Kodi Zene is a multi-award winning videographer, and a Media Tech graduate. He is a highly skilled creative and marketing professional who is strong in creative direction, project management, process improvement, and marketing strategies – all of which is evident in his new film Monochrome : The Chromism.
An origin story, MONOCHROME: THE CHROMISM, follows Isaac Ward, the first person to turn “hue” in this black and white world. After being shot in a downtown crossfire, he is found bleeding “red”. As Isaac’s body also begins to streak with color, other outbreaks develop across the globe. Isaac now struggles to survive while society tears itself apart to try to capture and comprehend these new unexplainable “hues”. Leaving countries at odds, at war and Isaac determined to find answers.
A black-and-white science-fiction film, with only a dash of color, but a lot of original, profound elements. Please tell me you pitched this as Schindler’s List meets The Matrix!
Kodi Zene: It hasn’t been since these recent interviews that anyone has mentioned the Matrix, its interesting! Actually, our pitch early on was, Children of Men, Mad Max and Book of Eli. As we moved away from the more post-apocalyptic setting (for flash back purposes) that changed some obviously, but it still holds true during those certain scenes and the next films.
How did you pitch it to your cast and investors?
KZ: Early on while I was writing, I was also searching for locations so that I could write to what we would have access to. We decided to travel out to some of these run-down remote places and shoot a “teaser/concept” trailer. After the trip we had a nice teaser, poster and a slew of images we could start using to pre-promote this world we wanted to build. Graphics, logos, banners, photo visuals, t-shirts you name it, we created it. So, when it came time to cast, instead of merely a casting sheet with words, they had almost a complete thought and visuals of the seriousness behind what we were trying to accomplish.
And how long ago did you start out on this journey to make the movie?
KZ: I had the idea for MONOCHROME 7-8 years ago and we have been working hard to get to this point today. We filmed in 2017, had a fun year of post-production in 2018, then had fun promoting at festivals and conventions in 2019. It’s finally time to let this first story get out there.
What were some of the hurdles you had to face before the film shot even an inch of film?
KZ: Writing is definitely the first hurdle in all of this and then casting second. We had a lot of great responses to our casting calls but ultimately, we wanted to find not just skilled actors but those who believed in the project and wanted to help build it into more than just a movie. We found them. The biggest hurdle is probably the locations. With no budget and knowing we were not shooting in a single place, the locations in the film had to be diverse and we needed to go big. We are very fortunate to have the locations we were able to acquire; it really makes the film 10x bigger.
You’d have to be a bit of a computer whiz to do some of the stuff you’ve pulled off here – can you speak about your background?
KZ: Post-production was definitely the antagonist in our movie production story. Visual effects are actually on one of the lower tiers of my skill totem pole. But being a self-funded project and trying to save costs where at all possible, I had to learn quickly. I enjoy learning, so throughout my career if I didn’t know how to do something, I’d look it up. It makes things much easier when the only person you have to rely on is yourself.
I imagine the film took longer to edit than it did to actually film?
KZ: It really did. We shot for 10 days initially, then added 1 day for the extended scenes 2 years later. Once we had the footage, it took a little over a year of post-production to get it final. Many, many nights and lunch breaks masking boxes around different actor body parts to leave them in color.
Are you happy with the finished product?
KZ: I think I speak for most artists when I say that, art is never really finished. It’s just that at some point you’ve got to be able to walk away and be more satisfied with it than when you started. In terms of this movie, I wanted to follow my dream and challenge myself, and I think I’ve done that. We’ve all learned so much from this experience and if I had to do it again it would definitely be easier. But I can say that I’m very happy with where we are at.
Were there ideas you left out of this one that you’ll inject into a sequel, perhaps?
KZ: The idea was always to have THE CHROMISM be a prequel, origin film. So, there are definitely unanswered questions by the end that help setup the next film and our spin-off comic book series. I apologize for anyone who dislikes cliffhangers.
what do you hope the film does for your career?
KZ: I truly hope the film grows an audience that want to know more of what happens in this MONOCHROME world. If successful, I hope it propels eyes, ears and funding into the next film to raise the bar to create a bigger budget and larger world.
What’s the best piece of independent filmmaking advice you can offer others reading this article?
KZ: Don’t let excuses stop you from following your heart to make movies or anything you want to do in life. So many things will happen in our lives that make it so easy to procrastinate the non-essential things. So, if you want to make movies, make it essential. Do it as soon as you can with whatever you have. Try hard and regret nothing.