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Inside-Out, Outside-In

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Inside-Out, Outside-In

Tag Archives: Patricia Velasquez

Remember: Your film is someone’s first job…

03 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by hunterlh in Production

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american productivity, finding a job in movie production, first job, Guys Reading Poems, how to get my first job in the movie industry, hunter lee hughes, jason fracaro, Patricia Velasquez, production assistant, Sergio Cardenas

For years, you’ve been struggling. Rewriting your script between jobs. Drawing up a business plan. Raising money. Meeting actors. Shotlisting. Rewriting your script again. The list is seemingly endless, but you finally get your first feature film off the ground. You’re on set, feeling proud if somewhat overwhelmed. You look around. Spot a production assistant. You realize that although you’ve paid years worth of dues that your film is someone else’s very first day on the job. And that realization helps you remember why you’re on set in the first place.

photo (1)In my case, that somebody was Sergio Cardenas. He’s originally from Peru, studied music at Shepherd University. His long-term goals include producing films and also composing music for movies. After the shoot, we caught up and traded notes about our experience.

Hunter: How many film sets had you worked on before Guys Reading Poems?

Sergio: Guys Reading Poems was my first experience…and I was so nervous because I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

Hunter: What was it like to be on set?

Sergio: Really nice. Personally, I really like it a lot. One thing that I enjoyed from Guys Reading Poems was that a lot of people knew each other before, so you were able to see that there was a nice flow, a good working environment, but also creative because you have to do things on the spot sometimes. People were really considerate of other people’s feelings and situations. I mean, sometimes there were problems but people worked to make things go smoothly. Just the fact of being on the set, watching the camera, seeing how the crew moved, the rhythm. One thing that surprised me a lot was that you have to be there for like 12 hours. I was like, “What?!?!” And it started on Sunday until Friday and we had Saturday off. In Peru, my schedule was different. You start on Monday and end on Friday, you start at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. In that way, it was a change.

Hunter: What did you learn from working on a movie set?

Sergio: Many things. For example, the first thing is teamwork. The whole thing is a result of each department – the people who are doing the electricity, the lighting, the set, the camera, the costumes – it’s amazing. All that has to work on time because there are time limits. You have to finish in one day a certain amount of the script. If you go beyond that, you’re done. You understand that being nice with people makes things smoother than being a douchebag, you know? Just be nice with people and communicate. Listen. That’s very important. There is a lot of trust, which is important. I’m getting to work on Guys Reading Poems and none of you know me at all. But the people who don’t know you at all give you the trust to have the keys to their car, give you the money to go to the store or whatever. Coming from where I come from, in South America, it’s a jungle. But in a different way. It’s hard to trust people because people cheat a lot.

american flagAlso, I like how efficient Americans are. They are super efficient, but they’re not like the Germans. Efficient but not robotic. Not rigid. They also chill out, but doing their thing good and responsible. I really like that. People come, do their thing, do it good and it’s like, “Wow.”

Hunter: What made you decide to try to work in the movie business?

Sergio: At the beginning, it was kind of unconscious. I was not aware of what I was doing. I always liked movies so I found these posts looking for production assistants for making a film and then I said, “Why not?” Let’s discover the process. To that post, I got contacted through Jason [Fracaro]. He wrote me back and called me and asked me some questions and after all that process he said, “Welcome to the club” and that’s how it started.

Hunter: There are a lot of people out there curious to work in the movie business who haven’t quite made the plunge yet. What would you say to them?

Sergio: Try it. Try. Definitely. We grow in a society that is always telling you, “Don’t do this. Do that,” for whatever the reason but the only way if you will know if something resonates with you is if you really try it. You have to experiment. I wouldn’t tell that person try it only once. What if the first time was a bad experience? In that way, I’m lucky because my first time was a good experience. But what if your first experience was bad? You have to give it a few shots and then depending on how you feel and what you think, you take your own decision.

Hunter: What was your favorite moment on set?

Sergio: Many things. The magic when you would say “action” and the silence would come and the actors would start to take life. It’s a movie. It’s not real life anymore. Watching Patricia [Velasquez] and all of a sudden we hear, “Action” and she’s so intense. The movie is coming alive and it’s so intense. I like it a lot.

