Sincerely, Catera

The only time I’m willing to be looked at as a Criminal is through a film, and it was quite the stretch for me! The weeks working up to this film were truly needed. It is by far the most action packed film I have been apart of, and I’m here to share what this particular projects encounter was like.

This was another student film at my university. I went to an open casting call for their Senior Showcase, and read for a bunch of different roles (in the end I starred as a leading role in three out of the five Senior films!) Finding the synopsis for Criminal interesting and different than anything I had previously done, I decided to read for the director. She had me read for the mastermind of the group, Vinny (Vanessa), and by the end of the reading she was very pleased, even wide eyed and I knew before I left that I snagged the role.

Here's the synopsis:

After a successful robbery, four criminals meet to divvy up the lot. Vinny watches as her money-hungry teammate turns on the others, shooting and leaving them for dead. Now it’s her turn: the last one left standing between Dennis and all the money. Vinny must now decide what is more important: the money or her life.

Leading up to our first rehearsal, the director Rachael and I had one-on-one conversations about Vanessa's background, her motives, etc... and it really helped with the complexity of the film. We also discussed my comfort ability of doing fight choreography. Prior to this, I had taken classes on stage combat so I felt good about it. She assured me that there would be plenty of rehearsals specifically for the fight scenes. I was even more thrilled when I found out that my acting teacher at the time, Timo Aker was the fight choreographer.

Brandon (my co-star), Timo and I spent a lot of time perfecting specific angles of the action and just how our bodies move in general. It's very crucial to become comfortable with your action partner. The more comfortable you are with each other and the movements, the less of a chance someone will get hurt while filming.

A couple weeks after rehearsals wrapped we were on set of the film! It took place in the basement of a museum of archaeology:

The set dressers and art team did an amazing job of transforming these rooms. I spent a lot of time running through hallways and abondoned rooms that looked even more tarnished when the dressing was complete.

The mood for each scene was spot on. Sometimes, lighting would come into play to help with the visual effects or even the simple objects that were laying around. Makeup plays a key role too, especially for action films. Here's a few photos of the touch ups that were needed (we didn't beat each other up for real... I promise):

Costumes are a great way to help the audience get to know the characters. Prior to the filming, we were shown character clothing designs created by the costume designer, Nicole Drawyer (pictured below) who was such an amazing person to work with on set.

I had a really great time working on set with everyone involved! If you have yet to see the trailer and behind the scenes of the film, I’ve posted the video link below!

https://cinnamon.video/watch?v=414347880933885554

Below the line, I have posted the character clothing designs and a few extra BTS photos, so make sure you’re subscribed for even more content!!!

Continue reading with a Coil membership.