“The Hole in One,” the Video Club’s third Short Dramatic Film, premiered successfully on May 23, 2022. A crowd of about 70 in the Video Lab enjoyed wine and cheese and met members of the cast and crew. Some also toured the Video Studio, where they watched green screen and teleprompter demos and a second showing of the film.
Photos by Stephanie Brasher and Marsha Berman.
Most of the shooting on the 22-minute film was completed in November and December of 2021, but COVID pandemic issues delayed the premiere until late spring. The “Hole in One” cast members were resident actors from Village drama groups, The Old Pros and Theatre Guild. The film’s dramatic score consists of instrumental music by Shane Ivers of SilvermanSound.com.
Above left, Director Lucy Parker introduces cast members (from left) Jules Zalon, Artie Rosenstein, and Stan Levin. At right above, Dr. Tom Nash addresses the audience. Photos by Marsha Berman.
“The Hole in One” is airing on Village Television nine times during June — on Wednesdays and Sundays at noon in the “Laguna Woods Stories” time slot, accompanied by a six-minute video on “The Filming of ‘The Hole on One'” by Fred Harshbarger. Plans calls for the film to be submitted to film festivals before being placed on the club’s YouTube channel for public viewing.
THE OLD PROS MONTHLY MEETING, JULY 5
SPECIAL NOTICE: Two of the Video Club’s Short Dramatic Films – “The Hole in One” and “What? You, Too?” – will be shown, and a panel including the films’ directors, Lucy Parker and John Kelly, plus cast members will discuss “Acting for Films.” Tuesday, July 5, 3 pm, Clubhouse 2 Main Ballroom, $5 for guests. For more info, contact Gila Zalon, gilazalon@icloud.com.
The “Hole in One” script, a story of friendship and discovery by Video Club member Douglas F. Sainsbury, was selected in September, 2021 from eight original scripts submitted in the club’s third Short Dramatic Film Script Contest. It tells of a retiree facing terminal illness and determined to get a hole in one. The film asks, “In golf, in life, what matters most?”
Photos by Stephanie Brasher and Marsha Berman.
Welcoming the premiere audience, Director Lucy V. Parker introduced members of the cast and crew present (see full list below) and thanked the cast for their consistently strong performances — with a special shout-out to the film’s Dramatic Advisor, Sheila Bialka. Lucy also detailed some of the film’s production problems with plans for improvement on our next Short Dramatic Film project.
Technically, Lucy explained, “The Hole in One” was an ambitious undertaking for the mostly-amateur, all-volunteer Video One Productions crew. Most were seeking a learning experience, including herself as a first-time director. The film was made up of 13 scenes — plus a five-segment action montage — and it required 20 set-ups at 10 Laguna Woods Village locations.
What to do next time? Lucy answered the question in three ways.
First, plan to accomplish less with each shoot so that shooting days can be shorter for seniors with limited energy. And, if possible, never again (!!) plan consecutive shooting days. Retired filmmakers need to rest between shoots! Second, improve Video One’s audio and lighting capabilities. This need has already been addressed with workshops on lighting and audio taught by Dr. Tom Nash earlier this year. For future learning, the sessions were recorded and will be made available on the club’s YouTube channel. Also, for crew practice (as well as for publicity), Video One Productions Facilitator Fred Harshbarger is currently producing a 30-minute video for Village Television, detailing the Video Club’s services.
Third, shoot with one, rather than multiple cameras. The one-camera approach to dramatic filmmaking takes longer, since each scene must be repeated when shot from different angles, but it simplifies production design and editing.
Dr. Tom Nash, the film’s Advisor and Executive Producer, discussed the value to the Video Club of undertaking Short Dramatic Film projects. Tom’s background, guiding student work in the film and television program he founded at Biola University, is of enormous value to the Video Club today. The Short Dramatic Film format, he explained, combines technical and dramatic skills to create a unified product. So far, for the Video Club, that product has been “Write It Down!” (2019), “What? You, Too?” (2020), and “The Hole in One” (2022).
Photos above by Betsy Martin, Stephanie Brasher, and Marsha Berman.
CAST OF “THE HOLE IN ONE”
Jules Zalon as Don Sanders
Artie Rosenstein as Greg Denton
Terry Baker as Chester
Wendy Hames as Cindy
Barbara Powell as the Waitress
Stan Levin (Greg’s body double)
CREW
Dr. Tom Nash, Advisor/Executive Producer
John Kelly, Producer
Lucy V. Parker, Director, Co-Editor, Publicity, Titles
Douglas F. Sainsbury, Writer, Golf Advisor, Golf Props Supervisor, Publicity
Jack Crawbuck, Director of Photography, Audio Director
Sheila Bialka, Dramatic Advisor
Gila Zalon, Casting Director
Suzanne Savlov, Co-Editor, Script Supervisor
John Glassco, Eric Kuramoto, Fred Harshbarger, Camera Operators
Jim Rohrs, Sound Technician
Eric Kuramoto, Alan Clark, Gaffers & Grips
Barbara Powell, Sheryl Strich, Doe Krug, Clapboard Operators
Alexandra Scott-Kelly, Art Director, (Non-Golf) Props Supervisor
Barbara Powell, Costume & Makeup Supervisor
Joe Lorhan, Wen Chen-Lorhan, Production Assistants
Betsy Martin, Gloria D’Simone-Shute, Catering
Alexandra Scott-Kelly, Betsy Martin, Joe Lorhan, Fred Harshbarger, Production Stills
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