COMPLETED: premiering Monday, June 23, at 6:00 pm
filmmakers will
be present for Q & A session after the movie
[project diary] [production stills] [movie clip]
Elizabeth Spear
BrokeDownFilms
Austin, Texas
United States
project title: Hanging
producer: Elizabeth Spear and James Teems
director: Elizabeth
Spear and James Teems
writer: Elizabeth
Spear and James Teems
cast & crew:
James Teems -- cast
tagline: Will
Nicholas is a fifteen year old kid who gets taken from his home and placed
in an emergency youth shelter.
treatment:
Will wakes to a loud
knock on his front door at 5am. A CPS worker hands him
a plastic bag and gives him one minute to pack his belongings. He tries to
wake his mother for help, but she is in a drug-induced stupor. By her
actions one wonders if she would help even if she were completely sober.
Will arrives at the shelter, assigned a case manager, given a tour of
Youthcare. He gets three fifteen minute walks a day. Any unauthorized
leaves of absences will find him called in as a runaway. He is not allowed
to contact his mother due to an investigation for drug charges.
Damian, a veteran
of CPS care and the shelter, quickly befriends Will.
Damian introduces Will to shelter life, and instigates Will to push the
boundaries within the shelter. Will gets caught up in running drugs with
Damian for cash and shoes. Eventually, Damian and Will get caught up in a
police chase which ends with the two being separated.
While in the shelter,
Will becomes vulnerable to attempts by his deadbeat
dad to send him to live with his abusive aunt. Meanwhile, Will's mother is
in a drug treatment center and is unable to offer Will any support. Will
realizes that no one is coming to save him, and must make decisions for
himself.
statement of style:
Shooting will be done
with few cuts, documentary-style, with room for
improv. It is our intention to let the story unfold with minimal intrusion
of the camera. The shooting will take place in an actual emergency shelter
while the kids that live there are still there. Raising Victor Vargas is an
influence
in dealing with the subject matter.
timeline:
Pre-Production:
April 15: Casting Call will be posted
April 20:
Lifeworks shelters will be notified and a shooting schedule will be set.
Reserve audition room at Dougherty Arts Center
April 25:
Location scouting for Will's and T's house
Equipment Inventory
April 30:
Auditions will be held at Dougherty Arts Center
Any remaining equipment will be secured
May 5:
Auditions reviewed and decided upon
May 10:
First cast reading
May 13:
Cast Rehearsals
Paperwork (releases, etc.)
May 20:
Test shots for lighting and sound will be fired
Acquiring any remaining equipment from test shots
May 25: Music Composers will be chosen and invited to shoot
Production:
May 30
5:01pm-7:00pm Int. Will's house
7:00pm-12:00am Ext. Street scenes night
June 1
7:30am-12:00pm: Ext. Shelter scenes day
1:00pm-5:00pm: Int. Shelter scenes day
8:00pm-12:00am: Int. Shelter scenes night
Post Production:
June 2
6:00am-10:00am Footage Logged and Captured
10:00am-1:00pm: Scenes cut to give to Composers
3:00pm-7:00pm: Rough Cut generated
Soundtrack Composed
8:00pm-12:00am Fine Cut
Credits composed
June 3
6:00am-8:00am Soundtrack Layed
8:30am-11:30pm Sound Mastered
11:30am-3:00pm Rendered and Print to Tape
3:00pm-4:00pm Packaged and Postmarked
1 Hour Safety
director bio:
Elizabeth Spear graduated
from The University of the South in 2001 with a
B.A. in English and Studio Arts. She lives in Austin, Texas and works as an
independent filmmaker under Brokedown Films, her production company.
Credits include Sunday Evening, an experimental digital short, 2001, and
Other Side of the Hill, narrative digital short, 2003. She is also the
author of several feature length screenplays, has worked as principle editor
on a narrative feature film, budget of $20,000, and production coordinator
on
a short digital film with a $5,000 budget.
James Teems will graduate
Trinity University in May 2003 with a B.A. in
Religion. He works part time at an emergency youth shelter in Austin,
Texas. He has served as production assistant on several of Brokedown Films
productions and is a first time director.
score: 19 out of 30 possible points
[project diary] [production stills] [movie clip]