Earrings is my
short film currently available on Vimeo. I wrote the script in Sept. 2011, shot
the picture in Los Angeles in April and am now running an online marketing
campaign to get the film seen!
Under this tab, you will find every article I've written
about the film, from pre-production to filming to editing to distribution and
so on.
For a number of reasons, I initially had no interest in
documenting the making of my film on this blog, but due to the enthusiastic
support from many of my blogging peers, document it I have. Thank you all so
much for your interest, if you have a question regarding the film, please ask!
Post 1 - Friday March 30, Pre-Production Part 1
Post 2 - Friday April 6, Pre-Production Part 2
Post 3 - Tuesday April 10, Influences - The Writing
Post 4 - Monday April 16, Filming Part 1
Post 5 - Saturday April 21, Filming Part 2
Post 6 - Friday May 25, Editing & One-Sheet
Post 7 - Friday June 22, Editing Part 2
Post 8 - Friday July 6, The Trailer
Post 9 - Wed. July 25, Long Way Down, One More Thing
Post 10 - Saturday July 28, The Film
Post 11 - Sunday October 7, The Commentary
Post 12 - Saturday July 27, 2013 - One Year Later
Post 2 - Friday April 6, Pre-Production Part 2
Post 3 - Tuesday April 10, Influences - The Writing
Post 4 - Monday April 16, Filming Part 1
Post 5 - Saturday April 21, Filming Part 2
Post 6 - Friday May 25, Editing & One-Sheet
Post 7 - Friday June 22, Editing Part 2
Post 8 - Friday July 6, The Trailer
Post 9 - Wed. July 25, Long Way Down, One More Thing
Post 10 - Saturday July 28, The Film
Post 11 - Sunday October 7, The Commentary
Post 12 - Saturday July 27, 2013 - One Year Later
We really enjoyed your film and have reviewed it on our website!
ReplyDeletehttp://theordinaryreview.blogspot.com/2013/07/earrings-2012.html
Thanks so much for watching my film! I'm headed to your site now.
DeleteWow. I'm blown away. Well done, Alex, very well done. Catherine did a terrific job, I enjoyed her work. I liked the short all together quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteLooks like she's got things headed in the right direction at the end of the film and is happy. The camera work was solid throughout, liked how you opened a few scenes, especially the one with Catherine sitting in the dark and the shades are open in the background. I can tell you have been influenced by a lot of directors we all know and love.
The scene outside with the dialogue was well done too, it made some stuff on SyFy look like dog shit. I'm really impressed. Good acting by those two, I've seen a lot worse.
Good work, are you planning on doing any more shorts like this?
Wow, Chase, thanks so much for this. It really means a lot that you took the time to watch the movie, and then comment so nicely here.
DeleteThat's so cool that you could tell what my influences have been. I actually take that as a great compliment.
Catherine and I are in pre-production on our next film now. Going to be a feature, actually. Lot more work than Earrings though. Time to psych myself up for it!
Thanks again for watching and commenting. I really do appreciate it.
How's the next film going?
DeleteWe wrapped filming about a month ago. Crazy stuff. Very, very demanding process. Lot of challenges, but I love the way the movie came out. I'm editing it now, and I plan to have it out by year's end. Thanks for asking man!
DeleteWhich camera did you use to shoot the movie ?
ReplyDeleteCanon 7D. Most of it was shot with the Sigma 50MM 1.4 lens. The rest was on the Canon 20MM 2.4, and a Canon fisheye.
DeleteLet me know if you have any other questions about the movie!
This is impressive, Alex! I loved it.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning with the sound of the TV on the background, that detail was really awesome 'cause at first I didn't know where it came from. I've also loved the detail that we listen to her talking before we actually watch her talking to the other guy. The opening shot was really great too. And the way you and the actress - impressive performance by Warner - have portrayed the isolation, it felt so real and moving. The part with the Radiohead song - one of my personal favorites - and her scenes in the club, with the guy whispering into her ear and the red lights has to be my favorite part.
And two moments that have really moved me, the scene where she cuts her hand, that was intense, I could feel the pain. And the end. The earrings, that awesome M83 song on the background… you made me cry, seriously. I gotta admit this is one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve seen. You made me care about her in just 30 minutes, so congratulations for that! I’m looking forward to watch your new film.
I’ve read what you wrote about the making, about the no-dialogue scenes and how McQueen’s Hunger had an impact of you, the same as Shame, and I totally feel the same way. Some people can’t understand or connect to things like that, but I have a great taste for that kind of cinema.
I’ve also watched Full Circle, and the images of the couple, I loved them. They reminded of things I’ve been through, and it’s not that easy to make me feel that. The latest thing I’ve seen and that I’ve felt that way while watching it was Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix’s flashbacks on Her.
Oh and loved what you said about editing Full Circle: "I think the biggest mistake of first time filmmakers is that they assume everything is essential." I feel the same with my writings. I'm working on my first novel and I have that problem too!
I can’t fully explain how much this comment means to me. It’s a really weird thing to release something you’ve created with the public. It literally goes through this unique, ecstatic, depressing life cycle. But comments like yours make it all worth it. I’m so pleased that you took the time to watch both films, and offer such great insight about what you thought about them. The Radiohead scene in Earrings was always the highlight of that film to me. That was the climax of the movie – we build up to that, then slowly ease down from it. (I'll pass your kind words about Catherine's performance onto her... she'll really appreciate it.)
DeleteOh, and the fact that you compared those flashbacks in Full Circle (again, the emotional climax of the film) to those flashbacks in Her (which were my favorite parts of that film), was enough to make my week. Your words here really mean a lot.
Can't wait to read your novel! I know it isn't easy, but keep working at it. The world needs insight from great minds like yours!
Hey Alex, doing a full run-through of your filmography thus far and I just wanted to ask, before commenting on the film itself, how you managed to nab the entirety of How to Dissapear Completely for the film? A project I'm writing features the song Downstream, by Supertramp, and I'm not sure how to go about getting it on a minimal budget. Thanks so much for the help if you have any advice man.
ReplyDeleteHey Mark, happy to talk this out! It's an important and complex question. Looking forward to talking more about it via email!
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