It’s not easy to get people to agree on anything. But there does seem to be consensus that we’re living in strange times. Which makes the strange and wonderful “Home/Body” a perfect viewing choice. Created for the Roger Corman Quarantine Film Festival, this two-minute movie was directed by Dylan Hillerman and produced by Julia Reodica. The filmmaking team—based in Portland, Oregon— employed a variety of cinematic techniques—including outlandish colors— to capture the Covid-19 era weirdness that might become the new normal. Julia and Dylan take us behind-the-scenes in an interview that follows the movie.
Interview with Julia and Dylan
MobileMovieMaking: What motivated you to make movies?
JULIA: I grew up watching home movies on the Honeywell 8mm Projector. I loved to look at each film frame.
DYLAN: We were motivated to make movies since childhood. The 70’s and 80’s were all around us, and we also absorbed everything on television from previous decades and still study as much as we can online.
MobileMovieMaking: How did you develop your filmmaking skills?
Dylan: I got my first 8mm film camera in 1978, so I have been experimenting for years. I switched to video in 1984. I have taken a few film and video classes, but I really learned most of my performance and organizational chops from live theater. It’s invaluable. It’s like Kung Fu for Life in Entertainment. Film is a young medium. Theater has been around since cavemen wrestled next to a roaring fire to make their friends laugh, demonstrate an epic fight they were in, or some such spectacle. Working with other filmmakers, being comedians and graphic artists, and running a film contest for over a decade informs us constantly. We are always coming up with stories and ideas.
Julia: I was usually part of someone’s project as a kid, helping out on home movies and handling different cameras. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that I started doing experimental film with friends for public access channels, using 8mm, Hi-8, and 16mm cameras. In the early 2000s I taught digital media in upstate NY as an art grad student, where I also learned advanced digital movie making and editing.
MobileMovieMaking: Are there any filmmakers who have inspired you”?
Dylan: Roger Corman, Julie Corman, The Cohen Brothers, William Friedkin, George Lucas, Penelope Spheeris, Francis Ford Coppola, John Landis, Kathryn Bigelow, Sam Raimi, Terry Gilliam, Alice Guy-Blache, Spike Jonze, David Cronenberg, Richard Linklater, Lilly and Lana Wachowski, Maya Deren, John Waters, Russ Meyer, Martin Scorsese, Ida Lupino, Lloyd Kauffman. David Lynch, Stephen Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Paul Bartel, Judd Apatow, John Carpenter, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, George Romero, James Cameron, Ridley Scott, David Fincher, Tim Burton, et al.
Julia: All of the above.
MobileMovieMaking: How did you come up with the idea for “Home/Body”?
Dylan: We were Roger and Julie Corman’s handlers before the contest at the 2019 Lovecraft Horror Festival at the Hollywood Theater in Portland. My wife, Julia, heard about the contest, and I immediately started to think of a premise. The COVID-19 lockdown had started and our neighbor moved out across the hall from us. The door was unlocked. I thought, how can we make a story with an empty apartment as a set-double for our apartment? I smoked some good PNW herb and came up with an idea in seconds. Perfect timing and no need to pay anyone for a free set or move anything out of our place!
Julia: The title was a little challenging too. We were going to call it “Ghosted” but it didn’t quite sit well with us. Being in Quarantine forced us all to be “homebodies” and then it struck us. “HOME/BODY” hints that “somebody” will be in trouble.
MobileMovieMaking: How did you plan the shoot?
Dylan: I made an outline with notes. Not exactly a real screenplay. We are graphic people, but it was just easier to turn on the lights, adjust the camera and stand in front of it to find out what worked in our heads. Storyboards weren’t necessary. We pulled a Werner Herzog.
Julia: To maximize our time filming in the empty apartment, we wrote a shot list to be sure we took advantage of the night’s darkness. We also didn’t know if the new tenants would be moving soon.
MobileMovieMaking: What gear did you use?
Dylan: Tascam DR-40 Digital Audio Recorder, Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Phone, Adobe Premiere Pro and a Hammy’s Pizza box as a steady-cam. Lots of gaff-tape.
Julia: Sunpak LED 330 Light Kit, Rosco Gels, Rode VideoMic Go.
MobileMovieMaking: Could you discuss your method of directing yourselves?
Dylan: I would tell Julia where to set the lights and aim the camera, and sometimes she would tell me where she was going to place them anyway. It was collaborative. I just developed the premise in my late-night stupor and insisted Julia act in it, too. And we used Zoom for our cam dancer/actor friends. We recorded a lot more footage than we used. We shot mostly multiple takes and used the best ones. Julia is my producer, but usually if I am in front of the camera, she directs me, so we wear many hats.
MobileMovieMaking: Could you talk about how you created the special effects?
Dylan: For the ghostly cupboards doors we just used strings. The VFX was provided by the great Daniel Leatherdale. We were introduced to him by our friend West Ramsey at our GuignolFest horror film contest. He’s worked on huge hit films! We shot the footage on the shower, sent it to him, he sent us back VFX changes based on suggestions and we edited the changes into the final cut. He worked on two shots, which came out spectacularly! We didn’t expect to win, but we topped ourselves as a two person film operation.
MobileMovieMaking: During the shoot did you encounter any big problems?
Julia: During the week of shooting, I was deathly ill. I had 7 of the 9 symptoms for COVID-19, but tested negative. I had to take a break after each shot because I would break out into a sweat and felt delirious. That made film editing very difficult too.
MobileMovieMaking: Were there any surprises during post production?
Julia: We completed our shots as fast as we could and only reviewed them briefly on the camera so we could move on. During post-production, some of the shot lighting was either too dark or blown out, so there were shots that never made it to the final cut. The Zoom footage with the dancers was not the best quality for audio or video, especially when they need to be enlarged for the film’s format. That’s where adaptability is most needed to achieve a good visual aesthetic.
MobileMovieMaking: Any advice for people just starting out making movies?
Dylan: Loosen up. Work doesn’t have to be uptight and pretty. Feed your crew. If someone gets belligerent and tries to direct your movie, kick them off the set. Lots of films these days are stiff and take themselves too seriously, while losing the serious take on the craft, story, and fun-flow of the artistic process! Unless you have done a lot of stage work in a drama and comedy level, just be yourself. Being cute is bad. Be honest. Tap into the truth in what you are presenting, but learn to find the funny behind it all. It also helps you get through the shoot easier if you are laughing with each other while understanding that making the film isn’t a game. It’s just the most fun job ever!
Julia: We run Guignolfest, the annual 72-hour horror movie contest. There are a lot of new film makers and hobbyists who ask us how to get inspired or tackle a timed challenge. We practice what we advise. Write down all of the big ideas, collaborate often, take breaks together, be flexible. After figuring out logistics and talking shop, you’ll be surprised at how innovative and novel you and your team can be. If you feel unsafe, even if you are an actor, you have the right to say, “CUT!
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You can find out more about Julia and Dylan on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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The editors of MobileMovieMaking have chosen “Home/Body” as the Mobile Movie of the Week.
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