OPENING UP DIALOGUE THROUGH ART: INTERVIEW WITH “ENVELOP E” DIRECTOR WALTER MECHAM
Opening up dialogue through art, regardless of the medium, can be challenging, especially when your goal is not to push a certain agenda. First-time director Walter Mecham achieved just that and more with “Envelop e.” Through incredible performances, a very original storyline, and a twist that really leaves you thinking about the entirety of the project long after its over, Envelop e pushes the boundaries of what art can mean. This thought-provoking project won the following awards at the October/November edition of ZFA: Best Story, Honorable Mention: Best Actress (Charla Bocchicchio), Honorable Mention: Best Director (Walter Mecham), and Honorable Mention: Best Supporting Actor (Leviticus Brown).
ZFA: The topic of human trafficking is so important for spreading awareness. What was your inspiration to create this film? How did you build the characters and cast the roles?
Walter: My inspiration was the film “Room (2015)” with Brie Larson. When I watched it, struck a deep chord in me about the realism of the situation. I played around with the idea of, “What if you found someone? What if there was a reason not to free them immediately? What if the person that found them was also broken?”
I had acted opposite with Charla playing an abusive husband that she ends up murdering. So, when I started writing the script, I had her in mind. In fact, I sent her the script when it was about half way through the first draft and told her that if she wasn’t interested, I probably wouldn’t finish it. That is how much I felt that she was the one to bring the character to life.
I held open auditions for the character “Baby.” We had several people walk out of the cold reads because the part wasn’t for everyone. I had invited several people that I had worked with before, and Jason Wixom seemed like an obvious choice. In the end, I went with Levi because I felt he brought the right mix. He didn’t play him as too child like, he brought great emotion. Although I had initially thought of Baby as super skinny, I realized that Baby sat in a room all day, every day. No exercise, and he was fed well. The people that took him didn’t want him to be sick. With that thought, Levi became the favorite for the role.
ZFA: How did you keep team morale going on your set with such a heavy topic? What did you do to bring out the best from the talent?
Walter: We shot everything outside of the room on different dates than we shot inside the room. Of course I paid everyone and tried to make sure that the food on set was good (that goes a long way for mood). Even when shooting in the room, there was a bit of joking between scenes. I have spent quite a bit of time in front of the camera. I like to think that makes me a better director. I know that each actor has their own approach, and some like to be alone before a heavy scene. It’s important to let them find the emotion and then let it play out. As an actor I find it hard when a director takes any break in the middle of a emotionally heavy scene.
ZFA: How long did the project take to complete? How did you find the location?
Walter: We did three days of shooting: One in the room, and the rest the weekend before. The location is my house. I built the room out of styrofoam in my garage -complete with removable walls so that I could get the shots that I wanted.
ZFA: What was the biggest challenge you faced while filming and/or in post-production?
Walter: Money was the biggest. I really wanted to pay EVERYONE. So I waited until I had the money in hand to do that before filming.
ZFA: Were there lessons learned while creating this project that you would like to share? What, if anything, would you have done differently?
Walter: I would have shot the rest of the script and made it a feature. It came in at a bad time for festivals. When people watch a short, they expect it to be 5-10 minutes. I couldn’t submit it to a lot of festivals because it just didn’t fit time wise. The biggest question I got about it was, “ Why I didn’t give more of the main characters backstory so that it was easier to understand why she made the choices that she did?”
ZFA: What message do you want to convey to your audiences?
Walter: I want to make films that make people think about it after they walk out the door…..that make them have discussions about hard topics, whether that be love, death, abuse, or life in general. Getting people to talk about things that make us uncomfortable shines a light on the problems that a society tries to gloss over.
ZFA: How do we find you, and what is next?
Walter: Walter Mecham on Facebook. escapegames@hotmail.com
As far as what is next. I hope to keep writing, directing and acting. I do have a feature written that I would love to shoot, but as with all of us, money is an issue.
I love the film community here in Utah! Lets keep up the great work.