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that at some point we had to make it seem
totally incoherent – and yet we knew that
it ultimately had to make sense on multiple
viewings. So we gave ourselves the challenge
of being much more disciplined than is usually
demanded from this sort of mind-bender.
03/ Coherence was shot in five nights
without a crew or a script. Can you
describe the production process, and the
level of improvisation required by the cast.
The cast knew nothing of the story when
they arrived for dinner. I did prep them with
lots of character and relationship notes. But
everything that happened was a surprise for
the actors and their only job was to respond
in a completely real way for their character. So
over 90 per cent of the dialogue is completely
improvised. Once in a while I would step in
and guide them or suggest a line, but for the
most part it’s all their own reactions to the
story I had planned for them to experience.
04/ Making an independent, minimalist
thriller must allow you more creative
freedom than a big studio film.Was this
the case, and your original intention for the
film?
It was definitely intentional to have a project
where I could have complete creative control.
After years of working for others I felt it was
time to experiment with my own theories of
how a film could be made. It was time to just
throw out the rule book and stop listening to
the same old tired studio notes. The amazing
thing was how productive it all became once
we tossed out all the layers that usually come
with making a movie. Decisions can be made
instantly and they always turned out to be the
right ones.
05/ Some reviewers have compared
Coherence to Primer.The more recent teen
film Plus One explores similar themes and
could even be set in the same universe –
have you seen it?
We saw Plus One a few months after we
had our first screening and said “What???“
But then it turned out a rash of fractured
reality stories poured out all at once including
The One I Love, which had our original ending
as their ending. So apparently it was time for
exploring these other worlds and we got to be
at the vanguard of these smaller, smarter head
trips made with great passion and limited
funds.
01/ This is a fantastic premise.What was
your inspiration?
JamesWard Byrkit: Our inspiration
was really just the challenge of making
something compelling and special on a
microbudget. That led to a plan for basically
the most audacious, counter-intuitive goal ever
envisioned for a mind -bender. We wanted to
achieve something beyond expectations and
accomplish it without the aid of any of the
standard elements – including a crew and a
screenplay.
02/ In dealing with multiple realities, was
it a difficult screenplay to write in terms of
structure and continuity?
It was only difficult in that we wanted the
internal logic to be much more consistent than
in a normal movie. The film’s title suggested
MAY 2015 JB Hi-Fi
When you call your film Coherence , you’d better make sure
it makes sense – especially if it’s a twist-laden sci-fi indie
dealing with multiple realities. Scott Hocking asked writer-
director JamesWard Byrkit how he did it.
COHERENCE
Coherence
is available on May 6
visit Q&A EXTRAS