The Girl is the young hero of Spirit’s Requiem, a child of 10 years who is summoned by the Great Spirit to go on a journey and save the world. Most 10 year old children would be terrified if handed such a task, but not the Girl. Her courage keeps her going every step of the way even as the shadows close in around her. The Girl performs her task without looking back, without making any argument or complaint. She has no internal conflict, she is a fountain of optimism and a paragon of virtue. As a certain friend of mine (who may or may not have made this film) often says, “Goodness and love will always win.” Because of this the Girl can come off as being one dimensional, and while there is some truth to that the goodness of the Girl serves a greater purpose.

As I discussed in the interview with Elyse Bertani, Spirit’s Requiem is really about the character journey of Shade. This journey would not be possible without the Girl, for she sets the example which Shade follows: strength through courage. Shade sees the Girl’s bravery in the face of overwhelming danger and learns what it truly means to be a hero. The Girl is Shade’s foil and vice versa, the seeming flatness of her character is what allows Shade to grow and discover the goodness within herself.

What is most unique about the Girl is that she is a silent protagonist, an archetype typically only seen in video games (and silent movies if you want to be technical about it). She never utters a word on screen, instead communicating her thoughts and emotions through nods and facial expressions. It is implied, however, that she speaks to the characters she meets, it is merely the audience who lacks the ability to hear her. This experimental technique allows the viewer to better place him or herself in the shoes of the Girl. The viewer can fill in the Girl’s voice with their own and become a hero themselves.

Recently I talked with Aster Coyle, the girl behind the Girl, and asked her about what it was like to play this fun loving adventurer. Aster is the only cast member who is not an actor, and the only one never to have been on film or on stage before (excepting writer/director Peter James’ still unreleased “visual poem,” but he claims it doesn’t count as a film).

The Girl is a courageous young adventurer who loves to explore the woods. Do you share any of these characteristics with her?
I do like exploring the woods, so I just had to be myself. It is hard to find adventure…except in movies.

You spend a lot of the movie running around the countryside, most notably in an early montage scene just after you’ve found the sword. How did you film those sequences? Did Peter just tell you to do whatever you wanted or was there more of a plan?
A little bit of both; Peter gave me some guidelines but allowed me to be spontaneous.

The most distinctive aspect of Spirit’s Requiem is that the main character is completely silent. What was it like playing a character who doesn’t speak?
I usually do not say very much, but expressing myself without words was tricky.

The Girl is a stable character, undergoing little growth over the course of the story. Rather, Shade is the one who grows as the Girl shows her the meaning of strength through courage. What do you think of Shade and her development from anti-hero to hero?
I actually grew a lot during filming, my boots would hardly fit by the end. [she smiles] I think Shade finds herself during the course of the journey as she sees the girl take responsibility that should not be carried by youth.

You are in every scene in the movie, so you have a unique perspective on the film. What is your favorite scene?
The scene where we meet the cowboy was fun to film.

It is rumored that you were not intimidated by Bill (the Evil Man), and in fact found him to be amusing. Is there any truth to this? What was it like working with him?
It was fun working with Bill, I was not intimidated by him.

Prior to Spirit’s Requiem you worked with Peter in the summer of 2010 on an earlier version of SR which became what Peter calls a “visual poem.” Basically you ran around the countryside filming interesting and/or beautiful footage. What was filming that like, and did it prepare you for shooting this movie?
Filming that was easier. It got me used to having the camera on me, but did not really prepare me for filming with other people.

You like to draw, in fact there’s a video in the special features of the Spirit’s Requiem DVD that shows you sketching. Do you want to be an artist?
I want to be a manga artist.

Finally, do you have a funny story relating to Spirit’s Requiem?
During the filming with the Great Spirit we forgot to bring a willow crown for the Great Spirit to wear, and we had to make one out of weeds!

Also, we have a screening of Spirit’s Requiem coming up in just over a week’s time. Did you think I’d let you forget? Tickets are still available, get them here!

That’s it for updates this week. You can see why I’m switching to a monthly format, because there really ain’t too much to talk about. I guess I could plug a few things:

-Music! Be sure to get your hands on the incredible musical experience that is the Spirit’s Requiem Original Soundtrack, available now for digital download.

-An interview with Shade! Or more precisely, the actress who portrayed Shade, Elyse Bertani. You know you want to read it, because knowledge is power or something like that.

