The making of " Cannibal "

This movie is the first short film I have produced and as such represents my debut effort. Having produced numerous music videos for 'Drums and Machines' ( youtube.com/drumsandmachines), this seemed the logical next step.

Initially the idea was to create something with the look and feel of a European ' film noir '. This was to be juxtaposed with the stark beauty of the Nova Scotia landscape. To create a certain amount of tension in what was to be the simplest of plots I added the element of Cannibalism.

There is, for me, a certain feeling of horror in a forest, on several levels. The feeling of being back in time and on an even playing field with the rest of nature. The extreme beauty of the land is the romantic aspect. The tension and un-spoken horror of potentially being eaten by a large beast (Grizzly Man-style), adds to the emotional adventure of being in a forest.

On the other hand, the story of Canada is one of invasion. The forests were invaded, taken control of and violated. Huge tracks of land are now void of large predators, the original forests destroyed and replaced with fast growing pulp-trees. Half-dead places where only rabbits and squirrels abound.

Then there is the Canadian culture of modern hunting to consider.

Hordes of orange-vested enthusiasts piling into the forests armed to

the teeth and out for blood. To be in need of acquiring food in this way may be true for people living in isolated areas, but doesn't sound believable for those with access to grocery stores.

I moved to the Maritimes in my late teens from Toronto . As I sat in a vehicle at my new High-School, a car pulled in. It had a young dead deer strapped to the roof, its mangled head dangling back and forth, and blood dripping down the windows. I was shocked and disgusted by it. I am certain that there is something 'not quite right' about killing for pleasure. In the film, I used the idea of a Cannibal to turn the tables on humans, and show them what it might be like if the guns and knives were to be used on themselves. 'Cannibal' displays both the traits of the nutritionalist, as well as 'one who kills for pleasure'.

The original script is big enough to make into a feature length film. This particular project only represents the introductory chapter.

As the script changed over time, it became clear that the genre was morphing into a type of horror flick.

The entire film was shot on April 25th 2007, in the forest surrounding the town of Goodwood , Nova Scotia.

Stefan Schiebel not only found the location but immersed himself fully into the lead role, as is evident in the film. Jim D'Ambrogi, also a professional Scenic Artist in the movie industry, was the third and final member of the production team, also playing the part of 'Charles Doyle'.

All three of us had worked under Bruno Robotti as scenic artists for a large film being produced in Halifax in 2006. The tasks required to make 'Cannibal' a reality were divided among us, as listed in the credits. Our challenge was to create something with a zero-budget.

The only costs were 2 miniDV tapes, a dead rabbit (farmed), and some simple ingredients to make fake blood (courtesy of Stefan Schiebel). Props (two dolls) were under 5 dollars.

On April 25th/07, we all jumped into a pick-up truck headed out to a location about a half an hour's hike from the road, near Goodwood, Nova Scotia. We resembled 3 pack mules trudging through the brush with 'over the top' sized loads to carry. We shot everything that day with the exception of a few early morning shots of the forest and lake before leaving. We had spent the night in freezing temperatures, and I for one did not get a wink of sleep. Hence I was up quite early to make use of the early morning light, and the very last bit of juice in the camera until it finally went 'tilt'.

As the scenes were prepared for camera on April 25th, it became abundantly clear that we were suddenly in very dark territory. We were all a little unprepared for the way the script became a bloody reality. As we readied props, and set about preparing the shots, we all began wondering if this was a good idea. We can only hope that our mothers will forgive us. Oddly enough we had planned to create tension without showing anything explicit a-la Hitchcock. However, after reviewing an initial montage, without the gore element, it was found to be lacking the required shock-effect. Little did we know how quickly we would be falling into the 'over the top' zone in terms of gore.

Regrettably, we had only a one-chip MiniDV, rather than 2 cameras as initially planned, the other being a 3 chip with no batteries. To make matters considerably worse, our power pack, which weighed a ton, produced little more than a grinding noise, and not a drop of juice to recharge the camera batteries or run the 3 chip.

Late in the day, with only minutes of power left in the camera, we were ready for the final scene. Jim D'Ambogi doused Stefan with ample sprays of fake blood as Stefan hacked viciously into a tree. I successfully managed to protect the camera from the onslaught unfolding around me.

There is no doubt that we were all exhilarated by this scene. It was of such intensity that it was difficult, not to get 'emotionally' involved. This translated into roaring laughter in a release of tension, and a great feeling of accomplishment. It was the last scene, and we were done just as the light started to fade. This time of year, there were no leaves on the trees, so I think we had lots of light we normally wouldn't have had.

Editing was a much longer and more painstaking process than I had anticipated. Having 2 cameras would have simplified matters in terms of having multiple angles to work with. This is where the original idea of making an experimental art-film was very helpful. It allowed me to infuse effects into scenes that seemed like they had more of an experimental/artistic bend. The overall effect is the film grain with dust and scratch to give it a low budget 'seventies' look. Much time was spent in an effort to keep moving things along while retaining the moments of deep contemplation.

The creation of the soundtrack was the final critical step. It was clear to me from the beginning that sound would be extremely important in creating emotions. Since there is absolutely no dialogue in the film foley and music was to carry the entire load of secondary emotional content. It consists of some 75 tracks running along the 15 minutes of film. Needless to say that it was a mind-numbing task to keep things in order. The final mix had such a load of low frequencies that mastering was a must. The new release will have the mastered soundtrack.

Included in the soundtrack is asong by DRUMS A N D MACHINES, from the 'PSYCHOKILLER' album. It is a remix of a song titled ' It's Gonna Kill ', available on the album which is to be released in July/2007. Samples of this album can be found here: myspace.com/psychokillerprojects

Previous - "Cannibal" Review

Article by:
Rod Marquart

Related Links
SMR: Short Movie Reviews
Sound Advice: CD Reviews

Back To Exposure Online Magazine