This week on BEHIND THE LENS it’s a blend of crime and Christmas as we take a look at DOWNEAST with our exclusive interview with GREG FINLEY and JOE RAFFA, and then we put on some ho-ho-ho holiday cheer with COREY MOSS and WHITE ELEPHANT.
First up, you’ll hear our exclusive interview with actor/producer GREG FINLEY and writer/director JOE RAFFA talking about DOWNEAST. A character-driven crime thriller set and shot in Maine, DOWNEAST is a real potboiler that while immersing us in the seacoast life of Portland, steeps us in the elements of the darker underbelly of mob madness and murder and the ambiguity that creates within everyone.
Listen as Joe and Greg talk about the story and Greg’s hometown inspiration for this tale, the importance of authenticity with the people and the places, capturing all the shades of grey and the ambiguities of life not only through story and dialogue, but with imagery and the visual tonal bandwidth, shooting during a Portland winter, the wonderful community and locals who did so much for the shoot, and so much more.
Then it’s Christmas in July as writer/director COREY MOSS joins us live talking about WHITE ELEPHANT. What happens when a group of 8 best friends get together for their annual White Elephant Christmas celebration? While things may have gone smoothly in the past for these couples, that doesn’t appear to be the case this year. Filled with puns, puns, and more puns, happiness, and heartache, WHITE ELEPHANT is just the film to fill you with the holiday spirit (and dread).
Listen as Corey and I rip open the wrapping with a lot of cheer as we talk about his inspiration for this story, wearing many many elf hats on this lo budget/no budget/micro budget pandemically shot film, shooting in one location and using camera and character movement to vary the visuals and affect the tone, score and integration of mandatory holiday musical motifs, production design, gift wrapping, a very unique lensing of flashbacks, and more.
