by Roger Scott, Director of The Marshes
Consider trade-offs and make the difficult decisions in pre-production
Choosing a remote location gave us a look that was impossible to get anywhere else; a unique sort of eco-horror/Australian gothic look which we loved. However, the remote locations came with trade-offs, such as the number of shooting hours we had each day, and the type of equipment we could use. For example, we ended up shooting daylight exteriors with a small amount of light control, as we could not get light and power to most sets. Shooting so much daylight is unusual for horror films, however for us, it was both a necessity and a stylistic choice. Shooting hours were lost just getting everyone to and from set each day, while food and accommodation became a large chunk of the budget. All of the compromises we made were considered and discussed during pre-production, so that we didn’t have to make difficult decisions once we started filming. It is hard to overemphasise how important this careful consideration was, as so much of the work of filmmaking is done in pre-production, especially with self financed independent films.
Shooting quality and flexibility should always be a priority
The main tenets of our shoot were quality and flexibility, which is why we chose to shoot with the Arri Alexa and the Blackmagic Cinema Pro. This combination of cameras provided us with an ideal A and B camera shooting package. We needed a camera system that would integrate well with each other in the grade, had good latitude owing to the limited lighting options on hand, and was tough yet easy to move around. We also made the decision to shoot at 2.7K rather than 4K, because data management was an issue for us. Although 4K is nice to have, it makes the process more expensive and time consuming. Despite rapid improvements in the time and costs of data management, I think it is still a consideration for independent filmmakers, particularly when shooting in remote locations; if your sets are in the middle of a wetland, you really need to reduce gear to the absolute minimum. You really need to have thought of everything prior to shooting, because once you get out there, you can’t send the runner down the road to grab something you might have forgotten. A lot of the shoot utilised the Easy-rig for moving the camera, which really came into its own once we were moving through the flooded reed beds. Right now, filmmakers are spoiled for choice when it comes to the quality and price of gear; Blackmagic Design is a great case in point. However, while the price of gear is coming down, labour costs are not, so don’t choose more gear than you can afford to (safely) run.
Have the distribution and sales conversations in advance
The first thing to consider is where is your film going to be seen and how will you get it there? You may decide to handle marketing and distribution yourself, but it is still advisable to take your project to distribution companies who handle independent horror films and chat to them about what you are planning to do before you start shooting. Even if you can’t lock in some form of deal before shooting, you should have a strong plan about how to get the film seen. Knowing what your plan is, helps with all sorts of things from budget through to casting and shooting format. By far the most challenging aspect of the filmmaking project for us was selling the film. In order to do this, we hired a sales agent to help get our film in front of prospective buyers. This is something you could undertake yourself, however it can be quite daunting, particularly as a lot of platforms will only work through aggregators or agents they have pre-existing relationships with. The ideal situation to be in is to have agreements in place before you shoot.
Hollywood Horror isn’t always realistic, so embrace Australia’s uniqueness
Two simple choices, location and story, gave our film specificity. The horror audience is broad so don’t be afraid to use specificity to make your film stand out. A generic US style horror can be difficult to achieve with a limited budget, so embrace the abundance of unique locations we have here rather than fight against them.
