What's happening at nantico: September 2021 Edition
It’s been a minute since my last message, but I wanted to check in and share what we’ve been up to the last few months.
We’re still knee-deep in post-production for the short film we shot in the spring, “The Secret in the Old Clock.” If you haven’t had an opportunity to do so yet, check out the behind-the-scenes photos from our shoot in May.
The teaser is dropping in the next few days—be sure you’re following us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and/or YouTube to get a first look of our short film. I’m incredibly proud of how far it’s come, and I can’t wait for you to see the final product later this fall.
In other exciting news, this September marked the drop of our new podcast: Martini Shot.
Created by our wonderful producer, Sarah Layton, Martini Shot explores all things indie film and television. Each week, join Sarah and I as we discuss an array of topics and interview professionals, actors, hobbyists, and students to gain insight into the ever-changing film world.
Listen to the latest episode here.
Momentum’s really picking up here at nantico, and I’m so stoked you’re sharing this journey with us.
- J
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NEW RELEASES
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MARTINI SHOT / EPISODE 101
Introductions and Interesting Backstories
Welcome to Martini Shot! In this first episode, Jordyn and Sarah both explore where their passion for filmmaking first started and how their production company, nanticoSTUDIOS, came to be.
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MARTINI SHOT / EPISODE 102
The Favorites
On this second episode of Martini Shot, Jordyn and Sarah discuss all the favorites; films, directors, themes, and even their undying love for Florence Pugh and A24 films.
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MARTINI SHOT / EPISODE 103
How to Make a Film from Nothing
On this third episode of Martini Shot, Jordyn and Sarah dive into how to make a film from scratch; how to start up a crowdfunding campaign, where to look for a cast and crew, what tools to utilize, and more!
Celebrating one month
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a month since we we wrapped principal photography on our first short film, “The Secret in the Old Clock.”
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a month since we wrapped principal photography on our first short film, “The Secret in the Old Clock.”
Production took place over three days this spring—Saturday, May 8, and Sunday, May 9, in Dewey Beach, Delaware, and Saturday, May 15, in Seaford, Delaware.
Since then, we’ve been lying low in post-production world, logging footage and diving deep in the editing bay. My goal is to have a rough cut of the project by the end of June, and we have our sights set on a digital release late November 2021.
Over the next few months, we look forward to introducing you to the story of Judy Mae and the extraordinary team of cast, crew, and supporters that made this project possible. Be sure to follow along on our Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok accounts for regular updates.
Until then, please enjoy a few behind-the-scenes moments, captured by our incredible producer, Sarah Layton.
- J
After wrapping Day 1 of shooting on Saturday, May 8, 2021. (l to r) Sarah Layton (Producer), Helena Goodrich (“Judy Mae”), Anna Reynolds (Production Assistant), Jennifer Richards (“Miss Bleake”), Mary Fontenot (Production Assistant), and Jordyn Gum (Writer/Director).
Rehearsing blocking with Pete Evans II (“Father”) on Day 2, Sunday, May 9, 2021.
Anastasia Oganov (“Mother”) prepares for a scene.
Michael Fulvio as “Teacher” on Day 3 of “The Secret in the Old Clock.”
Tim Davis (“Leader”) rehearses his lines between takes.
The week when we finished our first series
To mark the occasion, I’ve spent some time reflecting on the last couple of months and have realized four lessons from the experience — lessons that I hope to take with me as we move forward into production for our second series.
As of today, I'm pleased to announce that we've officially premiered the first four of our #42SecondShorts.
To mark the occasion, I've spent some time reflecting on the last couple of months and have realized four lessons from the experience—lessons that I hope to take with me as we move forward into production for our second series.
1. Everything takes longer than you think it will.
I've had a procrastination problem for as long as I can remember. Even when I was in school, I waited until the last minute to do everything. I can't tell you how many all-nighters I pulled to cram for an exam or how many papers were submitted minutes—if not seconds—before their deadline.
I would tell myself that I worked better that way—that I could accomplish the same quantity and quality of work whether I gave myself seven days or seven hours to complete the assignment, that perhaps the pressure of the deadline actually produced better work. Maybe there's some truth to that, but I need to get into a better habit of starting things—whether it's writing scripts, doing script breakdowns, planning production days, editing projects, etc.—sooner, for the sake of my sanity.
