Brooke Lemke, along with her partner Rachel Grubb, are the founding members of Silent But Deadly Productions. Recently, I reviewed their Why am I in a Box? DVD release, including the title film and the two bonus shorts that were included, Young Eyes and A Broken Family. In this interview, I asked Brooke about all three films in an effort to find out a little more about some of her more notable production experiences and also to get some background info about their company and how it operates.

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I've interviewed you here before along with your partner Rachel Grubb, but it's been a while, so let's start off by having you tell everyone a bit about yourself and your background.

I'm originally from Iowa with a background in horses. I competed horses, trained horse and taught as well, but that got put to the side when I had to sell my horse for financial reasons. I had an interest in acting so I decided to turn my energy over to that. I started off in film/television as an actress. I move to Minneapolis after acting with William Shatner in "Invasion Iowa". When I moved to Minneapolis, I pursued acting through classes and working on films as an extra while going out on auditions. I landed my first lead role in "Tale of the Dead" alongside Rachel Grubb where we created Silent-But-Deadly Productions. After acting for a year and working in preproduction on our first feature, "Why Am I In A Box?", I wanted to expand my horizons. I wanted to become a well respected Producer and Director and the only way to do that was to expand my knowledge through working with more people an meeting with more people. I eventually got into freelancing as a PA and AD in 2008 after I directed my first two short films ("A Broken Family" and "Young Eyes"). I soon discovered I love the AD position, a lot, and I applied to the NYC DGA Assistant Director Training Program in 2009 where I was a top scorer on the exam and landed a first round interview. I didn't make it to the final interview, so I stayed in Minneapolis and focused on my freelancing. This past year, I decided to try and do some freelance producing, separate from Silent-But-Deadly, and I created B Yourself Productions. With that company I only work as a Producer and Production Manager. I produced the short film "Whiskey" for a local director who is now in LA studying film. I also produced/directed my third short film, "A Young Heart", through Silent-But-Deadly for a local writer. Right now, I've got a few ideas on the table and trying to decide how to approach 2010!

Tell us how you and Rachel came to decide to become partners and create your production company, Silent But Deadly Productions, and what the main philosophy behind it is.

Silent-But-Deadly came alive in 2006. Rachel and I were acting in the independent film, "Tales of the Dead", where we realized how much we enjoyed working with each other, but the biggest reason Silent-But-Deadly Productions  was created was that we both realized we had the same drive, passion and follow through. We both had met so many people in our lives that just talk about what they want to do. Rachel and I knew that we wanted to make films. We both had a desire to produce and direct our own films and we always did what we said we were going to do, so the idea of partnering up was a "no brainer". We also wanted to write acting roles for us that we normally wouldn't receive. I always get the protagonist roles and Rachel always gets the antagonist roles, so we figured what better way than to show people of our range by creating roles for us that we wouldn't ever be considered to play. Our philosophy has more to do with helping other women realize their potential within the industry. We love working with men and always will. We'll welcome anyone on our productions that are believers in team work and seeing the projects through. We hope through the company and our philosophy that we'll draw more women to strong roles in front of and behind the camera.

We're going to talk about the main film on your DVD release in a bit, but first I want to talk a bit about the two shorts included as extras.  Let's start with A Broken Family.  You co-wrote (with Ryan Strandjord), directed and co-produced this one.  Tell us first about the creative beginnings of this one.  Where did the idea come from and how did it evolve to it's final form before going into actual production?

The actual idea for A Broken Family came from a past relationship, in which I was engaged. When I wrote "A Broken Family", I had tried to write the story several times but it kept getting shelved because, in my mind, it was stupid. I needed to write it for my own therapy and to move on, but I was stuck. Literally, one day in November 2007, while working on "Why Am I In A Box?" I awoke and realized how I was going to write it. I sat down and typed up the first draft within two hours. I sent it off to a fellow filmmaker, Ryan, and he responded by saying he liked the concept. I was tripping up on the dialogue though, so I asked him to take a stab at it. The first draft was almost literally what happened when I called off my own engagement, but then we started adding more to the story and adding twists. Before I knew it the final draft was nothing like the first. It was better. It still had the same message, but it became something I could see on screen. The biggest change happened in preproduction after we had the final draft completed. The film was going to be very simple, taking place in a restroom at a wedding reception with just two actors, but I couldn't lock down a large enough bathroom with the days we wanted to shoot, so two months out from production, we rewrote the screenplay a final time to take place at a wedding in which the bride doesn't show up.

