Suicide Party
Film Production
April 26 to 28, 2013
What an amazing three days I spent directing principal photography of Gini Graham Scott's production of her story, the Suicide Party. In the end, we amassed a cast and crew of 57 people to help capture this film.
It's been the biggest film production I've worked on. It was trying at times but really fun most of the time. The people in the cast and crew were all amazing and did a terrific job.
Of course, like all films, the three-day shoot was only the tip of the iceberg. Gini and I worked for over a month on all of the film's pre-production. I got to create storyboards, break down the script into shots, schedule principal photography, and identify props and costumes. With Gini's help, we auditioned and cast the 25 amazing actors.
If post-production and editing stay on schedule, the Suicide Party will show at the Castro Theater on July 6. Thanks to everyone who worked on this production; it sure was fun.
There was some drama too. As we were shooting in a San Francisco park, we were all stunned to hear six or seven gunshots. Shortly after the event, the police arrived and warned us not to film in the park as it was a notorious place for shootings and robbery!
Their shooting made our shooting pale into insignificance.