During this weekend I dedicated myself to search for locations where I can film certain key scenes of The Road to Celaya.
Went to look on several spots on a highway where we can shoot interior truck scenes, as well as some exterior shots. I mainly focused to look on spots that have the feeling of being a real highway. But I also think it is important to avoid important or visible landmarks, because we want to convey the idea that it is a highway towards Celaya. If we show certain buildings or hotels that don't match with the actual scenery towards Celaya, it will not be believable. That is why I am also avoiding shooting in known places like big parks, government buildings, or even the theater school as suggested by some.
I need default locations. For example, if I'm looking for a highway, it has to look the way a highway would like anywhere in Mexico. If I am looking for a "city outskirt" scene, we need a view that doesn't show a recognizable skyline. My impossibility to travel to Celaya, the place where the attacks occured, has to be compansated with sacrifice to many "visible" places where I shoot. Part of doing a movie is also showing the places, locations. But in this case I need to focus more on the story, and use locations as it should really be, just locations. If I am going to look for a place with gas tubes for the explosion scene, I need to use something similar, not the same.
Talking about tubes, during this weekend I also looked for a good place for the Pemex scene, where the explosives will be set by the guerrilla. I found a perfect spot! It is a water treatment plant southeast of the city, along the river that separates Mexico and the US. I was told by people that work there that I need to go ask an engineer for permission. Actually I saw the tubes I was initially interested are outside the water plant perimeter, but as I expected, the water guy defended those tubes were the city's property. That is why I went to ask first, in order to avoid any confusion. Before doing his scene, I shall get permission from this engineer in charge of municipal water and sewage. By the way, once I was inside the water plant, I saw some better tubes, that actually can resemble the Pemex tubes, mainly because of the valves.
The other location I am really worried is the rape scene place. I basically need a place where I can work comfortably with my actress, in order to recreate a violent rape. Even acting it would be tough, but I know she can do it. The problem is where to act it out. I need a contolled place. Preferably a closed place, in order to avoid problems. Right now I have two options: A baseball field and a house in the outskirts. Avoid the American image of a baseball field, it is a dirty, lonely, baseball field. Along the "dugouts" there are some sort of cabins, perfect for the scene I want to perform. I wrote the scene to be exterior, because it gives more raw into the rape scene as it happens in real life in the indigenous and poverty-stricken communities of Mexico.
Other simultaneous projects prevented me from having another meeting with my actors. And I also scheduled this weekend to go out and buy used clothing from Mexican flea markets. They're really cheap, but I need to look for the right sizes, and I have to dedicate a whole day for it.
sábado, 20 de octubre de 2007
martes, 16 de octubre de 2007
First thoughts for The Road to Celaya
I formed this blog in order to serve as a way of documenting what happens throughout the process of making The Road to Celaya movie. But also to jot down ideas, personal comments as the director of the movie, as well as any editing or artistic perspectives.
The Road to Celaya (El Camino a Celaya) is a short film I am finishing writing, and will film no later than November of 2007. Even when I was not sure of the title, I thought it would best describe what the movie is all about. After all, it is a road movie genre. If all plans work out well, it will be finished and edited by December 2007.
The Road to Celaya in a nutshell is an original story of how events might have unfolded before and during the attack on Celaya's gas pipes last summer by the subversive Mexican guerrilla group, the EPR.
This means that all events and characters are fictional, except the end result, the explosions at Celaya by EPR guerrilla members. Who they were? We don't know, except they claimed to be EPR. What they did before the attack? We also ignore the facts, because they are secretive, for obvious reasons. How many were they? We also ignore it. What did they used? By press and government releases, we know it was done with explosive devices. They used the explosive devices in part from a quantity of "salchichas" (weiners) stolen from San Luis Potosi. They are known as weiners because of the form resembles a hot dog frank.
There was no open casting. Contrary to what I did with my previous short, Yaocihuatl, I went to select the actors from a tight theater student group. I want to rely on images, this means on actors abilities to express emotions and messages. Very different from Yaocihuatl, on which I relied in Mexican Indigenous history (contrary to Mel Gibson's Apocalypto) and in visuals such as combat and costumes. This times is different.
As of now I am missing only one master scene in The Road To Celaya's screenplay, what I call the Pharmacy scene which will serve as a flashback in the story.
There will be two male characters, which will be the leading actors. Thus, the guerrilleros.
There will be two male characters as soldiers.
One female character, which will be raped by the Mexican soldiers in the second flashback scene.
One male, who will be the buzon movil, or mobile mail. In guerrilla lingo this guy is the "contact" or "messenger".
Now here comes the problem. For the pharmacy scene I originally though the following characters.
Obviously one male of the leading actors... but an additional male as an ill family member and another additional male as the rude pharmacist. What if, instead of using too many male actors, I use females? For example, one female to be the ill family member, and a young female to be the rude pharmacist. Here's the problem, I already selected my actors and actress. This means that I will have to kick male actors and get female actors. If selecting was tedious for me, because all are great performers, it will be worst for me to go there and say kick guys out of a project, and get in females that I didn't consider them in the first place. I know, some people are just naturals when casting. I'm not. For me, I'ts the nightmarish part of the process of preproduction.
The Road to Celaya (El Camino a Celaya) is a short film I am finishing writing, and will film no later than November of 2007. Even when I was not sure of the title, I thought it would best describe what the movie is all about. After all, it is a road movie genre. If all plans work out well, it will be finished and edited by December 2007.
The Road to Celaya in a nutshell is an original story of how events might have unfolded before and during the attack on Celaya's gas pipes last summer by the subversive Mexican guerrilla group, the EPR.
This means that all events and characters are fictional, except the end result, the explosions at Celaya by EPR guerrilla members. Who they were? We don't know, except they claimed to be EPR. What they did before the attack? We also ignore the facts, because they are secretive, for obvious reasons. How many were they? We also ignore it. What did they used? By press and government releases, we know it was done with explosive devices. They used the explosive devices in part from a quantity of "salchichas" (weiners) stolen from San Luis Potosi. They are known as weiners because of the form resembles a hot dog frank.
There was no open casting. Contrary to what I did with my previous short, Yaocihuatl, I went to select the actors from a tight theater student group. I want to rely on images, this means on actors abilities to express emotions and messages. Very different from Yaocihuatl, on which I relied in Mexican Indigenous history (contrary to Mel Gibson's Apocalypto) and in visuals such as combat and costumes. This times is different.
As of now I am missing only one master scene in The Road To Celaya's screenplay, what I call the Pharmacy scene which will serve as a flashback in the story.
There will be two male characters, which will be the leading actors. Thus, the guerrilleros.
There will be two male characters as soldiers.
One female character, which will be raped by the Mexican soldiers in the second flashback scene.
One male, who will be the buzon movil, or mobile mail. In guerrilla lingo this guy is the "contact" or "messenger".
Now here comes the problem. For the pharmacy scene I originally though the following characters.
Obviously one male of the leading actors... but an additional male as an ill family member and another additional male as the rude pharmacist. What if, instead of using too many male actors, I use females? For example, one female to be the ill family member, and a young female to be the rude pharmacist. Here's the problem, I already selected my actors and actress. This means that I will have to kick male actors and get female actors. If selecting was tedious for me, because all are great performers, it will be worst for me to go there and say kick guys out of a project, and get in females that I didn't consider them in the first place. I know, some people are just naturals when casting. I'm not. For me, I'ts the nightmarish part of the process of preproduction.
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