The 13th House (2003) Online

The 13th House (2003) Online

Debut theatrical feature film of Australian actor and comedian Shaun Micallef.

The film underwent a long journey from script to screen and during that time the script underwent many different forms.

Debut produced screenplay of the film's screenwriters Scott Richards and Shaun Duncan.

The first version of the screenplay was written in 1998 as a collaboration between first time screenwriters Shaun Duncan and Scott Richards. Richards said: "We originally started to develop an anthology television series called 'The Eleventh Hour', along the lines of 'The Twilight Zone' or 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'." Duncan picked up the story: "Although we had a number of good ideas for episodes, we really wanted a strong pilot episode. That's when we came up with 'The 13th House'."

Co-screenwriter Shaun Duncan said: "We decided to write a story about work, because it was something that everyone could relate to. Our intention was to take something positive, like a promotion, and invert it to create paranoia and suspense." Co-screenwriter Scott Richards added: "We followed the standard 'Twilight Zone' approach - be careful what you wish for...".

Screenwriters Shaun Duncan and Scott Richards had never made a short film before, let alone knew how to bring a television series into production. Richards said: "At the time, my brother was working in visual effects. He suggested I send the scripts to his friend [writer/director] Shane McNeil for his advice".

With his background as a university lecturer, director Shane McNeil was used to receiving unsolicited scripts from students and filmmakers. 'The Eleventh Hour' scripts of Shaun Duncan and Scott Richards wound up in the pile on Shane's bedroom floor where they stayed unread for several months. When McNeil eventually started to read the their scripts, he was instantly hooked. "All of them were tightly structured, had ambiguous narratives and a strong, paranoiac sense of atmosphere. But the one that stood out for me was 'The 13th House'."

Director Shane McNeil worked with scriptwriters Shaun Duncan and Scott Richards for over two years in the capacity of an unpaid script editor. The team decided to concentrate on developing 'The 13th House' as the pilot episode for a television series.

Of working as an unpaid script editor, director Shane McNeil said: "I was happy to work for nothing on the script because I thought that it really stood out as something original. I was impressed with Scott and Shaun's ability to create enigmatic characters, an engaging plot and a pervasive sense of mood". Together, they re-thought, re-wrote, and re-structured the script, with the goal of creating a strong pilot episode for the series.

Because of script editor Shane McNeil's enthusiasm for the project, it soon became clear to writers Scott Richards and Shaun Duncan that he was the best person to realize the script as a director. Duncan said: "Scott and I had seen Shane's short films and identified his interest in conspiracy theories, paranoid characters, and absurdist situations. Shane's surrealist style felt like a complimentary fit with the tone we were aiming [for]."

The project went through a number of producers and production models, but was unable to find support for the concept as a television series. Despondent, the team stopped working on the script and moved on to other projects.

In 2000, director Shane McNeil commenced working with producer, Kristian Moliere, on a series of music videos for Australian band 'The Mark of Cain'. Moliere had worked on short films and music videos in the capacity of a producer-director but was now keen to specialize as a producer. Moliere said: "I was looking for a longer form project that would continue my successful working relationship with Shane, but would also represent a challenge for me as a producer". McNeil brought 'The 13th House' to Moliere's attention. Moliere continued: "Having worked in a corporate environment for ten years, I was immediately attracted to the story. I could visualize the film as I read the script and I knew that I wanted to be involved in bringing this script to the screen". But the gap from short films and music videos to short feature films was a large one, and McNeil and Moliere knew that their relative inexperience as a producing and directing team may count against them.

During the period where director Shane McNeil and producer Kristian Moliere started collaborating, the Australian Film Commission (AFC) announced their new funding guidelines. As part of those guidelines, short feature development and funding was introduced. "The timing seemed perfect", director Shane McNeill recalled. "Here we had a 55 minute script that was tailor-made for the short feature fund." Carole Sklan, the Australian Film Commission's Director of Film Development at the time, said: "The AFC has identified short feature films to be an important element in our development strategy for talented emerging filmmakers, working as a stepping stone between production of a short film and a full length feature. Imaginative projects by strong creative teams provide significant opportunities for professional development."

After reading the script, experienced feature film producer Julie Ryan agreed to attach herself to the project as a producing mentor. She said: "I recognized that Shane and Kristian had tremendous passion for this project. Shane had a strong vision for the film, the script had a tight narrative and I felt I could help them realize the film on a modest budget".

With the guidance and support of consulting producer Julie Ryan, the filmmaking team spent six months preparing the application for production funding to the AFC (Australian Film Commission). As part of that submission, director Shane McNeil started to think about the casting process.

