The Sounds of "Sonus": An Interview with Filmmaker Mike Davis

In October, BMFI launched its inaugural Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest to encourage emerging filmmakers and celebrate cinema’s rich history. From over 280 entries, four finalist short films have been chosen: "Miss Todd," "Wrong Number," "Redemption," and "Sonus." In April, see these remarkable short films on the big screen before the features that inspired them, and learn more about the finalist filmmakers on BMFInsights.

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The Sounds of "Sonus"

By Kerri Grogan, Staff Assistant

Virginia-based filmmaker Mike Davis creates a fun, modern take on the silent film genre in “Sonus,” one of Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s four Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest finalists. His inspiration film, Charlie Chaplin’s silent masterpiece City Lights, perfectly reflects the blend of creativity and humor that inspires Mike's work.

Recent film graduate Mike Davis is currently finishing his first feature-length screenplay and is already receiving recognition for his film work.

I got in touch with with Mike via e-mail to learn more about him and his film. Keep reading to find out about the challenges of making a film without dialogue, his musical choices, and what inspires his filmmaking style.

You recently graduated from George Mason University with a degree in film production. What do you enjoy most about the filmmaking process?

I'd have to say it’s a tie between the ideation of my films at the script level and actually watching it when it's all done. I get a lot of great ideas and screenwriting lets me dive deeper into them. I have a lot of fun crafting and sometimes pruning my stories to make them work. There's nothing like watching your idea that you've spent hours and hours working on play on screen in front of an audience. I love watching people's reactions to my films.

"Sonus" is a modern take on a silent movie. How did Charlie Chaplin's City Lights inspire your story?

Besides the obvious black and white, I really like the love story in City Lights between Chaplin's Little Tramp and the blind woman. It's one of my favorite onscreen love stories. For my film, I wanted to craft something similar, but of my own design. I think it worked.

What are some of the unique challenges you faced making a film without dialogue? How did that affect the way you told the story?

I can't really say that I ran into any challenges due to lack of dialogue. I knew exactly how I wanted to tell this story going in and I cast my actors based on their nonverbal cues and gestures. After that, in terms of directing, it was a pretty simple shoot, which is a credit to my cast. The big challenges I faced were all production based: doing everything solo, a malfunctioning camera, finding an empty study room in a busy library, filming “Sonus” simultaneously with my senior thesis film...things like that.

In "Sonus," a college student unwittingly discovers a hidden world of sound during a library trip. But is it all just in his mind?

The music that your character discovers in "Sonus" plays a big part in the story. Does the music you featured have any special relevance? What made you choose those pieces?

I'm a closet classical music fan. Personally, I'll listen to anything besides country, but only a couple of my friends know that I like classical. I'm also a big fan of all things animated. So for one of the songs, I wanted to create a Pixar vibe by relating the music to what's happening on screen.

Your filmmaking style has a lot of light-hearted humor and creativity. What films or filmmakers have had the biggest influence on your style?

The biggest influence on my style probably comes from animation and cartoons. Again, I'm a big fan of animation, and there are so many films and television shows that have influenced me in that genre. But what I like the most about them is how universal they can be. I think those are the films we remember best. Those are the films we can enjoy over and over again as a kid or an adult. Besides that, I also really enjoy the element of surprise in my work. I love catching my audience off guard. Sometimes I'll even slow down the pace of a film just so the surprise can have a bigger impact when it’s delivered. “Sonus” is probably one of my better works in terms of representing my style as a filmmaker and screenwriter.

Thanks, Mike!

See "Sonus" and the classic feature that inspired it, City Lights, on Tuesday, April 22 at 7:00 pm. The film will be shown in conjunction with a Cinema Classics Seminar. Join us on April 27 for our ACTION! Dedication Celebration, where we will announce the Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest winners.

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, animator, and comic artist.

Finding the Soul of "Redemption": An Interview with Chris Carden

In October, BMFI launched its inaugural Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest to encourage emerging filmmakers and celebrate cinema’s rich history. From over 280 entries, four finalist short films have been chosen: "Miss Todd," "Wrong Number," "Redemption," and "Sonus." In April, see these remarkable short films on the big screen before the features that inspired them, and learn more about the finalist filmmakers on BMFInsights.

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Finding the Soul of "Redemption"

By Kerri Grogan, Staff Assistant

Filmmaker Chris Carden's supernatural short film, "Redemption," is one of four finalists in Bryn Mawr Film Institute's Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest. Although this is his first self-produced short, he has been in front of or behind cameras since age four, when he was a regular on Sesame Street. Inspired by the classic horror masterpiece The Exorcist (1973), "Redemption" asks the question, "Are angels among us?"

Chris acted in commercials until age eleven, when he left the business. He later returned as a broadcast journalist for the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia, before turning his attention to narrative film.

I asked Chris some questions via e-mail about "Redemption," how it related to The Exorcist, and how his actors inspired the film. Keep reading for his responses!

You wrote and directed “Redemption”. How does your acting and broadcast journalism background shape your approach to storytelling? To filmmaking?

