INDEPENDENT FILM., March, 2003. Not Published
It was the last week of March, 1969 in the White House. Former President Eisenhower was in poor health and getting worse. American involvement was at its peak thousands of miles away in Viet Nam. And the new President, Richard Nixon, was having issues with King Timahoe, his Irish Setter.
This is the setting for “Seven Days,” a creation of Austin filmmaker David Barker. In contrast to the excitement of movies with big bankrolls like the “The Alamo,” or stars such as Antonio Banderas and Sandra Bullock filming locally, this will be what producer Trent Cumming calls a “no budget” movie, which means about $4,000. The ten minute short will be shot in 8 millimeter film using volunteers in every capacity. “So many films get made and nobody sees them. You spend three months with little resources…. then you send a VHS tape to your mom and they tell you how wonderful it is and that’s it,” Producer Cumming said. The film makers are low on expenses but rich in passion for the art of cinema.
THE PRODUCER
Trent Cumming was never your typical movie fan. Even before he thought about making them he remembered watching movies with friends and felt he tended to analyze and get ideas from the films while the rest of the audience was there just to enjoy the movie. Movies to him “are a real chance for individual expression to come out through story telling and have an impact,” Cumming said.
After studying business at The University of Texas Austin, he worked managing coffee houses in New York City. He had enough of New York and then headed off to Chicago to live with his aunt an uncle as he was ready to change. Later he was diagnosed with a non-cancerous brain tumor that partially paralyzed his left side and gave him deafness in one ear. Before he wanted a career change now a life-changing experience was another motivating factor to find his passion and selling coffee was not it.
After he regained his mobility and hearing, he enrolled in the intensive production program at UT Austin. “The title doesn’t lie,” Cumming said after the non-stop classes on writing, production using cameras and editing equipment. Another plus about being a film student is meeting others in the business so “you learn who you can depend on,” he said
At UT he learned producing was his favorite movie task. He also loves other people in the business. “It’s usually a group of highly motivated people working together for a common goal,” he said. “I have never seen anyone work that hard.” Cumming has worked 18 to 20 hour days with the help of students and volunteers.
THE WRITER/DIRECTOR
David Barker is a veteran of directing and writing independent films and a play. He directed 1999’s “Afraid of Everything” a feature-length film about an agoraphobic woman that has been screened and won awards at various film festivals. It has not been released commercially.
Unlike Cumming, he has wanted to make movies since childhood. He now teaches at UT Austin and is the artistic director of CinemaTexas International Short Film Festival which will be held in September in Austin. Those who remember the days of 8 mm films probably also remember the lights required for filming. The light on dad’s camera documenting Christmas, 1971 had enough heat to rival the fireplace. Barker has to look at all factors when planning a film. For example he chose a specific film that requires less lighting than most other 8mm films, otherwise the dog will be panting during shooting from the heat. Performers since the days of vaudeville have been warned not to work with animals. Barker is not taking that advice so he wants to minimize problems before they happen.
He has also been researching Richard Nixon. His office is what you would expect of a professor of cinema with movie posters, film scripts and video tapes within arms reach. He has several books on the former President as well. He has looked closely at pictures of the White House in 1969 to make the scene as accurate as possible. Nixon had a lot of elephant statues and the walls had framed pictures of birds. Set designer Andrea Goodson was sent out to find the props.
“It’s about love and this man who has a new job and this dog loves everyone but him.” he said. “The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House” by Nixon’s former chief of staff, was where the idea originated. “Much of the time Nixon was thinking about the dog…. It’s kind of funny how much attention he paid to it,” he said. He was fascinated the way Nixon energized himself to try again even after a humiliating defeat.
Defeat will be an important part of the film, or more accurately, the feet along with hands and legs because that is all that will be seen of the human actors. The film will be shown from a dog’s eye view. Movie makers have long debated how to portray recognizable or iconic historical characters, Barker said, so this will be a unique way of showing them. During auditions Barker covered half his vision with his hand to watch how the actors expressed emotion in their walking, standing and their hands. In one scene Nixon is slowly folding a piece of paper, deep in thought while he ponders bombing Cambodia. Barker said it made the auditions “really boring looking at feet.”
THE LOCATION
The Greater Austin Area has been turned into many places when movies are involved. With its diverse topography, warm climate and access to many people in the movie industry, the place has advantages for those willing to leave Hollywood. It became the Old West for “Lonesome Dove.” It was Iowa in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” Missouri in “Waiting for Guffman,” a Latin-American country in “Spy Kids,” Chicago in the 1920’s for ”The Newton Boys,” a dream world in “Waking Life.” Calamity rained down on the area for “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Piranha,” “Blood Simple,” and “Tornado!” and it even withstood a visit by Tom Green in “Road Trip.” Now the crew of “Seven Days” is turning a room at The Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs at 24th and San Gabriel into the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House.
