Release Date:
October 31st, 2023

Starring:
Marisa Joy Caputo

Directed by:
Steve Sanchez Rosales

Cinematographer:
Julissa Martinez

Production Assistant:
Ashrqat Saleh

September, 2023

At the Root of It All
After the release of 'Time With Me' I was ready to take a long break from producing anything. However shortly after its summer release I met Julie and I was immediately interested in working on a project together. Julie was interested in making a horror film, which I have never done or considered before.

I was excited to work with Julie as this would be the first time I work alongside a fellow filmmaker. Although I would've liked to have relaxed during my Autumn, I knew this was the right opportunity for us to make something special and terrifying.

The most terrifying part was the choice to relase it on Halloween. We had less than two months to write, cast, shoot, and edit a short film that as time went on kept growing in ambition.

September - October, 2023

Deciduous Decisions:
The plan was to keep the film short and low budget. I wanted a tree to be the monster because I like villains that have long tendrils like Doctor Octopus or Ego the Living Planet. Plus having a tree monster meant we could use whatever trees or branches we could find in the forest, no need to make the props ourselves.

The script had so many changes, most of which were to lower costs and simplify the action scenes. I don't like doing this as it inhibits creativity but it was needed to finish the film for Halloween. Below you can take a peek at the first and final draft and read the changes made!

September 12th, 2023 First Draft

October 14th, 2023 Final Draft

September - October, 2023

Into the Woods:
Julie and I ventured into the woods of New York City, travelling far to seek out the perfect location. We chose Forest Park in Queens due to the enormity of the landscape. The forest had varying hills and valleys that made for a great setting. Out of service trakcs of the Long Island Rail Road cut through the park, this feature would be added to the script in later drafts.

The park is bordered by the bustling traffic of Woodhaven Boulevard which I felt would be a great contrast for the beginning and ending of the film.

Lighting Strikes:
In previous films, I always let the sun do the lighting for me. The night scenes of The Limbs were going to need artificial lighting and we began doing tests.

We also tried out shooting at different shutter speeds and frame rates since I wanted the film to look slowed and chopped. We were using ourselves as subjects and it's a bit weird doing that since we don't have experience being in front of the camera.

Casting and Camera Test:
We cast Marisa based on their ability to act purely on movement and expression. We set up a screen test with haste as the deadline was fast approaching. The test consisted of figuring out the best lighting set up and deciding how to perform to action scenes.

During this test shoot we were joined by Ashrqat as a production assitant who helped with setting up lights and equipment but unfortunately couldn't join us for the production. Hoewever their work was crucial in finding the right set up for principal photography.

Nightly News at Nine:
Shooting at night is impossible because there simply isn't any light in the forest. When doing night scenes it's important to decide what night will look like for the film, we had to create our own version of what the moonlight shining down on the character will look like. On top of that, I also wanted a lighting set up that could be reused for various shots since we had little time to film.

We left the camera test satisfied with our work, the lighting set up was soft and natural while also being easy to set up and only required two small lights!

The World Spins at 12 Frames per Second:
I wanted the film to look like a video you would find on the internet in the 2000s. Not necessarily a 'found footage' video but just something old and tattered. I decided to shoot at a low shutter speed to create a stuttery and blurry image, and in post to edit scenes at varying frame rates between 6 and 12 fps. This would also add the benefit of making the action harder to see and sell the illusion of a tree monster.

The 1.33 aspect ratio was chosen to fit the height of the trees and to have tall landscape shots.

Concept Art:
Although you don't see the monster in the film I still drew up a quick draft of what the monster would look like so the actor can have a reference as to what they were looking at.

There was also a deleted shot of a tree trunk with glowing red eyes, but there wasn't any time in post-production to digitally add the red eyes and so it was removed.

October 14th - 21st, 2024

Daylight Scenes:
The film was shot in four sessions across two days. We got together in the morning to shoot the day scenes, then returned to the park at night for the monster scenes.

