When The Dream Becomes Too Much, Pursue The Dream.

Why do people make no-budget films? They have to know there’s no money in it. They have to know that it’s hard—grueling, hard work. With Peak TV and so many people throwing money around, why not make a TV Show? Or get Netflix to finance your big-budget feature film?

In my classes and lectures I offer up a set of answers to this question right up front, but for most of you reading this, you probably already have your own strong reasons. Will Dennis--the first-time feature film writer/director (and lead actor and producer) of Vanilla--is pretty typical of the kind of people I meet who, against great odds and with few chances of success, make a no-budget feature. Thirty-something (or older), successful in other venues, but carrying around a burning desire to be a filmmaker. Like most of these filmmakers, he did not go to film school. (If this surprises you, it shouldn’t. I lecture at film schools and my conclusion about film students, especially ones at the more prestigious schools, is that they have no interest in making no-budget features. They’re spending tens of thousands of dollars on film school to make bigger budget film and TV fare). 

Writer, Director, Producer, Actor Will Dennis in "Vanilla"

PUTTING THE BUTTON-DOWN SHIRT IN THE CLOSET

So, perhaps like you, Will decided that the best way to learn filmmaking (and even more importantly, learn if he wanted to pursue filmmaking as a career going forward), and to demonstrate what he could do as a filmmaker, was to make a no-budget feature. Will grew up in Colorado. He went to UC-Santa Barbara where he took some film classes and then USC, where he graduated with a Business degree. He spent years as a designer and consultant for tech start ups, where he created mobile apps and, as he likes to say, wore “light blue button-down shirts.” But he always had the film bug, and eventually he decided to take a break from Tech and dedicate himself to pursuing filmmaking. In order to learn the ropes, (or as he says, “learn how movies get made tactically”), and to also develop relationships, he PA’d on numerous projects in the NYC area, including the Sundance feature films We The Animals and The Sunlit Night. He then made several short films and short videos that he claims weren’t all that good, but helped him develop his craft, learning on the job from his mistakes. Inspired by working on Wendy, (the recent feature from Beasts of the Southern Wild filmmaker Benh Zeitlin), Will decided to write his own feature film. And importantly, he endeavored to write something that could be made for as little as possible that he would produce himself. The result is Vanilla.

Vanilla is a road trip movie, about a freewheeling comedian determined to save her family business, who persuades an uptight entrepreneur (played by Will) to go on a long first date--a road trip to New Orleans. As you can imagine, it was inspired by some actual events, and of course, the entrepreneur character is based on Will himself, to some degree. First lesson of writing—write what you know.

PEACE OF MIND IS ALSO A PRODUCTION VALUE

Now, I’m about to digress, but hear me out. When I was introduced to Adam Mervis, the writer/director of my newest feature The Last Days of Capitalism, to come on board and produce the movie, it was his original intention to not only write and direct the film (his feature directorial debut), but also to play the lead role. Most people thought he was crazy to take on that much, but I understood why he wanted to do that and I didn’t try to persuade him against it (though we did eventually hire an actor to play that part). When you’re putting together a small project like this, and you’re trying to not only make it for as little as possible, but also control the process as much as possible, a decision like this makes a lot of sense. For one, it’s relatively easy to write for yourself, instinctively knowing your strengths and weaknesses as an actor. Then you can be sure that you, as the lead actor, will be 100% committed to the project, will show up on time, will not complain about the food or hotel rooms or try to get your agent involved in every detail. You’ll do pickups, ADR and publicity freely (and for free). In essence, it’s one less person you have to manage, and in a mostly two-hander, a very important person that you don’t have to worry about at all. That peace of mind is invaluable.

Two others in a project like this who are also incredibly important are the lead actress playing against you, and the cinematographer, who acts as your eyes while you’re performing. For those positions, you want people you can trust, too. For the part of Kimmie, Will reached out to his good friend Kelsea Bauman-Murphy, another person he didn’t have to manage, who was also making her feature film acting debut. Will hired Tom Atwell, a union camera assistant he hit it off with on the set of We Are Animals, giving him the opportunity to also make his feature debut as a cinematographer. Already, with the top three positions covered by friends, he was creating a fun, supportive environment with a community feeling, one where people were passionate about the project and no one person had “status” over the others. 

