Father Geek here with a tale of the woes of the independent, low to no budget film shoot. Folks, many film makers put years into their small films. Catch AMERICAN FILM, if you can find it, to see what I mean. Unfortunately the following story as related by Indy is not an exception, nor is it a new story...
"Tilt", a modern re-telling of "Don Quixote" from Sancho Panza's point-of-view, is approaching its one year anniversary; not that it has been a year since the film has been completed - in fact, "Tilt" requires three more days of principal photography. January 2000 marks one year since the project went to camera.
Approximately once a month, former members from the Vancouver crew of "The X-Files" have been shooting the story of Sam Penzer, ( played by Tom Braidwood, Frohike of The Lone Gunmen from the Chris Carter series ), a salesman who finds himself stranded in Vancouver's skid row where he winds up in an adventure with a mentally-ill street person who believes himself to be a knight. An unorthodox shooting schedule, maybe, but continuity is the least of their concerns; completing a film with high production value is the main priority.
The two factors that have determined when filming happens are money, and crew availability. When the fifth season trainee assistant director from The X-Files, Patrick Stark ( Tilt's producer ), and X-F production assistant Lance Peverley ( Tilt's writer/director ) first sat down to discuss the creation of this project, they did not possess any capital with which to get it off the ground, let alone shoot consecutive days. Even still, the fledgling filmmakers decided not to wait for grants that may never come and set their sights toward shooting at least the first day of Tilt. Their philosophy was that if they had a day under their belts, they might just acquire enough credibility to help raise funding for a second day.
Meanwhile, to pay the rent and keep stomachs full, ( Peverley has a wife and baby to support ), Stark and Peverley continued to work as assistant directors on the many U.S. projects being produced in Vancouver. By giving themselves a deadline and telling as many of their industry peers of their plan, they had no choice but to attain that first goal - reputations were at stake.
Talking to anyone and everyone about "Tilt" has been the key to a very successful production. Stark recalls,
" We were naive, fully expecting to be laughed at for even attempting to make a film. Instead we had people coming out of the woodwork offering knowledge, equipment and time. The only thing we were short of was cash. "
Stark and Peverley pushed ahead with production planning anyway - scouting locations, building the crew and searching for cast. About one month before they were scheduled to shoot Day One, Peverley, who was helping wrap out the production office for Universal's " Dudley Do-Right ", was sharing Tilt's funding woes with Michelle Gasque, one of Dudley's assistant production coordinators. A few hours later, Michelle was talking to Barry Shelton, another X-Files alumnus who worked on Dudley as a set dec ( art department ) driver. Shelton, known throughout Vancouver's film industry for his generosity, immediately responded to the filmmakers' cry for help and asked to meet with them.
" All of us, Barry, Lance and I were working 18-hour days on seperate productions. At the time, it didn't seem unusual that when Barry and I managed to meet after work, it was midnight and at a 24-hour Denny-esque restaurant ", remembers Stark.
By the end of the meeting, Shelton had offered to cover the first day of filming and if all went well, he might be interested in helping further. After Day One had been successfully completed, Shelton signed on as executive producer. Since that time, Stark has raised the funds between each day of filming with over one hundred people, all industry personnel, stepping forward with financial contributions toward "Tilt".
Money, however, has not been the only concern when planning a day of filming; making sure the cast and crew are available is also an issue for Stark and Peverley. After The X-Files left for Los Angeles following its fifth season in Vancouver, any crew not taking a well-deserved respite from a film set were quickly absorbed by the other productions shooting in the city. The level of production in Vancouver has only increased since the series' departure, and the veteran X-F technicians are continuously in demand; Stark and Peverley realized from the start and appreciate that even one day donated per month by these individuals toward the production of "Tilt" is a significant sacrifice.
Patience has been a virtue for the filmmakers as the benefits of a year-long shoot have far outweighed any of the negatives. Each day of principal photography receives a full month's worth of attention and the amount of resources that become available to them increases as more people find out about the project. On January 22, 2000, "Tilt" will complete its ninth day of principal photography. Indy
