What Have I Learned So Far?

So what have I learned so far from Making 'Willa'?

1. IT TAKES TIME! As I have done many times I again apologize to anyone and everyone eager to see this film 'happen' more than it already has. Unfortunately it's not an easy task when it's your first film and I don't have a lot of friends and connections in the industry! Film festival after film festival is really the only option for me and that can take a very long time and is more out of my hands than I care to admit!
  Also, I've learned that many people ask to see the film and to let me know what they think about it - and guess what? I never hear from them! Still they manage to ditch it on ImdB and make sure it gets an extremely low rating in there! It's a real pity! Is it perfect? Absolutely not! And it was never meant to be! But I do wish that people would communicate a little better instead of choosing that form of 'review' which I will then never learn why was so bad and what they actually thought of it!
  I really wanted criticism - but got none! Around 100 people have seen the film and I have actually not received feedback from a single one of them. I don't know if that's the 'industry' - if that's people afraid to tell me what they really think or if that's just sad! But part of my own learning process with this project was definitely feedback and so far I haven't been lucky enough to get it from a festival. It's now been completed for a year and in many ways that's a long time - but I've also learned that in many ways it's not! I know we're not done with its journey yet and though it obviously has taken time and will take even longer I know that we will get to a point where it will get some more publicity and finally be seen by people who will judge it as what it is: My first film with a great cast and a great story and lots of 'mistakes' and imperfections! Which is what a first film should be all about I think!

We're Still Here

Thought I'd shoot you a little update now that everything has been quiet for a while. The movie is already being shipped to various festivals around the world so we hope to have some news on this progress soon. In the meantime I've personally been focussing on other things including a couple of new scripts and little things I had been neglecting while finishing up 'Willa'.
 So everything I write these little updates I seem to want to have a "what's next"! And exactly what is next? Well your guess is actually as good as mine. I am new to the industry so I don't have the luxury of contacting my network to get the film out there. I'm hoping for festival attention and through that hopefully get some interest around our story, our wonderful cast and amazing director of photography. So that's about it really! So I'll keep you all posted on our 'attention scale'. So far, even without doing much we have managed to get some attention from different places so I am excited to see what's in store in the coming months. But now we wait and see. And though I know many of you out there are eager to see the final film it will be a while before it becomes available to anyone. I hope we can open in style at a festival in New York City so I'll keep believing in that and we shall see how everything goes.

Official Trailer

Though it's already been posted in many other places we wanted to put the new, official trailer for the film on the blog as well. We hope you enjoy it! It's a matter of weeks before the final version of 'Willa' is ready!

Me Me Me Me!!!!

My name is Christopher Birk and I directed and wrote the screenplay for 'Willa'. But that's not all I did. In case you have been wondering why my name is all over this production I want to take a moment to explain that.
  When I first started this I had a very clear vision for the whole film, from screenplay to music, sound design, colors, effects, picture and a lot of other things. Did I WANT to do a lot of the jobs on the film myself? Not really! Did I end up doing them anyway? Yes and no!
  The problem with a 'vision' is that it's pretty hard for others to understand exactly what the picture you have in your brain is - this becomes a problem when you want to let others do certain things because A) will it ever be exactly like you pictured it and B) will it be done properly?
  Many people have told me that editing your own movie is a bad idea! I can see why - but I can also see why not! In my case it was actually all very simple. It was not so much about whether others understood my vision or not - It was about the fact that there was little to no budget getting these things done and though you can find people who will work on these things as a 'project' - not paying someone for his/her time automatically means that it will understandably not be their first priority.
  So what then? If you don't know I am also an actor - and I have seen many a production take either forever or even never happen because there simply isn't time, people and budget to get a lot of the post-production done. I knew this was an issue that we could face on 'Willa' as well - and in a way we did. However, knowing that it would probably take a very long time if I 'hired' volunteers to do a lot of the post-production I made the decision that it probably wouldn't take much longer if I simply taught myself to do these things as I did them. This would also be helpful in my future career and then I wouldn't have anyone to blame for the result but myself.
  Was it selfish? Maybe a little - but I strongly believe that this movie would take a very long time if I had to rely on people who didn't even know much about the project to do work on it that would match my own vision - not to mention the fact that I naturally knew a lot myself about the whole thing and would save a lot of time not having to explain a lot of things to others but simply play around with the programs, tools etc required to finish this film. Besides, when I started out this was clearly 'my' film and I think I would actually feel I betrayed it a little had I just passed it on to someone else. So it's safe to say that there is more of 'me' in this film than I even dare to think about. That's good - maybe others disagree - but I need to be responsible for the product and there are simply certain thing I have to do myself to feel that I can be that.
  So I did sound editing, film editing, visual effects, special effects, additional music, sound effects and sound design! And in doing so, 'Willa' has become, not only my baby but also been an extremely valuable lesson in everything that needs to be done to make a film. And for that I am very grateful. Naturally, this could never have been done this way on a much bigger production but the size of this one was just exactly perfect to actually do so. I am proud what the film was, what it is, and what I hope it will become and no matter what happens next this has been such an amazing time for me that I know I can use for many things in the years to come.

