Filmmaker Jake Stetler On The Making Of No Sanctuary

Stand and Deliver Us! 

Jake Stetler is a storyteller, digital filmmaker, screenwriter, former paratrooper and devoted father & husband from Central Pennsylvania. Jake took time out of his busy schedule to talk with Mireille M. about his feature film No Sanctuary 

You currently work full time as a media specialist, you are working on your feature film No Sanctuary, and you’re married raising three boys. How do you maintain equilibrium between your work and personal life?

Short answer: With much difficulty. But in truth, my life is about balance. I am passionate about filmmaking, but I love my family more. I work on No Sanctuary during my lunch break, after everyone falls asleep each evening, Saturdays, and holidays. I wasn’t going to sacrifice their financial security for the film. The ideal plan though is to transition into making films full time.

How did the story for No Sanctuary come about and would you explain the mythology behind it?

I had attended a Creative Screenwriting Expo in LA before I began production. Every seminar had conflicting information on how to achieve success as a filmmaker. But I started to see a trend… All of the instructors had persistence, passion, and they did it themselves. I was inspired. Up until this point I had been writing and directing short films. I was “waiting” to do my feature. On the plane home to Pennsylvania I made the decision to tell everyone I met that I was filming a feature film by summer. This was November. I felt if I told enough people, I would have to make it happen or lose face. Now I needed to decide on a screenplay. During the same flight, I opened my laptop and sorted through all my notes and script fragments. I literally conceived the plot before I landed. Many aspects of the story were ideas that I ripped from earlier works. Ideas that still inspired or excited me. The characters Deacon and Tanner were lifted from two unproduced short films. The antagonists, The Highwaymen, were featured in my first short, a silent 16mm picture. For the feature I expanded their story. I made them demon-infested corpses that have been banging around since the Revolutionary War. I knew I wanted to do a siege film. I had been inspired by Howard Hawk’s Rio Bravo and the original Assault on Precinct 13 by John Carpenter. In many ways I consider No Sanctuary a modern Western.

What excites you about the characters in your film?

I am drawn to stories with mythic elements and archetypes, but I love characters that are accessible as well. Many of the stories that I write explore the concept of the Everyman thrust into extraordinary situations. I make the statement often that I am inspired by both Frank Capra and John Woo. Deeply interesting characters and a definitive visual style.

The characters in No Sanctuary are all outcasts. Loners. The violence draws them together. They become a family unit by the end. Deacon is the reluctant gunslinger. A man torn between his faith and his need to protect the others from certain death. His nemesis, Midnight Jack, has been immortal since the Revolutionary War. His character was inspired by the Flying Dutchman and the Wandering Jew legends. A damned character who wanders the earth until Judgment Day. As a result he torments Deacon out of boredom. Like a cat toying with a mouse. He is malicious, but he maintains a certain gallows humor.

Certainly there are challenges inherent with filming a micro budget action film. What are some of those challenges and what techniques did you learn in order to overcome them?

Safety and budget issues need to be addressed when doing action sequences. This film contains fight scenes and gunplay.

Most of the stunts were done by trained martial artists. But the lead actors did their own fights. All the roles required physical prowess. Only Fred Waters, Bartimaeus in the film, had an extensive background before the shoot. He is in the World Martial Art Hall of Fame and is the creator of his own style of combat training.

Firearms require even more care and training. Hollywood films have highly specialized and licensed technicians who use weapons that are specifically designed to be used on motion pictures. Most blanks will not blowback enough to shoot semi-automatic. 

Armorers retrofit guns so that they will work in semi-auto mode. Most Indies use Airsoft guns, realistic replicas that do not fire real ammunition or blanks. Muzzle flash and cordite are added in post production with programs like Adobe After Effects.

For our shoot we chose more of a hybrid model. I tend to be of the mind that an actor does not give a realistic performance with an Airsoft gun. They have nothing to react to. Real firearms elicit emotion; fear, adrenaline, and respect. We shot the film on private land away from residential areas. My cousin, Joe Salaki was armorer. He has a substantial collection of firearms and is licensed to carry them. We used motion picture blanks. We trained the actors. My military training as a paratrooper was useful. At the start of production I demonstrated never to point a weapon at anyone by firing a blank into a Styrofoam cup. Blanks do not contain bullets, but there is a wad of paper in them that can be dangerous when shot in close proximity. The Styrofoam cup vaporizes. It is an effective demonstration. Additional safety was provided by an EMT and a police officer trained in SWAT.

The only issue with this technique is that semi-automatic weapons would only fire once. I had to make creative edits to simulate semi-auto mode. For some close ups we used a replica handgun that fires 8mm blanks. [These replicas are often used in theater or stunt shows.] We used this replica to fire in rapid succession and to focus on spent shells flying through the air. In post I had to add the muzzle flashes, because these replicas have a plug in the barrel for safety. For some scenes, when we couldn’t control the situation, we did use the Airsoft/After Effects Method. I should caution the readers not to attempt these methods without proper supervision and training or suffer from legal and safety repercussions.

