Archive for February 2012

by Christopher Min Catherine Keller once asked, “What is theology but an incantation at the edge of uncertainty?” I can’t help but consider that the same might be said of filmmaking—or more specifically, of Praying the Hours. It was a faithless act, really—saying yes to Lauralee. Or, if you prefer, it was a leap to…

by Producer Tamara Johnston McMahon As we fast approach principal photography for “None”—starring Aaron Ballard and Chris Min—in our production of Praying the Hours, I find that it is just as important to get in touch with the hour of prayer as it is to finalize the numerous last-minute production details (and, in some cases,…

by Lauralee Farrer The character of the Traveling Man in Praying the Hours is crossing over from this life into the next, and he carries in his pocket a copy of Rainer Maria Rilke’s book of poetry on the divine hours. This is a nod to Dante being guided through the Inferno by the Roman…

By Lance Clark In the fall of 2010, Praying the Hours producer Matt Webb and I began a series of conversations that began with “What if…” I’m sure you have all started out a few meaningful talks that way and in the end you are usually left asking more “what if” questions than discovering answers.…

by Lauralee Farrer In each of the unique stories in Praying the Hours, the writing team draws on the realities of our locations, the stories of the actors, and the personality of the Hour of the day for each story. It’s one of the tenets of no-budget filmmaking to write around what already is, but…

By Matt Webb I grew up in Huntington, went to college at Huntington College before it became a university, and even worked in the admissions office at HU for a couple years at the turn of the century (I love that I get to write that!). But when I first moved to LA in 2004…

by cinematographer Jordan McMahon When I got the news that Red was FINALLY relinquishing the never-ending saga of the Scarlet-X, my heart skipped a beat. For months the discussion was what camera to purchase for our feature film Praying The Hours. Up until this point I had only ever held a Red-One so I was…

by producer Rob Bethke Part of the adventure of producing low-budget films is the necessity to step into many different roles—in other words, filling in the gaps in your production crew. I used to fall into the trap of imagining filmmaking as a bit of a power trip, where directors and producers impart their brilliant…