Of the casting of the central character of Mark Waterman (Damon Gameau), director Shane McNeil said: "We recognized that the lead role of Mark was a difficult one, because the character appeared in every scene in the film. We really needed to find a strong actor with a broad emotional range." After making his film debut in 'The Tracker' (2002) for director Rolf de Heer, producer Julie Ryan suggested NIDA trained actor Damon Gameau. Ryan said: "Damon was a joy to work with on 'The Tracker' and was a such a fine young actor. His enthusiasm and dedication to his craft made me think he would be perfectly suited for the lead role in 'The 13th House'."

After the script was sent to actor Damon Gameau and he became excited by the character of Mark Waterman. Gameau said: "I had never been offered the lead role in a film before, and at that stage in my career, I was searching for a demanding part such as this."

"For the role of Sir, we started to put together a list of actors that we could see in the role," producer Kristian Moliere recalled. "Basically, we stopped at the first name on the list, which was Shaun Micallef". Director Shane McNeil added: "Shaun was perfect for the role. So much so, we started rewriting the dialogue with Shaun in mind. We knew we would be in trouble if Shaun said no, as we really couldn't envisage anyone else playing Sir, with equal parts comedy and menace."

With the two lead roles filled with stars Shaun Micallef and Damon Gameau, the application for the AFC (Australian Film Commission) was completed and submitted in August 2001. "Then we played the waiting game", Moliere said. "We knew we were up against experienced production teams from around Australia, so we thought we would only have a slim chance of receiving production funding." Much to everyone's delight, 'The 13th House' received full production funding from the AFC in November 2001.

Director Shane McNeil and producer Kristian Moliere commenced pre-production on the film in January 2002. They formed a production company, Smoking Gun Productions Pty Ltd, and set up a production office at the South Australian Film Corporation studios at Hendon in South Australia.

The first concern of producer Kristian Moliere and director Shane McNeil during pre-production was completing the film's casting. McNeil said: "The remainder of the casting process seemed to fall into place. We felt a little spoilt on our first film because we got our first choices for all the leads."

Debut theatrical feature film of actor Paul Cannell and actresses Tahli Corin and Rebecca Havey.

Theatre actress Rebecca Havey made her film debut in the role of Minerva, a difficult role with minimal dialogue but complex motivations. Director Shane McNeil said: "I had always wanted to work with Rebecca, since seeing her act in student plays at Flinders University. She has such amazing intensity and concentration as an actor."

Without undergoing an audition, relative newcomers Tahli Corin and Paul Cannell, were cast as Mark Waterman (Damon Gameau)'s co-workers on the 12th floor. Director Shane McNeil said: "I am very suspicious of the audition process. Usually, I just like to meet with an actor and talk with them before deciding whether they can carry the role."

The name of the (fictional) company in the movie was "Saturnine Defence Dynamics".

Locations were major hurdle during pre-production. "We had around thirteen locations in the film, the major one being the offices of our fictional company, Saturnine Defence Dynamics," said producer Kristian Moliere. However, the production did not have the budget to build such a location in a studio or to fit-out an existing office location. "We knew we had had to find a fully fitted out office, with two distinct floors, lifts, work stations, foyers and a boardroom, that our crew could takeover for about a month. Good luck."

With one week to go before production, the filmmakers secured an untenanted heritage-listed building in the central business district of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. "I knew I wanted a retro look for the design of the film, but at the same time, the setting needed to feel contemporary and identifiable", said director Shane McNeil. "This location was ideal for our purposes. It had a mix of 40's style furnishings and wood paneled boardrooms, with modern office fit-outs. Suddenly, our film had enormous production values for virtually no cost, which is an amazing coup for a low-budget production like ours."

The period of principal photography on this short feature ran for about three weeks which commenced in March 2002.

Director Shane McNeil said: "With [producer] Julie [Ryan]'s endorsement of the project, we were able to assemble an experienced crew, most of whom had a long working relationship with Julie and Rolf [de Heer]."

John Scott, lead singer and songwriter of 'The Mark of Cain', was cast as David Freeman, the nemesis of Mark Waterman (Damon Gameau). Director Shane McNeil and producer Kristian Moliere had previously in the past worked Scott on music videos. McNeil said: "Even though music videos are short and don't require much in the way of acting ability, I recognized that John was capable of sustaining a performance as an actor."

The number of locations in the film, according to producer Kristian Moliere, was thirteen. This is the same number as in the film's title of 'The 13th House'.

