The Production

A Place to Fall Down was filmed on a micro budget, and was shot in one day, with a crew of 14 incredible people. It was a typically gorgeous Los Angeles Sunday – cameras were up at 8:30am and we wrapped promptly at 5:45pm. Nine hours and fifteen minutes to knock out 11 pages.

The past decade I’ve worked on creating a culture that allows for creativity to thrive. At VOKSEE, “collaboration” isn’t a buzzword, it’s a way of life. Because of collaboration, we are able to shoot efficiently and effectively. This process starts at the onboarding stage and focuses on sharing knowledge and information throughout every phase of the production so everyone can be part of the development of the idea from concept to finished piece of art. Everyone has the opportunity to share ideas and help each other find the most authentic version of the story.

It is an incredible resource to have so many talented individuals and voices on a film. Each person has their own story, own set of experiences and points-of-view that can elevate a character, scene, beat, shot, sound, line, etc. My goal as a director is always to give freedom for those to share their voices and align it with the story.

This particular process has certainly been one of evolution. By the time we wrapped, the story became something completely different than how it began – it was genuinely an extension of everyone involved.

For me, the pre-production phase is the most crucial, and where I find that collaboration is most effective. The sharing of ideas and knowledge thrives in this phase because it is not hindered by a production clock. In this phase, our team can explore every line of the script, live in every moment, feel it, sketch it out, play with it and push the limits.

In the production phase I deploy methods I’ve learned and developed throughout my career – specifically creating a set that is fluid, allowing for all creators to move through the space organically and without limitations.

In A Place to Fall Down, we didn’t use overly complex lighting designs or cumbersome camera systems. We didn’t need them. Instead, we needed to be nimble to capture every bit of magic that was going to happen. We used as much ambient light as possible, and overall created extremely minimal lighting designs. I love shooting handheld or on a gimbal to be able to flow through a scene and observe a character, and this shoot was no different. I feel this allows the actors to truly explore the space and feel the scene and the moment, rather than be limited by fixed sets with markers.

By the time we reach the production phase we’ve done all the preparation and the hard part is over. That means our productions are most often seamless and exceptionally efficient. In fact, since wrapping on A Place to Fall Down, the newest crew members have shared their surprise with my methodology. I use a lot of first takes, and I use them confidently, because I know we’ve done the work to make each take something extraordinary. Even Clifton mentioned he’s never experienced an environment like that, and that he felt it was a badge of honor to deliver such high quality work in such a short time frame, exactly on schedule and as planned, while still having the freedom to feel the role.

I believe in the work we do in the pre-production phase, and I knew we could shoot this entire film in one day. I know from my background in photography, commercial and documentary work that if we do things right early on and we’ve sketched out the work, the process will align and deliver results.

Eleven pages in nine hours and fifteen minutes – a true testament to how much everyone put into this special story.