Film’s shooting has wrapped

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

It’s only one minute and 13 seconds long, but it clearly shows what a great amount has been accomplished these past few months. The first trailer for Complexity, which can be found on Youtube by searching “Complexity teaser trailer,” indicates high-production values and a powerful storyline.

By now, everyone knows that director Adam Bogoch wrote the script for Complexity, which he polished with the editing help of several others. In the look of the film, he also worked collaboratively with many people, including director of photography Paul Mitchnick, camera operator Harvey LaRocque, first camera assistant Peter Carty and producer Mattie Shisko.

“I got involved with Adam on Complexity at the recommendation of a friend who was offered the project but turned it down because of other commitments,” said Paul in an e-mail interview with the Independent. “There were a few reasons that I decided to work on this project. First was seeing Adam’s first film. I mean, this kid had actually completed a feature film at the age of 16 and a half. It looked and felt like a real movie. Another reason was that Adam seemed to be organized and prepared and happy, genuinely happy, that he was going to be making another film. Another reason was seeing the unrequited support of his father, David, to his son and his dreams. I was a bit touched by the genuine open affection and respect that they have for each other. Oh yeah, Mattie Shisko, the producer seemed to have her stuff together to pull this off.”

Paul has been a cinematographer for more than 20 years, primarily shooting documentaries and dramas, but also other specialized projects. Adam called hiring Paul “by far the best decision yet made on Complexity,” adding that the film “is visually beautiful, thanks to all the artists involved, like Harvey and Peter, but especially Paul.”

Adam said that finding the appropriate director of photography was crucial.

“Hiring the right DP is so important because the look and overall feel of the project can be ruined if you don’t have the right person to visually design it with you,” he explained. “As the director, I also needed to find a person whose thoughts would meld with my own. The director and the director of photography work closely together, more so than the director works with anyone else, other than the cast.

“I was searching frantically for the right DP. I had talked to Thomas Burstyn (the Emmy-nominated cinematographer and director) and he suggested a DP named Trig Singer in Vancouver. Trig was already engaged in another project for a few months and gave me a short list of who he thought the best DPs in the city were. Paul Mitchnick was on that list. Harvey LaRocque was also present on the list and would turn out to be our camera operator.

“I contacted Paul and he agreed to meet with me. Both Mattie and I were stunned by his resumé; he’s incredibly accomplished and has a lot of films under his belt, so I knew I had to do my best to get him interested. After short negotiations and a couple meetings with my dad, the executive producer, and Mattie, he was signed and ready to begin shooting.”

Describing Paul’s choice to work on Complexity as a “favor,” Adam added that “Paul also brought on a crew of delightful and gifted members to back up his talent,” including Peter and Harvey.

“Paul, Harvey and Peter have worked together on many projects and, between the three of them, the talent overwhelmed me,” admitted Adam. “This wasn’t a personal feeling either, many of the crew and cast have told me how much they learned from Paul, Harvey and Peter.”

For Paul’s part, he said, “I had a much better time on Complexity than I thought I would. People were all on the same page in terms of what had to be done, what had to be sacrificed and there was great joy in our accomplishments. There is always a fear working with young and inexperienced directors that they will freeze when ‘Plan B’ has to be discussed. Adam always faced his decisions with a resolve that was surprising for someone his age. He was always pretty clear about what he wanted and what we had to do. The craft of making films is about communication and language, so my job as the cinematographer was to help Adam both learn that language and communicate it. And he was just so damn happy about doing this that it was infectious.”

As the film’s director, Adam has the final say on all the shots. “At the end of the day,” he said, “it’s up to the director to make sure his/her vision has come to life, but the director always collaborates with the DP. The DP has to expand the director’s mind to new options and new ideas, or build on the director’s ideas.

“In pre-production, Paul and I, and occasionally others, would go to each location and get ideas for how the film should be shot. We hung out in these locations, studying the script and seeing where a lot of the action takes place and we started to plan. Ideas rush in as you’re breathing in the air of production, but it’s always a good idea to get ‘pre-ideas’ in pre-production as you scout locations.

“Then we sat in my living room for two days going through the entire script, planning every shot, throwing out ideas of how the film should look and what equipment we’d need to make this all happen. It’s an incredibly interesting but tiring process.

“The visual artistry is headed by the director and the director of photography, but we collaborate with others to make sure it does look interesting, pretty or ugly. Also heavily involved with the on-set process was our art director, Adrien Deggan. He’s incredibly imaginative and would consult with me about every shot, making sure we were all happy with the backgrounds. He also got to do the grunt work of physically moving things to make them look prettier in the shot.

