Christians in Cinema BLOG

Producers/Writer/Director/Cinematographer - Christmas at Maxwell’s

The father-daughter team of Bill & Tiffany Laufer (co-creators of Christmas at Maxwell’s) is dedicated to writing and producing films that show respect for the positive values of life, celebrating peace in the midst of chaos, redemption in the midst of despair, forgiveness in the midst of hatred and freedom in the midst of oppression. Their aspiration is to make intelligent and inspiring films that appeal to the imagination and intellect, and do so while blending in a sense of humor and love.

There’s a tendency to want Christian films to be sterilized, but that’s not showing life as it is.

Angela: Can each of you tell me a little about your backgrounds in film?

Tiffany: I went to Georgetown University and majored in fine art, then attended the American Film Institute to earn my MFA in Cinematography. I started working on film sets shortly thereafter, and worked consistently on over 100 films. It’s been fantastic because I’ve been able to work in lots of capacities, focusing the last few years on cinematography. My experience has let me learn the whole process from beginning to end, production through shooting.

Bill: I started in theater when I was about 8 years old. At 16, I started directing and producing and kept doing that until I graduated from college. During college at Georgetown University, I was part of the Mask & Bauble theater group. We did one-act plays and an annual Calliope musical production. One year I wrote an entire musical show for that.

On the business end, I earned my MBA and CPA degrees, which led me into the ownership of a couple of manufacturing companies. They produced specialty type products, about 25 of them, and I decided to produce training videos to help with the process. The products we made sometimes took two years to make and were very specialized, so we made a whole series of videos.

I was also always interested in photography and I was doing a lot of writing. So it seemed a natural move into film-making when the company I was involved in went up for sale. I was examining my options at the same time Tiffany was making her determination to go to film school. I thought that since she was going as a cinematographer/director, I should write some screenplays for us that we could do. I thought I could also translate my business experience into filmmaking.

When we made that decision, we got some skeptical reactions. They wondered if we’d be able to carry through with it.

Angela: Tiffany, were you surprised when your dad went into filmmaking?

Tiffany: No, I wasn’t. My dad’s days at Georgetown were very memorable, especially in the theater. I was excited by the thought of coming back to Cleveland and instead of being on someone else’s shoot, I could run my own. We could hire our own crew and have an exciting time leading the way on our own production.

I have such respect for my dad. He taught me everything I know about life. I’ve lived on my own with him since I was three. We have a high level of trust based on truth. He always asked “What’s going on in your life?” and I’d tell him. I was able to talk with him very openly. When I was younger, I’d tell him where I was going, who I was going to with, and who was going to be there. He’d always say “If you’re telling the truth, that’s OK.” I think that’s why we work together so well.

Angela: How did you divide the duties on the film set? Was it challenging to decide what to do?

Bill: We have different strengths and tried to operate within them. Tiffany handled the cinematography, lighting and crew. My role was directing and managing budgetary concerns. There were some additional risks Tiffany took that I might not have, but a good director knows to listen to the people around them. A key element in filming is lighting, and I listened to Tiffany in that respect. She was also very prepared to run the crew, so I didn’t have to focus on that.

One of the decisions we had to discuss was a scene near the end of the movie. Tiffany wanted to bring in a camera rig that gave us spinning action. I was concerned about the time it would take to do it and wondered if the shot was worth the time. In the end, it turned out really great. It’s one of the most memorable shots in the film. In the pressure of a day there is so much to get done and time and resources are limited. Decisions like that are critical.

Tiffany: One of the greatest risks is interpretation. Each person brings their own sensibility and ideas to the project, so as artists my dad and I had to trust each other. That’s a challenge in any relationship. Dad wrote the script, but he trusted me to help with story editing. On the set I called him “Bill”.

Angela: Tiffany, you’ve worked on studio and independent productions both. What are the challenges on an indie production that you don’t face with studio productions?

Tiffany: The good thing about being independent is that writing our own script means we can make the changes we want to right away. We don’t need a staff running the long process of calling someone, getting approval, etc. That can really slow down a production. Our biggest concern was to get the movie made and not get involved in any really expensive things, so doing our own screenplay was instrumental.

Bill: One vivid example is the acquisition and clearance of rights for music. Studios usually have staffs of people who are dedicated to do that, or they have complete libraries of music they can use. We were looking at getting some music for the movie, and encountered some extremely difficult people. They basically wanted the entire amount we had set aside for the whole film just to use the music. It certainly wasn’t reflective of the artists who created the work, but it was the people administering them. Studios and bigger companies can delegate something like that to staff and take the time to figure their way around that. An independent production company just doesn’t have that type of resources.

This was a great time of professional growth for me. In business, I’ve met many people who only dealt with and experienced one very minor part of the business. Therefore when you look to them to guide you in a process, it’s important to realize they can only guide you for a few feet because it’s all they can handle. Tiff and I have started at the beginning and gone clear to the end. We’ve found it’s a very logical process, but not a lot of people have done that. They might have expertise in a given area, but not the complete process. I find that’s a very valuable characteristic of the independent filmmaker.

Angela: There’s a tremendous amount of organization to a film production. You didn’t have a staff of 25 to keep things organized for you, so what did you do?

Bill: We had a computer set-up that helped us create the infrastructure to help us monitor things. Our production manager, John Smith, was extremely competent and able to help monitor our budget as we were shooting. He also took care of the paperwork; obtaining all the releases necessary. That can be a huge issue for an indie company, among other things.

