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Aug. 10th, 2004
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Aug. 10th, 2004 03:38 pmBy Josh McBee
pop editor
Ambition is a powerful thing. It leads people to go beyond their means and achieve great things. It takes ambition to make a movie, especially when one has no formal training. Oklahoma City residents Jay Roach, along with Erika O’Bar and Joshua Winch, used ambition, a Sony Digital 8 camera and little else to realize their first feature-length film “Street Creatures.”
Described as a crime drama, the plot ceners around a briefcase filled with cash and the various parties who try to get their hands on it. A side story within the main plot involves a hitman hired by a mob boss to kill a murder witness, however, the hitman has rare second thoughts given the nature of his mark: a woman.
The production was a model of DIY ethic. Whether making their own bounce cards (light deflectors) out of aluminum foil or fashioning a lens shade out of cardboard, the team was determined to make the best of what they had.
Despite technical limitations, the film is creative. Some innovations include the use of an onscreen narrator (The Weatherman) and the hitman’s alter ego talking to himself from a mirror’s reflection (sort of like Willem Dafoe’s character in “Spiderman”). The former involved the use of blue screen filming, a sizable feat for amateurs.
“The storyline is very complex,” said O’Bar, “but the narrator ties it all together.”
According to Roach, the film’s cost to date nears $20,000. Roach financed most of it out of pocket but received support from friends as well. The bill isn’t sizable considering the film used mostly sets instead of shooting on location.
“I think he did a great job, especially with the budget he had, on building up sets and getting the feel he wanted to from a set environment,” said Winch. “He’s really used a lot of big budget ideas for nothing as far as cash went.”
Casting for the film was done through Actors Casting and Talent Services and Magna Talent in OKC. Since Roach couldn’t pay his actors, they worked for deferred pay, meaning if Roach ever does see a return on his investment, that money goes to the actors before it reaches his bank account.
One such actor is Norman’s own Morgan Brown. Brown plays Junior, the mob boss’ son who commits the murder that leaves an ill-fated witness.
“He does great,” said Roach. “He’s one of the ones I’m more impressed with. He’s very good and I plan to work with him again.”
As most filmmakers will tell you, the hardest part isn’t shooting scenes. It’s editing. Primary filming for “Street Creatures” wrapped up in the winter of 2003 and took about six weeks. The editing, done by Roach, won’t be finished until Sunday.
“There’s hundreds of hours of film to put into an hour and 43 minutes,” said Winch. “I know that I would’ve given up a long time ago on it. I would’ve quit, laid down and died.”
But they didn’t quit, and now Roach Productions is set to screen “Street Creatures” at 8 p.m. Aug. 13 in the Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main St. Most of the seats for the premiere are reserved for cast, crew, media, and family and friends. However, seats will be available to the public on a first come, first served basis the night of the premiere.
© 2004 The Norman Transcript.
A subsidiary of Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.
Terms of use for this service.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
pop editor
Ambition is a powerful thing. It leads people to go beyond their means and achieve great things. It takes ambition to make a movie, especially when one has no formal training. Oklahoma City residents Jay Roach, along with Erika O’Bar and Joshua Winch, used ambition, a Sony Digital 8 camera and little else to realize their first feature-length film “Street Creatures.”
Described as a crime drama, the plot ceners around a briefcase filled with cash and the various parties who try to get their hands on it. A side story within the main plot involves a hitman hired by a mob boss to kill a murder witness, however, the hitman has rare second thoughts given the nature of his mark: a woman.
The production was a model of DIY ethic. Whether making their own bounce cards (light deflectors) out of aluminum foil or fashioning a lens shade out of cardboard, the team was determined to make the best of what they had.
Despite technical limitations, the film is creative. Some innovations include the use of an onscreen narrator (The Weatherman) and the hitman’s alter ego talking to himself from a mirror’s reflection (sort of like Willem Dafoe’s character in “Spiderman”). The former involved the use of blue screen filming, a sizable feat for amateurs.
“The storyline is very complex,” said O’Bar, “but the narrator ties it all together.”
According to Roach, the film’s cost to date nears $20,000. Roach financed most of it out of pocket but received support from friends as well. The bill isn’t sizable considering the film used mostly sets instead of shooting on location.
“I think he did a great job, especially with the budget he had, on building up sets and getting the feel he wanted to from a set environment,” said Winch. “He’s really used a lot of big budget ideas for nothing as far as cash went.”
Casting for the film was done through Actors Casting and Talent Services and Magna Talent in OKC. Since Roach couldn’t pay his actors, they worked for deferred pay, meaning if Roach ever does see a return on his investment, that money goes to the actors before it reaches his bank account.
One such actor is Norman’s own Morgan Brown. Brown plays Junior, the mob boss’ son who commits the murder that leaves an ill-fated witness.
“He does great,” said Roach. “He’s one of the ones I’m more impressed with. He’s very good and I plan to work with him again.”
As most filmmakers will tell you, the hardest part isn’t shooting scenes. It’s editing. Primary filming for “Street Creatures” wrapped up in the winter of 2003 and took about six weeks. The editing, done by Roach, won’t be finished until Sunday.
“There’s hundreds of hours of film to put into an hour and 43 minutes,” said Winch. “I know that I would’ve given up a long time ago on it. I would’ve quit, laid down and died.”
But they didn’t quit, and now Roach Productions is set to screen “Street Creatures” at 8 p.m. Aug. 13 in the Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main St. Most of the seats for the premiere are reserved for cast, crew, media, and family and friends. However, seats will be available to the public on a first come, first served basis the night of the premiere.
© 2004 The Norman Transcript.
A subsidiary of Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.
Terms of use for this service.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.