To continue my series of interviews
with the makers of the ambitious new horror project 'Rip
Cage', I chatted to co-writer and production designer, Vanessa
Mason. This young woman is highly talented so is one to watch
out for in the future. Just remember who found her
first!!
You seem to be interested in
just about every creative field known to man, why do you think
you are so creative?
I've always been a creative thinker. It's something
that just comes naturally to me. I think everyone is creative
though, it just depends on whether you act on it or
not.
Like myself, you are currently
attending University. Do you struggle to find time to do
everything you want to do, and study?
I am lucky to be taking a great program - Creative
Writing at the University of Windsor. Since I'm in Creative
Writing I'm doing a lot of creative work for class which ties
into the things I do outside of school. I'm able to develop
ideas for scripts out of the school assignments I have. I also
plan to take a minor in Communications Studies so that helps
me a lot to understand the technical side of
production.
How did you get involved in 'Rip
Cage'?
I met Lennie via the Cube 2: Hypercube website where
he was web mastering. I put a bit of my writing on the forum
that the site had and Lennie liked it a lot. Then one day I
got an email from him asking me to take a look at his script
for 'Rip Cage'.
Were you hired to polish up the
script or had you been involved from the
beginning?
I was originally asked to be 'Script
Supervisor'...Lennie asked me to look at the dialogue, make it
flow better and see if I could offer any suggestions for the
rest of the script. I ended up making a lot of improvements to
Lennie's already awesome script so he promoted me to
co-writer!
How are things progressing since
I interviewed Lennie?
I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to tell you this,
or if it's supposed to be a big secret, but shooting has
started (principal photography will not begin until later this
Summer). Lennie and the crew at Savage Dog are working on
promotional stuff as well like the official poster. There is
going to be a 'Rip Cage' official website, but that isn't
completed yet.
I hear you've been promoted to
production designer. Congratulations. How did that come
about?
Well first of all let me say that I'm really lucky
to be working with Lennie and Savage Dog Films. Because it's a
small production company, I get to hear firsthand all the
details of the production straight from Lennie himself. After
we finished the script, I kept in contact with Lennie and I
would offer my opinions about whatever was being worked on at
the time. When the time came to design the set, I drew
sketches of what I visualized the set to look like and sent
them to Lennie. They ended up being the final design that was
used in the movie. Because all the sets are CGI, everything
was done from those sketches. That got me my name in the
credits as production designer!
Where did you get the ideas for
the set design?
I'm a very visual thinker. Even from the first time
I read the script, I could visualize what I thought the Rip
Cage would look like. It's going to be a thrill to watch the
movie and see my perception of what the set would look like on
the screen!
The opening sequence in which I
appear sounds very creative and a great deal of work. Is the
opening sequence a reflection of the things to come in the
film i.e. can we expect to see new ground being
broken?
To be honest with you, I haven't seen the opening
sequence yet, just been told about it by Lennie. I think it's
safe to say, though, that there will be new ground broken
throughout this entire film.
What would you say is the one
aspect of the film that will really set it apart from other
horror
films?
I think there are several aspects. The CGI set is a
big one. As far as any of us who have worked on the production
know, no other horror movie has had such extensive use of CGI
sets. The sets are going to look really dark, dirty, and
creepy too, which will be different from the clean, smooth CGI
people are used to seeing. Another aspect is the death scenes.
This is more Lennie's department than mine, but the movie
makers have set out to make such gory deaths that even
hard-core horror fans will not easily forget this movie. It
all adds to the horror of this movie: if you can't get the
gory death scenes out of your head, you won't be able to
forget about the dark, scary psychological message that
underlies the whole movie. The final major thing that makes
this movie revolutionary is the themes it deals with. These
themes were already present in the original script that Lennie
sent me but I tried to bring them out in order to really make
the audience think. You can interpret the themes in many ways:
spiritually, psychologically, metaphysically, religiously, and
philosophically, but any way you look at it, they're
disturbing and ominous, and they may just change the way that
audiences think!
Do you think there will be any
trouble securing a rating with the censors?
I'm really not sure, since this is the first
full-length movie that I've worked on. I've never had to deal
with censors before!
You are also interested in
photography would you perhaps like to combine photography and
film one
day?
Yes. I'm interested in all aspects of filmmaking and
cinematography is certainly one of them! As I said before I'm
a very visual thinker - I can imagine things vividly as I'd
like to see them on screen. I think that's part of the reason
why I like to write scripts and why I'm interested in
photography.
You are also a model. How does
it feel to be in front of the camera for a
change?
Modelling is a really fun experience because it's a
creative process. Most people don't realize that the model
often has as much input into a photograph as the photographer.
It's a way for me to turn my ideas into something visual and
work with other creative people. And yes, I would like to be
in front of a movie camera one day,
too!
Would you say that you are
attracted to the dark side?
Most definitely! There is romance and mystery in the
darker side of life that I embrace.
Are you a fan of the horror
genre?
Yes, but I'm more of a fan of dark, artistic movies
that are weird and different. I'm not such a fan of B horror
movies.
What are some of your favourite
movies?
Some of my favourite horror movies include Cube, The
Hole, Donnie Darko, Sleepy Hollow, and House on Haunted Hill,
just to name a few.
What else are you working
on?
I'm hoping to write more scripts and
if I'm really lucky they'll get put into production. I am
working on a full-length script at the moment, but it isn't
finished yet. I'm also working on my other creative projects:
modelling, photography, website design, and poetry and fiction
writing, as well as school, of course.
"Thank you for taking part in this
interview Vanessa.
We wish you the very best of luck in
the future."
© 2008 Savage Dog Films. All rights reserved