Here's mine for HFD!
Greetings!
"High Fire Danger!" is our attempt to return to simple, old-fashioned fun in the style of a 20's era silent comedy. In doing so, we also had the fantastic opportunity to shoot on film, and to capture the picturesque beauty of the Rogue River and it's surrounding landscape, located on the southern coast of Oregon.
Personally, I found shooting silent is easier in that you don't need total silence and can command your actors while filming, but it was also more difficult as it has been many decades since actors expressed themselves with such large movements, as is necessary to convey the story on screen. The additional task of having the same actor play the three main characters of the film presented a rather difficult deliemma: With no split screen available, how can you cut together shots of two characters talking to each other in a scene when only one is at a time? How to make it believable to the audience?
In the end, my terrific team of actors, lead by Don Hayes, really performed well for the camera, and I think it shows in the final product.
The reversal (7265 Kodak) film we shot on was very limiting in its latitude - but again the end product is all that matters - and the film definately retains a very authentic look, which is exactly what we've been going for all along.
Our score was composed by our dear friend and local artist, Ted Gunlock, mixing and matching some of the finest ragtime piano scores ever created.
Recorded in 5.1 surround sound, the soundtrack attempts to recreate the old theater experience as well, offering the pianist located at the right front, and a projector from the rear center.
Hopefully the combination of all of this means a truly unforgettable experience for our audience... a true step back in time to days of simpler, more upbeat entertainment. In any case, it was a joy to work with such enthusiastic cast and crew on this film, and to get to relive the past myself, in back of the camera.
Trevor Greenfield
Writer/Director of "High Fire Danger"
http://www.highfiredanger.com