Screening & Future

Theodore Bouloukos as PHIL PALMER

On a very cold leap year's day I screened 'Willa' for cast, crew and a few of their friends at the wonderful Cinema Village in Manhattan.
First of all, seeing it on the big screen for the first time was wonderful. Though I personally, by the time we did the screening, had seen that version or similar ones about 100 times it was still a completely new and captivating experience for me to see it like that! Within a few minutes my brain couldn't stop thinking 'wow, what a great cast we have'! So thank you to those of you reading this! A guy couldn't have wished for a better gang of actors to do such a fine job.
The best thing was that though I desperately wanted to be annoyed by technical things still not fixed in the film I couldn't. I was simply swept away by their performances and though I was, to put it mildly, violently nervous at the beginning of the screening I calmed down and was taken away myself, completely forgetting that I had actually been working on this for an entire year, more or less every single day since January 2011.
We had a little talkback after the screening and it was great to hear everyone's opinion. Call me an idiot but I actually do care if the actors think they did a good job and my editing was done to maximize what they had already put in there.
All in all I got out of it exactly what I had hoped for so I was very happy and ready to work some more and release a film that I felt everyone who had the chance to watch the screener had a little say in making.
And speaking of release - what about that little detail.
Well, to be honest I'm not sure exactly in what shape and when the film will be available to 'y'all'. The plan is, and has always been, to send it to festivals all over the place so depending on which one will be the first to accept us I guess that will be the real 'opening' - although , depending on where in the world that is, none of us may be able to be there. I do sincerely hope we will be part of a New York film festival so we can make a real 'premiere' out of it and do be sure that I'll announce it once we get accepted to a local festival.
And that's about it! Attracting distributors is naturally a dream for all of us - we would love it to be available to people other than NYC locals and people close enough to the festivals we will be in but when this will happen I'm not sure and in what capacity - but once again you can be sure I'll keep you all informed about this.
A new journey is starting for 'Willa' and I am excited to keep you up to date in our progress and who we get the chance to show out little film to. But first, let's get it ready and get it going! I couldn't be prouder of everyone involved! I'd do it again in a heartbeat and I think I just might!

