Ah, the movies. We gotta love ‘em.  A haven where we can escape with a buttery bag of popcorn and a fizzy fountain drink. Where we can sit back and relax in a comfy chair and as the lights dim, be transported far away from our own life’s woes and into another realm: The world of cinema. Where we allow ourselves to be captivated by the audio and visual distractions of a story teller’s imagination, amplified and larger than life, there on the big screen in front of us for two glorious hours. As the viewer, it’s sheer magic, but we never really contemplate what it takes to make that magic happen.

The first experimental motion picture successfully took place in 1878 when Eadweard Muybridge an English photographer and photographic pioneer, who was known for his use of multiple cameras to capture motion and his creation of the zoopraxiscope a device used for projecting motion pictures and predating the celluloid film strip that is still in use today, successfully photographed a horse and rider in motion using twenty-four cameras. He then used a series of twelve stereoscopic cameras, twenty-one inches apart to cover the twenty feet taken by one horse stride, taking pictures at one thousandth of a second. The cameras were arranged on a track with trip wires attached to each shutter triggered by the horses’ gallops. These were all a series of still photographs viewed in sequence.

Thomas Edison wanted to take motion pictures a step further when he created a newer version of the phonograph. Edison used the same metal cylinder principal, only using a series of photographs lined up in sequence, and when hand cranked and viewed through an eye piece, gave the illusion of motion. The world of moving pictures had begun.

And while motion pictures have evolved leaps and bounds from Muybridge’s and Edison’s day, making a movie still takes an intense amount of hard work, even with today’s technology. Independent film writer, director and producer Matt Oyler explains this, as he takes us behind the scenes of his film Medic ZerØ.

Tell us about Medic ZerØ and how it came to be.

“Medic ZerØ really came out of a paper I wrote for paramedic school. It turned out to be a fifty-page paper by the end of it, and it was based on CDC research, medic research, and other scenarios, and is basically about what would happen if there was a pandemic. How it would start,  how it would finish, and basically how it would affect everyone.”

What made you create this paper into a motion picture story?

“Well, I did have a little bit of background in movies, TV and radio. When I wrote the paper, it was just a paper, I did it, I got a pretty good grade on it, (he laughs) it was a paper. I had worked on a fifteen-minute short movie that was directed by a friend of mine and I guess I kind of “got the bug” so to speak. I had told my friend about the paper I wrote and how I kind of thought it might be a cool movie and something I would want to watch, and when I mentioned it, he looked at me and was like ‘This is good.’ And I was like, okay, and I ran the movie through my mind and it just started. People got onboard and now it’s kind of snowballed into a completely crazy film production.”

Tell us about your background in movies.

“Well I was asked to be a set medic for a short film. I had just gotten my medic paperwork and there I was, on the set of the film doing my job to keep people safe. I was then approached by the director of that film, he was like, ‘Our male lead didn’t show up for the shoot, you wanna try out?’ So I was like, why not? And so I did it and it was fun.

“I also got to serve as an intern set medic for “The Walking Dead” during the Terminus season that was filmed in Georgia. On a set like that, you’re like, ‘Wow! This is how they do this! This is how they shot that!’ It was awesome! I was on that set for about two weeks and had a really good time!

“I was then approached by another film production that wanted me to be the full time set medic. I showed up on set, and this was in the infancy of Medic ZerØ and we had already filmed a few scenes. The best part about being a set medic is, you’re there behind the scenes, you’re the first one on the set and the last one to leave.  And so I just kind of watched and observed and took it all in, and it started making sense to me.”

Tell us about the crew of Medic ZerØ.

“Ok, well I’m gonna go ahead and start with Christopher Harding.

“He was on the set with me during the short film Project 37 and he and I sat down and had a conversation and I was like, ‘Would you like to do something fun?’ talking about Medic ZerØ, and he was down for it, he was one of the first recruits.

“The next would be Sarah Jones-Fuhrman.

“Her and her husband own a shop that sell fire and rescue gear and I needed a few things for paramedic school, and while there, I was like ‘Hey, would you be able to provide some uniforms and things like that for the film’ and she was like ‘That’d be great!’ and then Sarah was like, ‘Well, I’m a pretty good actress!’ and I was like, ‘Ok, you’re in!’ Sarah’s kinda like my little sister, I give her punches, and she always gives ‘em back!

“Then you have Britt Kinsley.

“I was telling Sarah we needed someone good at makeup and so we found Britt and she was very receptive! So, I was like, ‘Let’s do something fun.’ And Britt actually did some makeup on me one day and it blew me away! I left her salon and people were actually scared when I walked out in public! She did like an infected kind of makeup thing on me. It was awesome!

“And then you have Bryan (DuGrenier) and Gina (Regina Hazelrigg).

