BTS: Perceptarium

The Making Of

If you follow my Instagram, you’ve probably seen a multitude of behind the scenes photos from the film I’ve been working on, Perceptarium. I’ve had the opportunity to partner up once again with creative mind Brian Hanke for a totally new adventure. Previously, we had worked on a music video and short film together, but over the course of this past year, we went all out on a feature-length film. There are so many things that go into making a film, and it was an amazing experience.

Our film was directed, produced, written, filmed, and edited all by the creative and very ambitious Brian Hanke. While I have had the pleasure of working with him on past projects, this was the first for my colleagues.

John

Percepetarium stars actor, Dan Carberg as John. From the first day we met, Dan was so easy to talk to and work with. Which made it that much more difficult to torment his character! In between the majority of our scenes, we could be found making faces at each other or sharing stories about our lives, but the moment we began filming it was all business.

Kate

 The lovely Monica Saviolakis plays Kate, John’s girlfriend in the film. I have never met someone with so much energy, which comes in handy when you have to do multiple takes of running through the sand. She may have been tired after her scenes, but you’d never know! Monica has such a passion for acting and when she did her scenes, she threw herself into the character. I admire her abilities and loved watching her on set!

The Lady

I had the opportunity to play “The Lady”, our unnamed antagonist and tormentor of John. This was a completely different role for me compared to the other live action projects I’ve done. But once I was in costume with my white wig, dark wardrobe, and killing nail (shh, no spoilers!), I gave it my all and became a cold-hearted villainess.

Hair, Makeup, and SFX

All of these characters wouldn’t be possible without our amazing hair stylist and special effects makeup artist, Rosangela McCann. She created the looks and props for each character, including the terrifying killing nail for the Lady. And Angela Chiaravalle was an amazing help with applying and (the very long process of) removing special effects makeup and wigs. Who knew it takes just as long to take a wig off as it does to put it on when you’re using an adhesive? I certainly found out after this project!

Wig Stylist

Last but never least, my dear friend Tanya Amalfitano styled both wigs for the lady, which included creating a stunning 40’s style for one scene. It looked so good, I didn’t want to take it off! Lucky for me, she’s my regular stylist, so I have an in if I ever desire something similar again!

On location

Most of our sets took place in Brian’s home turned studio. This even included a few of the green screen scenes! For our additional locations, everything was shot in New Hampshire near the Manchester and Portsmouth areas. The most challenging set I found to shoot was a scene we did at the beach in Portsmouth, trying to navigate around other people and keep them out of the shots. I also happened to be in a one-piece pleather catsuit and heeled boots. Not your typical beach attire. I’ve certainly experienced curious onlookers while modeling before, but it’s a whole new experience while filming. Especially when you need to do multiple takes from different angles and onlookers continue watching, but don’t move. Patience is key in those moments. And a loud voice when you have to yell over the waves to request they move over two feet and out of the frame.

My favorite set was the “office scene”. While it was challenging because my character had no lines in this scene, the outfit I wore helped me exude the confidence and power The Lady has during her interactions. I think the little red dress may be the new little black dress after this!

Voice Recording

Another interesting experience in making this film was working on dialogue recording. While I’ve had limited experience doing film work, I’ve had no experience with voice recording. Listening to the slight differences the actors create in their tone or inflection was amazing, and I have profound respect for anyone who does voice work.

Stay Tuned

This entire project was an epic undertaking. None of it would have been possible without the mastermind behind it all, Brian Hanke. Thank you, for including me in your creative process from the first idea. It’s been an honor to watch this project grow from a simple thought into a full-length film.

Make sure to check out Brian’s twitter, https://twitter.com/brianhanke for more behind the scenes on the film and his editing process! And stay tuned for the release date of the film!