Filming An Indie
A Diary of Making Revenge In Kind
by K. C. Bailey
About the Book
This diary is K. C. Bailey’s personal memoir of making Revenge In Kind, a feature film completed in December 2017. She wrote the screenplay in 2004, but did not undertake to shoot the movie until 2015, when she was misdiagnosed with a fatal illness. Thinking she had little time left, she spent her life’s savings to undertake a project that would be a unique experience and fill her final days. She was participant in or witness to all steps in the process, from the script to supervision of editing in post-production. Few artists have the opportunity to see a film project from conception to birth, so she is uniquely positioned to tell the saga as entertainment and as a compendium possibly useful to other independent filmmakers.
The book began with a blog of vignettes about odd, funny, or unfortunate events that occurred during filming, as seen from the perspective of the Executive Producer, Bailey. She set aside the blog after filming in order to turn full attention to editing and completing the movie. In 2019, she decided to thread the vignettes together and flesh them out to make a book.
Author Information
K.C. Bailey (Kathleen Cordelia Bailey) was born in 1949 in Dallas, Texas where Revenge In Kind was filmed. Her mailing address is 1321 Upland Drive, #1081, Houston, Texas 77043. Her email address is [email protected].
Bailey is an author of non-fiction and fiction; Filming An Indie is her eighth published book. She is also a painter and photographer (www.cordeliabailey.com). She holds a PhD in political science from the University of Illinois. In addition to being an author and artist, she had a career in government service as an expert on arms control and defense.
This diary is K. C. Bailey’s personal memoir of making Revenge In Kind, a feature film completed in December 2017. She wrote the screenplay in 2004, but did not undertake to shoot the movie until 2015, when she was misdiagnosed with a fatal illness. Thinking she had little time left, she spent her life’s savings to undertake a project that would be a unique experience and fill her final days. She was participant in or witness to all steps in the process, from the script to supervision of editing in post-production. Few artists have the opportunity to see a film project from conception to birth, so she is uniquely positioned to tell the saga as entertainment and as a compendium possibly useful to other independent filmmakers.
The book began with a blog of vignettes about odd, funny, or unfortunate events that occurred during filming, as seen from the perspective of the Executive Producer, Bailey. She set aside the blog after filming in order to turn full attention to editing and completing the movie. In 2019, she decided to thread the vignettes together and flesh them out to make a book.
Author Information
K.C. Bailey (Kathleen Cordelia Bailey) was born in 1949 in Dallas, Texas where Revenge In Kind was filmed. Her mailing address is 1321 Upland Drive, #1081, Houston, Texas 77043. Her email address is [email protected].
Bailey is an author of non-fiction and fiction; Filming An Indie is her eighth published book. She is also a painter and photographer (www.cordeliabailey.com). She holds a PhD in political science from the University of Illinois. In addition to being an author and artist, she had a career in government service as an expert on arms control and defense.
“When I assembled a group of artists to film a movie, I expected turmoil, excitement, and reward. I wasn’t disappointed.” —K.C. Bailey
“Making a film with a group of strangers you are unlikely to ever see again is an intense experience that reveals the best and worst of people. It is like a group hike though the desert—you have to do your part to get through it.” —K.C. Bailey
"Group creativity involves a lot of friction, which usually results in better art. Unfortunately it also bruises egos, but there is no way around this that would not reduce the quality of the artistic output."—K.C. Bailey
“Making a film with a group of strangers you are unlikely to ever see again is an intense experience that reveals the best and worst of people. It is like a group hike though the desert—you have to do your part to get through it.” —K.C. Bailey
"Group creativity involves a lot of friction, which usually results in better art. Unfortunately it also bruises egos, but there is no way around this that would not reduce the quality of the artistic output."—K.C. Bailey
Preface of Filming An Indie
This diary recounts the history of making the film Revenge In Kind. The feature film, shot in Dallas in the fall of 2016, was released in December 2017. It is a personal memoir of what it was like to make the movie and why I did it.
There are a couple of reasons that motivated me to write this history. One is to fill a gap I saw. When I decided that I wanted to make this film, I looked for books by people who’d produced their own independent movies so that I could learn from their successes and mistakes. I couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I vowed that if I finished the film, I would try to write about the experience so that others could benefit from it.
The second motivator is to share the story behind the film with friends and family, the people I love—as well as anyone else who finds it of interest. While it is an exercise in ego, no doubt, it is also a manifestation of giving them some of myself. With that in mind, note that this is a history written from my perspective only. No attempt is made to present others’ memories or experiences of the film.
My substory is not integral to the making of the movie, but it is vital to the inspiration for it. Without making it a predominant theme, I will tell of my personal travails that led to the movie’s making and which are no doubt responsible for some of the film’s and my own mistakes.
Making Revenge In Kind was a thrill ride—a roller coaster of hilarious, boisterous highs and nail-biting, cry-in-your-beer lows. Those who want to make a movie themselves may glean ideas from this history; others may find it entertaining. But before we can dig into the saga of making the movie, it is important to lay out how it all began, which was with a series of personal misfortunes and missteps.
There are a couple of reasons that motivated me to write this history. One is to fill a gap I saw. When I decided that I wanted to make this film, I looked for books by people who’d produced their own independent movies so that I could learn from their successes and mistakes. I couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I vowed that if I finished the film, I would try to write about the experience so that others could benefit from it.
The second motivator is to share the story behind the film with friends and family, the people I love—as well as anyone else who finds it of interest. While it is an exercise in ego, no doubt, it is also a manifestation of giving them some of myself. With that in mind, note that this is a history written from my perspective only. No attempt is made to present others’ memories or experiences of the film.
My substory is not integral to the making of the movie, but it is vital to the inspiration for it. Without making it a predominant theme, I will tell of my personal travails that led to the movie’s making and which are no doubt responsible for some of the film’s and my own mistakes.
Making Revenge In Kind was a thrill ride—a roller coaster of hilarious, boisterous highs and nail-biting, cry-in-your-beer lows. Those who want to make a movie themselves may glean ideas from this history; others may find it entertaining. But before we can dig into the saga of making the movie, it is important to lay out how it all began, which was with a series of personal misfortunes and missteps.
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