Don’t Be Afraid to Put Your Foot Down: An Interview with Hebron “6Gun” Simckes-Joffe

16Sep/111

Don’t Be Afraid to Put Your Foot Down: An Interview with Hebron “6Gun” Simckes-Joffe

Hebron Simkes-Joffe first came to my attention when I got his film in the mail. I didn't request it and he didn't send it to me. It was, in fact, due to a still-unexplained mix-up on the part of the Comic-Con International Film Festival. Nevertheless, it got us talking filmmaking. Here's the results of our conversation over email...

Making the Movie: When did you first become interested in making movies?

Simckes-Joffe: One of the first movies I ever saw was Poltergeist. As a child, this experience traumatized me but it also instilled in me the power of cinema. I knew from that moment on, some day, I would make dramatic art. I started out with poetry, then fiction, then theatre, but ultimately transitioned to film (though I still have a passion for live theatre and playwriting).

It looks like you've studied at my alma mater, Tisch at NYU, but I could tell from the credits on your short "6Gun" that you also have a strong Chapman connection.

My first experience actually shooting was while I was at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where I studied under Sam Pollard (one of the greatest teachers I have ever had), David Irving and Darryl Wilson. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how expensive filmmaking was until I dove into it head first. Due to the financial strain, upon graduation I ended up working as a production mixer on feature films, then a part-time audio technician, part-time film projector at NYU and a part-time chef for a number of years.

After some time pursuing these part-time jobs as well as further academic interests, I decided I had to return to directing and writing, and developed an interest in moving to LA and getting a graduate MFA degree. I did some research and found Chapman's film school, in Orange County, offered a complimentary counter-point to what I got at NYU. Chapman, which is a conservatory, is very much based in the "Hollywood" system, and I wanted to experience that. They also pay for all MFA thesis productions and offer their facilities, and equipment, to graduate alumni, for life. I envisioned this to be a positive venture that would pave a straight path back to directing and writing, expand my network and allow me to grow as a director, familiar with both the indie model and Hollywood system.

I am a big fan of film school, in general. I gained more than I can convey, from my experiences at NYU, Chapman and other institutions. Even today, my professors at NYU support, encourage, and advise me. The "family" aspect of it should not be underestimated. The networks are also helpful. But most of all, film school allows one to wear various hats on a film crew, creatively speaking, that would otherwise take decades to get hired for.

How did "6Gun" come about?

"6Gun" was my MFA thesis film at Chapman. I worked with two writers to develop it. But the way it came about was rather counter-intuitive. Prior to reading it, I never imagined myself making a Western. But then that is why I felt I had to do it! I wanted to challenge myself. I also realized I could introduce a new angle to the genre; I had never seen a realistic interracial Western and felt it was important to introduce this aspect to the genre.

How do you describe what it's about, in a nutshell?

"6Gun" is about Silas, who sets out to murder the man who kidnapped his child and killed his wife fifteen years prior. Six bullets will fire... but from which gun?

The production value on this film is phenomenal. How did you and your crew achieve that?

I had a fantastic production designer, Chih-Hao Chen. The film was also his thesis, as a production designer, at Chapman. Of course we got a great location, at the White Horse Ranch, in Landers, CA. Micah Brandt, our locations manager (and UPM), got us this incredible deal. We spent a few days building and decorating and they were very accommodating and allowed us a lot of freedom. We also got over forty extras from various local groups, but also part of the Pioneer Town Posse participated. Our costume designer, Ashley Hefner, was excellent, and we had a strong crew overall and great department keys.

I also have to mention that my good friend, Darko Stulic, a DP from Prague, flew in from the Czech Republic just to crew as 2nd Unit DP. He did a great job and I hope to work with him again in the near future. (Darko and I met at FAMU, in Prague, where I also briefly studied. "6Gun" allowed us to reunite.)

You made some great casting choices on this project. Tell me about the casting process.

Even though we had an extensive casting effort, with hundreds of auditions over a number of weeks, all of my initial choices prior to the whole process were selected for major roles. Ben Morrison (Punk'd, CSI:NY) and I met through the NYU alumni network. I knew he was right for the part from the first moment I saw him in a stage-play, which was put on for alumni.

