Wholphin

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Written and Directed by Ryan Gielen

Interview with Writer/Director Ryan Gielen

I read that you made this film in one day, does that include filming “South Bronx”? What was the budget?
Our budget was $1,200 and I ended up spending about $1,500. 75% of that was on the location which we rented and filmed in for about 20 hours straight. Because we had no money the cast helped move all the lights and set dressing, and load and unload. The “South Bronx” stuff we filmed a couple nights later.

Why does Josh’s character have his real last name, and Brian’s character’s last name is different?
Josh’s character uses his last name because I’m a total idiot and forgot to change it! It might sound ridiculous but I got so caught up with other things that Josh and I both lost track of this. Also, I wrote the part for him (and wrote Brian’s part for Brian) so I was just lazy about it.

You started “DVDs to the Troops,” what is it all about?
My brother and I just started our own non-profit called DVDs to the Troops, inspired by Bernie and Kathy Hintzke’s Take a Soldier to The Movies. We collect used DVDs to send to American soldiers overseas. Bernie and Kathy are amazing, but Matt and I do something slightly different- all we do is collect used DVDs and send them over. Our goal is to collect a DVD for every American soldier overseas. Last I checked that was about 500,000, but I’m not positive about that number. DVD’s to the Troops is completely non-partisan. Basically I just realized everyone I know has tons of DVDs just sitting around collecting dust, and our troops (especially in war zones) have literally nothing to do during down time. I believe in the power of movies to transport, I’ve been in love with them my entire life, so I want to devote as much time and energy as possible to sending that to our troops. By creating our own non-profit Matt and I are able to really go after the biggest audience possible, to collect as many DVDs as possible, and to really grow this idea into something special.

When did you first realize you wanted to make films?
I wish I had a great story, like sneaking into an art house cinema to watch Fellini or Bertolucci and being transported, but that didn’t happen. It was seeing Flirting With Disaster, Glengarry Glenross and then Dr. Strangelove all in the span of like a month. I was 19. Really quickly I went from being a passive audience member to really feeling totally in love with movies and wanting to make them. Something clicked and that was it, I was hooked.

You recently released the feature film “The Graduates.” Can you tell us about it?
The Graduates is a coming-of-age comedy about four friends who graduates high school and go to “Beach Week” to party and get laid before going off to college. They end up fighting, breaking up, things fall apart and they end up growing up (a little) over the course of the week. We made the entire thing for $95,000, which was not easy but I’m proud of that.

What are some of the pros and cons of making a short film verses a feature?
I think the differences are huge, but the first thing that comes to mind is sleep! The shorts I’ve done have been no more than five-day shoots, and you can go to bed after that for a couple days. The feature just meant always working, always putting out fires, compensating for the low budget, and getting no sleep for a couple months. It was the greatest experience of my life, but it was also the most exhausting. Also, shorts are fun because you can do several for the cost/time/energy of a feature. It’s a different payoff.

During the making of “The Graduates” you made instructional films for indie filmakers. What inspired you to make these videos?
I hate the downtime of waiting on a set, so I was like “I have the camera, I’ve had a lot of coffee, let’s do something.” Also, there are a lot of people giving advice to indie filmmakers, but it’s really technical stuff usually and I’m a tech-idiot. I wanted to talk about making artistic decisions on a zero-dollar budget, and then show how those decisions look in our finished film. It was just a way to have some cool stuff for the DVD or website, stuff that hopefully will be useful to someone.

What are you working on now?
Just taking The Graduates around the country, to film festivals and other venues, hoping people like it!

Biography

Ryan Gielen was born and raised in Columbia, MD. Ryan attended Washington and Lee University, where he majored in Journalism. He taught himself editing by sneaking into the editing suites after the Broadcast Journalism students left for the night.

Following graduation, Ryan Gielen started his own production company we have creates, training and promotional videos for clients like Johns Hopkins University and MADD. The steady work funded his first documentary, Larry Keel: Beautiful Thing, following a year in the life of an underground bluegrass legend.

Since moving to New York, Ryan has focused on screenwriting, producing and directing. His first short, Deleted Scenes, has won awards and played in festivals across the country.

His recent feature film, The Graduates is inspired by his experiences growing up in Columbia, and attending several Senior Weeks in Ocean City. It has played several film festivals and has won the 2008 Directorial Discovery Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

One Response to “Deleted Scenes”

• Josh Davis
  November 24th, 2008

  I this is great short film! That guy playing Josh Davis is a laugh and a half! Who is that guy? You know he plays the same character in the Graduates. He’s Like Charlie Kaufman. Sorta

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