Creating a Short Horror Film - Behind the Scenes of “IT VISITS ME”
The Concept + Story
Originally, IT VISITS ME started as a story a friend of mine in high school told me, about a friend of hers, who when she went over to stay at her house, told her there was a ghost she saw every night. I always found this idea of anticipating a ghost to not only be creepy, but also really feel like its leaving the person in a strange and uncomfortable situation. Do I leave? Do I stay? What do I say?
Years later when talking to my girlfriend about the idea, she mentioned the relationship the concept had between intensely religious people claiming to see “Angels” and this idea of belief creating an awkward scenario for others around. I thought about this more and became intrigued with the idea of “religious seduction” This idea that organized religion as a whole, typically is recruiting or “preying” on those who are weak, or in a broken state of their life. And it came to me (the idea, not the angel)
After pitching this to Jeremiah, who wrote the film, Jeremiah dug deeper into this and ultimately created 2 sisters (Layla & Abigail) with a broken past. Abigail, who chose to stay at home and follow in their families religious upbringing, and Layla, who chose a lifestyle outside the church. Jeremiah weaved this so well into their dialogue and ultimately created a tense “real world” where the supernatural seems much more inviting. But isn’t ultimately that what religion is?
Casting
Early on in the process, casting became a huge point of concern. If we weren’t able to find these 2 young women who could really pull this off, the film just wouldn’t work. After a long casting call via Backstage - we instantly found our Abigail. Hayley Gasbarro who played Abigail, stood out with her initial self tape - really creating an uneasy sense of obsession and lust over this interaction she had with this “angel”
Second, came “The Angel/The Figure”. One thing I knew was I wanted this to feel different than a traditional “horror” figure in a film. The Angel truly needed to be a figure and stand-in for seduction, beauty, and all of the things that organized religion uses to attract their followers, so casting someone with modeling experience was key. They had to be confident in their movements and carry a real presence with them. Braeden Sumner was all of this from the initial self tape. She understands the way in which the Angel should move, look, and in the end, entice Layla.
Finally, with 2 of 3 roles filled, we knew we needed to cast someone in the role of Layla who could not only play off of these 2 incredible actresses, but was able to emotionally carry such a heavy role. Hundreds of incredible actresses applied, but something never felt right. Jokingly, we mentioned “if only we could cast Sara Hallisey (who we worked with on “The Undoing”) and after a strange look between Jeremiah and I, it became clear that having Sara audition would be a “why not” but in the end, be the perfect move. Sara Hallisey embodies everything that you want in an actress. Her ability to absolutely dive head first into the emotion, yet snap out of it at any second, makes Sara a superstar to work with. Her self-tape was so powerful, and from that moment on, we knew we made the right choice.
Pre-Production
One of the things I wanted to try and be diligent about on this short, was keeping to a strict shot-list & photo board of the entire film. This meant creating a detailed shot-list and pre-shooting the entire film (each and every shot) on my phone. I got this workflow from talking to Cinematographer Zach Kuperstein about his process. I began with sitting down with an amazing google sheets template he’s made for shot-listing, and going through the entire script, writing EXACTLY what I picture, forgetting about the location, lighting, etc. Then, when locations are locked in (or if its possible too) go to the location, and using the Cadrage app (which shows exact camera & lens combos) capturing a 1:1 for look for the film.
This was a huge breakthrough in making sure each shot was going to work on their own, together, and any practical issues that might pop up. For this, our location had beams, and it took some re-shotlistig to make sure angles were going to line up correctly. Also during this initial scout, I had the idea of putting the angel behind our main character Layla when she stands up - which was only because during the shoot, Jeremiah happened to be standing in the background.
With our locations locked in & most of the film shot-listed, it was an easy Google Sheet + Doc share away from the crew. Next, came building the crew.
Crew-ing?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned on sets is, usually “less is more” And with crew, it really is all about Quality over Quantity, and this crew was small but MIGHTY. Returning from 2 Players Required was Taylor acting as First & Second Assistant Camera, as well just someone who’s talented enough overall to make sure whatever needed to get done…got done. Also returning was Jaquelin, our audio secret weapon. Jaquelin is not only one of our most dependable crew members, but is a literal magician in making sure everything sounds perfect, and more importantly is a “stress” free crew member. New to the team was our Director of Photography Adam Muro who I’ve known for a little while, and this was our first chance to work together! Adam’s knowledge & can-do attitude made this film really what it is. Adam was able to knowledgeably execute EXACTLY what we were hoping to do with ease, and really is an incredible creator who can problem solve on the fly. His visuals are really one of the stand-out features of the short and I felt like what took the whole production to another level. Rounding out the crew was production assistant & collaborator John FitzPatrick - also an amazing actor and filmmaker, and lastly Jeremiah Lewis. As Writer & Producer, Jeremiah was all over the place ensuring everything was running smoothly, and keeping our eyes on the prize. This really is one of those underrated jobs on set, and having a good producer to be a second set of eyes and (of course in Jeremiah’s case) knowing the story and keeping the big picture in check is perfect.
With the cast & crew assembled, it was off to start shooting.
Production
Production had a few big question marks looking over. The first, being that it would most likely NEED to be shot at night because of the location's massive windows. This would be not only my first night shoot - but also most of the crews, with call times at 7pm and wrap around 3:30am each morning.
Lighting was step 1. Adam and I had talked extensively about creating a 360 degree moonlight that we could use for the second scene to help us move quickly, but also let shadow be an asset. Adam setup 1 large 600d outside roughly 200 feet from the house - shooting through trees, really adding some fun texture. On the side windows, we used 2x 300D’s creating an extension of that moonlight, wrapping around the house. Inside, Adam used a Nanlite 60watt daylight LED with Softbox & grid to help add an eyelight, and add just a little extra kick.
