Who likes the look of litter? No one, and yet people of all ages seem to not be able to find a trashcan. How can people leave trash anywhere, especially in a park?
I woke up one day and went for a run in Prospect Park, but was greeted by the worst vandalism the park has ever seen. Every trashcan was kicked over, and litter was thrown everywhere, even in the dog pond. This angered me because it's a sign of disrespect, but at a whole new level. I learned not to leave any of my trash on the ground at a very young age, but I often see grown adults casually throw their wrappers around, sometimes out of their car windows, not caring that responsible people have to look at it and clean up after them.
I helped clean up the park, but as an artist, I felt I needed to do more. I wanted to shame the morons who did this to my park and to warn all litterbugs that it's not okay. But what could I really do without getting into trouble?
I personally like satire, so this incident motivated me to write a script that I was lucky enough to turn into a short film. I wanted to remind whoever vandalized the park or littered anywhere that they are complete idiots! If I can use my weird sense of humor to make a broader point and actually influence people to do the right thing, then that would be great. But to be honest, the process was more of a cathartic experience because I had a lot of anger towards the person who thought it was a good idea to disrespect the park. And I wanted to announce to the world that litter is preventable and if you are too lazy to clean up after yourself, you might have to deal with the consequences. Maybe not having to fight off a madman wearing a plastic jug as a mask stalking litterbugs, but one can hope.
To better shame litterbugs, I made my characters very dumb. I liked the idea that they were in a greaser gang, and the film has a rockabilly feel to it. It just felt right and works better this way.
Logline: A trio of greasers attempts a sadistic takeover of Prospect Park to make it meaner. Little do they know, an obsessively anti-littering madman lurks in the woods, preying on them.
Tagline: You litter, you die!
More info: kpictures.com
Don't Litter in Prospect Park!! A satirical short film
Longline - A trio of greasers attempt a sadistic takeover of Prospect Park to make it more mean. Little do they know, an obsessively anti-littering madman lurks in the woods preying on them.
This was right after the park was vandalized
I at times will go to the park and just clean up. This time I felt I needed to lend a hand since the park was covered with litter.
The official poster
Behind the scenes from Don't Litter in Prospect Park!
This was on the 2nd day of shooting. Our "madman" is preparing for action.
I'm posing with Mike who did a great job playing one of the greasers who try to take over the park by making it look more mean
We used a plastic cover to protect the camera from getting fake blood splatter
Our makeup artist prepares the priest for his closeup
This was a funny scene to shoot
This scene was a lot of fun to shoot
Behind the scenes. Mike gets his makeup done for one of the scenes he's in
Using a bounce to reflect soft white light while Kellie a book with a funny title
Getting the slate before action
Mike's fake bloody ear. This was after we shot his last scene
This is not okay. I don't understand why anyone would think it's normal to leave litter on the ground
