OFFICIAL SELECTION
South By Soutwest Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival
Philladelphia International Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival
WINNER Best Narrative Feature Texas Film Festival
www.deadroommovie.com
SYNOPSIS
Deadroom centers around four encounters, each confined to a single room. A man helps a young woman remember her past. A husband and wife confront each other about their infidelities. A journalist interviews a famous author about the mysteries hidden in his novel. A secretary visits her former co-worker to tell him how much she's always loved him. Each of these conversations could happen any day, every day -- except that the young woman has been raped and murdered, the husband has died in a terrible automobile accident, the co-worker has perished in a fire, and the novelist has passed away from old age.
The four intertwined stories weave a tale that is shocking, humorous, tragic and uplifting. Secrets are shared, truths are revealed, and each of the eight characters comes to an understanding they could not have gained without the touch of death.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Deadroom is a feature film, produced through the collaboration of four DFW filmmakers: Yen Tan, James M. Johnston, Nicholas Prendergast and David Lowery.
We initially conceived Deadroom as an experiment in directing. We were intrigued with the notion of creating a project specifically designed to expand our directing skills, particularly in the area of working with actors. Having steeped ourselves in the technical side of the filmmaking process in our respective past projects, we were eager to branch out with a project that would be dramatically challenging. Yen Tan had already established an idea for a film about talking to the dead, and it was decided that this concept would be the base for the film. Rules were established – each conversation had to be confined within one room, between just two people, and no explanation for the presence of the deceased could be given. The crux of the film was simply: if you could talk to a dead person, what would you say?
The challenge of the project was now whether or not an engaging and provocative film, one which would run the gamut of human emotion, could be achieved in such a limited, self-imposed setting. It would be a test not only of our dramatic skill, but our talent as writers, producers and visual stylists (how does one make one room look interesting for ninety minutes?) Each of us wrote an outline for a conversation, and then turned that into a 30 page screenplay; these in turn were intertwined to create the final script for the film that, despite its disparate origins, formed a remarkably cohesive whole.
While it worked on paper, we knew that to avoid monotony in the finished film, we’d each need to take different visual approaches. We each planned out detailed shot lists and storyboards, and, working with our production designer and cinematographer, came up with distinctive color and lighting schemes to represent each room; these ranged from bright Technicolor hues to noir-style shadows.
Pre-production and casting officially began in late summer of 2003. With assistance from the Texas Film Commission, the eight lead actors were selected through a rigorous audition process. This was followed by an intense three month rehearsal period in which the cast (including Twin Peaks star Harry Goaz) helped hone the script, and strengthen their characters and the story through improvisation. At the same time, we were assembling a talented crew of production personnel from Austin and Dallas.
The cast and crew were aware from the beginning that all payment would be deferred, but upon reading the script, everyone felt the project was more than worth their time and effort. Many of the crew members were tired of the corporate videos they paid their bills with and jumped at the chance to participate in something more artistic and challenging. Cinematographer Jim McMahon had recently moved to Los Angeles, but was anxious to fly back to Dallas to participate; his contributions eventually secured him a co-producer credit.
All throughout this process, we were saving our own money for the production and petitioning friends and family for donations. Generosity abounded, and nearly a quarter of the entire cash cost of the film was donated by individuals who saw the potential of the project and wanted to contribute to its success.
By the end of December, the one-room set had been constructed on a soundstage in Dallas, and in early January the ten incredibly hectic days of principal photography began. We couldn’t afford to go even one day over schedule at the studio, and thus each of the four vignettes was shot in two days, after which the set would be repainted and re-dressed overnight in time for the next day’s shoot. Two cameras were used during shooting to expedite the process, and the three months of rehearsals paid off when the actors gave perfect performances on every take.
As soon as the shoot was over, post-production began; a first cut was completed in a marathon seven day editing session. Over the next three months, the film was fine-tuned and once the picture was close to being locked, the sound work began; a friend at a production house generously donated his sound studio to our film to ensure a professional mix. Local musician Daniel Huffman convinced members of the Fort Worth Orchestra to lend their time to the recording of the film’s score.
In late May of 2004, the final sound mix was finished and the picture was locked and on June 11, on the same day that we sent out the first festival submission packages, the final film was screened for the cast and crew at the Dallas Museum Of Art.
In less than a year, thanks largely to the tremendous dedication of the cast and crew who felt as strongly about the film as its four directors, Deadroom had gone from pre-production to a finished product that exceeded everyone’s initial expectations.
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