The Little Things

 Recently made another one day short, "Visitor's Day" and wrote in some scenes I wasn't quite sure how I would work out.  The big one was the prison scene.  Shot in a corner of my garage, I pictured it at a table, with the concrete block wall in the background.  Simple and easy, but I wanted a touch more of "something" to add to the prison feel.  I had hoped for a stock footage shot of a prison exterior to establish the location, but I don't have one in my library and couldn't find any public domain shots that were contemporary enough to work.

Finally, I settled on the idea of filming "through a fence" to five a caged look.  As if bars were offscreen.  On the day, however, exposures and lighting in a garage being what it is, I was having trouble getting the distance and shadows as I wanted them to register on screen.  They just weren't selling on my monitor and I wasn't convinced it would do enough in the finished product.  While setting it up with Actor, Jeffrey James and my wife, Nancy, we came up with the idea of having the gate "slide" open and closed.  We worked out the timing and I would put in a sound effect in post.  Nancy commented that we could use a sound like the one in the opening of "Porridge", a British comedy that takes place in a prison and uses the sound cue in the opening segment.  It was exactly what I had in mind, so I knew we were on the same page.

After a few tries, Jeffrey, Nancy and I got the timing to a point I was VERY happy with.  In post, it was just a matter of finding the right sound.  I didn't have anything marked "prison gate" or "jail cell door", but thanks to Fresh Music Library, I did have "metal work table rolls across floor".  It was just what I needed.  The final effect was exactly what I was hoping for and the picture I had in my head while coming up with the idea of transforming my garage into a prison visitor's room. (I should have put bars on the window, but some things slip by).  A scene coming together, even in a small way, is a big victory for a zero budget short and it often depends on people who roll with the punches and take in changes quickly. Some actors have trouble with this, and that's fine, but then I need them to just trust the process and do as directed.  When they see the end product they see where we were going.  The crew I had that day, however, helped me work out the kinks, which is even more helpful.

In the end, it's a very little thing and something most people won't consciously notice, but in the backs of their minds it's a touch that adds to the idea that this little corner of block wall is a room with bars, and guards, etc.

Finished product below.

Enjoy.