| "ONCE I FOUND OUT ABOUT WHO SHE WAS, I JUST WANTED TO LEARN MORE." |
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY began on September 22, 2007, in Downtown Los Angeles. From there,
cast and crew traveled to locations throughout Southern California, including Griffith Park, Santa Clarita, Santa
Monica, South Pasadena, and Mojave—some 57 different locations in all. Location manager JEREMY ELLIOTT
played an integral role in helping to secure some of the more unique locales, including a mock Afghan village.
cast and crew traveled to locations throughout Southern California, including Griffith Park, Santa Clarita, Santa
Monica, South Pasadena, and Mojave—some 57 different locations in all. Location manager JEREMY ELLIOTT
played an integral role in helping to secure some of the more unique locales, including a mock Afghan village.
| Actor Clay Turk (left) rehearses a scene with director Adam Kargman (right) in the Mojave Desert (standing in for Afghanistan) |
| Kargman tracks behind actors Angie Rachelle Hauk and Eben Kostbar |
To help tackle the enormous scope of the production, the crew
generally only shot on weekends. This allowed the filmmakers a
full week to prepare for the next shoot. They completed one
character vignette per week, saving the reunion scene, in
which all the major cast members appear together, for the end
of the shoot.
Directorally, the film presented some unique challenges. “We
were telling thirteen different stories, so we had to find
smooth ways to transition between them,” says Kargman. “I
set up a pattern early in the film, and was constantly looking for
ways to break it to keep the audience interested. I studied a
lot of commercials and montage scenes, because the storytelling in them tends to be so concise.” Boyce adds:
“Some of the scenes involved dozens of cast members, so that took a lot of coordination. I don’t think any of us
had worked with so many actors and extras before.”
“Some of the scenes involved dozens of cast members, so that took a lot of coordination. I don’t think any of us
had worked with so many actors and extras before.”
Director of photography DUSTIN JOHNSON shot Reunion
digitally in the HD 1080 format in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. “The
film has so many locations, characters, and shots,” Johnson
says, “that I tried to make each shot as clean as possible so
that the core of each shot would be clear and the viewer
would understand the image as quickly as possible…. The
biggest challenge was keeping consistency throughout the
film.”
Shooting the reunion scene
The actors felt a high degree of responsibility. “It was
always in the back of my mind [that I was playing
someone real],” says NADEYA WARD (Kelly). AMBER
SLAVEN (Rachel) tried to “connect with the type of
person [Rachel] was so that people could see how full of
life, creativity, love, and passion she was. Once I found
out about who she was, I just wanted to learn more.”
EBEN KOSTBAR (John) adds: “I did a lot of research
about John… If you can understand someone’s likes,
dislikes, and future aspirations, it just kind of comes out
in your performance…. I think this film will make a
difference.” “I had a sense of accomplishment … that we
were telling the right story,” agrees KELLY MARCHAND
(Cassie). “This is something that has a really cool
message.”
always in the back of my mind [that I was playing
someone real],” says NADEYA WARD (Kelly). AMBER
SLAVEN (Rachel) tried to “connect with the type of
person [Rachel] was so that people could see how full of
life, creativity, love, and passion she was. Once I found
out about who she was, I just wanted to learn more.”
EBEN KOSTBAR (John) adds: “I did a lot of research
about John… If you can understand someone’s likes,
dislikes, and future aspirations, it just kind of comes out
in your performance…. I think this film will make a
difference.” “I had a sense of accomplishment … that we
were telling the right story,” agrees KELLY MARCHAND
(Cassie). “This is something that has a really cool
message.”
| Copyright (c) 2008 by Adam Kargman All Rights Reserved |
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info@roundhaygarden.com