The forest felt magical in the sunlight, this was the exact vibe I was looking for and I'm grateful for the perfect weather. We just walked around and shot where ever it felt nice.

Here Comes the Sun:
Our protagonist has the ability to see the forest as if it were perfect daylight. It's a beautiful scene that came about because it's easier to film during the day so having most of the film take place then was the practical solution.

To create the night to day effect we shot Marisa in a shady area to get as dark as possible with our shot.

Next we used a light to shine on her face and mimic sunlight. In these photos the change isn't that drastic but in post-production it will be edited to make the 'nighttime' much darker using the 'Day for Night' technique.

Moonlight Scenes:
We started shooting at 7 P.M. and got out before 9 P.M. so time was short to get these action scenes. The angry tree branches were puppeteered by Julie and I. We did our best to give the solid wooden branches a snake like movement by waving and rotating it. Marisa did a lot of work to give the branches weight and force by reacting as if they did. It took calibration from all of us to make the limbs come alive.

It's a Small World:
In the film there was a lot of running to escape the tree monster, but these scenes were all shot in the same spot of the woods. We didn't have to travel at all through the woods since it was pitch black and the audience wouldn't be able to see that we shot the whole thing within 20 feet.

We were also shooting right next to the sidewalk and street lights since I didn't want to go into the abyss of the woods late at night.

Stick-ing the Landing:
The tree mosnter's limbs were the last to be shot on October 30th. Julie and I returned to Forest Park and got footage of sticks and branches moving around, slithering and getting ready to attack. Back in September I would have wanted this to be animated with stop-motion but our tight deadline meant we had to do it in camera. Luckily the low frame rate and shutter speed made the movement feel slower so it wasn't as obvious that we were puppeteering the limbs from behind a tree.

The hardest task was getting the movement to feel realistic without Marisa to add that weight like last time. The performance was completely on us and it took some tries to get the right feel as if these stick were waking up and hungry for blood.

Turning Off the Sun:
I wanted the film to be shot completely at night and I was happy with our version of night we worked on, however we didn't have time to shoot everything we needed. I turned to a technique called 'Day for Night' that let us get some extra footage in the morning.

To get the effect we filmed our shots in a shady area to keep the lighting neutral and also filmed at a high angle to avoid getting the bright sky in the shot since the sky is one thing that the technique can't solve.

In post-production I lowered the exposure and added a blue tint. Now it looks like night!

I didn't want to use this effect because it looks different than the other night scenes in the film, so I used it only if necessary and avoided cutting any 'Real Night' and 'Day for Night' shots together.

Sprint to the Finish Line:
Editing began during production with whatever footage I had available. This was the quickest editing job I had ever done with only two weeks to get a final cut. I edited during lunch breaks and train rides to maximize the time I had.

It was frustrating because like any other project it takes several cuts to get to a final product, except now I had little time to breathe and review the cuts. I was betting on pure film theory to calculate what the film should feel like since my mind was too fried to produce a single emotion other than panic.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of sound design. We recorded sound effects on set but because of the deadline I had no time to add them into the project and that's why there is no sound in the film other than music.

At the Eleventh Hour:
The Limbs released on October 31st, 2023 at 11 P.M. We had made our deadline and I could finally rest easy.

Final Thoughts:
It was an exciting production and I'm glad we go it made! I've never worked on a film with so much action, thrill, and whimsy. No idea was too silly for us.

The collaboration between Julie and I was fulfilling, I got to learn a lot from them about cinematography and how to work with other people on set. Marisa is a terrific actor that was ready to shoot any stunt and gave a stellar performance. Ashrqat was the first production assistant I worked with and they were excellent playing support with our equipment and morale.

I think The Limbs is a decent short film, I really like the ambience we created although the effects could've been better.

The terror is over and the night is at rest. It's a new day and I look forward to venturing into the unknown once again with you all. :)