Thom MacIsaac's Lounge Discussions

The paper is on the relationship between directors and writers. It's for my third year Film course at Niagara college.

Hi Thom! I had a great experience with Director/Producer Johnny Martin on Case # 13. I was able to work very closely with him. (As close as one can get living 3000 miles away) I was introduced to him by my partner, who had worked with him in the past. (Johnny Martin produced a film my partner directed). Johnny approached my partner and let him know he had a story idea but no writer. Long story short, my partner and I wrote the first draft and once he was sure Johnny was pleased with my ideas and how I work, he backed out and let me work on the rewrites. In preproduction, Johnny kept me informed of progress, showed me audition tapes and as needed (mostly to fit casting or with situations on location during scouting the area surrounding the house - etc. Most of our communications were by e-mail or telephone, occasionally text. I made myself available to him 24-7 and would literally answer his calls at any time of day or night. One of the more interesting things I did was not a script idea as much as a music video idea. To explain, according to the script, the main characters in the film are really interested in making YouTube type videos and want to become famous with a viral video (thus they film a kid going into what is supposed to be a haunted house. So one day I'm listening to a new album I bought by FallOut Boy and this song comes on that immediately reminded me of the characters I had written. It was perfect for their personalities. I played the song for Johnny and told him we should have a video run at the end of the film that is supposed to be the last video the kids ever posted to the internet, showing them in happy times, their camaraderie and friendship and just being fun and silly. He liked the idea but he didn't quite "get it" So I cobbled together scenes of existing youTube videos and set it to the song. Suddenly he insisted he was going to go buy the rights to that song, even if it meant going over budget a little. The cast liked the idea but then it turned out that one actor sings, plays guitar and writes music...he came up with a better song and so they are going with it, but the ideas I came up with for what the characters will do in the video, are pretty much the same! I really isn't get involved in any post production work but Johnny must have appreciated the extra work I put in as well as my writing. I've asked to write another script for him..which I should get back to haha! Hope this helps!

oh and during production, I did visit the set, but it was mostly as a "thank you". It was my first produced work and he thought I'd enjoy seeing the actors speaking my lines, see the places I had written about, etc. I didn't work during production other than to make last minute changes to the script for him. For instance the historic house where we filmed, decorated for Christmas early and there were so many fragile, antique decorations we decided to leave them up and changed the script to reflect that it was at Christmas time when the family that is supposed to haunt the house, was murdered.

Most of my favorite Directors are writers.