I knew Daheli Hall (MadTV) from NYU as well, and when she auditioned she blew us all away with her amazing talent and her warm character. Dani Marco (SNL, The View) is a brilliant actress who was in a film I production mixed, over five years prior, in NYC. It was our luck that she was living in LA now and available. Sarah Agor (Scream Queens, Yaksha 3D) actually came to us through an audition at Cazt, in LA. Her raw talent and intensity won the committee over. Kevin Flood (Monk) is actually in almost all of my films, so casting him was a no-brainer. Mark J. Miller (Cold Mountain) came to us in an open audition, as did the rest of this unbelievable cast. It was really a combination of luck and being able to use my alumni network from NYU while simultaneously combining it with the resources I had at Chapman, that allowed this strong ensemble cast to come together.

I might also mention one mishap we had; I cast another great actress for a supporting role, named Lucia Marano, but due to a technical error, which I did not know about, she was never actually "hired." The day of her scene I was told she would not be coming and we had to re-imagine the scene. Lucia was going to play our antagonist's lover and the caretaker of our protagonist's child.

How many days did you you shoot?

We shot the entire film, on location, in five days.

The way you handle the violence in this film reminds me of the Coen Brothers. What was your approach and what were the technical challenges of working with guns and fake blood?

I hired Jack C. Huang as our stunt coordinator and fight choreographer. He was fantastic to work with. We visited set, a number of times, to formulate a sequence of events. At one point we had to re-imagine our finale because Chapman wanted us to tone down the violence. I think Jack was so flexible and willing to roll with the punches, so to speak, that our final result was strong. Also, my intent, from the start, was not to go too far over the top with the violence; I wanted it to be somewhat realistic. I think we achieved that.

It was my first time directing action sequences and I had a hell of a good time with it! This is, in part due to the many rehearsals we ran with the actors and Jack, both on and off set. The actors loved it, and my special effects artist, Yusuke, was so creative in coming up with rigs and designing makeup for the blood and wounds. The SFX did take up a bit more time than expected, but we hustled. We also added visual effects, in post; Marco Ramirez and Nick Erickson did VFX. That part was actually much more challenging; if I had to do it again I'd provide much more planning for post effects while we were still in pre-production.

What was your equipment kit - camera, sound, etc.?

We shot almost entirely on Chapman's equipment. We went for an Arri SR, Super16 rig. Sound included a bunch of wireless units, booms, and a pretty nice sound cart. I added a Sound Devices 332 to the rig and a few Sanken Cos-11 wireless units. We shot entirely on Kodak stock and had a modest lighting package.

What was the biggest challenge you faced during shooting? Was there anything you had to change at the last minute?

When we scouted the location, it snowed! This gave us pause but we were told that this was very rare and that we happened to come on the day it happened. Once on location, things went pretty smoothly but I decided to actually sleep on set, inside the ghost town, while the rest of the crew stayed in a "crew house" a few miles off. While this kept me inside the "world" of the narrative of the picture, it had terrible effects on my health. There was mildew and dust and I had difficulty breathing for a while after production wrapped.

Another challenge we had was that the day we had the most extras, including two horses, our 2nd Unit footage got flashed on set and we lost footage. Unfortunately, I was not informed about this until the end of the shoot and we made do with the footage we had. It would have been great to have an extra day of shooting, but our budget ran out.

How long was the postproduction? What was the workflow in terms of editing software, color correction, sound mix etc.? Did anything end up on the cutting room floor?

Postproduction had two phases. The first phase was picture-lock, which took only a few weeks. Sound design and temp music were set within three months.

The second phase was to secure a composer who would provide us an original score and VFX artists to finish the film. This took some months. We had to re-mix the film, adjust some of the sound effects to the music, and were ultimately done with everything almost a year after physical production wrapped. We had a colorist from Chapman color the film and all post-production was done in-house, utilizing Chapman's Spirit 2k Telecine, various coloring and audio programs and Avid systems.

