Thunder and Hurricane: Production Notes

Hoover and Tanner began rolling cameras on April 17, 2004 with one primary camera (a Sony DCR VX2000) on loan from a friend, and a secondary camera (a Canon GL-1) on loan from a cast member. With the majority of cast and crew, including Hoover and Tanner, having full time jobs in addition to the project, shooting had to take place on nights and weekends over the course of the next four months. This meant a jam-packed schedule and several other challenges. The crew shot late into the night on many occasions, with the longest shoot lasting until 5:30am the next day - with several of the cast and crew having to go to work that morning. Another scene had to be rescheduled several different times as each time it was shot, the crew ran out of daylight. With limited resources and equipment, the production team learned to be flexible and to make decisions on the fly.

It was obvious on the set of THUNDER AND HURRICANE that the crew had to work with a shoestring budget. Lighting consisted of various hardware lamps draped with dryer sheets, a dry erase board was used as a clapboard, plastic bin covers were used to block light glare, costumes and makeup were primarily provided by the cast, and homemade contraptions such as a steady-cam and a camera mount for the vehicles were used.

Local businesses and homeowners provided all locations that were used for filming. The only expense in securing locations was liability insurance, which some of the business owners required. "Several business owners generously allowed us to use their locations, donated props, and provided film equipment. The film wouldn't be possible without their support," said Tanner.

The primary film location, which served as the dwelling of the two main characters, was a dilapidated trailer in the middle of an open field. The trailer certainly had character - sitting at a slant, smelling of animals, with holes in the floors, no plumbing, and surrounded by briars. The crew often joked that the dryer sheets used on the lights helped cover the not-so-nice odor of cat urine that lingered in the air. Each crewmember also discovered a tick on himself or herself at one time or another during the project. Additionally, each time filming took place there, 300 feet of electrical cord had to be run from a neighboring home to the trailer to provide power.

Two of the more complex scenes included the last two of the movie - the bank and carnival. The bank was the most difficult location to secure. The filmmakers were pleasantly surprised when, after several attempts to obtain a location, they received an unexpected email about an empty bank that was available. The bank was secured and production designer, Audra Jon Hoover, quickly gathered props to make the location look like a fully functioning bank. "We must have done a pretty good job," said Hoover, "A man actually walked in off the street while we were filming and got in line to cash a check. That definitely gave all of the cast and crew a good laugh!"

The carnival scene also presented a challenge. Some of the footage had to be caught during carnival hours. For the shots that involved the main cast, the filmmakers brought in several extras and took special care to dress the set, and shoot in such a way that the carnival looked as it were filled with the normal crowds and activity. "Once again, we were pretty blessed," said Steve Hoover, "We were fortunate to have a friend of a friend who actually had two concessions stands set up at the carnival that she allowed us to use."

During filming, the crew felt the limitation of only having two cameras. In order to get adequate footage that would be useful to the editors, scenes had to be shot, cameras moved, then re-shot. In addition to the limitations with equipment there was the limitation of experience, as filming a feature-length was a first for many of the cast and crew involved. "On the very first day of filming, we had 24 takes of just the first shot. We were actually surprised when the crew showed up again the next day," joked Tanner. "We definitely learned a lot as we went and by the time we wrapped production on August 1, 2004, the team had learned to work quickly and to be creative with limited resources," added Steve Hoover.