Poster for 'Willa'

How do you make a movie poster? That's actually a good question and one that I now feel I am a few steps closer to answering. As anyone who has been following 'Willa' from the beginning have noticed, there has been quite a few temporary poster-ish pictures on the Facebook, website etc. but I wanted a 'real' poster - one that expresses what I think the movie is about, leaving something to be desired and not raising or answering too many questions.
 Well a while ago, the wonderful Raffael Pacitti, who first got me involved in Bikram Yoga by the way, and I were chatting at the studio about the movie and he mentioned that he would love to try his skills with a poster for the film. I was thrilled! I told him about the sites etc and sent him the story so he could learn a bit more about it.
 But that wasn't all. In order to make a suitable poster he asked me all kinds of questions about the film - some very straight forward and some more symbolic. This was sort of fabulous! I didn't ever imagine that questions like those could help create the mood for a poster - but I was thrilled that Raffael threw himself into it this way.
 After giving him all the answers I could he brought everything together and sent me a draft, very close to the poster we have now. I immediately loved it and though it's simple in one way, it also just exactly gives the impression and sets the mood that I was looking for. How great was that! I'm hoping he will be designing posters for the next 50 films I do!

Visual Effects & Color Correction

The post production of the film is entering the late stages as everything starts coming together. In the beginning I didn't even consider taking on the task of changing colors and doing effects myself. But as time went on it became more and more difficult to find people who could help. First of all because I didn't have much money to offer and didn't feel too great about asking for 'free' help on yet another job. And second of all it was very important to me that whoever took the task needed to have a good understanding of my vision. So after thinking about just how long it would take me to explain exactly what I wanted anyway - I decided that the time was probably better spent learning it myself. And so I made up my mind to spend most of January becoming an expert at Adobe After Effects.
  3 manuals and about 15 hours of tutorials later I'm getting into it like I never thought I would. And I love it. I still have a lot to learn but I am playing aound with everything and discovering the amazing potential this program has. Our movie doesn't require any heavy effects or digital grading but there is still quite a few smaller or medium jobs in that regard. So once again I'm putting on yet another hat for this film but - once again - this hat also teaches me yet another bunch of things that will be useful for my future work. So it's not so much because I have a desire to do as many things on 'Willa' myself as possible. It's more because I come to realize that it probably is the fastest, most efficient and not to mention cheapest way for me to do it. And the big plus is that I learn things that will be very useful. The movie is 'my baby' as many others have called their projects before I'm sure. But when you have a baby like this you need to know that it turns out exactly as YOU want it. Risky, I guess, because now I am exposing myself to criticism on all kinds of levels - but also good because now I can't blame too many things on others, just myself!
Christopher Birk - Director (and now Visual Effects artist as well).

Updates, Real Dates, Teasers and Promises!

So - For everyone out there who's following us I think it's time for a little update. I have the privilege, and curse, of doing a lot of jobs on 'Willa' myself. I am learning a lot but also have to work hard to make sure our wonderful film doesn't just sit around while I do one small thing after another. That's sort of why I am doing a lot of things at once and slowly gathering everything. Sound editing on the film is almost done, I am now working with a couple of great composers who, like so many others, have loved the story so much that they actually will make original music for the film. I would have settled for tracks that were sitting around but I'll certainly take an original score any day!
Also, a fabulous designer is working on a poster for the film and I am very excited to show you some of the ideas for that very soon.
'Willa' has also already been submitted to its first festival. I'm not telling you which one just yet. I think it's more fun if they actually invite us. Though the plan always have been to wait until the film was 100 percent done I just couldn't wait with this one.
Sound design is also coming together slowly. And it's amazing to see - and hear - how things come so much more to life and how the entire mood and feel of a scene changes with the sound. I've definitely found a new respect for sound designers out there and how even little sounds can change a lot.
The biggest task at hand is the color correction and the visual effects. I have a deadline for this - February 15th these must be done! There! I wrote it here! This means that I now have to make that deadline. Very exciting.
And speaking of dates. March 1st 'Willa' will be done! All editing, designing, correcting etc will be finished by then. I am hoping to have the first screening even before that date. I did announce on Facebook that a screening date would be revealed soon but a venue has been harder for me to locate than I thought so I'm afraid I'll have to keep people hanging a bit on that one

First Clips From 'Willa'

So - the first clip from 'Willa' was released a few weeks ago and the response has been very positive. We now have about 50% of the picture locked and soon the challenge of sound, sound design, sound effects, visual effects and music will come. We have already been working on all areas since filming first started so many things are moving along quite nicely. As mentioned earlier we have the amazing CLINTON/JOHNSON band attached for a couple of songs and also DAVID HELPLING, a new age/electronic artist we contacted at the very beginning of the whole process to ask for permission to use one piece of music in particular. Which one, you'll have to wait and see (or hear). In the meantime, if you haven't already seen it, here is the first clip from the film:

What's Going On?

