CHRISTOPHER BALL: For me, Charlie Zone started with a phone call
from Michael Melski… a few years ago now… after we had completed Growing Op. It was a totally different film from the
comedy of Growing Op, much darker and very sinister. Over the course of development, and the realities
of budgeting independent film, the original concept of a road movie changed and
it would now take place entirely in Halifax - Dartmouth.
Thinking back, that strong sense of place probably makes the suspense
and drama work and gives it a claustrophobic feel….the characters hiding in
dark rooms and back streets, closed off from the world we generally know as Halifax. It also allows for social commentary about the
underbelly of Halifax, a city seen mostly as a scenic, friendly tourist
destination. For the most part it is
that, but there is a dark side to the city which is rarely explored.
MM: One of the storyboard/reference
images we used from the film BLOOD SIMPLE. Chris and I loved the shadowing here, how the visuals suggest a character is dislocated, holds a dark secret.
MM: The shot of Amanda
Crew as Jan where we employed the reference. It was a day shot and we liked it subtler.
CB: When Mike and I
met after the production draft of the script, we both agreed on the overall
look and approach. I remember saying
that the typical way to shoot this type of story would be to go for a
desaturated, grainy, mostly handheld approach, even doc/reality style…but I
didn’t feel it was right for the script.
I felt that the intensity of the drama needed an intensity of look, and
I felt that the “normal” approach of shaky handheld and stark lighting would
weaken it rather than strengthen it. So
instead we went for a very vibrant colour palette and a much more fluid and
intense camera approach. The camera is
very much inside the heads of the characters and inside the spaces, gradually
revealing the environment as the story is told and revealing it from the
character’s point of view.
CB: The visual approach
is contemplative, intense and deliberate.
Colours are vibrant, however the
colour palette is not “pretty”, but features oppressive off-colour hues of red,
sodium vapour amber, green and steel blue.
Daylight only seeps into spaces through cracks and curtained windows,
especially in Jan’s world, and there is a lot of dark, unseen space. The exception to this is the Millbrook Reserve,
the only “escape” in the film, where natural light is allowed back in and a
more soothing colour palette is introduced.
CB: The film was a huge challenge to shoot. The realities of low budget filmmaking in
Canada are intense, with ridiculously short schedules and very little
money. Canadian Films compete with
American low budget films that have triple the budget and double or triple the
schedule, and we still manage to come up with good competitive product….but it
is a challenge and a lot of sacrifice on the part of crews, suppliers and the
producers. Charlie Zone was shot in 20,
ten-hour days (12 inclusive of wrap and precalls) and one 2nd unit
day. Features like this in the US or
Europe would have a 40 day schedule. It
was a very location-intensive shoot, with lots of unit moves and technical
complications. We were lucky to assemble
a solid crew, however, and pulled it off with mostly humour and fun and only
the occasional frustrating moment here and there. I still think of Mike and I driving around
Halifax and over the bridge with a complete camera package hanging off the
front of my little Imprezza for the 2nd unit travelling shots, or
the challenge of lighting up the entire MacDonald bridge, a parking lot and a
playground for a night shoot with a small crew and a tiny equipment package;
all in the last four hours of a busy day with several other locations. But we
did it.
A very talented and
dedicated cast also made it easier for us and I’d say, in general, we pulled of
a lot of miracles! The icing on the cake
was the Quadruple Awards, including cinematography, at the Atlantic Film
Festival, an event I was actually able to attend (I am usually working during
festival time). The audience reaction
was also fantastic, and I have heard many good comments since. Here’s hoping for a good theatrical
release..another big challenge in Canada…but please come on out as it is a film
worth seeing on the big screen!!
MM: Thanks Chris, you're a talented guy and a pleasure to collaborate with. So deserving of the award you won for this film. Best of everything and we'll do it again soon! (Hopefully with more $)
MM: Thanks Chris, you're a talented guy and a pleasure to collaborate with. So deserving of the award you won for this film. Best of everything and we'll do it again soon! (Hopefully with more $)
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