4 months ago
Ben Leonberg enjoys a challenge. It’s why, he says, he spent much than 400 days turning his family location into a haunted location to movie a scary movie pinch his family dog, Indy.
Good Boy, a horror-thriller that debuted astatine SXSW, is told from nan position of nan loyal family dog, who moves to a agrarian family location pinch his proprietor Todd, only to observe supernatural forces lurking successful nan shadows. Not only that, but Indy is nan only 1 who tin really see those evil forces, and he’s difficult pressed to person his proprietor that thing is wrong.
Indy wasn’t calved to beryllium an actor. In fact, his fur parents didn’t moreover deliberation he’d ever prima successful a characteristic movie erstwhile they brought him home. So, erstwhile he sewage nan idea, Leonberg knew it would beryllium rather a situation to get Indy to cooperate.
“Keep successful mind nan moving hours aliases nan clip Indy spent connected group was our astir precious, precious resource, which really is wished by his attraction span, which, depending connected what we’re asking him, mightiness beryllium a fewer minutes, aliases it’s going to beryllium astatine tops for illustration 3 hours,” he explained. “So of each of those days, Indy was only ever working…being himself connected camera for max 3 hours nan remainder of nan time, because we’re doing this for specified a agelong duration, and because we person specified a constricted model for nan characteristic and character that’s going to beryllium successful each azygous shot.”
In nan beneath question and reply pinch Deadline, Leonberg reveals much of nan tricks he utilized to make guiltless moments pinch his pet consciousness sinister capable for a scary film.
DEADLINE: So, nan movie debuted astatine SXSW past year, and a batch has happened since. Can you springiness maine an update?
BEN LEONBERG: I mean, truthful overmuch has changed, obviously, since then. IFC came into nan picture. The movie’s gone into nan world. Before that, the trailer [and] each nan improvement of really nan movie was going to beryllium put into nan world took place. I mean, it’s conscionable been ace nosy to, connected a individual level, person group stock my ain obsession pinch my ain dog. So that’s been beautiful neat, too.
DEADLINE: Is that existent footage of Indy arsenic a puppy successful nan movie, arsenic well?
LEONBERG: Yeah, truthful each nan puppy footage, that’s really him and his litter mates erstwhile my woman and I sewage him, not reasoning he would beryllium successful a movie. That’s genuine location movies, I conjecture you could telephone it, of him successful his first fewer months conscionable being a pet, surely not reasoning he would beryllium a movie star.
DEADLINE: Can you punctual maine really agelong it took to really sprout nan movie?
LEONBERG: So existent filming, beingness production, was — we moved successful nan location successful April 2021 and past we were filming until for illustration nan first time of August 2024. truthful it was crossed 3 years. It was complete 400 days. The only logic I cognize it’s much than 400 days is that I person a log [of] each time we film, and we would dump nan footage, and I mislaid way successful my ain accounting. So I cognize it’s much than 400, but I don’t person nan nonstop number.
DEADLINE: Yeah, okay, I was going to inquire much astir nan logistics present of filming this astatine nan whims of your family pet?
LEONBERG: I mean, it is decidedly not nan astir businesslike measurement to make a movie, and 1 of nan biggest applicable reasons it took arsenic agelong arsenic it did is that — I opportunity it took 400 days. Keep successful mind nan moving hours aliases nan clip Indy spent connected group was our astir precious, precious resource, which really is wished by his attraction span, which, depending connected what we’re asking him, mightiness beryllium a fewer minutes, aliases it’s going to beryllium astatine tops for illustration 3 hours. So of each of those days, Indy was only ever working…being himself connected camera for max 3 hours nan remainder of nan time, because we’re doing this for specified a agelong duration, and because we person specified a constricted model for nan characteristic and character that’s going to beryllium successful each azygous shot.
It meant that nan astir businesslike measurement to do this would beryllium for maine and my woman to beryllium nan full formed and unit during beingness production. So successful summation to directing, I was besides mounting up nan house. The location wherever nan movie takes spot is besides wherever we lived. We were mounting up rooms that were portion of our normal lives conscionable to look nan correct measurement for nan movie. My wife, who is not a filmmaker earlier astatine slightest making this film, is simply a very bully sport. She allowed maine to toggle shape nan house, 1 room astatine a time, into a haunted house. So yeah, there’s not overmuch normal astir this, but I conjecture successful position of nan statement of nan shoot, it’s each lending itself to: How do we get nan champion capacity retired of Indy? The main assets we needed to do that was time. Everything benignant of flowed from there.
DEADLINE: I person to ideate there’s truthful overmuch statement progressive excessively successful bid to make judge you get each nan shots you need. Were you editing arsenic you went?
LEONBERG: Yeah, I edited arsenic we were filming, because we were only getting a changeable aliases 2 each day, and because of nan variability of what Indy would springiness us, we often had to prime a changeable on, let’s opportunity time one, wherever Indy walks into framework and freezes, because he hears something. Where he stops and freezes, location are 8 different places successful nan 8 usable takes. So, nan greeting of time 2 I walk selecting what’s nan changeable we’re going to usage for now and forever, and past build nan consequent changeable disconnected that blocking that we conscionable achieved successful nan changeable that we’re going to usage now and forever, because I’ve picked it successful nan editing. We were moving disconnected storyboards. I’d drawn, loosely, fundamentally nan full movie sequenced retired successful illustration. You know, instrumentality figures and animation dogs that weren’t ace precise, which was good, some arsenic a arsenic a reflection of my ain drafting expertise but past besides that elasticity benignant of allowed america to clasp nan variability of what Indy would springiness us.
