the making of - director Rob Gray and writer Rena Polley
How did this film come about?
Rob: Rena and I have made two short films and were looking for another project to do together. Recently we both lost our mothers and when Rena approached me with Four Sisters I thought it would make a great short film.
Rena: I am at an age where we are all losing our parents. It’s all we ever talk about. One friend even admitted that when she heard her mother had terminal cancer, she thought to herself “Oh good, that means I get her cashmere blazer”. Of course I had to steal that and put it in the film. Funny things do pop into your head at the most unexpected times. And because it is an emotionally heightened time, there can be lots of fighting particularly among the siblings. I heard some really funny and horrifying stuff.
Rob: And people do irrational things during this time.
Rena: Yes, I thought it would be interesting to explore that small window of time immediately after death and before action is taken. The brief moment of flinging off the impending grief before it settles in for good. I wanted to explore the universal theme of loss – not by facing it head on but by pushing it away.
Rob: This way we could look at this emotional time in a comedic and stylized way.
Rena: I was also eager to showcase female actresses in their mid life. This age group, their concerns and their issues are often neglected in film.
Rob: It was great to employ these amazing actresses who brought a lot of skill and passion to the piece.
Rena: Yes because this was very, very low budget, we shot really fast. One day rehearsal, two days for all the dialogue – 13 pages a day!, and one day for the family flashbacks and the chemist.
Rob: And we lost our location 10 days before filming, and one of the actresses got a paying gig so Joy jumped in at the last minute to help us out.
Rena: There were times when we were shooting that we thought it was a close-up on one character, then we would hear “got it, let’s move on.” The four of us would looked at each other and think, "Oh my God where was the camera and what was I doing during that take?" From them on we held on to each other for this very fast and incredible ride.
Rob: I often didn’t have time or space to do coverage or close ups. Paul Tolton (the DOP) and I had to map out shots the day before and then adjust as we filmed. We had to be very creative. And then the editor Tom McMurtry had to put it all together.
What is your working relationship
Rob: Rena and I have worked together on two other short films Possibilities and Unremarkable Moments of Being. Rena has an unusual sense of humour and we had set up a working style and a professional relationship that was successful and dynamic.
Rena: Rob and I think the same way and have the same tastes. I can take a script to him and he will suggest all these great visuals. Then I will go back and incorporate them into the script. Neither of us is interested in filming straight ahead kitchen sink stories.
Rob: These earlier films were more visually driven with voice over. They both took a metaphorical idea and made it literal. In Possibilities we took the idea of ‘waiting for something to happen’ and had a character sit and wait. In Unremarkable Moments of Being the character tries to wrestle her dreams from the dreamcatcher convinced it has stolen all of her dreams and desires. Four Sisters continues this idea of literalizing concepts but combines them with a narrative. The visuals were used in this film to move the story forward or to give deeper insight into the characters conflict.
Rena: But we still had to find the emotional core that drove the comedy.
Rob: It was important that we introduced a very specific style to this script. Neither Rena nor I wanted the film to be reduced to a sitcom. These other stylized elements became another character in the film .
Tell us about the music and how you got Jim Cuddy to do it?
Rob: Rena and I knew that music was very important to this film and the story. We wanted a 60’s style sound track harking back to the sister’s childhood. I had worked with Jim years ago as his assistant when he was still doing props. We have been friends for years and it helps that Rena is married to him.
Rena: The three of us sat down and discussed what we wanted – a Burt Bacharach sounding song for the home movies and flashbacks, a wacked out jazz sound building to a crescendo during the fight over who needs the mother’s pills the most and a Bealtesque drugged out sound for the pharmaceutical educational films. Jim came up with the idea of using a blues number for the final credits to change the tone and end on an upbeat note. I have to say I was hesitant but he played us the song and we loved it. (The full version is on his Skyscraper Soul album). We booked the Woodshed for the day but because these musicians were so amazing, they recorded it in 2 hours! Rob and I came in with our pen and notebook to listen and give notes. Jim said they were finished, it was perfect and it was being mixed as we spoke. An unusual way to do a film score – but he was right. It was perfect and we were very lucky to get musicians of that caliber.
Rob: The marriage of music, and sound to the visual was so important. We were lucky to have award winner Rob Bertola work with us on the sound & initial music design. Much in the same way that the picture was playful and at times surreal so had to be the sound and music.
