WHEN FIREFIGHTERS MAKE AN UNEXPECTED SPLASH: INTERVIEW WITH “FISH OUT OF WATER” PRODUCERS RICARDO COSTA AND JADE GOTTFREDSON
There is so much to enjoy about “Fish Out of Water.” From brilliant writing and adaptation (Jenni James, Talitha Hanks), to a fun-loving cast, to diverse wardrobe and set design, to superb comedic timing, this short-film will leave you wanting more. The premise is simple: If firefighters wanted to make a splash in the community through fundraising, what would their theme and goal be?
While not giving too much away, this “tale tail” gem will charm your hearts. Fish Out of Water made waves during the ZFA winter season with the following awards: Best First-Time Director (Talitha Hanks), Best Comedy, Best Producer(s) (Ricardo Costa, Jade Gottfredson, Jenn Booth, Matthew P. Camacho, Tiffany Gale, Ethan Karthner, Tammy Nguyen Luu, Danh Luu, Trish Walker, and Catherine Olsen), Best Supporting Actor (Paul Cartwright), Best Ensemble Cast, and Best Wardrobe (Sarah Kay Costa).
ZFA: What a hilariously clever project! What inspired you to create this film?
FOOW: Thank you! Our first three projects with Pepperjack Pictures were produced by Tiffany Gale and Ethan Kartchner, so when it was time for us (Ricardo and Jade) to produce our first short film (and fourth Pepperjack project) we were feeling ambitious.
As new producers, we were eager to find good stories. Tiffany saw a post on Facebook from a newcomer to Utah who was trying to connect with fellow screenwriters in the area. She messaged each person who commented, asking if they were willing to let us look at their scripts and potentially film them. Jenni James submitted "Fish Out of Water," and it immediately caught our eyes. We had admired Jenni's other works, and her script was hilarious! It helped that Ricardo has two brothers who are firefighters, and his fraternity had its own fire truck, so he quickly became very passionate about it.
We wanted to make this story feel larger than a sketch, so we brought Talitha Hanks on board to direct and adapt the script. Her background in improv was exactly what we needed.
What started as a funny little thing grew into something bigger. We soon realized that “Fish Out of Water” would have to be shot in two days with a principal cast of five, plus four supporting actors, seven featured actors and 25 extras! If you do the math, that’s more than 40 people (not including the crew). Why not, right? Besides that, we had to film a 12-person photo shoot with a green screen, make 14 uniforms, and come up with 12 outrageous costumes for a calendar along with elaborate sets... When we selected this story, we had no idea the scope that this little film would take!
ZFA: Where did you film it? And how long did it take? How did you secure the locations?
FOOW: We filmed in three different locations on four separate days (two full days of principal photography and two half days with a second unit to help round out the story).
Initially we wanted to film it outdoors. The script called for a photo shoot by a lake. After consulting with our Director of Photography, James Dalrymple, we discovered it would be best to film indoors as much as possible, where we could better control light and sound. It took a while to secure locations. We checked out the pricing of a few studios but they were pretty expensive and not available the entire day we needed to film. Thankfully Marc Reynolds’ studio was available all day on the day we needed it.
For our second location, Jade had hoped to secure a fire station where she had filmed previously, but communication fell through, leaving the team a little frazzled and in need of a new location with little time. Multiple people in the film community offered location ideas which were very helpful. Several phone calls were made. Then, a friend mentioned her favorite fire station and how involved those firefighters are with the community. The phone call to that station proved fruitful, and after back and forth on a contract, the location was locked! It was perfect!!
The beginning and ending scenes were filmed at a home in Farmington by the second unit. Ricardo directed, and Dallin Call was the cinematographer.
Producers Ricardo Costa and Jade Gottfredson
ZFA: The jurors commented on the fantastic chemistry among the cast. How did you go about casting this project?