Kelsea Bauman-Murphy (as Kimmie) and Will Dennis as (Elliot), with Van in "Vanilla"

THE SHOOT

Will wrote and rewrote the script, going through 25 different versions. The shoot was basically broken up into two shooting periods--the road trip phase, which took eight days to shoot; and the rest of the film, which was shot over four weekends, for another 8 shooting days. The road trip made up mostly the second act of the film and was shot in August of 2017. The crew for this portion was small—Will, Kelsea, Tom, a sound person, and a utility person--Sam McFarland--who did everything else and got a Co-Producer credit on the film. The picture vehicle, an old full-size van that’s as much a character as Will’s and Kelsea’s characters, was also their production vehicle. (It was purchased on Craiglist for $1,800 and sold for $800 a year or two later). Returning to New York, they geared up for the second half of shooting in November, which gave Will time to edit what they had and figure out the tone of the middle of the film. They added some PA’s for this portion because there were a few more moving parts--more actors, more locations, etc. 

I teach that when you produce a no-budget film (that you want to keep “no-budget”), you have to wear a lot of hats. This was certainly true for Will, who did most of the art department, location scouting, and grunt work. He financed the film himself using credit cards. Working small gave them flexibility and allowed them to move fast, which was critical in New York when they were negotiating locations. They were able to get locations for either free or for only a few hundred dollars because they could get in and out quickly, with a minimal footprint. The film was shot with a Sony A7s II (I shot with the A7s on DriverX), with a Sony 24-70mm 2.8 lens. They had a cage with a monitor attached, but no matte box or follow focus. There were no grips, gaffers or AC’s and Tom lit the sets with mostly natural light. They shot 4K internally in the A7s. All the crew worked for free except the sound person.

Will didn’t have the resources to “art department” the sets—he had to find locations that matched what he was looking for. When you try to create spaces with art department on a low-budget, it often looks fake or TV-Movie-ish. That’s something he learned making his short projects. When you use the real thing, it looks perfect. Procuring locations was a lot of calling around to strangers and asking friends, and being good on the phone—friendly, passionate, honest. 

Kelsea Bauman-Murphy and Will Dennis on the streets of New Orleans in "Vanilla"

Most of the actors (except Will and Kelsea) were SAG and Will used the SAG Ultra-Low Budget agreement. There was no casting director. Instead, they reached out to different people, and also posted on Actor’s Access, where they found one of their bigger roles, an actor I’ve worked with before who flew himself out to New York on his own dime. In these situations, it’s imperative you find people who are totally on board with what you’re doing, and remember…they’re out there.

THE END OF THE ROAD

Will worked with a professional editor who was a friend, but even though he was paying her indie rates, he ran out of money halfway through and had to edit the rest himself, bringing her back for the final cut. They conducted several test screenings, inviting friends and friends of friends, and re-shot part of the beginning in April 2018—adding a cold open and a montage—based on the feedback they got. Will submitted work-in-progress rough cuts to a number of festivals, but is now convinced that this was a mistake. He says that festivals are so hyper competitive now that you need every benefit of the doubt, and having a finished product to compete with would have helped. Still, he put together an impressive list of festival acceptances, starting with his world premiere at the 2019 Cinequest (where The Last Days of Capitalism premiered this year), and including RiverRun, Phoenix, Lone Star and several others. 

The film is now coming out at the end of this month on numerous platforms through the distributor Gravitas Ventures, who Will reached out to through a friend. Will has been happy so far with Gravitas, who has done what they’ve said they were going to do. Gravitas will get your film on a ton of platforms for VOD and in some cases can even make bigger SVOD sales to folks like Netflix. They conduct bi-weekly meetings where they update Will on where the film will be playing. Revenue expectations have been conservative, as you might expect for a film like this—a small comedy with no stars—but the film is such a delight, so smart and so well-done, that there’s always the chance it will rise above the clutter. And it doesn’t have to make that much to make Will whole. Gravitas doesn’t spend a lot on these releases, usually working with the marketing materials already created to save on those costs, (though meaningfully consulting on them and making tweaks). And since Will only spent around $45,000 (split pretty evenly between production and post-production), he could conceivably make his money back—no small feat for any indie filmmaker.  

But making money on this endeavor was never the point. Will had an urge, an itch that needed to be scratched. A long imagined dream that he was finally willing to pursue. And now that he’s reached the finish line, he couldn’t be happier with that journey. While he claims the movie is imperfect, he is incredibly proud of what he and his rag-tag team of friends and go-getters has created. In fact, it’s the most satisfying project he’s ever been a part of. Itch, scratched. But this process has now created a new itch, and he’s finishing up a new feature film script—a black comedy he hopes to produce and direct in the $1 million range. Vanilla has not only given him a showcase for his work, but has also provided the confidence needed to embark on something bigger. So who needs film school, when you can spend less, learn more and end up with that?

Vanilla opens nationwide on VOD on April 28, 2020. You can pre-order now on iTunes: https://apple.co/2ysqOni . I can’t recommend this film enough. It’s a perfect example of successful no-budget filmmaking, and a terrifically entertaining comedy.

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© 2020 Mark Stolaroff