Should it look modern or classic?
When we first decided we were going to make "A Gift For All Ages," the initial concern was "How are we going to film it?" We knew the story felt like a perfect match for us. However, figuring out what style we wanted was an ongoing debate.
After all, there are many contemporary Christmas movies that are wonderful, but the more we discussed it, the more we felt like a making a "new classic" was the way to go. What exactly did that mean though? Well, we sat down one evening and re-watched "Holiday Inn," the Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby classic.
That clinched it.
The elegant ease of how "Holiday Inn" was lensed and the simple understated style of the direction got us very excited.
It's not hard to understand why, either. Theodore Strauss of The New York Times described the film, "all very easy and graceful; it never tries too hard to dazzle...an affectionate and light-hearted spirit."
That's exactly how we envisioned "A Gift For All Ages." We wanted to give our actors space to create an environment that didn't rely on fast edits. We just wanted the scenes to unfold gently. Opening up the scenes to incorporate long master shots, much like "Holiday Inn," became the game plan.
This is a decidedly different approach than most modern films, and much like Ted Hanover sarcastically said in the film, "It's going to be easy, like peeling a turtle!"
Well, hard shelled reptiles aside, we're incredibly happy with what we filmed on our set.
It might seem a bit strange to compare our sweet little narrative that is "A Gift For All Ages" to the famous Golden-Era-Hollywood musical of "Holiday Inn," but our inspiration is certainly there, along with numerous other classic films. We hope you see that influence when you watch our finished movie!
We're currently in post-production, trying to tie it all together. We need your help to get the film complete. So be sure to share our story on social media and sign up to our e-mail subscription to follow along.
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