 "Photo: Sharon Weaver")
When cameras began rolling on The Attic Door, writer-director Danny Daneau broke ground in a classic movie-making place.
The southern steppes of Utah have been the life and death of countless Hollywood western film shoots from the John Ford era to Indiana Jones.
During the summer of 2006, the UCF entrepreneurial digital cinema alumnus and a predominantly UCF-graduated crew made their pilgrimage and left their mark in the mythical red clay.
Additional cameras were rolling behind the scenes as Daneau and his crew shot the independent feature film. These belonged to Roman Safiullin and Chris Walker who produced, filmed and edited Behind the Attic Door, a podcast series walk-through of the film's production phase. The podcast series was posted on the film's official site - www.theatticdoormovie.com.
Known for its catastrophic weather, the Paria region of Utah was once inhabited but the town of Pariah was swept away in a flash-flood. The film crew was no luckier as the podcast series captured tribulations of shooting on such a remote site.
"There is a point where you're into the film and you have to move forward, you have to rely on faith because you can't see what the end is going to look like," Daneau said. "You're at the whim of elements you can't control."
Of the seven podcasts, episode five told of the precipitous "Monsoon Season" that the filming crew was caught in. Barely able to maneuver the dry land to begin with, the crew took a chance in setting shop after a full night's rain turned the streets of nearby Kanab into rivers.
"The production faced a halt it couldn't afford and Danny showed courage and dedication in deciding to go for it," UCF cinema studies graduate Walker said.
Producer Erica Harrell also praised the director's ability to lead.
"His calm demeanor really helped set the tone for the entire shooting process," said Harrell, another UCF Film graduate who moved to Los Angeles after scoring internships and finally a job.
Before Harrell produced The Attic Door she had produced Acts of Mercy, a feature film written and directed by Laura Lopez, Daneau's fiance. Lopez also graduated from the UCF Film program.
Nothing trumped the first day of shooting, though, as a generator that powered all the lighting equipment caught fire and fried under the scorching desert sun.
"In the morning of the first day of production, the first assistant director Cory Johnson took me aside and told [Chris and me] not to film while main production was filming," UCF alumnus Safiullin said. "Naturally, we didn't follow his directions."
But much more was happening on set than flash-floods and combusting generators. Daneau felt the series was focused intimately on the crew and cast of the film and that the experience was "a realization of self for a lot of people."
"Television, movies, podcasts, it's all about conflict, it's all about drama," Daneau said. "The series had been about these different conflicts and i felt like we needed one episode about that something amazing that we were feeling every day."
And thus Episode Six was conceived to entreat the pathos of the podcasts' audience.
Although the focus of the series was a walkabout, the podcast directors Walker and Safiullin tried to incorporate the idea of young filmmakers who had always dreamed of making a feature film actually realizing their aspirations.
"Like any sort of story that's about realizing your dream, when you get there you come back with a lot more than just a movie," Daneau said. "It's about something much deeper, it's this idea of purpose."
Following the advice of a friend familiar with the independent film business, Daneau contacted Safiullin to produce the podcasts. Daneau said he was also influenced by the production diaries of Peter Jackson while making King Kong.
"Doing 'webisodes' isn't totally unique to us, but what I think could be is this personal story telling about these independent film makers and these guys realizing their dreams," Daneau said.
Among the various UCF alumni that participated, writer and co-producer Eric Ernst wrote the script with Daneau and cinematographer Scott Uhlfelder and production designer Alex Eastwood also connected to the film through Daneau.
"I really enjoyed working with Danny and would work with him on any other project he does," Uhlfelder said. "He always maintained a positive attitude and would somehow be able to overcome [obstacles] and still make the film he wanted to make."
As far as the cast, two child actors Jake Johnson and Madison Davenport bore the pressure of the entire film. The direction of the film took the written characters Caroline and Darrell and fitted them around the actors Davenport and Johnson.
"Dealing with only two child actors is a difficult task for any director and I really feel Danny was able to achieve great performances from both Davenport and Johnson," said Harrell who co-owns Nightlight Productions with Daneau.
Because of child labor laws, restrictions allowed the production crew flexibility during shooting days. Daneau found himself reflecting often about his journey to Utah and became enlightened about the uniqueness of the film.
"It was this really relaxing, meditative thing that I could have happen in the morning," Daneau said. "I realized the film was turning into something, and people around me were realizing the film was turning into something, something unique."
As for premiers, the film will not be shown anytime soon. Daneau said he is hanging onto the film because festivals like Sundance and Berlin will usually not accept films if they have already been screened.
However, Daneau said UCF will host the local premier of the film sometime next February or March.
"I want people to watch the [podcast] series and feel like [the film] is their own," Daneau said. "Indie film is made on audiences who become invested in that very special way. It's like an Indie band, that Indie band becomes the band because of people supporting them and Indie film is the exact same way. You're invested in it so you want to share it. The podcast series really hits that home."
Be the first to comment on this article!