What's going on?

Maybe you're asking this when you look at our trailers, websites, dates and updates/news everywhere.

Well, what I can tell you is that we are still in post production. A part of the making of the film that can take a long time, and sometimes a VERY long time.

For us, it doesn't look like the post production will last that long. As much as I want a version of the film ready to show you as fast as possible I naturally will not settle for anything less than a wonderful film. It is all moving along very nicely and though the editing of the footage itself is happening fast, sound, effects, adjustments and correction of colors and other things takes more work. But this is a great time for me, where every shot we have is seen over and over again and I get closer to this film than I have ever been. Though I have now not seen the dear actors in over a month I feel I am with them all the time. It's quite wonderful and I am cherishing this part of the production just as much as I expected.

I have been proclaiming that we will release the first clip online when we have 150 'fans' of Willa on Facebook. That still stands so I certainly hope we will get all the 'likes' we need very soon.

In the meantime, more little teasers and promos just might be released and who knows, maybe there will soon be some more surprises installed for everyone.

Trailers

Seems like we actually forgot to put the 2 teaser trailers and the first promo on here. What a disgrace - so here they all are for everyone to enjoy!

Filters on 'Willa'

As you may or may not know we have used 'Day For Night' effects on the moviel. Here is a little video nicely illustrating that. The camera kept rolling while DP Nathaniel Kramer and 1st AC Lewis Smithingham was adjusting lenses and filters.

The Beginning (and creation) of WILLA - Part 2

Finding a cast was a wonderful thing. If I wasn't already sure this was going to be an amazing project I certainly knew it now. Within a few weeks after casting I had found almost all the actors. A few came later through video auditions and then we were all set.
  Very early on I set some dates. A date for the first day of shooting, readings of the screenplay and most importantly - the completion of the screenplay of course.
  The original date for the first day of filming did end up being moved a bit but not much - and only because it was things that were out of anyone's hands. So all in all I was very happy with that.
  Now though finding a cast took time, effort, auditions, looking through hours and hours of videos etc it sort of was the easy part. Now I just needed to find EVERYTHING and EVERYONE else!
  If you want something done you have to do it yourself! My parents always told me that and it's true. However - doing a project like this presented an interesting challenge for me: How much was I actually going to be able to do myself and how much did I have to put in the hands of others, weather I liked it or not?
  Well, things seemed to solve themselves before I even started to worry about them.
  While mailing around, 'shopping' for a DP I put an ad on good old Craigslist. Like you do - just for fun in a sense, because you never really expect much from that place and yet I'm sure many of us, looking back on what we have done, are astonished at how many valuable and important things, people and projects have come out of that place.
  I was contacted by what ended up being my DP, Nathaniel Kramer. Obviously not just by him, I got a lot of interesting responses to say the least. Once again, some were telling me just how much I was never going to able to do with my project and others had expectations that would have given me a lot of sleepless nights.
  As I mentioned earlier, I have been pretty honest, sometimes too honest, about my skills and my experience with filmmaking. I knew I wanted to make this film - and that's pretty much all I knew. Risky business going out there when you don't know any technical terms, have no idea what a RED camera does etc etc.
  Anyway, back to my DP - short for Director of Photography in case anyone out there know even less than I did.... I think I did know that one though but that's about the extend of my abbreviation knowledge in the film industry when I ventured into this.
  I met with him at his office, I had sent him the script and he seemed to like it a lot. And though I had been thinking about locations and looking around for suitable places to shoot this film, before I knew it we were on Google Earth, going along the train tracks in the Hamptons - an area he knew well - finding out what places close to tracks might be worth contacting to film some, or all of the film.
  When I left his office my brain, body and soul was buzzing with ideas, inspiration and visions. It was quite amazing.
  After what seemed to be just a few days I walked all over Southampton, looking for places along the tracks and checking out the places we had been looking at on Google.