Please share with us why you chose to make an action film versus a traditional low budget drama or horror film?

There are many reasons that I chose to make an indie action flick. Many genre directors are type cast by their first feature film. If that were to happen in my case, I would prefer to work as an action film director. Like horror, action is inherently more commercial. I believe that you can explore almost every possible human emotion in a well made action film; drama, humor, suspense, and horror. Fantasy and science fiction elements can be included as well.

Several years ago you began your journey in making No Sanctuary. Please share with us the changes and paradigm shifts that have occurred since you started production.

When I started No Sanctuary the Digital Revolution had arrived, cinematographers still debated film versus video, high definition was the shiny new toy, but nobody knew how to edit such large files yet, it was necessary to have a small army to crew a production, the internet was for email and for hosting static webpages, and filmmakers still believed in Sundance and the million dollar distribution deal.

Today social media, blogs, crowd funding, inexpensive high definition cameras with professional lens and solid state memory are at the disposal of the indie film community.

The most significant change is that the filmmaker, or any artist for that matter, must now establish a brand and be responsible for their own success. Many voices are crying out in the wilderness. A filmmaker must distinguish themselves and curate their own audience. A filmmaker must be artist, business person, technician, and marketer.

If you would explain, why has it taken years to produce the film? Was there ever a time you almost lost hope the film would be completed? 

When I first wrote the screenplay for No Sanctuary I had read that the average independent film takes three to five years to complete. I remember thinking that I could probably do it in a year. Five years later, I stand humbled.

The challenge was not being able to work on the film every waking moment. I hold down a full time job to support my family. There were budget restraints as well. Often I took freelance video production gigs outside of my day job to continue to finance the film. This of course took even more time away from the project.

I had also violated many of the “rules” when writing an independent film. I tried to keep it to a few locations. I set most of the film in the ruins of a church. But I soon expanded the story to include more locations. I wasn’t “supposed” to include children and animals. Two significant characters were children and we shot several scenes with horses. Other areas to avoid; night scenes and weather. We had them. No period elements. A portion of the film is set in Colonial America. No guns or martial arts. We completely ignored this “rule”. [See my response to question four.] And no visual effects. In truth this has significantly increased post production.

There have been many challenges, the learning curve was steep, but in the end I pulled it off and gained a deep understanding of the process. It was trial and error, but I developed a wealth of experience. Filmmaking requires passion and endurance. Buckets full of endurance. More importantly it requires the support of loved ones. When I struggled with doubt, frustration, and exhaustion, I could seek encouragement from my wife and sons. They believe in me. They lift my spirits. Truthfully, without them, my life would be a hollow experience. They inspire me to do my best despite any limitations that I might come up against.

Please share with us which elements of production you were successful on and those you were not. What valuable lessons have you learned from both your successes and missteps? 

I believe we were able to achieve high production value on a low budget. I think we were able to create an engaging story with interesting characters. I hope the audience finds the film entertaining and inspiring.

There were errors along the way, sacrifices, and concessions to be made, but ultimately I have an idea of how I can do better during the next production.

How will you incorporate what you’ve learned so the next feature film you make will be more efficient in production?

When I make my next feature I will build a core filmmaking team that will be devoted to the film throughout production. I had a dedicated cast and crew on No Sanctuary, but ultimately I had to forge the way alone at times. The DIY concept has its merit, but ultimately it is way more difficult. Recently there has been a surge in indie filmmaking teams. Passionate artists pulling their resources and talents together. Tilt the Movie (Phil Holbrook, Jeremy Doyle, Jessica King, & Julie Keck) and Hardcore Indie (David P. Baker, Oklahoma Ward, & Nikki Alonso) are great examples. (Heck, if you are interested, contact me on Twitter.)

I will also shoot the film in a more condensed time frame. I spent the entire summer shooting this film, using weekends and vacation time. The next production will be produced in several intense consecutive weeks.

I am editing the movie myself. I love the process, but with solid state media and lower cost hard drives, editing now can begin during production. I will hire an editor for the next project to complete a rough cut just after production.

During this production I gained valuable insights as a storyteller. No Sanctuary, in many ways, was a trial by fire, my alternative to film school. The shot ratio on the next gig will be lower. I have better instincts on what shots are necessary to tell the story. Action films typically need more coverage, so I had about 40 hours of footage to go through during the post of this film. For the next project, I will cut back significantly.

What are your future goals as a filmmaker?

As I release and distribute No Sanctuary, I would like to start immediately on the next project. I will eventually transition away from the day job. My wife, Colette and I are starting a film development company called, Colebrook Studios. As with many indie producers, I am want to live the dream of being a “middle class filmmaker”. To make enough money at our craft to transition from filmmaking as a sleep deprived experiment in obsession to filmmaking as viable career.

Official Website for No Sanctuary Movie:
http://nosanctuarymovie.com/

Jake Stetler on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/jakestetler/