Hunter: What’s next for you and how will you take the lessons you learned on Guys Reading Poems and apply it to future jobs?

Sergio: For me, keep doing what I’m doing. Working on sets. Knowing people because this is teamwork, so you can’t do it all by yourself. You need a lot of collaboration. Getting more clear on what types of movies I would like to do and finding a way to make it. I still don’t have – “This is the path.” I have a general idea and I’m working how to achieve all that. That’s the stage I’m in now.

Sergio Cardenas

Sergio Cardenas

Talking with Sergio is a good reminder for all of us as filmmakers: if your film is someone’s first job, do you care how they remember it? How it shapes them?

Sergio is a proud freelancer and can be contacted for production work at: universusxxi@gmail.com

—

Hunter Lee Hughes is a filmmaker and actor living and working in Los Angeles and the founder of Fatelink. His current feature film Guys Reading Poems is touring film festivals and this blog is dedicated to the process of making his second feature film, “Inside-Out, Outside-In.” If you enjoy the blog, please support our team by following us on Facebook, Twitter (@Fatelink) or Instagram (@Fatelink).

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Frida, Food & Fun: A Lesson from Co-Producer Sammy Kusler

21 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by hunterlh in Production

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craft services, creativity, Frida Kahlo, how to produce a film, hunter lee hughes, Patricia Velasquez, producing tips, Sammy Kusler, should i make a movie?, spirituality, success at any age, tips for craft services on a film

Sammy Kusler came on board the producing team of “Guys Reading Poems” the first time I pitched the project to him. He’s one of those unforgettable personalities on the set that knows when to say something spiritual to calm you down, but also knows when to just quietly slip a blended mocha frappucino in your hand and walk away. He was much beloved on our production and offers his experience and wisdom to other filmmakers on their journey.

Sammy Kusler with Florenca Perona (costumes) on the set of "Guys Reading Poems."

Sammy Kusler with Florenca Perona (costumes) on the set of “Guys Reading Poems.”

Hunter: Sammy, a lot of our readers are prepping their first or second film, whether it’s a short or feature film. “Guys Reading Poems” was your first film working as a co-producer. What general advice can you give to folks starting out?

Sammy: If you have a dream, go for it. I don’t care how old you are, or how broke you are. I don’t care about your excuses –just allow yourself to follow your passion.

Hunter: You have an incredible talent for making people feel good. This is not to be underestimated as an important task on a set where people are working very hard and for long hours. What are some strategies that you had to make the cast and crew feel comfortable?

Sammy: Just basic understanding of human nature. We all want to be loved. We all perform better when we feel like we’re loved. The trick is to know the balance of giving and receiving love and just basically being honest with your emotions. If you have honest emotions, people aren’t afraid that you’re hiding something.

Hunter: What was something about the project that was harder than expected and what was easier than expected?

Co-producer Sammy Kusler with "Guys Reading Poems" stars Gopal Divan, Blake Sheldon and Rex Lee.

Co-producer Sammy Kusler with “Guys Reading Poems” stars Gopal Divan, Blake Sheldon and Rex Lee.

Sammy: I definitely expected there to be more competition and more stress between people but I found the team that we had was so giving and caring. There was just this great flow between the actors, the crew, the production team. I didn’t expect it to be so easy and wonderful. What was harder than expected…the grueling hours, very long hours. The hours really took a bigger toll than I expected.

Hunter: Food is a big part of your life. You’re such an incredible chef – you often cook for your friends – and you brought that same sense of caring about the food to craft services on the film. It’s such an important area of the set. Any tips for producing teams on how to keep the cast and crew happy with regards to food?

Sammy: Armies move on their stomachs. That’s it. I think that’s basic. The happy time during “Guys Reading Poems” was around the craft services table. That’s where people went to relieve stress and there was good, healthy stuff to help them relieve it.

Hunter: I hope this doesn’t sound too hokey, but you have a shamanistic thing going, too. I remember standing at the dining room table with Patricia [Velasquez] and you pulled out that original Frida Kahlo pendant. I remember in that moment feeling like you were one of the spiritual guides to the film and Patricia just fell in love with you. Do you think there’s some kind of spirituality that comes with making a film? Or am I off-base?

