His film, BRIEF ENCOUNTER, began while he was a student at Emerson. "I re-wrote it, re-shot it and am just now beginning to send it out on the festival circuit." Doug Martin told IMAGINE. So far it has screened at the New Hampshire Film Expo last October and at the Brattle Theater as part of Central Productions' Boston Cinema Census II. It looks to be getting more exposure this year.
Martin has wanted to make movies all my life. So far, he's stuck on narratives because a subject for a documentary hasn't hit him yet. "When I was a kid I was fascinated by the special effects and make up I saw in old monster movies. I wanted to learn how to do it. After I saw STAR WARS, I wanted to learn how to make films. As soon as I was old enough I got a job at the local movie theater. I absorbed as much as I could. Meanwhile, I was always gathering my friends together to make little movies with a borrowed VHS camcorder and editing with 2 VCRs. Not exactly stuff to include on my resume'," he said. "I scrapped around a few colleges in Connecticut (too many to name) and studied English and eventually moved to Boston. It was then that I realized that working in film could be reality. I went to Emerson and dove in to their film program. Right around the time of my first film production class I read Robert Rodriguez's book, Rebel Without a Crew, about him making El Mariachi. I was inspired by his story of how me made the film for a few thousand dollars. My first film at Emerson, THE BIG P, was shot on 16mm reversal, B&W, and cost me a total of $300." He was lucky enough to get it into a few festivals.
How does he choose his material? "I'd love to say that I choose the material by the lofty belief that I do what speaks to me creatively, but the reality is that now I choose the material I want to work on by the money available. I've not had budgets that have afforded me too many choices. Two years ago the economy was much stronger and I was able to jump on projects that paid very little but included a talented crew and/or great material and an opportunity to learn. Times have changed," he said.
He financed BRIEF ENCOUNTER himself, mostly with the support of Emerson College. The film began as a project he wrote and directed while at Emerson with their film production club, Frames Per Second. "F.P.S. let me write and direct it and the school paid for the film and lab costs. When I graduated the film stayed on a shelf at Emerson. I always knew with a few changes the film would appeal to some film festivals. I had no money but I wanted to make a film, so I decided to use what I had in the can already, rewrite, re-shoot, reedit, and add new music to it. I needed to get a crew, production gear and editing facilities for cheap or free in order to make it happen." Doug noted. For crew he used up favors from crewmembers that owed him for working on their films for little or no money. "I asked a very talented DP, Tim Coughlin, to shoot it. Tim is an old friend from Emerson who worked as 1st Assistant Camera on the original production. He has a great eye. He teaches a cinematography class at BFVF and now works at Boston Camera. Between his and my available resources from where I work at Rule Broadcast Systems I was able to save a lot of money renting the gear."
When Martin, who now works at Rule Broadcast Systems, did the re-shoots, the cast and crew worked for free. He was able to use an Avid editing system at R.B.S. to edit. "When it came time for music I found a perfect song by a local jazz group, The Sai Ghose Trio. I tracked Sai down and he gave me permission to use two of his songs for free. I had to rely on a lot of generosity. Now if I could only find a way to get past those pesky film festival submission fees…", Doug comments and many filmmakers and non-filmmakers agree there should be some alternative. That's another story IMAGINE tackle later.
When we asked Doug Martin about his practice for rehearsing his actors, he told us, "I like to spend time with them individually to learn what their ideas are about what they want to bring to their character. I need to know we have an understanding about the choices that they will make in their performance. Then I like to do one read through with the entire cast where we can explore the dynamics of their characters' relationships and make adjustments, and then just leave it alone until the day we shoot it. I believe in the philosophy that the material should stay fresh with the actor; that too much rehearsal can drain the spontaneity of the performance."
Doug likes working with the production designer. Most collaboration on a film is very technical. The production designer works with the tactile, artistic elements. He has always had the most fun working with the production designer.
Martin also finds the collaborative process very important. "It takes faith in people to make a film. If you surround yourself with people you can trust they will help you. They'll either offer suggestions you didn't consider or just work harder because they trust you. It's easy to get tunnel vision while directing a film and everyone needs a supportive group around him or her. I've had to ask for a lot of help and a lot of favors." He told IMAGINE.
His next project will be another short film that he wants to do it this year. He has begun to assemble his resources to begin production in the fall. He's hoping that BRIEF will get some exposure at film festivals and local screenings so he can attract people to his new film project that he will shoot on High Definition video.
You can email Doug at douglasm_98@yahoo.com.