The 1939 building is used for club meetings, dances and weddings. It contains an auditorium, elegant meeting rooms and even a collection of dolls representing Texas’ First Ladies. It’s the kind of place where you can imagine women in flowery hats talking about how the finger sandwiches “were simply devine.” The Texas Film commission suggested the building and production designer Andrea Goodson researched and photographed the location. A room with white walls and a fireplace was chosen as the set. The crew was initially concerned about the old building’s electrical system and wondered weather or not it could handle all the lights, but the circuit breakers proved worthy.
THE DOG
Champion Meadowlarks Quartermaster, better know as Jeb, is an eight-year-old Irish Setter owned by Susan Hageman of Conroe, Texas. She and her daughter Molly Hageman of Austin brought the show dog to the set, but this is not his first time in showbiz. Barker said he was drawn to him because of the dog’s calmness. Jeb did not fit the hyperactive Irish Setter stereotype.
Jeb has done commercials for Pedigree dog food and Animal Planet cable network. He has competed in many dog shows. Jeb has been trained to follow commands, like to sit, stay and come. “He loves it when he is the center of attention,” Susan Hageman said.
One scene shows King Timahoe’s unease around Nixon. The President held out a dog biscuit for the dog and but he refused to take it. How do you make a dog reluctant to take a biscuit? Just use Vic’s Vapor Rub. Haldeman held out a biscuit (this one without being spiked with Vic’s) and he was only to happy to chow down. Another scene he licks someone’s hand to comfort him. Two words – Chicken soup.
SATURDAY MARCH 1, 2003
The day before shooting was one of nonstop action. Last minute shopping kept Trent Cumming and set designer Andrea Goodson moving for about thirteen hours. “In theory all of that should have been done before, but things get behind,” Cumming said. Goodson had what she called “the worst timing in the world,” Saturday afternoon when her car was involved in an accident during her shopping trip. Cummings said he got a call from her “almost in tears.” There were no injuries and the two were even able to shop while waiting for the tow truck. That night Cumming had just three hours of sleep “I could have gone to sleep earlier but after that hellacious day I had to have a couple beers,” Cumming said.
SUNDAY MARCH 2, 2003
“It’s a lot of stuff,” said Dana Garner, assistant director, walking down the hallway carrying boxes early in the cold, damp morning. The crew showed up a little before 7 am. Garner had been up all night. “I hope everything goes well. I keep thinking I forgot an actor or something,” she said a few minutes later.
The alleged glitz and glamour of movie company looked more like the glitz and glamour of a moving company. Crew members clad in T-shirts and sweatshirts moved boxes from cars to the set and carpeting and furniture moved from one room to the other. Today was the first of three days of shooting.
Everyone kept moving. Barker had a stereo playing an audio tape of Richard Nixon reading his book, “In the Arena.” The crew set up the room with blue carpet, furniture, magazines from the 1960’s and vintage phones. Costume designer Katie Platt explained one of the rules of furnishing a low budget film. “Borrow as much as you can, buy as little as you can and buy what you can return,” she said. A liquor decanter looked a little too modern for Barker so he sent someone out to get another. Walmart and Breed and Company Hardware owed a bit of that day’s business to the Austin film industry. There was discussion on weather or not a tape player on a table looked like it belonged in 1969. Most of the crew wasn’t born until after Nixon’s resignation (“I think they had 8 tracks,” one said.) They decided to keep the tape player.
Being versatile is an advantage in the business. Platt did not plan on being the costume designer, but that was needed so she stepped up to the plate. “I just learned to do it. Smart, strong women can do anything,” she said. On top of that most of the crew have day jobs, are college students or both. Platt, Cumming and key grip Mike Marshall work at First American Flood Data Systems. Actor Don Sneed, who played Nixon, is an account rep for Austin Energy. Director of photography Isaac Mathes teaches as does director David Barker. Production manager Jay Hodges was a freelance editor but wanted a career change.
As the morning progressed, different areas of the building all were doing things independent of each other focused on their own tasks though all ultimately were working for the same goal. Upstairs it was all about getting the set ready. Just below was all about preparing the camera and lights. On the room to the north of the cameras Barker and actors Sneed and David Stahl, who played Haldeman, were rehearsing. It is there where the director and the actors decide on things like petting the dog with their right hands so their watches don’t reflect the light. Sneed commented how much he liked Stahl’s deep voice for acting. Stahl said in addition to acting he sometimes reads scripture at his church. He says the minister seems to always have him read passages where God is displeased with humanity. In the hallway leading outside, Jeb was waiting in his cage, resting for his film debut.
The room really did not look like a set until the lights came in. The bright lights gave the place an almost enchanted look. Overall, the room did not look like the White House, except for the few square feet where the camera was aiming. The rest of the room was filled with boxes, light stands, story boards and people. Filming was delayed and the camera did not start rolling until about six hours after the crew first arrived. “That’s 1 1/2 hours behind schedule. That’s not that bad,” Cumming said.