Sammy: What I’ll call it is a deep connection to spirituality. Everything in my life is connected to some deeper pool of spirituality that we all share. It’s all connected. We’re all connected. That’s what I’ve learned, anyway. And it pours out in all kinds of ways, in all kinds of magic moments. That piece of jewelry is one of the greatest treasures of my life because I was born the minute that Frida Kahlo died so it is to me like a talisman to this intense spirit world that I don’t understand…but I feel it.

An original piece of jewelry by Frida Kahlo.

An original piece of jewelry by Frida Kahlo.

Hunter: What made you pull it out and show it to Patricia and myself? Since she plays a successful artist in the film, I thought it was just the right thing to do.

Sammy: I didn’t make a decision to do anything at that moment. It was just the next right thing to do. When you listen and you’re connected to the spiritual world like that, things like just happen and magic just appears. [He laughs]. I hope that’s not too corny, but we’re allowed to be corny.

Hunter: Filmmaking is a multi-generational operation. We had some very young people on set from Luke Judy, who is 7, to Blake Sheldon, who was 21 when we started. And Debbie Vandermeulen’s mother showed up to be an extra and I believe she’s 90 or 91. I found that to be very refreshing about our set. Can you talk about that a little?

Sammy: I grew up in a tribal situation, a tribal society and old people were not to be thrown away. They were to be listened to and their stories are what guided our lives. They weren’t some old creepy thing that you bring a present to on Christmas or whatever. They were really our guides. That’s how I feel about older people. And younger people – they are a window to our innocence. Nature combines us and society separates us so it was a natural flow that brought us together on set.

Hunter: I love that you did not allow what some might consider to be “a later start” to deter you from diving into filmmaking. What would you say to others who might want to start at 40, 50, 60, even 70?

Sammy: The cliché is true in this case – just do it! If it comes out, let it happen. Cut through the but’s – ‘but, but, but’ – and the what if’s. If you have a passion, follow it.

Hunter: You’ve seen me in action making a film, warts and all. What could I do better? Or what advice would you give me for “Inside-Out, Outside-In” after observing the process for “Guys Reading Poems”?

Sammy: Don’t overdo it. Delegate.

Hunter: What has been your happiest memory associated with “Guys Reading Poems” so far?

Sammy: My happiest memories are just watching the actors go from being the actor to being the character and that process. Some of them stayed in character the whole time. Some of them dropped the character the minute they walked off the set. And just working with the people on the team – the producers, the director, the crew, the extras. Just the people. It was such a joyous collection.

Sammy Kusler as "Moses" with star Blake Sheldon the last day of our shoot - fun is important on a movie set!

Sammy Kusler as “Moses” with star Blake Sheldon the last day of our shoot – fun is important on a movie set!

—

Hunter Lee Hughes is a filmmaker and actor living and working in Los Angeles and the founder of Fatelink. His current feature film Guys Reading Poems is touring film festivals and this blog is dedicated to the process of making his second feature film, “Inside-Out, Outside-In.” If you enjoy the blog, please support our team by following us on Facebook, Twitter (@Fatelink) or Instagram (@Fatelink).

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This film is not dead: The revival of “Inside-Out, Outside-In”

09 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by hunterlh in Development, Pre-Production

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Alexander Dreymon, Blake Sheldon, Christos Vasilopoulos, daniel berilla, dreams come true., Gopal Divan, Guys Reading Poems, hunter lee hughes, jason fracaro, jerod meagher, justin schwan, Lydia Hearst, Megan Sousa, Michael Marius Pessah, Patricia Velasquez, rex lee, Vincent Montuel

Several years ago, I started this blog to chronicle the progress of “Inside-Out, Outside-In.” I was determined to direct my first feature film and wanted to share the ups and downs of the journey with like-minded creative types. Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the set….

One-sheet - "Guys Reading Poems"  designed by Chris Friend

One-sheet – “Guys Reading Poems”
designed by Chris Friend

Turns out, I achieved my dream to direct my first feature film. Only, to my great surprise, that film turned out to be a completely different project than “Inside-Out, Outside-In.” “Guys Reading Poems” – a neo-noir, black-and-white feature – consumed my time and energy to the point that I wasn’t able to continue to blog here. However, now that the film is safely into post-production, I am returning to my original mission to get “Inside-Out, Outside-In” off the ground. But now the conversation is a little different. Instead of how to get a first feature film off the ground, I’m dealing with the (ever-so-slightly) better problem of how to get a second feature funded and produced. (ok so yeah, I’m bragging a little….I can’t help it.)

