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Transformation:
a new look at "The Statement of Randolph Carter"
"The
Statement of Randolph Carter" is one of the most
adapted short stories of H. P. Lovecraft. Although a variety
of factors probably contribute to this, I think the most
predominant one is that -- unlike much of Lovecraft's
work (and the derivatives thereof) -- "The Statement
of Randolph Carter", even in the heart of the
narrative, doesn't show the monster. It's entirely the
responsibility of the acting and the audience's imagination
to create the terrible things that Harley Warren experiences
beneath the grounds of that ancient cemetery. When Harley
Warren reports that what he sees is monstrous and terrifying,
it is only our imagination that creates that picture and,
as any fan of the genre will gleefully report, our imaginations
terrify us more completely than any image or sound ever
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could.
Our imaginations have the most direct access to every fear
that has ever gripped us, to ever discomfort and distortion
that has ever spent a few minutes teasing our frontal lobes.
No force in the Universe has greater power to terrify us
than our own imaginations and few of Lovecraft's stories
so handily use that method to crawl under our skins as "The
Statement of Randolph Carter".
The more I thought about this story and the more I thought
about how I had seen it adapted, the more I saw what seemed
to be peculiar holes. The relationship between Randolph
Carter and Harley Warren is spelled out in some detail in
the story, of course, but I never could quite grasp any
sense of an emotional bond between the two of them. Why
would Warren, knowing he was planning to leave Carter on
the surface, bring the man along with him anyway? Why would
Carter follow this man deep
into ancient woods? |
As
far as Carter himself, I had even more questions. In "The
Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", Carter is an expert dreamer,
a man of confidence and courage. Admittedly, he experiences fear
and trepidation at times, but he does not balk at action. In fact,
"The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is probably
Lovecraft's most "action-packed" story, filled with
journeys and battles and confrontations with gods. How could this
man, I wondered, have evolved from the weak and frail man of Harley
Warren's intimations? How could these two very different people
be the same person -- a man too delicate of mental health to go
into a tomb, yet willing to confront the gods and demand his Sunset
City?
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In
a flash, a solution presented itself. Everyone -- no matter
how skilled or gifted -- has to start somewhere. There
must be a transformation from one form to another. If
Randolph Carter is a powerful dreamer and space traveler
for one set of stories, and a frail-minded liability in
another, then there must have been a transformation, a
place where Carter first tastes the strength within him,
where he first makes a decision not out of fear, but out
of grim necessity and responsibility.
That
was what we needed.
"The Statement of Randolph Carter" is
that nexus in Carter's life, where he is forced by circumstance
to no longer be the frail
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| student,
but must shoulder the responsibility of a master. This is
where we enjoy a rare glimpse at the first spiritual growth
spurt of the Universal power that Randolph Carter becomes. |
Our
movie evolved from that single idea. Yes, it had the elements
of the original story to it, but it also had the connection
I had missed originally, the sense of where and how this adventure
sat in Randolph Carter's life, and where and how Harley Warren
and Randolph Carter related.
Our
crew is a subset of the crew that worked on our recent feature
"Flesh of my Flesh". For many of them, "Flesh
of my Flesh" was their first movie project and it was
a big one, a live action horror/sci-fi/action project filled
with stunts and practical effects. It was in many ways a crucible,
and those who remained behind were left with a clear taste for
more. Shortly after "Flesh of my Flesh" entered
post-production, various members of the crew started looking
for more projects and creating their own. "Flesh of
my Flesh" had created many friendships and professional
associations and people enjoyed following those threads even
further. "Beer Goggles", "Buzz",
and "Bugs & Beer" (the titles are
only coincidentally similar, despite the semantic connections)
are only three of the short projects that spun out from various
sub-groupings of this talented crew. A passionate desire to
make something special for the 2005
H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival continued chewing, however,
so production started on "The Statement of Randolph
Carter".
Aside
from an appropriate location, probably the single most key element
to the production was the tomb into which Harley Warren descends.
The tomb was constructed off-site and transferred the day before
shooting, undergoing a final surface finish once it was properly
placed. In the story, a flat grave is used, but the location
didn't allow digging (low water table), so we elected to use
a raised tomb, such as the sort one might encounter in New Orleans
or other locations. This turned out to be fortuitous because
it allowed an actor to crawl completely inward, descending into
the depths. Additional graveyard stones set the environment
properly.
The
location was tricky -- to find a place where a graveyard could
be constructed, where we could film all night long, and where
the Things of Man were not heard or seen. Through sheer coincidence
(is there any, really, in these sorts of pursuits?), nearby
construction had rendered a huge piece of property behind my
house absent of light and mostly hidden behind a large wild-planted
burm. For nearly 180 degrees, this allowed for filming with
no man-made artifacts. It was a wild place and we had full control
over it.
