Hundreds of Beavers director Mike Cheslik and cinematographer Quinn Hester

Hundreds of Beavers is a callback to slapstick comedies like
classic WB Looney Tunes cartoons. It's full of live-action wacky
pratfalls, ridiculous situations, and a healthy dose of
beaver-related mayhem. Shot on a micro-budget of $150,000, Hundreds
of Beavers was made with passion, creativity, and a whole lot of
beaver costumes. Director Mike Cheslik and cinematographer Quinn
Hester and most of the cast and crew are all from Wisconsin, where
Hundreds of Beavers was shot. Everyone was comfortable with snow,
loved physical comedy, and had the desire to make a film that would
stand out as a true indie. After first meeting at the Milwaukee
Film Festival in 2018, Mike called Quinn in October, 2020 to ask if
he'd DP the film during the winter in zero degree weather. “It
couldn't have been anybody but Quinn because he's just a tough guy
and he's used to the winter,” says Mike. In total, the film took
about 8 weeks of shooting with a core crew of about 4-6 people over
the course of two winters. The main location was a remote cabin in
Northern Wisconsin. “We're out there in the elements. It's very
rare to be on a production where you are not only making a movie
and having to use all your energy, focus and creativity and
meditate on how to accomplish certain looks and goals and shots,”
says Quinn. “But you're also trying to not die. All of us almost
died at least once.” To make Hundreds of Beavers, Mike spent years
creating extensive storyboards and animatics. “People could watch
the animatic on the DIT computer and they could also see the boards
in my binders that I was carrying around,” he says.”But it still
takes a lot of explaining and there's a lot to wrap your head
around because there's so much in this movie. It is a lot. I was
just thinking about it nonstop for years. And then just doing my
best to explain it to the team. I was always surprised how much
trust we got.” The film is very effects-heavy and made to look
old-timey in grainy black and white. “The freedom of picking a
grainy black and white style, it frees you up to tell a bigger
story and to have bigger visual ideas. This style gave us
permission to work that way in the modern day,” says Mike. Since
they were shooting in the winter, they would have to wrap by 4:30
pm. Mike imported everything into Adobe After Effects and edited
with Adobe Premiere every night. That way, Quinn and the crew knew
exactly what they needed by the next day. Quinn shot on a Panasonic
LUMIX GH5 camera that worked well even in extremely cold weather.
All the footage could easily be imported into Adobe Premiere and
After Effects. Hundreds of Beavers is still playing in select
theaters and is tons of fun to see with a live audience. Go to the
Hundreds of Beavers website to find cities where it's playing.
https://www.hundredsofbeavers.com/ Hundreds of Beavers is also
available to rent on Amazon and Apple. Find Mike Cheslik: Instagram
@mikeches Find Quinn Hester: Instagram @quinn.hester Sponsored by
Hot Rod Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast
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Twitter: @ShortEndz