20
May11
Cerise: From Conception to Completion…to Screenings to Cannes
by John T. Trigonis
It’s been over a year since I began a memorable IndieGoGo campaign for Cerise, my latest short film about a former spelling whiz who’s haunted by the word that took him down. I had saved $10,000 over the course of a year teaching at various universities as a freelance (er, adjunct) professor. By crowdfunding on Facebook and Twitter, my team and I raised an additional $6,500 in just under two months. The crew and I shot the film in a mere five days, and after five months of post-production, a test screening of the rough cut, and another month of post, we finally previewed Cerise at The Millennium Film Workshop to a packed house. Since then, we’ve also screened at The Palace Theatre in Danbury, CT, EgoFest in Brainerd, MN, NYC Downtown Short Film Festival and Bergenfield Film Festival in New Jersey.
Here’s a little background on the four Cs and S of Cerise:
Conception:
One night, I was watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee with my girlfriend Marinell (who also happens to be the “Team” I refer so much.) During the show, the announcers highlighted some of the previous winners and what they’ve been up to since their epic wins. Well, being a champion of the underdog, I got to thinking about the losers of the Nationals. What happens to them, I mused, after losing everything to a single word? Days later I finished the script, and Cerise was born.
The script, however, went through a massive rewrite a few days before the shoot thanks to good friend and fellow filmmaker Troy Romeo. Troy helped me to see that no one but me would get certain esoteric Jungian references (my education sometimes gets the better of me when I write!) that were spread throughout the film’s dream sequences (all of which were cut) and that by force-feeding it to my audience, no matter how beautifully painted the imagery would be, the entertainment value of the finished film would suffer.
Crowdfunding
Originally, I was going to do what I normally do when I make a film: Use 100% of my own money. But I wanted Cerise to push the boundaries of my prior short film work, so I figured if I had a little extra cash to spend, I could make an even better film. So my team and I spent some time shooting a pitch video, coming up with interesting perks, including writing an acrostic poem (where each line is a letter of a person’s name) for anyone who contributes $10 or more to Cerise, and launched the campaign in February of 2010. Through constant tweeting, retweeting, Facebook status updates, email blasts and text messages, we were able to raise $6,500, $1,300 over our initial IndieGoGo goal.
Here’s a little background on the four Cs and S of Cerise:
Conception:
One night, I was watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee with my girlfriend Marinell (who also happens to be the “Team” I refer so much.) During the show, the announcers highlighted some of the previous winners and what they’ve been up to since their epic wins. Well, being a champion of the underdog, I got to thinking about the losers of the Nationals. What happens to them, I mused, after losing everything to a single word? Days later I finished the script, and Cerise was born.
The script, however, went through a massive rewrite a few days before the shoot thanks to good friend and fellow filmmaker Troy Romeo. Troy helped me to see that no one but me would get certain esoteric Jungian references (my education sometimes gets the better of me when I write!) that were spread throughout the film’s dream sequences (all of which were cut) and that by force-feeding it to my audience, no matter how beautifully painted the imagery would be, the entertainment value of the finished film would suffer.
Crowdfunding
Originally, I was going to do what I normally do when I make a film: Use 100% of my own money. But I wanted Cerise to push the boundaries of my prior short film work, so I figured if I had a little extra cash to spend, I could make an even better film. So my team and I spent some time shooting a pitch video, coming up with interesting perks, including writing an acrostic poem (where each line is a letter of a person’s name) for anyone who contributes $10 or more to Cerise, and launched the campaign in February of 2010. Through constant tweeting, retweeting, Facebook status updates, email blasts and text messages, we were able to raise $6,500, $1,300 over our initial IndieGoGo goal.
Creation
I hired two producers to take care of all the money and “making it happen” matters, Camiren J. Romero and Kejal Kothari, so that, for the first time, I could focus fully on directing and not compromise my vision. We had a crew of about 20 people, catering handled by my brother’s restaurant. My best friend and frequent collaborator Alain Aguilar shot the film using a Sony EX-1 with a Letus 35mm adapter.
It was a trying five days in the trenches of filmmaking, but we all made it out with minimal scars, lots of laughs, and a film we could all be proud of. Here’s a glimpse at what filming Cerise was like (and how much fun it was), shot and edited by our documentary videographer Marinell Montales, who holds myriad other titles as the “T” in Team Cerise:
Completion
As with any no-budget DIY film, the biggest issue will always be audio. After receiving numerous comments about the sound quality during our Big Apple Preview, I decided to bring on board a new sound designer, a classy guy named Sonam Gray, to fix what my other sound designer had done. After another couple months, Cerise was ready to awe an audience both visually and aurally.
