Behind the Scenes of Award-Winning Short Film 'New Growth'
- Karimah Westbrook
- 3 days ago
- 13 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Creating a short film is no small feat. It requires a blend of creativity, technical skills, a good story, team and crew. There’s a lot of work to do so having supportive and good energy on the set for your project makes a big difference too. New Growth, the short concept film is a prime example of how these elements came together to create and complete a fun short film. In this blog post, I will take you behind the scenes of New Growth, exploring the creative process, the challenges face, and the triumph achieved along the way.
The concept and inspiration
The inspiration for creating this short film was an effort to get my feature screenplay of the same name made. The feature is a comedy, a satire or sorts, based on the insecurities I once had about wearing my natural afro hair. Please see the more detailed blog post about my inspiration for the story here.
I decided to make the short film after reading about the different ways filmmakers can get their films made. I had initially decided on creating what’s called a concept trailer. A concept trailer is like a movie trailer, it’s something you can give to investors or anyone you want know what your story is about. A lot of people don’t have the time to read full-length scripts so this is a good way to peak their interest by showing them a short trailer of your idea.
However once I learned how much it was going to take and cost to create a concept trailer, I decided to make a short film instead, especially since I was going to need to shoot scenes to make a concept trailer anyways. I also felt that I could market the film in film festivals in hopes to garner attention and interest in the project.
Storyline
When Nia Birdsong, a down-and out inventor, accidentally creates a magical hair growth formula, she enlist the help of her eccentric best friends, Robin and Liberty, to capitalize on this new found success, but the fame and fortune could ruin their friendship and their plans to make all their dreams come true.
The Creative Team
The success of New Growth can be attributed to the talented team behind it. We shot the short during covid which could have been an extra strain on the production but everyone showed up and did their best work despite of.
When I first decided to do the short, I didn’t have a director to do it. As I speaking about this dilemma with one of the producers, they asked me “why don’t you direct it”. Directing was something I had put on my bucket list of things to try for fun one day. I had literally just said that to myself after rewatching the movie “Get Out” but I didn’t even connect the dots of this being an opportunity to do so.
I’ll try anything but I knew that directing was a craft and although I spent over the last 20 years of my life on sets acting, I knew that I would have a lot to learn in short period of time and I did. I attended “Youtube University”, spoke with a few friends who are directors, read through some directing book and I was more than ready and excited by the time filming began.
The screenplay was written by myself and my friend Kenny Young. Kenny is a screenwriter and has a history writing comedy sketches. I thought he would be perfect. When I first started wrting New Growth, I was really struggling with the structure of it since it starred three women. Kenny really helped me pull it all together.
Hair. The hair is actually the star of New Growth. When I was first thinking about the magic of the New Growth formula, I knew I wanted hair that was ridiculously big or long. At the time, I was working on All American and was talking to the head of the hair department, Porshanna Mosley, about my idea. During our conversation, she whipped out her cellphone and showed me a hairstyle she had done for a photoshoot and it was perfect. It was a photo of a model wearing a huge Afro. I asked Porshanna if she could make three more of those wigs and she said yes. I believe it is three afro wigs made into one. The afros were soon ready to go but I also knew that I wanted several other looks so I went to Amazon and ordered a variety of wigs to hep create what I was going for.
For the actual filming of New Growth, Porshanna wasn’t available but Mrs. Reana Butler came in highly referred. I had call with Reana and I sent her photos of the wigs. She loved the concept and was happy to come on board. I loved how Reana worked with all the wigs. She styled them with ease and gave us some great looks despite how big they were. You can see Reana talk about it more in the BTS video we have with her here.
The Fashion. As the writer of New Growth, I had a vision in my mind of what the girls would look like and how they were different from each other. When putting their wardrobe together, I reached out to an old friend of mine, costume designer Jason Griffin. He had styled me over the years and I knew that he would do a great job pulling the looks together. I sent him the script and the mood boards I had created for each character. Looks of what I think they would wear. Jason more than performed with the clothing he brought for each character. I loved everything. He really added to the visual style of making the world colorful and fun. You can see the bts video of Jason where he breaks down his process here.
It’s not always necessary to bring on every crew position when filming a short film, sometimes people can do more than one job, especially if you’re short on money. Here are some of the key creative crew members I brought on board.
A DP. DP stands for director of photography, they are also know as cinematographers. My DP was Euripides Nunez. The director of photography helps with creating the look of your film and how it’s shot. They bring in their knowledge of “lighting a set” to help create the look that you want. I showed our DP photos from other movies to give him and idea. I got those photos from a website called “shot deck” to give him an idea of how I wanted the short to look lighting and tone wise. You also want to show or tell the DP what you want to shoot by creating a shot list and explain how you would like to do it. This will help the DP prepare and give them an idea on what they need to order or have equipment / gear wise for filming.