As time for filming to began to draw closer, things become more focused. Unnecessary talking ceases and the atmosphere is more like an operating room where Doctors Barker and Mathes are performing open heart surgery. The first scene involved Nixon on all fours placing dog biscuits down on the floor for King Tiamhoe. Sometimes he would place them down. Other times he would place them down and push them slightly with his fingers. Or he could push them twice. Seeing the scene illuminated by the lights and hearing nothing but the whirl of the camera can make such a mundane scene of daily life look like the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
After about an hour of reshooting scenes of Nixon and Haldemen’s hands, legs feet and dog biscuits, it was lunch time. Chicken and vegetarian pasta, dried fruit, trail mix, hibiscus tea and soft drinks (cafinated ones seemed most popular) were the on the menu. But there was some talk amongst the director and cinematographer. Something wasn’t right. Seemed at first the film was defective, then it was determined it was the camera was having problems.
Someone was sent to get a new camera. Mathes expects such difficulties in filming. “It’s good to have a plan A. That way if something occurs to you you can still do it,” he said. He calls it “Preparing to be unprepared.” The already behind schedule film was not moving any faster. Cumming also knew no matter how well prepared things happen and as a producer “whatever went wrong you have to turn around and make it right,” he said before the shooting started.
Now it was time to reshoot scenes with a new camera. No doubt the dog was perplexed by good smelling dog biscuits and bad smelling ones and people doing the same thing over and over again. Since the camera was silent and sound was recorded separately, Barker could make noises and blow whistles at Jeb. The sound crew had time to relax.
Despite all the delays, the day ended where they had planned it in terms of shooting. Only instead of a getting out at 7 PM, filming ended at 10:30. The last crew members left about an hour later – almost seventeen hours after the building was unlocked.
MONDAY MARCH 3, 2003.
In the movie business, if someone says the shooting went from 12:30 to 1:30, they are not talking about one hour. Monday went much smoother than the day before on this thirteen hour day. The crew was making better time.
More shooting with the human and non human actors. “We have a running joke there is a ghost,” Andrea Goodson said, “The picture fell off the wall and broke a teacup and a coat got locked in a closet from the inside,” she said. There were more teacups and the building manager had a key to unlock the door.
TUESDAY MARCH 4, 2003.
Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras. The traditional last day of indulgence before the Christian season of Lent. But no one seemed to be indulging themselves today.
The crew arrived about 11:15 am. Barker said he had about 5 to 6 hours of sleep in the last three days Garner had about the same amount. “I need some sleep. I’m trying to go to school and do this and it’s not working,” she said.
Often conversations come around to what someone does for a living. He’s a real estate salesperson. I am a trucker. My wife is an accountant. My husband is an auto mechanic. Most people can visualize the job. Often it is different in movies because a lot of the jobs seem to overlap into what needs to be done to get the job done. Here the set designer and assistant director worked together polishing furniture. Production assistant Jimmy Lee vacuumed the carpet. Producer Cumming made coffee and spray painted a rusted TV stand. Everyone were movers. The friendships seemed to be forming especially on the third day. Lee asked Garner what needed to be done. “He sits over in that room waiting for someone to say ‘we need a straw’ or something. I think that’s cool,” Garner said with a smile on her face.
Another little of those “things” came up. Seems the plan was to finish shooting that evening. However that evening was also going to be the night of the big ballroom dance. This would be a challenge. Cumming called the building manager to find win win situations for everyone. “They are human beings. If we talk to them on a human level they will be able to make a compromise,” Garner said to Cumming before he called.
After a lengthy cellphone call, everyone seemed happy. The filmmakers would need to move their cars by 5 PM and they needed their food out of the kitchen and the dog out of the building by seven. At 7:15 dance classes would start in two of the rooms near where they were shooting. Then at 9 PM the sounds of jazz would be flowing through the building from the ballroom. It was noon and the crew took just enough of a break for a group picture.
The crew kept filming until 8:15 that night. “It’s all compromise once you start shooting you just hope you made the right ones,” Barker said as the crew was loading up cars and pickups in front of the building. By 9:45 the room had its original carpet and furniture back in place. The crew shared hugs, laughter and sleepy eyes. They had been looking forward to this time when the last frame was shot and the gear was loaded, probably many times thinking how nice there beds would feel, but now that the time had come they seemed reluctant to leave. They had worked about a 40 hour week in three days, without payment. “Whose gonna come hang out at my house?” Cumming said to the tired group. He was not kidding. Garner had a test the next day so she declined. Isaac Mathes had to catch a plane back to New York the next day, but he and several of the others took him up on the offer and stayed up late at Cumming’s house talking movies. “It was really fun!” according to Cumming.
Maybe it was the magic of film or the bonding from working side by side for a common goal. Something made the group not want to leave and perhaps make these days a time that will stick in their memories forever. If not they have the film to remind them.
HERE IS A LINK TO THE FILM
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