Beneath Contempt: The Production

Visit Our Official Website

2010-12-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Our brand spanking new website does not seem to be very google friendly at the moment. But our production blog is. Here is our official site:

www.beneathcontemptfilm.com

you can also follow us on facebook:

www.facebook.com/beneathcontemptfilm

and on twitter:

www.twitter.com/highschoolfilms

-Ben

Slamdance 2011

2010-12-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

Today is the day we get to confirm that Beneath Contempt is premiering in the feature narrative competition at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival!

Check out this article in today's Variety!

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118028586

A big kudos to this Benjamin Bower fellow who managed to swoop in and take credit for the film right before press time. What a big shot!

We'll keep you posted, but make sure to visit us at

www.beneathcontemptfilm.com

-Ben

Countdown to Finish

2010-03-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Catching up on the production’s progress.

It’s been a while since our last post at the end of November, when our last sentence said simply: “Let the editing begin.” Well, it began, it progressed, and it has culminated in an almost-complete rough cut of Beneath Contempt. Without going into detail, it looks and sounds fantastic, the performances are uniformly superior, and it has turned out EXACTLY as we were hoping.

We recently shot a couple of additional scenes that needed to look more like March than August-September. That digitized footage is now winging its way back from the West Coast processing wizards at Cinelicious. There’s plenty of time to edit it all in to the final cut, right? Also in the works: an amazing music soundtrack. Also there’s the sound mix to do. Plenty of time. And the credits are half done. And we have to render everything to DVD. Plenty of…well you get the idea.

We will be ready, somehow.

Editing Begins

2009-11-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

Wow. How to describe the feeling? A simple UPS delivery arrives from LA containing our 1 Terabyte hard drive, the same drive that we had sent to Cinelicious two weeks ago. We open the box, plug in the drive, and there it is: seven beautiful hours of digitized Beneath Contempt film footage-- a sterling HD transfer-- safely in our hands and looking...fantastic!

First things first...cut together a quick trailer to give everyone a taste of the look of our film. Second things second...log and synchronize all the audio files...bleh. Now here we are, three days before Thanksgiving and six days after giving thanks to the gods of film processing and ground shipping.

Let the editing begin.

Post Production Begins!

2009-11-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

Since the end of principal photography, we've transitioned to the most nerve-wracking phase of the whole project: processing our 40 rolls of super 16mm film and transferring the images to digital format. At the start of this phase we have to part with our 17,000 feet of exposed film--and send it traveling 3,000 miles to our processing house in Los Angeles, FotoKem.

After a nervous week of waiting, the package made it OK.

FotoKem did the processing without any problem.

The next step: move the film negative across town to LA-based post production house Cinelicious, who handles the transfer to HD (Apple ProRes 422 1920X1080). We saw bits of the footage online via their "Colorcast" video service as it was corrected for color and exposure. Everything we saw looked terrific.

Once the digital transfer is done we will have a back-up copy of all footage and we can finally put the single-point-of-failure phase behind us.

Last Day of Principle Photography: The Farm

2009-10-13T16:08:00.001-07:00

That's a wrap!

Abby and Mike join hardy crew stalwarts Erin, Shant, Kaz,

Ben and Greg for day 21 of a shoot that lasted from August

to October.

Getting some mouse sound

A distinguished actor joins the shoot as "Farm Boss"

Who's been looking through an eyepiece for three months?

After a long shoot, the "thousand mile stare"

Rock stars

Abby spends a quiet moment before filming her scene...

...when suddenly this farm feline jumps up with her

just as the camera rolls, creating a wonderful spontaneous

shot. Great serendipity on the last day!

Last discussion about shot selection

8 hours of 16mm are in the can...

The Support Group

2009-10-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Melanie attends her regular support group meeting

...at the church

Melanie makes coffee

Directing the discussion

Jodi

Gina

Jane

Film fun

Sliiiightly boring

Who doesn't belong and why?

How do you stand it?

As your mother, I naturally thought I'd have a

MUCH bigger part...

Friends at the Playground

2009-10-04T15:08:00.001-07:00

Happy director

Now, in this scene you two are friends...

Happy actress

Nice setting

Julia

How are we doing so far?

Someone tell the actor he's on the

wrong side of the camera, please.

Waiting for "Action!"

Happy actress 2

You guys are naturals

Girls trying on motorcycle helmuts, Take One!

Dynamic Duo

The young actress's assistant

Erin gets the picture

What does this do?

Julia glam shot

Bar Encounter

2009-10-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

Two parents discuss their feelings about Seany's return

Bartender father

Anger

Heartbreak

Smile break

Figuring out the scene

A scarf for Carly

Sober direction

The Convenience Store

2009-10-03T15:55:00.001-07:00

Seany stops at a convenience store

Nights are getting colder

That's Mr. Convenience to you, bub

Door stop

Got an ID for that, buddy?

