Behind the Scenes on the set of ‘Heap’
Director Kyle Marchen and Producer Van Wickiam give you a sneak peek during the filming of their short film ‘Heap’ which premieres at the DRIFF drive-in August 18 in Whitby.
Ever wondered what it would be like working in the film industry? While actors may be the faces of the industry, there are plenty of jobs behind the scenes that suit a variety of skill sets and creative interests. From pre to post production, there’s something for everyone on set, in the edit suite, and beyond. BEHIND THE SCENES brings you into the heart of the media arts industry, introducing you to career paths you may have never considered before or thought possible.
On this special edition of Behind the Scenes, we’re taking you on location during the shooting of the short film ‘Heap.’ Director Kyle Marchen and Producer Van Wickiam are the winners of the DRIFF’s Shifting the Narrative: Emerging Filmmaker Incubator which provided these Durham Region filmmakers with $30,000 in cash and in-kind support to produce their short film and have it screened at the DRIFF drive-in.
‘Heap,’ is a dark comedy about a disturbed and disillusioned tenant who discovers a strange Utopian community in the building next door and the tangled web she weaves to get what she wants. It explores issues of social hierarchy, the lack of affordable housing, and mental health, with a creative stylistic approach that combines a super 16 mm film look with a harder edged digital video image to contrast two levels of reality which seem increasingly incompatible.
We recently caught up with the crew of ‘Heap’ as they prepared for the first two days of shooting in character Arthur’s apartment where a large part of the film takes place. The filmmakers rented an apartment in the Junction community in Toronto for the first two days of the four-day shoot and a prep day for the production designer and team to transform the space for the film.
“Just yesterday we realized that two of the chairs that we got for our main location didn’t fit our composition,” says Marchen. “So today and last night we were in a bit of a scramble to find something that worked better and luckily, last minute, as it always kind of happens, we found the solution.”
Marchen says that making films is full of challenges, which means that directing is all about problem-solving. This skill would prove to be extremely valuable on day one of production when an emergency struck and the film’s makeup artist was suddenly unavailable, putting the entire shoot in jeopardy.
“We sent out, I feel like 20 messages… like ‘ALL HANDS ON DECK: MESSAGE EVERYONE YOU KNOW’ and it was quite the morning,” says Wickiam. “You can’t shoot unless you have makeup and we needed a bruise – it wasn’t even like somebody could just go get a palette. So we finally got a yes… and we had total relief that we were going to get the day going.”
Relying on the production team’s network is essential in a situation like this and fortunately its network was able to mitigate a problem that could have potentially put the film’s tight schedule at risk. In the end, the shoot only fell a couple of hours behind and as a result of the hiccup, the filmmakers have broadened their community for future projects.
“You just have to be willing to accept the stress and think of how to get to the next step,” says Marchen. “You just have to kind of go with it. You have to think on your feet and you have to problem-solve.”
We’re happy to report that the team overcame all of the obstacles that were presented to them and that shooting of the film has been completed. The filmmakers have moved on to the editing stage of the process and we can’t wait to show you the final product at our August drive-in.
The premiere of ‘Heap’ will precede DRIFF’s feature presentation of ‘Sleeping Giant’ at DRIFF’s Shifting the Narrative drive-in event on August 18 in Whitby. The screening starts at dusk in the parking lot of the Whitby Municipal Building at 575 Rossland Rd. E, Whitby. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.seatgiantevents.ca/event/driff-shifting-the-narrative
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Thank you to Kyle Marchen and Van Wickiam for taking the time out of their busy shooting schedule to share their experiences on the set of this project and to Peter Findlay for documenting the team’s adventures.
Laurie Turner is a writer, editor, and film enthusiast from Southern Ontario.
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Why don’t you become part of a local film community and attend a film festival event near you? The Durham Region International Film Festival’s events include an annual fall film festival in Durham Region, summer drive-in movie screenings in Whitby and DRIFF in a Jiff short film screenings in Oshawa. Visit driff.ca, become a DRIFF insider or follow us on social media at @catchthedriff for all the details.