There are some great correlations between news and film. You wouldn't think so unless you've done both. But when I was a journalist, I used to rehearse my live leads and then read my stories aloud to hear what the viewers would hear, like an actor, which I had been briefly as a child. I spent a long time crafting news stories that were clear and concise but also emotionally gripping. In my narrative writing I strive to hit all those same notes. Then it's just a matter of finding a visual language to carry those elements forward, similar to what you do in the world of broadcast journalism. In news, you have a shooter; in film, a d.p. You can step out of a news story as a reporter and let the subject matter speak for itself just as a director gathers all of the elements for a story and then lets it come together organically in the service of his or her vision. Even editing is similar because in both you have to be ruthless and leave only those frames that push the story forward. The similarities go on, but my experience has made for a great transition.

This is your first self-produced short film. What inspired you to make it? What was the most surprising thing that you learned?

I actually did a couple of films in college, one of which was also about death and the afterlife. It's an obsession, I guess. But with religion there is never an absolute answer. I wanted to explore the issue of sin and consequences; in essence, how far can you go before you can no longer be forgiven, and what spiritual forces exist in times of trouble to push us either towards salvation or damnation. But I didn't want a preachy movie. So I folded the idea into a film noir narrative and what came out the other side of all these ruminations was "Redemption." On the plus side, I learned that good material attracts good people and "Redemption" was blessed with a talented cast and crew that made it so much easier for me to bring the story to life. Unfortunately, as a rookie filmmaker, I also learned that not everyone has your best interests at heart, and I had to make some difficult choices to keep the train on the tracks. But the most important thing I learned is that perseverance is more important than resources. Keep at it even when you think you can't and solutions will present themselves.

In "Redemption," the forces of good and evil fight to control the soul of an unstable man.

“Redemption” is a parable of good versus evil. How did The Exorcist influence your approach to the story?

Decades have gone by and no one, in my opinion, has yet to match [The Exorcist] for depth, intricacy of character, and durability. The Exorcist's director, William Friedkin, said, "I know that it is considered by a great many people as a horror film. I've never thought of it that way and I didn't approach it that way. It's a story about the mystery of faith." That made complete sense to me, and that's the reason it stands above other horror flicks. Friedkin shifted the focus away from shock value for its own sake, and I attempted the same. Whether I succeeded or not I leave up to viewers.

Actor Simon Lovell plays one of the lead characters. Once allegedly a notorious con man pursued by Interpol, Lovell is now the technical consultant behind USA Network’s White Collar. How did he become involved in the project? Did you tailor the role for him?

I wrote the original part of Harry as a downtown New York guy, somewhere between Al Pacino and James Gandolfini. Then my casting director showed me a clip of Simon conning an elderly woman on a television show. I'm a huge Anglophile and when I heard that charming British accent and saw his morally bereft performance, I was sold. I gave him the part. Actually he stole it and I haven't seen it since. Seriously, Simon was a great find, as well as Michael [Newcomer] and Max [Rhyser], who play Gale and Peter respectively. They played off each other so well all I had to do was explain the scene and let them take off on their own.

What is your favorite part of the filmmaking process? What do you find most challenging?

I'll be honest, I enjoyed everything but chasing the money. Filmmaking would be great if everyone worked for free, but alas, art in itself does not pay the bills. I'm still working on squaring everyone away. But everything else was a joy and I can't wait to start another project. On "Redemption," I was writer, director, executive producer, editor, and colorist. I would gladly hire someone else next time to take on one or more of those jobs, but overall, it was a blast. I only have about ten projects screaming for attention in my head so I'll be busy scratching out scripts for awhile.

Thank you, Chris!

You can see "Redemption" and its inspiration film, The Exorcist, on Tuesday, April 15 at 7:00 pm. The film will be shown in conjunction with a Cinema Classics Seminar. Join us on April 27 for our ACTION! Dedication Celebration, where we will announce the Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest winners.

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, animator, and comic artist.

Making the Right Choices for "Wrong Number": An Interview with Director Patrick Rea

In October, BMFI launched its inaugural Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest to encourage emerging filmmakers and celebrate cinema’s rich history. From over 280 entries, four finalist short films have been chosen: "Miss Todd," "Wrong Number," "Redemption," and "Sonus." In April, see these remarkable short films on the big screen before the features that inspired them, and learn more about the finalist filmmakers on BMFInsights.

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Making the Right Choices for "Wrong Number"

By Kerri Grogan, Staff Assistant

Filmmaker Patrick Rea delivers suspenseful, twisting drama in "Wrong Number," one of Bryn Mawr Film Institute's four Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest finalists. Written by Amber Rapp and inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller Dial M for Murder (1954), "Wrong Number" connects two strangers by way of a misdialed phone number.

Patrick's production company, SenoReality Pictures, won Heartland Emmy awards for their short films, "Get Off My Porch" and "Woman's Intuition."

I interviewed Patrick via e-mail about his film. Keep reading to find out how Dial M for Murder inspired him, how he worked with his actors, and his favorite parts of the filmmaking process.

What aspects of Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder helped inspire this film?

In the Hitchcock film, the plot deals with infidelity and a murder plot that goes awry. Without giving too much away, I often thought that in "Wrong Number", there is a hint that Maggie may have caught her husband in an affair which led her down the road she has taken. I also wanted to use the phone in our film as a device to create tension and suspense, like Hitchcock did in Dial M for Murder.

