First Fall - Shazeb Fahim

Written and Directed by Shazeb Fahim

Starring Paige Hapeman

Director of Photography Shazeb Fahim

Camera Operator Justin San Antonio

Assistant Camera Operator Srini Laliwala

Editor Shazeb Fahim

Sound Editor and Mixer Harper W. Harris

In 2019, I set out to make a film as minimally as possible. I wanted to make a film concerning two friends, post-graduation, who are brought together after their friendship was expected to have ended. Central to this premise was the idea that this film could be made with no budget, without compromising its cinematic quality. I spent the Fall and Winter writing in mind of limitations concerning cast, crew, locations, and resources.

In January of 2020, I had a screenplay that could be made with little to no budget, practical locations, two actors, and a camera operator. Inspired by cutting-edge filmmakers, I decided the iPhone would be our ideal camera, with an app that could give us DSLR-like control. The iPhone would allow both a new and innovative approach, as well as a more practical and inconspicuous means of filming. My friend from college, Paige Hapeman, a talented actress with an extensive theatre background, agreed to take on the lead role of Jackie.

In March of 2020, we were all set to begin filming in New York. In between our first and second weekend of filming, the City shut down due to COVID-19, and we postponed filming. In the following months, we took the time to rehearse, and further prepare. In October, we began filming again, now with my friend Justin San Antonio as our Camera Operator.

As a first-time, self-taught filmmaker, filming consisted of shooting, re-shooting, re-writing, and re-thinking. The changed city affected our production the most in adjusting our originally planned locations, which in turn affected our thinking of compositions. We shot across the city, our crew never larger than three. In keeping with our schedule and aiming to make something complete, we focused on the essence of the story to meet the minimalist production.

We finished filming at the end of December, after which Post-Production lasted from January to March of 2021. Sound Editing/Mixing was done by Harper W. Harris, polishing the film. First Fall officially finished production on 18 March. 2021, and is currently being submitted to Film Festivals. Our experiment ultimately proved successful, with a film minimally made that met our original intentions, anchored by a wonderful debut performance by Paige Hapeman, and cinematically photographed in collaboration with Justin San Antonio.

Shazeb Fahim

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