Legion - 2007
Directed by: Craig Morris
Written by: Craig and Valarie O. Morris
We've all made home movies. You know, those crappy videos we made with our brothers and sisters because we got our hands on our uncle's gigantic VHS video recorder? Yeah, I've done that. And they do look like crap. I had no editing machine back then and was too lazy too hook up two VCR's to edit. But man, were they fun to make!
Legion was my first official entry into the world of filmmaking. Even though I didn't direct this first short, I learned more from producing it than I could ever express and am forever grateful for the opportunity. Legion was a vision that Craig had that when he shared it with me, I fell in love with. I've always wanted to make movies. Now, not only did I have someone just as passionate to make them with but also the means to make it look less like a kid's home movie. Or at least that was my hope.
Legion's sole purpose was to get us both experienced with the whole process: directing, lighting, producing, editing and writing. We didn't focus as much attention on the writing as we probably should have because we really wanted to work out the kinks in the other areas before putting a lot of effort into creating a three act script. In other words, we wanted to see if we could handle the technical and logistic side of filmmaking first. Fortunately, we feel we can.
One other aspect that I got to experience was acting. I played two roles: a newscaster (Connie Miller) and the alien creature. Playing a newscaster was difficult. Much more difficult than I imagined. It's obvious I am no actor, but Craig tells me that staring into a camera (which I had to do as part of my character's job) is difficult and that I should consider trying again in a future movie. I'll have to write myself a good role and then I may try again. However, if I could play our monster in every movie, I would jump at that opportunity! As a monster kid, and even still today, I was always fascinated with who played the monster, so to experience that was awesome! It also gave me a newfound appreciation for the physical activity actors put themselves through. However, bruised knees and sore muscles will not stop me from playing the part of a monster again!
Legion was shot on a Canon HV20 in its "24p" mode, lit with $6 aluminum work lights from Wal-mart, and edited with Final Cut Studio 2. Non-actors, consisting of family members and myself, starred in the short. Family members and friends also acted as our crew. My thanks to everyone who participated.
"Technically", I think Legion is an OK short. I hope you'll watch it and maybe leave some feedback. Please stay tuned for our next project, one that I will be directing. I can't wait!
Here are a few production shots.
The Director
We had a crane!
Setting Up
Cheap Lighting!
Cast & Crew
The REAL Cast & Crew
