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"Not Jim", by Mavin
Productions, was created in 12 hours for the Atlanta
Film Race 2007 based on a theme assignment (a lie)
and a surprise element (brushing teeth). It
not only took home 8 awards in Atlanta but also went
on to win Best Film of the 2007 Film Racing Tour
against the winning films from 12 other cities
across North America.
Film Racing
(FR): It looks like you decided to
shoot “Not Jim” in a single shot, rather than spend
crucial time editing later in the day. Was this
something you were planning before you received the
theme?
Patrick Clark of Mavin Productions (MP): Absolutely. We've done some timed competitions in
the past, and occasionally discussed producing a
single take movie for one of them. We always shied
away because we felt like 6+ minutes was just way
too long to try for. 3 and a half minutes seemed
pretty doable, so we decided to go for it.
Production itself was
almost
as smooth as we anticipated. We did 8 takes (not
all of them complete) which is certainly more than
we expected to shoot, but we had the leisure of time
as we weren't wasting much of it editing.
FR:
How much planning went into
the single shot?
MP: A
little, but not that much. The blocking was staged
early, during the writing process. We knew how the
camera was going to move even before we knew what
the dialogue would be. The majority of the planning
went into creative casting. We wanted to make the
office busy, but we only had 9 actors, so everybody
got 3 roles each (except for Not Jim and Pam). A
healthy chunk of time was spent figuring out who had
time to change clothes behind camera and run across
the building to be ready for when the camera came
by. The big scrambles were getting everyone into
their seats for the Telethon and then sneaking by
the camera while Not Jim checked out Pam so they
could be in place for "Your World, Your Life" at the
end.
FR:
Break down the
production schedule of “Not Jim”.
MP: 3
hours plotting/blocking/writing
~2
hours waiting for all the actors to arrive on
location
6
hours rehearsing/shooting
<1
hour editing
FR:
What equipment and
hardware/software was used during the
pre-production, production and post-production of
“Not Jim”?
MP: DVX-100A with a Wide Angle Adaptor Lens (provided by
Ben Callner, Friend of MAVIN)
1
Crappy On-camera Mic
1
Lavalier Mic (worn by Not Jim)
Final Cut Pro
FR:
If you could go back,
what would you have changed?
MP: I
would try to draw a little more attention to the
fact that we had 7 actors playing close to 30
roles. We were so strapped for bodies that
co-directors Jay and Pat had to step in (Jay was in
the Telethon, and Pat was the guy with the donuts).
It would have been nice to light appropriately so we
didn't have to change our white balance twice during
the film. Would have added in a flash when the
Polaroid took its picture (the flash had just died)
and an effect so you couldn't tell that Ashlee's
nerf gun had misfired. And maybe found a way to
transfer the Wall of Fame into the studio so the
credits could have been included in the single
take. All nitpicky stuff, really.
FR:
Tell us about your
team, Mavin Productions.
MP: MAVIN is three guys who met in the Georgia Institute
of Technology's drama club (DramaTech). We've been
producing shorts since 2003 and completed our first
feature in 2007. We generally co-produce, co-write,
and co-direct everything.
FR:
Is Atlanta a
good city for an independent filmmaker?
MP: Yes, it is a great city, as long as that filmmaker
doesn't harbor any delusions of budgetary freedom.
Most Atlanta films are made on the cheap, but they
still manage to be watchable, and that's not so bad,
is it? There are a ton of organizations which
support local filmmaking, and a lot of talented
people who live here before they move to LA.
FR:
You won some
great prizes including $2,500 cash, AVID Media
Composer (valued at $4,995), a $2,395 Course
Certificate to Writers Boot Camp, Toon Boom
Storyboard, Gorilla Production & Scheduling
Software, and Final Draft Scriptwriting Software.
Have you put any of the
prizes to use yet?
MP: We
actually haven't used any of our prizes yet, as the
only projects we've worked on since receiving them
have been more timed competitions, and we didn't
have much use for them. But rest assured, they are
well-appreciated and will see good use soon enough!
FR:
What were some of
your favorite films from the other cities on the
2007 Tour?
MP: I
really enjoyed "Sing, O Muse". It was a great
example of a group of filmmakers who knew their
strengths, and played to them. They developed a
simple concept, worked from a genuinely funny
script, and had the resources to pull it off. I
also really dug "Zero Hour", as I have a soft spot
for zombie movies, and it came out of nowhere, which
is great.
FR:
Will you be back to
defend your title in 2008?
MP: I
don't know. We're kind of disappointed with the
switch to 24-hour films. 12 hours is just so crazy
and intense. And there is something to be said for
going out on top. Then again, right after doing a
timed contest, we always say we'll never do another
one, and then one rolls around and we haven't done
anything for a few weeks so we decide to do it
anyway.
You can find out more
about Mavin Productions at
www.mavinproductions.com |
