Filmmaking in Hollywood is like an assembly line, meticulous yet lacking in artistic flair.
Every high-budget film is a monumental task that requires thorough scrutiny, leaving no room for error.
As for artistic flair, what’s that?
Most Hollywood studios and distribution companies are unaware of what artistic flair truly is.
Ryan is one of them, and so is Helen.
Typically, the two most important roles in a Hollywood film production are the producer and the director.
“The Blair Witch Project” had a pitifully small budget, so there were no multiple producers, directors, or assistant directors. Ryan took on the roles of producer, director, and screenwriter himself.
Helen took on the roles of casting director and production manager, while Heidi acted as her assistant and also handled miscellaneous tasks and logistics.
It could be said that almost all necessary positions in the crew were filled by Starry Sky Agency employees.
This was unavoidable; first, it ensured confidentiality, and second, the entire crew had a budget of only forty thousand dollars, necessitating frugality.
After accounting for daily expenses, the combined pay for the three leads was less than three thousand dollars. The most expensive crew member was a seasoned makeup artist, earning four hundred dollars a week, and that was only as a favor to Helen.
This makeup artist was also the only official employee in the crew.
There were no cameramen, lighting technicians, production assistants, or prop masters.
Ryan had already calculated that production and prop duties could be shared between Helen and Heidi, while he himself would handle the roles of cameraman and lighting technician to save costs wherever possible.
In his previous life, “The Blair Witch Project” was shot in a similar fashion.
Meanwhile, Helen contacted a small equipment rental company and, for a low price, rented audio tapes, Hi-8 cameras, 16mm cameras, and other basic filming equipment.
Within a few days, the crew was ready, and filming for “The Blair Witch Project” began.
On March 1, 1994, Ryan began shooting his first film in the United States.
If he followed the customs of some directors from his previous life in Hong Kong, the first thing would be to perform a ceremony to bless the film’s start.
Fortunately, Hollywood had no such traditions. The crew consisted of less than ten people and started filming quietly in a small town near New York.
There were no press conferences, no fans watching, no cheering, everything was very quiet.
To be honest, this crew was even more rudimentary than some independent films, making it look laughable.
“Alright, I admit it’s worse than I imagined.”
“No, it’s downright terrible. I’ve never seen such a bad crew.”
“It’s worse than the script.”
“Okay, you two, quiet down. No matter what, you’re the leads.”
“Leads? I doubt this film will even get a limited release.”
“Getting it on VHS would be good. I’ll buy a few tapes to give away.”
The three leads whispered among themselves.
The minuscule budget, the rudimentary crew, the novice director, and three young, inexperienced actors—all pointed to a soon-to-be disaster of a film.
The scene before her discouraged Jessica Chastain. It was more of a farce than a film crew.
But none of the three were seasoned actors, not even small-time ones. They usually played extras or corpses. With Helen, their agent, present, none dared to complain.
Otherwise, Ryan would replace them immediately.
However, within a minute of starting, Ryan encountered a small issue. He put down his camera and approached the three leads.
“Let me reiterate, you are now film students, not actors, and you’re not on a set.”
“Don’t show me your pathetic acting skills. Remember, I need natural, authentic film students.”
The three leads looked at each other, confused. No acting needed?
Damn, would this film even be watchable?
The challenge—and the ease—of “The Blair Witch Project” was that the three leads played themselves, requiring no acting skills to make it seem real.
This way, the media and fans would believe it was a real event, not a film.
Ryan didn’t need their poor acting in front of the camera.
The success of “The Blair Witch Project” in his previous life relied not only on viral marketing but also on the leads’ natural performances.
Ahem, or rather, the lack of acting.
They started filming again, and it was somewhat better than before, but Ryan had to stop again.
“Helen, the props need to be real. No fakes. If we don’t have what we need, send Heidi to buy them.”
“Everything must look natural.”
Ryan frowned slightly at the props the crew had prepared.
To convince the media and fans it was a real event, the props had to be genuine. Never underestimate the scrutiny of the media and fans.
“My mistake.”
Helen was slightly taken aback but admitted her error, “I’ll have Heidi get the real props.”
With Helen’s order, Heidi reluctantly went to get the props.
The rest of the shoot went smoothly. The three leads got into their roles, or rather, performed naturally without any acting.
Ryan didn’t need them to act well, just naturally and without logical flaws, so the filming went quickly.
With a budget of only forty thousand dollars, after daily expenses, equipment rentals, props, and actors’ pay, there was almost nothing left. There wasn’t enough money to meticulously polish each shot.
Besides, his handheld camera was far from ideal, and the film quality was predictably low.
During a break, Helen brought a drink to Ryan, “Take a break if needed. If the budget’s tight, I can lend you more or invest.”
Ryan’s schedule left almost no time for rest.
The crew might not complain, but Helen couldn’t ignore it.
“I’m just trying to meet the timeline. I want the film out before May.”
Ryan didn’t mind. In his previous life, he often worked non-stop, shooting 24 hours a day. This was relatively easy.
“Once April ends, the summer blockbusters come out. Competing with those isn’t wise.”
“March and April are slow months in North American cinema, with few major releases, which is good for distribution.”
He saw this clearly. Competing with big-budget films in May wasn’t as good as dominating March and April.
Helen agreed, “I’ll discuss it with the crew, but you should relax a bit too.”
Ryan nodded, agreeing.
This was a mistake from his previous shooting experiences. Hollywood crews differed greatly from online film crews in his past life. The pace could be quick, but rest was essential.
This crew was extremely small, and Ryan was the producer, director, screenwriter, and investor, while Helen was the only agent. Any bigger, and there would have been issues.
Ryan adjusted the filming plan to be more relaxed.
By the end of the day, the crew had completed less than a third of the scheduled work, leaving Ryan a bit frustrated.
At this rate, filming the entire movie would take about a week.
Much slower than his original three-day plan.
Don’t think three days is too short. Some Hong Kong directors could finish a film in one or two days.
Ryan’s plan to finish in three days wasn’t unreasonable.