UPDATE:
“Heads or Tails” is on DVD!
PREFACE
w i t h i n e v e r y f e a r,
t h e r e l i e s a w i s h...
heads or tails is a dark drama about a Native American myth that has been twisted throughout the years. Every 13th full moon, two must stand on the edge of a cliff, toss a coin and compete for a wish. Only those who partake in the ritual are privy to secrets of the cliff and realize that the wish is only the beginning. The film explores the consequences of the wish from four different perspectives.
SYNOPSIS
Two classmates, Blaze (Jeff Keilholtz) and Typhoon (Jon Liddiard), meet at the cliff to test the legend they learned about from their professor. Blaze sets out to convince Typhoon the legend is more than just a myth and that the ramifications of the wish might be more important than the wish itself.
Miller (Douglas Cathro), haunted by the memory of his wife and daughter (Madalyn Loughlin), finds the promise of this wish alluring to the point his life may be unlivable without it. He has a choice to make, but he is running out of time.
For Kari (Amber Davila), however, this wish could very well be her salvation, as her life is haunted in more ways than one. Cut off from her friends and her family, powerless, she is a prisoner in her own home. Her life has headed the same direction every day of every year, as long as she can remember. A flip of the coin could change this forever.
This leads us to John (Mike Hotovy). Older. Wiser. And with this wisdom, comes fear. The truth behind the legend leads him to the open road, to stop, to save, to inform, and to warn of the wish and its curse. The coin toss comes as the stars come out. Can he make it in time?
heads or tails explores the extremes people go to when coping with loss, the moral struggles they endure, and the sacrifices they are willing to make to find forgiveness. How far are you willing to go for a wish?
PRODUCTION NOTES
Heads or Tails was adapted from a short story written by Clark Kline in 1994 while attending college. After founding Fool Martyr Productions, LLC in 2003, Clark Kline and Joey McAdams chose to adapt heads or tails into their first feature length screenplay.
Principal photography for the film began September 20, 2003 in and around the Frederick, Maryland area, the filmmakers’ hometown. Fool Martyr Productions chose heads or tails as their first feature film due to the story’s mystery and multiple storylines. Although the film crew faced many challenges during production, the passion for the script fed their desire to complete the film without compromising the story.
McAdams commented:
“At its heart, heads or tails is four different stories that eventually collide but we wanted each story to work independent of each other with their own look and feel.”
Kline added:
“Joey and I were the only ones with full access to the script. We only gave actors their part in it all. A few times we even withheld scenes until the day of the shoot. Sometimes it created a spontaneity, sometimes confusion, but most of the time, since the actors were often spending time trying to figure it all out, it actually added to the mystery.”
Filmed on a budget of less than $12,000, with Panasonic AG-DVX100 cameras, the production company had to be extremely inventive in order to keep the budget low. They saved money by designing their own dollies, jibs, and even a camera rig that circles the entire width of a car. Filming was originally slated for four marathon sessions of four days each, and the first session filmed went off without a hitch.
The high and low point of the production was the second week: a four-day-grueling shoot atop a West Virginia State Park cliff. The cliff offered more obstacles than the cast and crew expected, including everything from freezing rain and frigid temperatures to heavy gusts of wind. Additionally, cast and crew suffered a variety of afflictions from skin burns to near hypothermia and even pneumonia.
“Since 70% of the movie was exterior the weather has been our greatest obstacle. Especially for the cliff. It rained the first day, so what was incredibly difficult to do in four days became near impossible in three.” Kline said.
The directors filmed over 40 pages of script in those three days. To compare, a normal schedule for most films is only two-four pages a day. Kline commented on the experience.
“We shot over 12 pages a day and still managed to get some of the best footage of the shoot, in part due to the beauty of the location, but mostly because our cast and crew would not give up.”
A week later, back in civilization, shooting commenced for only a day before one of the main props, a beat up primer-gray 1971 Dodge Coronet broke down. Two days after it was fixed an early winter hit and snow covered the town. Filming was suspended for almost a year so the locations would look the way they did before the snow fell. Even scenes that could be filmed seemed plagued with problems.
Throughout Spring 2004, rain cancelled over 10 scheduled dates at the same location, a gothic graveyard. Once the weather finally held a mishap caused the camera to break five minutes after unpacking the gear.
“Its been one thing after another,” McAdams said “and I don’t think I would have willingly signed up for any of this had I known, but I don’t regret it.”
Kline added, “With everything that’s happened, some said we were cursed from the get go. But the actors have really hung in there for us, some have even kept an altered appearance throughout the year just in case we were able to film a scene on short notice.”
After the camera was repaired, photography continued through Summer 2004 and wrapped in early August.
Postproduction began Spring 2004 in between the gaps in filming. To keep post-production costs down, everything was done on three Macintosh computers using Apple Final Cut Pro 4 and Digidesign Protools.
Meetings were held before production began with local musician, Will Saxton, who was brought on board to score the film using Propellerhead Reason and Ableton Live. Starting that early allowed the filmmakers to create a sound palette that complemented the story and in some cases even inspired new scenes.
After completing over 40 minutes of music, a major computer crash caused almost all of the music to be lost.
“With everything else happening, we should have expected something like that. It was a tough blow, especially for Will, but we’re back on track and the score is terrific.” McAdams said.
Postproduction had its share of disturbing moments as well. While mixing the sound, strange whispers began to appear in between lines of dialogue on some of the cliff scenes.
“I have no clue what it is exactly… I’ve been editing for months and never heard them ‘til now, but it certainly creeps me out editing at 3am,” Kline stated.
In the final stage of post production, programs such as Adobe After Effects and Magic Bullet Editors are to be used for Color Correction and Visual Effects.
Veterans with years of experience in the film industry, in addition to aspiring artists fresh out of college, have come on board to help and offer advice in the production of Heads or Tails. McAdams is grateful for the support of everyone involved.
“It’s been a long road and we couldn’t have made it without everyone pushing to make the best movie possible.”
Kline agreed the experience and final product was well worth all they endured.
“I know we make it seem like making this movie was hell, and sometimes it felt like it, but honestly, I wouldn’t trade the last year of my life. I may have lost friends, money, and nearly died of pneumonia, but in the end we have what we think is a pretty unique film.”
CONTACT
Joey McAdams
(301)471-9377
Clark Kline
(240)344-4380
Fool Martyr Productions
7099 Jasper Drive
Middletown, MD 21769
