When cameras began rolling on The Attic Door, writer-director Danny Daneau broke ground in a classic movie-making place.
The southern steppes of Utah have been the life and death of countless Hollywood western film shoots from the John Ford era to Indiana Jones.
During the summer of 2006, the UCF entrepreneurial digital cinema alumnus and a predominantly UCF-graduated crew made their pilgrimage and left their mark in the mythical red clay.
Additional cameras were rolling behind the scenes as Daneau and his crew shot the independent feature film. These belonged to Roman Safiullin and Chris Walker who produced, filmed and edited Behind the Attic Door, a podcast series walk-through of the film's production phase. The podcast series was posted on the film's official site - www.theatticdoormovie.com.
Known for its catastrophic weather, the Paria region of Utah was once inhabited but the town of Pariah was swept away in a flash-flood. The film crew was no luckier as the podcast series captured tribulations of shooting on such a remote site.
"There is a point where you're into the film and you have to move forward, you have to rely on faith because you can't see what the end is going to look like," Daneau said. "You're at the whim of elements you can't control."
Of the seven podcasts, episode five told of the precipitous "Monsoon Season" that the filming crew was caught in. Barely able to maneuver the dry land to begin with, the crew took a chance in setting shop after a full night's rain turned the streets of nearby Kanab into rivers.
"The production faced a halt it couldn't afford and Danny showed courage and dedication in deciding to go for it," UCF cinema studies graduate Walker said.
Producer Erica Harrell also praised the director's ability to lead.
"His calm demeanor really helped set the tone for the entire shooting process," said Harrell, another UCF Film graduate who moved to Los Angeles after scoring internships and finally a job.
Before Harrell produced The Attic Door she had produced Acts of Mercy, a feature film written and directed by Laura Lopez, Daneau's fiance. Lopez also graduated from the UCF Film program.
Nothing trumped the first day of shooting, though, as a generator that powered all the lighting equipment caught fire and fried under the scorching desert sun.
"In the morning of the first day of production, the first assistant director Cory Johnson took me aside and told [Chris and me] not to film while main production was filming," UCF alumnus Safiullin said. "Naturally, we didn't follow his directions."
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