The Beginning (and creation) of WILLA - Part I

When you have to do something you have to do something! I had to do 'Willa' - I knew that from the moment I read Stephen King's short story. As cliche and ridiculous as it may sound I really felt like the story chose me and not really the other way. I actually had no idea if anyone had ever done this story before and though that probably wouldn't have stopped me I certainly was very happy to discover that whatever I created would be the first time anyone had ever made a serious attempt to make it into a movie.
  Now there are probably a lot of ways to prepare when you want to do a movie. But which one is the right way? It seems that anyone who feel they have anything to say about it has the 'right' way and are happy to tell you that this is how you do it. I also ran into a lot of people who certainly told me all the things I couldn't do. A lot of 'don't', 'not', 'can't', and 'what makes you think' were said by some of the people I met. Others were more supportive and had more constructive ideas.
  In a way I think I did the very right thing (for me) when I made the decision that this movie was going to happen regardless of budget and size etc. I think that in a way propelled me forward with the belief that if worse came to worst I could always just dig up someone with a sort-of-good camera and shoot the thing over a long period of time so it wouldn't interfere with anyone's jobs etc.
  This is probably already where some of you reading this would pull out your hairs. That's certainly not the way to do a film! Isn't it? Why not? I really think that if you look at what you have and start from the point you know you can actually accomplish you can always work your way up. And if nothing it will be an experience and something that will prepare you for other things to come. Some people I spoke to talked a lot about 'wasting other people's time'. If you do something that you feel passionate about and that attracts others - as long as you're honest about your intentions I really don't see how you are wasting any time. You're learning, you're growing and you get to know some people who believe in it like you do. And then it's already a success! Because what does that really mean in this kind of industry? Are you only a success with a film if you make millions of dollars, get a sequel etc etc? Of course those things are signs of success but, once again, since this was my first project I really felt it was more important to make it a success in the sense that people involved would feel good about it, I would feel good about it and we would know we had accomplished something, learned something and found some new connections.
  So where do you start? I started with the casting! Was that right or wrong? I don't know - but I was sure that once I found my cast I would know if they were the perfect candidates for the roles. I hadn't even begun the screenplay yet when I did the auditions but I very quickly did after!
  What a pleasure the auditions were! What an amazing experience seeing people come in and spend a few minutes showing us their personalities and talent. Within a couple of weeks I had the perfect people for all the roles and, thanks to the auditions, I even added new characters to the story. That made me even more excited! That the auditions helped write the screenplay.
  Then I wrote! I was in contact with the actors, met up with them, had lots of coffees and wonderful conversation. Once again, the actors were excited as I was and eager to tell me about their characters and how they saw them. Once again this all helped me in the writing and before I knew it we started attracting the people behind the camera.

Another Interview

Another mini Interview from the set of WILLA!

Sneak Peek at the music for WILLA

We were lucky enough early on to be contacted by the wonderful Clinton Johnson Band. Their music is perfect for our bar scene in the movie and just allround great country!
  Also, the fabulous David Helpling will be featured in the movie.

Mini interviews

Here are the first two of many mini interviews with people involved in WILLA.

WILLA is wrapped

It may seem strange that I have chosen to start the WILLA blog as the movie has wrapped but for me it makes sense. During the production and the filming there has been little time to write these things down but as we movie into post production there is so much more to talk about and little things about the project and what happened earlier in the process pops up - hence this blog. I want all of you out there to be able to follow just what is going on with the film and what my thoughts are around this whole process. Do enjoy it all and hopefully, for everyone reading this, you will be watching the film in the near future.