HOME > NEWS > MEDIA COVERAGE

LethbridgeInsider.com
January 11, 2003

Making of The Haven, with director Deric Olsen
by Bill Ponech

If you are anything like me, you’ve always wondered what it would be like to make a movie. Anytime there was a camcorder around, you plan the perfect shot, only to have it turn out like every other birthday party ever filmed. Enter Deric Olsen, a 24-year old Lethbridge native who has recently completed his first movie, The Haven. He went beyond thinking about making a movie, and went out and did it. In what follows, we find out how he did it, and why.

Olsen recently graduated from the Multimedia program at the University of Lethbridge, and had fully intended on using The Haven as one of his major projects towards his degree. Instead, he opted to intern with the University, doing some DVD work. So, The Haven became a side project that has culminated recently with it being put on DVD for Olsen’s entrance into Film School, distribution to film festivals, and possible sale to local video stores.

Not an “artsy-type,” Olsen went from High School-jock, to filmmaker. How? Well, Olsen says that he was a film buff without really knowing it – able to rattle off obscure facts about obscure movies, things like that. It was entering the Multimedia program that he discovered how much he liked the creative process, which led him to the idea of The Haven. As Olsen states, “It just becomes your thing.”

Starting a year ago, Olsen first started writing The Haven. By April, it was a 30-page screenplay, which is the length he was interested in, as a page translates roughly into a minute of film to meet his desired length of 30 minutes.

Casting began in early June, with an open call. Open to all, Olsen posted opportunities around Lethbridge and Southern Alberta, as well as at the University of Lethbridge, where he hoped to draw from the large number of Drama students. Having plenty of response for the female characters, Olsen found it difficult to cast for the male roles.

Alison Murray was chosen as Agent Ali Silver, and after she was chosen, Olsen was surprised to find out that she had just graduated from High School, and had only recently turned 18. He laughs with relief, adding there would have been a whole other dimension to the film had he been working with a 17 year old. Murphy became aware of the film by way of her aunt, who saw a poster at Chapter’s advertising for the casting call and took it home to her in Picture Butte. Alison is now studying acting at Mount Royal College in Calgary.

Olsen found himself recruiting actors for the male parts, and when he had finally decided on his star he ran into another problem. Mark Matsalla, who was initially interested, had to bow-out because of family commitments. This was Olsen’s first challenge, and soon discovered that accommodating non-paid actors was crucial to the success of his film. He convinced Matsalla that he would not take up all of his time, and Mark agreed to come on board. Mark is a student at the U of L, and has previous experience working in front of a camera, as well as on stage.

The evil villain was played by Kingsley Mann, who had no previous acting experience. While this may have posed a problem, director Olsen said it turned out to be okay as he was “moldable.” Olsen also noted that by the end of filming, Mann had grown into his character and often disagreed with him, feeling that Valat would or would not do certain things, based on how he had developed.

Working with non-paid actors, Olsen felt that a non-standard approach had to be taken. He had to be careful not to offend anyone, as he didn’t want to risk losing an actor mid-shoot. The number of retakes were limited for the same reason. Overall though, Olsen has “nothing but good things to say about his actors.”

Locations were a hassle-free element for Olsen. He wanted authentic sets, and alleyways in Lethbridge, the Calgary Airport, the University of Lethbridge (doubling as CSIS Headquarters), and the Waterton RCMP station all proved very willing participants. The Calgary location was the most interesting, as the Airport is considered public property, which means any filming is allowed, as long as no secure areas are used. Olsen noted that after an entire day of filming, only 60 seconds of footage was used.

Since I have spoken to Olsen, the DVD has been completed. From the front cover to the DVD itself, it is a professionally done package. Special features on the DVD include:

• Director’s Commentary
• A story-board to screen comparison (with artist Mike Atwood)
• An outtake reel (to which he adds, “It’s short, because the actors didn’t screw-up very much.”
• Interviews with Global Television
• Biographies of the people involved
• Theatrical trailer

So if you are one of those people that have wanted to make a movie, perhaps take inspiration from Deric Olsen, and note that he used a small Sony DCR-TRV 900 camera, and edited the whole thing from his Mac computer.

© Copyright 2003, Insider Publications Inc.