As we mature into adulthood, we loose many of the qualities that makes being a child so much fun, so innocent and so scary. How many of you out there have been afraid of the dark? Who's walked in to your house late at night, heard something strange, and said, 'Who's there?”, only to find that it was your dog pawing through the garbage? I can almost guarantee that all of you, while growing up, have heard the story of the house down the street that no one seems to want to pass by or go near simply because it's old and vacant, but yet can't seem to stay out of when a friend dares you to set foot in it.

It's all part of that unknown aspect that scares us, yet intrigues us. From birth, we are taught that certain things are tabu, and sometimes we stick with them, but most of the time, we lose them, at least the majority of those fears. Like Hitchcock said, “What's the first thing we say to a baby? - Boo.” Simple, but true. We have all made jokes in passing while talking about timid people by saying, “Oh, he's such a pussy. He's afraid of his own shadow.” Well, Keith and Laura Parker took that passing insult and turned it into a fictional reality with their new feature SHADOW PEOPLE, which is a foreboding tale that brings some of our inner-most fears to fruition. In fact, they have started their very own production company, Tornspace Films.

www.tornspacefilms.com view the trailer for the film.

The Story:

Sent to an old abandoned house by an eccentric billionaire Clarence Martel, to pay off a debt, brothers Mikey and Paul perform the Drawing of Shadows, and unwillingly bring forth the demons of the darkness... the Shadow People.

Hours later, four unsuspecting friends seek shelter in the same abandoned house, and find themselves trapped. If they want to survive, they must play a deadly game of cat and mouse with the house's new inhabitants.

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As Indianapolis residents, the Parker's took it upon themselves to bring their long-lived idea to the screen. Keith was gracious enough to sit with me and answer some questions about his debut feature film.

We set up a time to meet and discuss this project. At about one o'clock on a hot Tuesday afternoon, Keith pulled into my driveway in his blue pick-up truck. I was finishing the last of my cigarette, as I met him in the driveway.

JS: Keith, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us.

KP: My pleasure.


JS: At what point did you decide that you wanted to be a filmmaker?

KP: I've always loved watching movies, but felt filmmaking was out of reach since I didn't live in Hollywood. It wasn't until I met Laura that I found someone who believed I could do it here in Indiana. As we developed stories, our desire to take the leap to filmmakers grew. We've been working seriously to this point for 4+ years.


JS: Who were your inspirations?

KP: John Carpenter, Wes Craven and Roger Corman.

JS: SHADOW PEOPLE is your first project, correct?

KP: Yes. Laura and I did make a children's short to test out some things, but this is our first feature.

JS: Where did the idea for Shadow People come from?

KP: Laura and I have been working on stories for several years centering around the Shadow People as the villain. We wanted to work with a monster that was known, but we didn't want it to be another vampire or werewolf movie. The final incarnation of the script came together over the last 2 years.

JS: I, myself, am a big fan of the horror and supernatural genres. Was this genre something that you set out to do, or did the idea itself make that decision for you?

KP: I love horror movies, so it was a decision from the beginning. It's also one of the few genres where star power isn't as crucial. Since I knew we were going to make Shadow People on an extremely low budget, I wasn't sure what the quality of the actors would be. We were fortunate and were able to put together a very talented cast.

JS: What gave you the drive to say, “OK, I'm going to make this thing happen.”?

KP: I hate to say it, but the stars kind of aligned for us. Time was always a problem when we were planning Shadow People. Neither of us thought we could do the project justice by working on it part time. Last year, I was working in the family business when my Dad announced he was retiring and sold the business. So we decided to take the leap and start pre-production. At about the same time, Sony released the camera I had been waiting on and I had solved my set construction problems. Everything seemed to come together all at once.

JS: I understand Laura, your wife, produced this film. That's pretty cool to have a spouse with the same ambition for film. Did you find that there was a separation from personal life to a business life in doing this?

KP: Yes, there is a separation, but for the most part, Laura and I work pretty well together. We may not always agree, but we do always manage to work things out. We are both experienced in running large projects, so we tackled making Shadow People like we would any other project. Being organized is key and fortunately, Laura is very organized.

JS: Tell us about the casting process.

