Your new movie Lilin's Brood - in a few words, what is it
about?
The
movie is about a “new media” news coverage team (W.H.I.S.T.L.E.) that
is stranded near a beleaguered brothel in the middle of nowhere. The
footage that is recovered will reveal what happens when they encounter a
group of women with a terrifying secret. What were your inspirations when writing Lilin's
Brood? We
were inspired by the mythology of Lilith being the first wife of Adam who
mated with the Archangel Samuel, which is like a hidden Jewish mysticism
story that isn’t known by everyone. The children produced from their
union were all female creatures that tend to take form of beautiful young
women, but closer inspection may reveal deformities upon their bodies,
such as bird-like claws or serpentine tails, etc.
These children of Lilith are called LILIN. The Lilins fascinated us
and we thus created a world around them as these secretly treasured
beings. We became even more
inspired when we saw the first V/H/S film and their compilation of shorts,
which gave us the idea to put the story in a more realistic found-footage
style setting. With Lilin's Brood being a horror film
- is that a genre at all dear to you, and your movie's approach to the
genre? We
are both big fans of the horror genre. We both love all different
types of horror films. We wanted to be creative with our approach to
making a really good horror/thriller movie. Some independent horror films
we’ve seen focus more on the gore and spectacle rather than creating a
solid coherent story. We set out to create a suspenseful, tension building
and thrilling story that people could really get sucked into while
throwing horrific elements at them. With that approach we feel we’ve
paid really good homage to a genre we love so much.
Why did you choose the found footage approach for
Lilin's Brood? We
always intended for the movie to be shot from a character’s POV. We
thought that was always an interesting perspective because it immerses the
audience into the middle of the world and action rather than keep them
just as third-party voyeurs. We
added the additional notion of found footage to enhance the movie even
more because we could tell the story through multiple POV’s instead of
just one. That provided a window for us to tell many simultaneous stories
happening all at the same time over the course of one night. To turn the last question on its
head, what did you experience the main challenges making a found footage
movie?
We faced a few challenges throughout the process,
which we overcame through well thought out execution. One problem was
giving the characters a really good reason to have cameras with them
during the entire course of their actions. What made that harder was
making sure they had good enough reasons not to leave the cameras behind.
In a lot of found footage movies we’ve seen, in the most intense moments
the characters always go for the camera instead of worrying about their
lives first, which we think is not realistic or true to survival. We
overcame that issue by having an investigative team who uses miniature spy
cameras that stay on them so they don’t have to worry about lugging
around a camcorder or leaving it behind.
Another
issue was shooting non-stop flowing scenes where we would go from room to
room and see the entirety of each room. That made it hard to light scenes
and we had to figure out creative ways to shape light in the rooms for
quality images with restricting what the camera could see. But with the
camera we used, we were able to create quality images using less unnatural
light while keeping the integrity of flowing movement natural &
continuous.
Do talk about your key cast, and why exactly
these people? We
chose these individuals because they just naturally embodied the
personalities and looks of the characters we created. They didn’t have
to become the characters because they were these characters already. They
all gave us grade A performances that we were impressed by. They were able
to perform really long and elaborate scenes while delivering solid
performances without stumbling over their lines. Maxine [Goynes] really
dedicated herself to the role and gave us a naturalistic performance.
Martin [Sensmeier] really gave us everything he had throughout the film
and it will really shine through when you watch the film. Brent [King]
was able to make the words his own and was very good with adlibbing, which
made his character even more enjoyable.
Alberto [Barros jr] gave us a solid performance and really stayed
true to his character. Melinda [Milton] blew us away with her complete
transformation into the alluring & mysterious Madame Plu. What can you tell us about the
collaboration between the two of you during the making of Lilin's Brood? We
handled every aspect of the film in a true team fashion. We went over
every single detail of the production internally between ourselves to make
sure that we were on the same page about every single thing before we
relayed any information to the cast or crew. We were so in tune with each
other about every detail that while on set we could split up and talk to
two different actors or different crewmembers at the same time and already
know what is being adjusted without having to be in the conversation.
While on set, that saved us a lot of time because instead of one person
having to give six individuals directions, we could split them into two
groups direct their individual actions and have a take ready to shoot in
half the time.
What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? The
shoot was very fast-paced and parts were moving in a kind of militant
styled pace. There wasn’t much time to just sit around because we were
shooting 6+ pages a day with highly complex scenes that had plenty of
moving parts. You’ll see what I mean when you see the movie, especially
when we get to the mansion. But we did have fun on set with each other and
tried to keep things in good spirits no matter how hectic things got. The
$64-question of course, when and where will the film be released onto the
general public? Lilin’s
Brood will be released/available on iTunes
and Amazon VOD (Instant Video)
for all capable devices. Pre-sales for Lilin’s Brood begin on JANUARY 28, 2016 on both platforms, so get out and reserve your copy
ASAP! The movie will officially release on FEBRUARY 12, 2016 just in time for Valentine’s Day Weekend. So
cuddle up with your loved and enjoy great Valentine’s evening with
Lilin’s Brood. Any future projects you'd like to share? We
have a part 2 for Lilin’s Brood that we have written up and are ready to
shoot. We are developing a survival thriller that we think will also
provide a fun and thrilling experience. We also have several other
projects in different genres such as drama, comedy, historical biopics
& science fiction that are in various completed development phases
from treatment to full-draft scripts.
How
did you actually get hooked up as a duo on the first place, and what can
you tell us about your filmwork prior to Lilin's Brood? We
met few years ago when we both first moved to Los Angeles. Both of us were
starting up our producing careers. We instantly clicked because we had the
similar drive and passion for the film industry and all that it
encompasses. From that point on we barrelled forward and started creating
stuff. We’ve done 4 short-form projects together, Ain’t That A
Trip,
I’m Sorry Samantha, Lilin Concept and the Some Sirius Ship Productions
opening sequence. We’ve been hard at work writing and now you can enjoy
Lilin’s Brood. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whaever else?
You can visit Lilin’s Brood at:
Website: www.LilinsBrood.com
Follow us at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lilinsbroodmovie
Twitter: www.twitter.com/LilinsBrood
Instagram: www.instagram.com/LilinsBrood
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And visit Some Sirius Ship Productions at (where
you can also check out our short-form projects):
Website: www.somesiriusship.com
Follow us at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/somesiriusshipproductions
Twitter: www.twitter.com/somesiriusshipP
Anything else
you're dying to mention that I've merely forgotten to ask? We
would like to add that Lilin’s Brood has a very diverse and
multicultural cast from Native American, to Hispanic, to African American.
We believe there is someone in the film that anyone could relate to. Each
character has a strong personality. Since this movie is centered around
women, we have a very strong female cast with a strong feminine message
that we believe most women will like. I know people will enjoy this world
and there is more to come soon. Thanks
for the interview!
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