-Photos! We recently added some photos to the gallery. Check them out. No, seriously, check them out.

In keeping with our theme for today, I thought it appropriate to post this video about the dangers of smuggling clocks.

According to the official synopsis, Spirit’s Requiem is about a young Girl and her adventure to awaken the Spirits. Yet this description is not quite accurate. The narrative may be from the perspective of the Girl, but the story is all about her companion and guide, Shade. Shade is a cynical and sarcastic shadow-being. She was once human, but her failure to complete an important mission resulted in her becoming a shadow of her former self. In order to regain what she lost she is tasked with accompanying the Girl and guiding her to the Spirit’s Altar.

The journey to awaken the Spirits serves as the backdrop for Shade’s journey as a character, and it is her story that engages the audience and makes us care about the outcome of the adventure. It is certainly not a stretch to say that both the Girl and the viewer are merely tagging along on Shade’s quest for redemption.

Elyse Bertani is the actress who brought Shade to life. Spirit’s Requiem was her first leading role in a film. Despite being just 16 years old when filming began, Elyse tackled the complex character of Shade, whose cynicism and depth derive from decades, perhaps centuries, spent as a shadow-being. I exchanged emails with Elyse shortly after the film premiered in December 2011 to get her perspective on Shade, acting, and the filmmaking process.

Let’s start off with a basic question: why acting?
I’ve always acted, ever since I was really young. Acting has always been my favorite way to spend my time. It’s always changing, becoming a new character, telling a new story, meeting new people that you get to work with. It’s definitely what makes me happiest to be doing.

Prior to Spirit’s Requiem you had a supporting role in horror film. How did the experience of working on SR compare to that?
Well, for one thing I didn’t end up with fake blood all over my face in Spirit’s Requiem (haha). But really, it was definitely a different experience because the horror genre and the fantasy genre didn’t really overlap. Both productions were worked on in isolated, nature area with very small crews which made travel and work much easier. Both the horror movie I was in (called The Year After Infection) and Spirit’s Requiem were major learning experiences for me as an actor. They helped me get used to working on camera and used to all the technical aspects that come with film as opposed to theatre, which is what I typically perform in.

Spirit’s Requiem was shot in what might be considered an unorthodox manner. Most of the filming took place in the two hours preceding sundown with a minimal crew, limited use of artificial lighting, and a harried schedule that allowed for relatively few takes. Did you find it to be a difficult environment to work in?
It definitely gave us some time restraints to try and get the best shot with the best lighting possible quickly, but overall it was nice to be always moving at a quick pace.

Though I know how great it is to be out in the country and running around in the forest, with the compressed schedule I’m guessing there wasn’t much time for fun on set?
We all had our fair share of goofing off on set. Typically it was just three or four of us, Peter, Aster, Sam, and me, so we all got along and had a good time in between takes. When it came down to running low on time though, we all knew when to really focus and make what we were doing count.

According to the “Spirit’s Origins” articles (you can find them here and here), Shade underwent many changes before the final draft was written, growing from a benevolent companion to a much darker and conflicted character. Writer/director Peter James even mentioned – perhaps jokingly – that Shade was male until shortly before you were cast. What was your first impression of Shade and how did you bring her to life?
My favorite part of Shade is that she has so much sass and attitude behind everything she says or does. If she has a problem with something, she comes outright and says it and that’s definitely something that I liked about her. Shade has been through a lot in her life and her snarky commentary is the best way she can find to cope with her situation that she only sees as babysitting some kid. It isn’t until the end of the film that she realizes all that she’s been through has led her to a form of redemption for her past actions and you really realize she has a sense of good intentions and caring for the Girl. Shade was initially a boy in earlier versions of the script which is why she has a non-girly, tough and independent outlook on life that I think translates well into the final form of a very sardonic character. I had a really great time portraying Shade because I love to find characters that allow me to have fun with an attitude problem. Shade goes through a lot in this film, a very broad range of emotions that were a challenge to keep up with at times but by the same token, kept me always ready for her next move.