KP: Process? I guess you would call it the shotgun approach. Since we didn't have any “connections” in the Indianapolis film community, we really didn't know the best way to get the word out about auditions. And how do you advertise for volunteer actors? We notified every drama/theater/acting department in every university in Indiana (so if you didn't know about it, talk to your teacher!), posted flyers at IUPUI, setup a website and hoped for the best. Our response was wonderful! Dozens of online applications where filled out and our audition information was also being reposted to several other websites. On the actual day of auditions, the weather was real gloomy and several people didn't show up. Fortunately, all of the right people did! We were so pleased with the actors that we went ahead and canceled the second round of auditions and lined everyone up for a table read the following week.

JS: The set dressing in scenes are very well done. I understand you built a lot of them yourself.

KP: Yes. The majority of Shadow People takes place in an abandoned house. I built the house in sections on a set I built in my living room. I had always wanted to film the house scenes on a set because I felt I could control more of the technical aspects of it. Building it in my living room made it more convenient for me to work on and I didn't have to rent a sound stage! During shooting, the set was changed from week to week to represent the different rooms of the house. It wasn't always easy maintaining the schedule with everything else there was to do, but I'm pleased with how it all turned out.

For a filmmaker to build his own set is one thing, but to build it inside of your own home, to where it can disrupt your daily life, takes a totally different type of dedication. Keith told me that if the scene called for a staircase, then he would simply build a staircase and install it. If he needed a window, guess what... he'd cut out a part of a wall and make a window.

JS: What kind of camera did you film with?

KP: I shot in HD using a Sony HDR-SR1 with a wide angle lens. It records directly to a built-in hard drive, so I didn't have to worry about buying tape stock. Plus, it dumps to the computer really quickly for editing.

JS: Do you also do your own editing?

KP: Yes. I'm using Sony Vegas 7. It's new to me, but it supports the AVCHD codec so I can edit in HD. The more I work with Vegas, the more I like it.

JS: How complete is Shadow People as of now?

KP: I'm still editing the rough cut of the entire movie. I've got a ways to go before Shadow People will be released, but I'm still pretty much on schedule. Since Laura and I are doing everything on this movie, all jobs (including editing) have to be balanced in the schedule.

JS: When can we expect to find this on DVD?

KP: We are seeking distribution, so I'm not really sure when it will be available to everyone on DVD. We are planning on having a premiere this summer, once I've got the final cut ready.

JS: Do you have any future projects in mind for your next film?

KP: Yes. A sequel for Shadow People has always been on the table even as we were writing this script. The story that we wanted to tell just wouldn't fit into one movie. I also have a completed Sci-Fi script along with treatments for a comedy and few more suspense/horror movies. Shadow People is only the beginning.

JS: When your are not writing or filming, what do you do in your spare time?

KP: Watch movies, hang-out with Laura and friends, dream of world domination. HA!

JS: Keith, it looks like you and I will do battle then, because I plan on world domination as well. I'll tell you what, we'll start with Indianapolis. You start from the South side, and I'll start with the West and we'll meet at Monument Circle.

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After the initial Q & A's, Keith did fill me in on a bit more of the plot to the story. It seems that Mr. Martel has set up video cameras inside this abandoned house, and is very well aware of what could happen to Paul and Mikey, and is sitting in his den watching from a laptop. Talk about an eccentric billionaire. Apparently with all his money, he still can't buy what her really wants... souls. Aside from the story, Keith informed me that he did use some green screen for the film so he could duplicate the 'Shadow People' and make them more transparent.

Suzanna Hartzell-Baird - Laura

Playing the lead role as the heroine in SHADOW PEOPLE, Suzanna Hartzell-Baird is well on her way to proving herself in the film industry. Even after graduating first in her class with a 4.0 GPA at Indiana University Kelley School of Business, along with many, many other academic awards and being on the Dean's List every semester, Suzanna still pursues her acting and entertaining career.

It seems that this talented young woman is able to accomplish anything she sets out to do. While hearing her responses, I could not help but to laugh. This girl is funny and knows how to deliver a good punchline. Not all writers would take it this way. Some would find it offensive and feel that they were being made fun of. But not in this case. As humorous as some of her answers were, there was honesty in them, and she knew how to have a good time. But let's hear it from her personally.

