Post production
As a filmmaking duo, DeBoer & McConaghy explore the full potential of what the sensory experience of a film may provide. Four years in from feature debut BAB it is therefore no surprise that their latest film, Dead Mail, is an obscure and mysterious little film infused with texture, sound and a distinct black humour that makes for an unsettling experience. The story opens on a desolate county road where a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box sliding a blood-stained plea-for-help into the slot before an unfocused figure closes in behind. The note makes its way to the county post office desk of Jasper, a skilled “dead letter” investigator, responsible for tracking lost mail and returning it to its sender. Investigating further he meets Trent who has taken up residence at the same men’s hostel. When Trent unexpectedly shows up at Jasper’s office, it’s clear he has a vested interest in the note… and will stop at nothing to retrieve it.
Joe and Kyle share some insight on the production of Dead Mail; their style and working relationship…
How long have you both been working together as filmmakers?
Joe DeBoer: We’ve been collaborating creatively since we met at morning recess on the 6th-grade playground. After several endeavours from music to commercial jingle writing, we started working on our first screenplays several years ago. We have always felt that, at best, we might be (individually) creative C+s — but by combining our efforts… just maybe we can hit that elusive B-.
Co-writers and directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConagh
How does the process work in terms of direction? Are you a two-headed animal or do you each have particular strengths?
Kyle McConaghy: After some trial and error in our early days, we learned we’re best off (collaboratively) immersed in all phases of the filmmaking process. Most of our disagreements/differences in direction are resolved in the writing/development process, so by the time we get on set, we’re usually fully aligned and try to operate as one unit.
Where did the idea for Dead Mail come from?
JD: We loosely read about the concept of dead letters and thought it was interesting. From there, we had the idea for the first scene, and then really dove into creating the fun — albeit sensationalised and mostly fictional — world of Jasper and the dead letter operation at the postal service.
We’ve also had an affinity for analog synths, so it was fun finding a way to weave that into the plot. In our late youth, we bought a couple of these suspect machines off eBay (user rating remains at 100%) and had to open them up and attempt to fix them. So, we drew from a little of that experience.
The film has a very particular warped sense of nostalgia. How would you describe its atmosphere and aesthetic?
KM: We wanted to draw from our hazy ’80s memories more than pop cultural touchstones of the era. In our midwestern family photos, things looked drabber, grittier, grainier, flatter: there was no distinction between a photo of ‘Uncle Rick’ from 1979 or 1992. That was the aesthetic we wanted to build in Dead Mail.
“We wanted to draw from
our hazy ’80s memories
more than pop cultural
touchstones of the era.”
— Kyle McConaghy
The use of sound is obviously integral to the plot, but the music also creates something both hilarious and extremely uncomfortable as though it’s a worm on a hook. I’m interested to hear more about this element of the film…
JD: We really enjoy the ability to manipulate a tone with music. A lot of our aforementioned musical collaborations were built on synthesizer exploration. Wendy Carlos was a big influence, for example. It’s something we’ve always loved and explored, so building the sound design — combining a lot of the diegetic music and sounds with the score, and of course, utilising as many authentic synth sounds as possible — was one of the most fun parts of the process.
During the edit, we also stumbled upon an amazing synth composer from the era, Janet Beat, who was kind enough to let us use a couple of her tracks in the film. Those tracks fit well in the atonal pocket of the diegetic synth engineering sounds that are prevalent in the story.
What are your influences as filmmakers — within and beyond the realms of cinema and genre filmmaking?
KM: We bonded in high school over Hitchcock. Surprisingly, I remember a long conversation about Rope and how it worked with just a few fellows in a single room. Alfred Hitchcock Presents and AMC film reruns were definitely informative on Grandma’s cable television. With all of this in mind, for this film, we knew a lot of the typical classic film touchstones would inevitably filter in (The Conversation, Midnight Cowboy, Brood, A Clockwork Orange, Eraserhead) so we did our best to focus on other cultural artefacts.
Chain letters. A kidnapping leads to sinister devices in DEAD MAIL
There are these family-friendly LDS VHS films from the ’80s and ’90s that also provided some inspiration. We also revisited some of the original low-budget American indies — Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Shaft, and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Those films utilised so much creativity and were inspirational to revisit. A shoebox of family photos was also a huge influence on the colour palette, production design and costumes. Our collaborators Payton Jane (Production Designer), KerriAnne Savastino (Costumes) and Rafif Haj Ahmad (HMU) also played major roles in bringing things to life.
The band Joy Division has also always been influential. The way their sounds evoke so much texture, you can almost feel the cement wall warehouses. So, visually, we strived to get a similar sense of texture… we would love it if people pick up on all of this and feel the synthetic carpet, wood panelling, etc. of the Dead Mail world.
What do you want an audience to take away from your film?
KM: A lot of our favourite movies aren’t necessarily regarded as the best films ever, but they transport you to a strange, unfamiliar world and leave you thinking a lot afterwards. We have always humbly hoped/tried/failed to do that. We just want to make something that, hopefully, is interesting, entertaining, and unfamiliar… something that gives that transporting effect. So, if we can do that, even to a small degree, that would be wonderful… and of course, they should feel a deep sense of dread that, if you betray your business partner, you may end up chained to a sink.
Dead Mail has its own Instagram. You can also follow Joe and Kyle on Instagram at @josiah.deboer and @kylemcconaghy with links to other projects via Kyle's official site: kylemcconaghy.com.
Comments