Rob: Rena and I have made two short films and were looking for another project to do together. Recently we both lost our mothers and when Rena approached me with Four Sisters I thought it would make a great short film.
Rena: I am at an age where we are all losing our parents. It’s all we ever talk about. One friend even admitted that when she heard her mother had terminal cancer, she thought to herself “Oh good, that means I get her cashmere blazer”. Of course I had to steal that and put it in the film. Funny things do pop into your head at the most unexpected times. And because it is an emotionally heightened time, there can be lots of fighting particularly among the siblings. I heard some really funny and horrifying stuff.
Rob: And people do irrational things during this time.
Rena: Yes, I thought it would be interesting to explore that small window of time immediately after death and before action is taken. The brief moment of flinging off the impending grief before it settles in for good. I wanted to explore the universal theme of loss – not by facing it head on but by pushing it away.
Rob: This way we could look at this emotional time in a comedic and stylized way.
Rena: I was also eager to showcase female actresses in their mid life. This age group, their concerns and their issues are often neglected in film.
Rob: It was great to employ these amazing actresses who brought a lot of skill and passion to the piece.
Rena: Yes because this was very, very low budget, we shot really fast. One day rehearsal, two days for all the dialogue – 13 pages a day!, and one day for the family flashbacks and the chemist.
Rob: And we lost our location 10 days before filming, and one of the actresses got a paying gig so Joy jumped in at the last minute to help us out.
Rena: There were times when we were shooting that we thought it was a close-up on one character, then we would hear “got it, let’s move on.” The four of us would looked at each other and think, "Oh my God where was the camera and what was I doing during that take?" From them on we held on to each other for this very fast and incredible ride.
Rob: I often didn’t have time or space to do coverage or close ups. Paul Tolton (the DOP) and I had to map out shots the day before and then adjust as we filmed. We had to be very creative. And then the editor Tom McMurtry had to put it all together.
What is your working relationship
Rob: Rena and I have worked together on two other short films Possibilities and Unremarkable Moments of Being. Rena has an unusual sense of humour and we had set up a working style and a professional relationship that was successful and dynamic.
Rena: Rob and I think the same way and have the same tastes. I can take a script to him and he will suggest all these great visuals. Then I will go back and incorporate them into the script. Neither of us is interested in filming straight ahead kitchen sink stories.
Rob: These earlier films were more visually driven with voice over. They both took a metaphorical idea and made it literal. In Possibilities we took the idea of ‘waiting for something to happen’ and had a character sit and wait. In Unremarkable Moments of Being the character tries to wrestle her dreams from the dreamcatcher convinced it has stolen all of her dreams and desires. Four Sisters continues this idea of literalizing concepts but combines them with a narrative. The visuals were used in this film to move the story forward or to give deeper insight into the characters conflict.
Rena: But we still had to find the emotional core that drove the comedy.
Rob: It was important that we introduced a very specific style to this script. Neither Rena nor I wanted the film to be reduced to a sitcom. These other stylized elements became another character in the film .
Tell us about the music and how you got Jim Cuddy to do it?
Rob: Rena and I knew that music was very important to this film and the story. We wanted a 60’s style sound track harking back to the sister’s childhood. I had worked with Jim years ago as his assistant when he was still doing props. We have been friends for years and it helps that Rena is married to him.
Rena: The three of us sat down and discussed what we wanted – a Burt Bacharach sounding song for the home movies and flashbacks, a wacked out jazz sound building to a crescendo during the fight over who needs the mother’s pills the most and a Bealtesque drugged out sound for the pharmaceutical educational films. Jim came up with the idea of using a blues number for the final credits to change the tone and end on an upbeat note. I have to say I was hesitant but he played us the song and we loved it. (The full version is on his Skyscraper Soul album). We booked the Woodshed for the day but because these musicians were so amazing, they recorded it in 2 hours! Rob and I came in with our pen and notebook to listen and give notes. Jim said they were finished, it was perfect and it was being mixed as we spoke. An unusual way to do a film score – but he was right. It was perfect and we were very lucky to get musicians of that caliber.
Rob: The marriage of music, and sound to the visual was so important. We were lucky to have award winner Rob Bertola work with us on the sound & initial music design. Much in the same way that the picture was playful and at times surreal so had to be the sound and music.