Marlon Torres, based in California not only excels as a Cinematographer but also as a Film Director. I had the chance to interview Marlon last week about his last film The Bridge and I have to say that it’s amazing to think that with only a $7,000 budget, Marlon and his team make this extraordinary 30 minutes movie. A Brilliant job!
Cameraman: Hello Marlon, first of all thank you for the interview. Let’s start by telling us a bit more about yourself and how you got started with your last movie The Bridge?
Marlon: Hello, my name is Marlon Torres and I am an independent filmmaker based in the San Francisco bay area. I specialize in writing, directing, cinematography, and visual effects. I spent my first two years out of college primarily as a CG artist. It’s a rough job. Long hours sitting in dark room. Not the life I imagined seeing myself in. I had just worked 19 days straight, working roughly an average for 12 hours a day and my body was at a breaking point. This is when I realized I had to make a lifestyle change and that’s when I made a New Year’s resolution that I was going to change careers and try my luck as a full time filmmaker. That’s when I decided to make The Bridge.
Cameraman: Tell us a little bit about the pre-production.
Marlon: Pre-production took about 3 months. While doing research (reading WW2 books, watching films, and documentaries), I was simultaneously writing the script, buying props and costumes off eBay. Casting didn’t start until the second month, that’s when I brought in my producer Amy and by the third month, we were working on final tweaks on the screenplay and the shooting schedule.
Cameraman: Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor! That’s pretty amazing. So, how was your normal week of production?
Marlon: I would shoot during the weekends and then work on post-production during the week. So technically, it wasn’t really post-production since it was running parallel to the shoots. I called it “parallel-production”. I would alternate week to week from editing, to visual effects, to sound mixing and design. This was great as the cast got to see edited scenes and not just dailies every week. That kept them motivated which can be tough when you aren’t paying anyone a dime.
Cameraman: What camera equipment do you use? What was the reason for that choice?
Marlon: I used the Canon 7D for most of the production and then the Canon 5D Mark II at the tail end of it. A few t2i and Canon XH-A1 shots managed to sneak themselves in occasionally. Aside from the very cinematic images the DSLR cameras produce, I chose them because if their small form factor. I had known from the beginning that I was going to shoot this film “guerilla”. I did not have the budget for the very expensive film permits here in the bay area.
Cameraman: And how was your experience with HDSLR cameras.
Marlon: I love them. Yes, they have limitations but I think people complain about them too much instead of working around them. If you have nice cinematography, interesting characters, and an engaging story, you’re audience isn’t going to care about a little jello and aliasing.
Cameraman: Would you please tell us a bit about the camera setup.
Marlon: My set-up for The Bridge is as bare-bones as you can get. I used the 24-105 f4 L kit lens for the majority of the film and to stay “guerilla”, I didn’t use any shoulder mount rigs or tripods. There were a few select Steadicam Merlin shots but aside from that it was just mostly me holding the camera with my hands. A lens with IS definitely helps and I also think I have freakishly steady hands because everyone seems to get really bad “jello” using the same techniques.
Cameraman: What about the lighting?
Marlon: We did not use a single light for The Bridge. It was shot entirely in natural lighting.
Cameraman: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when filming The Bridge?
Marlon: Working with my very modest budget. My original vision for The Bridge was a lot grander, more epic, but I had to scale it back to make it work for about $7000. So I had to constantly rewrite segments of the script to work within the budget. I can’t tell you how much more spectacular The Bridge could of been if I had $70,000 instead of $7,000. With that said, I am very happy with the film and still very proud of it.
Cameraman: Do you have any story you would like to share with us?
Marlon: Sure, an actor and I almost got arrested because a tourist was walking around the park we were shooting at and reported us to the park rangers for having “rifles”. They were obviously props but apparently that doesn’t matter in public. They patted us down, confiscated our wooden props, escorted us off the premises, and let us go with a warning. I was back the following to shoot pick-ups. Good times.
Cameraman: What software did you use for the postproduction ?
Marlon: All editing and color work was done using Final Cut Studio.
Cameraman: And what about the visual effects?
Cameraman: Are you planning on directing a feature film?
Marlon: I’ve had some offers to direct a couple features for hire but the scripts were either not very good or in a genre I’m not interested in working in. I do have a couple “ideas” and “outlines” for a feature film of my own though but as always, finding the funds to make it is the real hard part.
Cameraman: What advice would you give to someone who wanted to follow your footsteps?
Marlon: If filmmaking is what you love in life or feel that it is your “purpose” to finding your true self, don’t let “obligations” or a “job” stop you. Give a 100% to what you love and you will succeed.
Cameraman: Anything else you would like to say?
Marlon: I just would like to thank everyone who watched my film The Bridge and if you guys have a spare minute, write me an honest review on its imdb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1679300/
Cameraman: Thank you Marlon for the interview.
Cast:
Henry Sullivan – Pablo Soriano
James Connelly – Mike French
Samantha Johnson – Leah Thompson
Mitchell Walker – Mitch Walker
Music by:
Justin R. Durban
Produced by:
Amy Ng
Written, Directed, Shot, and Edited by:
Marlon Torres
Tech Specs:
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D
Lenses: Canon 35mm f2, 50mm f1.4, 85mm 1.8, 100mm f2.8, 24-105mm f4L, 70-200 f4L
Sound: Zoom H4N, Rode NTG2
Running Time: 30 minutes
Format: 1.85:1 H.264 HD
IMDB: imdb.com/title/tt1679300/
For more information about filmmaker Marlon Torres, please visit: torresstudios.com
You can follow him on twitter: Twitter.com/torresstudios
And you can purchase The Bridge on Blu-Ray or DVD here: torresstudios.com/wordpress/shopping
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