Shade talks a lot, having three whole scenes dedicated to her monologuing, supplying the Girl – and by extension the audience – with back story. How were you able to deliver such large amounts of expository dialogue?
There were plenty of moments of “uhh… and like yeahh…” where I would blank on lines in those huge sections, trust me. Actually, the first day of shooting, I got the scene numbers we were doing confused and didn’t know I had to have one of those huge monologues memorized that day. The whole ride out to the filming location I spent furiously studying the script on that section because I felt awful about it and hoped Peter wouldn’t get completely ticked off at me for my mistake. It’s all just a matter of looking the script over plenty of times and really figuring out what your character’s motivations and objectives of the scenes are that are driving her to say these lines. Once you figure that part out, everything tends to flow really well.

The first monologue scene in particular must have been difficult, as it is a single long take of you and Aster zigzagging through the forest while you talk without pause.
It was probably less of a challenge for me, and more for Peter because he was walking blindly backwards to film with only Same guiding him and praying that he didn’t trip and hurt himself or his camera. I just kind of followed along and got to ramble to Aster. I never really seem to shut up in this movie, haha. It took a few takes, but we eventually got it right.

Perhaps all the Girl wants to say is “Shut up, Shade!” Along those lines, what was it like working with a character who never talked, and was it a relief when you were acting opposite characters who could talk back?
It was definitely a strange experience not to have anyone else’s words to feed off of for most of the movie. When I act, I generally like to focus all of my attention on getting something from or through to another character, so when they have no verbal reactions or responses it definitely poses as a challenge. It almost got to a point where it was strange having to talk to other people in some of the other scenes because I was accustomed to figuring out how to drive the conversations on my own and that kind of added to Shade’s independent character- that she was fine doing everything all by herself, even the talking.

The most distinctive physical aspect of Shade are her two tattoos: a Celtic knot with a lightning strike through it and a broken rectangle. They are called brands in the film as they mark her for her failure to defeat the Evil Man. Beyond that basic function, what do the brands mean?
The brands serve as a daily reminder to Shade that she messed up big time and really is powerless against the Great Spirit. As much as she wishes for independence and free will, those tattoos are always there to bring her back to reality that her control and power is basically insignificant compared to the Spirits. Identity is something people strongly associate with their physical image and therefore, as punishment for her previous actions, her natural form is taken away and disfigured by these brands so that everyone may see she was once a traitor and now has to pay for her past actions.

You once mentioned that you have a habit of being cast as sassy and sarcastic characters much like Shade. Are you drawn to sassy roles, and does this reflect on your normal temperament?
I do tend to get cast as the sassy or firey characters, which is certainly enjoyable to play because they’re strong-willed and always seem to have the most fun. I sometimes let my character attitudes roll over into my everyday life attitudes, so if I’ve been playing a lot of spunky, sassy characters lately it tends to show.

Some actors prefer to throw themselves into a role through intensive research, sometimes staying in character for the entire duration of the shoot. Others take a much different path and simply read the script over and over again in preparation for the role. What is your approach to acting?
I like to go through a script once or twice and make some initial notes on certain sections of the storyline that are most influential in the journey my character goes through. I also mark the lines that stand out to me as the most powerful ones that I will have to say or react to. Then I typically go to the director to figure out how they perceive the character and from there, a real person begins to take form. Sometimes I get a little too into the mindset of a character, which is why my sassy side definitely came out all throughout this production, so I hope Peter and Aster didn’t mind that too much. I really try to find my character’s objectives with other people and her motivation to achieve her overall goal and build from there.

Alright, I’ll get the obligatory question out of the way now – what is your favorite scene in the film?
My favorite scene is definitely the campfire scene. We were out in the middle of a dry hayfield in the middle of August with a campfire and two torches. I just love how the whole scene turned out with the interactions between the Girl and the Cowboy and I and the way the lighting worked out and what happens in the scene. It came together really nicely and was definitely one of the most interesting to shoot.

What can you tell us about Shade that no one else knows?
Hmm. Something about Shade that no one knows? I guess what she probably misses most about her life before she became a Shade was her family and mostly her younger siblings. So despite how harsh she can be to the Girl at times, she looks to her as someone that needs to be cared for, like another little sister.

You’ll be graduating from high school in May. Where do you hope to go from there?
I’m looking to get a BFA in Acting, but I haven’t quite decided on a school yet. After that, the plan is to move out to Los Angeles. My sister lives out there already working as an actor and I’m planning to join her within the next few years.

