Directing an Independent Film: Creating Creative Working
Relationships by Gino Dante Borges, Ph.D.
I want to share with you an aspect of filmmaking I find
rewarding: creating creative working relationships. I
specifically will discuss my experience as a director in
teaming up with other filmmakers to create the feature film
Mismo and working with quality actors/actresses to manifest
Mismo’s characters. I found the extent to which I was able to
create creative working relationships, determined the quality
of my filmmaking experience and subsequently, the quality of
Mismo.
The task of making a feature length film is too big for one
person, so drawing on the energies of other creators to
materialize projects is necessary. Partnering up with others
not only increases the odds of completion but you inevitably
end up with a better project.
I like the process of reaching out to others because it helps
me hone in on what I’m trying to accomplish—otherwise, it just
exists in my head. Something happens in the midst of
communicating an intention to others that helps me process
what I’m doing.
Besides providing clarity to an intention, teaming up with
talented people exposes me to my own filmmaking and
directorial limitations. The talented people I surround myself
with inevitably expose me to myself. While awkward at first,
these moments serve as growth moments—both as a filmmaker and
more importantly, for me as a person.
I found by partners for Mismo by attending events held by
different San Francisco filmmaking communities, such as Scary
Cow. At the events, I shared my storytelling interests, hoping
others would like my perspective enough to join me. I first
met, Lorraine Flett, who would become the producer of Mismo.
We discovered our skills compliment each other well. Lorraine
and I reached out to her filmmaker friend, Jeff Davis, who
helped out by providing equipment and doing gaffer work on
set. Soon after, we reached out to Danny Baldonado at Lucas
Entertainment. Danny was brought aboard to operate camera,
manage footage, and edit.
Once the team was in place to make Mismo, the next round of
creating creative relationships involved finding
actors/actresses to play in Mismo. That set in motion the
audition process. This can be painstakingly time-consuming but
if you want to get it right, there is no need to hurry this
process, since the people you choose will be your partners in
realizing your story.
At the auditions for Mismo, Lorraine and I had a vision of
whom we’d like to play each character, and while most of the
preconceived visions played out, we accounted for pleasant
surprises. The Rachel character in Mismo is a good example.
Samantha Warnick auditioned for the Toni character, yet she
looked too young for the role. We envisioned somebody older
looking. Yet because of how talented she was, we decided to
not only place her in a different role but expanded the role
so much so that she became one of the primary characters.
Once we found a fit between character and actor, we asked
ourselves: “Can we work with this person?” If we couldn’t
envision working with somebody, for whatever reason, we
continued to seek until the situation felt right.
Working with actors/actresses involves more than directing
them on set. It’s also about working with them before
production begins. Before production starts, the
actor/actresses and I work together on character development,
character challenges, and character potentials. Through this
preparation, the goal is to formulate what I call ‘character
muscle,’ so that when ‘action’ is called, the actor can call
forward their intuitive understanding of the character.
All told, no movie is made alone, it takes others, but more
than just others, it takes creative and willing people. People
you can believe in, people you can trust, and people who
believe in the larger goal just as much as you do.
Copyright (c) 2010 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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