"After a long history (and success) of crafting stories
using young, hip New Yorkers with interconnecting
storylines spouting snarky, wittier-than-thou dialogue, I
challenged myself to expand beyond that cozy NY-indie film
box and came up with the following, which I later dubbed
the 3FG rules:
-only one main story arc; no “B” stories, no interconnected nothing
-the lead must be female: she will not be someone’s girlfriend or love interest, and she must be a normal, typical representation of a person her age and background
-NO cutaways to scenes or events where she is not a direct witness, as the movie must follow her through its entiredy
-NO cursing, explicit sex or violence
-NO standalone one-liners or jokes: the humor must come from character interactions and situations
-NO snarky, smart-ass characters
-finally, it must be an unabashed crowd-pleaser that won’t make you feel like a jerk after watching it
Coupled with my zen-and-the-art of-no-budget-filmmaking techniques (no pre-set lighting set-ups or blocking, no special lenses or steadicam apparatus, no”cool” camera shots for the sake of looking “cool”, all effects done in-camera) which allowed us to shoot a 95 page script in 9 days spread out over 4 weekends with a crew averaging out to three a day, “Three to Five and Glassy” was quite a challenge. The result is as bare-boned and Do-It-Yourself a production as you’re likely to see, but is most importantly an honest, irony-free tale of a young woman losing and finding her way in life."
-C. Rivera, August 2007
-only one main story arc; no “B” stories, no interconnected nothing
-the lead must be female: she will not be someone’s girlfriend or love interest, and she must be a normal, typical representation of a person her age and background
-NO cutaways to scenes or events where she is not a direct witness, as the movie must follow her through its entiredy
-NO cursing, explicit sex or violence
-NO standalone one-liners or jokes: the humor must come from character interactions and situations
-NO snarky, smart-ass characters
-finally, it must be an unabashed crowd-pleaser that won’t make you feel like a jerk after watching it
Coupled with my zen-and-the-art of-no-budget-filmmaking techniques (no pre-set lighting set-ups or blocking, no special lenses or steadicam apparatus, no”cool” camera shots for the sake of looking “cool”, all effects done in-camera) which allowed us to shoot a 95 page script in 9 days spread out over 4 weekends with a crew averaging out to three a day, “Three to Five and Glassy” was quite a challenge. The result is as bare-boned and Do-It-Yourself a production as you’re likely to see, but is most importantly an honest, irony-free tale of a young woman losing and finding her way in life."
-C. Rivera, August 2007
director's
statement
2008 vintage youth productions
three to five & glassy