A Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: Enipheres
Genre: Drama, Fantasy with Syfy elements
Length of film: Short 21:43
Date: Date film completed August 2021
Director: Mike Breyer, Rachel Betts
Producer: Lynne Newton, Mike Breyer, Robyn Von Arx, Rachel Betts, Blaise Brooks
Executive Producers: Lynne Newton, Mike Breyer, Paul Hamel, Wonnie Short
Writer: Lynne Newton
Cinematographer: Erik Kjonaas
Editor: Mike Breyer
Composer: Josh Huck
Production Company: Eye in the Sky Pictures
Budget: $30,000
Financing: Self Financed and some crowdfund
Shooting Format: Digital
Screening Format: Digital
World Premiere: N/A
Awards: Best Director of a Short/Best Costume/Hair/Makeup
Website:https://www.illuminationparadox.com/proof-of-concept-photos
indieactivity: What is your film about?
Lynne Newton (LN): ENIPHERES is a proof of concept (short version) of the feature-length ILLUMINATION PARADOX. Basically, Enipheres and Illumination paradoxes are one and the same. Enipheres is the name of the main character. Enipheres is a live-action drama with fantasy and Syfy elements. My inspiration for this story is my fascination with ancient Egyptian culture and reincarnation.
Sweeping across the millennia and the cosmos, Illumination Paradox tells an epic and original tale of heroism, adventure, and humanity. Enipheres boasts of a strong female protagonist and a cast of characters. It borders on myth, and legend. Illumination Paradox is in the vein of Gods of Egypt meets Black Panther meets Eternals meets The Matrix.
This story resonates and speaks to current, relevant issues and topics that are plaguing our planet. The environment, greed, corruption, crime, and war.
Illumination Paradox Proof of Concept Trailer
Tell us about the festival run, marketing, and sales?
Lynne Newton (LN): The first social media promotion is with incredible posters. This was just to get interest and alert the audience that this project was underway. It was a single image of me as the character but boy it was powerful. It made an immediate statement and impact. it was like WHOOAAAAHHH! My phone, text, comments, and private messaging went crazy! People just lost it and wanted to know more about the story and how it all came about.
Our second social media blast consisted of fun and candid short interviews of the cast at their first table read. They spoke about how they perceived their characters and what they liked most about the role they were chosen for.
Third, we launched an Indiegogo campaign to garner interest and raise awareness about the project. This video helped to showcase the passion, motivation, and inspiration and got the audience get excited to donate. It was imperative that it be explained how the funds raised would be distributed.
Fourth, the second poster set included entire cast (costume) released on social media along with project updates. These posters would serve as a powerful marketing tool for months to come and once again made an incredible impact.
Fifth, we cut a trailer (teaser) for social media until our first official trailer could be edited. Several months later a nofficial trailer (3 1/2-mins) released. And a 1 1/2-minute trailer followed which garnered over 15k views over social media platforms.
Currently, we are in the film festival circuit with 8 wins and 11 nominations, and 20 festivals pending selection. The response is Enipheres is a “SyFy Masterpiece”
WINS
– Best Director of a Short film-Art is Alive Film Festival
– Best Hair/Costume/Makeup-Antwerp International Film Festival
NOMINATIONS
– Nominated for Best Visual Effects-Antwerp International Film Festival
– The Best Short Film- Antwerp International Film Festival
– Nomination for Best Experimental/Avant-Garde Short-Art is Alive Film Festival
– Best Cinematography-Art is Alive Film Festival
Notable mention: A graphic novel is available for purchase on Amazon (Illumination Paradox)
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
Lynne Newton (LN):
Synopsis: In ancient Egypt, Young Enipheres’ powers is from an advanced alien race. She uses it to battle and subdue a cosmic threat to humanity, called Nebula. Many Millennia past and the threat rises again. In present-day Los Angeles, Edie discovers through dreams and visions that she is the reincarnation of Enipheres. Her world changes radically as she understands the enemy is all around her. She saves mankind, again.
Tagline
“Heroes of the past saving mankind of the future” or “To know who you are is know who you’ve been”
Development & Financing?
Lynne Newton (LN): I am the sole writer and owner of the proof-of-concept film Enipheres as well as the feature script Illumination Paradox. I began writing the story in the summer of 2017 after being inspired by Tom Cruises “The Mummy”. I was unemployed at the time and decided that this was the perfect time to write the screenplay I always wanted. My other inspirations are my fascination with Egyptian culture and reincarnation.
So, I set on a journey to write about a strong female protagonist while incorporating, Egyptian heritage, a story about reincarnation, and important issues to me such as caring for our environment and planet.
The project was primarily self-financed. Over a 2-year period of time prior to production, I saved as much money as I could while slowly investing in the things that I knew would be needed for the production. I started a business bank account just for the project and was fortunate enough to secure a few personal loans that would cover the rest of the production cost.
We launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that raised a good amount of funding that helped to cover some of the postproduction costs. Anything beyond this was a few generous investors who believed in the project and wanted to see it get made.
Production?