“Now that’s a whole other story (Matt laughs). I remember saying, ‘We need an ambulance, we have to have an ambulance!’ And a friend of mine was like, ‘Call this guy, he’s got an ambulance that he bought that he was gonna turn into a coffee truck.’ So I ended up texting Bryan, and he was like ‘Yea, you can use it for the movie.’ He and Gina have been a part of this from the start. They’ve let us use their property to shoot footage on and Bryan has gone out of his way to fix up the ambulance and get it running. The ambulance is a main character itself. Bryan and Gina have been in charge behind the scenes, Bryan’s worked sound, Gina also plays a nurse in the movie. They are just great people.

 

“Then we have Jamie Archual.

“Jamie and I went to high school together and Jamie contacted me after finding out about the movie on facebook, and was like ‘What exactly are you doing?’ And I told him about the film and Jamie showed up on set and filmed an ambulance scene and did a great job and I thought to myself, he knows what he’s doing. I felt like he would be an important part of this and I’m a firm believer of fate and I believe fate has brought a lot of us together. Jamie kind of sealed up that cinematographer role and is taking the cinematography to a level I never expected. I was like, ‘Now we’ve got something!’

“There wouldn’t be a film without Chris, or Jamie, or any of these people. It’s a family. That’s what we are, we’re a film family.”

 

Tell us a little bit about the main characters in the film and the actors who portray them.

“Ladies first, I’ll start with Pris,

she’s Britt’s daughter. When I was looking for a young female role, I had a few ideas and Britt introduced me to Pris. Pris had no acting experience whatsoever, but she didn’t need it! She just blows things away! This was definitely her role, and it’s been amazing watching her grow up on the set.

“Next is David Villavicencio.

“I met David when I was a set medic on the film #Follow Friday. We started talking and he really had an impact on me. This guy’s a really good actor! I ended up telling him about the role I had for a doctor. I was like ‘I know you live in Richmond, would you think about it and let me know’ and he was immediately like, ‘I’ll do it!’ From being a paid actor and having studied acting and doing multiple films, it’s just been amazing and I am so appreciative of his efforts. I think David has brought this solidification to the cast being a professional actor. He rolls with things, and makes his role himself.”

I believe you’ve left out one of the main characters of the film?

Chance LeCroix?

“I just play a medic. The main characters are Pris’s character, David’s character, Sarah’s character, and, (he says modestly) just me.”

How hard is it to have a supporting role and be behind the scenes directing?

“Yes, it is hard because you are behind the camera one second and then you’re in front of the camera the next. I wouldn’t suggest it, (he laughs) and you do have to separate yourself.

“I think the best part of this whole challenge, is that I do have medical training and I have been a firefighter and now a medic so I kind of know how they react to things for the most part, so I can kinda just throw myself into that emergency role. I don’t list myself as an actor among the things I do. I’m just a set medic that decided to make a movie that people will want to watch.”

How long have you been filming?

“Almost four years. This is not Hollywood (he laughs). We have to film around our crew’s schedules. We all have jobs and other things going on. During a lot of the filming of Medic ZerØ, I was still in paramedic school. We have to film around things, but a lot of really good people have been involved and I couldn’t have done it without any one of them.”

Tell us about the film locations.

“Everything has been filmed in the Roanoke and surrounding areas, Smith Mountain Lake, Pembroke, and Marion. That was the main thing about Medic ZerØ being filmed in Roanoke, was that the very first rescue squad in America was formed in Roanoke Virginia, a lot of people don’t know that. Julian Stanley Wise was fishing in the Roanoke River as a young boy one day in 1909 and watched two gentlemen fall out of a canoe and drowned and no one knew how to save them. That affected him so much that when he became older, he became a doctor and then started the first rescue squad in America in 1928.”

Tell us about some of the challenges of the film, such as transforming Roanoke into other locations.

“We were lucky enough to be able to film in Roanoke’s Wells Fargo Tower. They allowed us to shut down the stairwell on a Saturday and we were able to set off the emergency system in the building. With today being the seventeenth anniversary of September eleventh, as a first responder, I take heart to that because we lost a lot of people that day.

“The scene in the Wells Fargo Tower recreates that event. September eleventh plays a pretty good portion of the backstory of Sarah’s character Evie Howard.

“Scott Waterfield, who actually works at the Wells Fargo Tower, ended up filling the role as my firefighter because my main character didn’t show up for the scene that day, and Scott just knocked the role out of the park!

“I really want people to watch this scene and look at it from a single firefighter’s point of view. I think that footage will speak for itself.

“Blocking off Memorial Avenue, I had to kind of jump through hoops to get that done, but Roanoke officials, Roanoke police department, Roanoke fire department, Roanoke rescue squad and station seven, the park owner across the street, they were all on board. That was a challenging shoot, but we were able to get that all done.