We shot ALL of the night stuff first, as we knew this would be the largest part of the shoot, as well as the most complex, with just about 30 shots to accomplish, in roughly 8 or so hours. The entire project (excluding 1 shot) was shot on the RED S35 V-Raptor at 7k Anamorphic on Atlas Orion Anamorphics (40,65,100) All thanks to Adam! The most difficult shot was the longest shot, but ironically the ONLY shot on the RED Komodo and RS2 Gimbal - and that was the long take where Layla walks into the kitchen from the couch. This took about 6-7 takes, mainly just to get timing, focus, and the speed of the lazy susan right.
Day 2 was a few pickups from Day 1 (mainly some extra coverage of moments) and then into Scene 1, which also had 1 complicated shot, and some much simpler coverage after. Adam and I talked about creating a really warm and “lamp” look during the first section to contrast, and found using practicals (the real lamps) and Adam’s Tungsten 1Ks were the perfect mixture.
Personally, my favorite shot of the film is Abigail’s “Monologue” where we went to the 40mm and did a LONG push in, as she stares off telling her story. It was such a great showcase moment for Hayley’s character, and what I kept calling the “Spielberg” shot, as it felt VERY much like a shot he would execute.
After 2 long nights of production, we finally wrapped with 90% of the film shot (although at the time, we thought 100%)
Re-Shoots
Re-shoots constantly get a bad reputation in the industry, but for the most part…they are 100% VITAL to fixing some small on-set errors, or in our case - just beefing things up. After the first cut of the film, the intro just didn’t feel strong enough. We didn’t know WHO the characters were, why they were there. I usually push for “less is more” and this was a moment in which I was completely wrong.
After some chatting, Jeremiah and I came up with an idea to establish WHO Layla was as a character, and why this relationship was so fragile. Adam and I drove out to Sara, where we met in a parking garage to shoot the opening. We ended up using Adam’s car mount, mounting the VRaptor to my car. To add even more texture, we ended up throwing water (from a gas station) and a Red Bull on the final take (because we had run out of water) on the windshield to create a broken up image and something that felt dirty and “un-clean”.
I’d love to pretend this was some type of psychological thing, but in all honesty…it just looked better. And so post began…
Post-Production
Post can be such a challenge. The back and forth and having to make the final decisions on each element to make the final product. Thankfully, we had crafted an amazing team of collaborators including Jaquelin Mignot (again) doing post sound (from design and foley, to the final mix) Ryan Shreves with an original score, Max Aurnhammer for a VERY important VFX shot, and last (but ABSOLUTELY not least) Nicholas Lareau with the final color grade.
First, let's talk the score. Ryan and I had a few conversations about the tone & feeling of the entire film, and the fact that it is a very focused film, thats less about the "jump scares" and much more about the eerie atmosphere. Ryan had the great idea of being very Gothic and feeling big and beautiful, sort of the opposite of what a traditional score would be. Ryan's score provides such an eerie layer, with just the right amount of creepy chorus vocals and instrument beds to really enhance some creepy moments. His score proves to be one of my favorites and a staple of the film.
Next, lets talk color. The color was VERY important to me, and also Adam (our DP). We really wanted to create a pale moonlight look, embracing darkness, while not losing elements in the final grade. Nick, who colored The Rickety Man, was a collaborating I'd been DYING to work with again, and his expert grade really put the finishing touches on the masterful work Adam did, creating such a realistic and filmic grade. Some of my early "test grades" were terrible when compared to the work that Nick did, and seeing it just proves HOW important a good colorist is, and an invaluable member of the team.
Then, VFX. This project had a very specific VFX shot from the beginning, with the idea of the "Angels" face unlocking, stretching, and transforming into something "else" Max, who had done the VFX shots on 2 Player's Required, was able to create such a wonderful effect that really boosted the final moments of the film and sold the transformation.
Lastly, Sound! Jaquelin really had the tough task of creating a large sound space with both real and supernatural elements. We set out with a goal of really making this mix big, feeling exaggerated without feeling fake, and being immersive. We wanted to create a true cinematic experience that felt theatrical, without taking you out of the scene's grounded nature. One of the biggest challenges was creating the "lazy-susan" sound. Having it's sound spin, move to the direction of the camera, while still being creepy, was a very time consuming task, but in the end made for a much creepy moment.
At the same time, filling out the space was a massive undertaking and something we didn't expect, BUT made all of the difference in the final mix. From crickets, tea-pots, and ticking clocks - each final sound element in the final mix helped create a larger sound, overall adding to the immersive feeling that the house was real. Jaquelin and I went back and forth for sometime on the sound of the Angel's voice - until I watched "Skinamarink" one night, realizing that the way the voices sounded was EXACTLY the other worldly feeling I wanted the Angel to have.
All of these elements came together over a 4 month period to create the final film you see!
Extras
Each time I make a film, I've ALWAYS forgot to put the needed time and effort into creating the poster and thumbnail...but this time, I was saved by Sara & Braeden (two of our actresses) who had an AWESOME idea for some photos (taken by the amazing Taylor Jarvis) and I'm so thankful they did.
Agustin Michel is one of the best designers I've seen, and after working together on the poster for LUCID, I knew this was a no-brainer. Agustin took these photos and designed my ABSOLUTE all-time favorite poster and thumbnail we've ever used. The ability for him to pay attention to such small details, creating a really intense poster, that teases at the monster, while creating even more intrigue.
Wrap-Up
Its always bitter-sweet to see these projects come to an end. On one hand, you spend 6-7 months (usually) on a short, and it starts to feel old, tired, and too familiar...but on the other, its a great feeling of accomplishment to finally send this project out into the world for everyone to watch.