An Industry Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: I Come Home One Day
Genre: Drama short
Length of film: in word(s) / number(s)
Date: march 2020
Director: Noel David Taylor
Producer: Noel David Taylor
Writer: Noel Taylor
Cinematographer: Noel David Taylor
Editor: Noel David Taylor
Production Company: Sorry People Films
Budget: $450
Financing: Self-financed
Shooting Format: digital
Screening Format: 2:1
World Premiere: HollyShorts FF
Awards: NA
Website: noeldavidtaylor.com
A Short Biography of Noel Taylor
Noel David Taylor is a writer, actor, producer, and director. Noel David Taylor is known for Man Under Table (2021), Gone (2012) and The Long Days After (2011).
The Noel Taylor Interview
indieactivity: What is your film about?
Noel Taylor (NT): In I Come Home One Day I wanted to visualize the languid ennui and isolation that living with major depression brings about. I’ve shared a somewhat stoic and lonely disposition with my father and often wonder just exactly what he feels, and in an attempt to mesh our inner turmoil I wrote the script and carved out the visuals. It was in a gestural prose sort of way that I finally got the script out, then I workshopped it with the main actor Amanda, who’s voice acts as a narrative and inner dialogue track.
Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
Noel Taylor (NT): This film has made it’s premiere in HollyShorts, and is currently looking for some other places to live, pretty early on that voyage.
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
Noel Taylor (NT): A short meditation on the American dream starring Amanda Plummer and Noel David Taylor.
Development & Financing?
Noel Taylor (NT): I knew this was going to be something I would have to self-finance from an early stage, so I set out to achieve that on the lowest possible price tag I could. I really didn’t want to have to wait to make this and I knew moving quickly would allow me to focus on the most important aspect of the film to me, which was the talent. Once I had the script worked out, I immediately starting working with the star, Amanda Plummer on getting the words to feel right, and talk about the mood and atmosphere we wanted to achieve. I wanted it to say something specific and thus mean something to each of us.
Production?
Noel Taylor (NT): On filming this short I traveled to my parents hometown and looked for locations. I did this first because I really wanted to capture the specific isolation and hopelessness I feel there; it’s a very sleepy, deserted type of place in the middle of Arizona. For a while, I had been bouncing around what I wanted to say and once fully steeped in the suburban sadness I wrote it out. I then spent the next week in isolation bumming around finding the exterior shots I wanted and slowly filled up my camera’s card.
I then returned home and sat with Amanda to discuss, and we had many great conversations about what it means and so on and I started a rough cut. We then did the voice over session one afternoon and I paced it out with the footage. Sitting with the final piece I felt like it was missing something and went back to shoot another scene. We were both happy with it so I coloured it and handed the sound off.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
NT: I will be totally honest here, I am fairly miserable at strategy, always have been. I kind of have the sort of shark brain that keeps moving and can’t stop the ADD long enough to deal with anything past post. That said I always have a few festivals in mind that I follow and love, HollyShorts has been on my radar for a while and was one of the first places I took it, I was thrilled to get it placed there. Still sort of a work in progress on this end. Anyone out there want to advise? This is where I would put a dumb emoji, but I’m trying to resist the urge.
The Release?
NT: Since it’s still early days I’m still strategizing the release, hoping it finds its way to more festivals and ultimately ends up online somewhere it can be easily and freely accessed.
Advice from the Filmmaker?
NT: I think the only advice I am qualified to give to filmmakers or storytellers is to just work. Keep going, keep making, keep thinking and feeling it’s all fuel for the fodder, it’s all practice. Try not to get too down about the hardships and do it for yourself, inevitably authenticity will speak to someone else and they will find you. I know it’s a cliché to say: never give up, but that’s what I’m going with here. Strike while the iron is hot by striking the iron until it’s hot.
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