We finally have a date and time for our upcoming screening of Spirit’s Requiem! The screening will be held on Saturday February 11th at the Emerson Library conference room on the campus of Webster University in St. Louis, MO. The doors will open at 6:30pm and the movie will begin at 7pm. This will probably be the only time you’ll be able to see the film on the big screen, so be sure to save the date.

For tickets please fill out the form below* and your tickets will arrive via email within 24 hours. All you have to do then is print them out and take them with you to the screening. Tickets will not be available at the door, this is the only way you can get your hands on them (unless you go to the director in person and ask him nicely).

How much are tickets, you ask? That’s the best part – they’re FREE. But we only have a limited number of tickets so be sure to contact us soon!

For reasons which I hope are obvious, tickets are no longer available for the screening. Check back soon for information on where and when you’ll next be able to see Spirit’s Requiem.

But wait, there’s more! Everyone in attendance will be entered into a raffle to win a copy of the Spirit’s Requiem poster. These posters aren’t available to anyone outside of the cast and crew. At the end of the screening we’ll pull a number out of a hat (or something to that effect) and if it matches your ticket number…

*Basis Productions respects your privacy. We won’t share your information with anyone, not even the guy in Nigeria offering us 25¢ per email address.

There haven been some substantial changes to the layout of our project pages. You will now be able to find out more information about each project. Did you know that both Spirit’s Requiem and The Exile were filmed at the same location? And that auditions for Castle Town were held less than two weeks before it was filmed? Now you can discover those lovely tidbits of useless info just by visiting the page of your favorite project. Check it out.

There have been a few other little updates and additions to the site. Make a game of it to find all of them! First prize is a hypothetical badge that lets everyone know that you have too much time on your hands. Last prize is a realthetical badge that lets you travel through time warps.

There will be an interview with a member of the Spirit’s Requiem cast/crew next week. I promise. Who will it be? I’m not telling. I will tell that it will be the Basis debut of Evan Haverson, who is some guy attempting to get his degree in journalism. He’s conducting the interviews instead of myself because it would be awkward for me to interview my own crew.

Let’s all be sure to make him feel welcome as I want Evan to return to our merry little website because I tire of writing all these updates and articles. I leave you with a message regarding apartment hunting.

We have some lovely images of our two protagonists for you this week. Some are new, others you’ve seen before, but they’re all great photos. Am I right?

This is one of those “pay what you want” deals, so might I suggest $10 for this fine album? I’d say that’s a good price, considering it’s as much as iTunes would charge but you don’t have to deal with Apple’s rules and restrictions. It’s also available in FLAC! Let’s see iTunes or Amazon MP3 give you that option. Nope.

And you know what just might be the best part – most of the money goes directly to the composer. Isn’t that the best reward that a hero could ask for? Support a mildly hungry artist by getting the Spirit’s Requiem Original Soundtrack.

For those of you who don’t regularly check the site, nor like us on Facebook, nor follow us on Twitter (and why the heck haven’t you?), Spirit’s Requiem was finished and premiered last week. Click here and here for more info.

I’m afraid I have some bad news regarding the online and DVD release: it’s not happening anytime in the near future. Why? Some film festivals require that any short film they screen is not available publicly available online or home video. The majority of festivals do not have this requirement, including most of the high profile fests, but some of these smaller festivals seem to be zealous in ensuring that their films aren’t able to be seen anywhere else. Even our very own St. Louis International Film Festival is in on this action. Seriously guys, I can understand having these restrictions on feature length films, but not on shorts.

There will be DVDs, as pictured here, but they’re reserved for the cast and crew. After all, I believe I promised all the actors “credit and copy” when they were cast. Melissa Birch, our graphic designer, did an excellent job on the DVD jacket. It looks like a professionally made DVD which is at home alongside the rest of my home video collection. Sorry for being such a tease, but if you want a copy then let us know and if we get a large enough response we may do a public release – once the festivals are over, that is. For now if you have a desperate desire to see the DVD and all its extra goodies you’re going to have to buddy up with one of our fine cast or crew members. Bribing them is always a good choice.

You doth protest being unable to see the movie? Okay, I think we can do something about that. We’re going to be doing another screening sometime next month. In order to get around festival regulations regarding public screenings, it will be a free screening and tickets won’t be publicly available (cough). If you’re interested in attending, send an email to basisproductions@gmail.com with the subject, “Tickets for Spirit’s Requiem Screening.” Tell me how many tickets you want and I’ll see if I can hook you up with any.

