Sweet Judy Blue Eyes - The Making Of

"Sweet Judy Blue Eyes"

Making of

The Making of "Sweet Judy Blue Eyes"

The idea for "Sweet Judy Blue Eyes" came about on the first anniversary of September 11th, 2001. Shane McCarthy wanted to say something about how he felt as a young person, experiencing the most tragic event of his generation, and say something more about the people involved than the event itself. Writing "Sweet Judy Blue Eyes" was a five month process of work-shopping the story and honing the interpersonal relationships.

Noah Harald was chosen to direct the film after he was able to convince Shane that he was the right person to tell the story. In April 2003, the two began very intricate planning and staging for the film. The biggest concern was that each character had enough depth to be missed after they were gone, and this was done through creating enormous back stories. The story was further tightened and molded through Shane's work with his mentor, Laurence Rosenthal. At the same time, Noah was spending time every day with cinematographer, David McGrory, on creating shots that were stylish yet emotionally motivated.

Director Noah Harald (right) and
Shane McCarthy discuss Michael's subtext.

Michael awaits Judy (Jamie Terwilliger) at the bar table.

Casting began in late May, and lasted for several weeks. Wading through nearly 1,500 headshot submission and seeing over one-hundred hopeful actors proved to be a tough experience, but eventually the right people were found. Work with the actors began two months before shooting, the cast and director meeting for table reads and then many long hours of improvisation and character development. Appropriately enough, the final table read was done on September 11th, 2003.

Shooting on location was not feasible for the time constraints and budget of the production. The filmmakers decided to build a bar instead. Production Designer Tema Levine was chosen from many prospective designers based on her portfolio and resume, which included American Splendor and Kissing Jessica Stein. After much collaboration between her and Noah, building began on September 19th, 2003. In a six day build, the entire crew pitched in their time to build a New York bar on a soundstage that was indistinguishable from the real thing. After the build, there was a day of pre-lighting, and then on September 26th, shooting began.

At 7:30 am, the crew arrived on the soundstage to set up what would be the first shot of the movie. The cast and crew held a moment of silence to pay tribute to those lost on September 11th, two years earlier. The only problem on the shoot was due to a small equipment glitch on day one. Since the film was shot on a high definition digital camera a 35mm lens adaptor was imported from New York City to give the finished product more of a cinematic feel. This high-tech piece of equipment, however, had focus problems which delayed the first shot by two hours. Fortunately, this was the only problem on the entire shoot.

The four days of shooting on the soundstage were spent getting the best possible performances from the actors, listening to the Rolling Stones for mood between set-ups, enjoying large catered meals, and basking in the unbelievable set created by Tema and the crew. As the director, Noah created a very relaxed environment for the cast, crew and extras so that it hardly felt like work. In all of this the filmmakers still motivated the production into a finely tuned machine. The entire crew collaborated to create a sense of positivity and professional filmmaking.

The set, expertly designed by Tema Levine and executed by the dedicated crew.

Day five of the shoot was the production's only location. As the bulk of the crew remained on the soundstage taking apart the bar they had built only days earlier, the Director, DP, Sound mixer, Production Designer and Actress (Sarah McElligott/Penny) moved to the location to recreate the tragic morning of September 11th, 2001. The performance that Sarah produced on the final shot was so emotional for the crew, that it was difficult to wrap principal photography.

Director of Photography, David McGrory
surveys the next setup.

Post-production was begun immediately by Editor Cuautemoc Hank-Myers, whose efficiency and talent produced a rough cut within two weeks of wrap. Cuau’s Zen-like aura in the editing room allowed creative arguments to flow openly and freely between himself, Shane and Noah. Each week, a new cut was produced after all input from Shane, David McGrory, Donn Cambern (A.C.E.) and Laurence Rosenthal was funneled into one list of points that Noah and Cuau would incorporate into the edit. Cuau's talent and the planning that went into the shot-list allowed the edit to happen very naturally. The post process flowed smoothly into a picture lock, where it then moved to sound design and mixing.

Austin Anderson and David McGrory designed the sound for Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. Using only sounds that they had recorded themselves; both on-set walla and foley as well as sounds from local pubs, added to the organic feel of the sound design. Shane and Noah visited every few days to check on the design, and argue over music choices, but the collaboration between all departments in post made for a fulfilling creative process. The last two weeks of post were spent in the SSL mixing room, producing a 5.1 mix for the film.

Overall, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes was a painless and intensely creative experience. It is a testament to the preparation and producing of Shane McCarthy that everything went off without a hitch. On set, Production Manager/Co-Producer Eric A. Haynes made sure that everything ran smoothly so that each person was able to focus on their job. Noah Harald could focus on his directing, David McGrory on the cinematography and Shane McCarthy on his acting; his first performance in a film. The collaboration and respect that went into the making of the film is something that the filmmakers hope has translated into the final product, Sweet Judy Blue Eyes.

They hope it is a film that says something meaningful for everyone who was involved in or experienced the tragedy on September 11th, 2001.

Camera Operator, Ryan Bradley, Key Grip,
Bill Allegar, and Shane prepare for
the only handheld shot in the bar.

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