A Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: SHIRi
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Date: July 1, 2019
Director: Micah Coate
Producer: Diane Foster
Writer: Grace Yee
Cinematographer: David Rivera
Production Company: WallyBird Productions
Budget: $5,000
Financing: Crowdfunding and Self-Financed
Shooting Format: 4K
Screening Format: Virtual and In-Person Screening
World Premiere: Raindance Film Festival
Awards: Stage32 Short Film Contest Winner
Website: https://www.instagram.com/shirifilm
indieactivity: What is your film about?
Grace Yee (GY): SHIRi is a short, romantic comedy about Alex, a lovable millennial, who is looking for love in a technology-obsessed world, and his struggles to break free from a domineering relationship. “The idea for SHIRi popped into my mind when I saw a gorgeous guy in line at the grocery store who was too busy swiping on a dating app to notice the pretty girl standing right next to him! (No, I wasn’t the girl, just the observer).
The girl was totally checking him out, very interested, and wishing he would lookup. He was still swiping up until paying for his groceries and left without even seeing her. I thought, “Wow, that guy has more of a relationship with his phone than with people, and he was looking for love!” I wanted to make a film that reminds us that we are here on this earth to connect with people, face to face, and I wanted to do it through comedy because laughing is my favorite thing to do!” – Grace Yee, Writer
Tell us about the festival run, marketing, and sales?
Micah Coate (MC): SHIRi was one of the winners of this year’s prestigious Stage32 Short Film Contest which gave us the ability to screen at Raindance Film Festival in the UK and the Oscar Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. For the marketing materials, including the poster, we decided to go back to the days of Goldie Hawn’s films, much like ours, a fun, relatable, romantic comedy.
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
Micah Coate (MC): SHIRi is about a clueless but lovable millennial named Alex who is looking for love. He is so involved with his relationship with Shiri, a bossy, know-it-all girl, that he misses every opportunity for real love. But when Shiri is involved in an accident, Alex is forced to open his eyes to the world around him, and what it has to offer.
Development & Financing?
Grace Yee (GY): The idea for SHIRi popped into my mind when I saw a gorgeous guy in line at the grocery store who was too busy swiping on a dating app to notice the pretty girl standing right next to him! (No, I wasn’t the girl, just the observer). The girl was totally checking him out, very interested, and wishing he would lookup. He was still swiping up until paying for his groceries and then left without even seeing her. I thought, “Wow, that guy has more of a relationship with his phone than with people, and he was looking for love!” I literally went home and wrote the film in thirty minutes. It took a few years to find the right people to make this come to life.
I met Micah Coate and Diane Foster in an acting class and we really got along. Both are fantastic actresses and have other talents. Micah had a niche for directing comedies and asked if she was interested in directing the film. She read the script and suggested a few adjustments and then we took it to our producer Diane. Diane started her own production company called WallyBird Productions and her film, IOWA, has screened at Tribeca Film Festival. Diane recommended that we crowdfund for the film and so we started a GoFundMe page. Thanks to the generous donations of our friends and family, and pitching in our own money, we raised what we needed.
Production?
Micah Coate (MC): After our successful GoFundMe campaign, we hired our cast and crew, most of which were colleagues and friends. We secured local Los Angeles locations, Santa Monica Pier, Dogtown Cafe, Santa Monica Farms, and a Mansion in Encino. Acquiring the Santa Monica locations required walking up and down the street, knocking on doors of businesses. A couple of the businesses, the writer frequented, and the owners were kind enough to allow us to shoot there.
We shot for two full days, and one pick-up day. The film was shot on a 4K Black Magic camera with a crew of seventeen people. Then our cinematographer, David Rivera, edited the film and we went into post-production for two months adding sound design and music. The writer (Grace Yee), producer (Diane Foster), and editor (David Rivera) were sending cuts to the director (Micah Coate) who was in training for the Air Force Reserves on the east coast. She would send back notes, and with the time change and her rigorous schedule, this was very challenging. It ended up being about 15 different cuts. We finally got a final cut that we all loved!
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
MC: Diane, the producer was on the phone with me and she said she had a gut feeling about submitting to The Stage32 Short Film Contest, so we did. We were selected and then went through four different rounds: quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals, and then finally the winner! We were completely taken back and overjoyed that we were in the program and so honored to be picked out from thousands of films that were submitted from around the world. That win started us on our film festival journey.
The Release?
MC: Because we were a winner of the Stage32 Short Film Contest we screened at Raindance Film Festival and The HollyShorts Film Festival and Film Market. We will be screening in December on the Stage32 platform for executives, studio heads, producers, and managers. A full worldwide release has not been set yet.
Advice from the Filmmaker?
MC: Advice from the producer, if you have a story and you want to do it, do it. Don’t let anyone or anything keep you from it. It’s not going to be easy, and you are going to have to work really hard, but in the end, you will create many memories and something that you are proud of. If not you, then who? Film is forever. Advice from the writer. Write from the heart and what inspires you. Chances are, others can relate because we are all humans after all.
Tell us what you think of the Case Study for SHIRi.What do you think of it? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook or Instagram!
Follow Micah Coate on Social Media
Website
IMDb
Twitter
Instagram
MORE STORIES FOR YOU