Photo courtesy of Ivy Kingery

“We shot scenes at the fire and rescue training center and Hollins fire department came out and shot eight hundred gallons of water straight up in the air on a clear night to make it look like it was pouring down rain. They also brought in a wrecked car, they were so accommodating.

“There was the scene at Mount Pleasant fire department.

“It was end of October, early November, and it was like thirty-seven degrees outside and I was lying in a puddle getting hosed down for like twenty-minutes. One of the people involved in that shoot, Kali Hurd, plays a lieutenant in the film. She was a firefighter EMT and had battled cancer for a while but was back into action and back on the fire department. I remember being so cold during that scene and Kali wrapped a towel around me and she was like, ‘I’m gonna make sure you’re gonna be okay, Matt.’ Just the warmth from her soul and her heart was just amazing. I remember her saying, ‘This is a really cool movie Matt!’ Unfortunately, she did pass away from cancer, but Kali is an example of the ultimate sacrifice that people give to be a first responder.

“The drowning scene during hurricane Katrina was also a challenging shoot. That was filmed at Smith Mountain Lake underwater. Those scenes are just sad and scary without being too graphic.

“Ask Jamie too, about some of the challenges he has faced in the filming.”

Cinematographer Jamie Archual chimes in.

“On Hollywood movie sets there are sound stages built with lots of lighting and on Medic ZerØ and most all independent films, the challenges we face are having to deal with the elements as they are on each location shoot. We were able to bring in lighting, but the biggest challenge for me was probably lighting certain areas. One of the hardest was trying to get enough lighting for the scene that Matt spoke about at the fire station because where the naked eye can see plenty of light, the camera doesn’t always get that. For the most part and without going into detail on every shoot, the lighting would always have issues and there were scenes where room was tight and we had to be careful where we placed lights because we couldn’t overdo it, but yet we had to have enough for the scene to be realistic but still be light enough to where it was aesthetically pleasing to the eye and where you could see what was going on.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Allen Law

“Another big challenge for me, being that this is the first time I’ve ever shot an actual movie, for the last fifteen years everything I’ve done has been in a controlled environment and this is a completely different animal. The challenge is, that I’m learning as I’m going. I was thrown into this head first by choice and Matt was nice enough to let me join the crew, so I would say for me in general, just learning how to do this and how to deal with continuity issues and to make sure everything looks right and flows properly.”

What would you say has been the biggest obstacle?

“I’m gonna say scheduling.”

Jamie chimes in.

“I would agree with Matt, dealing with everyone’s schedules, but we’ve made it work. It has taken a lot longer than a Hollywood crew of people that are doing nothing but shooting a film, but we’ve all managed to make it work.”

Tell us about the support of the communities.

“Well I got to meet the Mayor of Marion which was awesome! They were really receptive and I have to give kudos to the Southwest Virginia Mental Hospital for letting us film there and then going to Emory and Henry too. They were very cool about everything. It goes back to, there was no way we could film in a functioning hospital and it worked out that we were allowed to film at Emory and Henry which was once an original hospital but has now been made into a teaching hospital. They had the facilities and simulations and a lot of the people in the scenes were EMS so I think that made it more real.

“We are a low budget film and really have no budget and so we depend on the people to help and I think one of the really important parts of Medic ZerØ are the people that have stepped up and showed up and wanted to help. There have been so many sets that people normally wouldn’t get to use. One of the reasons why I continue to struggle to make this film is because Roanoke is a great place to film a movie. I mean, you have the support of the community, you have people that show up as extras that go above and beyond. We’ve had businesses help out like Oakey’s, Wells Fargo, the city and county fire departments, police departments, EMS, and countless others, they’ve all been there.

What’s been your favorite scene to shoot?

“Jamie, you go first!” Matt laughs.

“Part of me liked the tower scene, that was a really great scene to shoot. I also liked the funeral scene because there was just so much collaboration of people coming together for that shoot, so I think that might be my favorite.”

Matt continues.

“I think out of all the scenes that I’ve filmed, it would probably have to be the first ambulance scene in the middle of nowhere in Hollins Virginia. We only did five takes of that and it worked. That’s when Sarah, Chris and I looked at each other and were like, ‘Now we’ve got a basis for something.’  It just got me excited about filming!”

What are the plans for Medic ZerØ?

“I plan on releasing it and taking it to a few film festivals. I think the best part of this entire filming is gonna be the night we release it in the theater, where we all show up and come out and we walk into that theater, together and watch it as a film crew. I’m really thankful for all the people that have done everything to make this happen.”

Medic ZerØ is hoping for a Christmas release this year.