Usually when you hear the phrase, “behind the scenes” or “making a movie” you think of screaming directors, excessive amounts of makeup, ridiculous props, thousand-dollar cameras, and bright lights. These things all have a place in the process of filmmaking, but the brunt of the process is often left unnoticed. The typical image that comes to mind is often one of the shortest parts in the making of the final film. Recently, I was given the opportunity to go through the entire process of creating a film.
Late last year, a small, filmmaking company in Sugarcreek, Ohio called Insert Title Productions was started up and produced a short film. The film, “First Date” premiered on March 6th and was received extremely well by the public, so much so that they have decided to create a new short and enter into a film contest. Jarrid Westfall and Tyler Snyder, the brains behind Insert Title, offered me a spot on the team to develop this new short film. When asked the question of why they would choose to shoot in a place like Sugarcreek, they both immediately replied, “Why not?” Jarrid continued by saying, “Other locations have been overdone and nobody has ever done this before. We don’t just want to follow in someone else’s footsteps.”
In the process of filmmaking, there are five major phases. The first phase, development, is where the plot for the film is selected by the producer and the script is written. The second phase, pre-production, is where the producer hires a cast and crew and gets everything ready for the actual filming. Production is the third phase where the filming takes place. Post-production involves hours upon hours of editing and processing before the final stage, distribution, where the project is released to the public.
The development and brainstorming began a few weeks ago with ideas for the plot being brought to the table as to what this film would be about. About a week after the first meeting, Jarrid chose an idea and the wheels started turning. One scene in the film requires a cliff so they headed out to look for locations. They took me along to the Dundee Falls which is about five minutes outside of Dundee. We arrived at the most known location, the falls, but Jarrid and Tyler felt that while it was pretty, it would be difficult to make it look tall enough for the shot. We went off the normal trail to a more hidden spot where a large rock jutted from the ravine wall. Jarrid looked up and said, “This is perfect.”
In the following week they put out a casting call to get several actors and actresses for the next film. The contest that they are entering has a project deadline on June 1st so there isn’t much time left. The project is moving along on schedule but both of them stressed how different working with a deadline is. The real “behind the scenes” is coming to an end and soon the filming will begin. After the filming, comes the “post-processing” and editing of all of the footage which they say is arguably the most time-consuming part of the whole process.
Regardless of the project or deadline, these two fully enjoy what they do and they want to share it with the world. Both men put their hearts into their work and it shows. They said that Insert Title’s mission is, “To tell inspiring stories, about inspiring people, in a beautiful world.” They are doing just that.