“Wrong Number” centers on a telephone conversation between two disparate strangers, and the way that it unfurls is very important for building character and creating drama. How did screenwriter Amber Rapp approach creating the dialogue for the film?

Amber approached the dialogue to make it seem as innocent as possible as a way of misdirecting the audience, much like Hitchcock. Amber wanted to lull the audience into a false sense of comfort. Most people watching "Wrong Number" for the first time think it's just a conventional conversation between two souls in a chance encounter. Amber did a good job of revealing a lot about the characters in a very short period of time, thus making the ending all the more of a surprise.

You elicit wonderful performances from your actors. Would you talk about your process working with them on set?

We spent a great deal of time rehearsing the conversation. I had worked with Joicie Appell on a previous film, Nailbiter, and had developed a great working relationship with her. This was the first time I had worked with Cinnamon Shultz. I had seen her do great work in Winter's Bone (2010). I thought she carried the right amount of gritty strength and innocence to make the Maggie character likeable, yet mysterious. I rehearsed both of them for several days before shooting the film. Once we got all the kinks out with the dialogue we were ready for filming. They had rehearsed the film together, but when filming, neither were on set at the same time. Because we had done so much prep, the two still knew how to maintain the right rhythm.

In "Wrong Number," a woman takes comfort in dialing a familiar phone number, but she's taken by surprise when a stranger answers instead.

In addition to several award-winning shorts, you have also directed a feature, Nailbiter (2013), and the comedy special Jake Johannsen, I Love You, which aired on Showtime. What are some of the unique challenges and benefits of short filmmaking, feature filmmaking, and filming live events?

I really believe that short films are a great way to learn new techniques and really build your skills as a filmmaker. A feature film takes so very long to raise money for, and I feel that short form storytelling can be an excellent way to keep yourself from feeling creatively stagnant. One particular challenge to short filmmaking is being able to tell a three act story in a short period of time. You have to really develop the characters and make the audience relate to them in a truncated duration, and that can be difficult to pull off.

As for feature filmmaking, an obvious challenge is raising the necessary capital to make it a reality. It's also a marathon making a feature. With a short, you can usually have it completed in six months, while a feature can go on for years, and you have to keep your love of the project alive as well as keeping others excited about it as well. Nailbiter started principal photography in 2009 and wasn't released till 2013. That required a lot of energy to keep the momentum going.

Filming live events are always fun and scary. You never know what might happen on the day of filming. While filming Jake Johannsen, I Love You, we had to explain the audience that this was a live event and if something went wrong, we would need to pause and fix things to start again. We were fortunate that nothing went wrong.

What do you enjoy most about filmmaking?

I really love the collaborative atmosphere on set! I love the shooting process the most and if I do my homework ahead of time, it's usually a party! I also love seeing it with the sound and music for the first time. That's when it finally comes alive!

Thanks, Patrick!

See "Wrong Number" and the classic feature that inspired it, Dial M for Murder, on Tuesday, April 8, at 7:00 pm. The film will be shown in conjunction with a Cinema Classics Seminar. Join us on April 27 for our ACTION! Dedication Celebration, where we will announce the Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest winners.

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, blogger, and comic artist.

"Miss Todd" Takes Animation to New Heights: An Interview with Filmmaker Kristina Yee

In October, BMFI launched its inaugural Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest to encourage emerging filmmakers and celebrate cinema’s rich history. From over 280 entries, four finalist short films have been chosen: "Miss Todd," "Wrong Number," "Redemption," and "Sonus." In April, see these remarkable short films on the big screen before the features that inspired them, and learn more about the finalist filmmakers on BMFInsights.

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"Miss Todd" Takes Animation to New Heights

By Kerri Grogan, Staff Assistant

Inspiring is the best word to describe the story of "Miss Todd," a stop-motion, animated, musical short that is one of Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s inaugural Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest finalist films. Director Kristina Yee's award-winning short, which uses beautiful, hand-drawn puppets and handmade sets, follows the compelling journey of a young woman who dreams of flight. The project was her graduation film from the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, England, and was the first animated film to win a Gold Medal for Best Foreign Film at the Student Academy Awards. The short will be shown with the feature that inspired it, the beloved musical Singin’ in the Rain (1952), on the big screen this Tuesday, April 1 at 7:00 pm.

I caught up with Kristina via email to ask her a few questions about her film. Keep reading to learn about the challenges of stop-motion animation, what attracted her to the story, and what inspires her.

Director Kristina Yee earned a 2014 Annie Award nomination for her film.

"Miss Todd" is based on the experiences of a little-known historical figure, Lillian Todd, whom the New York Times identified in 1909 as the first woman to design airplanes. What drew you to her story?

I came across Miss Todd almost by accident. I was perusing articles about this particular time in aviation history because I was doing research for another project that involved flying, and kites particularly, when I came across Miss Todd. I wondered why I'd never heard of her, and the more I read, the more her story smacked of injustice. I thought it was amazing that she accomplished so much, and yet is so forgotten by the history books. The mystery of what happened to her after her plane flew also drew me to her—I wanted to believe that, as we've portrayed in the story, her disappearance wasn't a tragedy, but an adventure.

What made you decide that you wanted to tell her story as a musical?

