Case Study: The making of “ASIA A” by Jake Katofsky & Eric Baird

A silhouette of Andrew Reid on the set of ASIA A, USC, CA

Date: 30 August 2018
Case Study: The Making of ASIA A
Filmmaker: Andrew Reid (Director), Roberto Saieh, (Writer) Jake Katofsky & Eric Baird (Producers)

indieactivity: What is your film about?
Jake Katofsky: ASIA A is an inspiring film about the first steps of recovery of a college athlete after a life changing spinal cord injury, set in an inpatient rehabilitation facility. The concept for ASIA A stemmed from a personal tragedy of the director, Andrew Reid, who at 21 found himself suddenly paralyzed from the chest down. The doctors told him that he would never walk again, but he proved them wrong with hard work and perseverance working up to now walking with a cane. ASIA A is a fictionalization of that experience told in a compelling way that is emotionally satisfying and universally relatable

Eric Baird: ASIA A is a story about a recent spinal cord injury patient who must find a way to reconcile his sense of self worth with his new reality as a paraplegic. The story originated out of the director, Andrew Reid’s, own personal experience of becoming paralyzed from the chest down and from the experiences of other ASIA patients that he has met during his recovery. And it was created as a thesis film at USC for the graduate level Film and TV Production program.

indieactivity: Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
Jake Katofsky: We have only just begun our festival run for ASIA A, having premiered on July 31st at the LA International Film Festival. We are excited in anticipation to our screening on August 14th at Hollyshorts and hope continue our momentum in the coming months. We are also currently a semi-finalist for the 2018 Student Academy Awards.

Jake Katofsky (producer) on the set of ASIA A

Eric Baird: Thus far ASIA A has had its premiere at the Oscar qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival and has also been accepted into HollyShorts Film Festival. It is also currently a semi-finalist for the 2018 Student Academy Awards.

indieactivity: Dramatic Feature
– Director: Andrew Reid
– Producers: Jake Katofsky & Eric Baird
– Budget: $30,000
– Financing: Kickstarter Campaign, USC, The Caucus Foundation, Irving Lerner Endowment, Bridget Art + Science Alliance
– Production: USC
– Shooting Format: 4K 2:39 on Kowa Anamorphic Lenses
– Screening Format: 4K DCP
– World Premiere: July 31, 2018 at the LA International Shorts Film Festival
– Awards: None to date
– Website: WhatIsASIAA.com

indieactivity: Give the full official synopsis for your film?
Jake Katofsky: ASIA A is the story of a recent spinal cord injury patient, Marquise, struggling to reconcile his sense of self-worth with his new reality as a paraplegic. Pushed by his occupational therapist, Megan, and forced to confront his reality by his double-amputee roommate, Noah, Marquise is able to find the strength within himself to confront his diagnosis. In this proof-of-concept short, Marquise perseveres to break away from his past and seize his future.

Eric Baird (producer) on the set of ASIA A

Eric Baird: After suffering a severe spinal cord injury Marquise, a college basketball player, is brought into a rehabilitation center to learn how to live his life as a paraplegic. Marquise struggles to accept his condition, especially the idea of getting into a wheelchair. His roommate, Noah, represents one way of dealing with this kind change in physical ability through his flippant attitude and avoidance. And his physical therapist, Megan, attempts to show Marquise that his life can continue despite his limitations.

Eventually Marquise forms a friendship with Noah but he tries to fight his new reality but reality fights back in the form of a urinary tract infection and the death of Noah. Then it all culminates in his recently ex-girlfriend Camilla coming to see him. In the end Marquise realizes that all though his life can’t go back to what it was that remaining in his bed will do nothing but put him in the same place as Noah.

indieactivity: Development & Financing?
Jake Katofsky: As previously touched on, the story for ASIA A is an original idea born from the life altering event that occurred in Andrew’s life. Andrew partnered with more experienced writer, Roberto Saieh, to adapt the story into a proof-of-concept short film. From there, Eric was brought on to produce and the script was further developed. Realizing the team needed to expand once more, I was brought on to produce alongside Eric. Together we developed the script to what you can now see on screen today.

Once the script was ready, we moved to secure the proper financing, which started with a successful Kickstarter campaign. From there, were able to secure the remaining necessary finances from a number of grants: USC Finishing, The Caucus Foundation, Irving Lerner Endowment, and Bridget Art + Science Alliance.

Eric Baird: The original story was written by the director, Andrew Reid, and influenced by his own personal experiences. After some time and a couple drafts we brought on Roberto Saieh to help rewrite the script and add in some more layers. We then financed the film through some private funding from Andrew himself as well as through Kickstarter. As we approached post production we were able to secure a few grants to help finish the film.

indieactivity: Production?
Jake Katofsky: I officially became a member of the ASIA A team in March of 2017, at which point we went into deep script development for about four to six weeks. Taking breath for air in mid-April, we began pre-production for an early August shoot. We were lucky enough to partner with casting directors Christy Faison and Jami Rudofsky to assemble the greatest cast possible. During April-July the cast and crew were assembled. Eric and I, with the help of an experience set carpenter, built the inpatient rehab room on a USC sound stage the first few days of August leading into a 5 day shoot (4.5 on the stage, .5 in another USC location). Due to or plan to edit as we shot, we were able to view an editor’s cut about two weeks after the conclusion of principle photography. After a few months of editing and test screenings, we had a locked cut mid-November. The next few months were spent perfecting the VFX and color. ASIA A was completed in March of 2018 and festival preparation started.

Eric Baird:  I came on as a producer in February and we spent the next couple months doing rewrites and building our team. Most of the crewing up happened in April and May. Casting started in late May. And our fundraising on Kickstarter began shortly after that. Principal photography was set for the first week of August after we were able to secure a sound stage to use for our main set piece. Five days before principal photography we built the set that serves as the location for nearly the entire movie leaving two days after completion of the building for rehearsal and setting up the grip and lighting equipment. We shot for 5 days in a row. Four and half days on the set we built and one half day in the hallway that the dream sequence largely takes place in. Our editor was piecing the film together as we shot. Our first cut was done approximately two weeks after principal photography was done. We were picture locked by November but the film was not completed till March due to the extensive visual effects needed.

indieactivity: Festival Preparation & Strategy?
Jake Katofsky: The best way to prepare for a festival run is to make a great film. Once ASIA A was completed we worked diligently to create an eye catching one-sheet and marketing materials with an eye on Academy qualifying festivals to make the biggest splash. As we are still at the beginning stages of our festival run, having just premiered at the LA International Shorts Film festival on July 31, it is too early to tell what the trajectory for ASIA A will be and what helped aid in that trajectory. Likewise, we are just starting our PR run with London Flair PR and are excited to have partnered with them to get ASIA out to the world in the biggest way possible.

Eric Baird:  Our approach to festivals is pretty simple and focused on Oscar qualifiers. London Flair PR approached us after we got into LA Shorts International Film Festival.

indieactivity: The Release?
Jake Katofsky: The film has been fortunate to play in the prestigious festivals aforementioned with no wide or platform release to date.

Eric Baird: We just had our premiere at LA Shorts. We will be running the film in the festival circuit for the foreseeable future.

indieactivity: Advice from the Filmmaker?
Jake Katofsky: The entertainment industry is volatile, unpredictable, and unforgiving. There is not right path or sure fire way to achieve success. But in a world of things we cannot control, I believe that the best thing you can do is control your attitude and how hard you work… and find the right content to produce.

Eric Baird: Tell stories that challenge you and make you feel something. Don’t be afraid to try new things. And work hard, because talent only gets you so far.