Saki Location Scouting

We're still exploring the potential for an film idea that we had last year. It involves the work of the British writer Saki. If we were to move forward with the project, at some point we'd need to find specific locations to fit the period. So we had a little scouting recently.

One scene in particular calls for the hero to suddenly and unexpectedly stumble upon the antagonist--who is "illegally" lounging and sunning himself on a slap of rock at the far side of a pond. Locating a small body of water suitable for the shot has been a challenge since the scene calls for the antagonist to almost effortlessly bolt across the pond and stand face-to-face with the hero.

We visited a state nature preserve that features a deep gorge formed during the retreat of the last glacial period. There are potentially three separate locations within this gorge that could work for at least parts of the scene. None are perfect, but we'll certainly keep these in mind.

Location #1 actually features a shallow pond with a slab up against a rock wall on the far side. Yet, the slab is more of a shelf, narrow and slanted. Not an ideal spot for sunning one's self.

Location #2 is really a slow moving river rather than a pond, but we could cheat the shot if necessary to make it work. The "slab", however, where the antagonist rests is a small sandy beach, not a rock.

Location #3 is the same river just further downstream. There would be no disguising this as a pond, but the rock slab is the most believable sunning spot of the three. However, the algae growth on the river bottom makes any rapid crossing a hazardous affair (see video below).

So in reality, not a one of these turned out to be what we're looking for, but we enjoyed the scouting nonetheless.

Carriage Classic Footage

Research clips for the Forgotten Journal film...

Even for a limited-budget project like ours, there's real potential for incorporating live horses, authentic carriages, and wardrobed drivers into a 1890s story.

The Carriage Classic Research

At yesterday's Carriage Classic, we made a few connections with owners/drivers, shot a little test video, and got a better idea of what we are--and are not--looking to do in regards to horse-drawn carriages for a potential Edwardian-era film project.

Film Scouting Tomorrow at Villa Louis

We are planning to attend the Carriage Classic tomorrow to do a bit of research for our potential project, The Forgotten Journal of H. H. Munro. Looking to connect with a few costumed carriage drivers/owners to learn some logistics of shooting with live horses and to see what it would take to get them into our film.

Built in 1868, Villa Louis is an Italian villa-style mansion set along the banks of the Mississippi River in southwestern Wisconsin. A National Historic Landmark, the home and grounds have been restored to their 19th century Victorian life splendor and are open to the public.

Even better, each September...

...the annual Villa Louis Carriage Classic recalls the era when fine horses and elegant carriages convened on the broad lawns surrounding the Dousman Family's famed country estate. The event is the largest competitive carriage driving event in the central US. 

Image and info via Villa Louis website.

Saki Country: Images From Devonshire, UK - Part III

Roughly 3 miles from the town of Barnstable is Heanton Punchardon. It is here that a young H.H. Munro moved to with his aunts. The house is said to still be standing and is haunted to boot! However local inquiries about Saki revealed little. Apparently, the well-known writer is not so known in his own childhood stomping grounds. It is over a 110 years ago.

North Devon landscape en route to Heanton.

Colin Cameron's quest to learn more about the early landscape and living quarters of H.H. Munro led to what could quite possibly be the estate once owned by the Munros. Now an old folks home in Heanton, the architecture of this building appeared to fit the time period and upper crust class standards of the family. Certainly the ancient church and cemetery which lie next door are from a very early age.

 Old folks home in Heanton.

Home in view of historic church (above) and cemetery (below).

Saki Country: Images From Devonshire, UK - Part II

H.H. Munro was born in Burma, but lost his mother when he was just 2 years of age. His father, an inspector-general for the then British-controlled Burmese police, sent his three children back to England to be raised by Munro's elderly grandmother and his two strict, straitlaced aunts.

The house they lived in during this period still stands--and is currently for sale! It's about 9 or 10 blocks, a 40 minute casual walk, from central Barnstable to the rural community of Pilton.

Video and stills shot by Colin Cameron on his recent travels to Devon County, England.

Front gate with a contemporary house name displayed.

Front of house looking rather overgrown.

Stone wall running along side of front yard.

From around the backside of the property.

More to come.

Saki Country: Images From Devonshire, UK - Part I

Colin Cameron, co-producer on our potential Saki project, recently flew over to England on a mission to obtain information, both visual and other, about the the countryside in which H.H. Munro was raised and wrote about in his stories. Colin visited the author's childhood stomping grounds where he lived with his the two stern Victorian aunts in the province of Devon near the town of Barnstaple.












Munro lived in several different locales near the town of Barnstable in the county of Devon (occasionally referred to as Devonshire when used in a historical context). This is where Colin set up base camp.

Barnstable town square

Barnstable architecture from the Munro era

Rolling landscape with hedgerow divided fields 

More to come.

More on Saki

As we continue to research the possibilities for a narrative film project, we're still looking closely at the work of Hector Hugh Munro. Born in 1870 in Burma (Myanmar) when it was still part of the British Empire, his mother died when he was only two. Sent to live with his grandmother and aunts in England, much of Munro's work seems to be influenced by the strict, straitlaced upbringing he endured when living with these Victorian age martinets.

From Wikipedia:

...better known by the pen name Saki, [he] was a British writer, whose witty and sometimes macabre stories satirized Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story and is often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window" may be his most famous, with a closing line ("Romance at short notice was her specialty") that has entered the lexicon.

Saki died in the French battlefield trenches of the first World War – November 13, 1916.

Saki: Master of the Short Story

We've been wanting to get more into fiction narratives for a while now. One potential story source that we're looking at is the Hector Hugh Munro, better know as Saki. He was a British writer...

...whose witty and sometimes macabre stories satirized Edwardian society and culture. Saki's world contrasts the effete conventions and hypocrisies of Edwardian England with the ruthless but straightforward life-and-death struggles of nature. Nature generally wins in the end. Source: Wikipedia

Looking at Saki's large body of work, two or three of his short stories have great appeal as potential film projects. The draw has not only been Saki's witty dialogue and his pointed climaxes, but also, and maybe especially--his underlying theme of  Untamable Nature.