By robert kurtz

17 March 2007

Last spring, one of my closest friends got tired of listening to my fantasies about becoming a filmmaker. Of listening to my complaints about not being able to afford film school, or even to get a project started on my own due to lack of funds and resources. So, he finally called me out.

"Then what are you going to do about it? Do you own a movie camera? No? Well, you've got a regular camera. Plan a movie, shoot it as stills with your friends, and put it out to the public. It won't be a real film, more of a photo story, but you'll get some practice and be able to realize your imagination in visual media. And you can stop freakin' bothering me."

Over the next six months, I shot three short photo stories, using a Canon 350D whose instruction manual I had barely begun to read. My goal was to use visual storytelling to introduce characters and conflict, and to develop character arcs through climactic conflict resolution.

"Johanna Loves Megan" started as two friends who wanted me to shoot a day of their hanging out and causing mischief. We shot in a Mexican restaurant karaoke bar, a public shopping mall, then a city park, all with natural lighting. Along the way, Jo and Meg helped develop a story that followed two best friends who, through mutual jealousy, fought a hilarious Spy-vs.-Spy battle with claw hammers and kitchen knives. 24 shots, with a barely discernable, yet ridiculously fun, storyline.

"Eny vs. Nicole" was 3 hours of 103-degree hell in the Central Valley wastelands south of Fresno, CA. I went into this shoot with pre-planned plot; however, most of the story captured reflects the props and location discovered the morning of the shoot. Once again, no other equipment other than my camera. I succeeded in ripping off Money Shots from just about every samurai movie I had seen since childhood. 24 shots of two good-looking young women in awesome Asian dresses wielding inappropriately huge swords.

"Alive" was my most heavily planned photo story. I spent a night storyboarding the first two hours of the zombie apocalypse, which could be shot in a local house (re: available location and resources). The next two weeks consisted of networking with friends and meeting their friends, all the while selling artists on my hopes to shoot a zombie photo story. I used myspace to its maximum potential, posting bulletins and sending emails to get commitments. The night of the shoot, 35 eager people arrived in homemade costumes and makeup to work seven hours as cast and crew. They were happy to work for booze and food.

I even got a lighting director, a friend who actually Did know about things like aperture and color temperature. I supplied the equipment to steal the look and feel of 1960's horror films by masters like Hitchcock, Romero, and Franju:

- standing lamp with a 100W bulb and flexible neck

- clamping lamp with a 60W bulb

- telescoping shower pole

- power strip

- one of those really long orange extension cords

- 8' step ladder

- crappy aluminum tripod

- plastic tabletop tripod that came with the camera bag

- 2 collapsing silver dashboard reflectors

- 3' x 3' white drawing pad

- the lighting director's Speedlight flash

Unfortunately, I spent too much time trying to make each storyboard perfect in camera, in sequence with the plot. My lighting director had time to help with the first dozen shots (which were gorgeous)., but had to jet after 2 hours. With over 90% of the story unshot, I forced myself to use the storyboard as a guide only, and to set up and shoot without hesitation. The cast and crew found this nervous energy motivating, and helped to work as efficiently as possible. We still shot in sequence, and as we found ourselves racing the clock to the end, the final act photos captured that kinetic atmosphere, easily translated into the horror genre.

A big bonus for the cast and crew was the 350D. The Video Out jack allowed me to plug into the house owner's big screen and show our progress during breaks. It also helped me plan editing and post processing while on set. The final show, with everyone jammed into the living room after the last frame had been captured, evoked genuine emotion and applause. My friends and I had all created something larger than our individual talents.

What have I learned from these projects that help you with your own?

- If you have an idea for a photo story, Shoot It.

- Get your friends involved; they want to help, and their ideas will always help your vision.

- Work with the equipment you've got and forget the high-tech awesome gear you can't get.

- Be flexible; your story may naturally change with available locations, costumes, props, etc.

- Don't be afraid to rip off the masters. Masters of photography, of painting, of sculpture, of film, of storytelling, of even comic books. Right now, this stuff's just practice (and most masters have stolen from other masters before them).

- Work within your budget. Zero dollars means a lot of begging and favor-bartering, but it can be worthwhile.

- Recognize your friends for their talents, and then exploit those talents (remember favor-bartering - you can help others with their projects in the same way).

- Don't stop because of setbacks. Interpret those setbacks as creative challenges. Your photo stories will be stronger because of it.

I hope to see your photo story soon.

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Robert Kurtz aspires to be a self-taught photographer, and he learns more every day.

He hopes that he'll gather the friends and resources this summer to shoot "Melee," a photo story about a Ballerina Ninja Assassin hired by a Leprechaun to kill a Waitress at a Pirate-Themed Restaurant and steal his gold back. If the shoot goes well, 40 frames of story will bookend 200 frames of mayhem: 105 lbs of Pink-Tutu'ed fury destroying 30 Pirate-Waiter/Waitress henchmen in their hideout shanty.

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