Every filmmaker is influenced by other filmmakers, regardless of whether they know it or not. Little inklings of cinematography, dialogue, color palettes, and action styles constantly find their way into your film even if you don’t realize you are doing it. After working through multiple Killer Goose Productions, it was my turn to grab the reigns. I had such a great time working on “White Lighter”, which was a collaborative effort, “The Call”, Daniel O. Linke’s debut, and Dale DeVino’s “Dead for Life”, that I knew I was ready to take a stab at sitting in the director’s chair.

I value Killer Goose’s opinions greatly, so when I got the OK from the guys that we were going to move forward on my script, “Feed A”, I was ecstatic. I had realized, in the beginning stages of pre-production, that “Feed A” was my homage film. Keep in mind that although Killer Goose loves to work on each other’s projects, we must be in unanimous agreement to truly move forward and get into pre-production, mainly because the money starts being spent, and more importantly, time starts flying by. So KG took a big leap in helping tackle a film that is very different from the traditional style.

When I wrote “Feed A”, I knew I wanted to tell a found footage story. I know that the found footage style (a term used when the film is based on the fact that the footage is “found” and therefore proposed to be real, I.E. Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Rec.) really hit home with Dan Linke and I. We loved the essence of believability.

When you watch a film shot with a traditional narrative style, the cuts can be placed wherever the editor wants them, and the scene can be shot in any manner, out of order. You are often reminded that what you are watching is in fact a fictional story. With found footage films, the action and continuous rolling of the camera can really suck you into the world you’ve devoted your $10.50 to. The endurance and ability of the cameramen and actors is more like that of a stage play. Sometimes, the takes can be 2-10 minutes long. I think that not only does this pull you in, but it’s also a feat that when accomplished correctly, can make the film that much more exciting. The ability to be able to perform long takes, with long amounts of dialogue and a lot of action requires massive amounts of blocking (setting up shots) and preparation.

I am a professional videographer when I am not shooting films with Killer Goose. I typically shoot weddings, mitzvahs, and corporate videos. These events, as you could imagine, are very fast: on the fly, constant action. I am not allowed to miss any of those special moments when I shoot events, or else the client could potentially have my head. This made me realize that I had a knack for picking up action in real time. I then said to myself “Well, if I can shoot events like this with ease, then I suppose I could tackle a found footage film.” So the gears started going and I started writing.

I looked to some of my biggest inspirations in film to help me get started, while keeping my assets in mind. I knew I wanted to make a creature feature, my own “Aliens”, or my own “Rec.” I am lucky enough to live in a beautiful home that I thought would really be a great setting for a horror story with S.W.A.T. team. I thought about the trickery of the camera you can accomplish with a found footage film, what you do show, what you don’t show, how you show it. This really influenced my writing of the film. It is tricky to write a film when you can’t cut 30 times in 2 minutes. I knew that these actors would have to work very hard to remember their dialogue and positions, not to mention S.W.A.T. maneuvers.

I was able to nail down a S.W.A.T. truck, but had to think of clever ways to shoot it. Not only was I making a film I always wanted to make, but I was learning really great writing techniques in the process. I wanted to tell the story of a S.W.A.T. team, as brave and strong as they are, dealing with something they weren’t trained for. I wanted to chronicle the breakdown of this team, in an unfamiliar environment, while throwing in some surprises for the audience to leave them thinking.

I knew this would be a daunting process. Many filmmakers at my level do not want to tackle hardcore action. We have relatively little money, and less experience with extreme action shooting, but I looked forward to the challenge. For lack of better word, I said “Fuck it. I’m gonna do it.” Part of filmmaking is taking a risk, stepping out of your comfortable boundaries to try to make a great piece of art. I think great art is never made without risk: that is, risk of money, risk of reputation…risk of sanity, for sure. But I thought back to what James Cameron once said: “Failure is always an option, fear however is not.” Those words really rung true with me, and I’ll never forget them.

I knew that even if this film was a mess, I would learn a great deal from it. I also knew that to try to make something out of this world, I had to think a little bit outside of the box. So far, the process of getting “Feed A” to principal photography has been quite insane, but enjoyable none the less. I learned a lot about my own writing styles and strengths and weaknesses while writing this film. This is not a statement film, or at least I did not intend it be, but it is definitely a fun action thriller, with some sci-fi and horror sprinkled throughout. I am proud to have the support of KG to hold my hand as I venture out to make the film I’ve always wanted to make, even if most of the crew does think I’m bat-shit insane.

And so I leave you with this video Dale has so kindly posted along with this article. It is a time lapse of our work this weekend building part of the set for “Feed A.” You will see the lovely Jenn Moy doing most of the design here. Dale, Dan  and I are just really good at smoking cigarettes. Want to know what it is? Watch the damn film!