#prouction

Orson Welles did say that the writer needs a pan, painter a brush... but that does not necessarily apply for the time we are in now. 

Writer doesn't need a pen, because he has the keyboard. Painter doesn't necessarily need a brush, because he has the photoshop. However, a filmmaker still needs an army and that army has to stick together in good and bad, moody and cheery, smiling and crying. 

When picking the film crew, you have to know that a.) this crew will be stuck together for quite a while, b.) you need people to be doing exactly what their job is supposed to be and c.) that they actually have the knowledge they are claiming to have. 

Now, if you are the one searching for the work, my best suggestion is: do not lie. If you are good in something and not that good in something else, just say it! Nobody will be angry with you telling the truth, but if you claim that you can do something what you actually cannot do, thats when you become the target of not-so-positive feelings coming your way. Every single person on the film set is 100% occupied with whatever their job is. Whenever they have some free time, they surely don't want to spend it on cleaning the mess behind you. 

However, if you are the one hiring and you see that someone doesn’t have the ability that they claimed they do, fire them. I cannot stress this enough. Find a replacement for that person asap. A decision like this can save the time, money and even the production. 

Zala Opara is the film producer, who just wrapped the filming of The Victorians, the coolest and the most stressful production one can imagine. This is her blog sharing the experience from the film set - that kind of experience no-one told her, not even in the film university.

Concept

While the script for Spooked has gone through many iterations, the basic concept has remained the same. I’ve known from the start that I wanted to tell a ghost story set in a summer camp. I grew up going to summer camp, and every year it seemed there was a new folk legend about a monster or murderer specific to our very campgrounds.

It's very easy to feel like an outsider in a group of young girls, and for my first few years at summer camp that’s exactly how I felt. I was also very easily spooked- so I was quite affected by these ghost stories campers and counselors would tell by flashlight. I wanted to embody this feeling of being an outsider, and give my outsider a little friendly redemption in the end.

Killing Your Darlings

I had originally written this story as a sister buddy film, but I simplified it as much as possible to make the story as universal as I could, which meant cutting out the sister relationship. It was a difficult move to make since I became attached to the idea, but with the encouragement of my mentors and classmates I killed my darlings and the story came out better for it.

Dialogue vs. No Dialogue