Oh, they do have scientific journals here...

Hand held.

Quick huddle

Making arrangements

"Quiet everybody, we're going up for a take"

Counter culture

Parole Board Hearing

2009-10-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

Seany's future is weighed by the parole board.

Tough questions

Head of the parole board

Scott the sympathetic board member

Prisoner vs Director: who's more bummed?

Hey, this is no laughing matter

Greg has to do everything

Anytime you're ready...

Don't slate your fingers

Lovely Carlisle town hall

The Prison

2009-09-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

BC cast and crew go inside Middlesex County Prison for an intense day of shooting.

Seany at the gate

Behind the fence

Showing restraint

Its just temporary, right?

I believe your line is... "cheese.'

In the cell

How should we shoot him this time?

"So...what ya in for?"

Personal property

It starts to feel pretty serious at the Inner Sally Port

We'll be your guards today

"Officer Steve"

"Officer Pete"

Your dry cleaning is ready

I'm checking you out, bro

Has anyone seen the director's wallet?

(The wallet went missing for over an hour, but was eventually recovered)

Walking the 1st mile

You'll see your clothes again in 3 years

The security is really...secure.

Watching the action

Right this way...

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. Demille

Arrested development

Back to the Diner

2009-09-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

Back to Dracut for a few more scenes between Alicia and Colin...

Still vs. cinematography

Riverside Diner

Watching Seany

Throw all the sugars out this window.

Table with a view

From the kitchen...

Parking lot encounter

Hoofing it

Yes, Ben?

In character

Break time

Director tai chi

Who packed this?

Walk this way

Yeah, right

Notes

Alicia takes a crew photo

Filming Outdoors

2009-09-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

The production has been blessed with good weather for the past few days, perfect for the outdoor scenes we've been shooting, mostly around Seany and his Uncle Rob working Rob's A/V installation business. During one day's work, Seany encounters an "unusual" woman.

Getting into character

Um, this woman is making me uncomfortable

Thirsty?

Guerilla filmmaking

Natural highlights...

Everyone's pensive

Partly cloudy with a chance of jackets

That's my finger, Eric

House call

Discussion

I can shoot you from here

Producer Erin

When do I get to drive the truck?

Erin and Greg

Now I get to drive the truck

Drive-by shooting

Home theater is no laughing matter

Seany at Work

2009-09-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

Framing the shot

The new sound person

Ready to slate

It ain't heavy, it's my camera

Outside the basement

The DP has nodded off again

Who is Almendros??

Colin in a rare good mood--the diva!

Rather not go down there

Good thing I'm doing sound, not you

More Beckett House Interiors

2009-09-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

In the kitchen

Anna

Rachel at rest

Seany's uncle

Work clothes

Shooting an "insert"

Rehearsal

Camera cushion

Let's do this...

Carly contemplates

Camera's ready when you are

Greg comments

The Diner

2009-09-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

Diner location, Dracut MA

The Waitress

Fries are up

Use your napkin

I'm pretty sure that waitress is an actress...

Beckett House Exterior

2009-09-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Shooting at the Beckett House exterior location in Carlisle

Happy filmmakers

More intense filmmakers

Coffee's on

Thoughtful filmmakers

Bonsai!

The Beckett's Barn (w Bonsai tree)

Onlookers

Beckett House Interior

2009-09-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Seany arrives home

Shooting the entryway of the Beckett house

Seany's Mom

Producer Grace

Kinda creeeepy

Welcome. Greg will be your seance leader...

Barnes House Location

2009-09-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Location: Barnes dining room

That is such a director move

Fifth bowl of cereal between takes

Bills

Producer Anna

OK, how many photos do we really need here?

Acting happy

Shot list

Prop wash

Enjoying downtime between scenes

Awesome job

Chilling peacefully, thank you

Waiting

Tired but determined

What a look!

Beneath Contempt Shooting Week 1

2009-09-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Car accident scene, Location: Littleton, MA

A passing motorist saw the set from a distance and called 911.

Littleton Police and Fire crews showed up. They were great and even

helped prep the car a little.

Silhouette of actor playing Matt's younger brother

Scene: Barnes house. Location: Lincoln, MA.

Ben discussing entrance of actor playing Matt

Barnes house: Juna's bedroom

Producer - Director exchange, Barnes house.

Working with up-and-coming actors. Location: Littleton MA.

The Shoot and Since

2009-05-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

It has been several weeks since our shoot on the 15th and 16th of May. I eagerly await getting the footage back. As soon as I get tapes in my hand, I'll be jetting into Emerson to digitize. My hope is that I'll cut the two vignettes and the trailer over two days and then throw them up on the new site...thats right we have a real website in the pipeline.

