Our Creative Approach
Set in Vancouver, DRY will star Canadian actors. However, we understand that bankable stars are crucial to securing international success. Five small but meaty roles should appeal to actors with international reputations. For instance: Grant, the Mayor, has five speaking scenes and Mother has two. We feel that if we can get the script to marquee actors with a reputation for doing environmentally conscientious work, they will jump aboard DRY.
The visual treatment for DRY will emphasize an ordinary world besieged by calamity. The first act of the film will contrast the airy, bright beautiful world of Kate Campbell's serene Point Grey with downtown looters and lawlessness. Realism will dominate the visual language of the film in order to setup the reveals and surprises that sharply contrast Kate's world.
CG will be imperative to creating the world of DRY. We cannot afford to block off Highway One or take over downtown Vancouver. We will plan a number of strategic long shots to tell the disaster part of the story. Our animators will remove cars and people from roughly 25 key shots with characters in the foreground and "the city" in the background. Tighter shooting will allow us to avoid CG in the body of the main scenes. Much of the big trek will be shot on residential streets and parks in Victoria. The main CG shots will be used to establish the Lower Mainland setting while keeping costs reasonable and the story believable.
Previous creative collaborator, DP Patrick Mclauglin's (RADIANT CITY, SUBURBANTORS, THE ENGLISH TEACHER) stylistic approach to RADIANT CITY speaks to the esthetic we envision for DRY - specifically the sprawling wide shots and the almost documentary feel of the second act. The deadness Mclaughlin brought to his vision of suburban Calgary will translate well an apocalyptic Lower Mainland.
Given the subject matter, we will make sure our production is carbon neutral.