A DP usually has a team that they normally work with which consist of a camera operator and gaffer. Most of the time they will want to bring those people on board with them because they already understand each other’s work, flows and styles of communication. A gaffer is the head lighting on a film and works directly with the DP, they help with the physical set up. The camera operator excuse shots, they frame and compose shots based on instruction. They work closely with the director and the DP to bring the visual story to life.
Production designer: my production designer was Catherine Pryor. A production designer helps to create the look that you want for your short (color palettes in a room, how the room looks, etc…) That can also consist of finding everything you need to decorate your set. On bigger budget projects, this position is actually the creative head of the art department responsible for the overall visual look, aesthetic and style of a film. This position leads a team which includes art directors, set decorators, prop master and builders. Thankful for Catherine and Dino Robinson (who handled all of prop and supported with set decorating). It’s helpful to have people in these positions because it’s one less thing you have to worry about but if you’re in a pinch…. plan accordingly, make lists of what’s needed, give yourself a lot of lead time and make it happen yourself.
First AD. My 1st AD was Jamar Hawkins. I love working with Jamar, he worked on another short film I did as well. A 1st AD is the 1st assistant director. They run the daily operation and scheduling of a film so the director can focus on the creative vision. Since this was my first time directing and Jamar is also a director, he was very helpful in my creative process in understanding if what I was going for and how I wanted to do it, if it were technically possible. This is really a key position because you want someone with good energy and not stressing you out but also someone to keep things moving so you stick to the schedule and finish filming on time. The 1st AD will also make sure you got all the shots you need before moving to the next scene. You will collaborate closely with the 1st AD and DP ahead of time, letting them know what you plan to do and how you want to do it. The 1st AD will tell you if they think you will have enough time or not since they deal with the scheduling of each day.
Editor. Your editor is in essence another director on your project as they cut your story together. It’s helpful if they “get” what you’re trying to communicate in your story as that will be a guide to them as they start to put the pieces together. It’s even better if they like your story as that sparks inspiration within them. My editor was great. He understood the story and contributed a lot to it creatively. From the editing, to the vfx roach on the wall to the Youtube graphics, he did a great job.
Pre-production: Laying the Groundwork
Before filming could begin. Extensive pre-production work was necessary. This phase involved, location scouting, casting and finding key crew members.
Casting the Right Talent
Casting is one of the most crucial aspects of filmmaking. For New Growth, I thought about all the actors I knew and who might be right for all the roles. I knew Tiffany Snow, whom portrayed Liberty, for many years but we also did a play together. She’s funny in real life and she rocked her hair natural so I reached to see if she would be interested. She said yes. I knew Nikea-Turner Gamby just from being in Los Angeles as actors and seeing her work in a sketch comedy troop years back. She’s super funny and she rocked a low haircut. I thought she would be perfect for the role of Nia so I reached out to her as well. She said yes. All the actors in New Growth were actor friends whose work I was familiar with and thankfully they all said yes to doing the film.
Finding the Perfect Locations
The film’s setting plays a vital role in conveying the world. While I was studying directing and observing how tone is created on film, a certain type of location became an important element for me to find, especially with Nia’s home. Colors and textures became a key thing to find. I didn’t want white walls. I also didn’t want to spend a lot buying things to dress rooms. I used online services like Peerspace to find locations to look at. After scouting several locations, I finally found the perfect spot for Nia’s home. It was an old boxing gym that a couple had converted into several sets for filming. I wanted Nia’s home to look small, worn yet colorful. It needed to feel heavy but still have color.
My second location was at my home. I used my own bathroom / vanity area to create Robin's bathroom / vanity area. My wall were white so I picked up the yellow wallpaper from Target and taped it to the wall to create some texture and to add color in the room.
My third location had several sets as well but it was much bigger than the first location. I wanted the flexibility of using several sets without having to travel anywhere else. I was able to use this location to film scenes with Robin at Rock's home and Liberty's home scenes at the same location. Because of this, we were able to knocked all those scenes out in one day.
Production: Bringing the Vision to Life
With pre-production complete, it was time to start filming. This phase is often the most intense or the most exciting, depends on how you look at it. It is filled with long hours and sometimes unexpected challenges.
The Filming Process
Filming took place over a span of three days. The crew worked to capture each scene. We only had each location for a set amount of hours so sticking to the schedule and having a 1st AD to keep me on track was crucial. I think what helped us was the fact that we had two cameras. Our DP, Euripides, employed various techniques to enhance the visual storytelling, with the lighting and close-up shots that highlighted the characters’ emotions.
