Chris Golon

By Courtney in Other on November 3, 2009

Innovative filmmaker gives his take on the creative process

Filmmaker Chris Golon is an example of someone making his dreams a reality. Dreaming of a life making films, he enrolled in the New York Film Academy, taking a course offered in Los Angeles to pursue his career and made five short films. After this experience, he returned to Los Angeles to shoot his film, 'Knock 'Em Dead, Kid.'

Chris was kind enough to talk with us about his experience in filmmaking.

For more information on Chris and his work, please visit his IMDb page.

Briefly discuss how you manifested your passion for filmmaking into a profession?

Well, filmmaking is more of a hobby than a profession at the moment – the reason being that I haven’t made a dime off of it yet – so, I’d like it to be my profession and I’ll keep going with it, so we’ll see. Filmmaking for me has been a very long, strange road. I decided to become a filmmaker about 8 months after graduating from high school. I had read an about film schools so I looked into what schools were the best, but first I decided to enroll in a university closer to me, to knock out the general education credits, and then transfer.

Being young, it was good in theory but then I found out that I couldn't afford, even with loans, to attend the school I really wanted to. What school was that? It was the one and only – USC. You see, I was accepted to USC, not the film program, but the university and I really wanted to attend but I just couldn't afford it. After that, I decided to try and write my way in to Hollywood, as someone told me it was an ‘easier route.’ So, the writing began as did the many hills and valleys. In 2001, I finally had a screenplay optioned and that experience really was a huge learning experience, as I really learned how the whole Hollywood system really worked. In time, that deal fell through, but that's a long story in and of itself, and shortly after that, I slowly realized that I needed to try and make my own films.

I continued on with writing and from 2002-2004, I dealt with managers and entertainment lawyers and had some interest in one of my scripts but nothing came of it. So, while things always seemed to be right there – they always eluded my grasp. And that’s when it was time for me to write and direct and figure out a way to make my films – and make them within my limitations.

Working with a low budget puts heavy limitations on a film maker, what sort of tricks have you learned to get the best bang for your buck?

First and foremost, you need to use what you have available – whether it’s equipment, locations, or actors. Also, whenever possible, shoot in a bigger city, legally of course, as that will make your budget look larger. On my last film, ‘Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid,’ I shot in LA even though the story took place in Connecticut. This made the film more populated and thus, more realistic. And remember – the film can be saved in the editing room.

Finding locations can often be difficult as there are many outside limitations that may affect its viability. Could you explain how you go about selecting a set?

On my last two films I’ve used what I had access to. Maybe your script calls for something elaborate but when it comes down to shooting – you don’t want to get fined for not having permits (which cost a lot, especially in LA) so you use your apartment, a friend’s place, car interiors, etc. You make subtle changes and adapt. The easiest thing is to write what’s within your means. I cannot get a street to blow up like a Michael Bay film thus, I don’t write it in.

Filming at night vs. filming during the day are two completely different endeavors. Can you explain what is involved with lighting a night shot so that it still feels like night without hiding the actors?

That’s a good question. On my last two films, I went the easy route and filmed in natural light or natural with available light. For one car scene in particular in ‘Knock,’ I would turn the interior light of whatever car we were using on – sneak a small light on the inside and lay it on the floor – and it gives me enough light to film the interior of the car scene. In fact, it was lit well enough to make the scene look really good. Also, we always had street lamps – those helped a lot. My budgets are so low that I have to use what I can – no money for generators.

Small films obviously cannot be as easily marketed as blockbuster but there are always venues to get your name out. What sorts of tools have you used to gain exposure?

The Internet has helped me a lot. I have two previous interviews plus social networking sites and DVD review sites (and imdb). I knew I was taking a risk by letting DVD reviewers look at my film but for the most part, the reviews have been positive. And from that it led to the film being available on VOD on amazon. I tried to secure distribution but that is very tough and I still have it being looked at with a few direct-to-DVD distributors.

You have called your latest film, Knock Em' Dead, Kid, a labor of love. Where did you first get the idea and can you describe the plot for those who have not or can't see it?

I first wrote the script for ‘Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid’ in 1995. It was titled something else at the time and every year I would revisit it, tweak it, make some changes. I always wanted a large budget since the script always fluctuated between 160-200 pages – that would make for an epic film at over 2 hrs 40 mins.

The idea for the film came from real life mixed with cinema life. I wrote a first draft that had some gun play and knife attacks but then I read an article where someone said that a lot of filmmakers write stories about people they don’t know and that they should write what they know. So, I changed the tone slightly, grounded it more in my reality (with the exception of an event near the end), and really started to write as people talk. And from that came ‘Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid.’

The film is about a 19-year-old named Bret who wants to go to film school (where did I come up with that, right?). As our story opens, he has a girlfriend of 2 years, some buddies he always hangs with, and a future. But in the span of a few days – he has lost his job at an ice cream place, participated in a revenge attack against a guy accused of raping a friend of theirs, and cheated on his girlfriend. Things start to spiral out of control as the police investigate the beating and Bret realizes he has made some seriously wrong choices.

I try to touch upon such issues as when you are with a girl and meet another – do you stray? And if so, why? As well as dealing with issues of overzealous police.

You had limited time and budget to film KEDK, so how did you decide on the best locations and actors to use to help you achieve all these goals while in LA?

I decided to film in LA due to the large acting pool. That helped make my decision as to where and I used locations that were accessible to myself – people’s apartments, streets, etc. The shoot was scheduled for two weeks but ended up at just over three.

How do you measure if one of your films is deemed a success?

Based on how many people see it and if you can attain distribution. Not many have seen my films and I have no distribution – thus no success. Some have told me that’s ridiculous since completing a feature is a success in and of itself since so many start and cannot finish them. As well as the fact that ‘Knock’ won an award at this year’s Twin Rivers Media Fest.

But I am my own worst and harshest critic. I beat myself up about what I could’ve done better, what should have been added or eliminated, etc. No matter what anyone says to me – I have to look at myself in the mirror and I must answer to me. Other filmmakers know exactly what I mean when I say that.

You tend to work on all areas of your films: writing, producing, directing, etc. Is there one aspect that interests you the most and that you hope to focus on more in the future?

I would love to be able to either direct or write and that’s it. When you wear too many hats, your attention is all over the place. Granted writing is the easiest – but trying to direct and produce at the same time is borderline insane. You try to focus on this and that but it gets crazy. If I had a DP, a producer, and more time, then I could focus on directing and really try and stylize my films. Maybe next time, right?