[Film]<\/p>\n
Read the whole article first, then see video embed at the bottom … \ud83d\ude00<\/i><\/p>\n
Interviews by Lisa Gregory<\/b><\/p>\n
This will be short, though not as short as the film. \u201cDream\u201d is a short film by Broken Wings Productions. Inspired by a short story by Jaiden Frost. Length: five minutes. Three producers. Two main cast members. One sound designer. Budget: $0. Music by Goodnight Curses. Universal. Mysterious. Shocking. Beautiful. <\/p>\n
Main character and narrator (actor\/producer Dustin Lewis) is torn between the two loves of his life: his girlfriend (actress Kaitlyn Lewis) and pursuing a career in music. A career that involves leaving town and his girlfriend for a while. The girlfriend\u2019s name is Dream, by the way. She has been to the doctor, but doesn\u2019t tell her boyfriend. He leaves. When we view him in the present tense, narrating, it appears as if he might be looking down while he explains the entire account, but his eyes are in the dark, shadowed by the brim of a hat. There\u2019s a sparkling engagement ring he finally delivers to Dream with remarkable style even though he is forced to present it to her differently in the end. There\u2019s more. In fact, everything described above is merely a memorable spring rain prefacing the rainbow that is \u201cDream.\u201d <\/p>\n
When you watch \u201cDream\u201d you see it. You hear it. Chances are very good that you feel it. Something about this seemingly simple, low-budget, yet masterfully made little film begged me to ask what else? In this story\u2014in this film\u2014it is as though its original storyteller, editors, and producers are going for something more than the ordinary separation between ordinary human beings. I decided to interview those behind the creation\/production of \u201cDream,\u201d beginning with a face-to-face meeting with 20-year-old writer Jaiden Frost.\u00a0
\nJaiden was sixteen when his family decided to move from North Carolina to Iowa. He didn\u2019t want to leave. He argued that they go ahead without him, which they eventually did. At a film festival in New York City he came across Tony Murnahan\u2019s Stwrongtone Media. Jaiden proceeded to write the original version of the story that later evolved into \u201cDream\u201d the short film.<\/p>\n
Q: How did you become interested in short film? <\/p>\n
Jaiden: \u201cSkate film. We filmed our skateboarding, which became the \u2018Kronikles of Omnipotence.\u2019 They are films about my life and how I perceive it [while skateboarding]. We finished a few of the \u2018Kronikles\u2019 films, but I plan on doing a total of seven installments, or chapters. My friends and I did some skit comedy after that\u2026 but I\u2019ve moved toward more serious, personal work.\u201d <\/p>\n
Q: Is the girl in the film like anyone from your personal life?
\nJaiden: \u201cThe girl represents\u2014severely represents\u2014my childhood. I was really glad Kaitlyn was chosen for the role because she has blonde hair, not white, but\u2026 for me her character in the film represents everything pure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: When did these feelings about your childhood take place for you in real life? <\/p>\n
Jaiden: \u201cI was 16 when I told my family to go on to Iowa while I stayed behind. I still went to school, but I had some issues with breaking off with this one girl. There was a house where my friends and I stayed that we called Kasa de Punk. It was a party house. We weren\u2019t involved with drugs, but the cops kept coming out there and eventually found enough reason to go and shut it down. It wasn\u2019t being properly maintained. At that point that I went to Iowa. But the old days were gone and they were never coming back.\u201d
\nQ: Loss of childhood really brings a whole new dimension to this already meaningful film. Did you have to work hard at figuring out a good balance between how much to reveal versus how much to keep mysterious? <\/p>\n
Jaiden: \u201cI never expected anyone to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: By the time \u201cDream\u201d the film was finished, do you feel that the main actor was portrayed as a complex character as expected or were you pleasantly surprised?<\/p>\n
Jaiden: \u201cI believe that the character from the original story was complex to start with. A few parts in the original story [but not the film] actually came from arguments I had with my mother. You feel like\u2014of all people\u2014 your mother should understand you. The character was so upset at not being understood\u2026 but\u2026 Dusty really took it to a new level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: What are you working on these days? <\/p>\n
Jaiden: \u201cI\u2019m in a band [Aquience] and we just revamped our style to where we\u2019re more experimental now.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Aquience is online at http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/aquience). <\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Joe Stauffer is director of photography, editor, and producer for \u201cDream.\u201d He is also a singer, composer, pianist, and music video producer. He has a solo project called Goodnight Curses. \u201cI have been shooting music videos and film for about ten years and I am a musician\u2026 After years of playing in bands, I still wanted to be involved in music, without being in an actual band\u2026 [S]hooting music videos was a perfect way to do that. From there I moved into more narrative based projects.\u201d <\/p>\n
Q: Do you have any other versions of this film? Was it a YouTube audience you had in mind for \u201cDream\u201d or does your target audience extend beyond that? <\/p>\n
Joe: \u201cBy no means are YouTube viewers our primary audience. We will be submitting this film to festivals in the future, as well as numerous other public screenings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: Who selected the tracks? Which came first, the song or the film?
\nJoe: \u201cThe song \u2018Giving None\u2019 at the end of the film was written before I was approached by Tony and Dusty about shooting \u2018Dream.\u2019 The song is very personal and [was written for and about] someone that I love very much. It just so happened to fit the mood of the film. Tony had heard the song from a rough mix I sent him, so when he approached me about the project, he also asked me about using the song. The piano piece during the film itself was composed by me specifically for this project. Another valuable and effective element of this film is the sound design, which was beautifully done by my good friend Nino Ninkovic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: How about your own future plans? What\u2019s in the works?