A decision was made to shoot the film on digital betacam. "My decision to shoot this project on digital video was informed by aesthetics and was not simply due to budgetary reasons, "said director Shane McNeil. 'The Mark of Cain' music videos were shot on digital video and then appropriately graded in post-production to give a convincingly and distinctive film look. "Shooting on digital allowed me to continue experimenting with color grading and textures, but also allowed me greater flexibility on set, given the obvious time constraints".

As a result of the decision to shoot digitally, the only person considered as the director of photography was Rob Brown. Director Shane McNeil said: "Rob had extensive experience in shooting digital video and we had developed such an excellent working relationship during the production of the music videos. He is so efficient, flexible and inventive and knows how to work on a low budget."

The three-week shoot was tight given the amount of material that needed to be shot and the number of locations. Producer Kristian Moliere said: "Although we lacked resources and time, we were very fortunate to have a crew that pitched in and worked phenomenally well with each other."

Once the film was shot, the long post-production schedule commenced. The team realized the enormity of the task when the first assembly of the film had a running time of 110 minutes. The goal was to reduce the running time to under an hour, without sacrificing the film's narrative or style.

Director Shane McNeil re-united with editor Tania Nehme on this production after having met at film school and worked together on McNeil's first funded short film. McNeil said: "Tania's expertise as an editor was vital in shaping the film," McNeil said. "I was somewhat overwhelmed with what we had to do. But together we approached the material in a methodical way."

The main major difference with the final cut in comparison to the script was that Mark Waterman (Damon Gameau) now got promoted to the 13th floor almost immediately. "Unfortunately, many scenes had to be lost in the process or significantly cut back," said producer Kristian Moliere. Director Shane McNeil said that he hoped to one day restore these scenes for a longer cut of the film that is closer to the original script.

As the production evolved, so too did the sound and music. "After watching the edit come together, I realized that the music would need to be more atmospheric, as opposed to melodic", said director Shane McNeil. "Sound and music would also need to work together to create the ominous mood that I wanted for the film."

The filmmakers originally approached singer-songwriter John Scott, who plays David Freeman in the film, to compose the score for the film. But as editing continued, it soon became apparent that Scott's external work and band commitments made it difficult for him to complete scoring the film. From the very beginning, director Shane McNeil's vision for the film was that sound and music be intrinsically linked. It made sense that sound designer, Tom Heuzenroeder, complete the film's score, and integrate it into his sound design, to achieve the soundscapes that McNeil desired.

Tom Heuzenroeder, the film's sound designer, spent over three months designing the film's complex score and sound design. "I wanted atmospheres and sound effects to be musical and visa versa. The synergy that Tom and John [Scott] created by collaborating on the score exceeded my expectations," director Shane McNeil said.

It was perhaps fitting that the mentor of sound designer Tom Heuzenroeder, sound guru James Currie, supervised the sound mix of the film. Currie said: "Tom's sound design and music is incredibly dense and complicated, far more complex that most of the features I have worked on. He is exceptionally gifted and has a bright future in his chosen field."

After twelve months, remarkably the film still came within its production budget of $ [Australian] 332,000 (= approximately $US185,000). "This was a significant achievement for us given the size of the cast and crew (around 120), the scope of the production (thirteen locations in fifteen days) and the fact that all cast and crew were paid award wages", said producer Kristian Moliere.

Director Shane McNeil said that this film had been an "immensely rewarding process, the culmination of many years of hard work in developing the screenplay and bringing together the skills and experience of a diverse group of people with a common goal. He added: "I wanted 'The 13th House' to entertain, but also wanted to make a film about ethics and morality. You could see the film as a metaphor for capitalism in its most extreme form. But the question it poses is timeless: what does it profit a man to inherit the earth if he should lose his soul in the process? I think the film is a relevant cautionary tale for our time".

First South Australian theatrical feature film starring South Australian actor-comedian Shaun Micallef. His second would be the same year's 'The Honourable Wally Norman' (2003) which debuted later in the year after this film had world premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in March 2003.

Official publicity for this film described it as "Kafka meets 'The Game'." 'Kafka' refers to novelist Franz Kafka and 'The Game' refers to the 1997 Michael Douglas thriller which had been made and first released about six years earlier.

Star Damon Gameau had actually previously appeared uncredited in 2001 in an episode the Australian comedy television series 'The Micallef Program' starring his co-star from this film Shaun Micallef. It was episode #3.5 and Gameau played a drunk kid in limousine and a crushed kid in a factory.