“Along with Paul, Harvey would also talk with us, and we would often go off and explore and get new ideas,” continued Adam. “I think Paul liked having Harvey around to test out some of his theories, as well as to discuss alternatives with him. On occasion, the two of them would have different opinions and I’d have to choose between the brilliant ideas of both cinematographers, but the three of us worked so well together, and it was such an experience working with them at the same time. Both Paul and Harvey were flowing with great ideas! There were moments when Peter would shoot out an idea and we’d stop for a moment and go ... ‘Brilliance! Let’s do it!’ Paul’s line was ‘Peter, great idea, take $5 from petty cash’ or ‘Harvey, great idea, take $5 from petty cash.’ Always so much fun, designing the film, being creative, it’s the best part of being a director, the collaboration of creation.

“Paul was always trying to get me to break out of any restrictions I’d create, or restrictions that the situations created. As I learned, it isn’t so much the job of the director to worry about the restrictions, but to fight for unlimited ideas. It was easier for me when Mattie was on set, so she could worry about the stuff that producers worry about, and I could focus on breaking creative boundaries with Paul. There needs to be a healthy balance though, being aware of what’s going on, remaining on top of things, but letting your mind be creative in the best interest of the film. It’s a hard thing to do. Paul was very good at trying to break me out of that shell at the moments when that needed to happen.”

No doubt that support came in handy on the last day of shooting, which Adam described as “incredibly difficult.” He said, “We had about 10 pages of script left to shoot and only 12 hours to do it in ... yikes ... it was tough. At the beginning of the day, Paul, Harvey, Anthony (Epp, the assistant director), Mattie and I gathered. We all knew what we had ahead of us and we decided to just do it, get it done, and get it done right. And we did! It was a very successful but stressful day.

“The last scene we shot was in the kitchen of Belmont Mansion, which takes place near the end of the movie. It was sunset, and the room was lit perfectly. Most of the cast was wrapped, since the scene was only between two characters, but they came in to watch this last scene. Even all the crew who weren’t needed came in to watch it. As this scene happened, the room was quiet. It was the greatest silence I’ve ever heard. Of course, during any shooting, everyone needs to be quiet, but nobody moved, everyone’s eyes were fixed.

“We all gathered around the monitor as these two stellar actors did what they do best and, by the end of it, most of us were in tears. I’m man enough to say that I cried like a baby that day. It was such raw emotion, such talent. When Anthony called, ‘That’s a full picture wrap on Complexity,’ we were all crying and hugging and thanking. All the stress, the angst ... it was all over and so worth it!

“The whole cast and crew gave it their all the entire time, but especially that last day. I remember I went up to Emilie (Ullerup, who plays Clara) and said, ‘Thank you for being me’ – by the end of shooting I had realized that even though I had so much connection with most of the characters, Clara and I had some major similarities. Emilie brought her to life, she gave her all the angles she needed to have, all the actors did, and they were so bloody good! The whole experience was so bloody good!”

Now the film heads to post-production, where Adam is confident that not much will have to be done with what has been shot.

“When a film has special effects or images that need to be added, the look can and will change a little, but luckily, we don’t have any of that to do,” he said. “The only way that the general feel/look will alter in post-production is when a bit of color correction is done.

“Paul has a keen eye for color, and we may get him in to consult with us for a few things but, for the most part, it’s the editor and the director who decide. Between production and post-production is the passing of the torch from the DP to the editor. The editor will take what the DP has done and mix and match it to create something even more visually interesting. It’s an incredible process!”

In that “incredible process,” there’s at least one shot that Paul hopes doesn’t end up on the cutting-room floor.

“My favorite shots are usually the ones that communicate without dialogue,” Paul explained. “There is a wide shot of the grandmother [Sylvia, played by Elizabeth Connor], at night, on a couch, confronting her past, that I think is quite elegant. I hope it is in the final film.”

To follow Complexity on Facebook, search for “Complexity movie”; a website will be underway soon. The filmmakers are still seeking help to fund post-production, editing, music and marketing. To contribute to and/or buy a film credit, visit indiegogo.com or send a cheque payable to Redhaired Productions, 6209 Tisdall St., Vancouver, B.C., V5Z 3N5. Titles range from executive producer ($5,000 and up) to thanks ($100). For more information, contact [email protected].

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