Making a complete film that lasts only a minute takes far more time to shoot and edit. Kelly Murray and Hillary Hanak opened up to me about what was involved in making the one-minute-long horror film, 3:13.
Steven Gladstone: How long have you been working in the industry, and how did you get started?
Kelly Murray: I've been working in film for seven years, since 2012. Growing up, I was involved in the arts and was a strong writer, so I studied English literature and writing at college. I was, however, involved in the University's student theater company, working in makeup and costuming, so I've always been close to the dramatic arts in one way or another. After college, I started working in marketing as a content writer, and through one of my first jobs, I met Delaware filmmaker Chris Malinowski. I asked Chris if I could shadow him while he directed pick-up scenes for a feature film he was making, and after that experience, I was hooked. Ironically, I was later laid off from the job where I met Chris, but it wound up being a blessing in disguise. I decided to explore the film world while I was job searching, and started applying to work on Philly film sets. My first set job was as a Production Office PA on the film Brotherly Love, directed by Jamal Hill. From then on, I continued to pursue set jobs to learn the filmmaking process.
Hillary Hanak: I have been in working in the industry since 2001. After attending University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Filmmakers and completing my college degree in Film and Television Production, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my career in this field. I started as a film-camera loader right away, after emailing over 200 Directors of Photography in Los Angeles prior to my move. After being in Los Angeles for a short time, the writer's strike happened and work came to a halt. I took a weekend job at Fotokem, in Burbank, and learned the post-production side of the business and eventually landed at Wooden Nickel, in North Hollywood, which was a grip and lighting rental house. In 2008, I left Wooden Nickel and started my own grip and lighting company called Get A Grip Equipment. Right away we became busier than we ever thought, working on everything from low-budget to big-budget films, TV shows and documentaries. I became one of six women inducted into the Local 728 Union, a few years later. After working on numerous projects with the Foo Fighters on their documentary TV series, I moved back to the Philadelphia area to be closer to family. Since returning to this area I have had the opportunity to DP more and more projects and really allow my creativity to flourish.
SG: Can you share the scope of the films on which you’ve worked?
KM: I've worked on a handful of narrative short films in the Philadelphia area, ranging across different genres: comedy, drama, sci-fi, horror, and historical period films. These films have ranged in scope from passion projects to micro-budget shorts. On these projects, I worked in roles mostly within production and art department. I have yet to work on a feature-length film, but hopefully, that's in the near future. In 2016, I wrote, directed, and produced my first short film titled, The Astronomer, and after that, decided to commit my focus to writing and directing my own projects.
HH: I have had the opportunity to work on everything from low budget to big budget and everything in between; from music videos in the desert to high-profile clients flying us to Hawaii for a one-hour interview of a celebrity. A few notable names are Sound City and Sonic Highways, which were the two documentaries that the Foo Fighters created. I also worked on the top-rated Disney XD show, Crash and Bernstein. And most recently a new documentary for Chelsea Handler, and a documentary that just premiered, called, Chasing Happiness, which follows the life of the Jonas Brothers.
SG: What led you to form Pink Lemonade Productions?
KM: Pink Lemonade Pictures formed after shooting The Astronomer. I had asked my friend and Philadelphia-based cinematographer Hillary Hanak to shoot the script, and Hillary really went beyond just DP’ing, and helped in all aspects of the production. Through the experience, we discovered we both really enjoyed working with each other, not only as director and DP, but as producers, so we decided to partner up and created Pink Lemonade. Hillary has a wealth of technical knowledge and, with my background in creative writing and the arts, we like to say we balance each other out well as collaborators.
SG: How did 3:13 come about?
HH: A few years ago, I read an urban legend online that I just couldn't get out of my head. I told Kelly about the idea of the Urban Legend project and showed her a photo one sheet that I put together to give her the "vibe and gist" of the story that I wanted to create. With that, Kelly was able to expand on those ideas and create a truly creepy short script. At that time, a company we have worked with in the past was just launching a one-minute short-story platform on Instagram. Kelly and I approached Maestro Filmworks to see if they would be interested in collaborating and using this short story we were developing, on their platform. They were excited and everything took off after that. We reached out to other industry professional friends to create the look of the Demon. Fre Howard was the lead makeup artist on this project, and she was able to take our ideas and expand and enhance them to really create an amazing-looking demon for our story.
SG: You had a lot of detailed behind-the-scenes material. How much planning did that take, and why did you feel it was important to document this project?