In truth, this procrastination isn't always because I'm too busy or have too many things to do. Sometimes, I think I procrastinate because I'm scared of it, like I'm afraid I won't be able to fulfill my own vision or don't have the skills to pull it off. Of course, avoiding the problem doesn't solve it or make it go away. If anything, it makes the issue even bigger, more of a problem—it's almost like a twisted, self-fulfilling prophecy.
Maybe it's a question for a therapist, but why do we sabotage ourselves this way?
2. Your equipment will fail and never at a time that’s convenient.
For our first production day in October, we brought more than the necessary amount of equipment, or so we thought. Spare camera lenses, tripods, microphones, light kits, you name it—we had it. Out of three shotgun microphones, two were testy, and one decided to quit working completely.
Admittedly, this was entirely my fault. Though I had used these mics only a couple of weeks prior to the shoot without issue, I didn't run them through the standard night-before, last-minute equipment tests and checks. Completely dumb—because that's how it always goes, isn't it?
Fortunately, we were able to salvage most of the day's audio, though I'll let you in on a little behind-the-scenes secret—the final audio on our third project, "avenue," was from the crappy, on-camera mic. All of the audio from the shotgun mic—with the exception of the atmospheric, ambient noise—was unusable, unsalvageable trash. I tried to hide it with some careful mixing and well-placed audio transitions in post; but, if you watch the short back with a pair of quality headphones, I'm sure you'll be able to tell.
3. Double-check (triple-check) your equipment before load in.
If I'm embarrassed about the aforementioned equipment failure, I'm absolutely mortified to admit what I forgot to pack before arriving on set, so I'm going to say it and quickly move on.
AA batteries.
Yep, it was probably the most important thing to bring (besides spare SD cards and extra coffee, that is). I was sure to bring all other kinds of batteries—camera batteries, AAA, hell, even 9V—but I didn't have a spare AA to my name.
We really lucked out though. We wrapped the day with the audio recorder flashing on one bar.
4. You aren’t going to like everything you do—and that’s okay.
I think this is the hardest and most important lesson of them all. I really struggle with the "done is better than perfect" mentality. It's kept me back from releasing so many projects over the past several years, and it's one of the things that I'm most trying to learn with these #42SecondShorts.
I don't think most people love their art piece before putting it out there for the world. As artists, we're self-conscious—it's our sensitivities that make us artists—and we're naturally critical of our work. What we hate someone else might love. What we believe to be uninspired or incomplete might speak loudly to someone else. If I had waited to start this production studio at the perfect moment, it would have never gotten off of the ground.
Our fourth project, "Somehow," has been the thorn in my side since the beginning of this process. I know the concept and believe in the message, but I never could find the vision, see how to get there. Everything about that piece—from the story to the visuals and through to post-production—was painful for me. You never want to feel like something you put out there is subpar, but it was important for me to post it anyway.
When it comes to art, I don't think you always see "it" right away. Sometimes, you find its center along the way. I think that's what I had hoped for "Somehow;" but, honestly, I don't know if it ever found its footing the way I wanted it to. Still, I knew I couldn't just throw it away. It still has a role in this journey and is an important piece in this puzzle. If I spent more time with it, maybe I'd be satisfied—or I might've fallen away from it harder.
Done, not perfect.
I hope you enjoyed our first four microshorts—there are many more to come. We're actively casting for our next series, so please check out ourcasting callsand submit your virtual audition as soon as you can!
Until next time,
- J
The week when we finally posted new casting calls
At the risk of beating a dead horse, another "COVID complication" we've been navigating is the audition process.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, another "COVID complication" we've been navigating is the audition process.
For our first #42SecondShorts series, we spent an afternoon curating a contact list of Delaware arts organizations, university theatre groups, school performing arts programs, music ensembles, etc. and mass emailed our first round of casting calls.
To be honest, I was afraid that no one would respond, finding the virtual audition process to be too impersonal and odd since we couldn't hold in-person auditions. Fortunately, these worries were for nothing, and we were able to fill all of our roles (admittedly, with a few rewrites) in just a few days.
Now that we're casting for our second series, I'd like to share a few details about how our virtual audition process works.
As you've probably seen from our first two projects, our microshorts are more camera led than character directed. When it comes to filling these roles, we're more concerned about personality—Do you have a positive attitude? Will you be easy to work with? Can you be flexible in these weird, COVID-production times?—than resumes or headshots or prior on-camera/on-stage experience.