Did you find it harder to work with someone on co-writing a film than it is to write one on your own, or do you find that it's easier when you have someone else that you can bounce ideas off of each other and perhaps come out with a better product, but yet at the same time giving up some of that control and risking that your original story idea may come out slightly or even significantly different than you had originally envisioned?

I love collaborating! The idea for "A Broken Family" was mine, but I, alone, couldn't make it into something great. I turned to people I could trust for honest feedback on the story and then I worked with someone that knew of my story and who could see the potential in making it something greater. I didn't hand it over to Ryan and say, "okay, it's all yours, make it good". We would send drafts back and forth and discuss what could be real and what would seem fake. He wrote a lot of things I disagreed with, yet he also added a ton of ideas that we used. Here's a little side note: I don't aim to be a writer. I sought out to write "A Broken Family" as therapy for ending that relationship as well as proving to myself that I could write. I had an English/Literature teacher that would tear me down in high school and I went through my life allowing her to have control over what I thought I could or couldn't do in terms of writing. I have learned about the process of writing which has benefited me. As a Director of an upcoming feature that is being written, I know how the writing process works now, so I'm keeping my hands out of it. Once the first draft is done, we'll start collaborating to turn the story into something everyone involved will be proud to be a part of and the audience can enjoy. In order for a writer to do their best work, they need to put themselves into it initially, that's what I did and that's what I will ask of future writers.

Once it came time to do the production, how difficult was it for you to assemble such a large cast of extras for the wedding scene?  I noticed that many of the principles were people that you had worked with in the past, but what about the "guests"?  Was it hard getting such a large group together all on the same day to shoot that scene?  I guess the good part of it is that if you have a few people more or less in a scene like that, no one would notice, but you do have to sort of hit a certain number for it to look right.

This is where people can see why Silent-But-Deadly Productions keeps working. Rachel and I have different strengths and weaknesses. Rachel has a knack for extras casting, which is not my forte.  She sent out a casting notice through several different sources and we ended up with over 70 extras in a chapel that only holds 60 people! It helped that we had made a feature film and our name was starting to get out there, so people trusted our company and coming onto our set for the day. It was very important to me that we pulled this off. I wanted it to feel like a real wedding with a lot of guests, so Rachel kept at it until the final day. She didn't just send out one casting notice and said that's that, who we get is who we get. She kept sending out casting notices over and over again to the same sources and it made the film what it is. We could have cheated a number of the shots, but we didn't have to!

When it comes to casting a film, do you tend to look more for a match to the people you saw in your head while you were writing the story both physically and in their personal mannerisms, or do you look more for someone who simply has the talent to play the part really well, even though they may not match up with your originally envisioned characters?  I would imagine sometimes it can end up being sort of an either/or kind of a situation, with the ideal that you would be able to find individuals who can meet both criteria.

After having been a Producer behind the table at an audition, I knew that you might have ideas about a character, but someone will walk right in and your ideas are blown right out of the water. I went into "A Broken Family" auditions, along with the two films that followed, knowing that I needed to believe certain things from the actors in order for the characters to be real. I didn't go in thinking about hair color, height, skin tone, I just needed to believe them. The best lesson you can learn in filmmaking is to never hold onto your original idea. You have to let it grow and expand into something great. It never will if you hang on to your initial ideas. I had no idea that Ashley was going to be a redhead, but Sheena Leigh came in and knocked it out of the park. That was the moment I realized who Ashley was. Stephanie Nelson walked in and I was amazed by her abilities as well. There were several other actresses that were amazing, but the decision came down to who I felt could play off of whom and whom I felt I could work with to bring out the most to make the characters into something real.

You had a rather large crew for this film as well.  Do you guys have sort of a core group of crew that you work with regularly or do you bring different people in as needed for each production?  Also, how hard is it to assemble a good crew, and where do you look for them?

A lot of the crew from "Why Am I In A Box?" came to work on "A Broken Family". They were people Rachel had worked with on other films  that she acted in, so through her I got to know them and to appreciate their skills and knowledge as well. We still work with a number of them and hopefully, always will. However, a few of them have moved to LA or NY, so we'll be looking for new production team and crew members. I am blessed to have freelanced as a PA and AD over the past year and my list of potential people to work with has multiplied. With our next films we'll contact those people first and ask to work with them and then get recommendations from them to fill in any missing positions. We'll also probably conduct interviews and make sure that any future people we work with are believers in our company and our mission.