I've worked on quite a few film shoots during my time at Emerson and Purchase College, and I have learned a lot about how things should be on set and how things should not be. Shant, the DP, and I structured this film to be 'the way things should be'. The BC Promo shoot was the test of this ethos.

Friday we shot a scene with Mike, which will be the first half of a longer segment involving Matthew and his sister Jaime (played by our amazing actress friend Abby Austin). The crew was as follows: Myself directing, Shant DPing, Kaz ACing AND Sound Recording like a some sort of a magician, and Anna ADing/Producing. We got a bit of a late start, but that wasn't a concern--we only had 8 shots to complete. The only important thing for us to consider (as the shoot was intended to be in so many ways a learning experience) was how long it would take us to complete what would be indicative of our simplest set-ups.

I would like to say everything went perfectly, and certainly some things did. Mike gave a great performance--we got everything we wanted, and Mike and I got to work together for the first time since the NBS film that shall remain nameless. Unfortunately the sun was working against us, beating down in an ugly manner during the whole shoot. Shant and I also had a difficult time communicating. It was a combination of my fascist director tendencies clashing with Shant's 'DP quietly holding a grudge' style. One thing is certain, we both know how to annoy the shit out of one another, usually in impossible to perceive ways, the human equivalent of dueling dog whistles.

We wrapped filming around six and headed back to campus, where we arrived around eight. After dropping everyone off, Shant and I headed back to his apartment to pick up some supplies before going to Carlisle for the night. We discussed the day and what had gone wrong in terms of our workflow. After about an hour of discussion we were back on the same page.

This set the tone for day two, the Saturday shoot with Colin (who will be playing Seany) in the morning and Mike and Abby in the afternoon. We also had my brother Alex on set, which kept the bitterness low and the jokes hilarious. The brothers even shared an odd pond-soaked cameo together, which will be seen, and closely scrutinized, at a later date.

The day felt like a gift from the filmmaker gods. The light was perfect from the minute we loaded the first mag to the second we rolled out twelve hours later. Shant and I worked with great ease, setting up shots and getting exactly what we wanted in a perfect timely manner. Kaz was on his game as usual, this time focusing (no pun) on AC work as Bill Kelson took over the duties of Sound Recordist--and, by the way, hands down best soundman I have ever worked with on a set! Thorough, attentive, and highly learned in all important sound principles. Anna kept us on schedule, making sure our shots happened right on time, rather than early or late. People often forget that the goal of an AD is not to get the production ahead of the workload, its to make sure the production remains accurate to the schedule as it was designed.

Mike and Abby got a chance to share the screen for the first time, and I caught a glimpse of how the rest of the film would work with rehearsals and improvisation. We shot one scene of real dialogue between Mike and Abby, and we improvised it, so the stakes were high. But the scene felt real. The performances had an energetic honesty and a trueness that recalled all the reasons I began making films in the first place. I have never had such a feeling of weird giddy excitement on a film set.

We wrapped our day shooting at Bates Farm Ice Cream in Carlisle. Shant and Kaz wandered the grounds filming perplexed farm animals and flower beds, occasionally catching a moment as Mike and Abby ordered their desserts at the window. The patrons stared at us at first, with our ancient film camera and giant lens/mattebox, but eventually life overruled the novelty of a film crew and we became less visible for just long enough to get the shots we needed. This was a great way to end the day because everyone got what they wanted--cast and crew got ice cream, I got to pretend I was Fred Wiseman for a couple minutes.

The BC Promo shoot when from the 'how things should not be' quickly to the definition of 'how things should be'. It was fulfilling to drop a crew off, after over twelve hours of hard on-set labor, and hear people eager to join up for the next shoot. Providence, I tell you! Providence!!

So without anymore of my rambling, here are some pictures (I had no time to edit these, so levels and so forth are totally off):

until next time (which will be the announcement of the new website and the promos!)

-Ben

We Shoot in a Week!

2009-05-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

So here we are.

We have our amazing cast.

We have a few key locations.

We have our camera and equipment.

Time to shoot!

From May 15th to May 17th we will actually be rolling footage on Beneath Contempt... It is pretty insane to be even saying that, but we are treating this first shoot as a mini-movie. If we have something done by May, it gives us three months to make adjustments before we go up for the big September shoot.

Shant and I have been running around for two days securing insurance, booking equipment, and emailing people so that next weekend will be nice and organized. As for this weekend, Shant and I have booked the Aaton XTR and will be shooting a test roll to see about pull process and pushing for night exteriors.

We will have digital transfers of our test footage up as soon as we get it back. Hey, we might even throw in a little preview scene when we get next week's footage back!

Above is the view from outside the restaurant where Matthew works at night. This is the NIGHT EXT. with no lighting pushed 1 f-stop.

