Gary E. Irwin is director, who’s short “Of Darkness" tore up the horror film festival scene by winning awards at festivals,such as: 2007 SF Indie: Another Hole in the Head, 2007 Dark Carnival Film Festival, and the 2008 Fright Night Film Festival. Today, Gary Irwin is here to talk about that film, which is now available on DVD via his Eventide production company website.
Please note: This interview was conducted via Instant Message, not the traditional email format.
Anthony T: Tell my readers about yourself?
Gary E. Irwin: Hmmmm.....that could lead to all kinds of places... I grew up in South Jersey, went to film school at University of the Arts in Philly (Started as an animation major and became a double major my Sophomore year). Left college early to start a freelance career in the Philly Film world. Spent the next 4 or so years as a freelance grip/electric/PA and worked my way up to Production. UPM, AD, Producer. In 2003, I switched over to fulltime work, spent two years as an on-staff producer for Get-Kinetic and then another 3 years with 9.14 Pictures. All the while trying to develop my film career. Of Darkness was my first full-blown narrative short. I had done a few other projects before that, but this is my calling card film.... or so I'm told.
Anthony T: It should be your calling card film. Speaking “Of Darkness” which is available on DVD and on Fearnet on demand this month, is one of the scariest and shocking shorts I’ve seen this year. Tell my readers about your film.
Irwin: Well, it started as an idea by our writer Matt Casale. He's had a rough version of this film in his head since he was teenager. Once he pitched the initial idea to Paul (My brother/Producer) and I, we helped shape it into the film you see onscreen. I gave you more of a background story then the pitch...
Anthony T: What were your first thoughts, when you read the screenplay and found out that this story had young children being put in dangerous situations?
Irwin: Honestly, that was one of the things that excited me about the idea! Kids are often seen as untouchable in films, so I liked the idea of throwing that set of rules out the window and approaching the film with a "No One is Safe" attitude.
Anthony T: That's what makes this very shocking, when I first saw it. While we are the subject of kids, you have an interesting cast here, as it’s pretty much, all-young kids. What was the casting process like, as it had to be difficult?
Irwin: Yeah, there were two main challenges when approaching this film (Within our limited budget) the first was creating the Darkness effects and the 2nd was the casting and performances of the kids.... Casting for kids wasn't too bad. There are some really talented folks here in Philly, so I'm blessed with that. We did our casting through Kathy Wickline Casting in Philly, and we just went through a bunch of kids until some performances started jumping out as us. We did group callbacks so we could see how they would interact w/ other kids and that really helped us narrow things down. After that, we had a few months of rehearsals. We tried to get the cast to spend as much time together as possible. Besides the traditional rehearsals, we would have the kids hang out and play Xbox, watch movies, whatever.....the more time they spent together, the more natural their performance became.
Anthony T: What are the differences between directing kids and directing adults?
Irwin: That's a great question. I'd like to think there aren't any. At least that's the way I directed our cast. I've always felt that if you talk to a kid like a kid, they'll respond as a kid. If you treat them as an equal or peer, they'll respond that way. Now I'm not saying we didn't have our share of minor problems, but it was all manageable. Let's just say, I'd work with kids
Anthony T: The production level was first rate for a short, like this. How was pre-production like with regards to location, budget and shooting schedule?
Irwin: Well, we had a limited budget, but I never wanted to use that as a crutch. I didn't want people to see this film and say "That was good...given their budget." So Pre-Production was extremely important. We planned everything! I Storyboarded all scenes (Tech boards as well) and I worked with Paul and my first AD Ben Hickernell on trying to create an ambitious yet realistic schedule. In the end, we ran over schedule most days....but the performances and production never suffered because of that.
Anthony T: Tell my readers, what special features and audio commentaries, they can find on the DVD, which is available on your production company's website at eventideproductions.net?
Irwin: Well, we tried to jam-pack that puppy. It's got multiple audio commentaries (Production, Story, SFX) "The Other Side of Darkness" Featurette, Storyboard to film Comparisons, multiple trailers (Including a little teaser for our next film, Indigo Falls) and a Photo Gallery
Anthony T: Tell me about your next film "Indigo Falls", if you can?
Irwin: Well, there's a few things I can chat about. It's based on an idea of mine, and I'm developing it with Paul and Matt Casale (Of Darkness writer) - Matt's also writing the script. It will be our first feature film. It's a blend of science-fiction and supernatural...and we'll be working with kids again.
Anthony T: Finally, Back to “Of Darkness” The film is also playing on Fearnet, this month. How did that deal come about and what was your reaction when they picked up the film for their network?
Irwin: The FEARnet thing had been brewing for a while. Our Co-Producer Amy Roy introduced us to a friend of hers over at FEARnet, so we sent the film over and the rest is history. I'm really excited about that deal. I went to FEARnet on Demand last night and watched it. (well, I didn't watch the whole thing...I've seen it way too many times.)
Anthony T: I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule and good luck with the success of this film and your future projects.
Irwin: It's been a pleasure talking with you. Thanks for taking an interest in our little movie. Here's hoping we're doing this again in a few years for a bigger film.
Anthony T: Hope so too.
To purchase a copy of “Of Darkness, you can goto the Eventide Production official website at: Http://www.eventideproductions.net
You can also catch “Of Darkness” on Fearnet, through the month of January. Check your local cable provider, for information and availability.
To read my review of “Of Darkness”, you can goto: http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/11/of-darkness-review-written-by-anthony.html
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