I had been thinking of making a musical for my graduation film, but when my writer and I decided to tell Miss Todd's story, a musical seemed perfect in a lot of ways, mostly because it's very much a story about literally not having a voice. When Miss Todd sings, she's communicating all the highs and lows of her experience in a way that only music can communicate.

What would you say is your favorite part of the filmmaking process?

I'm not sure I could name a favorite part—I genuinely love every step. I suppose the best part is when you feel that all of your collaborators are really united in making the film and are each using their own gifts to bring out the best in the story. I had a fantastic team for "Miss Todd," and that made the entire process a real pleasure.

You used a stop-motion style of animation that uses paper cut-outs and built sets. What made you choose this style? Did you have any particular inspiration for the visual look of the film?

Well, there were certainly practical considerations when we chose this style. We wanted to do stop-motion because we thought there was something really wonderfully tactile in this world of inventions and machinery. The textures of the real sets really invite you to be a part of her world. We settled on paper cut-outs for two reasons: we needed to be able to do lip-sync and wanted to have facially expressive characters, and also because, in a more abstract way, there was something about the limitations of the movements of the paper puppets that seemed fitting for the time period in which the film is set. Plus, the paper in the sets looked amazing!

Miss Todd dreams of flight, but her aspirations may be forever grounded. This beautiful animated film was done with no use of green screen, and only minimal post-production retouching.

What are some of the challenges of working in this type of stop-motion style?

Well, my editor was really disappointed when I told him we couldn't do a 360 shot around Miss Todd. There are certainly logistical things you have to think about when your puppets are flat! But I think the challenge was mostly that it was a bit experimental, so we were learning as we went along. We were also trying to do things that are difficult to do in stop-motion, even in the best of circumstances, on a shoe-string budget and a tiny animation team—things like lip-syncing (lots of it!) and flying. One moment I was proudest of is that, in order to create realistic motion-blur in the take-off sequence, we had loads of friends helping us to "pull" the grass of the airfield the moment that the shutter closed, frame by frame, so that the grass would appear to be racing by for the take-off. We also had to make sure that the wheels and propeller were spinning as the shutter closed, which became the special responsibility of our amazing cinematographer, Nick Cooke.

What filmmakers have inspired you and the way you work?

As with all animators, I'm a huge Miyazaki fan. I only hope to one day be one tenth as accomplished as he is! I also love Billy Wilder. In particular, I love The Apartment, which is one of those films that is completely perfect just the way it is. I hope one day I'm able to write the kind of witty, snappy dialogue that he and his collaborators always seemed to capture. I grew up watching old musicals, which have nurtured my love of grand, sweeping moments in film. I also love the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger; I think I've watched The Red Shoes more times than any other film! I love their sense of imagination and artistry.

Thank you, Kristina!

See "Miss Todd" and the classic feature that inspired it, Singin' in the Rain, this Tuesday at 7:00 pm. Join us on April 27 for our ACTION! Dedication Celebration, where we will announce the Silver Screen Inspiration Short Film Contest winners.

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, blogger, and comic artist.

Access for All at BMFI

Big changes and improvements are happening here at Bryn Mawr Film Institute. Construction is underway, and now that we’ve reopened our first renovated theater, we're excited to unveil some of the accessibility enhancements that are changing the way our viewers experience movies. Some Assisted Listening Devices, or ALDs, are available in theaters throughout the country, but BMFI is on the cutting edge in our region with what will ultimately be three different types of hearing devices: closed captioning, headphones with enhanced audio, and the “loop.”

The USLinc Closed Caption Receiver is a simple, portable way to enjoy closed caption subtitles for any film. This device fits snugly in your seat cupholder, and the adjustable goose neck allows you to position the caption box exactly where you want it. It's battery operated, so there are no cords to tangle with. The text is crisp, clear, and easy to read without being harsh in low-light settings. Since it uses infrared sensors, it won't pick up interference from other theaters or radio transmitters.

Bryn Mawr Film Institute is currently the only art house theater in the region that offers this closed caption system!

Thanks to the innovative hearing system known as The Loop, real movie sound can now be transmitted right to your hearing device. The loop is a sound system that broadcasts directly into hearing aids and implants, meaning that it serves you by using your own device, which is already customized to your exact specifications. Most new hearing aids come with Telecoil technology that can pick up on signals sent from a loop system. How can you tell whether your hearing aid is loop-equipped? According to HearingLink.org, if your hearing aid has an obvious "T" setting on the program switch, you can probably use it with the loop system. However, if you really can't tell, the best way to find out is to ask your audiologist.

We are looking into aids for the visually impaired as well.

As always, BMFI is fully wheelchair accessible. There is wheelchair-accessible parking in the lot behind the theater, as well as wheelchair seating and restroom access. There is an elevator with access to the second floor.

We hope that these enhancements will help you to enjoy a day at the movies at BMFI!

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, blogger, and comic artist.

I've Got a Golden Ticket: WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Our Kids Matinees tribute to beloved children's author Roald Dahl features a screening of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) this Saturday, September 28 at 11:00 am. Kerri Grogan shares some sweet facts about the making of the candy-filled fantasy.

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I've Got a Golden Ticket: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
By Kerri Grogan, BMFI Staff Assistant

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was written by Roald Dahl and published in 1964. As with many of his novels, Dahl drew inspiration from his experiences as a schoolboy in the 1920s, a time when chocolate companies were competing fiercely with each other for young customers. 