In terms of the cutting-room floor, we actually had a few scenes. There is a monologue at the grave-site; Silas talks to his dead wife and vows to take revenge. There is an intimate scene with the town priest and a woman, in the church. There was also going to be a scene with the priest returning to the scene of the crime, and giving his blessing, saying his prayers for Silas and his daughter... We also had some aerial footage of the landscape and horses. And we have a scene in which Olivia arrives with the man she believes to be her father, in a horse carriage. The film is more efficient without these scenes, though the graveyard monologue is something I wish we could have played with in the cut. Perhaps, if we expand this to a feature we can get inspiration from these missing portions.

What was the budget for the film? How did you raise the money?

The budget was $30k. $10,000 came from Chapman. Equipment, film stock, editing, coloring, processing -- all were provided in-kind. A good chunk of the budget went to lodging, transportation, some additional camera rental items, costuming and food. We raised added money through friends, family and crew members(!).

What was your promotional strategy for "6Gun"?

We used some radio advertisements to get some general interest and we designed a kind of "6Gun" board game, but our primary strategy was actually to send the film to festivals. We started sending it to festivals four months ago and, thus far, it has been an official selection at Comic-Con International, HollyShorts International and the High Desert International, in Nevada. After our sold-out screening at HollyShorts, an online shorts distribution company expressed interest in distributing "6Gun" but nothing has been signed just yet.

How did you feel when you found out that Comic-Con Film Festival had mis-handled your entry?

Having screened at Comic-Con I want to express, first, my gratitude to them. I am sorry they mishandled the return of our DVD screeners and hope that they address this issue very seriously for future festivals. I am sure it was not intentional, but clearly someone made an error that could have affected many people. I am not sure how many filmmakers did or did not get their screeners back and I hope this was an isolated incident. Mistakes can happen, I just hope it was something unique and not systemic.

What is something you learned on this project which you will take into future projects?

Vigilance; don't be afraid to put your foot down. I will also be much more aware of what is happening to footage, on set. If film is flashed, it is imperative that the director know about it right away. I learned the importance of having a first-rate AD. I had some great ADs on set and I am sure that as we continue working together we will grow and learn and be more aware of signs when these kinds of issues arise. I also value the importance of re-shoots more than I did before, and hope to allow for them in future budgets.

What is next for you as a filmmaker? Any other projects in the works?

I am working with Sarah Agor on developing a comedy feature, though we are not in pre-production yet. I am also in talks with the production company State & Cabrillo about directing a mystery/thriller feature in the vein of Memento-meets-Constantine. After our HollyShorts screening, I was approached with a few feature scripts from a variety of writers. Hopefully the best script will be the first to get funding

I am also toying with the idea of returning to a script I started writing while I was at NYU. This script is titled Hit and Run and Michael Madsen has expressed interest to star.

What advice do you have for filmmakers who are just starting out?

My best advice is not to rush into production before meditating on your film; think deeply, visually, profoundly, about each scene and see it happen in your mind's eye as a movie. This might seem obvious, but it is a profound and necessary exercise that results in inspiration. There will be many moments that your subconscious mind conjures up that will inspire your shooting plan. Secondly, communicate with each and every department key; convey your vision to each department and then have them get back to you with their plans to make sure they have interpreted your vision in an inspired way that supports what you are going for. As long as there is a thread connecting all department keys, the overall "production value" will become evident.

I would also suggest being modest and never to hesitate to ask questions of those you trust, even of those you do not trust! And reach out to film communities for help.

Lastly, flexibility is key; know that filmmaking is an exercise in crisis management. Keep good problem-solvers around you at all times and don't hesitate to fire those that contribute to "crisis mode." You don't need that on set. Having said this, take special care to secure a good AD.

Where should people go to learn more about your work?

www.dumplinghouseproductions.com

I am also on IMDB and Stage32.

I have three short films which I shot simultaneously, and they are all in festivals now. "Run Edward, Run!", a short-short about a crippled war vet that tries to escape his caretaker, just won a silver ace at the Las Vegas Film Festival and an honorable mention at the Los Angeles New Wave International Film Festival. "Two Lives" just won 3rd prize, for best experimental film, at the L.A. Reel Film Festival.