Cape Fear Unzipped, Production Notes

Like Dancing on a Shoestring, this project was shot on a low budget. And like "Dancing" the final results defied the conventional wisdom of what could be produced for a daily newspaper.
Props and the homes to shoot in and around were provided by Post staffers. Locations (like the bar) were opened to us just for promising a credit. The owner of the car that we used in two of the shots responded to a knock on the door and a request by an assistant. Most of the models were Post staffers. The photographers, assistants, page designers etc. put in quite a bit of free time just for the fun of working on it.


We teased the story for weeks in advance using this poster parody created by graphic designer, Rebecca Vaughan and an online movie trailer using stills from the shoot mixed with clips from the original movie.



 Photographer, Tim Stepien, helped with the shooting and lighting. He is standing in a corner of the photo studio that was used as the set for the police interrogation scene. 



L to R: Fashion Editor Staci Sturrock, reporter/model Mark Schwed, Art Director Pat Crowley, reporter/model Fred Marion, Sports Editor/model Nick Moschella and lead photographer Ray Graham discuss the shot.


I combed the internet for 1950's era mugshots and put together wanted posters for the background wall. The mug on the far lower left is a young Frank Sinatra. Next to him on the right, is Palm Beach Post Graphic Director, Mark Buzek. Buzek refused my request to model for me so I added him to the wall of shame.



The frame looked too spare using just three figures (my original plan) so Staci and I stepped in to figure out how to compose the frame and allow the photographers to adjust the lighting.


 Stephanie Ceccarelli and Nick Moschella brace for a re-creation of sorts of the final scene in the movie  which takes place on a houseboat during the storm. We transformed the balcony of a an old bungalow to the deck of our "houseboat." Down below we used hoses and buckets of water to create a fashion tempest. This was at the end of a long day and involved tricky lighting.

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