But what inspired the film? Director Mel Stuart said that he was approached by his daughter, who was ten at the time and had just finished reading the novel. It delighted her so much that she told her father that he should make a film out of it!

Turning this sweet novel into a delightful film was fairly challenging, especially when many of the actors were children without a lot of acting experience. Stuart had a simple way of capturing some genuine expressions from the actors, though: by making sure they really were surprised. For instance, the kids' reactions to the chocolate room are very real—it was their first time viewing the set! Also, even though the Wonkitania was being pulled down the chocolate river on a track, the actor portraying the Oompa Loompa at the helm thought he was the one steering. Stuart decided not to tell him the truth, to keep it more believable.


Director Mel Stuart surprised the young cast of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with Willy Wonka's Chocolate Room. Until they shot the scene, the young actors had never seen the set.

Gene Wilder, who played the iconic Willy Wonka, was particularly convincing. Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt) said in the 30th Anniversary DVD commentary that she was completely fooled by his fake limp during filming. She assumed he had really injured himself and that production would be delayed! When he went from limping straight into a somersault, she was just as surprised as the audience. While they were floating down the chocolate river by boat, his acting was so convincing that it frightened some of the actors: they thought he really was going mad! He was even instructed not to tell Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie, that he was going to yell at him during a scene late in the movie. The pair had formed a close friendship by then, so Ostrum's shock at being yelled at was completely real. Yikes!

There were some similar mishaps behind the scenes, too. In Wonka's office, Stuart decided to have all objects in the room cut in half to give the room a more whimsical, less ordinary look. While one of the prop men was working on the set, he accidentally started sawing into a real coffee pot that someone had left in the work area! He only realized his mistake when it was too late: coffee was already leaking out.

"You're turning violet, Violet!" The makeup that turned Violet Beauregarde purple in the film seemed to have a negative side effect on actress Denise Nickerson. When she returned to school after wrapping up the film, a classmate leaned over and told her she was changing color. The makeup had seeped into her pores and was turning her violet all over again!

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, blogger, and comic artist.

Click here to view BMFI's full schedule of upcoming Kids Matinees.

Double Trouble: THE PARENT TRAP

Cool off at BMFI as we bring our "My Summer Vacation" series to a close with the 1961 Disney classic The Parent Trap, which will be showing on Saturday, August 24 at 11:00 am.

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By Kerri Grogan, BMFI Staff Assistant

One actress, two roles. Hayley Mills was certainly up to the task of playing both twins in The Parent Trap, but in 1961, when computers weren't used for film editing, how did she manage to appear in two places at once? The creative minds of Walt Disney Studios used a few different techniques to make sure you'd be seeing double.

The easiest way to make this kind of film work is to use a body double, and for The Parent Trap, Susan Henning fit the bill—she and Mills were the same size, right down to their shoes! They got along quite well, too. Henning even helped the natively British Mills learn some American slang for the part. For many scenes, she stood in as one twin and then they switched places to film Mills as the other twin. You can see Henning herself plenty of times too, cleverly facing away from the camera. Unfortunately, despite those appearances, the way her contract was worded meant that she went uncredited for her part in the film. For a long time she wasn't even allowed to talk about it! However, at the wrap party, Walt Disney presented her with "The Duckster", a small Donald Duck statue that served as an award recognizing her as the "Best Unseen Performance of the Film."

Hayley Mills pulls double duty as Susan and Sharon in a duet of "Let's Get Together." Her version of the song became a pop hit! 

The clever technique they used for more complicated scenes is called "double exposure", or in filmmaking, "split screen". The cameraman locks the camera in place and the exact same scene gets recorded twice, once with the actor on one side of the screen, and then again on the other. Then the negatives from both recordings are spliced together by hand. No one knew if it was going to turn out well, so originally they only planned to use it for a few shots. But when Walt Disney saw the end result, he was so pleased with it that he rearranged the script to include more.

Can you try acting as two different characters at the same time? Mills reportedly got so confused while filming that the only way she could tell which character she was playing was by the wig she was wearing. And then they both cut their hair short!

Disney remade The Parent Trap in 1998, but even with all the advances in technology since the original came out, they decided to use these very same techniques to give the illusion of one actress playing two characters. Fun fact: Joanna Barnes, who played Vicky Robinson in the original, played Meredith Blake's mother in the remake. The character's name was Vicki.

Did you know? The film went through a handful of different titles, starting with His and Hers. The studio even had a contest for fans to pick the name of the film! Some of the winning titles were "Susan and I" and "We Belong Together." Then one day Walt walked in, announced that they were calling it The Parent Trap, and the rest is history.

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, blogger, and comic artist.

Terror by the Sea: THE BIRDS

Our "Hitchcock at the Height" series comes to a close this Wednesday, July 31, with the avian thriller The Birds, which will be introduced by Andrew J. Douglas, Ph.D.

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Terror by the Sea: The Birds
By Kerri Grogan, BMFI Staff Assistant

Spoiler warning!