Tiffany: We had great people in key places. Our crew members, like John, were amazing. When we had to go off and do something, we could trust the person we handed things over to. Hiring someone and having faith in them is most of the battle as a producer or director.

I want the world to change, and believe my path in life is to portray the truth in film.

Angela: Tell us about the actual filming process you went through.

Tiffany: We chose to film the whole thing in high definition. The primary reason for this was that we could see our final print results almost immediately. The 28-inch HD monitors are very accurate in showing you what you might see in post-production. You can see that everything’s in the can and move on. With 35mm, you have to wait for dailies (the process of having film taken to a lab for processing then delivered back to the set at a later time for review) to see if you’ve captured the scene. In shooting hi-def, if you’ve missed something, you can immediately fix it right then. The crew is there, the set, the lighting, everything. With film, if something goes wrong - you would have to wait for the developed film to return and possibly reschedule a scene or shot, which is obviously very costly.

Bill: As a director, there’s security in using HD. Like Tiffany said, I could immediately see what we were shooting, and for our first feature, we really couldn’t take any chances.

In general, I think 35-mm film is on its way out. There are many purists who insist that 35-mm is better, and under some circumstances, maybe that’s true. But, for us, it came down to shooting length. A 1000-foot, 35 mm magazine is good for 11 minutes, which makes shooting with kids very difficult because you’re having to reload film every 11 minutes. Hi-def tapes can last as long as 45 minutes, which gave us more time to focus on the actor’s performances, and allowed us to know immediately whether or not we had a scene.

Angela: Tiffany, you’ve done quite a bit of teaching and have invested in a lot of young people. Could you tell us some about that?

Tiffany: I’ve been involved in teaching on many levels. It’s a hobby of mine. I love teaching and bringing new technology and young minds together. I most recently did an 8-month teaching sabbatical at George Stevens Academy in Maine. I was teaching photography to high school students. It was great to get back to the basics of photography and talk about the basics of composition and developing prints. I’ve also taught cinematography workshops in Cleveland and Arizona.

Angela: I know y’all are still working on marketing “Christmas at Maxwell’s.” What are other projects you’re currently working on?

Tiffany: I have a TV pilot I’m shopping around, as well as developing SEVERAL scripts. I have a few scripts that are done that were work shopped with the Squaw Valley writing group. We’re figuring out what might be a good next project for us. We know we want to work more together, and might even write something together.

Laufer Films is really set up to highlight my work as a cinematographer. I’ve set up another production company called Garden Hill Films that will highlight my projects as a director. I’m ready to direct a feature now.

I would like to go back to Los Angeles and live there half of the year, then come back to Ohio for the other half. I left a lot of my peers in L.A., and they’re working on projects, working their way up the ladder. It’s so important to maintain contacts and a sense of what’s going on in Hollywood. That’s the place where trends are set and the latest technology is developed.
Bill: Whatever projects come next, I want to focus on bringing people an understanding of the importance of faith in our lives. Every movie we do will have that message somewhere in it. The most difficult thing for poeple of all levels is living life on a daily basis, trusting and knowing the Lord is there with us and taking care of us. Our job is to live life and live it to the fullest each day of our lives.

I also want to encourage Christians and spiritual people to support Christian filmmakers. Christian films or perceived Christian films are held to a different standard than those made by the secular companies. Some of it is appropriate, but some of it is not. There’s a tendency to want Christian films to be sterilized, but that’s not showing life as it is. When we do that, we remove ourselves from consideration by the broader market. Certainly sex and inappropriate violence in movies is problematic, but we need to be able to show life in its reality.

Tiffany: We definitely want to bring a sense of responsibility to the projects we do. There’s a lot of violence in television, in newspapers, and media in general. And it gets sensationalized. I don’t want to help support the violence that I see out there. It comes from a lack of faith in God or even a lack of basic morality. Even video games are very scary. I have 3 nieces and nephews, and I’m concerned for the world they’re growing up in.

I believe it’s important to bring back an affirmation of life. It’s beautiful even if it’s a struggle. I want the world to change, and believe my path in life is to portray the truth in film. I can’t imagine people not supporting films that hold people accountable and portray the beauty of life.

Angela: What have you learned from your collaboration with each other?

Bill: As a general principle, that I want to have people of integrity around me. That’s an important consideration. There seem to be many people out there that it’s just not in their job description. I try to spend time meditating about what I’m really supposed to be doing. I want to know that what I’m doing is the thing that I believe the Lord would want me to do.

Tiffany: It’s valuable to have a partner in crime! At AFI they stressed the art of collaboration. I’m all about that! Hitchcock had scripts and storyboards he could pass off to someone else, but I’d rather share and benefit from others’ skills. So I’m looking around for the allies and trying to see where we could join forces. It’s invaluable because of the passion and creativity that’s shared.

Angela: After working this hard, y’all must be ready for some downtime. What do you like to do for relaxation?

Tiffany: I recently got a dog and enjoy taking her out for a walk. I also just picked up stained glass work. But mostly these days it’s revising scripts that I find most compelling. The next film we shoot will be important in many ways.

Bill: Traveling is good. I’d like to go to some new spots - somewhere it’s warm. I like to work out a lot. It helps me with the pressure. I also like to spend time with friends and talk about issues; it provides a nice break. When you work for yourself, you’re accountable all the time, so time with friends is a respite from that. And finding a good place to eat Thai food is always good.

Angela: Bill and Tiffany, thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing more of your work, and have loved getting to know you.