BUNKER to Premiere at SIFF

I can finally announce that my short film, Bunker, will be premiering at the Seattle International Film Festival in their shorts competition. Can I get a huzzah?! I’m over the moon to have my film screening at SIFF. It’s a tough fest to get into, and it’s Oscar-eligible in the shorts categories. My cast and crew are mostly here in Seattle, so I’m hoping we’ll have a solid hometown turn-out when we screen as part of the SeaTown Stories section during Memorial weekend’s Shortsfest at SIFF.

Huge congrats to my terrific cast, Rachel Delmar and Stefan Hajek, my husband and business partner Mike Hodge, co-producer Melanie Addington, DP Sam Graydon, editor Joe Shapiro, sound wizard Vinny Smith, colorist John Davidson and composer Ken Stringfellow, and the entire, enormously talented crew who helped take my little script and make it into a little movie that we can all be proud to have our names on. You guys rock.

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Slideshow: Behind-the-Scenes at Bunker. Part One.

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Seth Wessel-Estes
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Seth Wessel-Estes
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Anne Sellery, Andrew Harrison
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Mike Hodge, Vinny Smith, Melanie Addington
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Rachel Delmar, Anne Sellery
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Slideshow: Behind-the-Scenes at Bunker. Part Two

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Matt Bunker
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Stefan Hajek
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Stefan Hajek
Rhona Rubio, Anne Sellery
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Rhona Rubio, Anne Sellery
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Embedded in Post …

Bunker Production Journal
November 20, 2011

Last Sunday, after three months of intensive pre-production work, and two 12-hour days of filming, we wrapped shooting Bunker and are now busily working on post. Whew.

We had a great couple days of filming, in part because we did a ton of work in pre-production to be organized and ready to go, but more because we had such an outstanding, professional crew working as a unified team on this shoot. This is exactly what I’d hoped for in the months of prep work and hiring decisions: to find a team of people who clicked well together personality-wise, and to create a set environment that made everyone feel we were on the ball and that they were taken care of.

Having heard so many film people complain over the years about the catering on projects they’d worked on, one of my priorities while wearing my producer hat for Bunker was to ensure that our crew was exceedingly well fed. When you’re asking people to go out on a limb on your first project and trust that you are actually going to be able to take the vision in your head and make it all work once you’re on set, and they’re all working for indie rates that are far less than what they could make on a commercial job, AND they’re giving up their weekend to work two 12-hour days to help you make your movie, the least you can do is feed them well, right? I knew we could do better-than-average food-wise, without breaking the bank. It’s generally way cheaper to buy ingredients to make many things homemade than to buy everything prepared, and it tastes a hell of a lot better. Also, in the interest of being green, we wanted to avoid having to buy (and recycle) a ton of water bottles. So we ordered stainless steel water bottles with belt-clips, imprinted with the “Bunker” logo, for the crew, and used the filtered water already available at the house at which we were shooting. My caterer, Texana Bossoff, totally rocked it. She even brought homemade cookies and brownies for a 4PM break for the crew both days. They loved her.

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Bunker Synopsis

A pacifist married couple in their late 20’s, AIDAN and DANIELLE, spends an evening in at home in their Seattle-based house where they can’t keep a plant or pet alive so they don’t even try. On the eve of their anniversary, they dare to imagine what could happen if the unthinkable happens. Are they prepared for the possibility of a zombie apocalypse? Will the end of the world really happen? Can their love protect them? Can they buy guns? And most importantly … could they eat meat?

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Scripting and Casting and Crewing, Oh My

Bunker Production Journal
October 31, 2011

So, last time in Adventures in Filmmaking, I shared with you our recent trials and travails around having to replace our DP kind of last minute. But now, no fear! All is well in Bunker-land, and now that we have our crew and our cast all lined up, I thought I would share with the group a bit about what our process was in getting this done, because if you’re a new filmmaker, or want to be a filmmaker yourself, you’re maybe wondering how other people go about this process. And if you’re an experienced filmmaker, you can snicker behind your hand at the things I did wrong, or didn’t know how to do at first, or made harder than they need to be. From my perspective, everything I do on this film, whether I nail it out of the gate or screw it up and have to fix it, is part of the learning process that will make me a better filmmaker eventually, right? Right.

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Problems and Solutions

Production Journal, Bunker

10/26/11

We’re a little over three weeks from shooting my short film, Bunker. Nerve-wracked as hell and not sleeping much.

I know, I know, the conventional wisdom is you’re supposed to never reveal what’s behind the curtain and all that. In the years I’ve been seriously studying the art and business of making movies, I’ve hunted out a lot in the way of production journals and whatnot, because there’s value to be gained from the stories of people who already do what you’d like to be doing. There’s such a wealth of knowledge out there, and certainly some at the top of the industry who’ve been generous with sharing their knowledge with the rest of us. But what I’m most interested in is reading transparently honest captures from other filmmakers about what they’re doing, RIGHT NOW as they’re working on their movies. What’s your process?  What works for you? What was a disaster?

