Hall of Mirrors:
Inteview with Brad Osborne
by Kevin Lindenmuth
A young gambling addict (Eric Johnson), way in over his head, becomes extremely desperate to pay off his growing debt-even if it means doing something highly illegal. The night before he's supposed to come up with the money he meets a beautiful woman (Julie Arebalo) at a bar-they hit it off and they end up back at her apartment. He goes home and is woken up by a cryptic phone call-the voice on the other end promises to get him out of his trouble if he shows up at a restaurant at noon the next day. With little choice, he agrees. When he shows up a mysterious man meets him-and explains that he can pay off his debt by buying high quality counterfeit money-for ten thousand they'll give him a hundred thousand in fake. After he agrees-and is taken to their counterfeiting operation-he sees that the woman he slept with the night before is involved-and from that point on he doesn't know who to trust.
I had no idea what was going to happen in his film-it grip-ped my interest and kept me guessing all the way to the end. The story was also depressing as hell, not a bad thing. All in all, Hall of Mirrors is one of the best shot on digital movies I've ever seen. It's the first feature project as writer, director and composer for Brad Osborne, who is working on the preproduction of his new movie, which involves the ghost of a dead 1940's movie star.
GC: Brad, tell us a bit about yourself�
BRAD:
I am a writer, producer, director and composer for AMS Production Group in
Dallas (a full-service television, film & video production facility). I have
a BA in journalism, and although I never worked at a newspaper my degree did
teach me a lot about the art of writing (mainly to get to the point as quickly
as possible). I've written three feature length scripts, several shorts, and
a novel. My background in music is primarily self-taught; I have composed
numerous songs, film scores, industrial scores, commercial jingles and website
soundtracks. I live in north Dallas with my wife Jessica (who has a cameo
in Hall of Mirrors) and our two-month old daughter, Madelyn.
GC: What was the budget of Hall of Mirrors?
BRAD: It was made without outside financing of any kind, for a budget of just under $5,000.
GC: What are your influences and aspirations and what got you into wanting to make movies? Are you a fan of genre films?
BRAD: I've always loved to tell stories, and like most filmmakers I find that making movies fulfills an internal need for creative expression across a broad variety of artistic elements. Being in control of those elements -- shaping a story exactly the way you want it to be experienced -- is a tremendous high for me. I'm especially interested in -- and influenced by -- the work of directors and film composers. I admire directors who have a very pronounced style, like Kubrick and Mamet, for example, and I'm a big fan of composers who are able to really nail a mood... people like Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, John Barry, Bernard Herrmann, and others. Of course, it's especialIy interesting to me when directors compose their own scores -- like John Carpenter and Alejandro Amenabar -- because they are in greatest control of their film's emotional impact on the audience.
GC: Are you a huge fan of genre films?
BRAD:
Am I a fan of genre films? I guess I am. I mean, I love the Hitchcock/Mamet-style
puzzlers, but I also love horror
films (I follow Halloween and Phantasm installments religiously),
historical epics like Braveheart and Spartacus, and even a well-executed
romantic drama or two. And I am an unabashed Star Trek junkie. Hall of
Mirrors is a psychological thriller, and as much as I love twists and
surprises I don't see myself making the same kind of movie over and over again.
The next project I'm working on is a ghost story of sorts centering around
an old movie theatre. Of course, I think it would be fun to do a balls-to-the-wall
horror film if I can find a truly original angle. Comedy, however, is not
something I have any ambition to do. I tend to gravitate to "serious" or "dark"
subject matter for some reason.
GC: How important was your script? How much did your script change during shooting? Did you have your actors improvise at all?
BRAD: The script was very important on two fronts. First, Hall of Mirrors is a very complex story that deals with numerous layers of deception, so we had to stick close to the script simply to keep the structure intact. When you have a tale as multi-layered as this, even something as simple as an omitted or misplaced word or two could collapse the plot structure like a house of cards. So while the actors were free to improvise with their characters and actions, dialog had to stay more or less true to the original script.
The screenplay was also essential in getting people interested in doing the project for no money. I knew I couldn't approach actors or crew with a mediocre script�it had to be a compelling read. To that end I tried to make the script as narrative and dramatic as possible. If you read it, you'll notice a lot of attention to exposition, mood, scene descriptions, etc. It's not just a blueprint for shooting, it's a story in and of itself.
