Creating My First Short Film: CIALT
What started as a “small” personal project eventually grew into a short film with over 30 volunteers, 5 Actors, A drone, 4 shoot days, Key Art designed by a 4-time Emmy-winning art director, and a score composed by an award-winning composer. So much for keeping it simple!
It all started on Threads in the sweltering heat of the Madrid summer when I answered a post from Screenwriter Sophie von Rheden looking to connect with directors and filmmakers in Madrid. I entered into the world of video creation through fashion films and music videos and I had been contemplating a personal project to challenge myself with something more narrative-based and slightly more commercial than the more fluid and fast-paced timelines of fashion and music videos.
In my mind, I was looking for a short, dramatic script in need of a Director and DOP, to test myself in this genre and see how my vision translated to a longer-form narrative story. I was thinking one weekend, two actors and I could edit it and maybe get a colorist to collaborate with me and that would be that. Sophie sent me her screenplay “Attic Trap”, I read it and we agreed to meet here in Madrid to talk about collaborating.
I prepared a mood board and some basic ideas for the film to discuss together and we had a great discussion and in the end, it felt like the perfect start for both of us!
We agreed to move forward and Sophie already had great ideas for Actors for our two main characters. Our next plan was to find a location. We needed an attic or large bathroom for our attic trap…
The problem with creative projects is that you always want to add one more thing, and over time the number of things grows and eventually, you end up with a collection of little things that become bigger than you imagined. Sometimes good, sometimes…challenging!
In the search for a location, we added our producer. location, and clothing designer, Kerstin Krause, and our makeup and beauty team.
As we met to discuss the location, we had an amazing home that Kerstin offered for us to use, the only issue was there wasn’t an attic… but there was a beautiful pool.
So after some discussion, we changed the attic to a tool room connected to her garage and the story evolved from a dilapidated artist loft into a successful wealthy artist’s Madrid home and morphed from the concrete theme of the Attic Trap…to the more fluid and conceptual Love Trap…eventually becoming “CIALT.”
The story also evolved from two actors to five, with flashbacks and a drone chase scene…and from 1-2 days of filming to 4 shoot days!
You see where this is heading!?
We quickly went to work to film in the fall before the winter weather ruined our pool scene and we added our 1st AC and Unit Stills Photographer, Roberto, our Drone Pilot, Rafa, and the behind-the-scenes videographer, Paula. We had two outstanding sound techs and boom operators, Paula and Asier and our two main Actors, Carmen Molinar and Chema Coloma officially agreed to the new script!
Everything was set for our shoot and we shot the first part of the film over a 3-day weekend in October to complete the main storyline of our film. Like every production, there were surprises along the way both stressful surprises and some wonderful creative surprises. I absolutely love the magic that happens when our actors step in front of the camera and breathe life into the frames we’ve spent months constructing in our minds. The two scenes I was most excited about visually were so masterfully executed by our actors, that it brought tears to my eyes when we started watching the drafts take shape.
Set Stills by Roberto Iglesias
The 4th film day was also very magical! I was excited to have my son on set with us as my 1st AD and our actors were no less magical with their performances. There was very little dialogue for these scenes which put a lot of pressure on our actors to lead with their expressions and movements and they did not disappoint. Here’s a really beautiful clip from that day and an unused lo-fi version of a scene we filmed. Our talented actors: Clara Ruiz, César Torres and Alfredo Calvo Garcia.
The post-production process is no small feat and is full of its challenges, even when you have a clear idea of your edit and experience editing it can be grueling.
In addition to the film, Sophie had written a song for the film so while the editing was being done, our musicians and singers went to work recording the song with the guidance of our incredible, award-winning Spanish composer, Juan Antonio Simarro.
Juan also created the original score while we sat with him, which was such a wonderful experience to watch another artist add a layer to your work and create something even more beautiful and emotional. I won’t spoil it but I still get excited by his genius every time I see the pool scene.
I posted about the Key Art already, but the incredibly talented and accomplished 4-time Emmy-winning Art Director, Carla Daeninckx created our Key Art, Logo, and Tagline.
The final two touches were our talented and patient sound designer, Shrey and our equally patient Colorist, Inés Duro. No need for me to elaborate since their work easily shines in our film!
It’s amazing to think that what started as a late-night conversation between strangers on Threads, blossomed…or snowballed, into this beautiful film.
I want to say a special thank you to the team and crew that volunteered their time and worked so many hours to make the film the best it could be, and a special thanks to the sound duo Paula and Asier for being by my side for 4 days from small cramped rooms, to kitchens to poolside and to Roberto Iglesias for being a great 1st AC and for recognizing the tiny little flicker from a lamp in Tan’s studio!
I would be remiss if I did not give a huge thank you and congratulations to Sophie for having the courage to push this project forward and to allow me to create on film what she wrote on the page. Her energy and passion to bring so many wonderful, talented artists to collaborate with us on this film is a small miracle. Every person volunteered their time, we did it all on NO BUDGET!
And last but not least our Producer and Set and Clothing Designer, Kerstin Krause, was the creative glue that held us together throughout the ups and downs of pre-production, production, and post-production and brought in some very key people to collaborate on our project.
I couldn’t have asked for a better, more generous team with whom to create our film.
And that is all she wrote…
I hope you will enjoy our little film and share it with everyone you can! Follow CIALT on Instagram. Thank you!
-Aaron
Film Festivals
Watch Behind The Scenes and Meet the Crew!
Watch Our Film!
If you want to view our film, send me a message and I’ll be happy to share the password to view before it’s officially premiered.