Past Filmmakers

Kern Saxton
Roadside Convenience

1.  How did you come up with the idea for the film?
Well, the idea came from a friend of mine, Chris Jones, who wrote the script to be made as a project at school the year before. The faculty dismissed it, as they thought it was too complicated a story to be told in 10 minutes. I was looking for an exciting project the following year, someone told me about Chris' script, so we dug it out of the trash and reworked it together. Where did he originally come up with the idea? Well at a Q&A session we held at the Tribeca Film Festival, he responded to this very same question with "I was just in a convenience store one day, and I thought, 'Wouldn't it be cool if...' and that's what came out." Also, he had wanted to make something at school that would stand out against the "film school standard" productions that seem to be made every year, so he came up with this interesting and sort of complicated way to tell a story in a short period of time, and it turned out to be incredibly gripping and fun.

2.  How long did the production process take?
From script to screen, normally takes a matter of months, but I guess we'll add an extra year on to that because the project was scrapped for about that long. I had Chris dig up the script in October of 2002, we reworked it in a few weeks, submitted and pitched it later that month, then worked out some more kinks in story meetings throughout November and December, then shot it in January of 2003. The shoot took four days total, then we edited the project until May of 2003.

3.  What challenges did you experience in the creation of the film?
Oh, tons. First, and worst of all, it was the coldest winter in recent memory when we were shooting, and most of the movie takes place outside at night. So, we would be shooting in the middle of nowhere until 2 AM every night, and most of the time, the weather got down to negative degrees with wind chill. One night, it was so incredibly cold that our batteries froze and wouldn't hold a charge, so the cameras wouldn't roll at the correct speed and the sound equipment wouldn't work, so we had to wrap early and make up the time at the end of the shoot. Pretty much the entire shoot, I couldn't feel my nose. Most of the other problems were nothing compared to the cold, as the shoot was very well organized and the crew was extremely capable. There were minor issues with the store we were shooting in, as in we only had it for a full three days, and we needed to go back and pick up shots on the fourth night that we had to skip due to the cold. The issue was easily resolved, but I remember a lot of uncertainty whether we would be able to go back and finish that night.

4.  What is your favorite memory from creating the film?
There are a ton of great memories. One of my personal favorites was when it really started to work in the editing room. I was mortified when I saw the dailies, they didn't seem to be exactly what I had hoped for. They were good, but the lab had timed our colors all wrong on the tape, and there were a bunch of incorrectly framed shots, all easily correctable when editing on video, but irritating none the less. But on the whole, the images seemed a great deal "dirtier" or "messier" than we had intended. In the end, the extra grit turned out to work really well, but at the time, I was not a happy camper. But about the third cut Toby (the editor) and I came up with, it all really started to click. It just felt right, that was a great feeling.

5.  When someone has finished watching the film, what do you hope they take away from the experience?
Well, first, I hope they've had a good time watching it. Second, I hope they get the message. It's not a very strong message, at least I don't think it is, but that was mostly because we didn't want to hit the audience over the head. Roadside Convenience always had sort of a truthful irony to it. It's over the top in what happens, yet true to life in what it says. The moral of "you can't always get what you want" is something that everyone has to deal with every day, and these characters are certainly no exception. The fact that it all unfolds the way it does is a kind of zany cinematic take on that, but the film was always designed to entertain, but to give your brain a little workout at the same time.

6.  What type of reaction has your film received from viewers?
I would say the reaction has been incredibly good. Pretty much everyone I talk to likes it. It has succeeded professionally beyond my wildest dreams as well. It took home Best Student Short at the Emerald Eye Film Festival in Greenville, NC last October, a Bronze Medal award at the 37th Annual WorldFest Houston 2004 in April, and was an official selection of the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City in May. It was also a regional finalist for the Student Academy Awards this year. So, all in all, some great recognition for a project that was on life support a few years ago.

7.  What advice would you give to aspiring young filmmaker?
Never give up. I can say in total honesty that you learn more from failure than you do from success. Be aware that filmmaking is an art of compromise. You won't be able to get exactly what's in your head onto the screen all the time. You have to know what works and what doesn't, what's manageable and what's not, and what you have time and budget for. To learn what you're capable of, you have to fall off the horse a few times, but NEVER refuse to get back up and try again just because it didn't work the first time.

8.  Please tell us about the next film you plan to work on?
I have a lot lining up right now. I'm going to be working on a low budget horror movie in Winston-Salem, directed by Wayne Crawford, produced by Andy Lane, and shot by Arledge Armenaki, all NCSA School of Filmmaking faculty. After that, I plan on moving to Los Angeles and starting work on a low budget feature of my own.

9.  What are your thoughts on the film industry in NC?
NC is definitely a viable place to shoot certain. Los Angeles is where the center of the business is, but you keep hearing more and more about studio films as well as independent films being shot here in North Carolina. The digital revolution in the film industry is allowing many more people to make films, and I think that's exceptionally good news for independent filmmakers in NC. I think the film industry here is still very much in its infancy and will enjoy a great deal of growth in the years to come.