By the end of the 24-minute program, Jack has learned his lesson and is on the road to being less of a risk. The project had a modest budget and it was only going to be released in videocassette format but Houske convinced the client that film gave them a better chance to accomplish their goal of an effective, high-quality video. This was an important project for them and I felt that we needed to tell an entertaining story so people would watch and remember. Tape has a colder, harder look. It lacks the details and texture you get with film, especially subtleties in faces that help to make the characters come alive for the audience.
Film creates a kind of hyper-reality.
The film was shot in 16mm format in just under four days. Director of Photography Pete Warrilow, was charged with creating a big-budget look with minimal camera and lighting packages. A key scene takes place in the heavenly Bureau of Guardian Angels. Nichols and the actor playing her superior are bathed in rays of light in a semi-dark atmosphere. Warrilow achieved this effect by bouncing a 4K Xenon light off a cracked mirror, hung overhead.