NewEnglandFilm.com

After years in the Broadway community, VP Boyle ventured into film for the first time to create It Is What It Is, a movie musical that manages to squeeze 24 hours of “near misses, tattered relationships and crumbling dreams” into a catchy 39 minutes.

Alli Rock: What inspired you to create this film?

VP Boyle: I am the creator and chair of the New York Film Academy’s new Musical Theatre & Film Conservatory program. In a world where professional musical theatre actors are now getting a fresh look as actors, I thought it would be innovative to produce a professional short film that is developed specifically for our 2nd year actors. With an entirely professional crew and 10 days to record the soundtrack and shoot the film we were very pleased for the first incarnation.

AR: This was your directorial debut as a filmmaker. What was it like to go from directing and writing for the stage to directing and writing for film?

Boyle: Andrew and I are very well-versed in musical storytelling and I have a movie musical currently optioned that was a stage musical first. That being said, I had an amazing crew who helped me along the way (mostly on camera specifics) and I worked on blind faith and joy. I spent many years as a freelance graphic designer as my ‘survival job’ and that skill was very applicable to composition and art direction. It was truly a moment where I felt everything I had learned in my life came together for an amazing confirmation that I love this and will continue to do it for a very long time.

AR: What draws you to telling stories through music?

Boyle: I have spent my life in musical theatre and am very grateful for my place in the Broadway community with all the hats I wear. There is something so special about the expression of voice and dance that elevates stories when it is done well. That is the caveat! No one has any idea how much development and trial-and-error goes into the art form. You simply can’t just look at it on paper or story board it and know it will work. Additionally, you are making a commitment to the songs and their length before you go on location so there is no wiggle room in the edit lab for all the musical sequences. It requires a very detailed and thought out plan.

AR: What are the challenges to making a movie musical, especially one with so many characters and intertwining stories?

Boyle: The ensemble element that is innate to our project is definitely a challenge which is why we ended up with a 40 minute short film on our first collaboration. We have just wrapped post on our latest short and got it under 30 minutes for a cast of 8 characters. With It Is What It Is, as a new filmmaker naive to the challenges of being on set, I had the brilliance to write in small children, lots of dogs, a flash mob, a four-person split screen quartet with one continuous walking shot through the streets of NYC and a finale sequence actually set inside the fountain at Washington Square Park. I didn’t sleep for six months! LOL. The learning curve for us moving into our second project had us focus the entire ensemble as one character in terms of plot but with individual perspectives/desires approaching the plot so that we could navigate the story more economically in terms of length for a short film.

AR: How was your experience at the Rhode Island International Film Festival?

Boyle: Magical. Truly it was the highlight of our festival season! We were so fortunate to have that be our first festival and have the programming gods on our side so that we screened in the premier theatre at a wonderful time. I was like a little kid that Saturday night with popcorn and licorice watching my debut film on a huge screen. The other part that was spectacular was the staff and events. We had so much fun talking to them, getting to know the filmmakers and exploring Providence, which is really a treasure. If only all the festival experiences were all that awesome!