This is the same shot pushed 2 f-stops. The image holds up in terms of noise, but the Nikon D90 performs very well in low-light. Lets hope those Kodak Vis3 blacks do their magic.

CAR NIGHT INT shot of my face pushed 2 f-stops.

This is main street in Concord, MA. Pushed 2 f-stops.

Holding a light meter, looking like shit. This is pushed 2 f-stops as well.

The Club Car Cafe in Concord. We've looked at a lot of diners, but this place would be PERFECT.

This is the Carlisle bog. We will most likely shoot one of the scenes where Matthew walks Jaime to school. Beautiful and quiet.

Shant and I decided to use the video feature on the D90 to get a rough idea of how certain tilt-pan shots might work at the bog. We didn't have a tripod, and we forgot to lock down the auto-exposure, but I thought it might be cool to post one of them anyway...

may bog test from benjamin brewer on Vimeo.

That is all for now. Need to get back to work.

Next time we post, we'll have completed photography on a small portion of our feature film! CRAZY!

until next time

-Ben

Location Scouting!

2009-04-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

I figured it's time to post some location scouting photos. Me, Ben, Erin (PD), Grace (Producer) and Anna (Wrangler) went location scouting two weeks ago. Here are some photos of locations and the crew!

Church Exterior:

This is the one I liked most!

Crash Site:

Don't ask...

Work/Farm:

Grace, Erin and Ben!

Prison: (We really didn't have permission to take photographs so I secretly shot some as I walked away and while we drove out.)

Me. There was this convex mirror sitting by the stairway which assume was used to look under cars for any prohibited materials.

Household/Kitchen:

Lakeside:

Playground:

Anna our UPM/Wrangler/Captain!

Here's the whole scouting crew. Grace, Anna, Ben, Erin and my shadow.

Making the Production Packet!

2009-04-04T19:29:00.001-07:00

It is very difficult to produce a film of this scope completely on your own. In fact, even with a sizable team of producers and crew on board the amount of work involved is still quite daunting.

When it comes to real films, the first step after completing a solid draft of the screenplay is to enlist the help of other interested filmmakers as well as financiers. This is where the ‘production packet’ becomes handy.

Since we have elected to shoot our movie through the Emerson Film Program, our packet was put together as a formal proposal for a specific two-semester production class, which will give us access to essential equipment and other resources.

It is not unusual to print 50-100 copies of the production packet. The application for the program only required us to produce four packets, so we (DP Shant and I) decided to hand craft each one.

After I wrote the copy, Shant and I discussed a design for the packet. We wanted the packet to appear simple and elegant, while also incorporating colors and images relevant to our film.

A key part of the book’s design was the page dimension. We chose a 6.5’’x11 format to recall the 1.66 aspect ratio that will matte the film (this ratio was chosen for its similarity to the golden ratio, and has NOTHING to do with Nestor Almendros’ preference for it).

The pages were exported from Adobe In-Design and printed onto matte paper. Each page was cut individually. When the pages were assembled, with the photo title page and heavy black cover in place, Shant hand-sewed each binding using a simple but very neat stitch,

Here is the final product.

We have yet to hear back from the program to see if they accepted us…

Here are some progress pictures!

Cutting down the pages!

Scraps!

It's all about the Boar's Head

Pages all cut down.

Sewing pattern tests.

Ben. He did one thing, and he messed up. LOL

Hammering/punching-out the holes!

Some sewing.

TADA!

-Benjamin (pictures by shant!)

Hello world!

2009-04-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Our first blog entry. Very exciting.

There is a lot to catch up on.

Beneath Contempt is an Emerson thesis film by writer/director Ben Brewer and cinematographer Shant Ergenian. It will be shot from this coming May to the beginning of October on 16mm film.

This blog will act as a live record of our process from the initial stages of pre-production to the final stages of festivals and so forth.

If we accomplish what we set out to do, hopefully these posts will help guide future filmmakers as they attempt to take on their own ambitious ventures. If we fail, well, you’ll know exactly where we went wrong…

So what is our film about?

It’s about the truth!

More specifically, it tells the story of a young man who goes to prison for killing his closest friends in a drunk driving accident. The film takes place during the first weeks of the young man’s parole, after six difficult years spent in a Massachusetts state prison.

It is through this story that our film asks some very difficult questions:

Is it possible to forgive someone who has caused such a tremendous tragedy? Can a community treat a person with respect when they see him as a murderer?

Our film is in a world not of ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’, but of loss and penance, of anger and grief, of great guilt and the blindness of love, of misguided youth and empty homes, of foolish criminals and their mistakes, of people who pray to forget rather than forgive.

We want to make a film that demonstrates something honest about who we are and how we exist together.

…Wow that sounds quite ambitious…hopefully we can pull it off

Thus begins our journey!

Here’s to Beneath Contempt!

-Ben