Mike Peter Reed is one of the three filmmakers who kicked off the whole #2wkfilm movement. He made the feature film "The Original Soundtrack" during the very first #2wkfilm run in May 2009.
Here is an interview with him discussing filmmaking and the #2wkfilm process.
Why did you decide to do #2wkfilm?
Basically I hadn’t directed anything since 2004 and “Crooked Features” - I’d been opting to work on other people’s projects as a location sound recordist because I was fed up with shitty sound on other people’s movies (epitomised by the likes of Dogme95 and Mumblecore). I decided to do a #2wkfilm because it seemed like a good way to get back into the flow of directing without the pressure of needing to raise finance and negotiate distribution and then spend years advertising and marketing. The experimental nature appealed to me as did the international audience. Also, I’d only been on Twitter a couple of days so I took it as an omen :-)
What are the things you learned by doing #2wkfilm?
By doing the May #2wkfilm I learned that I liked HD - a lot! We shot “The Original Soundtrack” in 720p and I was really impressed that such a compact stills camera as the Panasonic TZ5 could produce such good video. This was also my first totally tapeless shoot and I loved it.
What would you do differently?
If I could do anything differently, it would be to spend more time on pre-production - screenplay and rehearsals. As it was I barely had time for casting and scheduling. It’s so easy to gravitate to London which is sixty miles away so it takes time to get committed people together locally in and around Portsmouth. It’s important to me to keep things local in order to keep costs down and promote places outside of the usual lazy UK landmark choices.
What would you expand on?
The script and story. Our screenplay was only around 25 pages so it was quite literally a stretch to get to the 60 minute mark onscreen. I’d always like an art director or production designer around but so far those are elements that always take a back seat to the reality of the method.
What are you going to do about the release and distribution of the film?
“The Original Soundtrack” has been available as a digital download under a Creative Commons license for a few weeks already (Humyo, blip.tv, mininova, iTunes - see links at bottom of page). Along with the other #2wkfilms it’s been submitted for consideration to the London Portobello Film Festival and the Chichester based I Am Joy Art Collective. I also have plans to offer “The Original Soundtrack” at cost as a DVD at Amazon online.
Would you do #2wkfilm again?
Definitely - in fact I’m already signed up for the October #2wkfilm and am actively developing an idea with a core production team formed during the first #2wkfilm. I can’t say too much other than it’s expected to be categorised as a slasher movie. An abridged recording of the first story meeting is up on Soundcloud (see links at bottom of page).
Has #2wkfilm changed the way you approach filmmaking?
My approach to moviemaking hasn’t changed particularly, though I’m always open to evolution. It’s still important to have engaging content, good performances and adequate sound whether you’re doing a #2wkfilm or a Hollywood blockbuster. I’m not sure any #2wkfilm from the first round has all three so there’s still room to raise the bar. Shooting “The Original Soundtrack” reminded me a lot of shooting “Crooked Features” with the exception that I took a few months to edit the latter.
Did the cast and crew like the #2wkfilm process?
I’m not sure the cast and crew were fully aware of the #2wkfilm process since they were all drafted in such a short space of time. I didn’t do a lot of explaining. I think the writer was slightly unhappy at having to turn in anything less than perfection, although he has since told me that in general his story has been done justice.
Would the cast and crew do another #2wkfilm?
The cast and crew are already signed up to do the second #2wkfilm in October. Everyone who worked on “The Original Soundtrack” has told me how much they enjoyed it.
What has been the response to your film so far?
I’m still waiting for a few more reviews to appear but so far the response has been positive. I think being a feature length movie shot and edited in two weeks instantly differentiates the work from the seemingly infinite amount of “punchline” shorts out there. A short can have high production values and remain content-free but with a feature you’re asking the audience to give up an hour or two of their life so it had better be worth it. A short shows you can produce a first act or a commercial, a feature allows much more character development (the only exception I can think of here is Mark Osborne’s “More” which beats the pants off a lot of features yet is only six minutes long and is just genius - go and watch it right now).
What else would you like to say about film and filmmaking?
I’ve been around long enough to see moviemaking have a prohibitively high cost of entry in the seventies and eighties, to a normalisation in the nineties, through to today where the tools are cheap enough that almost anyone can produce an all-digital movie that will look great in people’s home cinemas. Yet the fundamental challenges remain unchanged no matter what your budget: engaging content, good performances and adequate sound. Whilst Hollywood may fail more and more often to produce engaging content it’s got the other two nailed so when it does produce engaging content it sets the world alight. The rest of us absolutely need engaging content because good performances and adequate sound are not guaranteed by technology alone; we don’t have multi-million dollar marketing campaigns to paper over the cracks. You’re only as good as your last movie.
Links - Watch "The Original Soundtrack" and more:
Humyo
http://www.humyo.com/F/9472151-611139177
blip.tv
http://blip.tv/file/2207757
mininova
http://www.mininova.org/tor/2695545
iTunes
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?i=55951514&id=321241507
Soundcloud
http://soundcloud.com/miker71/2wkfilm-discussion-23jun09-abridged
Blogger
http://denmedia.blogspot.com/
Portobello Film Festival
http://www.portobellofilmfestival.com/
I Am Joy Art Collective
http://www.iamjoy.co.uk/
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