This year marks the 50th anniversary for Hitchcock's harrowing film, The Birds (1963), but the novelette it was based on was already a decade old by then. Also titled The Birds, it was written by Daphne du Maurier and originally published in 1952. Both feature deadly attacks by birds in a seaside town, but there are some big differences from text to film. One of the main changes was Tippi Hedren's character, Melanie Daniels, who was originally war veteran and family man Nat Hockens.

The other distinctive change is setting. While the original story is set in du Maurier's native Cornwall, Hitchcock moved the story to Bodega Bay, a remote coastal town in California. Eerily enough, two years before the film's release, there was a real avian invasion in the seaside city of Santa Cruz, California. Hitchcock reportedly asked for a copy of the news article covering the event (which you can read here) to use as research material. Obviously the real event had no widespread aftermath, but the novelette does: by the end, all of Britain is suffering from deadly attacks. Hitchcock's film doesn't explicitly have the same apocalyptic results, but it does hint at it.

Hitchcock leaves a very open ending in the film by intentionally omitting a "the end" title card. He wanted audiences to have the impression that the terror faced in the film was ongoing.

Did you know? The attic attack scene took a full week to film, and used only live birds–no puppets. Hedren was injured during filming, and afterwards, she was so exhausted that she had to spend a week in the hospital! Hitchcock leading man Cary Grant happened to be visiting the set that week, and after watching the filming, he called Hedren "one brave lady" for her work on it. [Source]

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, blogger, and comic artist.

"Talkie" Triumphs and Technical Tribulations: THE COCOANUTS

Our "Mad for the Marx Brothers" series continues this Saturday, July 20, with the Marx Brothers' first feature film, The Cocoanuts!

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"Talkie" Triumphs and Technical Tribulations: The Cocoanuts
By Kerri Grogan, BMFI Staff Assistant

Before the Marx Brothers released their first feature-length film, The Cocoanuts, producer Monta Bell wanted Groucho Marx to discard his signature grease paint mustache, citing that it was too "phony-looking" for audiences to believe. Groucho's response? "The audience doesn't believe us anyhow. All they do is laugh at us, and isn't that what we're being paid for?"

Filming The Cocoanuts (1929) for the silver screen had its pitfalls. Trying to record singing, music, and zany antics in the early days of sound films was tricky. Cameras were noisy--so noisy that they had to be placed in soundproof cases so that the camera noise wouldn't be recorded by the external microphones! Microphones were stationary, too, meaning that in order to stay within the recording area, actors had to keep a limited range of motion.

Another problem was recording sensitivity. If camera sounds were being recorded, you can bet that other noises were, too. One of the most notable problems was the rustling of paper props. At first, shots including them were re-recorded, very carefully, to minimize the sound that they made. Then someone had the bright idea of soaking all the paper props on set in water!



Does this map look a bit soggy to you? Chico and Groucho Marx look over blueprints for the Hotel de Cocoanut.

Rumor has it that director Robert Florey was also put into the soundproof camera chamber once or twice. Why? He had never seen the Marx Brothers in action, and couldn't stop laughing while the cameras were rolling.

Fun fact: The ink that Harpo drinks in the hotel lobby was actually Coca-Cola. Delicious!

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, blogger, and comic artist.

The Twelfth Night...of Filming MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

By Kerri Grogan, BMFI Staff Assistant

What can you do with twelve days and a cast of actors you know and love? If you're Joss Whedon, the answer is Much Ado About Nothing, and it's playing here at BMFI until at least Thursday, July 11!

Joss Whedon's delightfully modernized take on Shakespeare was filmed in only twelve days at his own home, while he was on break from the set of Marvel's The Avengers. Whedon is no stranger to this sort of "Do It Yourself" film production–his 2008 web-musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was entirely self-created and funded during the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike–but even he was intimidated to try filming a production of the magnitude of Much Ado in such a short window.

"I had to convince Joss that this was a good idea," Kai Cole, Joss's wife and a producer of the film, said in an interview with Women and Hollywood. "He was exhausted and more than a little skeptical." Shakespeare had long been something Whedon and Cole wanted to tackle. For years, Whedon and his friends (including Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, who play Beatrice and Benedick in the film) had been doing play readings at his home, and it was one of these readings that inspired the production of the film.

 Joss Whedon and actress Amy Acker (Beatrice) on the set of Much Ado About Nothing. The entire production was filmed in Whedon's Beverly Hills home, which was designed by his architect wife, Kai Cole.

Much Ado about Nothing was filmed in black and white using only natural lighting, accentuated with mirrors and glass. In an article by Emma John, Whedon speaks to some of the challenges he faced by filming in such a do-it-yourself style: "I did everything they say don't do... Great idea to shoot next to a golf course, by the way. You know what they do on golf courses all day? Mow."

Did you know? In Shakespeare's original play, set in Italy, the character of Claudio is a young lord of Florence. Click here for details on how you can enter BMFI's raffle to win a seven-night stay for two in Florence–including $1500 in spending money!

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant. She studied animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek, blogger, and comic artist.

Summer Classics: BMFI Staff Picks

By Devin Wachs, Public Relations Manager, BMFI 

Our annual Summer Classics series of repertory favorites from Hollywood and beyond begins next week, Tuesday, June 4, with the original King Kong. All summer long, we’ll be featuring vintage and recent classics on the big screen, with film series celebrating iconic filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean, three new sing-alongs, the new 90th anniversary DCP restoration of Harold Lloyd’s silent comedy Safety Last!, and one night Summer Classic Seminars on Back to the Future and Brief Encounter. In addition, for the first time we’re featuring family films on Saturday mornings all summer long, including a month of the Marx Brothers!

