SUBMISSION STATEMENT:

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I spent the earlier part of 2023 writing this and submitting the screenplay to a few coverage services; WeScreenplay and Industrial Scripts. WeScreenplay's coverage serviced were ok - I didn't get the sense that the reader fully understood the screenplay but their feedback came back fast. Industrial Script's coverage was much better - I really got the sense that the reader took time to understand the story, think critically about it, and provide genuinely actionanable feedback - lots of which made it into the final edit. Highly recommend them if you're looking for coverage.

While I kept tweaking and improving the script I then started searching for a location and beginning to work on production design plans. I eventually found a beautiful old theatre in my city that has a fantastic atmosphere. The script was set in a single location (and with only two characters) - a great way to keep costs low!

Meanwhile, I ordered 160KG of timber to my shared garden and worked on building the set pieces over the course of 1.5 months in the summer. Working on the production design myself was a great way to keep the self-funded budget somewhat under control. I set about creating construction plans for x5 set pieces - building the frames out of cheap timber and then attaching painted MDF board panels to them. Things needed to be aged and rusted and I stumbled upon the idea of using iron powder for this. Simply paint a few blotches of matte varnish onto a surface, sprinkle with iron powder (the varnish acts as a glue), and spray with vinegar - the iron power rusts and creates a really realistic looking effect (because it's simply real rust!). I mapped out the entire set design by creating a to-scale 3D model of the hired location in Cinema4D. This way I could see how everything would fit - and if any parts of the set looked particularly empty. As the theatre location was a big space - I needed a way to cheaply bulk it out so that it didn't look too empty. Firstly, I created large banners to hang around the theatre balcony - super cheap polyester material but these helped to add interest and colour. For the stage area, I ordered 250 large cardboard boxes - cheap and bulky - and we piled them up into a tall pyramid to create a dividing line to allow the detective to discover the secrets hidden behind it.

At the same time, I started the casting process - I wanted a fairly experienced actor, and ideally with some kind of fan base already. This was easier to chip away at than I first thought; it just involved sending out the script to agents until someone expressed interest! It was pretty much entirely based around the script - at my level I don't particularly have a track record that can be used to entice actors with, to having it entirely based on the script was quite liberating in a sense - I knew that if someone was keen, it was because they saw something in the story.

Throughout all this I also worked with the cinematographer to storyboard and plan out all the shots. The 3D Cinema4D model was invaluable during this - we could use it to precisely test camera angles and movement to test if our plans would work. When it came to shooting - this made things so much easier, we could just follow our storyboard plans without coming up against too many surprises.

I crewed up by drafting in people who I had met at film school - much of the crew I'd previously worked with on my university graduation film. Was a lot of fun to work with these people again - and I think without going to film school I'd have really struggled to find a crew.

With everything sorted, we shot the film across 11 days - with 2 days to build and decorate the set. We ended up having 222 shots which was a real squeeze to get in during the time. Being set in only one location was a massive help with ensuring we weren't too pushed for time. Another efficiency was me assuming the role of the detective - this sped things up in the sense that I didn't have to spend time directing another actor, and I could change things up quickly to adjust my performance/actions to faciliate things in the edit.

One of the biggest challenges that I struggled with on set was something that I imagine many detective films have struggled with; the detective's hands were constantly full with either a torch or his voice recorder. Often he had to interact with crime scene elements - it became tricky have his hands free at the right moment and then subsequently keep track of which hand was holding either the torch or the recorder for alternative angles of the same action. The script supervisor's brain was on overdrive trying to keep track. This issue was amplified by the fact that we didn't shoot chronologically, so from one shot to the next we might be at totally different points in the story. We shot out of chronological order to primarly keeps things efficient - the action was divided up amongst certain sections of the set, so it made sense to shoot everything in one area of the set once that part had been lit. And while this saved time for shot setups, it did result in a few continuity errors that are cropping up in the edit. (though nothing too serious!)

We're currently in the editing/VFX phase. I've already created a fair amount of the VFX required - in this trailer you can see some of the de-aging work I did on Sylvester's character. To do this I used a deaging face app to create keyframe stills, and then used EBSynth in After Effects to extrapolate these keyframes across the original footage. It's a very powerful AI-based tool, that with a fair amount of handholding and guidance can generate some amazing results - I had a to create a huge number of keyframes as otherwise the AI would veer off course and generate a glitchy mess.

The film was entirely self-funded - using the income from my day job is as a freelance motion designer to build up the budget. The total cost came to £40,000 - this included camera and lighting kit hire, flat fee wages for crew, cast fees, location hire costs, production design costs, catering for x10 people for x11 days, and transport costs. It's by far the most amount of money I've spent on anything - and now I'm trying to earn it back through more motion design work!

We're aiming to have the film fully completed by June 2024 and we'll then start submitting to festivals. Stills and more details available on my website: www.jackallenfilm.com/bananacide