Tuesday 6 November 2018

Interview with filmmaker Caster Fagan

Still from the motion picture 'Subject A Male'

What gave you the idea to make this film? 
From an early age, and as I get older, I have been to a variety of doctors and medical professionals. As many know, medical buildings and doctors’ offices have a plethora of waiting rooms. Sometimes, while waiting in these rooms alone, you get the feeling that you have been forgotten. In my case, my mind flips through countless scenarios of why I am alone in this room. One of these happens to be the premise for “Subject ‘A’ Male” (S.A.M.). 

How did the films shoot go, what was it like working with the cast? 
Filming has been great! I have been of several sets before, but this is the first time that I have written a feature. So, to be involved in the technical aspects of filming as well as the creative, it is truly an amazing learning experience. The cast is wonderful. The acting chops are more than impressive. They have really “become” the characters, giving them so much life. I am blown away by their interpretation. The crew is also incredible. I am truly blessed to be working with all those involved. 

Did anything weird happen during production? 
My God! Did it ever… all funny though. The set construction was an experience. We used a very limited space in a warehouse on Long Island for the main facility filming. The set was fluid in the sense that we had to move walls around and arrange them to match the floor plan for all the shots — reusing walls for the different “rooms.” At one point, we were trying to add a partial drop ceiling in the main room. The only problem was that the walls were not exact, and the tiles fell numerous times before we decided to screw, wire, tape and wrap… let’s just say we used ten screws in place of the normal one on each piece. Not only that, but there were a row of windows on the very top of the 20 foot warehouse east and west walls which led to drastically different lighting issues from morning to sunset. We used tarps, wood, green board, anything we could stack to prevent shadows. Perhaps the funniest and most frustrating circumstance was the day job work never ceased while we were filming. The other half of the warehouse had constant truck noise, foot traffic, loud sounds, you name it! Not to mention, we were right on the service road of the L.I.E. But, we did manage to get great sound regardless, even though we had to stop on several occasions because of a toilet flush or truck horn. 

What will be your next project? 
At the conclusion of this film (2019), we (same crew, different cast) jump right into the next feature I have written. It is called “Breathe Me In” and is a parallel story to “Subject ‘A’ Male” (S.A.M.)… another surreal, psychological thriller. My personal goal is to take this to a trilogy of parallel stories, connected without being sequels or prequels, etc. 

Who are some of your favourite filmmakers? 
I would have to say that my favourite filmmakers would be: Rian Johnson — loved “Brick” Vincenzo Natali — “Cube” is one of my favs Paul Mones — mainly for “The Beat”

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