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Lights, Camera ….

We’re just under a month away from shooting my first film, a little short called Bunker, so it seemed an appropriate time to make some sort of official-sounding announcement about that here on Film Essent and MCN. This is something I’ve been working toward for the better part of 15 years, when I first started learning the craft of writing screenplays, working on them every night from about 1AM until 3AM because my now-going-on-15-year-old daughter, when she was a baby, got it in her wee little baby brain that 1AM was a fine and dandy time to wake up to play. By day I worked as a project manager for Kodak, but Neve didn’t care much that I had to be up to go to work the next day. No matter what time we got her to sleep, she was a reliable little alarm clock: 1AM would hit, I’d be lying there next to her, she’d coo and drool and kick me awake and I’d look over at those round brown eyes, wide awake and staring, and know there was no way in hell she was going back to sleep anytime soon. So I got in the routine of going to bed earlier myself so that when she woke me up, I could take her downstairs to our office, make myself a cup of tea, and then get in a solid couple hours writing while she played with her toys. Continue reading

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Bunker Cast and Crew Bios

Producer/Director/Writer/Production Design
Kim Voynar

Kim Voynar has been a film critic since 2005, and in love with movies forever. After studying film from a critical standpoint for nearly seven years, she is transitioning into filmmaking. “Bunker” is her directorial debut. She previously produced “White Knights,” directed by Joe Shapiro, for the Producers Guild of American Debra Hill Foundation contest.

Danielle
Rachel Delmar

Rachel is an actor/director who has trained and worked across the country, including with the O’Neill Theater Center, the Bellevue Youth Theatre, the Guthrie Theatre and The Red Dog Squadron. She received her degree in theatre from the University of Southern California. When she isn’t directing or acting she is probably teaching, running, climbing ropes or tweeting… @racheldelmar www.racheldelmar.com

Aidan
Stefan Hajek

Stefan Hajek hails from the Southeast United States and has been studying and acting since he could read. An alumni of Florida State University and former native of the film community of both Wilmington, NC and Los Angeles, CA, Stefan has worked in over 30 independent films, was a recurring character on a major television network show (Dawson’s Creek), and has been a mainstay in theatre over the course of his journey as well, with over 15 lead and supporting credits to his name. Behind the camera, Stefan has worked as a producer on two feature films, as well as on several short films and music videos. Also a singer/songwriter and musician, Stefan has released four compilations with two different bands and has penned songs that have been included in several feature films and in a couple syndicated major network television shows as well. He continues to play music solo. Stefan resides in Seattle with his wife and fellow actor, Rosalie Miller. More information on Stefan can be found on the web at www.stefanhajek.com.

Executive Producer/Story/2nd Assistant Camera/Set Building
Mike Hodge

Mike Hodge is a long-time film geek redirecting a technology career into film production. Mike’s path started as an editor at a New York City magazine and went on to work in civil engineering, web programming, and computer systems and network engineering, before moving toward film and video production. Mike is currently a student at Seattle Film Institute.

Producer/First Assistant Director
Melanie Addington

Melanie produced and wrote her first feature, “Where I Begin” in 2010 and has since served in a capacity of roles from p.a. to casting to producer on a variety of short films. She is also a programmer and Director of Media Relations for the Oxford Film Festival. She works full-time as a staff writer for the Oxford Eagle and writes about film in a weekly column for the Oxford Town. She also writes the film blog Oxford Film Freak and serves as a guest blogger on blogs for the Oxford Film Festival. She serves on the Mississippi Film And Video Alliance board and Theatre Oxford board.

Original Music
Ken Stringfellow

Ken Stringfellow is a musician, producer & composer best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star. He lives in Paris with his wife and daughter.

Director of Photography
Sam Graydon

Sam Graydon is a Seattle local and a prolific Director of Photography, Director, and Writer. He has worked on a number of independent features and shorts including the Sundance favorite “The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle” and the LA Film Fest selection “Dear Lemon Lima”. Sam wrote and Directed the upcoming film “Jenny”, starring Gary Busey. He also wrote and Directed the IFP spotlight award finalist short “Pretty Face and Green my Eyes”. Both will be entered for selection into Sundance 2011. Sam is committed to pushing the limits of the medium, extracting the life from life, and capturing that “life” on film.