\nJoe: \u201cBroken Wings is currently developing a feature film along with several new music videos and short films. Our current and past works can be viewed at our website: http:\/\/brokenwingsproductions.com\/.\u201d
\n(Joe\u2019s solo project, Goodnight Curses, will be releasing an album by the fall of 2010. You can preview it at http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/goodnightcurses).<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Producer Tony Murnahan is 12,027 days old at the time of this interview. Past projects include \u201cThe David Long Story,\u201d Eight Ball,\u201d and \u201cHammer,\u201d which earned Best Horror \u2013 Ava Gardner Indie Film Fest 2009. <\/p>\n
Q: How\/ when did you get into short film?<\/p>\n
Tony: \u201cIn 2007 my buddy Joe Stauffer inspired me to get into video. I stopped touring in bands and I still wanted to do something creative, expressive, and connected to the music community. I found making live music videos for local bands fit that bill. I met up with Dusty Lewis in 2008. We immediately began working and creating together. He definitely pushed me into a more artistic mode and inspired me to start doing film.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: What appeals to you about short film? <\/p>\n
Tony: \u201cI like working with shorts because of the constraint and limitations that are put upon me. Normally we do this for the sake of the art. So we invest our own time, our own money, our own skills and labor. I can\u2019t imagine making a feature film with no budget when we have wives and children to feed.\u201d <\/p>\n
Q: From a producer\u2019s standpoint do you feel that the narrator\u2019s character gained complexity during the film\u2019s production?
\nTony: \u201cI feel that Dusty and I definitely made [him] more complex during our rewrite\u2026 Since all of us have been in bands, have either played lots of shows or toured, have had girlfriends who had to deal with it, we felt that we had plenty of real experience to inject into this story. So\u2026 [w]e went through the story as if we were the main character and\u2026 added how we thought a musician in this position would act or what he would say or how he would feel. [M]y wife and I struggled with [this] when we first began dating. I told her I was going to tour and that she wasn\u2019t going to stop me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: Future plans\/ projects?<\/p>\n
Tony: \u201cDusty and I plan to produce at least five projects this year. So far this year I\u2019ve been shooting and editing a lot of \u2018Mike\u2019s Wild Kingdom.\u2019 I have some music videos scheduled this year. I\u2019m open for new opportunities to work with creative people.\u201d
\n(\u201cMike\u2019s Wild Kingdom\u201d is at http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/mikeswildkingdom).<\/p>\n
Q: Is there anything I didn\u2019t ask about that you would like to add?
\nTony: \u201cIn the scene where the main character packs his guitar and walks through the door, you\u2019ll notice a small, decorative elephant in the background behind Dream. This was a coincidence, but could also be seen as the \u2018elephant in the room\u2019 [idiom] in that Dream\u2019s cancer is the underlying issue not being discussed. Total coincidence, but it worked out beautifully!\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Dustin R. Lewis (AKA Dusty), producer, also plays the main character\/ narrator in \u201cDream.\u201d He is married to Kaitlyn Lewis, who plays the role of Dream.<\/p>\n
Q: How\/ when did you get into short film?<\/p>\n
Dustin: \u201cI have always like watching short films, but I didn\u2019t get into making them until the day fate smiled down upon me, the day that Tony Murnahan parked his car in my driveway. Soon after meeting Tony he introduced me to Joe. I knew that anything was possible with these two on my side\u2026 I have to give my wife Kaitlyn all the credit though. She introduced Tony and I. [W]ithout her none of this would have been possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q. What appeals to you about short film?<\/p>\n
Dustin: \u201cIt\u2019s short, it\u2019s sweet, it doesn\u2019t take a million dollars to make.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: Did you purposely use bluish tint in some scenes to express a mood of sadness as opposed to other scenes? <\/p>\n
Dustin: \u201c[E]very edit and color choice that Joe makes is intentional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: Your target audience for \u201cDream\u201d?<\/p>\n
Dustin: \u201cMy target audience is the entire world.\u201d <\/p>\n
Q: How about your own future plans?<\/p>\n
Dustin: \u201cI just want to continue working on everything creative as long as I can continue working with my friends and continue being proud of what we make. I don\u2019t want to compromise myself or my friends for money.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Q: Any plans to make this short film into anything longer?
\nJaiden: \u201cThe producers don\u2019t plan on doing anything more and I don\u2019t have a budget, but if I did, if it were possible, I would love to bring back the same actors.\u201d <\/p>\n
Joe: \u201cNo plans\u2026[t]he film is what it is. Of course there are things we would do different if we were to go back and do it again. That is natural for any artist to experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tony: \u201cNOPE!\u201d<\/p>\n
Dustin: \u201cIt is complete\u2026 it is done\u2026 I don\u2019t think it needs anything else. We don\u2019t have any plans for a feature version, but I would like to see Jaiden write one.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Last line in the film: \u201cShe became my dream. And my dream became reality.\u201d I think Dustin Lewis words it best when he says, \u201cI definitely have my own interpretation\u2026 however I would like to remain silent on this because your interpretation is valuable.\u201d <\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Produced by
\nBROKEN WINGS\u00a0Productions
\nhttp:\/\/www.brokenwingsproductions.com\/
\nhttp:\/\/www.myspace.com\/rockvideos
\nJoe Stauffer\u00a0– Director of Photography, Editor, Producer
\nTony Murnahan\u00a0– Producer
\nDustin Lewis\u00a0– Producer
\nNino\u00a0Ninkovic\u00a0– Sound Design
\nJaiden Frost\u00a0– Story By<\/p>\n
Music by:\u00a0Goodnight Curses
\nhttp:\/\/www.myspace.com\/goodnightcurses
\nCast:
\nDustin Lewis
\nKaitlyn Lewis
\nMike Kirkpatrick
\nStephen Harris<\/p>\n
Special thanks to Barbara Swain<\/p>\n
DREAM<\/i>