Making the film "Love & Robots"

November 29, 2011 @ 9:14AM

On Set of "Love & Robots" the Film

Crewing an Indie film

It’s impossible to resist the fun of of working on an Indie film. I handled the stills on set and Karl brought and managed his invention, the Guerrilla Track camera dolly system for tracking shots. Why would we work for free? Producer/Director Jay Shaffer is a longtime colleague and fellow member of COPVA, Colorado Professional Videgraphers Asociation. And Jay always comes up with great food and drink for the crew!

The story follows boy and girl robots, the “children” of Dr. Frank Egon, a ruffled Einsteinian scientist, and his willowy assistant Francine. The robots were meant to do menial tasks, but Dr. Egon at first didn’t realize how well they designed the robots to mimic human feelings. Ruby, the girl robot sees her creators in love and very soon wants the same. Her vision focuses on Max, her bumbling metal counterpart...

Co-producer/directors Jay Shaffer and David Smart completely self-financed the short film project, taking advantage of contemporary advances in inexpensive film maker tools and by calling in friends and favors. They rewrote an earlier screen play, and hope to attract attention on the festival circuit. Cameras used were a Panasonic GH2 DSLR and a GoPro. Lighting was mainly ambient, augmented in the interiors with a basic Lowell light kit. There was a simple, homemade crane used on the final sunset shot, along with the Guerrilla Track dolly, which was really useful for tight spaces and narrow doorways. Sound was recorded on a DAT from a mic on a fishpole, and synced in post with the sound track recorded by the camera. Scene shots were slated on an iPad. Color balancing and grading was done in postproduction.

Costumes were a major budget item. The robots' wardrobe was inspired right out of Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden. Hot glue and spray paint held together bits of Star Wars costumes, skate pads, foam mats, rubber balls, kitchen gadgets, tubing and cardboard.

Wardrobe was also the biggest hassle. The costumes looked great on camera, but delayed the shooting schedule, because they required constant adjustments. And they were a literal headache, because they were hot, sticky and claustrophobic! Actors needed many breaks and lots of water to survive. Every time a costume part was removed it needed further repairs. But they looked great on camera!

Craft services cost a lot too. Jay feeds his team well. It’s amazing how much a crew can eat and drink over a 12-hour day. But that’s what keeps everybody’s energy and spirit cranking.

Jay, who is also an instructor of film at Front Range Community College, planned to edit in Final Cut X, but soon found it was a mistake, because media management and audio features didn’t meet his needs. He exported the final “picture lock” cut with a single dialog track back to Final Cut Pro 7 to mix the sound in Soundtrack Pro.