Making a film that looks as good as this one did also takes good production equipment, which can get really expensive.  How do you finance your films, and how do you go about acquiring the equipment you need?  How much is yours, and how much is borrowed, rented or whatever?

Silent-But-Deadly is actually a non-profit production company so we get a few breaks in sales tax and people will donate their equipment to us for a tax write-off. Plus, we will get a few monetary donations from people who believe in us as well. Our goal with future films is to get backing through donations for our cause. We didn't feel right for asking for donations on our first few films because we wanted to prove to people that we are serious and that we can produce and direct. I think we've proved that so moving forward, we hope to get the financial backing to make our next projects bigger and better projects that will allow us to do more for women. The budget for "A Broken Family" was around $3000 and that came out of mine and Rachel's pockets. Everything for "A Broken Family" came together once we locked down our DP. Through him, we found the camera operator and camera, as well as the grip and electric equipment and we even used the lens adapter that gives the movie more of a "film" look. It was probably 50/50 rented/borrowed. None of the equipment we use is ours.

Now let's talk a bit about the other short, Young Eyes.  This film had a considerably smaller cast and in it your two principles were both young girls.  Do you find it easier working with young people as opposed to adults, in that they're more eager to do what you tell them to do, exactly as you wanted it, or was it more difficult in the sense of getting them to focus and what not?  I noticed that both of the girls in this film, Keeley Miller and Madelyn Boettner, both seemed really focused and professional about what they were doing.

Actually, I prefer working with younger actors more than adults. The reason for this is their ability to keep every emotion raw. The biggest thing with Keeley and Madelyn was their passion for doing this. They wanted to be actors, so they were extremely professional and very tuned into what I was saying and what was going on while on set. I make it a point to pick children that want to be doing this. When they walk into the audition, I put them in a challenging situation by asking them to improv the end of the scene. A child that wants to act will run with it. A child that doesn't want to be there will hold back and get upset. It might sound cruel, but its more cruel to have a child audition when they don't want to be actors. I also place people in the waiting area to observe the interaction between the parents and the children. I consult them after I make a list of my top picks. Keeley and Madelyn were hands down my top two choices for the film for several reasons. They displayed their passion to be actors, they ran with the challenges I presented to them and they also had great parents that encouraged them, but didn't force them to be there. I will not tolerate stage parents on my sets. I don't care how talented a child is, if the parent is  a stage parent, I run the risk of lowering the quality of the film and the quality of the experience for all of those involved as my crews are just as important to me as my actors. I was blessed that Keeley and Madelyn were extremely talented and passionate young ladies, with parents that were very respectful of all of those involved in the production, including the other actors and the crew. I plan to continue to work with young actors as much as possible.

You didn't have a hand in writing Young Eyes, but again you served as the director, as well as taking on several other roles behind the camera.  How is it for you directing someone else's story?  Do you try to meet the writers vision of what the film should look like and how the characters should be, or do you read the script and sort of go with your own vision of how it should be?

When I get asked to potentially direct a screenplay, I tell the writer two things; that it must be their vision when they write it and that they can't have any camera directions in it before I will consider reading it. They have to put themselves into it. If I read something and it's cliche or trying to copy something, I will turn it down. Heather Beck wrote Young Eyes with passion and a cause  and I could feel it in reading it. The reason I request no camera directions is because it will hinder how I read or envision the screenplay coming to life. Once I say yes to directing a film, I tell the writer they will relinquish all visual rights to the film. It is my job as a director to make the screenplay come to life on the screen. Its a trusting relationship. I trusted them to put themselves into the screenplay and if they did so, I will feel it and be able to bring it to life on the screen. I do tell a writer that if I want any rewrites, they will do the rewrites based on any of my recommendations, but I will not do any rewrites to a writer's work. I respect a writer and their abilities and I expect respect as a director.

Looking back on both films, is there anything you'd change about either one now that you've had plenty of time separation to offer you some hindsight?

You can always look back at past works and wish you did things differently. I wish some of the lighting was slightly tweaked. I wish I had gotten this shot or that. I  wish I could have had two more takes to get even more out of the actor. I wish I spent more time on the screenplay. You're always going to wish you could change things, but you can't. The only thing I can change is how I move forward. I have learned how to get more out of people and time  and to work more efficiently so I can get by on tighter schedules but producing a better product. I look forward to making every project better than the last. The only thing I can say about those films was that those were my first films I ever produced and directed and I had no formal education. It all came from asking questions and putting myself on sets as an actor to learn. Many people will never show you their first pieces of work. I can say, that my first pieces of work are something I am proud of showing people and I will be the first to say that they better not be my best works when my career is said and done!