JS: In Shadow People, you played the heroine, Laura. First off, how did you find out that Keith was making this film?

SH-B: Well it's a funny story. One afternoon in Wal-Mart, I was waiting in line behind a pregnant woman wearing a halter top. When she turned around, I saw she had a Shadow People tattoo across her belly. Really a very bold marketing move on Keith and Laura's part. By the way, it was a girl.... Keith & Laura posted an audition notice through the IUPUI e-mail list-serv. At the time, I was a law student at IUPUI (I just graduated this May!), and had always been interested in acting, so I was eager to audition for the film. Prior to seeing the audition notice, I didn't even know people were making independent films in Indianapolis, so I was really excited about the prospect of auditioning.

JS: What was the casting process like?

SH-B: The audition notice stated that interested actors could prepare a monologue and that dialogue for each character was posted on the Shadow People website. Having never auditioned for a film before, I did not have a monologue prepared, so I scrambled to come up with one. My monologue didn't turn out very well, but luckily I was sufficiently traumatized and have seen enough scary movies that I was able to convincingly act petrified throughout the course of my audition.

JS: What was it like working with Keith and Laura?

SH-B: Keith & Laura were both great. They were so supportive, and I was very impressed with how meticulous they were throughout the entire process. I have done enough community theater to know that if a director isn't organized, the cast ends up wasting a lot of time sitting idly. Keith and Laura did an excellent job scheduling which scenes were going to be filmed on which days, and they always kept a sense of humor. I really admired that they encouraged the actors to paraphrase the dialogue in a manner which comes naturally for them because that makes the lines sound much more authentic in the film. It was a very good move, what with me being the improvisational genius that I am.

JS: What was your first acting job?

SH-B: Aside from the starring role I played annually in my family's Christmas documentary and the 10 minute murder mystery film I wrote, directed, filmed, and starred in when I was 8 (spoiler alert: my little brother was the murderer), my first acting job was at age 12. I was cast in a community theater show in which I was this little forest creature lusting after gold—much like a true celebrity.

JS: What kind of transitions do you have to make from working in theater to film?

SH-B: Theater and film are tremendously different. In theater, the goal is to ensure that the people in the back row can hear all your lines. In film, if you use your “theater voice,” you sound like a stroke victim... In theater, you can sign autographs directly after the performance. In film, I have to wait all the way until the film's release. In the meantime, I have been practicing dotting my “I's” with hearts.

JS: What are some of the other roles you have played in film and theater?

SH-B: I have played a nun, cruise ship passenger, waiter, realtor, mother of a 16 year old (kind of discouraging when you're in your early 20's), a jilted fiancé, a Shakespearian character, toy soldier, Buddha (no comments about my figure please), cowgirl, groupie, wife in a polygamist marriage, and an Ozian in the Land of Oz, among many other roles.

JS: What has been your favorite project so far?

SH-B: Shadow People, of course!

JS: What has been the most memorable moment in a project?

SH-B: I was in a musical with my mother once. Her acting wasn't actually all that memorable, but I'll never forget her.

JS: What has been your most embarrassing moment?

SH-B: When I opened my speech at my niece's first communion ceremony with the parable: “There once was a man from Nantucket….”

JS: Who in the film industry would you like to work with the most?

SH-B: Myself.

A crafty answer. I take this as her saying that she would just like to work in film. Probably the most honest answer I have ever heard from an actor.

JS: I see that you have an upcoming role in Hell Walks The Earth. Can you tell us anything about that project?

SH-B: I hear that one of the main characters is an incredibly funny and attractive blonde woman who previously starred in a movie involving these shadowy persons…

Honestly, Suzanna could not speak on this matter for professional reasons.
 

JS: Aside from acting, what is your occupation?

SH-B: It's pending . . . Think Law & Order without the Order.

She had just graduated law school last week.

JS: Would you quit your current career if/when your acting career takes off?

SH-B: Define “takes off.” I've already contemplated going to medical school so that I could be more like Dr. House.

JS: We wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors, be it acting, law or a sidekick to Hugh Laurie.

DAVID, THE SHADOW

David Bright's take on his role in the film as the Shadow.