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Desi Holiday - Locations
There’s a lot to consider when selecting a film’s location. Since I combined 2 worlds in Desi Holiday; one based in reality and the other in an imagined place, I aimed for 2 distinct looks in terms of the film’s locations. I was taking a Directing class at UCLA’s Extension and was able to utilize their permit to shoot, which saved a lot of dough! Check out some behind the scenes 411 on how each California Desi Holiday location came about.
Desi Holiday - Imperial Highway (The PJs) Housing Projects - Watts, Ca U.S.A
Much love and many thanks to my sis Tamica Davis for possibly wearing more hats than me on my own film! You can also catch her in her acting debut in Desi Holiday doing Mama's hair Lol! Tamica helped to lock down the Imperial Highway Housing Projects (The PJs), located in Watts, CA. Ideally, the process of locking down a location is getting permission from the owners and having a permit. Sometimes you have one or the other or neither and just do what you gotta do and hope you don't get shut down. We didn't have permission from housing per se, but we had permission from those who were from there, which was better than any paperwork could provide! Shout out to Twin and Sweeter for making sure everything was everything! We were able to shoot in this location to further highlight Desi's world with no drama.
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Desi's Oasis - Sanctuary
The gorgeous and original artwork of Desi Holiday was provided by William Attaway, a Venice California legend. Attaway's work served as the magical backdrop of Desi's Oasis and Sanctuary and he was kind enough to let us shoot Desi's fantasy scenes at his Venice Studio. I was incredibly inspired working in this space while being surrounded by his paintings and sculptures. The colors of his work served as the color pallet of Desi's world. The rotating wheel that Desi sits on was also an Attaway creation. If you're looking for some fly artwork - checkout William Attaway!
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Desi Holiday - The Tunnel
I wanted to find some sort of "portal" to transition Desi from her real world to her imagination. I envisioned a tunnel and combed LA for this location. I found this tunnel in The Valley. I didn't know exactly who to ask permission to use this location, but it was definitely a city thing. This location was perfect. It was out the way and quiet enough for us to shoot...it was just hella far. Since there was a high probably that we'd be denied access, we did some serious guerilla filmmaking. I made several trips out there to do camera tests and to check activity on different days / nights. We had to shoot quick and be in and out, so organization was crucial. We also set-up a make shift changing room for Desi's wardrobe changes in order to maximize shoot days and get as many scenes done as possible.
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Desi Holiday - Dana (Mama's)
The scenes in Mama's house required a lot of control. Meaning we needed to be able to control foot traffic and have extended hours if necessary because there were multiple camera / lighting set-ups for coverage. In terms of sound it had to be even in terms of the ambient sounds so that we could get clean dialogue. Special thank you to Ms. Tenika Brown who let us to shoot the interiors at her spot in Santa Monica. We didn't have to do a lot of set dressing because we used her furniture and livingroom set up. Tenika was invaluable and was instrumental in helping to create Desi's look.
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