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Laughing All the Way to Shady Pines

Last week I had the chance to catch two short films by a talented young director out of USC named V.K. Shaw, "Welcome to Shady Pines" and "The Cheapest Man in the Room."

"Welcome to Shady Pines" (5 min) is presented as a submission video for Real Estate Agent of the Year from a relentlessly cheerful woman named Estelle (a pitch-perfect Katie Pengra). Estelle energetically markets less-than-livable properties to less-than-creditworthy individuals. "Shady Pines" features a really strong comedic sense of character and looks like it could be the start of something bigger.

"Shady Pines" made me interested to check out "The Cheapest Man in the Room" (16 min). "Cheapest Man" has a great comedic premise -- how would a 'financially cautious' individual take a girl out on a date. I would've liked to see this character in a wider range of situations. How does he organize his life around pinching pennies? "Cheapest Man" has some stylish directing and a treat for those who stay to watch the credits. The main character works in nursing home and there are several fine older actors found through SAGIndie.

I asked V.K. about using SAGIndie, since I know a lot of indie filmmakers find some of their requirements onerous. V.K. didn't have a problem:

I did not have any actors in mind for the project, so I knew casting would take a while. I didn't want to limit myself with just Non-Union talent, even though they were skilled; I wanted to use SAG actors.

I consulted a few friends, and they all said to contact SAG about the SAG short film agreement. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but working with SAG was a pleasure. The initial paperwork was very simple to complete. The exact instructions are available on www.SAGIndie.com. A week or so later, SAG sent me a whole packet of information along with a contact number for the representative. If I had any questions about the paperwork, I just called or emailed our SAG representative and she answered every question. As we came finished the casting process, we submitted the last pages of SAG work. The most important thing I learned from SAG is that you have to be really organized. There are a lot of forms, and you need to keep multiple copies of them. If you are going to work with SAG, I would start the process 6 weeks in advance and make sure it's done 3 weeks before you start shooting. You can start casting while the paperwork is being processed. As for pay, you can defer all the pay for the actors, but you do have to pay for their mileage at 35 cents a mile. If you work SAG talent for longer than 8 hours, you do have to pay an overtime rate. Most of the SAG rules are basic and worth the effort. An important note is that SAG requires the production to have Workers Compensation Insurance. While they never actually check for it, it can cost at least $700. In the end, SAG is very helpful with the process and you should meet with the SAG representative about your project. If you are an aspiring director or producer, you want to establish a good record with them.

V.K. said both films will be posted on Funny or Die in December. In the meantime, you can watch "Shady Pines" here.

About J. Ott

John Ott is a writer, filmmaker and futurist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.