Susan Rodgers is ready to lay down her pen and get behind the lens of a camera to shoot her first feature drama that will be shot entirely on P.E.I.
The Summerside author has captured many hearts with her series of novels, “Drifters”, and is excited to capture many more with her storytelling in film. Her first feature drama is called, “Still the Water,” and is already underway.
“I started the development stage for this film about 20 years ago,” said Rodgers, while she was reflecting on a hockey game in Ontario with her son, Christopher.
“It gelled from watching the game, losing focus and imagining the stories of the hockey players.
“The film is on healing and redemption. It begins when two troubled brothers meet after an estrangement of about 15 years. One of the brothers returns to P.E.I. after his life has taken a downward turn, and he has nowhere left to turn.
“He has to make amends with his older brother and fit into the family again. It becomes complicated when relationships form with women in the middle.”
A climax in the storyline is a fishing boat accident, and one brother is left with a difficult decision.
There are many layers to the film, which blends hockey, fishing boats, family and forgiveness.
“The film will be entirely shot on P.E.I.,” said Rodgers.
Scouted scenes include Summerside, Darnley, Tyne Valley, Tignish, as well as some rural communities.
“We went to Toronto and Vancouver to cast our leads with a vigorous audition, so the actors are ready, and we are waiting for the final bit of financing before we can set the days. Our goal is to actually go to camera towards the end of March this year, so we are scrambling a bit now to put the final pieces together. But last week we did auditions in Summerside for secondary characters.” Susan Rodgers
There are many opportunities for Islanders to get involved in the film.
Islanders can invest in the Mighty Ocean Film Inc. Production, and become part-owners of the movie.
Extras are needed for hockey and restaurant scenes, and there’s the opportunity for the public to participate in fun competitions that will open the door to being featured in the film.
“People can participate through social media. We will have fun contests running throughout the filming. For instance, the first contest is with hats, and people can take photos and submit online and be entered with a chance to be featured in the movie.”
Companies can also pay to feature their brands.
“We already have a number of Island singers and songwriters involved. The idea for me was to match the music with the visuals, and it’s like taking the books one step further.”
When filming is done, Rodgers will pitch it to festivals to get the buzz going.
“Maybe at the film festivals we will find a distributor through that process,” she explained.
For more information, visit “Still the Water” social media page or, check out the website www.stillthewatermovie.ca.
5 fun film facts
1 - Film was invented in the 1890s and this is how far back motion pictures go. The first moving picture cameras were invented in the late 1800s, and movies were boring. They were a single scene, about a minute long, and they were silent
2 - Sixteen frames per second was the speed early film cameras. By today’s standards it’s pretty slow. For perspective, modern 35mm cameras film at 25 FPS and some modern video games are played at 250 FPS.
3 - Thirteen frames per second is the minimum speed that the human brain needs in order to process consecutive images as movement. Anything less than that and the human brain will process each frame as a separate picture. Sixteen is pretty close to 13, which is why old movies look so choppy and unnatural.
4 - Most movie theaters these days use digital video projectors. The technology is called DLP which means Digital Light Processing. Since modern films are projected digitally, movie studios don’t ship huge reels of films to the theaters anymore. Now, they just send the videos via the internet, satellite, or hard drive.
5 - The first movie theatre was opened in 1907 and before that most movies were shown in traditional theaters or in carnivals. With the advent of movie theaters, the films became an attraction in themselves.
SOURCE - LEGACYBOX