5. Many of the shots seemed very precise. Did you storyboard or compose the shots on location?
I always do a shotlist, but never storyboard. I'm actually quite strongly against it (unless it's for VFX shots or necessary for morale). But, for the most part, the best ideas happen on set, and if you're too locked in to a composition you saw in your head - BEFORE you even saw what the actors were going to do - you're going to have a hard time having the flexibility to adjust in the moment.
Though he's still my favorite director, even I have to acknowledge that a Hitchcock movie might feel slightly stilted in modern times. The blocking, which felt so lyrical in its time period, might have come across as a little stiff, unnatural, and "too perfect" to today's "reality-starved" audience. This is partly because the actors are trying to match a storyboard conceived in an office, as opposed to the camera "finding" their performances on the set.
I would never suggest a filmmaker not prepare, or leave it all to the set. You have to have ideas, and you shoulTd have them written down. But I find that a shot list gives you a lot more flexibility to adjust things in the moment than a storyboard.
6. What was the approximate budget?
The budget was $15,000. Certainly not chump change, but nonetheless a real stretch for us when you factor in: film and developing costs, building an entire sewer system in my backyard, transporting and feeding a large crew, and the hundreds of miscellaneous costs that come up along the way.
7. What did it feel like to get into Slamdance? Any traction since the fest?
My first reaction getting into Slamdance was relief. It was the first feedback I got from any festival and I had no idea before that if anybody was going to like the movie at all. After that, I sighed and thought, no matter what happens, at least SOMEBODY likes it! I've turned out to be very blessed because the feedback we've gotten since then has been overwhelming. There's been a huge surge of interest about the feature length screenplay and it feels like the momentum is really building around it. I hope to be having this conversation with you next year about the feature.
Culebra has gained attention since premiering at Slamdance. Let’s hope it gets funding as a feature in 2010 and back in Park City for 2011.
