Nocturne by Michael Trainotti

Trust your cast and crew. They are the backbone of making a project come together. Never take for granted the time they are committing (donating in most cases) to help the project succeed. Most importantly, casting is critical. Work with actors that embody the characters you’ve created and give them the flexibility to make it their own.

Don’t be married to the voices in your head or the version of the film you visualized when you wrote it. There’s a better version of each that the actors and crew will help you discover along the way and bring you so much more than you ever expected.

I was in the middle of writing another project one night with the news on mute in the background. An image popped up of a doorbell camera capturing footage of a woman going door to door who was clearly distraught and looking for help. Not knowing any more than that it set the wheels in motion which led to a quick first draft a few days later.

My wife and I have been very fortunate to work with both actors and crew members who are very talented friends and coworkers which is a luxury that rarely happens in most cases. There were also a few new folks on board that I met on the film festival circuit.

From the image on TV to the end of production was about 8 weeks. We shot over 2 nights the week before Christmas. Post took about 2 months with me doing editorial/color grading and preliminary sound design at home before handing off stems to my mix friends to finalize and bring to life. That said, picture was pretty much locked by the end of Christmas vacation with the exception of a few inserts was able to grab at home (all the texting close-ups are my son and I doubling for Sabrina).

Since we are generally so lean in terms of cast and crew it’s pretty much all hands on deck making it happen. As things tend to start off a little slow in the early part of a day we definitely ramp up near the end of a day to grab as much as possible, especially coverage. One thing that drives Max (fantastic DP) bonkers is when we shoot action scenes (like the floor crawl at the end of NOCTURNE or the bedroom sequence in ONE DARK NIGHT), I like to jump around and grab a lot of coverage as quickly as possible. This is especially true when actors are in SFX make up or have something difficult to repeat over and over. We grab a ton of stuff really fast in as few takes as possible to get it. Max basically pre-lights the scene then follows me around with a lightbar or a bounce card to fill in for each new shot. The hard part is keeping crew out of the shot and aware of where the camera is… lots of image repos to deal with when you find a rogue foot crashing your frame… Clark!!!!!

This one came together really quick. It was something I was thinking about doing in early 2019 after a bit of prep. One of my industry friends had asked if the two of us could sit with a friend of his (Kathleen Markel) who was going to be directing her first feature the following year as she wanted to get some insight on post production and production to prep. As we were talking with her she had asked if I had anything upcoming and I told her about this project. Without missing a beat she said “You could film at my house!” I was like “Ugh… You haven’t even read the script… there’s blood, and stuff…” She didn’t care and offered it up to the cause which would be a win for both of us and most importantly give her exposure to the production side prior to her other project firing up. We agreed to come take a look a few days later. The house was just amazing and so beautiful in every way. I kept walking around looking at the floors and furniture trying to figure out how to not destroy or get blood anywhere. The whole time Kathleen is telling us “wouldn’t it look really cool with blood streaking across the floor and the tiles in the entry?” At that point we pretty much gave in and went for it. The biggest problem was the script was written for a much smaller house which was logistically different, so we were able to change a few bits and expand a few others prior to shooting. Actually, part of the reason we shot the end sequence so quick was because I wanted to have people wiping up the blood off camera as quickly as possible and only use it in areas needed for each shot. We did a few dry takes as well and intercut, which is seamless in the final edit.

Take your time, make as many mistakes as possible, and learn as you go. Anybody can make a movie today. Everyone has that power in their pocket if they want it. Follow the basics, learn by doing, and watching others. Make a bunch of stuff just to learn the ropes. Each one will be better than the last. Don’t spend too much money until you’re ready. The single most important tip I can give is that, to me, becoming an editor will make you a better director. Not that you ultimately need to edit everything you do down the road, but understanding the process, the tools, the techniques, the tricks, the cheats, and the importance of what’s happening in each frame matters. It gives you the tools you need to understand shot selection and how you plan to tell a story visually. When you are on set there are a thousand visual distractions as you’re working. Being able see, assemble, and form the captured image, without that distraction, will give you better focus each time you’re on set directing your story. I tend to direct editorially, if that makes any sense.

I have 2 features ready to get off the ground. The first will be a project called SCRATCH which is a high-tension horror feature that takes place in one location. Expecting to get that off the ground as soon as the Covid-based production world allows. Could be done fairly quickly if we were to take the “Covid production bubble concept” to heart as it’s a very small cast and crew. The second one is a feature version of ONE DARK NIGHT which is a hardcore extension of that short film. It effectively picks up where the short leaves off and goes to some pretty dark and terrifying places for our characters to navigate. This one’s a bit more complex then SCRATCH so a bit more time will be needed to get that production rolling.

Famous last words? 

Stay safe and healthy. Follow the rules, especially around productions. Keep your cast and crew fed. If possible, do what you can to get them to see their work up on a big screen. There’s magic up there and a nice payoff for all the hard work for all involved.