Filmmaker Blog - Mario J. Novoa

The Shot List As much as you prepare your shot list, diagrams and storyboards, the challenge is to make changes that enhance your original concepts. During rehearsals you find the rhythm with the actors and the environment. Director of Photography Dan Cotreau and I worked for weeks to build the right list and make sure we captured the best performances. Sometimes that list worked and sometimes if didn't, so we improvised based on how the actors owned their environment  Shooting 14 pages in one day was incredibly difficult, but the preparation made all the difference. Designing the shots and lighting helped a great deal, and made the experience the most enjoyable experience I've ever had as a director. 

A talented cast and crew embarked on a table reading for The Baby Cries. The Baby Cries is a short film comedy based on a stage play I wrote for CASA 0101's The Brown and Out Theater Festival this year. It is a story of a gay couple raising their newborn daughter and the chaos that ensues when the traditional Catholic Salvadoran grandparents show up. The talented Cast includes: Martin Morales, Miriam Peniche, Matt Pascua and MJ Silva. As the writer/producer/director of the film, it is a proud moment to see the "baby" come alive. The play version generated a lot interest and praise from the audience, and it was great to hear how well people connected to the story. Time and time again people would tell me how they identified with each character - people from all walks of life: gay, straight, male and female. When writing the piece, there was a part of me that wanted the characters to be identifiable with anyone and people did indeed connect to the story of family, trad...