Shiro's Head - An Interview with the Muna Bros.
by Noni Jones

Note - RI's Noni Jones talks with filmmakers Don and Kel Muna about their independent DVX100 movie, "Shiro's Head". This is Part One of a Two Part Interview.

RI: Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to be with us today.

DM: Thanks for having us.

KM: Yes, thank you.

RI: “Shiro’s Head” looks like a very unique project. What can you tell us about it?

DM: The story of the movie takes place on a small Pacific island - that's the island of Guam, our hometown.  And it's about a man that is trying to come to terms with his life in a small town and with the guilt that he harbors, because of the death of his father.  He's also struggling with his own identity and he's in search for more purpose in his life. He knows that he can do more and be more for his family and himself, but he just doesn't know how to. It’s a movie about culture, family, faith, regret and forgiveness.

KM: Shiro’s Head is a grass-roots, do-it-yourself no-budget movie. Actually it was made on a budget of roughly $3,500.00, but that figure accounts just for our living expenses while on location which is stuff like, phone cards, gas and food. We spent pretty much nothing while on-location regarding anything on-camera. All of that stuff was just resource-based. It's mine and Don’s directorial debut for a full length feature and of course a dream come true.

RI: So what led you two to make this movie?

DM: I'd have to say that there was a combination of factors. One being, well that Kel and I from a very young age have been very creative, just really nurturing our creative side, whether it was songwriting, music production, making homemade movies just for kicks or producing stuff for radio and TV, it was the mountain we had to climb.

KM: Yes, not only have we had a really wacky and imaginative childhood, but as we got older, we finally realized that nobody will give you the break you deserve, but yourself. And because for so long, we’ve thrived so much on feeding our creative sides, Shiro’s Head was almost made out of frustration and perfect timing. We were both working day jobs so it was one of those much needed, “Why don’t we do it ourselves? If we don’t do it now, when are we going to do it?” moments. So we left our day jobs and made a commitment to devote ourselves fully to producing our own feature-length movie. Ahhh good times.

DM: And then, one of the last reasons that was the deciding factor of us making Shiro's Head was another movie that was produced on the island several years ago called “Max Havoc”. Kel was in the Bay Area, at the time and I was probably parking somebody's car at the Sheraton in LA as a valet. At first we couldn’t wait to see the movie and was very excited that the production was happening in Guam hoping that it was an opportunity for aspiring filmmakers like us to get involved in a production. We thought the production of this movie would lead to more productions for the island, but sad to say that it never really panned out.

KM: Several years went by and we never heard anything about the movie. We started asking around and only heard disappointing news, that Max Havoc left Guam with a bad taste amongst the locals due to a huge debt, legal issues and that it didn’t have a theatrical release. I think the closest it came was being shown locally on television and that's where we were able to get a VHS copy from a friend that recorded it off TV. We watched it and surprisingly it was very disappointing to not only see how outsiders portray your home, but the fact that outsiders had to portray your home.

RI: What do you mean?

KM: Well, because it was the first movie widely noted to have been shot on Guam, I think everyone’s expectations for that movie were pretty high. And from a local’s perspective, I felt that they only showed the brochure parts of island and didn’t capture her real face and vibe.

DM: I would say that was the last straw.

RI: You shot the movie 100% on location thousands of miles from California. Why did you do this and how was it possible on a self-funded budget?

KM: We wrote around the resources that we had to work with, so we tailored the screenplay to fit the locations and things that were made available. The thing was, we were blessed enough that our resources were at home on Guam, which just happens to be a beautiful tropical island. The bad thing was that it was about 6,500 miles from California where we were working.

DM: I don't think there was ever a movie that was shot entirely on the island. As being able to do the production on location, my brother actually works for one of the airlines that fly to Guam and we were given his benefits to fly at a discounted rate. So instead of two several thousand dollar round-trip tickets, we paid a little over a hundred dollars. I really wanted to bring to the screen an organic and realistic Guam vibe and because I'm Chamorro - I felt like I owed it to the people that are really from the island and to pull no punches - warts and all.

RI: What's Chamorro?

KM: Chamorro is what you call the indigenous people of the Mariana islands, which include Guam.

RI: Cool.

DM: But overall, it was a big, collaborative effort from all our friends and family on the island and everybody just pulled their resources together to just help two local boys out. That's pretty much it.

RI: Why Guam?

DM: Because it was such an “all-or-nothing” project, I pretty much pursued the project like it was the only film I'd ever do in my life and if I could only do one film, then it would have to be on Guam. Plus, I've always been a big believer in giving back to your community and Guam's a really special place to me. I also wanted to capture the look of the island from a local's perspective. As foreign as the setting is in real life, my goal was to portray the island where the viewer can relate to it as they would any small town.

RI: How long were you guys on location?

KM: About 4 months.

RI: In a time where HD is making headlines, tell us about your experience shooting Standard Definition and why you picked the DVX100 for your choice of camera?

