BTS on the Making of ‘[re]Defined’ by Danae Grandison

[Re]Defined is a coming of age short film set in Brooklyn, New York. The tone of the film is drama with splinters of a light comedy natural to the fumbles of pre-teens. I wanted the style of my film to feel realistic, in capturing the energy of kids in Brooklyn. Hip, free, open, shy, fearful, fearless, lost yet found.

So far this film has premiered at two Oscar qualifying festivals: Urban World (NY), Pan African Film Fest (LA), Queens World Film Festival, IFFF (LA) and Depth of Field International Film Festival

indieactivity: How did you develop ‘your film’?
Danae: I developed during the summer just before my Grad program started in the Fall of 2015. I started scribbling in my book my entire concept – took 2 months little by little. I also wanted to direct a film with my son in it, so I looked at his life and began carving a story around friendships, change and acceptance. I did research around identity, acceptance, and challenges that middle school students face. I looked at the news and topics that impacted his life. Discussion that could shape his character, when he displayed a certain level of acceptance no matter who you were I felt this was

indieactivity: How was your film financed?
Danae: My film was financed with my personal money, indiegogo fundraising and from a scholarship.

indieactivity: How long was your pre-production?
Danae: I would say pre-production took about a month and half, after a hard finish for completing my script by December. I returned from the Christmas break knowing I to audition, lock in cast, lock in location and crew before the end of January.

indieactivity: What was your rehearsal process and period?
Danae: My rehearsal period I scheduled for the week of my shoot dates. So they could come in hot. I didn’t want to overdo it to the point there would be nothing left on the shooting days. I was also pragmatic I intentionally picked my shoot weekend to be when my student cast would be on holiday. So I could shoot this without impacting their school schedule as that could change it all.

indieactivity: You shot the film in days. How long were your days?
Danae: I had 3 days to shoot my film. My days were 8 hour shoot days for cast. I think 10 hours for crew. With minor labour laws they can only be on set for certain amount of hours, thank goodness they were in the teen age bracket and it was a holiday weekend.

indieactivity: Did the tight shooting schedule make it harder or easier? How did it affect performances?
Danae: I don’t think I noticed the tightness of the schedule in that way, because we were just going. I would say on the last day I felt the pressure – one of my actresses could only be there for 3 hours and that included HMU and wardrobe time so not much time and felt it when I needed one more take. I can say it was the last day and I could feel the tiredness wearing down on my co-star who just happened to be fading a little she started out her morning in a fight scene and it wore on her. Thank goodness lunch was next.

indieactivity: What was the experience like of working with such a small shooting crew (?)?
Danae: It was fine, manageable – I would say when we shot in my apt, my space is small – and you felt it – some folks got a little testy at times.

indieactivity: The film looks stunning. How did you get such a good look when shooting so fast?
Danae: I had an amazing DP – Ed Herrera who I was able to vibe with and who understood what I wanted. Funny the camera we shot on was not his favourite at all but he was such a “Dapper Dan” he made it work.

indieactivity: Did you look at rushes? On what format?
Danae: I watched a few of the rushes at the end of one day, but to be honest my computer was acting so slow I was too exhausted to even process what I was looking at. Especially when it’s not sync to sound I felt like it was half of the experience. I could see performances but if I can’t hear it so ‘eh’. I decided later I will watch when I prepping files for the editor. I actually took a few days before I watched it needed to mentally and emotionally restore.

indieactivity: What were the advantages and disadvantages in the way you worked?
Danae: My initial disadvantage on set I created it was on day 1 for the first 2 hours trying to figure out how can I lead this crew that doesn’t know me. They knew my producer, and I was unsure if they cared to be there or work with me as I have never connected with them. You know when you hear film being pitched as – well you know we’re working with kids. However, with my 1st AD Ed Hellman who was my associate and he gave me the confidence to trust in my role and get to it.

So I was able to be firm, and compassionate when needed and at times a mother (not referring to my son) to the others that had no idea that’s what I was doing to understand certain moments that felt tense. For the advantages I learned I can work with new people, with my ability to multitask I found I was clear with my direction and quick with making up my mind. I found out the disadvantage always becomes an advantage because on every set there will always be someone new or something unexpected to learn from.

I discovered I could do this, and I could do this well. More to learn but possible. And I loved it.