While we ask that you submit a headshot and resume/demo reel (if applicable) with your audition, it's really the 30-second video introduction that we value the most. It's not easy to talk about yourself on camera, but we've found it to be the best way to virtually "meet" you.
After the audition submission period closes, we schedule a one-on-one Zoom call with you to properly introduce ourselves, better get to know you, and to give you more details about what your day on set will look like. When we finish these meetings, we then place you in a role that we believe to best fit you.
While I look forward to the days when we can safely return to in-person auditions, I actually think these virtual auditions have given us an opportunity to meet and connect with more Delaware-area talent.
With all of that said, I hope you take a moment to check out our new casting calls. If you don't see a listing that fits you, be sure to submit your information to our open talent call so we can contact you for future projects that might interest you.
Of course, if you have any questions or issues submitting your audition, please email me. Talk soon!
- J
The week when we made COVID contingency plans
We’ve already started thinking of the “what-if” scenarios—what if we had to roll back even more or shut down entirely?
Last Friday night, we premiered our first #42SecondShorts film. "Okay" offers a glimpse into the life of Jenny as she confronts her deepest fear—ordering over the phone. If you haven't had an opportunity yet, check out the microshort, and let us know what you think!
Over the holiday weekend, we also started pre-production for our second series. Like most things right now, filmmaking in a pandemic has presented its challenges. After waking up to headlines announcing more COVID-related production shutdowns and whispers of March-reminiscent stay-at-home orders in California and elsewhere, we're trying to be even more diligent about maintaining low on-set numbers and proper social distancing guidelines.
We've already started thinking of the "what-if" scenarios—what if Delaware follows California's nod and return to springtime's lockdown rules? Even though we've already stripped production needs down to its bare essentials, what if we had to roll back even more or shut down entirely?
Because of that, the writing process has been interesting. I've been careful to get comfortable with concepts and storylines—not plots or characters—in case the two-person scene has to be cut down to one, changed in format, or scrapped entirely.
Not going to lie—it's added another level of difficulty, but I think it's been a good challenge. Sometimes, creativity needs to be pushed up against a wall to have room to grow.
Planning for the unknown
Quarantine restrictions have forced us to rebel against our standard, linear instincts and explore the projects more abstractly than we would have if we were doing this during "normal times." I hate to put it in writing in case anything changes, but we've even been experimenting with different mediums—like stop motion—for a few of these projects.
As it stands, we have a production day scheduled next week, and then we'll probably take a break of in-person production until after the holidays. Of course, it all depends on the numbers and what Delaware's governor does, but we'll continue to operate as planned until we can't anymore.
I'm not too keen about putting our #42SecondShorts on pause when it's still in its infancy, but I have to recognize that filmmaking is so insignificant in the grand scheme of thing and not worth putting anyone in an unsafe or uncomfortable situation.
How things have changed
It's wild to think that, just a year ago, our biggest concerns were about how many pages we could get through that day or if we ordered enough coffee. Masks and face shields and—let's be honest—hand sanitizer were foreign concepts.
We'll stay flexible and, in the meantime, hope for a day in the hopefully not-too-distant future where we'll all be safe and healthy and can do what we love without these 2020-branded fears.
I'll be working solo for the rest of this week, wrapping up the final edits on our second microshort, "Woman." It premieres Friday at 7:00 p.m. EST on TikTok and Instagram, so be sure to follow us to catch it when it goes live.
Stay well!
- J
Back in the swing of things
Most of us hadn’t been on set in months, thanks to COVID-19. It was a strange return, with the face masks, boxed lunches, and the industrial-sized bottles of hand sanitizer, but it was a good day.
Story by Jordyn Gum
Photos by Sarah Layton
It was a brisk fall morning when we arrived at the day’s location, a quiet farm in rural Bridgeville, Delaware.
Thanks to COVID-19, most of us hadn’t been on a set in months. It was a strange return, with the face masks, boxed lunches, and industrial-sized bottles of hand sanitizer, but it turned out to be a truly great day.
Preparing for the next take.
Esha’s first time marking a slate.
To keep everyone as safe as possible, we capped the number of people on set to five—three talent and two crew.
