Shades

This piece was shot in response to a film I was shooting for someone else. I said to myself that I could make a better film than what I was working on, so after that film wrapped, I gathered the crew, my trusty Super 16mm Aaton, and 800 feet of Kodachrome that I had been planning to do some tests with. I wrote a script based on a poem I had written, and shot the film M.O.S. There was really no budget for this film, but everyone got fed well, and received transportation, and we only shot 10 hours on each day. On the second shoot day I went to pick up the art director, who was not home, I discovered as I walked into the apartment building and into her apartment past her two debilitated roomates who were not used to seeing the sun. I never did see the art director again, although she called me a few days later to let me know she was alive. Ahh the life of independent film. It took a few months to find someone who would be willing to score the film, as the budget was nil. However after I just about had given up and was going to try to make the music, Robbie Pittelman called me. He told me that he could not get the film out of his head, and it would be a fine project for his last freebie. He wrote a tremendous score I felt, and we only argued about the scratchy phongraph sound over the credits. Finally he let me have my way on that. From a cinmematographers standpoint, Kodachrome just kicked my butt. It is so slow, that getting enough light for exposure required a lot of tweaking. It is a beautiful film, and the color pallatte is exquisite. I miss it now that it is gone. Hope you enjoy the film.