Screenings
This is what it’s all about––when all that hard work finally pays off in the end and a filmmaker gets to see his or her work on a big screen for audiences to enjoy.
The Cerise Big Apple Preview
During our NYC Preview back in December, we packed the Millennium Film Workshop in the East Village with nearly 120 people for a free event filled with wine, cheese, shrimp cocktail, and an acoustic performance by Icewagon Flu, the band who wrote and donated the title song of the film, and of course, Cerise. Check out this video of the highlights of the night’s festivities, filmed and put together by Cerise’s Cinematographer Alain Aguilar:
Film Snobbery –– LIVE at The Palace Theatre
We then screened at The Palace theatre in Danbury, Connecticut, courtesy of Film Snobbery. Though the attendance was more modest than that of our NYC Preview, the people of Danbury really enjoyed all of the films screened that day. I had many great conversations with the locals about Cerise, spelling bees, and independent film. The coolest thing ever was after the screening of Cerise and a brief Q&A with producer Camiren J. Romero and myself, host Nic Baisley put on a “Cinema Spelling Bee” in which six people participated, including me!
John T. Trigonis and Cerise in CT
Audience Choice Screening––NYC Downtown Short Film Festival Cerise screened as part of NYC Downtown Short Film Festival’s Audience Choice Screening, in which movies are screened and the audience votes for which shorts should be shown during the Film Festival in April, which coincides with the Tribeca Film Festival. By promoting like mad on Facebook and Twitter, my team and I were able to muster up a strong amount of supportfor that event. Cerise, by far, received the best reception ever that night, and a few days later got word that our little short was now an “Official Selection” in the 7th NYC Downtown Short Film Festival!
EgoFest 2011
We’ve also screened at EgoFest, the short film and video festival started up by Phil Holbrook in Brainerd, Minnesota. There are lots of lengthists out there––people and programmers who favor feature-length films over shorts, but Phil is a true champion of the short film form, and I’m thankful to have screened at EgoFest yet again (last year two of my films, Perfekt and Speed Musing, screened to a packed house of friends and film lovers.)
Cerise was the final film in the first block of films screened at EgoFest, so Phil asked me if I’d be interested in doing a Q&A via Skype, and I said heck yes! So after the screening, there I was on the big screen in Brainerd, MN answering questions from a very appreciative and inquisitive audience. Lucas McNelly put together an abridged version, which you can check out here:
NYC Downtown Short Film Festival
On April 26th, Cerise was shown at the 7th Annual NYC Downtown Short Film Festival as a result of garnering enough votes from their Audience Choice Screening. It was here that this little film got the greatest audience response yet! I know I said that about the Audience Choice screening, but there’s just something about New York City audiences! And although we didn’t win any awards, it was just such a thrill screening Cerise to such a lively, vibrant audience at Duo Multicultural Arts Center!
Bergenfield Film Festival
On Cinco de Mayo, Cerise screened at Bergenfield Film Festival. Sadly, however, this day of celebration marks our first unsuccessful tryst with the film festival circuit. The audience at the Clearview Cinemas seemed to enjoy the film despite the volume being too low and a few moments of freezing frames and skipping beats because of the shoddy portable DVD players the festival organizers decided to use to screen the films. As with anything, we learn to takethe positive with the not-so-positive, and I took away a few valuable lessons from this whole nightmarish ordeal.
What Dreams May Come…
Most recently, Cerise has become an “Official Selection” at Staten Island Film Festival and will be going to France as part of the Court Métrage (Short Film Corner) at the Festival du Cannes. We’re still waiting to hear from a whole lot of festivals; I’ve submitted Cerise to over 60 festivals and counting with the continued support of our “Film Festival Crusaders” who sponsor a festival listed on our website during our Crusade for Cerise.
I’ve got high hopes for Cerise. It’s only my seventh short film, but it’s the one I’m most proud of and represents my best effort as a storyteller, and I’m hoping that this early show of success is a sign of more festivals and greater things to come.
Comments
Brandon Greene
I stand in awe of you sir. My friend and I are finishing a script that we are going to shoot ourselves, guerilla style. I may have to hit you up for some friendly advice, as you have given me in the past. You seriously rock dude.
John Trigonis
Thanks a bunch for those kind words, Brandon. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the kind words. Guerilla is the way to go, my friend, and whatever advice and help I can offer will be my pleasure to give.
Brandon Greene
That’s great, man! Really kind, you are. If you ever need a hand on set, I would love to volunteer for the sake of education, just let me know. I make amazing coffee, and I can grip with the best of them.