A bit belated but! We're honored to have played and been awarded Best Cinematography at @brooklynwomensfilmfestival a few months ago!! We love BWFF and founder @katymayhudson 's awesome support of female filmmakers! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
.
.
.
#BWFF2021 #bestcinematography #reddawntrio #filmfestivallife #filmfest #supportindiefilm #indiefilm #shortfilm #shootfilm #filmisnotdead #35mmfilm #filmmaking #cinematography #femalefilmmaker #femaledp #femalecinematographer #femaledirector #womendirectors #womeningenre #bestcinematographer #kodak #madewithkodak
Tonight 1/14 we're playing @midnightfilmsny film festival liiive in the shorts block!! From 6-9pm at The Local NY in LIC. Tickets link in bio!
.
.
.
#reddawntrio #analogvibes #madewithkodak #filmfestivallife #filmfest #supportindiefilm #indiefilm #shortfilm #shootfilm #filmisnotdead #35mmfilm #filmmaking #cinematography #femalefilmmaker #femaledp #femalecinematographer #femaledirector #womendirectors #womeningenre #moviemaking #filmfestival
We're looking forward to being at @revolutionmefilms Festival this weekend! Dawn is playing in the online Experimental block on Sunday 10/10 at 2p. Tickets are free! Link is in bio!
.
Thanks for having us @wanderlustfilmmaker !!
.
#rmff2021 #revolutionmefilmfestival#reddawntrio #filmfestivallife #filmfest #supportindiefilm #indiefilm #shortfilm #shootfilm #filmisnotdead #35mmfilm #filmmaking #cinematography #femalefilmmaker #femaledp #femalecinematographer #femaledirector #womendirectors #womeningenre #moviemaking #filmfestival
Uepa!! We're counting down the days til NY Latino Film Festival and are beyond excited to be screening with the fest. Thanks @NYLatinoFilmFestival for having us!
And our Dawn sister @nicollemarquez will be there with her film La Ciudad del Silencio too!
Dawn will screen in the online Midnight block on Friday 9/17 at 11p with a Q&A to follow. Vamoo pa ya!!
#WeAreNYLFF #NYLFF #NYLFF2021#ThisIsNYLFF #NYLFFshorts #latinofilmmaker #reddawntrio #filmfestivallife #filmfest #supportindiefilm #indiefilm #shortfilm #shootfilm #filmisnotdead #35mmfilm #filmmaking #cinematography #femalefilmmaker #femaledp #femalecinematographer #femaledirector #womendirectors #womeningenre #moviemaking #filmfestival
We're beyond thrilled to be featured at this years @PhilipKDickFest , incredible #scifi fest here at home in NY. We’re playing at 7 PM on Sunday, 9/17 at the @producersclub - catch us there in live human form 👾
#PKDFestNYC #newyorkscifi #philipkdick #scifi #reddawntrio #filmfestivallife #filmfest #supportindiefilm #indiefilm #shortfilm #shootfilm #filmisnotdead #35mmfilm #filmmaking #cinematography #femalefilmmaker #femaledp #femalecinematographer #femaledirector #womendirectors #womeningenre #moviemaking #filmfestival
We've had an awesome summer, thanks again to @theartofbklyn@defyfilmfest@momfilmfest for having us! Next up, can't wait to screen at @nylatinofilmfestival and @philipkdickfest next week and several more later this fall! Stay tuned...
#reddawntrio #filmfestivallife #filmfest #supportindiefilm #indiefilm #shortfilm #shootfilm #filmisnotdead #35mmfilm #filmmaking #cinematography #femalefilmmaker #femaledp #femalecinematographer #femaledirector #womendirectors #womeningenre #moviemaking #filmfestival #aobff21
Sometimes what you scout just isn’t what you end up with (part 2/2)
.
After looking everywhere in NYC for my apocalyptic dream, we wound up in Port Jefferson, Long Island. Tucked away from view was an idyllic little playground on top of a small cliff, buried in sand from the surrounding dunes, overlooking the Long Island sound. The location was perfect; abandoned, nostalgic, ethereal - the squeaking of the swings transported me to some kind of otherworldly place. But what really struck me was the light that afternoon. We caught a perfectly clear day and the way the shadows played through the wooden structures, the sharp angles cast by the swing sets, all the aggressive geometry of an otherwise serene place created a uniquely eerie atmosphere.
.
Unfortunately we had three days of rain and cloud cover when it came time to shoot. The location now lacked the sunny charm - but I had to work with it regardless. I tried to maintain the essence of the geometry that had captivated me on the scout. Find the angles that made the location special. Ultimately the bleakness of a cloudy day by the ocean gave us a different kind of charm, one that loaned itself well to the rest of the story, and gave a flavor to the script that was welcomed and totally different than what I’d imagined and what we would’ve gotten had the sun come out that day.
.
With small shoots you have to plan for the worst, hope for the best and embrace the unexpected! What’re some happy accidents you’ve had to accept on your sets?
.
#ShotOnFilm #35mm #kodakvision3 #kodakfilm #filmisnotdead #directorofphotography #dp #dop #cinematography #cinematographer #independentfilm #cinema #filmcommunity #filmindustry #shortfilm #locationscout #longisland #portjefferson
When you don’t have money for a production designer, let alone an entire art department, location is everything (part 1/2)
.
The clock was ticking, it was about one week before the shoot and we still hadn’t locked in a location. We wanted a place that felt timeless, a backdrop that couldn’t immediately be placed on a map. The location was as much a character in the story as Dawn was, and we were open to any place as long as it abided by our one ironclad rule: ABSOLUTELY NO WHITE-WALLED BORING-ASS BROOKLYN APTS
.
I had my heart set on the Staten Island Farm Colony. Built in 1898 as a self-preserving housing community for the impoverished and socially outcast, it failed in its utopian goal and was eventually abandoned. The 1970s saw the disappearance of many local children; one minute they’d be walking with their parents, the next they’d be gone, only to be discovered days later in shallow graves on Farm Colony property. Past residents were often spotted haunting the grounds, walking the quickly decaying tunnels and hallways under the buildings they once worked to maintain.
.
So, obviously, you can see why I’d want to shoot a movie there.
.
These photos are what DAWN could’ve been - taken on the location scout moments before @matt_dig and I were stopped by two plainclothes cops (one of whom was wearing a Simpsons shirt) for trespassing. We managed to talk our way out of a fine (and explain the leatherman we had with us because #setlife ) but it was clear we couldn’t film there. In our defense, it was midday, we were lugging around a tripod and cameras, there is no fence around the property, anyone can enter, it borders a baseball field that was filled with dozens of kids that day, and it is deemed a “historical place” with 4.2 stars on Google reviews, so not exactly a well-kept secret.
.
This location was a bust, but I wasn’t giving up on the urban decay of my dreams. Luckily, Matt had a trick up his sleeve and we headed to Long Island…
.
Part 2/2 will cover how we found our ideal location, and how I had to curb my expectations from scout to shoot! What’re some of your favorite offbeat locations in and around NYC?