Let me explain.

In the beginning of 2013, I was taking meetings and pitching “Inside-Out, Outside-In” but having great difficulty raising the kind of capital needed to fund a story that takes place in both modern day Los Angeles and ancient India. I came up with an idea – almost on a whim – to combine classic poetry with an all-male secret society narrative and shot some footage relatively cheaply. The results were so good that many trusted friends and advisors suggested I continue developing “Guys Reading Poems” as a feature film. And so I did. Relatively quickly, private equity investors rallied around “Guys Reading Poems” and we were also able to crowdfund more than $40,000 to raise enough money to transform the original project into a feature. Casting also fell into place relatively quickly (actors love black-and-white, apparently, especially when the cinematographer is someone as talented as ours – Michael Marius Pessah). Patricia Velasquez (“The Mummy”, “Arrested Development”) agreed to play the female lead role and Alexander Dreymon (“American Horror Story”) – a former acting student of mine – signed on to play the male lead. Lydia Hearst (“The Face”) also liked the script and agreed to play a key supporting role and so did Rex Lee (“Entourage”) and Christos Vasilopoulos (“Banshee”). The rest of the cast was populated with talented up-and-comers Jerod Meagher (“ABCs of Death 2”), Jason Fracaro and Vincent Montuel (all of whom also took my acting class at StoryAtlas) and also Blake Sheldon (“Age of Reason”), Justin Schwan (“Cutback”), Daniel Berilla (“Kissing Darkness”), Megan Sousa and Gopal Divan. Of the entire cast, only Blake and Lydia were brand new to my life. The rest were either friends or colleagues from previous encounters on projects or in acting classes. In the case of Rex, well, he’s one of my very best friends in the world.

What can I say? I got lucky…but in a way that I could not have predicted.

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if there was some divine guidance that brought “Guys Reading Poems” up to bat first. Like I mentioned, the budgetary requirements are less than those required for “Inside-Out, Outside-In.” There’s a great tradition of directors starting their careers in black-and-white and the neo-noir feel needed for “Guys Reading Poems” allows me to knock on the door of that club. “Guys Reading Poems” is more daring in terms of its form, whereas “Inside-Out, Outside-In” is a much more traditional narrative. There’s nothing wrong with traditional narratives (in fact, I love them) but one could argue that a more experimental approach is more likely to convince festival programmers and audiences to give a first-time director a chance. Also, since 90% of the cast were personal friends or longstanding colleagues, there was enough trust on both sides to build the type performances I admire – where the dark side of the psyche and its vulnerabilities combine with human need towards a quixotic goal or dream. As a first time director, I needed personal access to the hearts and minds of the talent and “Guys Reading Poems” offered that sort of opportunity. Along the way, I developed relationships that are crucial for my future success not only with acting talent but also investors, fellow producers, department heads, creative collaborators and crew (and yes, Shpetim Zero did the costumes for “Guys Reading Poems” as well, see below).

But now, it’s time to finish what I started with “Inside-Out, Outside-In” so you’ll be hearing from me a lot more! Over the next few weeks, I’ll try to condense some of the lessons of “Guys Reading Poems” and how I feel they might set up “Inside-Out, Outside-In” for success. Then, I’ll move into chronicling the next stages of the project.

I planned for “Inside-Out, Outside-In” to take two years to finish and start hitting the festival circuit relatively soon. Sometimes, plans don’t work out…yet, somehow, strangely, even mysteriously, dreams do.

Jason Fracaro in "Guys Reading Poems"  photo by Michael Marius Pessah

Jason Fracaro in “Guys Reading Poems”
photo by Michael Marius Pessah

—

Hunter Lee Hughes is a filmmaker and actor living and working in Los Angeles and the founder of Fatelink. His current feature film Guys Reading Poems is touring film festivals and this blog is dedicated to the process of making his second feature film, “Inside-Out, Outside-In.” If you enjoy the blog, please support our team by following us on Facebook, Twitter (@Fatelink) or Instagram (@Fatelink).

 

 

 

 

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