BEYOND THE ONIROS FILM AWARDS®
Interview with Daniel Krastek, writer and director of the short film ‘The Main Character’.
by OFA Team
1. Hi Daniel! ‘The Main Character’ has been recently named a Finalist in the category Best Student Film at the Oniros Film Awards. Could you tell us more about this project?
Thank you so much for having me! ‘The Main Character’ was a comedy film I made back in the spring. It’s the story of a guy who wakes up with a voice in his head narrating everything he does, and he’s become the literal “main character” of a story. An easier way of summarizing it is as a bunch of gags strung together by our lead actor, Nick, riffing with the air.
2. Tell us a bit about your background. When did you decide you wanted to work in the film industry?
Well shockingly it started during COVID. We were all locked up, and I just started watching movies and fell in love with the medium. I had a little production experience, but it was during that time that I knew this was what I wanted to do. I made a couple shorts over the quarantine that really solidified this for me. Now I’m in film school!
3. What did you enjoy the most about working on this film? What did you find more challenging?
As corny as it sounds, the most enjoyable part of the film was getting to work with so many amazing people on set every day. The cast and crew was filled with friends from all over- some of whom hadn’t been on a single film set before! It really was a blast, and everyone gave it their all.
As far as challenges go, there were a couple technical things that didn’t go 100% perfect- some scenes we had written that didn’t end up panning out, some shots took way longer to figure out than I would have thought. The most difficult part honestly was the color correction during editing. We shot with a Blackmagic 2K, and used a lot of orange and yellow lighting on set. That combo unfortunately combined to make a really washed out look that was a bit difficult to fix, but thankfully Shaun, our colorist, knew exactly what to do and saved me a massive headache.
Shockingly, working with over 30 extras was not as difficult as anyone would have thought.
The director Daniel Krastek and the official poster of ‘The Main Character’ – www.dannykrastek.com
4. Can you tell us more about the team and cast involved in the production? How was working with them?
Genuinely, I could go on for hours about how amazing our team was, but I’ll try my best to be quick.
I got the cast together from a bunch of places. People like Nick and Caroline (the leads) were people I’d wanted to work with for a bit but either didn’t have the chance to or didn’t have a project for them yet, so I was super happy to get them involved. Joe was around from when the script was being written, his part of a mad scientist character was basically made for him. In fact, the lead was pretty much written for Nick too…
The rest of the featured roles I filled out with friends from various places. Some of them, like Terry, I’d worked with before on other films and I knew I wanted to work with him again. For others, like Nicole, this was their first time stepping foot on a film set. I was super impressed by how well everyone acclimated to being on set, especially for a story as goofy as this one.
We had a couple voice only roles, too. Barbara Crooker is a Grammy nominated poet, perfect voice for a narrator figure. We also got a cameo from Dylan Clark, a fantastic horror director and an inspiration for me, at the end as a news reporter.
As for the crew, I obviously wrote and directed the movie, and I edited it. Lana and Scott I’d worked with before, they had the experience and the talent, and the both really kept the ship steady. Thanks for handling all the extras and the lunch because I don’t know how I would’ve survived if I was doing it all myself.
Over to the camera department, me and Andrew co host a radio show together, “Movies Til Midnight ” on 90.3 WMSC Upper Montclair (our other co hosts got cameos in the movie too.) Gen and Kelly are good friends that were able to help out, and Ryan really saved us by being able to fill in on our first day of shooting. That’s one thing they don’t tell you when making a movie; finding times and dates that work for everyone is HARD.
Our sound team was Vlad and Brooks, they liked climbing trees for some reason. Mollie was our gaffer, another super talented friend who came up with some really cool and unique lighting, especially in all the bedroom scenes. Rest of our G&E team- Teddy, Shannon, Marcus- came together nicely and were able to work as a team to get everything done. Also shout out to our music director Christian, and our BTS photographer Sonny.
I really would work with pretty much all of them in a heartbeat, not only was everyone super creative and talented, but they’re also just so fun to be around. It really was just like a giant group hang out that happened to result in a movie.
I guess that really wasn’t quick, huh.
5. Do you have any on set stories you would like to share?
Oh I have too many! Probably my favorite one, though, was on our last day of shooting, when we went outside. That’s when we shot the exterior running scene with the drone shot, which I think was the defining shot of the film.
The blocking involved everyone chasing Nick and running out of this building on our college campus. First few shots and rehearsals went great, but then something happened that I don’t think any of us counted on- a tour group came by to check out the building we were at.
I decided against all good judgment to call action on the take anyway, I forget exactly what shot this was, but they didn’t get in the way of the actual shot. While I’ve been working on a behind the scenes reel for the film (won’t be done for a good long while), I found this great clip of this tour group standing just off camera looking confused and lost. I also wanted to ask the group if they wanted to run with us for a take. I think that about sums up the kind of director I am.
6. What keeps you inspired to continue working as a writer and a director?
I take inspiration from everywhere. I have a running list in my notes app on my phone of random ideas for films I want to make. Some of them- like this one- emerged from a single sentence, some are more fleshed out. Anything can be inspirational. Anything can spark an idea that turns into a full film.
The main way that I write is, I come up with a gimmick first. For example, a film I made a while back called “My Friend, The Shadow,” came from the simple idea of “animated character in live action world,” and the rest was written around that device. Similarly, “Main Character” was a simple idea- a guy hears a narrator in his head- with the rest of the story and gags coming from there.
Everything I make is a reflection of myself and what’s around me, too. Like “Shadow” was a reflection of the stress and anxiety I was dealing with at the time. “Bagman” was about being trapped during COVID. “Main Characters” about something- someone- too, but that’s for me to know and you to find out.
7. Do you have a dream project or someone you would like to work with one day?
I really don’t know. I mean, I have a bunch of ideas I would love to one day make, some things original and some things I’d like to adapt. Really, I’m just happy at the moment with what I’ve made, and I’m happy to have the resources to be able to make anything at all. I’m very lucky. And grateful.
I don’t like to pigeon hole myself into one style or genre, though. A big part of why I made “Main Character” was because so much of what I had made recently was darker and sadder (or trying to be) and I wanted to get back to something happier, and look, it paid off. Based on how it’s currently looking, my next film as a director is gonna be a lot darker than anything I’ve done before. The pendulum is swinging back.
8. What’s next for you? What are you working on right now?
Right now, I’m in the tough position of having too many projects I want to be making at once, you know? Currently, I’m working as a producer on a couple films for friends. I’m also working on the story for my next film, a horror film I’m currently calling “Almost Perfect,” which I intend to shoot next March. Also, I’m working on the VERY early stages of a feature film. It’s an exciting time to be a film student, that’s for sure!