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Casting
happened quickly. Randolph Carter was played by veteran
Lovecraftian actor/filmmaker Mike Shkolnik, aka "Mad
Martian", who is not only a fine actor, but the curator
of the Eyeball Museum (http://www.madmartian.com/eyes/)
as well as other online atrocities. Shkolnik lent a calm
believability to Randolph Carter. He was a man who was terrified,
but who overcomes that terror and starts his growth into
something better. Sean Strauss asked to be cast as Harley
Warren, but in my mind the question was a formality -- I
was planning to ask him anyway. Strauss is a professionally
trained actor, and a newcomer to the front of Guerrilla
Production's cameras, but earned his wings as an invaluable
member of the "Flesh of my Flesh" crew,
as well as being one of the movie's editors. |
| Strauss
dove into the part of Harley Warren as a mentor to Randolph
Carter, researching the original story as well as the script
and making up anything else that needed to be. |
The
day of shooting started early for the crew, who had to complete
construction and finishing of the graveyard and tomb. This was
completed as the sun dropped slowly. We could not set lights
until after dark, but the instant things went dark, we had to
move fast because sixteen pages of script is very ambitious
to shoot in a single evening. Dinner was served before dusk
so all crew had a chance to eat, the cats were secured, electrical
lines were pulled out and distributed, impromptu scaffolding
was created, lights were hoisted and secured high on extension
ladders. Before dark, our actors were dressed and their costumes
"roughed up" by our makeup department. Additional
makeup treatments gave the actors the look of two men who had
been trekking through hard trails all day. Photos were taken,
video shot of various setups, and shooting plans were finalized.
Electronics
became a problem. First, a persistent buzzing in the sound turned
out to be a bad microphone cable. This was replaced. We ran
out of a large enough number of good headphones that not everyone
who SHOULD have been monitoring sound COULD. Sometimes we switched
around, other times, certain people went electronically deaf.
Oddly enough, our boom holder had no headphones (this will be
rectified in future productions, of course). Cables had to be
replaced, connections had to be secured that were loose, etc.
As with most amateur movies, everybody helped where they could,
trying to get things working smoothly.
The
first scene was slow going. Probably the most confounding factor
was that everything was very dark and this made focusing and
framing problematic. We tried a variety of methods until we
had things working in a way that made sense. I think with most
productions, that first scene is always a bit clunky anyway,
while people figure out how they're going to fit together. By
the time we hit the second scene, we were rolling along efficiently.
Still,
as efficiently as we could shoot, the fact remained that we
had sixteen pages of script to shoot and only so many hours
of night remaining. Regularly during setup breaks, people were
reminding us that it was getting later and later. Regularly
we tried to keep the enthusiasm high. That night was a race
from the get-go and dawn was fast approaching. We kept shooting,
slicking production down even more. Now, the only thing that
was causing trouble was the occasional goofed line and as everybody
was getting more and more exhausted, this happened with greater
frequency. Still, we kept pushing, kept at it. We had to get
everything in the can that night.
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One
absurdly amusing moment during production: A tiny frog,
half the size of a nickel, dropped on my head, bounced
off, bounced off my shoulder, and landed on the copy of
the script I was reading. In my sleep-deprived state,
this became a moment of delight and I called attention
to the wee beastie before eventually scooting it carefully
from the bench and on into the bushes.
Finally,
we're approaching the final scenes of the movie, the last
moments. Dawn has started, the sky has lightened. Our
DP and several of the crew all point out that the light
is changing, that the video is looking significantly different.
What to do, what to do...? Suddenly, I realize that we
have been shooting in
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| sequence,
shooting scenes in the order in which they occur in the
story. I announce "Okay, here's the deal -- the last
scenes of the movie take place during dawn. Let's keep going."
This satisfies everybody and we keep shooting. |
The
very last scene is a brainstorm. In the script, the very last
scene is a long shot of Carter, kneeling at the tomb. But in
this case, we decide to put our DP INSIDE the tomb itself, cables
snaking out. Framed perfectly by the walls and lid of the tomb,
Randolph Carter swings his shovel. The bracing is knocked free
and the tomb is resealed.
The
time is about 6:45 am.
The
next hour is a controlled and giddy chaos, as people move quickly
to tear down all the lights and cameras and other electrical
gear. Things are as put-away as they can be, the yard is cleaned
up (although we leave the tomb and gravestones down for fun),
cables are wrapped, hugs and fare-thee-wells are exchanged,
and everybody goes home.
Now
for the editing.
-
Edward Martin III
The
official Statement of Randolph Carter website can be
found here.
