off what turns out to be a memorized map that leads to the old buried safe.
BH: To get that effect, I actually built a box around the safe, then put dirt and grass on it, and could put the camera below grade looking up. I knew that if I actually buried it I’d never get it out. That thing weighed about 600 pounds
NM: Did you use that same farm for your film Showdown? That was another very visual short film.
BH: Yes. For that one I wanted to experiment with something a little more ethereal and mysterious. Those two films are very different. The Last Legend is a little more linear, less abstract. One of the reviews of Showdown said it was the kind of pretentious filmmaking you don’t see very often anymore in short film (laughs). I just wanted to experiment with different colors and moods, especially using the actors’ facial expressions to move the story.
NM: Your casting of Brock Roberts and Dave Forstner was really good for that. And you actually found someone who could speak German.
BH: I wouldn’t have done it without someone who was a native speaker. Dave was actually Austrian, but he did it in his best German accent. I imagine there were numerous Austrians on the German side of WWII. When you can provide that authenticity, it bolsters the credibility of the whole project.
NM: Brock has a really good look in the role of the American soldier. The switch from black and white to sepia was an effective choice as well.
BH: It does start as a newsreel, obviously in black and white. From the newsreel it goes to color, in an in-between realm. When he crosses a threshold into the next realm, it turns to sepia. Brock’s performance was terrific. He had the facial expressions and tone I really wanted. He really got it.
NM: It was reminiscent of old anthology series such as The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits.
BH: It played in the Best-Of in 2011, at the Webster Theater, and I heard someone behind me say it was like The Twilight Zone.
NM: The Battle of Island Mound won Best Costumes, Best Production Design/Artistic Direction, and Best Cinematography at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase in July, plus an invitation to the St. Louis International Film Festival. Not a bad haul. How did that project develop?