KM: We bought the DVX back in 2003 when we started our videography business. We used these cameras to film weddings and conventions and we knew these cameras and their production flow, so we were very comfortable with shooting with them and they were perfect for the organic style of shooting that we wanted to incorporate into Shiro’s Head.

DM: Also because there have already been movies that have been produced and theatrically released on the DVX100 already which were movies like 'November' which starred Courtney Cox or Steve Buscemi's movie, 'Lonesome Jim' starring Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler. Those were extraordinary movies and they brought great images for standard definition.

KM: If it was good enough for them, it’s good enough for us.

DM: It brought us comfort knowing that we were shooting on tape and we can let these cameras roll all day long if we needed to. And they are very discreet, so we could take them around, shoot in public places and not draw too much attention to what we were doing and we've seen the images it can produce, so we were more than comfortable with them.

RI: What were the pros and cons about shooting with the DVX?

KM: I think there were more pros than there were cons. First of all, they are great cameras to travel thousands of miles with. Compact and fits in any handbag or backpack. Also, because of its size and light weight, it gave us the freedom to shoot anywhere in any public place, to shoot in small spaces and we were able to get into tight corners and really make our scenes pop. For the most part, I really enjoyed shooting with the DVX and for the demanding production flow, I think the DVX held up to the occasion.

DM: The cons of it, though, were more on the post production side and the results of a 720x480 picture. Compressing for the web, or the amount of color correction we could squeeze in there before we start seeing deterioration of the picture. So in the post production sense, it was a little more difficult to work with standard def. There was less we could manipulate without ruining the quality of the picture, but during the production part of it, it worked like a charm. It was almost like we didn't even have a camera for the most part, it was like we were just there, talking to the talent while rolling the camera.

RI: Your names show up in the credits quite a few times. You’ve produced, written, directed and edited the movie. Tell me about the experience. What effects, if any, did this have on you guys?

DM: The movie pretty much from top to bottom took us about a year's time to create and get it in the can. The experiences taught us a great deal about making a movie from the ground up. I mean, every task you can think of, or that comes with making a movie - we performed. From casting to location scouting to call sheets, you know, literally scheduling availabilities for our cast to framing the shots, lighting the shots, anything and everything we pretty much did.

KM: The experiences were very valuable because  we were able to immerse ourselves into the process and do what Hollywood pays 15 to 25 different departments to do...we've done it. I think it's matured our attitudes towards being professional filmmakers.

DM: When you're watching special features or listening to DVD commentary they always talk about the fun stuff - they never talk about budgets. The effects were all positive I would say. It really was able to push us to our limits and help understand ourselves, our places and our strengths in making films and the importance of a budget and teammates and people you can trust on and off the set.

RI: What was it like directing first-time actors? Or non-actors?

DM: First off, I'd like to clarify that. Two out of ten of the cast members actually have minimal experience in acting. That's Julius Santos and Andrew Wheeler. They've had experience working together, as a matter of fact, on some sketch comedy skits. But other than that, the rest of the eight have, including myself have never acted before, nor have been trained to act before. I really enjoyed the directing process for those that have never acted, or for everybody as a matter of fact, because it really gave me the confidence that in the sense that we all are contributing to this project as first timers.

KM: As we were all learning together, it kind of built this bond between everybody where we felt comfortable communicating, we felt comfortable improvising, if we did, because it wasn't like anybody was better than anybody at this point, we were just all trying to have fun. So, I think it couldn't have been a better starting point for our directorial debut. We couldn't have asked for a better bunch. Not only were they unique and camera-ready; most importantly they were very, very nice people. The stars were aligned for us for sure.

RI: And Don – you’re also in front of the camera as well. Tell me about that.

DM: At first, I really had a difficult time drawing the line of the actor vs. the director because I had a hard time letting Kel direct me when I knew that I was the other half of the directing team.

RI: What do you mean?

DM: It almost created a conflict I would say because half of me would listen to myself when what I should've done was when it was my scenes to act, let Kel take the wheel and direct me completely as an actor. It took me up until maybe after we shot half of the movie to really understand that. And as soon as I did, I can say things went a lot smoother after that. But in front of the camera it was intense. Now I understand the importance of creating a character and creating the history of a character and to really get into the role. It really does show on screen when you break character or just any little mistake or the slightest trait that isn't the character's will reveal itself onscreen. So now I understand the importance of trained talent on camera.

RI: Kel- As the main editor of the movie, how did the post production aspect of Shiro's Head compare to some of your prior professional editing experiences?

KM: The first thing that comes to mind is that I had free creative reign. The only limits I had were the ones that we made for ourselves, so the ability to try new things and experiment by trusting my own vibe or Don's vibe was really a great feeling. We gave ourselves the freedom to trust ourselves and to stay true to what we thought was best for any post production decision while evolving the story into different directions in post, given the circumstances.

RI: Circumstances?

KM: Yeah, with that said, it's a DIY movie. So, along with the liberating freedom of creativity, we also have the burden of no extra staff, no money and no resources that any of my past positions at my prior jobs had resources to. So, we felt the workload. Every bit of it. But I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Continue to Part 2:

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