No Deposit No Return is a short film I made when I was an undergraduate student at Long Island University. I shot the film in the summer of 1995 in the Hudson Valley (mostly in Newburgh), and I completed the editing and sound production at the end of 1996. The film officially premiered in May of 1997 at the Athens International Film Festival in Ohio.
I had a lot of fun shooting the film with my friends. I was 23 years old and my first time writing a screenplay. I had great advice from my college professor who encouraged me to write something personal. The story was based on some of my experiences working at a beverage store. My job was to take care of recycling empty bottles and cans. I've seen a lot of interesting folks bring in their "empties" as they called them. I also saw homeless people who would return their empties for money.
Once I began editing the film, I had to go back to the Hudson Valley for some re-shoots. In fact, some of the close-ups in the film were filmed in the dead of winter! The sound was the most complex part in the post-production of the film. As you will hear, there are crickets during the abandoned basketball court scenes. The crickets were there when we shot those scenes. So, I had to add more crickets to balance the sound mix. The film was shot on 16mm sound sync color film. I used a CP 16mm camera and a Bolex. I chose Kodak's slowest film stock because the film was shot mostly outside. The colors look amazing on the actually print of the film. I do plan to transfer the 16mm print to HD.
Except for the song I wrote at the end of the film, I used copyrighted music - clearly a mistake on my part. Believe me, no one made any money from this film! But word to the wise, do not use copyrighted music unless you get permission.
Once I began editing the film, I had to go back to the Hudson Valley for some re-shoots. In fact, some of the close-ups in the film were filmed in the dead of winter! The sound was the most complex part in the post-production of the film. As you will hear, there are crickets during the abandoned basketball court scenes. The crickets were there when we shot those scenes. So, I had to add more crickets to balance the sound mix. The film was shot on 16mm sound sync color film. I used a CP 16mm camera and a Bolex. I chose Kodak's slowest film stock because the film was shot mostly outside. The colors look amazing on the actually print of the film. I do plan to transfer the 16mm print to HD.
Except for the song I wrote at the end of the film, I used copyrighted music - clearly a mistake on my part. Believe me, no one made any money from this film! But word to the wise, do not use copyrighted music unless you get permission.
No Deposit No Return did screen at some film festivals. It won a certificate of merit at The Long Island Film Festival in 1997. Looking back, I am very happy for what I achieved in this film for only being in my early twenties. I hope you enjoy the film.