Overcoming Challenges
Every film production faces obstacles, and New Growth was no exception. Every obstacle is just an opportunity to think out of the box and pivot. I honestly can’t think of many challenges on this project, the producers would probably know more about that since I was focused on directing. A good producer will usually handle things without disrupting your creative process while filming, unless they absolutely need to bring you into the situation.
I do remember, we were working 12 hour days and I didn’t have enough time to shoot a scene that took place at a park with kids on a playground. Knowing that we wouldn’t have enough time, we decided that the 1st AD could go to the park and capture that scene while the rest of us went to the second location. That scene didn’t make the Final Cut in the short but instead of abandoning it while filming we decided to split up and still tried filming it instead. Although I got all the scenes I needed, I would say time was a challenge for me. I was very close to going over time-wise one night of filming and on another night I did go over time-wise. That meant I had to spend more which I wasn’t happy about but it’s not the worst thing. I mean it is a terrible position to be in especially if you don’t have the money but it wasn’t for me doing that time. I was still pissed though.
So ultimately you have to make the decision to completely stop filming once you run out of time or suffer the consequences of having to either pay people more or pay more for the location you're renting. You can ask for "grace" which is normally an extra 15 minutes of filming without paying more or you can explain what's going on with your crew and to the owner of the location if you need more time but remember, if your days have already been long, you're paying people very little, it's only fair and considerate to stop unless you're going to compensate people more for their time. Every situation is different, you can be working with a group who's down for whatever but I try to run my sets as professionally as possible by incorporating industry standards.
Post- Production: Crafting the Final Product
Once filming wrapped, the focus shifted to post-production. This phase involves editing, sound design, and color grading, all of which are essential for creating a polished final product.
Editing the Film
The editing process is where the film truly comes together. The editor, Paul Hollingsworth, worked closely with me to ensure that the pacing and flow of the story aligned with the overall vision. He spent many hours reviewing footage, making cuts, and adding transitions to create a seamless narrative.
Sound Design and Music
Sound design is a critical element that can elevate a film. For New Growth, the team collaborated with the composer David Brian Kelly and Christopher Cox to create an original score that complemented the emotional tone of the film. I really wanted New Growth to feel like a Disney film, light and airy, that was important to me, especially with the magical realism element that the film presents. The sound design team also worked on incorporating ambient sounds that added depth to the scenes.
Color Grading
Color grading is the final touch that enhances the visual aesthetics of a film. This was a bit of a process for me. The first colorist I went to and I don’t even remember how I found him, all the actors looked orange when he was done. I was horrified. To be fair, I had a bit of a lighting issue in the film. The lights in the film were more on the colder side versus warm so this presented a specific approach with warming the skin of all us black actors. Needless to say, after several attempts, I had to move on. I keep thinking, how can I find a colorist that has done great work on movies with black actors.
I started thinking about movies with black actors and Girls Trip came to mind. Those women looked great, all different complexions and it looked normal. So the research began. Who in the hell did the color grading for Girl Trips I thought. After tons of research, phone calls, going in circles and I finally found him. I was so happy and the rest is future.
Sometimes the raw footage from filming needs adjustment, something to make is look more vibrant. See before and after before. You can use what is called a LUT to adjust the overall look of your project or you can use a colorist for specific color grading. We had used two different brand of cameras so I was trying to fix several issues with making it all look the same and the skintones real but ultimately the colorist adjusted the hues and tones to reflect the mood of each scenes, ensuring that the visual aligned with the emotional journey of all the characters.
The Film Festival and Market Journey
After completing New Growth, the team submitted the film to various markets and film festivals. ‘Film markets’ are dedicated business-to-industry trade events where completed films, works-in-progress and packages are bought, sold, financed and distributed. While film festival focus on public screenings, red carpets, award and celebrating cinema as an art form, film markets operate strictly as commercial conventions. They are closed to the general public, bringing together producers, sales agents, distributors and financiers to handle distribution rights and funding. This journey is often filled with anticipation and excitement.
Festival Selections and Awards
New Growth was selected by Top Shorts Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival short film corner. The film won Best Short and Best Ensemble at the Top Shorts Film Festival. These accolades not only validated the team’s hard work but also surprisingly opened doors for me as a Director.
Audience Reception, Impact, and Feedback
The true measure of a film’s success lies in its impact on the audience. New Growth resonated with viewers, sparking conversations about beauty and hair. Many expressed how the themes were relatable.
The Next Steps
To make New Growth the feature film!
Final Thoughts
The making of New Growth is a testament to the power of storytelling and the resilience of the human spirit. Through the challenges and triumphs, the team created a film that resonates with audiences on a profound level. As I look to the future, I remain committed to telling stories that inspire and uplift.
If you’re an aspiring filmmaker or simply a lover of cinema, take a page from the journey of New Growth. Embrace collaboration, stay true to your vision, and never underestimate the power of a compelling story and getting it done yourself!
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