Film Project Update: #BreatheEasy2016

Hey everyone, I know I’ve been pretty quiet about my film project, Breathe Easy. After storming your news feeds for the last few months of 2015 with updates on a global sci-fi film project about a huge gas cloud-  and subsequently bombarding you all with my crowdfunding campaign- I kind of went a bit quiet.

Here’s the thing: This project was a huge step for me, so I want to make sure I do this right, and that takes time. For years I’ve called myself an “aspiring filmmaker” but never did much on my own (nothing portfolio-worthy at least). I have entered countless screenwriting competitions over the years, from the recent Triggerfish Storylab, to the Jameson First Shot competition. Nothing’s paid off… yet.

So I threw myself into this project: an opportunity to work with people around the world, young and old, amateurs (like myself) as well as professionals– just doing what I love: telling stories. As many of you know, I do this in my spare time, so it’s been quite challenging; but so far it’s been more fulfilling than anything I’ve done over the last year.

So here’s a taste of what I’ve been up to over the last few months…

 

We wrapped the shoot quite some time ago, in September 2015. We’ve been working through the footage to make sure we select the best takes for the best end result.

This week, editor of the Cape Town segment for Breathe Easy, Andre Phillip wrapped up a rough edit of the segment. Myself and the rest of the creative team (including Shaun van Wyngaardt and Dean Ravell) will be working on ongoing iterations over the next few weeks. After that we’ll be working on perfecting the sound design and score. I’m mostly looking forward to sharing it with the rest of the team working on the project, both locally and around the globe; but regular audiences won’t see it for quite some time.

Click here to read my original blog post about the Breathe Easy film project.

You can check out a podcast myself, writer Dean Ravell and makeup artist Haniefa Mooideen were featured in not too long ago:

https://soundcloud.com/under-the-table-2/lets-make-a-movie

 

Here’s an excerpt from the Mission Statement of the Breathe Easy project:

“We’ve decided to go even further and again to push the limits of social media to help us create a film that breaks not only one but two film World Records as verified by Guinness World Records. Most countries filmed in and Most Directors for a single narrative feature film. Both are currently held by the 2012 film The Owner and stand at 13 countries and 25 directors.  The Breathe Easy script is set in England during a global event and each of the segments filmed separately of the main plot line will help to show the huge scale and magnitude of what is actually happening around the world”

Click here to read the full mission statement for Breathe Easy.

Speaking of people around the world, everyone has been so very busy. At the end of this project, we hope to have 27 Directors, in 15 countries, on 7 continents, in 2 hemispheres! So far 10 scenes have been filmed in in 8 countries, so we’re making great progress.

Updates from around the Globe

Jonnie Howard in the UK

Jonnie is the CEO and producer at JHFilm.co.uk. He and his team are planning on shooting their Breathe Easy segment in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom early in 2016.

Jonnie writes, “Our piece is still being scripted but will depict the encounter of a protagonist who has fled the cities alone with another group of misfits that have already set up camps in the country side… Our segment will depict the darker side of humanity in a global crisis – the hostility, paranoia and violence that is all too present in the world today.”

Check out their website, and for a taste of the work they do, check out the video below of a horror-comedy currently in post production:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyrdW-Le4eA

You can also click here for another short film produced by Jonnie and his team last year.

Pam Chohan from Hertfordshire  (Also working in Thailand)

Filming scenes for #BreathEasy2016 in Thailand with the help of my friend Gert on the back of his scooter. #safedriver

— Pam Chohan (@PamChohan_UK) January 7, 2016

The last time we chatted towards the end of last year, Pam was finalising her script while in Thailand; busy with pre-production for her Breathe Easy segment she plans on filming in her home town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire (near London) and London’s financial district.

Principal photography for the bulk of the shoot in the UK will start in March 2016 when she returns from Thailand. All of her crew has been recruited and she’s in the process of finalising the remaining cast, however her lead has already been cast as well.

Pam writes, “My piece is from the point of view of a homeless man who watches London going crazy whilst he is trying to deal with his own demons”.

You can click here to follow Pan on Twitter and keep up with how things are going with her Breathe Easy segment.

Karl Stefan Röser from Germany

When I chatted to Karl last he was just starting his script for his Breathe Easy segment. Karl is from Germany, and his segment will likely be set in Stuttgart in the city of Daimler-Benz where he lives, most likely with a girl in the lead role.

Karl is currently exhibiting his latest short film, Der unberührte Garten (The Inviolate Garden). The film is written and directed by him and Diana Michl and is about young girl named Merle who is a passionate runner. Running calms her and allows her to temporarily escape her problems.

While running one day, she stumbles upon a foreign garden and meets a mysterious and fascinating woman named Cynthia, who becomes more and more important for Merle. Her life starts to change in ways she could never imagine, and soon noting is like it was before.

Karl describes his film as an “unusual coming-of-age story”. Check out the teaser for his film below:

 

You can click here to follow Karl on Twitter, and visit his website for more updates from this talented filmmaker.

Robert David Duncan from Vancouver, Canada

Robert has a script written featuring a character, Jim Johnson (who will be played by Robert himself), who somehow manages to survive the initial disaster in the Breathe Easy universe.

Robert and his crew have done some test shooting locally and will be shooting on an iPhone 6S+ using Filmic Pro, and are currently waiting on warmer weather to film the segment.

Robert has expressed great enthusiasm, and is “really looking forward to being part of this collaborative venture with so many cool filmmakers.”

You can follow Robert on Twitter, or check out his website for more updates on his film and other projects.

Jeff Fiorentino from Hollywood, U.S.A

Jeff is an absolute rockstar in every sense of the word, and is contributing roughly 30 songs (mostly segmented for use) towards the Breathe Easy soundtrack.

Jeff says that his “creative process with something like Breathe Easy is just to keep writing”. Jeff will continue to contribute to the score for the film until it’s wrapped, so make sure you listen closely for those awesome jams once the film is released.

The soundtrack set can be found below:

 

You can visit Jeff’s website for more of his work, as well as his Soundcloud page if you’re looking for some cool tunes to rock out to.

More on Breathe Easy

The best place to follow updates about Breathe Easy, and get involved, is on Twitter. Follow the hashtag #BreatheEasy2016 for all updates from directors, producers and fans around the world.

You can also follow producer Paul Mackie, the man behind this project who’s responsible for bringing so many people from around the world together to collaborate on this amazing project! He makes it look easy, but there’s a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes.

Ok so now I have 5 months to cast and fund a 100 page script and then film it! Then edit together a 2 record breaking film! No worries!

— Paul Mackie (@paulmac708) January 4, 2016

Another account to keep an eye on is the official Twitter account for the Breathe Easy film.

Click here to read another blog post highlighting some details from the project a few months ago.

Breathe Easy will be completed and published later this year. I’ll continue to provide updates to the best of my ability as the project evolves.

Please share this post to raise awareness about this EPIC global film project. If you’d like more information, or would like to make a donation, you can email me directly at [email protected] or tweet me @thesnagel on Twitter.