The 2024 indie film The Actor is seeing wider distribution via streaming deals with YouTubeTV, Amazon, Fandango Home Movies and Fawesome. The film centers on an actor, who witnesses a neighbor's murder and then stumbles upon a load of cash the victim was hiding. In keeping the money, he now has to hide who he really is.
In addition to writing and directing the feature, Richard Blake is also its lead actor. In addition to Blake, the film features Reid Kawakami, Major Dodge, Sheila Houlahan, and Phil Mendoza.
According to Blake, the shoot spanned 22 days in 2022, with an additional five days of location rehearsals and blocking prep before the first day of principal photography. He discussed camera and lens options with DP Nathan Price before production began, taking into consideration the locations, colors, camera movement needed.
"We'll cross reference together other films, looks, palettes, and then get on the same page on how we want our film to look," Blake reveals. He handled the final edit himself, with some assistance on the title sequences from editor/filmmaker Nick Growal, whom he hopes to work with on his next feature.
"He gets it," says Blake of Growal's vision.
The Actor had minimal VFX needs, though some flash and smoke effects were required for the firing of a Kentucky long rifle in close proximity to talent.
"On the day of the shoot, we just couldn't get it to practically look good enough in-camera, and we needed to be very safe of course, so we shot plates and then went and shot the rifle separately on another day," Blake explains. "I'm personally not a fan of that process, but my DP, Nathan Price, and Caleb Henry, from the company Inside Voice, were fantastic and handled all of the effects for us."
Music has a major role in the film, with eight tracks coming from the band Collective Soul, and another five pieces of original score coming from composer Raphael Dargent.
"Arron Morgan, from Paper Tone Studios, handled the final mix and Foley," Blake shares. "He's a rock guy too, so mixing in the rock tracks with the atmosphere was right up his alley."