Due to time constraints, budget problems and script problems Jay Ellison’s film “Portrait of Desire” has been sliced down to a two minute short. All of his time and focus is currently on “Full Moon Fever.”
“Full Moon Fever” is a zombie action thriller that he started working on in the beginning of last summer. This film is about Zombies who only come out when there is a full moon to eat the flesh of humans to survive.
The hardest part for Ellison in filming was figuring out a way to have a steady camera movement. He first tried using a skateboard to film low angle shots with no success. He later found that sitting in the back of a Jeep Cherokee was the most effective way to get the shot he wanted.
With the constraints of working on a very small budget, Ellison relies on receiving help from many other people. Aaron Calafato who plays the main character whose goal is to destroy the Zombies has been with Ellison ever sense his first film “Disclosur.e.” “He has grown so much as an actor,” Ellison said. Other actors to be featured in “Full Moon Fever” include: Ryan Cadwallader (main zombie), Mera Neslin, Andrew M. Lamarche, Wes Border and Simon Morgan Russell. Ellison even makes a cameo appearance during the prologue due to a lack of cast members.
An amazing visual effects sequence was created by Andy Lyon and Mike Bahurinsky. The soundtrack was composed by Seann Flynn and Sean Hagerty. Matt Fredericks handled the cinematograph, and Brad Carper was the co-producer.
“The performances are solid; everyone did a great job,” Ellison said. According to Ellison, the people who worked on this project are the people who believed in the film. It takes a lot of time and commitment to complete such a big production.
“I think everybody is going to be happy with the way it turned out,” Ellison said. He is expecting a large turnout for the premier at the Cla-Zel Theater Dec. 14. The film is going to be shown with three other fil’s which were also made by film students involved with the University Film Organization (UFO).
Tickets are going on sale Dec. 10 for $5 per person. All of the proceeds are going to be put towards keeping the Cla-Zel Theater in operation, purchasing new film equipment for UFO and paying guest speakers to come talk on campus.
Currently Ellison is working night and day to finish the final editing for the film. Ellison believes that the editing process is ultimately one of the most important parts when producing a film. “Editing brings the film together and creates the narrative,” Ellison said. When the film is completely finished, Ellison is going to begin promoting the film. He is going to make poster to promote the film and fundraiser, and will put an ad in the paper. Ellison encourages people to attend, and believes audiences will enjoy the film. “It’s got lots of action, and it’s got zombies,” Ellison said, grinning.