FOOW: Oh, the chemistry was real! We had a great time on set. As we began the casting process, we reached out to some friends and also posted a casting call in several film groups asking for actors to submit a comedic monologue, reel, or clip. From there, we selected people to read for certain roles. We received several amazing auditions for each role, and it was extremely hard to choose!
Paul Cartwright was one of the first actors cast. He totally blew us away with his audition. We learned that scheduling and the director’s vision have a large part in casting decisions. We feel that those who were ultimately cast were perfect for their roles and perfect together. Their chemistry on set under Talitha’s direction was comedy heaven. We hope that everyone who submitted will audition for us again in the future! Utah has some excellent talent.
Louis Boakye as “Mr. January” and Paul Cartwright as “Victory Von Victor”
ZFA: What was the biggest challenge you faced during production and/or post-production?
Where do we start???
There were so many challenges! We learned A LOT doing this production. Getting the initial funding via Kickstarter was the first challenge. Fortunately, we met our first goal and raised close to $6,000. Half of those funds came from our amazing executive producers Trish Walker, Jenn Booth and Tammy & Dahn Luu. We are so grateful for their support.
After principal photography, we added two more executive producers: Matthew Camacho and Sarah Kay Costa. We could not have done post-production without them. Ultimately, our expenses were over $10,000. Most of that was covered by our executive producers and donors, but we plan on selling the actual firefighter calendar to recoup some of the extra expenses.
Post-production proved to be the most difficult part. The post team we initially planned on having didn’t pan out. We’ve learned that we need contracts, deal memos, and deadlines for every single job. It was a bit of a nightmare, but we did it! Next time, we’ll definitely have a post-production supervisor and team in place before we start filming. We were counseled to do this, tried, and failed. It won’t happen again.
ZFA: What was the most memorable moment on set?
FOOW: Jade’s favorite moment was watching Talitha watch the actors. Talitha would mouth their lines and do a little happy dance as they perfectly executed the scene. It was magical to watch! Ricardo’s was watching Paul Cartwright transform a character that had initially three or four lines into one of the funniest, if not THE funniest, character in the film. He was brilliant!
FOOW Cont.: Another memorable thing about “Fish Out of Water” is how many women were running the show. Starting with the screenwriter, then the director, first assistant director, then four of the five executive producers, two of the three associate producers and, of course, one of the two producers are all female! And let’s not forget the four supporting actors, wardrobe and costume designer, art director, hair and makeup artist, grip and all of the background actors who are also women.
Director Talitha Hanks and crew
ZFA: Any lessons learned or things you would have done differently?
FOOW: We would do about a million things differently. We made a lot of rookie mistakes as first-time producers. Looking back, it was all necessary and worth it. We won’t make the same mistakes twice. First of all, we’ll raise more money before principal photography. We could have used a lot more money and that would have helped us finish it faster and increased the post-production quality. It would have been nice to pay everyone more. Our cast and crew were all professionals working for less than half of their normal day rates. They deserve so much more for adding their time and talents to this project.
As mentioned above, we would have had a post-production supervisor. We’re learning the importance of including deadlines in deal memos. We’re also learning how to better communicate with everyone. Miscommunication caused hiccups and delays. Luckily everyone was very graceful and forgiving, putting the story above their egos so that we could create something fun together.
ZFA: Any advice for aspiring filmmakers?
FOOW: Just make the dang thing. We had no clue what we were doing. Seriously! The real reason it’s called “Fish Out of Water” is because the producers were the literal fish out of water. Haha. But in all seriousness, just jump into a project with both feet and keep swimming ‘till you make it to the other side.
ZFA: How can we find you and follow your work?
FOOW: Pepperjack Pictures has a new website in the works but for now you can find us at (https://pepperjackpictures.myportfolio.com), on Instagram (@pepperjackpictures) and on Facebook.
Ricardo Costa & Jade Gottfredson
Interview: Alicia Oberle Farmer
Director Talitha Hanks