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.

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.