HH: Pre-production is one of the most important parts of filmmaking. Since all of our crew was working for free, we wanted to make sure that we maximized our time, and didn't waste their time. Kelly and I met for months going over the project, the breakdown, and the shot list so that on the day of shooting we would both be on the same page and could move fast to get the shots that we knew we needed. We were able to shoot this project in six hours! Being in collaboration with Maestro, we knew that we wanted to have behind-the-scenes photos and videos so that they would be able to use them on their social media platforms.
KM: Since we approached 3:13 as a collaboration between Pink Lemonade and Maestro, we were able to build a solid crew from both of our networks. Maestro brought on a wonderful BTS photographer, Anjelika Rivera, who took photos during the production. Since the Demon character was such an integral part of the story, and had such a distinctive look, Hillary decided to set up a time lapse to capture our Special FX artist Fre Howard's process. It didn't require a huge amount of planning outside of the pre-production phase, just a conscious choice to capture the process. I think it was important for us to document 3:13 partly because up until that point, we hadn't had the resources for dedicated BTS documentation to our previous projects, so it was a bonus for us.
SG: Overall, how would you describe the filmmaking process?
KM: In one word? Collaboration. I've found that the filmmaking process, no matter what role you have, is all about planning, problem solving, and being able to carry out the vision despite the challenges you encounter along the way. Just like any creative endeavor, it involves a little bit of risk and a lot of dedication. And since a film contains so many different artistic mediums, and involves so many people (compared to writing, which is mostly a singular endeavor), it involves much more collaboration, communication, and time.
SG: In the video, you mentioned having to go with a different camera than you originally wanted to. What were the factors that led you to that choice?
HH: Originally, we wanted to use the ARRI Amira, but we had to consider different factors. The bedroom we used was on the second floor and was a very small space. I wanted to be able to have maximum smooth movement in the space, and having the Amira would have meant that we needed bigger rigs in order to accomplish that. We also needed a camera that performed well in low light. We chose the Sony a7sii on the DJI Ronin S so that we could have a camera that performed well in low light, while also keeping our footprint small, and being able to have fluid movements. By having a small footprint, it enabled us to get more creative with our shots that we wouldn't have been able to get with a larger rig.
SG: How long was pre-production, production, and post on the film?
KM: From initial pitch to post production, the entire process took about three months, from August to October. Preproduction took about a month and a half, the actual production itself took one day with about eight hours of shooting time, and post-production took about two weeks.
SG: Once the film was finished, did you do the festival path, or was there some other way you chose to promote it?
KM: As part of Make Long Story Shorts, the film was hosted on the program's Instagram account, and we did a lot of social media promotion to drive viewers to the page. We also decided to do the festival path, focusing primarily on festivals that feature one-minute films. 3:13 has screened at The Santa Barbara 3-Minute Film Festival in Santa Barbara, CA; The Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival in Jim Thorpe, PA; the 60 Second Horror Challenge in Charleston, SC; and will be screening at the One-Minute Story Film Festival in Teaneck, NJ, this September.
SG: What is next for you? What films or projects are in the works?
HH: Kelly and I have numerous projects that we want to create, from music videos to short films and even a feature that we are working on. We have a few things in post-production now, and are working with other local artists to create a documentary that will hopefully be filming in the next few months.
KM: I'm also currently editing a visual poem that I wrote and directed, titled, Your Reckless Heart, that I hope to release this fall. Hillary also DP'd and co-produced this project. It's taken much longer to finish than anticipated, but we have some amazing artists attached to it, and I think once we lock it in, it will be worth the wait. Once that is complete, I'm thinking about organizing a poetry reading/premiere in the Philadelphia area. Creating opportunities for artists to collaborate and express themselves has always been something I'm passionate about, and poetry is a medium that I think it so beautiful and so powerful, so I think combining a night of poetry and film would be a really wonderful way to release this project.
Kelly Murray Bio
Kelly Murray is an award-winning writer, director, and producer, based in Philadelphia, PA. 3:13 is her second narrative film and first horror project. Her directorial debut, the historical fantasy short, The Astronomer, ran in numerous festivals and received the Curator's Choice Award at The Delaware Contemporary, in 2016. Through compelling original narratives, Murray aims to bring women-driven stories to the screen within the historical, dramatic, and fantasy genres. In partnership with Hillary Hanak, Murray is the co-founder of Pink Lemonade Pictures.
Hillary Hanak's Bio
Hillary Hanak is an award-winning Director of Photography, based in Philadelphia, PA. With more than twenty years in the film industry, Hanak has worked on a variety of commercial and narrative projects and has become a leader in the 360 VR field in the greater Philadelphia area. Most notably, she served as gaffer on the Foo Fighters' documentaries Sound City and Sonic Highways. She is a proud member of the IATSE Local 728 Union, in Los Angeles, and in partnership with Kelly Murray, is the co-founder of Pink Lemonade Pictures.
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