Preproduction

'Inside' - Key Storyboards by Dave Knox

Here’s a look at some storyboard art created by the one and only Dave Knox during the early pre-production stages of Inside.  While applying to several different art councils for funds, I wanted to submit some visual references of key plot points and visually-driven segments derived from the script to convey the scope of the project.  I find that visual references (assuming they are being requested, of course), go a long way in strengthening a grant application.  After all, film is first and foremost a visual medium. I approached Dave with the idea and provided him with the script and (very) basic sketches conveying what I was looking for.  He took my stick-figured illustrations and ran with it.  Check out the storyboards below - you can click on them to view the full-scaled versions.

I believe Dave drew these out in pencil, scanned them and shaded them digitally.  Needless to say, some of the scenes depicted in the drawings above were changed heavily during production due to budgetary constraints... But oh how badly did I want the opportunity to destroy a car on the highway with a baseball bat during rush-hour.  Anyway, we made the best of what we had.  Do yourself a favour and check out some of Dave's other work here and here.  He's awesome and he's making a video game (see 'he's awesome').  Oh yeah, 'Like' him here.

'Skinned' - Sample Test Shoot

This past weekend, a handful of talented & creative individuals and I teamed up to put together a small sample for my next short film, Skinned.  The sample was requested on behalf of The Canada Council for the Arts as part of their Production Grant application for Film & Video Artists.  While Skinned shares a tonal and thematic quality to my past works, the execution is incredibly different, and as such, The Canada Council for the Arts encouraged I send along a sample with my application.

Over two days, with the assistance of Tyler Williams, Meghan McCabe, Christina Spina and Melissa Ciardullo, not only did we come away with a something that works perfectly as a sample, but what resulted went well above and beyond that.  So much so, that in the next few weeks I'll be working further with the footage shot in the hopes of developing it into a self-contained short film.

I can't thank the aforementioned individuals enough, and a special thanks to Razvan Anton and Edward Lee for generously donating their cameras to the shoot.  Here's to hoping the Council sees some potential in the sample and the project and takes a chance on this film, which if given the right financial backing, could really be something incredible to behold.

Check out two non-spoilerish screen grabs from the sample test below!  More to come!

Skinned is a performance-driven, dramatic short film that depicts the beginning, middle and end of a relationship.  Naked, a man and woman stand on opposing sides of a room.  Their lean and seemingly perfect bodies soon entangle and intertwine harmoniously to keep warm in their cold and sterile environment.  But soon, resistance builds, and struggle ensues.  The painful process of disconnection gives way as they begin pulling apart from one another, moving more frantically with every push and pull.  Their bodies contort in feverish movements, escalating to a crescendo with both beings tearing one another apart - literally.  As layers of skin are peeled off their bodies, they expose the less than perfect muscle and being that rests beneath the skin, seeing in one another their true selves for the first time.