Lisa Rideout unlocks incredible documentary One Leg In, One Leg Out

indieactivity: Introduce your film briefly (the name of the film, premise, tone, style and the festival circuit)
Lisa Rideout: One Leg In, One Leg Out is a short observational documentary about a lively, strong-willed sex worker who struggles to move from the streets and into a career as a social worker, where she hopes to help fellow trans sex workers find acceptance.

indieactivity: Did you start writing with a cast (You or any) in mind?
Lisa Rideout: I met the subject of the film Iman while I was making a film about a crossdressing store, she was a customer there. I liked Iman from the moment I met her when she jokingly told me, “You better do what your man wants in the bedroom, or he will come to me.” Her humor and honesty was refreshing. We spent a year getting to know each other before we filmed. I got to know her during that time. Besides her story being an important one to tell, I knew her viewers would connect with her.

indieactivity: How did you develop ‘your film’?
Lisa Rideout: I developed the film by spending time with Iman and meeting her friends. We knew each other for a year before we started filming and during that time I got to learn about her background, hear about the dreams she had for her future and meet people who knew her. This all helped develop the narrative for the film. I also got to observe her without the cameras around, which is so important for documentary. You get to see how someone acts authentically and then try to replicate that when the cameras start rolling.

Iman Brown in One Leg In, One Leg Out_Street

indieactivity: How was it financed?
Lisa Rideout: We got financing through one of our public broadcasters in Canada, the CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).

indieactivity: Is there anything about the independent filmmaking business you still struggle with?
Lisa Rideout: The paycheck! The struggle many of us face of wanting to focus on the work we hold most important to us but having to pay the bills in an expensive city like Toronto. But it makes you adaptable, I’ve learned how to use my directing, production skills in the branded content world and that’s helped a lot.

indieactivity: How long was your pre-production?
Lisa Rideout: Pre-production last 3-4 months. While we were waiting to hear whether our funding would come through we started organizing locations etc.

indieactivity: You shot the film in days. How long were your days?
Lisa Rideout: We shot the film in six days, our days weren’t super long, just regular film days.

indieactivity: How much did you go over budget? How did you manage it?
Lisa Rideout: We didn’t go over budget, hurray! Everything went pretty smoothly on this shoot (hopefully not jinxing my next one).

Iman Brown in One Leg In, One Leg Out_NY

indieactivity: How important is marketing? Do you think a project can make any dent without it these days?
Lisa Rideout: Incredibly important. I think even for shorts, you make them and then often you don’t have budget for PR or marketing so then you are doing it all yourself. I’d definitely suggest putting aside a small percent of your budget on a short for PR/marketing.

indieactivity: What was the experience like of working with such a small shooting crew (?)?
Lisa Rideout: There were 3-5 people on set at all time. Documentary crews are always nimble so it wasn’t much different than other shoots. We were often shooting in tight spaces and there wasn’t room for too many bodies. But also keeping the crew small meant Iman got to know everyone and she was comfortable with them. That was important to me, to keep the environment comfortable and intimate.

indieactivity: The film looks stunning. How did you get such a good look when shooting so fast?
Lisa Rideout: Thanks! My talented cinematographer Ryan Walker comes from a photography background and knows how to quickly compose a beautiful shot. We have worked together a lot so it is quite easy for me to communicate what I’m wanting to achieve and for us to figure out how to do that together.

We also scouted locations when we could, so we didn’t walk in blind. We knew what sort of light and variables we were working with.

indieactivity: Did you look at rushes? On what format?
Lisa Rideout: I reviewed the footage as we went, to make sure we got what we needed. And we put together a rough cut before we went back for a pick up day.

indieactivity: What else have you got in the works?
Lisa Rideout: We’re currently looking for financing to turn One Leg In, One Leg Out into a feature!

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