The main core of the release is the film Why am I in a Box?.  Rachel wrote and directed this one, and from what I remember, it was in the works for a long time.  Tell us about how it came about and how long it took to take it from the initial writing stages to a finished film.

The writing stage was the fastest stage because Rachel already had this idea in the works. It took her under two months to finish the screenplay from the time we said "let's make a film!" to the time she sent the first draft to me to when we locked the script. The next stage was preproduction. A whole new animal to us, but we had some great people that we were able to consult and ask questions. This stage was about ten months long. This entailed casting, locking down crew, finding locations, drawing up contracts, wardrobe, rehearsals…etc. The production stage was two months long, but we only shot on weekends for a grand total of 13 shooting days. Post-production was the most challenging stage for us, because as actresses you never do much in this stage except for maybe ADR work. So this took us about 20 months. There was a lot of versions of the edits before it was picture locked and then it went into the composing, color correcting, sound editing and even the animation processes. This film took a grand total of 34 months to make. A big reason it took a little longer than most feature films was our schedules. We both were trying to learn about post-production while producing 4 other short films and a webseries all while working full-time jobs and freelancing. So with all of that considered, it went rather fast!

This film had a fairly large cast, but I want to talk about your character, Paige.  Was it decided from the beginning you'd be Paige, or was it something where you read it and basically said, "Oh my god!  I want to play her!"?

Right from the beginning it was decided. I expressed to Rachel that I hate playing the protagonist all the time. I wanted to be the bad person for once. Paige was just the character for me to do that. Rachel also plays the antagonist a lot so it was great for her to be the protagonist. Once she finished writing the screenplay, that's when I became all excited and happy to be in that role. She was a great character on paper and I couldn't wait for her to come to life. It's still, by far, my favorite role to have ever played.

The way you played the character had sort of a subtle evil to it.  She was a bitch, sure, but there were also some deeper aspects to the character, like frustration, envy, etc..., which I feel you brought to the character through the way you played her.  It's hard to write that sort of thing.  It's really something that has to be processed by the actress and brought out in the character as she plays it.  How do you approach characters like this when you play them?  How do you go about translating the written words into a fully fleshed out character with her own mannerisms, emotional responses, etc...?
First off, with Rachel as the director and having worked with her in pre-production on the film, I knew her vision that she had for the character, Paige. However, I wanted to bring my own little twists to Paige. When I act, I figure out what I have in common with my character and build from there. Paige and I both hate it when people talk about what they want to do but never do it and that's a huge thing to have in common with your character, luckily it was also my motivation. Once I have my motivation, my character doesn't become me, I become her. When I was her I had this desire to kill Ellen for being so talented yet so unmotivated, I would be so mad and frustrated and hateful when I was Paige, things I'm normally not, but when I put myself into the character's skin, the little mannerisms and responses become things I never would have come up with on my own and the emotions become real. I've never had a desire to kill a person, but during those white room scenes I wanted to kill Ellen cause I was so invested in what my character wanted. We all have every emotion  and instinct available to us as humans, its just whether or not we dare to tap into them, especially the darker emotions. I would finish a scene feeling bad that I felt so angry at Ellen cause Ellen was played by Rachel who happens to be my best friend as well as co-producer. It was also easy, though, playing this role because Rachel was playing Ellen and that is not at all who Rachel is in real life, so I got really frustrated with Ellen (cause it was Rachel) acting so unmotivated with her dreams.

Tell us about some of the more memorable, behind the scenes moments you had while shooting this film.

First off, I love the people I work with as they are incredible! I have many memorable conversations and moments with all of them, but my most memorable behind the scenes moments are the ones where things went wrong but we handled them and still finished almost everyday ahead of schedule. For example, I love locations, Rachel doesn't as much. I got a call from her a couple days before shooting a scene saying we lost a location. I jumped right on it and in 30 minutes had a new location locked. I remember another day, this lady told us we couldn't shoot in her alley, which wasn't actually her alley, so I walked a few doors down and talked to a few guys and they said we could use their alley. My favorite moments were those were I didn't want Rachel to know about some of the little problems that would arise. As a producer, I have her back and she needed to focus on directing and acting. In a restaurant where we were shooting, the refrigerator was affecting the sound quality so a few crew members moved all the food from one fridge to another and shut it off and then covered the other one with a sound blanket. Problem solved and Rachel only found out about it months later!  She's done the same for me though on the films I've directed.

