Bosner was also very successful as a producer, with films such as the Sundance winner Fruitvale Station and the sophisticated thriller Black bear. He, like many of us, wrote a feature film during the SAG strike and decided to use part of it to produce a short film.
We spoke to Bosner via Zoom about the current film landscape, the creation of short films and why a proof of concept is a valuable tool.
Behind the scenes of TrailerProvided
Editor’s note: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
NFS: I would like to hear more about your background and how you got into the industry.
Bosnian: I grew up in upstate New York and both my parents were theater directors and actors, so I spent many weekends as a kid building sets or doing my homework in an auditorium while my parents directed.
I was immersed in it, and my whole upbringing was tied to it, and it was something I really loved. And then I really wanted to be behind the camera and see all these behind-the-scenes featurettes. That’s what really got me into filmmaking – the process and the community of people, that you need a whole village to make a film. It’s not a single thing. You need everyone’s involvement, and that’s what really attracted me.
NFS: I know you talked about how you wrote this as a feature film during the SAG strike, and the short film is essentially the opening sequence. Was this something you wanted to create a proof of concept? How did you turn the script into a short film?
Bosnian: I wrote the post and it gave me a certain momentum and I just wanted to keep going. But because of the strike everything had come to a complete standstill. I thought this is not the right time to put the post out.
But I wanted to keep the dynamic. The opening scene is the only part where a child appears, and it was summer. I thought, “Well, now you have to shoot with a child when they’re not in school.”
With SAG, any short film had the exemption to still be made legally. So we took advantage of that. All my friends in the industry who are incredibly creative were available and said, “We’re not doing anything. Whatever you want to do, let’s do it.”
I tried to cast the very best actors we could. We shot in Kensington, California, near Berkeley, and all the actors came from different places. Grant Feely was from Alabama. Ben Bladon was from Georgia and Mackenzie Firgens was from LA. We did a really extensive search all over the country to find the best people and make the most of them.
I always believe that a proof of concept or something for a feature film has to be on the same level as the film. There’s no point doing a proof of concept on your iPhone and that’s a small thing you’re doing in your backyard. It literally has to be on the same level as what you’re going to present as a feature film so people can understand it and that’s why we really went all out and hired the best editor, Skywalker Sound for the sound and Company 3 for the color.
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NFS: I wanted to ask how you found these collaborators. Were they people you knew from previous projects?
Bosnian: They are. I’ve been a producer for over a decade, so over 15 years. These are all people that I’ve assembled during my time as a producer. I’ve worked with Skywalker and Company 3 many times in the past. And Robbie Schafer, my editor, I think this is our third project together. Robbie works with Francis Ford Coppola and does a great job there at Zoetrope.
I just asked people I’ve been friends with for a long time to come over and just join in, and they were all wonderful. I’m really grateful.
NFS: Your short film sets everything up very quickly, and then at the end there’s this big moment and then we want more. What I sometimes see from, say, a student director is a short film that’s 20 or 30 minutes long and doesn’t have that pace.. Do you have any advice for keeping up the pace?
Bosnian: When I was a film student, I was definitely guilty of that sort of thing – way too long, too many interwoven stories and things like that. Especially in today’s cinema. You have to get in and out quickly.
I think any really good short film should feel like a joke. It’s about the premise and the punch line, and when it hits, you think, “Oh, that was great. And I feel really good that I took the time to watch it.”
I think, especially for a proof of concept, the shorter the better. Nobody has an attention span anymore, and unless you’re leading your short film with Tom Cruise as the host, I think it’s going to be hard to get people to sit through 30 to 25 minutes.
I would say again: focus on one element of the short film and make it really, really good. It doesn’t have to be as sprawling as a feature film. Just the short film alone is enough to prove, “I want to see this as a feature film.” And that’s exactly what I was trying to do by focusing on the horror aspects. I wanted you to go home and think, “Wait a minute, I need to know more. I need to know more about what’s going to happen in this story.”
That’s really my goal, and I think it’s helpful. I think when filmmakers do that, it’s always good when people start asking you, “Have you written a full script for this? Is there a feature film to keep the conversation going?”
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NFS: What was the biggest challenge for you in this short film?
Bosnian: Honestly, it was casting because I knew I was going to cast a child actor. It’s a pretty intense short film for a child, and I’ve watched a lot of great kids, but it’s different to cast a kid who does Target commercials and works for the Disney Channel and then ask them to do a horror short film. You really have to try something different.
We looked at lots of different wonderful child actors, but we didn’t find the right one for horror, so we were lucky to get Grant. He was so professional, way beyond his years, and he was able to convey the terror and horror of what we were trying to do. I was nervous because he’s the main character, but he played it really well and did a wonderful job.
NFS: Do you have any other advice for someone who wants to make a short film?
Bosnian: I think, especially in filmmaking, I always tell people that. People think, “I don’t have enough money. I’m not going to do it.”
I don’t think filmmaking is about money. It’s really about relationships and you don’t have to live in LA to make a short film. Especially these days, all you need is an iPhone and a few people who care about you and want to help you and have the drive and support to make a really great film. That’s really it and you don’t even need experience.
I would much rather work with people who are motivated and passionate about what they do and maybe need to learn a little more than someone who has a sense of entitlement and years of industry experience, because you see what people do with passion and heart and that really stands out to me. I really, really believe that’s the case and I believe you can do something really incredible in any part of the country, anywhere in the world, with friends.
NFS: Do you have any advice for aspiring filmmakers and what should they do to attract producers?
Bosnian: I think it’s very different today. I think social media is a wonderful way to showcase your work and show people what you can do. You really have to create something that you’re passionate about and not always follow the trends, but think outside the box.
Because right now, right now, it’s the Wild West in the movie business. We’re in a really, really weird place. Nobody knows what’s going to happen, and I think we’re going to find some really incredible filmmakers in the next few years who have just done really crazy, weird stuff that can completely break out and hopefully honestly revitalize cinema. Because cinema needs to be revitalized on a big scale.
We need someone to bring us back to life with the paddles, and that’s only going to happen with really amazing creativity coming from filmmakers and not from corporate America and the studios. I’m excited and I think that the people who are in it for the right reasons, for the art and the passion and the love and not for the fame and the paycheck and things like that, are going to break through and get noticed.
