A local film-producing duo recently won the best directing award at the Miami Web Series Festival for a web series featuring the Gorge Cinema in Elora.
Eliza Crosland of Fergus and Mary Lalonde of Guelph shot the award-winning nine-episode web series called Savvy Spinster Does the Cinema in 2013 and launched the completed series this year on Valentine’s Day in Elora. However, the idea for the Savvy Spinster character started about 10 years ago when Crosland took part in a 48-hour film challenge.
The team developed a storyline where the Mousey Spinster decided she’d drive around in a submarine to try to pick up a man, the same way men drive fancy cars to pick up women, Crosland explained.
Due to a hydro issue the group didn’t qualify for the competition but they did win the audience choice award.
“A few years back we decided we would resurrect her because she was a lot of fun but we wanted to sort of upgrade her,” Crosland said.
Thus the Savvy Spinster character was born. Crosland, Lalonde and their team began working on the project in 2011 but didn’t shoot Savvy Spinster Does the Cinema until 2013.
“I work actually at the Gorge Cinema as a projectionist/manager there and I’ve said I’ve always wanted to shoot there, I thought it would be really great location,” Crosland explained.
The group shot all nine-episodes of the web series in one month, only using the cinema at specific times.
“And because it’s a working, functioning cinema we’d have to be out of there before the crowds came so I’d be wrapping cords and making popcorn at the same time,” Crosland said with a laugh. “But we always got the shows in on time and we got everything shot so that was the important thing.”
Lalonde added, “Literally running the equipment out into the courtyard so that people could come and sit down.”
Savvy Spinster Does the Cinema chronicles a middle-aged woman’s search for “Mr. Right” while she’s working at a small movie theatre. However, each of the nine episodes is a spoof on a different movie genre, for example a romantic comedy and a silent movie were two of the genres used.
“We picked genres that we were somewhat familiar with … and just sort of following the main storyline that she was trying to find guys and all these guys would come into the cinema who were interesting and into films extensively and using that as the centre point for each story.”
To help showcase the different genres the producers hired different directors of photography for each episode who specialized in each style.
Lalonde said the directors of photography often brought their own cameras and did their own camera work, which added to the individuality and unique feel of each episode. Lalonde was also in charge of editing the web series and said she manipulated grain and colouring to give each episode the appropriate look.
The duo also tried to use lines from famous films representing each episode’s genre.
Once filming was completed in August 2013 editing took Lalonde another few months and the first cut was released in April 2014. However, the complete series was not released until Feb. 14 of this year.
Once completed, Crosland and Lalonde entered more than seven web film festivals and were one of 200 entries accepted to Miami Web Series Festival which took place in Miami from Sept. 25 to Oct. 4. The judges for the festival were from well known film studios including AMC, Disney and HBO.
“We went down hoping to network with people.” Crosland said. “(We had) no idea that we were ever going to win.”
“I kept jokingly saying to Eliza, ‘so do you have your acceptance speech,’” Lalonde said.
Though the duo has not yet heard from any of the contacts made on the trip, they’re looking at creating more Savvy Spinster episodes and maybe connecting with characters they met at Miami Web Fest.
“There was one woman that does a documentary style one on gardening and we thought … maybe she needs advice from the (Spinster) on her gardening or something,” Crosland said.
They are also working on a new dramatic series.
Watch the Savvy Spinster Does the Cinema at www.maplesugarfilms.com.