GC: Did the script change at all when you were shooting?
BRAD: The only significant deviation from the script vs. shooting was the ending; I came up with the "final twist" on a whim and flew out to Las Vegas and shot it with Eric after most of the production had been completed.
GC: Hall of Mirrors is very different than most independent DV features in that it isn't a horror or sci-fi movie but a psychological thriller more in the vein of The Usual Suspects. Why did you decide to go this route? Was it an idea you had for a while?
BRAD: I guess I wanted to take the perception of what can be done on DV in a bit of a new direction. As you indicate, most shot-on-video stuff out there seems to fall into the horror and erotica genres, and that's fine with me. But I didn't want the medium to limit me in terms of the type of movie I could make. That's why we went to great lengths to make the film as "un-video-like" as possible, attempting to achieve the dramatic look and feel of film by experimenting with lighting, shutter speed, filters, etc.
Why a psychological thriller? As stated previously, I'm a big fan of "deception" movies... The Spanish Prisoner, The Game, and 'Suspects are a few of the really good ones. I love a good storyteller's ability to manipulate an audience's perceptions about what they think they see vs. what's really happening.
The idea for Hall of Mirrors was born after doing some research on confidence games. It's amazing how creative some people can get in order to scam others out of their money. I read about a con called "The Green Goods," and the idea seemed brilliant in it's simplicity. In this con, the victim -- or "mark" -- is shown real money and told that it's counterfeit. Snared by the amazing quality of the currency, the mark agrees to buy some of the "faux" cash for a fraction of its face value. He is taken by blindfold to a "secret printing facility", where the blindfold is then removed and the transaction takes place. But the con artists switch bags after the blindfold is put back on for the return trip home, and the mark soon discovers he's got nothing in his bag but sawdust or bundles of blank paper.
So that was the germ of the story. Of course, it only took me to the end of the first act. The rest of the story deals with the protagonist's desire to get revenge on the con artists, and the layer-upon-layer of deception that unfolds therein. It was a fun script to write.
GC: What equipment/format do you use and why did you choose this? Talk about Digital vs. Film, in your opinion.
BRAD: We shot the movie entirely on a Sony Digital 8 camera. We did this for budgetary reasons, first and foremost. Actually I could have used a very expensive D-30 BetaCam for free, but the $900 Digital 8 had more flexibility in terms of in-camera functions, which went a long way in achieving a cinematic, "film-like" look and feel for the project. Specifically, the camera has a digital feature called "Flash," which is basically a single-frame mode that on it's fastest setting simulates the 24 frames-per-second aesthetic of film. We also used hard, contrasting lighting with lots of shadow whenever possible and added a #2 diffusion filter on the lens to soften images. The result is something that looks very much like medium-grade 16mm film.
I'm not a fan of the "video look," no matter how crisp, clear and colorful. Not for dramatic works, anyway. Shooting on 35mm film would have been my first choice, but it's completely cost-prohibitive for the micro-budget filmmaker. I think as technology progresses -- especially as the cost of HD or 24P cameras come down -- low-budget filmmakers will have a lot more options available. I look forward to that day!
GC: Talk about cost/budget/funding
BRAD: The funding answer will be short: we had none. Fortunately I have access through my job to lighting and audio gear, and some locations. Props and sets we created ourselves. We paid out of pocket for meals, craft service, a home-made dolly, camera & tape stock, a rental car, a motel room, two blackjack tables, a trip to Vegas, and a little bribing money. That's about it. All told: less than five grand. Seems impossible when I look back at it, but I'm very proud of the fact that we didn't spend a lot on this film. I will say, however, that I'm not anxious to jump into it again without at least some funding....from the standpoint of time, energy, and dogged resourcefullness, making Hall of Mirrors was a beating I'm not too anxious to take again!
GC: Anything you want to add?
BRAD: It can be a very frustrating industry for storytellers like you and I. Money talks, but fortunately creativity and talent still count for an awful lot, and if you're truly passionate about something, you can make it happen and find your audience. After all, that's what it's all about anyway. There's nothing greater than someone walking out of the theatre after seeing your film and saying, "Wow." Makes it all worth it, and then some.
Go to: http://hallofmirrors.com
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