We asked some of our staff to tell us what they're most looking forward to seeing at BMFI this summer. Do you agree? What are you excited to see?

Little Shop of Horrors Sing-along – Wednesday, June 12, 7:00 pm
Chosen by Kerri Grogan, Staff Assistant

I don't know about you, but I make it a habit to sing along with every musical I know, every time I watch them. And what's more fun than a campy musical about carnivorous alien plants? Answer: watching campy musicals about carnivorous alien plants on a big screen...and singing along with everyone in the theater. It sounds like it's gonna be a blast.


Sing along with Rick Moranis, who plays Seymour, the caretaker to the floral menace known as Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors.

Safety Last! – Tuesday, June 25, 7:00 pm
Chosen by Andrew J. Douglas, Ph.D., Director of Education

I’m very much looking forward to Safety Last! (1923) because though it’s Harold Lloyd’s most famous film, it really hasn’t been seen by a large segment of the contemporary audience, and this style of daring, physical comedy—similarly performed by Lloyd’s (even) more famous peers, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle—is a lost art that needs to be preserved, and enjoyed, through theatrical screenings like this one. Also, I think, not unlike “Rosebud,” far more people know the image of a man dangling from a clock, (apparently) high above a city street, than have actually seen the film from which it originates, and I like that people who come to see the film will be reminded of that connection—or make it for the first time.


Harold Lloyd hangs precariously from the clock of a New York skyscraper in Safety Last!

Back to the Future - Tuesday, July 2
Film at 7:00 pm
Summer Classics Seminar at 6:30 pm
Chosen by Valerie Temple, Programming Manager

I'm teaching a Summer Classics Seminar on Back to the Future, but that's only part of the reason I'm looking forward to seeing the time travelling adventure on the big screen. Even though I've seen this particular film approximately 192 times (at least), I've never had the pleasure of seeing it on the big screen. Finally, I'll get to see that souped up DeLorean zooming across a screen larger than my TV! I am worried that I'll disturb the other patrons as I know the dialogue by heart and can't help but quote along with the movie. So, if you come to the screening and I'm making too much of a ruckus, don't hesitate to tell me to "make like a tree and get out of there!"

Great Scott! Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox are perfectly cast in Back to the Future.

Brief Encounter - Tuesday, August 13
Film at 7:00 pm
Summer Classics Seminar at 6:30 pm
Chosen by Pat Wesley, Director of Development and Communications

I am not sure which pairing is less likely: two thirty-something, properly married (to others) war-time Brits or David Lean and Noël Coward. I do know the result is a wistful, tender Brief Encounter and I can’t wait to get lost again in the foggy heartbreak of it all.

Celia Johnson, boarding a train, shares a poignant look with Trevor Howard in Brief Encounter. 

Heavyweights – Saturday, August 17, 11:00 am
Chosen by Andrew J. Douglas, Ph.D., Director of Education

I’ve never seen Heavyweights, but I’m very much looking forward to completing the trilogy of Ben Stiller-as-extremely-fit-but-dumb-as-a-bag-of-hammers-guy films that also includes Zoolander (2001) and Dodgeball (2004). Given the Disney branding and family-friendly elements of this film, I’m not expecting for the hilarity to be quite as ribald as it was in those films, but on the other hand, with co-writer/executive producer Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) behind the scenes, and comic talents like Paul Feig (director of Bridesmaids), Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live), Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), and comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara on screen, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.


Ben Stiller stars in Heavyweights as the insane (and insanely strict) fitness coach at Camp Hope.

For my part, although many of these films are personal favorites, I am particularly excited to bring a recent delight back to BMFI: Magic Camp, which we'll be showing on Monday, July 15 at 1:15 pm. If you missed our Pennsylvania Premiere of the film in December, this is your chance to see this charming documentary about Tannen's Magic Camp on the big screen again, with the added bonus of a Q&A with director Judd Ehrlich and performances by professional magicians who are instructors at the camp. Plus, it was filmed a few blocks away at Bryn Mawr College, where the camp meets!

Meet Magic Camp filmmaker Judd Ehrlich and campers and instructors from Tannen's Magic Camp at BMFI's encore of this fun documentary.

You can explore all of our films and upcoming events, watch trailers, and buy tickets at BrynMawrFilm.org, or look at the latest issue of Projections, our program guide.

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Devin Wachs is the Public Relations Manager for Bryn Mawr Film Institute. She joined BMFI in 2005, following her graduation from Bryn Mawr College. If you send BMFI a message on Facebook or Twitter or are interested in onscreen sponsorships, she's the one who'll be in touch!

Spring Breakdown: Recent Events at BMFI

By Kerri Grogan, BMFI Staff Assistant

Spring is officially in full swing, and so is the programming here at BMFI! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Here are some of our recent highlights.