In the coming weeks we’re going to have interviews with some of our cast and crew written by our Canadian correspondent Evan Haverson. I’m also planning on finally finishing that article about Shade that I promised a long time ago. Be sure to keep that dial tuned to basisproductions.com, now being broadcast on subspace radio.

You want I should be serious? Alrighty then. It was a cold night, but inside the library conference room of Webster University things were heating up (okay, I swear, I’ll be serious now).The first order of business was to get the movie ready for viewing, which turned out to be much harder than imagined. The DVD wouldn’t play on the Blu-Ray player, so we tried playing it on the computer only to find that there were severe issues with the frame rate. Things were looking bad. If the movie didn’t work then what would we do? Act out the thing in front of the audience? Stage plays aren’t my thing, so we tried hooking up my laptop – which the DVD played perfectly on earlier that day – only to find that my laptop didn’t want to interface with the projector. Ain’t technology grand?

And then I hit upon an idea. You know my motto: if it doesn’t work then try it again.* I popped the DVD back into the conference room computer and tried playing it on that one media player that’s symbolized by a traffic cone. You know the one. THAT one. It worked, crisis averted, at least until the audience realized that there would be no cake.

Yes, there was in fact an audience. Most of the cast and crew showed up along with their friends and family. No uninvited guests allowed, for i’twas a private screening. People began filtering in just before 6pm, passing through a battalion of well armed bouncers prepared to prevent any unwelcome guests from entering.

The show started fashionably late at 6:30pm and ended shortly before 7:20pm to a big round of applause, followed promptly by cookies and hot apple cider.

What did people like? Pretty much everything, I didn’t hear a bad thing said. Granted, this might have been due to them wanting to be nice to the filmmaker, but I sensed some genuine-uity in their words.

The acting. All of our actors put on superb performances. As many independent  filmmakers (see here for a definition of independent) know it is extremely difficult to find good actors, especially in a Midwestern town far, far removed from LA or New York. It was a combination of luck and good casting decisions that brought us this talented cast.

The music. I know, I know, I’ve praised Jonathan Peros’ score so many times that you’re probably rolling your eyes. Don’t roll them. In fact, gouge them out of your sockets so that you can devote all of your sensory attention to listening to his music once you get the chance. Also: cut out your tongue, chop off your nose, and take an anesthetic. On that lovely note…

The fact that it’s a freaking G rated movie (or maybe PG, depending on how you view that single scene of violence). You heard that right folks, Spirit’s Requiem is very mostly child appropriate. I don’t think the audience, or at least those not a part of the production team, were expecting a bunch of college aged guys to have made this sort of movie.

The visuals. Many comments were made about the pretty scenery, which was made even prettier by the lighting. It just goes to show you that restricting ourselves to less than 2 hours of filming in the evenings was totally worth it (and almost no artificial lighting!). One person even asked how we filmed the campfire scene, which was lit only with real fire. That scene was our Barry Lyndon experiment, except we didn’t have NASA on our side.

What happens next? Keep an eye on the website for more news regarding upcoming screenings and Internet availability. For now, feel free to watch the trailer again. You know you want to.

*That is not actually my motto.

After months of script writing, a false start, filming an as-yet unreleased short film, more months of altering the script, filming another short movie, three months of pre-production, 10 weeks of filming, and over three months of sound wrangling, it ends nearly two years to the day after it began.

Clocking in at 47 minutes 12 seconds, Spirit’s Requiem is the longest movie Basis has yet made. Indeed, it’s the longest movie that most of the crew has been involved in. Is it a long short or a short feature? That’s for you to decide.

When do you get to see it? For the cast and crew (and their family and friends) you get to view it at the premiere this Saturday, December 10th. Everyone else will have to wait until later in the month for the movie to appear online. Do not fret, you won’t have long to wait as the movie will be online before Christmas. You might even be able to make it a part of your holiday festivities. I’m not sure if Spirit’s Requiem has any relevance to the Christmas season, but for those of you who live in cold places it will remind you of summer’s warmth. Huddle close to it as you would a fire.

Thanks to everyone involved in production. It was a hell of a thing.