"Revenge Therapy" A Brian Parker Film

Brian Parker

Brian Parker

Well-known member
Revenge Therapy - A Brian Parker Film​

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Starring​

Quynh Thi Le​

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Brian Parker​

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Cinematography
By
Renee Parker​


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​
Producers - Darren Hendricks, Quynh Thi Le, Renee Parker
Executive Producer - Brian Parker
Script Consultants - Darren Hendricks, Quynh Thi Le
Editor - Brian Parker
Score - Brian Parker
Boom Operator - Darren Hendricks
Set Design - Les Parker
Special Effects - Brian Parker
Writer and Director - Brian Parker​
 
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OK, so yeah…I’m late. Better late than never. The thing is I didn’t want to put up a page and everything until I was sure that this film was gonna get done. So now, as I’m in post-production, and with the deadline fast approaching, I’m finally putting up my Coming Attractions page.

I never got a chance to do a Time Fest entry, much to my disappointment but thankfully I was able to get a film ready of Twilight Fest. “Revenge Therapy” is the title.

Quynh was gracious enough to work on this project in exchange for a homemade spaghetti dinner which was her own request. We worked together on my last entry for a DVXUser Fest (“Troika” for Love Fest) and we’ve done some script work together since then. She’s actually pretty cool to work with. She’s quickly becoming the Uma Thurman to my Tarantino.

This is my first film where I wasn’t the DP. I actually handed the camera over to my sister, an artist in her own right. Her photography experience made me feel as though she could handle the DP duties...that and she’s one of the few people who understands my ramblings…at least some of the time.

We did the main shoot in a few hours and then we did some re-shoots and pickup shots so about two days worth of shooting. Shot with Canon XH-A1 and worklights. As with many of us here, I wore multiple hats on this one. Directing, acting, editing, music, catering, etc. Once this is all done, I’m taking a long nap.

I appreciate any and all comments, criticisms, feedback, and thoughts. I always reply to each individual comment from viewers. The biggest value of these fests for me is the opportunity to be critiqued by so many different creative and talented people with different backgrounds and experiences. So please, feedback! Thanks again! Peace.

Pre-Production:

Ok, so I knew that I really wanted to do a film for Twilight Fest. I was still a little salty about completely missing Time Fest. I think that the DVXUser fests are an amazing opportunity for filmmakers and I don’t like the idea of missing out on them. So I planned to be ready way ahead of time. Yeah. I’m gonna write this thing real quick-like, right? Shoot it in a couple’a days, edit that thing right up, and be ready to upload a month before the deadline.

It took me until mid-September to finish a script that I liked enough to shoot. I didn’t even come up with the title until a few days before the deadline. I didn’t sleep at all the night of the 26th. I try my hardest to not procrastinate and I’m usually pretty good at it. I don’t like the idea of working under extreme pressure but I realize that life goes like that a lot of the time, particularly in this industry. I’m always ready for it though. Some of man’s greatest achievements were made under extreme pressure.


Storyboards:

Here are some of the storyboards that I put together for the film side by side with resulting shots. I usually sketch them but I wanted to do something a little more descriptive this time. I took wall to wall pictures of the set so that I could have accurate backgrounds. Those are generic models! They aren’t supposed to actually look like us! Yeah, they look a little crazy but they really helped me to plan ahead and know where I was going with pretty much every shot.

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Day One:

It’s the first day of shooting and as usual, I’m a little nervous. “Revenge Therapy” is my fourth short and the first narrative piece that I’ve done since “Troika” at the beginning of the year.

I spent some time cleaning the set up and getting it ready for use. This room really does seem perfect for some psychotic type events. Maybe I should have saved it for a slasher flick. I’m just hope that it doesn’t freak Quynh out. My sister Renee, is shooting for me, my friend Darren is the boom operator, and Quynh is my lead actress. Oh, I’m also acting as well as directing this time. Why? Because the feedback I got for “Troika” on DVXUser said that I didn’t spend enough time on the acting. So I figured I’d put the camera down for once and go in front of the lens so that I can focus more on the performances as opposed to the technical. I wanted to experience an actor’s process firsthand so I can better relate as I work with them.

After everyone shows up, we dive right in. Things go okay and we have some funny moments. Things seem to be going well with my sister behind the camera. She’s asking all of the right questions. We get a good amount of shots but have to deal with environmental sounds like intermittent air conditioners. It makes shooting very stop and go. We get about 40% done and then decide to break for the day.

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Quynh and Me on Set​

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Renee Between Shots​

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The Tool Wall​


Day Two:

On her way over, Quynh calls me from the car. She sounds half-dead. She tells me that she has some sort of flu and that she didn’t know if she could make it. I tell her to go back home and go to sleep because her being there while she was sick wouldn’t do either of us any good. She finally relents and agrees to go back home. We reschedule for a few days later but by the time they roll around, she still hasn’t shaken whatever she has. She wants to push ahead but I tell her no. We reschedule once again because I hate to be sick. The last thing I need is to catch bronchial salmonella from her.