What aspects of Why am I in a Box? do you think worked particularly well, and Is there anything you'd go back and change in this one if you could?

The best aspect from "Why am I in a Box?" was finding out how well Rachel and I truly work together and believe in each other. We've only gotten better with all of our other projects, especially in the area of communication. I think if we could go back and change one thing on "Why am I in a Box?", it would be putting our feet down with the creative side of things. Rachel trusted the crew, a lot, and thankfully they were an incredible crew, but there are moments I think Rachel and I would go back and say "no, this is how we're going to shoot this shot" or "this needs to go there for this scene". Rachel is a much stronger decision maker in terms of vision now and I can't wait to see her apply that to her next films. She's talking about a crane shot and all of these visuals with her next film that she didn't talk about with "Why am I in a Box?" and as her co-producer, I'm going to be there every step of the way to ensure that her visions come to life, budget and time allowing, of course!

You've served as a producer, director, writer, actress, production manager and more.  Of all the things you do, which is your favorite overall and why?

I always hate this question and I always will because each one provides me with skills and outlets that the others don't. My all time favorite is director. I love bringing a vision to life through actors and lighting and shots. I love acting because of the emotional releases you get to experience and the lives you get to live. I'm obsessed with being organized and dealing with budgets so I love production managing. Writer, I've decided is not for me. If I had to choose one for a career, it would be Producer. I love making things happen. I am a person who gets an idea in my head and I'll stop at nothing to make it happen. I love motivating people and inspiring them to be a part of a great project and become better at what they do and to chase their own dreams and to give everything their all. In this industry, the only person who should believe that tells you that you can't do something is yourself. No one can ever tell you that won't make it, because you will make it if you're willing to work harder than you've ever thought you could work and you're true to what you really want in life. I love it when Rachel is directing and as her Producer, I have her back. There' s nothing more rewarding than telling  a director "yes, you can have that" or "yes, I believe in you so I will make it happen". I do also like putting my foot down when there are tough decisions to be made and the film is still on a budget and time restrictions. The producer is the one that makes sure the film gets made and that's what I thrive on. I love having an idea that is a challenge and rising to the occasion, seeing it through and finishing it. No better reward than seeing something get finished because of you. And as I always say, thankfully with Silent-But-Deadly, I can do all of the positions I love.

Do you find it difficult to send your films out to be reviewed?  There's always that chance that any particular reviewer will hate it or find it boring or whatever.  It has to be kind of nerve wracking for you as both an actress and a film maker to subject yourself to that.

I have this no fear element about myself and I have yet to determine if that's good or bad. I made films I believed in and I put myself into them. I put them out there to show people that I am not afraid to do what I love and I do that to inspire other people to do it as well. I love getting negative feedback just as much as the positive because it'll just make my next projects better. I refuse to stop growing. I also put them out there to show people, hey I finished something! I've finished 6 projects as a producer (3 as a director) and in this industry, people want to work with people who finish regardless of how good or bad it is. A great idea is far worse than a poorly finished film.

If you had unlimited resources and could make your dream film, what kind of a film would it be?

People who know me know what I'm going to say! I would make a horse film: action/drama. I actually have one in the brainstorming stage with someone who is interested in writing it for me. It's based off of my life and my riding career. This one would definitely require studio backing as I don't want to cheat it. I hate watching horse movies that cheat reality. I know for a fact that the actor isn't really riding a horse or that's not what it's really like at a competition. I've worked with a number Olympic level equestrians and have maintained contact with a number of people in the industry so I would turn to them as well for some consulting and they would need to be paid. I also have a degree in horse science that would be great to utilize on a film! Basically, before I die, I want to make a film that I can take all of my skills and experiences from life and apply them and that would be film and horses!

Is there anything else you'd like to talk about before we wrap this up?

I would like to say thanks to everyone who've supported us through the years or those who are just learning about us and expressing interest. We aim to keep making films that people will love to watch! Rachel and I are just focusing on 2010 right now. We have "Sky is Falling" that we aim to make this summer that Rachel will be directing and we'll both be acting in. We have "Remembering '63" that we hope to get a studio behind us and make it in 2011. We also have a second season that we would like to create for our webseries. Other than that, I also have a reality tv show idea that I'm trying to drum up. So we're busy and we're definitely not short on ideas! You can stay up to date with everything Silent-But-Deadly at www.sbdproductions.com Thank you for the interview, it's always a pleasure talking with Rogue Cinema!