atmosphere on set. Everybody feels respected.

One last thing that appears to be very different is the small amount of lights, camera accessories etc.

Tom told me the other day that equipment on set (lights, camera accessories) is deliberately reduced to the strict minimum as part of the Frugal Filmmaker protocol. The usual five trucks of gear (the Circus) has become one small truck and this obviously will affect the final product (in a good way, according to tom. I’ll keep you posted on that).

So in Hollywood, to shoot a scene with a female actress it’s like shooting a L'Oreal commercial. Lots of preparation and artificial effects just to make her look beautiful. Here the only goal is to have the actors act well. Because this is the key (good story, good acting) to a good film says Tom.

So in each scene the natural light on location is used to its maximum. Only one light is set up most of the times and this makes a more raw image but also implies less waiting around for the actors, it keeps them fresh, more reactive. And better acting? Stay tuned.

I have been invited to witness a very interesting experience. The making of a feature film in a different way, a more frugal way. Let me tell you more about it.

Just like minimalism was born from a reaction (to the excesses of subjectivity in abstract expressionism and pop art), frugal filmmaking was first born from a strong reaction against the diktat of the film industry.

The finance for Rosemary Riddell's 7 million NZ dollar first movie fell through. Cinematographer and Director Tom Burstyn has been making feature films, miniseries and MOW’s for over 30 years. He was tired of the excess, the waste – human and material. He had been formulating a plan to make a film in a very different way, to almost re-envisage the whole production process.

Then Rosemary met Tom and we in now in our first week of shooting Insatiable Moon (working title) an ultra low-budget feature film shot on the streets on Ponsonby, Auckland.

Insatiable Moon is being made using Tom’s Frugal Filmmaker system and philosophy.

What if all the accoutrements of the film set is not always necessary.

What if stripping it back is not just about lack of money but is about allowing the filmmaker the freedom to concentrate on the story rather than the technology.

What if by having to strip down the movie making to its most fundamental components, the days of shooting were shorter, the acting better, the crew more alert, the director more motivated?

Does less time spent on equipment help everyone to focus on the actual story?

This is what is about to be put to practise on the set of the Insatiable Moon.

It’s an experiment. Stay tuned.

Violaine