The first major keystone of our experience here in Bonn is without a doubt the Narrative Projects.
Within the first weeks in Germany, we as a group decided on four scripts, written by four of our own students to be made into films. After several weeks of instruction on directing, lighting, cinematography, we were ready to begin the process of turning these screenplays into reality.
Castings were exciting days for everyone. Dozens of German actors revel at the fact that they have the chance to be in a film made by a “Los Angeles Filmmaker”.
As the casting calls were set up, the four separate teams of filmmakers ready themselves for a series of auditions. One performer after another gave their rendition of the characters that we had laid out on paper. An experience that would normally be very stressful was surprisingly exciting and educational. Most of us had never experienced a casting call with so many options and with actors so motivated to become the character you created. By the end of the week, the choices were made, and it was time to move on to shooting.
The next few weeks were stressful. The various group’s producers were frantically trying to organize call sheets, props, and transportation for the shooting days. Meanwhile, the directors and cinematographers worked out a shot list and style for the film. Everyone’s job was important. Some people were prepared for their duties; others had never done them before.
I was the director of the film called “Sight Seeing”. This was a charming story about a clever food stand owner who beguiles a group of tourists into buying his food. The objective was simple enough, but the actuality of shooting this film was astounding. There are always going to be problems that you can never predict will happen on a film shoot, and this project was no exception. We had only one filming location, but this may have already been a grave mistake. The Bonn University building, our establishing shot, had a beautiful cinematic look to it; however, the amount of foot traffic it received was infuriating to say the least. While I struggled to get the shots I needed, my sound guy was getting a headache from all the bikes, planes and sirens ruining our takes. My script supervisor was acting as a human barrier to prevent people from walking into the scene, and my very pale actor was beginning to look like a lobster in the scorching sun. Some people were saying that it was the hottest day Germany ever had in September. By the end of the first shooting day, everyone was exhausted. Personally, I thought it went rather well.
The second day proved to be more efficient. The “first day jitters” were gone and the crew was much more acclimated to their roles. The hard part was over, now we could start being real filmmakers. Despite completely different lighting conditions, broken props, and a lack of extras, the crew was able to pull together and get the shots we needed. At one point, we had the producers, the cameraman, and even the director acting as extras in the film.
Perhaps we could have done things a little differently or planned a little better, but everyone there that day learned what it takes to be on a film set and the challenges you face. Now all that’s left was to bring the film to the big screen.
By Casey Chavarria
