Story Logline Smart Home is a short film about a guy who lives in a home with smart appliances and technology that seem to conspire against him when his heating goes out. It s a six minute story about one man s quest to get warm. Short Synopsis Smart Home is a short film about a guy whose heating breaks and all his attempts to try and get warm are thwarted by his new and improved smart appliances and technology that have an agenda all their own. When it comes to new technology in our homes, how smart is too smart, and who really has the power? Long Synopsis Alex comes home on a cold winter night to find his heating broken and tries everything he can think of to get warm, but every step of the way his new smart appliances and technology take control and stop him, for the greater good, of course. Alex soon becomes more and more desperate to find some way to get warm and eventually has no choice but to fight back against the smart technology that is controlling him. Read the script at www.thescriptsource.net/smarthome.pdf Brian Lyster, Cameron Waters and Vincent De Paula 2
Director s Statement In January 2014, I received a letter from BC Hydro informing me that because I refused to allow them to install a smart meter, my monthly hydro bill would be tripled. That was the day I wrote Smart Home. I have been researching smart (radio frequency identification) technology for many years and find it to be truly unparalleled in terms of its capabilities, but equally frightening where privacy is concerned. Smart Home is a cautionary tale about what our future might look like should we continue to allow widespread employment of this incredibly powerful and hidden technology, including granting corporations and governments the ability to reach into our homes and not only know, but also control virtually everything we do. I hope to make a feature documentary on the subject and am currently writing a feature film called 2048 set in a fully immersive smart world. As you may have suspected by now, one of my inspirations is George Orwell s 1984. On a personal note, Smart Home is only the second fiction short film I have directed. It is entirely self-funded and was both a challenge and a joy to bring to life. I have been blogging about the ups and downs of the filmmaking process on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/carolpfilms My greatest goal in sending my film to you is to find myself at a film festival where I can learn more about filmmaking, meet other talented filmmakers, and hopefully find a way to be able to do this for a living. I would love nothing more than to wake up every day and go to work making movies. Thank you for your consideration. Cameron Waters and Carol Phiniotis 3
The Team Carol Phiniotis - Writer / Director / Producer Smart Home is the second fiction short film that Carol has directed. Her other directing efforts include the short infomercial parody 4 Easy Payments and the short documentary Poker Diary. Carol Phiniotis is an indie filmmaker from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her passion for storytelling began with her love of science fiction, which is what prompted her to take up screenwriting when she was 15 years old. She has written dozens of screenplays and works as a screenplay consultant via her website www.thescriptsource.net. She has also been published in Scr(i)pt Magazine. Carol Phiniotis Carol holds a BFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and a Certificate in Film Production from the Vancouver Film School. Over the years she has worked as a crew member on productions big and small doing everything from Production Assistant (Paramount s Double Jeopardy, Sony s RV, The CW s Supernatural), to Screening Coordinator (MGM - Vancouver), to Producer (Wayoutwest). Carol co-wrote and produced a 9-part original web series called West of Denman which has enjoyed over a million views online. Carol also later co-produced a 7 episode half-hour TV series called Wayoutwest featuring all original short films and web series from Vancouver, which aired on television nationwide. Carol hopes to find funding to direct her next project, a sci-fi short called The Idea Factory. Composers - Marko Koumoulas & Matthew Chung Marko Koumoulas and Matthew Chung are a professionally trained musical duo who studied at York University and McMaster University, respectively, and have been friends since kindergarten. Marko is known for his quirky innovation, creativity, and dynamic stage presence, while Matthew is a classically trained pianist and composer with 17 years of study. The pair recently worked on Leo award nominated short film Hunt for the Mad Trapper and won best score for the web series Someone Not There at the 2014 LA Webfest. Amazingly, the pair only began composing for film one year ago. Cameron Waters 4
The Team Vincent De Paula - Director of Photography Vincent De Paula is a professional cinematographer with over a decade of experience shooting features, commercials and music videos worldwide. Originally from Spain, Vincent moved abroad at a young age to pursue a career as a cinematographer and found himself living between Los Angeles and London working on features, commercials and music videos. Now an accomplished cinematographer, Vincent is a member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers and IATSE 669 and lives in Vancouver, which he likes to call home. Considered by many as one of the most talented cinematographers of his generation his work has been seen in many countries and covered in magazines such as the prestigious American Cinematographer. Vincent always tries to bring a passionate and positive vision to every project he s involved in, and although he has tremendous technical knowledge, he believes that his work as a cinematographer is collaborating with the director to try to find the pictures that describe the story from an emotional point of view. View Vincent s fiction reel here: www. vincentdepaula.com/reel%20fiction.html Vincent De Paula The Camera - Sony F55 Vincent De Paula and Cameron Waters The Sony PMW-F55 CineAlta 4K Digital Cinema Camera shoots spectacular images with its 8.9MP Super 35mm image sensor. Cinematographers paint their images with light and shadow. So the ability to render tones from the deepest shadows to brightest highlights is a crucial test of any digital camera. The Sony F55 excels, with an impressive 14 stops of dynamic range, for truly film-like rendering of highlights and shadows. Smart Home was shot in 4K (4096 x 2160) and completed at the 16:9 aspect ratio (3840 x 2160). 5
The Cast Cameron Waters as Alex Cameron is an actor and aspiring director based out of Mission, BC. He started out doing extra work and performing in several small plays. While working on a feature film as a Production Assistant, he was given the opportunity to play a small speaking role. Since that moment, acting is all Cameron has ever wanted to do. Smart Home is Cameron s first leading role. Besides film, Cameron loves sports such as snowboarding, hiking, rugby, soccer and golf. He also likes to relax and play his guitar or piano, and occasionally do nothing at all except read Calvin & Hobbes. Daniela Tempesta as Smart Home voice Daniela has always loved being a performer! She is an actor, dancer, and former BC Lions Felion Cheerleader. Recently, she has enjoyed doing voice over work and performing in live dinner theatre shows around Vancouver. She is also an accomplished dancer and choreographer and her credits include: Oklahoma!, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Standing Room Only. 6
Credits Production Company: CarolP Films Writer/Producer/Director/Editor: Carol Phiniotis Alex: Cameron Waters Smart Home voice: Daniela Tempesta Director of Photography:Vincent De Paula Composers: Marko Koumoulas and Matthew Chung First Assistant Director: Matthew Tingey Second Assistant Director: Ingo Lou Set Decorator: Rebecca Sjonger Graphic Design/Props/Wardrobe: Jorge Gonzalez Assistant Set Decorator: Lelinh Du Photographs Provided by: Eriche Saide Photography Additional Photographs Provided by: Ken Chow, Keens Design & Marketing Hair/Make-up Artist: Joyce Tu First Assistant Camera: Polly Harrison Second Assistant Camera: Laird Pierce Gaffer: John Dekker Key Grip / Still Photographer: Joe Balogh Sound Mixer: Brian Lyster Sound Designer: Kevin B. Barron Animation: Wavebreak Media Additional Visual Effects: Van Cooper Colorist/Online: 24 Frames On set Smart Home voice: Morgan Pasiuk Production Assistant: Eldose Madott Catering / Craft Services: Filomena Sorace Special Thanks to: Jon Ornoy, Justin Haven, Ana Maria Carrizales, Kimberly Ann Sparks, Meg Thornton Equipment Provided by: Vincent De Paula, William F. White International Inc., Lorne Lapham Sales & Rentals Inc. Shot on the Sony F55 Digital Cinema Camera Produced with the assistance of Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society 7