Day Two (Part II):

This day went far better than the first. Quynh was almost over whatever affliction she had probably acquired from using a public restroom. We moved quicker and were a little more in sync. I managed to find a way to shut down all of the local machinery in order to decrease on ambient sound which made shooting move faster. There was one sound I couldn’t get rid of though…crows. We needed complete quiet to record a sound effect of a ball hitting the floor. I promise we did it like 10 times and every time we almost got to the end of the take, the crows outside would start squawking like we were filming The Birds.

I’m happy that I chose my Renee to DP. She’s never shot a movie before but she does quite a lot of photography experience and she’s been an artist for her entire life. I was betting that we would be able to be on the same page but I also knew that, given her propensity for being completely blunt, that I would be getting feedback throughout.

We wrapped for the day and it was time for Quynh’s big payoff. I lieu of a cash payment, which she adamantly refused, she demanded a homemade spaghetti dinner. When I asked her why spaghetti, her only response was “I haven’t had it in a while”. So we ate the homemade dinner with all the trimmings and I went off to merrily edit my footage. By the next morning, I was sick as a dog. Damn it.

Day Three:

I called Quynh back over for some pickups and reshoots. I had some things I wanted to do after perusing all of the footage. That went quickly. Only took about an hour and a half. Finally finished the shooting.

Post-Production:

Now the ball was back in my court. As I edited, I was fairly pleased with the footage but there always seems to be something that I wish had come out differently. Most of the footage that I used is from day two. This whole process was fairly uneventful. It was just me grinding to keep on schedule, while trying to maintain the other stuff in my life like job, etc. I had just a little over a week left before the deadline. Unfortunately, my work schedule changed at the last minute and I was forced to work the entire weekend before the 27th. There were a couple of FX shots I had to get done along with everything else. So it’s about four days of late nights with little to no sleep before the process is done. On the 27th(Renee’s Birthday), I was able to upload 20 minutes before the deadline. At least it wasn’t close or anything, right?

The Music:

I’m not a musician. I have friends who are and who are willing to compose music for me and I love to work with them on projects. The reason I composed this score is because “Revenge Therapy” is a tiny bit of an homage to a few of my favorite films, one being the anime classic “Akira”. Yeah I know its considered old school nowadays but I still think it’s one of the most impressive and amazing animated films EVER created. The soundtrack to the film is also quite amazing. If anybody can get their hands on it, it’s highly recommended. Its one of my favorite soundtracks as well. Anyway, the score for “Akira” is one of the major inspirations for the music I made in Revenge Therapy, particularly the usage of vocal sounds and chanting mixed with heavy rhythmic drumming. The third piece of music in the short is directly inspired by that. The other inspiration is music from the film “Oldboy”. They used soft ballads and waltzes during some pretty intense scenes in that film which is what I was going for with the second piece of music in “Revenge Therapy”. Look for the cameo background appearance of the hammer from “Oldboy” in my film!! There. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle. G.I. Joooooe!!........sorry….

The Poster:

After we wrapped shooting, Quynh suggested we let her friend take the pic of her for the poster. That was fine with me so after she got that done, she e-mailed it to me. It was a crisp and beautiful shot. I did the color design and shutter streaks and all of that and put the rest of it together. That was that.
 
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Yeah... Welcome! Glad you could make it...this looks interesting. Great poster. I'll be sure to watch.
 
Thanks Alex. I'll be looking forward to it.

Glad to be in this time ZaZaCast. I'll be sure to check yours out as well.

Glad you like the title yeehawnow. It took me forever to come up with one. Yours is cool too. Really like your banner image. Glad to be here with you guys.

Thanks Robbie. Quynh's friend actually took that shot for me and e-mailed me the raw. I did all of the color correction and poster design. I'll try and add some BTS stuf into the first post but I hate that I don't have that much. I just did the whole skeleton crew thing. I need to take more records of things during shooting.

Yeah Simon...time just flew by but I'm glad to be in. Thanks for the compliment on the poster and I'll let Quynh know what you think of her. :grin:
 
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Thanks Pauly. I almost missed the deadline for one film and you have a bunch of them done. Wow...I am a slacker...

Thanks Movie Master. Looks like yours are gonna be an experience.
 
Lookin' forward to seeing your entry Brian.. Looks like you've got quite a few hats on this project :)

Cheers!
/j
 
Thanks Edgen. I'm all about the collaborative process but sometimes, for whatever reason it's just more convenient to step up to the plate and take on some extra stuff.

Glad you like the poster jojopop. Yeah, I'm cutting it super-close but ah well. It's a rush, right?
 
Welcome to the festival! There is no such thing as late with this festival. The next one should be called LAST SECOND FEST. Good luck!
 
All these last minute entries is making me regret i didn't try to do a quickie second entry... glad you got one in!
 
Cool, Mr. Killoran. Let me know what you think.

Thanks Mile. I'll take all that I can get...I mean the luck...

Yeah Mike. Gut it uploaded 15 minutes before the deadline. Good luck to you too.

Glad to be in with my esteemed fellow filmmakers blindbuzta. Your banner's cool.
 
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