Release Date:
February 26th, 2021

Starring:
Jahnissi Tapia

Directed by:
Steve Sanchez Rosales

Assistant Director:
Yassiel Parra

2019 - 2020

Looking Out the Window
I worked multiple jobs and would often leave work late at night. It's in these bus rides home that I was interested in filming what it was like to go home late at night. The half asleep dreams, songs that turn into lullabies.

This was also the first film I would shoot in New York City and I was wondering if it would be possible to shoot a film on the train? Trains are cool so I was up for the challenge!

October, 2020 - January, 2021

I had a lot of ideas for what the story could be, why character was out so late at night, what kind of dreams they were having, maybe they were thinking about someone?. I wasn't as strong of a writer yet so these ideas weren't able to meet their potential. I stuck with basing it on reality, it's a person taking a train after work and listening to music.

You can read the script below!

January 24th, 2021 Final Screenplay

November, 2020 - January, 2021

You Must Take the J Train:
I choose to use the Chambers Street Station because it's a large station with wide platforms and super high ceilings. We would be able to move around and get a lot of interesting shots, I also just think the station is charming.

Test footage was shot and I liked how it came out! The misty and dreamy vibes I was looking for were present and I was certain to move forward and start production! Jahnissi was cast quickly, we both worked at the same job, and we scheduled the shooting day.

February 7th, 2021

Just Another Girl on the B.M.T.:
We started at 8 A.M. and shot until 12 P.M. We started with the station scenes and then shot the train scenes. We travelled back and forth on the train between Broad Street and Essex Street to get the scene finished.

Jahnissi also brought their friend Yassiel who was kind to take these photos of the production!
I would've liked more time but there was an oncoming snow storm so we stopped production early. We didn't get to shoot the ending scene but it was still a great shoot all thanks to the great talent I got to work with.

February, 2021

Editing:
We didn't get to film everything so I relied on using B-Roll footage for the ending scene/credits. I also edited in footage of the city streets onto the windows using basic masking and fading. These two edits aided in the films dream like quality.

The only scenes I cut was a quick text message from the protagonist's boss and a shot of the protagonist playing games on their phone. They weren't necessary and slowed down the pacing.

Lastly, I went back to the station and recorded every sound you hear in the film.

The Last Stop:
I really love Subterranean, the film was executed as perfect as I could've wanted. We didn't shoot everything from the script but I think it was for the best and I like the ending we got better. I got all I wanted out of this production, which is a rare satisfaction.

I get regrets or longing for missing footage or missed potential when I work on productions, but I have no doubts with this film. It's comprehensive and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

I'm thankful for the wonderful talent I had the pleasure of working with! It's been fun revisiting this film and I hope you enjoyed learning about the production of Subterranean!