Lynne Newton (LN): Production? Describe your entire production process schedules deadlines filming or principal photography cinematography locations ADR editing until the first cut it is imperative that you recall this process and write it down chronic logic chronologically describing in as much close to the detail
Scheduling
Scheduling and trying to get everyone on the same page is probably one of the most difficult tasks during the pre-production process. With 32 cast members, 20 crew, and only 2 days to shoot it was quite a puzzle to piece together.
So I begin with five preliminary possible shoot dates and then narrowed it down to the shoot dates that most of the cast and crew could agree upon.
Since the story calls for two completely different times in history, I was able to quickly differentiate the shooting days by filming the ancient Egyptian characters on the first day and the modern-day characters on the second day.
As far as scenes, I decided to go in the order of the script since all cast members were present for the entire day. Starting with the largest scenes with the most cast first and dwindling down to scenes that had fewer characters.
Deadlines
My biggest one was getting the SAG paperwork in on time to be green-lit to shoot according to SAG rules and policies.
I also had to time the second day of filming perfectly as we had to be packed up and out of this particular studio by a certain time or I was going to be charged overtime as another Film production was coming right behind mine.
Making sure I had permits and the proper insurance was also under a time constraint.
Principal Photography
The first day of filming was all green screen and none of the cast and crew had ever been on a set where they had to pretend something was there but clearly was not. Luckily, we had dress rehearsals prior to filming that helped iron out most of the kinks. Hitting marks, placement within the scene, dialogue, movement, and just basic direction are some of the things we practiced.
But the day did not come without its challenges. At one point I was directing traffic into the parking lot because people were getting confused as to where to park! I was supposed to be in hair and makeup!! LOL, as with most independent productions, many of us wore many different hats.
The location on the first day requires that everyone entering the building sign in with security and show their ID Once they were clear for access to the building, they had to be escorted to the film stage. So there were a lot of logistical challenges that arose during the first day of filming.
The second day of filming also had its own unique set of challenges. We were allowed to have no more than 40 people on set at any given time otherwise we were in direct violation of the permit and a fire hazard at a particular studio. At one point, I had 43 people on set so I had to narrow down who did not need to be on set so that I could stay within the guidelines of the studio.
As I mentioned before we were also required to leave be packed up and out of the building because another Film production was coming in behind us to start their filming.
At one point during the day, we didn’t think we would be able to shoot every scene we needed. So my production team quickly regrouped and reassessed the time that we had left to finish what we needed. We overcame that challenge and got it done but I did however have to pay an overtime fee that in the end was well worth it.
Another challenge worth mentioning is on the last day of filming, all the props, wardrobe, and anything that was leftover from the days of filming had to go in my car. Keep in mind my car is not very big. Let me put it like this; I had just worked two 16-hour days straight with very little sleep and I could not see out of my rear-view window. You can imagine how the rest of that story goes!
VFX
Our cinematographer is absolutely fantastic and I use him for all of my projects but for this particular project, we also had to ensure our team of VFX artists was on set to mark the green screen areas where they would be inserting their backdrops and special effects.
ADR
Quite frankly I had the best sound designer and boom on set for both days so there was no ADR needed, the only ADR that we did was for the one-and-a-half-minute trailer as it has no dialogue.
Editing
First I had a graduate of the Los Angeles Film School create a basic edit. After the basic edit was complete I turned it over to my main editor who is also one of the directors. I sat down with him and we worked side by side to create the edit that I envisioned in my mind.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
LN: Since there are hundreds of festivals to choose from, I research the festivals that Film Freeway showcases each week as well as read the reviews of those festivals. The next step I take to narrow the search is to take note of festivals that especially have categories for short films and for the genre of Drama/Fantasy/Syfy. I also make sure that I am equally submitting to festivals all over the world since the story is universal and takes place at two different times in history. The other determining factor when choosing a festival is simply the cost and the number of categories. I have found that the chances of being selected increase with festivals that have 10 or more categories in which I typically submit for multiple categories.
The Art is alive Film Festival was the most engaging, educational, and fun festival I have ever attended. It was more than just a festival; it was genuine respect for the collaboration and synergy of like-minded filmmakers. I felt a real sense of community. The Antwerp International Film Festival’s jury really love how visual the film is and was especially impressed with the costumes, hair, and makeup which we won in that category.
We are also an official selection of the Global Film Market, Bolera Film Festival in Egypt, and the Filmysea International Film Festival in India.
The Release?
LN: Since the film is still on the film festival circuit, it has not been officially released to the public. Once it is out of the film festival circuit in May 2022, I will be using the film as a tool to pitch for financing and distribution of the feature-length version.
Advice from the Filmmaker?
LN: My first piece of advice would be to go with your instincts it will never fail you. Don’t allow anyone to speak your voice. Write out small attainable goals for your project until the project is completed. Be comfortable and content no matter where you are within your journey. Don’t get caught up in being on a celebrity list. Don’t try to emulate anyone else, just be yourself, focus on your passion and you will shine.
There is no time frame or age range of when you are supposed to be successful. Don’t measure your success to anyone else’s. If you are working towards your goals, you are already successful.
Continue to work on your inner self and always find ways to stand out. How will people remember you? Did you make an excellent impression? Always strive to be someone that inspires.
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