Director's Statement
Stored Away is our love letter to classic horror films. We came up with a simple, creepy premise and tried not to oversaturate it with gore and torture. Our love of films like Psycho and the original Halloween is what inspired and drove us throughout the production of this film. At the end of it all, I know we have succeeded in making that homage.
~Jose Fernando Rangel
~Jose Fernando Rangel
Production Stories
ADELA- While discussing the production design for our film, we were deciding
whether to use a fake body prop or an actual body in one of our scenes. We decided
to use someone from our crew to be a dead body in the scene. We had to wrap up
our extra head to toe in large saran wrap. He had to lie still on a metal table
throughout the scene. We were constantly making sure he was breathing fine and
not feeling ill due to the heat in the storage unit. When the scene had finished we
quickly got him up and up wrapped him and he felt a bit dizzy but luckily he was fine
after a few minutes.
ASHLEY- One challenge that we had to concur as a crew was the action of the alarm system for the
Storage Unit. With us having no ability to turn off the alarm system for the other units due to the
storage company regulations, at night when other customers wanted to move their things, their
unit alarm would sound if they did not put in the correct code for access. In every film
production, time is of the essence. Every bit of time is money and with the alarm going off from
other customers with no code cost us time. As a team we all had to time ourselves accordingly
in each shot we took so that we could shoot everything. This was an experience worth learning
in tight situations.
Another challenge we faced as a crew was the uncomfortable issue of heat and many crew
members in small spaces. With us filming in the beginning of summer in the south, hot days
were among us and we had to plan accordingly so that none of our cast and crew would suffer
heat stroke. One of our crew members suffered a hydration deficiency, which lead to us making
sure that everyone was alert and healthy during the long nights of shooting. Initiating the crew
and cast to wear light clothing still didn’t stop the heat from coming. We overcame this challenge
with a light note, “ Be prepared” in the voice of Scar from The Lion King.
MATT- One of our greatest challenges was finding out 36 hours before filming began that we were going to lose a day of production due to the Memorial Day holiday. We had already previously cleared this date both with our pre-production professor and the Orlando Film Commission, but on our final night of filming our one thesis film, 36 hours before principal photography was to begin, our production professor informed us we would not have access to the equipment we had requested from campus. I had to reschedule an already tight five day schedule into an even tighter four day schedule. Luckily, I was able to restructure the week and made a four day schedule work to the best of my ability. Then during principal photography, I spent a lot of time waiting around for our equipment trucks to arrive because the driver was running behind schedule. During this time, we effectively set up as much of the shots as we could while we waited for some of the final equipment needed.
whether to use a fake body prop or an actual body in one of our scenes. We decided
to use someone from our crew to be a dead body in the scene. We had to wrap up
our extra head to toe in large saran wrap. He had to lie still on a metal table
throughout the scene. We were constantly making sure he was breathing fine and
not feeling ill due to the heat in the storage unit. When the scene had finished we
quickly got him up and up wrapped him and he felt a bit dizzy but luckily he was fine
after a few minutes.
ASHLEY- One challenge that we had to concur as a crew was the action of the alarm system for the
Storage Unit. With us having no ability to turn off the alarm system for the other units due to the
storage company regulations, at night when other customers wanted to move their things, their
unit alarm would sound if they did not put in the correct code for access. In every film
production, time is of the essence. Every bit of time is money and with the alarm going off from
other customers with no code cost us time. As a team we all had to time ourselves accordingly
in each shot we took so that we could shoot everything. This was an experience worth learning
in tight situations.
Another challenge we faced as a crew was the uncomfortable issue of heat and many crew
members in small spaces. With us filming in the beginning of summer in the south, hot days
were among us and we had to plan accordingly so that none of our cast and crew would suffer
heat stroke. One of our crew members suffered a hydration deficiency, which lead to us making
sure that everyone was alert and healthy during the long nights of shooting. Initiating the crew
and cast to wear light clothing still didn’t stop the heat from coming. We overcame this challenge
with a light note, “ Be prepared” in the voice of Scar from The Lion King.
MATT- One of our greatest challenges was finding out 36 hours before filming began that we were going to lose a day of production due to the Memorial Day holiday. We had already previously cleared this date both with our pre-production professor and the Orlando Film Commission, but on our final night of filming our one thesis film, 36 hours before principal photography was to begin, our production professor informed us we would not have access to the equipment we had requested from campus. I had to reschedule an already tight five day schedule into an even tighter four day schedule. Luckily, I was able to restructure the week and made a four day schedule work to the best of my ability. Then during principal photography, I spent a lot of time waiting around for our equipment trucks to arrive because the driver was running behind schedule. During this time, we effectively set up as much of the shots as we could while we waited for some of the final equipment needed.
Behind the Scenes Video
Shaun Leftwich
Editor/BTS
Shaun Leftwich, an Alabama native, began her professional career in Film in 2012 while attending Alabama State University. Shortly after taking classes in TV broadcast and music video production she decided to pursue film. Leading up to her MFA from Full Sail University she has served in multiple roles such line producer and editor in various projects including sound mixer for the thesis film Polaroids.