Critically Acclaimed: An Evening with the Critics

Film critics and enthusiasts alike gathered for the highly anticipated "Critically Acclaimed: An Evening with the Critics". The May 10 event celebrated film criticism and honored four top film critics—A. O. Scott, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Carrie Rickey, and Steven Rea—who discussed their work and what's in store for film criticism in the 21st century. BMFI President Juliet Goodfriend moderated the in-theater event, which was recorded by SpectiCast and is now available for digital distribution to art house theaters across the country. A Dinner with the Critics, hosted at the Merion Cricket Club, followed the main event.



Juliet Goodfriend greets the evening’s speakers (left to right: A. O. Scott, Steven Rea, Lisa Schwarzbaum, and Carrie Rickey) before the program begins, while guests enjoy a reception in the atrium.

In the theater, our guest critics participate in a lively discussion about the future of film criticism.

Science on Screen Film Series
"Does science really work like it does in the movies?" BMFI explored this question with its Science on Screen series, which paired classic and recent films with introductory talks by notable figures from related scientific fields who discussed their work and research. Audiences explored archaeology with Dr. Harrison Eiteljorg II before Raiders of the Lost Ark, delved into computer game production with indie game designer Halsted Larsson (Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony) in honor of Wreck-It Ralph, got a taste of food anthropology with Dr. Solomon Katz to whet their appetites for Babette’s Feast, and braved the elements with Dr. Raluca Ellis in anticipation of Future Weather. The series was made possible by a grant from the Coolidge Corner Theatre and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Indie game designer Halsted Larsson of Final Form Games talked shop before audiences were wowed by Wreck-It Ralph.

Food anthropologist Solomon Katz, Ph.D., signs the guestbook before our screening of Babette’s Feast. Guests also enjoyed some tasty French pastries before the show.



Future Weather producer Kristin Fairweather (left) poses with Science on Screen speaker Raluca Ellis, Ph.D., and Philadelphia Women in Film and Television (PWIFT)’s Veronica Stickelman. Following the film, Kristin answered audience questions in a panel introduced by the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and moderated by PWIFT.

Tri-Co Film Festival
Attendees from Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and Swarthmore College were dressed to the nines for the second Tri-Co Film Festival on May 1. Community members and students alike enjoyed the one-night festival, which featured 23 amazing films created by students at the three schools. The program was curated by students and judged by Shari Frilot, Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival.

Student filmmakers receive the red carpet treatment in the atrium before the start of the event. Photo credit: Bryn Mawr College.

Juliet Goodfriend (center) clowns around with one of the student curators and faculty advisor Roya Rastegar, Ph.D. Photo credit: Bryn Mawr College.

Oliver! Sing-along
Guests were treated to a live performance by the Footlighters Theater players before belting out their favorite tunes as the Academy Award-winning film version of Oliver! played on the big screen.

Several cast members from Footlighters Theater’s current production of Oliver! performed before BMFI’s sing-along to the film version!

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Kerri Grogan is BMFI’s Staff Assistant, and although her first love is animation, she moonlights as a dice-rolling, video gaming geek and comic artist.

Meet Our New Staff Assistant

By Devin Wachs, Public Relations Manager, BMFI

This week, Bryn Mawr Film Institute welcomed the newest member of its staff: Kerri Grogan, our new Staff Assistant. An animator who customers at Merion Art and Repro already know and love for her sunny disposition and can-do attitude, she will be supporting BMFI’s education, outreach, programming, and public relations initiatives. You’ll also be hearing more from her here, on BMFInsights.

Tell us a little about yourself.  

I'm an animator, artist, crafter, and blogger [MotionSavvy] from North Carolina. I went to college in Maryland and several years later moved to Delaware County, Pennsylvania. I love movies—not just animated ones—and storytelling is something I'm very passionate about. Also, I tend to be a huge nerd about many a thing.

You studied animation. Do you have a favorite animator or character?  

There are a few. I really admire Tomm Moore (director, The Secret of Kells) and Glen Keane (character animator, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) for their talent and their vision. I think every hand-drawn animator has to at least mention Miyazaki as well. But my absolute favorite animator is probably Don Bluth (director, The Secret of NIMH, Anastasia, others). Not specifically because I think his movies are the absolute best thing out there—although it's true that he can singlehandedly be blamed for my life-long love of dinosaurs, and I do think The Secret of NIMH, especially, is a truly great movie—but because he's so passionate about the medium.

What is your favorite film? Why do you love it?  

Spirited Away. I think part of my love for it is personal and nostalgic, but it's also true that everything about this movie is beautiful and incredibly well paced and put together.

What is your all-time favorite cinema experience?  

When I was in college, part of my final animation coursework was to complete my own short animated film. I worked on my project for the duration of the school year, from concept to completion, and when it was finally ready—after many long and sleepless nights—my class presented all of the work as a senior show in the large campus theater. The films were really incredible...my classmates were (and still are!) extremely talented. When I saw the title of my piece on the screen, I gasped. Seriously, my jaw dropped. I covered my mouth and watched in silence, my hands shaking. I think I might've teared up a bit when I saw my name in the credits. When you create something, you can look at it a million times during the process and be analytical about it. But even when you know it has problems, and you can see all of those problems while you watch the final cut, there's nothing quite like watching something you've slaved, anguished, and angsted over on the big screen. It's really powerful.

If you see Kerri upon your next visit to BMFI, please welcome her!