Home Sweet Home
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On Saturday, August 5, 2005, the day began early with an 8 a.m. crew call at a home that belonged to Addam’s aunt Ann. This marked the start of Octane as a team, and the excitement was palpable as my '92 Mazda MX3 hatchback was unloaded with gear. The crew, including James, Lisa, and Kristina, trickled in, ready to tackle the day.
My vision for the opening shot was ambitious: a 30-foot tracking shot moving from the rural neighborhood to a "Home Sweet Home" mailbox and ending with the arrival of the lead characters. However, time constraints forced me to scrap this idea as it stretched past 9:45am. We quickly moved on to shoot other key scenes.
The first sequence was the exterior of the house, followed by the interior, where I focused on creating naturalistic lighting. A single Lowel Omni light bounced off the ceiling, and practical lighting helped achieve a bright and realistic look. Shooting in sequence helped the crew stay on track and ensured continuity, a crucial element in a single-location short film.
Some shots had to adapt to the location's layout, like the scene where the intruder hides in the kitchen. Practical concerns, like using corn syrup blood on tile instead of carpet, drove some of these decisions. By 5:30 p.m., we wrapped the interior car scenes, even using creative solutions like jamming the camera into the windshield for a straight-on shot.
Celebrations at Starbucks were interrupted when we realized a key scene—where the intruder attacks the wife—had been missed. Fortunately, our actors Heather Ignacio who drove 7 hours from Gulfport, FL to be in our movie (say what!) was still in town and shot the scene with her and Nick the next day. We filmed the missing scene in true guerrilla filmmaking style, even improvising with an air compressor trigger as a prop gun. I accidently left the "hero prop" at home! Ugh!
Despite the challenges, the shoot was a success. The cast and crew delivered an amazing performance, and it was an unforgettable first step for Octane, setting the stage for our next project, In the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
As told by Derek Johnson, Director
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