Buffalo Rising Online

Jan 30th 2008, 3:59pm By John Carocci

I've managed to work those seven words into every conversation I've had since August, and it's great to say something other than "um, nothing" when people ask me what's new. So yeah, I made a movie this summer.

It all started innocently enough. Brian Milbrand (filmmaker, video artist and fellow member of Buffalo's beloved Real Dream Cabaret) asked if I wanted to get involved in a project. I figured he meant a couple of hours on Allen Street, goofing around with a video camera and a box of wigs. But when I showed up for the first planning meeting I realized I'd seriously underestimated this project. There was a cast, camera and sound crews (students at UB's School of Media Studies along with local professionals), multiple sets, a complex shooting schedule, and, to my dismay, a script with lines to memorize. This was serious business. Monthly meetings turned into weekly rehearsals, as lines were learned and shots were blocked out. Finally we began the actual filming, and my education began.

The first thing I learned is that moviemaking is a lot of hard work. Standing for hours at a time on a hard concrete floor, in full costume under the hot lights, was uncomfortable at first, and downright agonizing a week later. My heart sank whenever another take was called for, especially on the complex or physically demanding shots. But the long hours and discomfort were a small price to pay for the chance to see the moviemaking process unfold before my eyes. I saw Brian and collaborator Holly Johnson work on the script and plan out the close to 500 individual shots. Sets were constructed, moved, modified and taken apart at a moment's notice, script changes were rehearsed, unexpected problems were dealt with, and through it all cast and crew were fed and we all managed to show up at our day jobs. It was chaotic, for sure, but the atmosphere was charged with creative energy. When filming was completed ten days later, everyone involved was exhausted but proud.

The result of all this hard work and creativity is the Scarlet Letter, the final chapter of the four-film Claire Cycle, a series of films inspired by Brian Milbrand's dreams as well as Jungian archetypes in genre films ranging from documentary to horror. Each of the four films stars Milbrand in dual roles as Claire and her male antagonist, and the cycle as a whole follows Jung's theory of the development of the Anima, or feminine aspects of the male psyche. Like the Anima, Claire transforms throughout the cycle from Eve (first stage) to Sophia (fourth and final stage), from powerlessness to wisdom.

The Claire Cycle premieres Saturday, February 2nd at 8:00 p.m. at the Hallwalls Cinema. Admission is $7, $5 for students or seniors, and $4 for Hallwalls members. The films explore adult themes and are intended for mature audiences.