With such a skeleton crew, we ran it run-and-gun style, and our gracious on-camera talent were quick to lend a hand wherever needed—whether that meant marking a slate, setting up props, or running to town to pick up lunch.
We powered through three of four projects in a quick, five-hour day and wrapped in good spirits at 3:15 in the afternoon, only 15 minutes behind schedule.
A socially-distanced lunch.
A peek at our “studio” (barn) setup.
42-Second Shorts, Series 1
Production Day 1
Date: Saturday, October 31, 2020
Location: Bridgeville, Delaware
Crew Call: 9:00 a.m.
Shooting Call: 10:00 a.m.
Mary Fontenot
Jordyn Gum
Sarah Layton
Anna Reynolds
Esha Shah
The week when we started a production studio
nantico has been in the works for two years, but it wasn’t until this January that I resolved that this was the year. Then March happened.
I've wanted to make movies since I was 13 years old.
I remember watching the "Who Will Buy?" scene from Carol Reed's 1968 production of Oliver! and realizing that was it. Making something like that was what I wanted to do with my life.
A lot has happened in the 14 years between then and now. It's been a long journey to get to this place where, for the first time, I feel like these pubescent dreams might actually become a reality.
nantico has been in the works for nearly two years. It was the promise I made to myself in 2018 when I packed up my suitcases in Los Angeles and came back home to Delaware, but it wasn't until this January that I resolved that this was the year—the year to stop planning and thinking and just start doing.
Then March happened.
We can't not talk about COVID-19
Suddenly, any hopes I had about getting involved in a production were dashed. By fall, the situation hadn't improved, and it didn't feel right or responsible to greenlight the short film I had been prepping.
Worse still, there didn't seem to be an end in sight.
It was incredibly frustrating—the world telling me "no" after I had worked so long to get to where I was able to tell myself "yes." For weeks, I brainstormed solutions; but, if Hollywood, with their big-time budgets and rapid COVID-19 tests, were struggling to get back on set—and stay there—how could I justify it?
Whatever the answer, I knew I could no longer just sit and wait. That's what I had been doing for months—years, really—and I couldn't shake the overwhelming notion that life and opportunity were passing me by.
So, as is often what happens when I'm feeling stuck, I moved. In early October, I rented an apartment in Philadelphia, and something about that brotherly-loving air inspired the solution: microshorts.
Modern problems call for modern solutions
Feature-length films, 30-minute shorts—hell, even 10-minute pieces—require large teams working closely together for days on end on set. But, what if we reverse-engineered it? The shorter the film, the shorter the production, the smaller the cast and crew and the smaller the health risk, right?
This train of thought settled into "42-Second Shorts," a series of microshort films geared towards digital distribution. With projects at just 42 seconds long each, we could:
Feasibly produce a number of short stories with only a skeleton cast and crew and bare-bones budget.
Sharpen our storytelling and production skills, preparing us for future, larger-scale productions.
Gauge the level of interest and talent for in front of and behind the camera roles in the Delaware area.
It's go-time (finally)
In the effort of jumping all in before I could convince myself otherwise, I decided we had to shoot before month's end and pulled together scripts for four microshort projects in just a few days. In mid-October, I sent casting calls to local schools and theatre programs and—by the grace of God—was able to rope in a talented, experienced friend at the last minute to round out the crew.
Finally, on Saturday, October 31, the five of us—three cast and two crew—met at my great aunt's farm in Bridgeville, Delaware, for our first shoot. It was a little chaotic, as to be expected; but, thanks to the flexibility and positive, get-it-done attitudes of this incredible group, we were able to shoot three of the four projects in a fast, five-hour day.
Looking back, I can't believe we pulled it off, and I couldn't be more grateful and appreciative for everyone who helped make it happen.
"Okay," nantico's first project—and the first film in our 42-Second Shorts series—is premiering this Friday, November 27. We'll be releasing a new 42-Second Short every Friday for the foreseeable future, so be on the lookout.
It's been a long time coming, and I couldn't be more stoked to see nantico take off. If you're in the Delaware area and would like to be involved in future projects—we'll be back on set in December—keep your eye on our casting calls page and submit your information to our Open Talent Call Questionnaire.
In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the premiere of "Okay" on Friday, and please get in touch if you'd like to be involved in this little independent filmmaking venture in Delaware.
- J