Deceit - INDEX

I'm really proud of Deceit. We shot it expressly for the 2008 "Pros and Con Games" shorts competition at www.Filmaka.com, which gave its contestants just 30 days to write, shoot, edit, export, and upload a 1 to 3 minute short film based on "con games, con artists, swindles, schemes, suckers and sharps." Except for one close-up, we shot ALL of the interiors in one night, totaling something like 60 camera set-ups.

We didn't win the contest, but just getting the movie from start to finish in less than a month was an accomplishment, especially after the years it took to put together SLEEPY and The First Day of Shooting. Estimated budget: two bottles of wine, $3.50 in props from a Halloween store, and gasoline. Due to the short notice, we ended up shooting most of Deceit using the video option on a digital still camera, which is only one step up from a camera phone.

So why is Deceit labeled "unfinished?" Because 3 minutes is too short. The movie really needs 5 to 8 minutes so it doesn't feel so rushed, and that required a few exterior driving shots that I couldn't get around to shooting until 2009. Now all that's left is for me to find the time to cut together the new footage.

Many thanks to everyone who let me boss them around for a night, then watched rough drafts of the movie over and over again afterward.

-Peter Kovic, July 2010

Credits

INSERT LOGO PRODUCTIONS presents
"DECEIT"

CAST
The Man: Matthew Hersch
The Woman: Ashley Patterson
Featuring: Lee Andrews and Eric Blinn

CREW
Directed, Written, Edited, Produced, and Shot by: Peter Kovic
Music Arranged, Programmed, and Performed by: Peter Kovic
Music (Piano Concerto No.23 ii.Adagio k.488) by: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Driver and Assistant Camera: Joanna Kovic

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
BW / Color
Stereo / English
Display Format: Streaming Video (coming soon: NTSC Region 0 DVD)
Shooting Format: MJPEG, MPEG2, Hi8 Video
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Runtime (short version): 3 minutes
Runtime (full version): coming soon

About some of the Cast + Crew

Ashley Patterson ("The Woman") works with my wife and is thinking about going into acting, modeling, or TV journalism. All the interiors in Deceit are her old apartment.

My friend Matthew Hersch ("The Man") is one of the subjects of The First Day of Shooting, made lots of movies in high school, and did Deceit as a favor.