Editor
Joe Shapiro

Joe Shapiro is a self-described recovering computer geek. After a successful career in software (he was one of the developers of Vermeer’s FrontPage which was acquired by Microsoft in 1996), he returned to one of his earlier passions – acting. Some years later at the end of an indie film shoot, he found himself wondering what was going to happen to all that footage! So he got himself a “plum logging position” and caught the editing bug. During his eight years in post-production Joe has edited five independent features. Of those, four have won awards, three won top honors, two were in competition at Sundance, and one (Zoo) was in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. His editing has been praised by Scott Foundas of Variety and both James Greenberg and Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter. Like all good editors, Joe has a passion for story. Unlike most, he loves being on set. He has directed several award-winning shorts and is actively seeking a story or screenwriter to pen his first feature. Charlie Kaufman, Zach Helm, are your ears burning?

Colorist
John Davidson

Award-winning colorist, John Davidson, during his extensive years of experience, has created color styles for a vast number of clients for feature/indie and documentary films, commercials, television series and music videos. AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER MAGAZINE quotes International Producer/Director Martin Smith as stating, “I’ve been producing for 30-plus years, and John Davidson is probably the best colorist I’ve come across anywhere in the world”.

Sound
Vinny Smith

Art Direction/Wardrobe Supervisor
Meg Phillips

Makeup/Hair
Anne Sellery

Anne first found her roots in the performing arts in the field of dance. After spending 13 years in New York City as a professional modern dancer (mainly with The Mark Morris Dance Group), she moved back to her west coast roots of Seattle and discovered makeup and sfx in film. She most recently worked on the feature ’21 and Over’ and is currently an additional makeup artist on NBC’s Grimm.”

Line Producer
Donna Nolan

Script Supervisor
Rhona Rubio

A native Californian who was fortunate to grow up in the world’s great mecca for film – Hollywood! While earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics, Rhona interned for several prestigious music entertainment companies, which led to a full-time position with Warner/Chappell Music for nearly 15 years. She has been script supervising for 8 years. Enjoys volunteering and over the years has worked for a variety of charitable organizations including The Salvation Army, Didi Hirsch CMHC, Habitat for Humanity, St. Barnabas Senior Services, and currently, Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

1st AC
Seth Wessel-Estes

Seth’s film making career started at the age of 13 when he saved up his allowance to buy his first camera – a JVC. He spent time in high school doing film production classes and went on to attend the University of Washington, earning a BA in cinema studies. Through college he spent time making short films and music videos, entering in 24 hour competitions, and working on bigger sets. He currently works independently in the Seattle area doing film and video work in the camera department.

Gaffer
Richard A. Williams

Richard got his start in production work when he jumped behind a camera in 1985 while attending Seattle Academy of Arts & Sciences. Since then Richard has gone on to develop his skills as a camera operator and moved into the Grip and Electrical department where he has been honing the craft of shaping light to create cinematic scenes. Richard has worked on various projects which include Music Videos, Corporate Shoots, Commercials, Short Films and Features.

Gaffer
Matt Bunker

DIT
Andrew Harrison
Andrew Harrison is a cinematographer based out of Seattle and The Netherlands. He has crewed on dozens of indie films in the last few years, including as Director of Photography on features and shorts. He loves with images and light, collaborating with others to create, and telling stories through the medium of film.

Stills Photographer
Brittany Van Horne

Born and raised in Washington, Brittany developed a love for photography at an early age. While working on her Marketing Management degree at Bellevue College, she is increasing her knowledge and skill in the art of photography. Being able to capture a precious moment in an instant and give a family a memory that will last forever is her greatest joy.

Comic Panel Art
Trudi Scruggs

Tru Scruggs is a talented artist and loving mother from the Seattle Washington area. After spending years immersed in the music and arts scene she started to more fully develop her artistic urges. Applying her skills to various art projects for local bands, musicians and other friends she has honed her style into something completely her own. Now comfortable with her skill and style she is expanding her sphere of influence and accepting commissions from many different sources. Please enjoy the examples presented here and follow her work on Facebook- Tru Scruggs Art.

Original Oil Paintings
Winter Parkin

When I was very young I was given an ovaloid sheet of paper and assigned to paint an Easter egg. As is typical of an impatient and very eager Aquarius, I began without instruction.Once my blur of splattered, chaotic color was completed, my teacher began to demonstrate clean lines to my fellow creative disciples. Art is not what comes from instruction, but from inspiration. It is the purest form of God complex, which allows us to divide our spirit and create life on canvas.

Craft Services and Catering
Texanna Bossoff

Production Assistants

Levi Isaacs

Levi Isaacs is an 18 year old filmmaker from North Bend, WA. Levi has been making short films and videos since he was six. He received a lot of attention for his 35 min short “More than Myth” which he made when he was only fifteen. Since then he has worked on numerous shorts including “Dr. DuFour’s Secret Tunnel” an award-winning 48 hour film project.

Mariellen Romer

Mariellen Romer, American, lives in UK. After many years working in a corporate environment taking up filmmaking as a new venture working mainly in the US. Works as DP and 1St AC on own productions, PA for Bunker.

Neve Voynar-Allen

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