Q & A with Jim Russell
(First time filmmaker, Jim Russell, talks to WWFF about his film Hello.)
Tell us about yourself. What do you do?
I am the Chief Operating Officer of U.S. Land and Home Real Estate.
Where are you from?
Born and raised in Kansas City and now live in Overland Park, KS.
How did you here about WWFF?
I read about it in the Kansas City Star Newspaper.
Have you ever made a film before?
No, this was my first attempt at movie making.
What made you decide to enter?
My 9 year old son has been telling me for the past year that he wanted to make a movie and when I saw the story about WWFF I thought this could be a great family project and a great way for him to make his first movie.
What was your story about?
The story was about puppy love mixed with humor and a general feeling that most men and boys don’t always understand women and girls. Just a fun, timeless storyline, done with taste and humor.
How did you come up with the story line?
As soon as we received our packet from WWFF which described that the movie had to involve filming at a swimming pool and it had to have a famous quote from a movie we began brainstorming. We came up with a basic storyline which we dramatically changed as we went along. With only 48 hours to bring it all together I knew in order to have a chance at “top 30″ we had to have a story that contained a beginning, middle and end. I previewed the winners from last year online and I understood the competition was well rounded and strong. We literally wrote it on the fly and the complete storyline all came together within the last 2 hours of filming.
What was the most difficult thing that you encountered during the making of your film?
Several items posed some serious thought. Like where are we going to get a swimming pool to film at? Working with children is not an easy task but it was also a joy. Coming up with the storyline was a bit difficult but fun. Filming different camera angle shots in and out of the water was challenging but really made a difference.
How did you organize your team?
For me it was easy because it was a family project. My wife and children and my niece.
How much money did you spend on production?
To me it was never about the money it was about doing something as a family that may lead to something bigger for my children. Let’s just say it was the best money I ever spent and it really wasn’t that much. My children will have this memory forever.
Explain your creative process?
I like to get a solid idea first on paper. Basic storyboarding at first. Then my co-director and I shot the footage always shooting more than we needed and shooting many items that did not end up in the film. Then we went on to scripting out as much as we could put on paper and then to shooting footage of it to add in the editing later. When all the footage has been shot I then uploaded all of it into some editing software and marked out each take that I wanted to include in the final cut. Final editing is where we really got creative in choosing the royalty free music and using slow motion and certain effects including splicing footage from 2 or 3 different takes to create one final scene. I had probably 25 pages of script and notes going into the editing room. The entire process is creative and it is quite a bit of fun. I would encourage anyone who is highly creative to enter a film next year.
Did you find it rewarding?
It was rewarding beyond words. I feel so fortunate to have been able to work on a creative project like this with my children and family. It is even more rewarding because of my son’s ambition at 9 years old to make a movie. My children are very honored to have won first place as they clearly understood the difficult odds going into this.
Would you ever enter another WWFF?
Absolutely
How would you change our event for the better?
I think the event is wonderful. And WWFF was very smart this year by making the film include a certain type of location (swimming pool) and a line from a movie. By doing it the way WWFF did, it basically prevented anyone who may have been wanting to submit previously filmed movies or portions of previously filmed movies from doing so. Basically the criteria handed out in the sealed envelops made the movie makers hold true to the idea behind WWFF (writing, filming, editing and producing a movie in 48 hours). Making a movie in 48 hours is a great challenge for any team and it is one heck of a thrill. I would like to see more publicity and more money raised for the charity. I think this has the potential to balloon into a national film festival. I would love to see entries from across the U.S. All of WWFF have done a great job and you should all be proud of the money you raised for such a great cause.
“What a great opportunity for young filmmakers to show their craft for good causes. Everybody wins!”
“The Wild West Film Fest has been bringing it to the Lawrence film scene. It is one of the best examples of what filmmakers are looking for in a festival.”
“The Wild West Film Fest puts filmmaking back into the hands of the people. It’s indy film in it’s purest, grittiest form. A great opportunity for local filmmakers to get their work seen by audiences.”