Sweeping numerous awards at OKC’s 48 Hour Film Festival, we hear from the filmmaker, Brian Gililland, as he makes the case for why you should see The Office Case in this deadCenter Q&A session.
1. Tell me a bit about yourself and your role in the film.
I was the team leader for our 48-hour film project, The Office Case. Basically, that means I spent a lot of money and got to put together a dream team of my friends and people I admire to make this silly short film in 48 hours. I also got to play the role of Mark the Crime Scene Investigator.
2. How do you personally describe the movie to people?
The Office Case is a murder mystery set in an office of questionable characters.
3. Why should one see it?
Winner of 48 Hour Film Project Best of OKC, audience choice, best director, best screenplay, best visual effects, best sound design, and best editing. It screened at Filmapalooza in Paris, France. Winner of Best Oklahoma Short at the Clean Shorts Film Festival, and Josiah Overstreet won best supporting actor at Red Dirt Film Festival. There’s a vicious rumor going around that this is actually a pretty good short!
4. What are your thoughts on the deadCenter Film Festival?
deadCenter is probably the most fun, well put together, and productive film festival I’ve ever gotten to experience. They are truly invested in connecting filmmakers to resources that will advance their careers, and they put on some incredible programming for audiences to enjoy. Every year, I leave deadCenter exhausted from so much to do, but excited to get cracking on the next project.
5. What was the most challenging aspect you had during production?
The deadline. The 48 is practically designed to test your blood pressure, but when those last few minutes start counting down and you’re watching the render of your final cut slowly make it to 100%, it’ll make you want to rage dance in a construction site. The fun part is that it’s also the reward. When you’re racing to the drop off point with your final cut in hand, its hard not to feel like an Olympic athlete that made it to the finish line in one piece.
6. What was the best part about filming in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma is so full of amazing little best-kept secrets. The locations, the talent, the crew, everything. Every nook and cranny has the potential to be visually stunning, the people offering up their talent and skills are wonderfully positive and passionate about what they do. It’s the magic of the midwest!
7. What were some particular scenes or moments that were enjoyable to film?
We have a particular character in the film with a very…colorful imagination. His scenes and the fun CGI surprises we were able to pull off in such a short amount of time were both the most fun and the scenes I laugh the hardest over.
8. What do you do to recharge your creative batteries?
“It’s fascinating to see the written scenes compared to the final film, and I take mental notes of story structure, writing styles, and dialogue. It’s the form that the movie takes before any additional opinions or technology comes into play, which is the only thing your movie may have in common with it until you shoot it.”What gets me inspired and recharged the most is reading scripts. I love finding rough drafts of different tv shows and movies and reading them to relax. It’s fascinating to see the written scenes compared to the final film, and I take mental notes of story structure, writing styles, and dialogue. It’s the form that the movie takes before any additional opinions or technology comes into play, which is the only thing your movie may have in common with it until you shoot it.
9. What do you think should be placed as a marker for the dead center of the universe?
A basset hound in a Christmas sweater. That’s right. A Christmas sweater.
10. Anything else you wish to add?
Check out Okie Show Show on iTunes and Google Play! Or check out all the stuff we do over at www.okieshowshow.com
The Office Case deadCenter Schedule:
Saturday, June 9th, 8:00 PM @ Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Sunday, June 10th, 3:30 PM @ MidFirst Bank Theater at Harkins Bricktown Cinema
The 2018 deadCenter Film Festivals runs from June 7-10. Read more Question and Answer sessions with other deadCenter filmmakers, past and present, here.
