Student Filmmakers Tackling Period Pieces

[Eli]

What are your opinions on low-budget period pieces? Are they rational, doable, or just a waste of time?

My name is Eli Kaltenecker, and I’m a senior film student at Ohio University. For my capstone, I’m writing and directing a 1940s character-driven noir. Through several months of continuous planning, I’m here to say that period pieces AREN’T out of reach!

Research, research, research!

Every aspect of a period piece demands immense research! The obstacles that stand in the way of screenwriting, production designing, and budgeting can be eased or even alleviated with some preparation.

Be on the lookout for grants and scholarships around your school/area, as they provide a great foundation to your funding. I’ve received over $6,000 in grants alone, as I knew going in that recreating the 1940s wouldn’t be an easy ask of my cast and crew.

Furthermore, investigate your local school and professional film markets! Networking is the name of the game, but it doesn’t have to wait until after graduation. Introduce yourself to your hometown and university film communities. Experience what departments you’d like to be in, and be a good person. I’ve engaged in both markets and have accumulated several partners who are volunteering their time or in-kind services toward my capstone.

Making friendships and professional contacts is everything.

On that same note, lean on your film school friends (or any friends for that matter) to fill out your crew. I’m lucky enough to collaborate with my best friends up and down my crew. My best friend Liam is my DoP, and my other buddies are rounding out all other departments.

This transitional moment in my film career has given me the rare chance to bridge my film school experience with the local professional scene, allowing me to maximize what I put into (and get out of) my capstone.

Overall, period pieces shouldn’t be anymore daunting than other genres and film school pursuits. They simply take a little more preparation.

If you liked what I had to say here, please check out my capstone film’s website and instagram!

http://www.themisfiredaffair.com

Instagram

[Don]

Your story sounds uncommonly good, Eli. Period pieces don’t have to be prohibitively expensive. I find that the biggest impediment to making a good period piece is in getting performers to be credible as period people. It’s not just costume, etc.– people now think and react quite differently than people ever did in the past: quicker, more self-consciously, more like people who were raised on TV, saw 9-11 and have the internet in their pockets. This shows especially in reaction shots. The director and actors must consider this problem when making a period piece. Also: use long lenses to show less background, and lots of close-ups. Wide shots will feature period sets, costumes and background actors that you can’t afford.

[Kim]

@fred-ginsburg is good at these kinds of things. You can check with him.

[Cynthia]

Freddy Moyano https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9355799/ has found inventive ways to get actors (They do their own wardrobe) and vintage props. If you connect, tell him Kitty from Under a Bad Moon sent you.

[Author]

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