DEADLINE: There is, astatine times, very small dialogue. You’re besides telling nan communicative done nan eyes of a dog, who inevitably has a much constricted knowing of nan world than a human. With those things successful mind, really did you activity to support nan communicative emotion propulsive?
LEONBERG: There’s a ocular storytelling constituent of conscionable utilizing his position and nan constituent of position of a dog. Sometimes it’s taking an aged haunted location trope and conscionable putting it successful nan position of a dog, [that] keeps things absorbing aliases new. But different point I was ever reasoning astir and past having conversations pinch our co-producer, Brian Goodheart, who besides marshaled nan full post-production sound team, is really sound was going to play into nan last presentation. Brian was some doing each of nan aft speech replacement (ADR) of nan vocal performances that fresh into everything, arsenic good arsenic replacing each of nan Indy sounds. He besides ran constituent connected really nan euphony was going to fresh into things. So location was ever a speech going connected astir really some nan ocular and nan audio portion of nan storytelling would beryllium married, and would besides beryllium doing, conscionable arsenic you say, escalating nan story, moving things guardant and keeping things emotion propulsive, for illustration we’re going to this large climax successful nan 3rd act.
DEADLINE: There are a batch of moments wherever thing scary is happening to Indy successful nan film, and I presume it was a overmuch much pleasant acquisition for him successful existent life. For example, he gets caught connected a fox trap and is freaking retired astatine 1 point. What were you really doing to get those shots?
LEONBERG: I deliberation those are nan things, which, successful immoderate ways, are nan hardest, but they’re besides nan parts of nan filmmaking that excite maine nan most, and successful immoderate ways are nan astir fun, astir apt some for maine and Indy. I deliberation arsenic a filmmaker, nan powerfulness of proposal is really exciting. That really unlocks something. When I was conscionable studying really filmmaking worked, and you’re learning astir Hitchcock, really conscionable done nan constituent of view, nan position and nan juxtaposition of disparate shots, you tin create meaning, and we’re doing that each nan clip passim nan film. So for a batch of affectional beats, wherever Indy is meant to look scared, he’s not doing thing successful reality connected set. He’s conscionable looking disconnected camera astatine me, astir apt making vertebrate noises astatine him, successful reality, to get him to look a definite measurement and look a small perplexed, because I’m making vertebrate noises. Then erstwhile we utilized nan constituent of position shot, we showed what he’s looking at. There’s a protector moving crossed nan wall. There’s scary music, and nan measurement nan shots are sequenced together creates nan illusion for nan assemblage of fear. I, arsenic nan filmmaker, americium telling nan assemblage that this is scary, and nan assemblage projects that emotion backmost onto Indy. So that’s 1 measurement we would do things connected those emotional, troubling, scary, aggravated moments.
For, nan much physical, there’s a infinitesimal he gets caught successful a snare that nan huntsman has put out. So there’s a batch of aged schoolhouse camera tricks. There’s a batch of things are being done successful reverse. We’re shooting things really adjacent up and utilizing a precocious shutter speed, and past adding immoderate camera shingle to make it look really jarring and visceral. The reality of what’s happening successful that infinitesimal is that Indy is connected his back, ostensibly caught successful a snare. There’s not really moreover a snare astir his neck, and I’m conscionable disconnected camera scratching his backmost legs, and he’s benignant of doing a [does a activity to mimic Indy] happy canine getting his belly rubbed. But if you movie it pinch each those different embellishments, nan precocious shutter speed, nan other camera shake, and past sometimes, moreover if you reverse nan footage, it conscionable looks a small spot much unnatural. Maybe if he quickly rolls up and you reverse it, it looks for illustration he’s falling onto his side. We did worldly for illustration that each complete nan place, ways that we found, really could we play pinch Indy and past done nan filmmaking springiness it that other edge.
DEADLINE: I presume astir of those are besides Indy’s vocalizations, conscionable not possibly astatine that nonstop infinitesimal caught connected camera?
LEONBERG: Exactly. None of them are successful nan moment. So each of nan audio is replaced afterwards. If you were to perceive to nan movie pinch nan accumulation audio, meaning what was recorded arsenic nan camera was rolling, it would almost each beryllium maine and my woman talking to Indy, telling him ‘Good boy. Whoa. Stay, stay. Good boy.’ Then vertebrate noises, funny sounds, words he doesn’t cognize to get him to look for illustration he’s trying to fig retired what’s going on. So nan vocalizations, I deliberation almost each came from Indy, but they’re from abstracted moments. We’d spell retired and we would person signaling sessions wherever we knew he would make sounds. A batch of it is him playing fetch. He really loves fetch, and you get a batch of excited panting, yips and barks that.
If you isolate a yip that he lets retired erstwhile he goes to retrieve a ball, and you’re a station accumulation sound wizard, which, fortunately, we had successful our roster, you tin return that sound, crook it, make it sound for illustration immoderate you want it to. So we were adding each that worldly aft nan fact. The 1 canine sound I cognize we couldn’t get from Indy that we past sewage from a room were each nan sniffs. There’s tons of sniffs successful nan movie, and I conscionable could not, for nan life of me, fig retired a measurement to get Indy to smell a microphone without batting himself against it and ruining nan audio. There were a fewer times too. I mean, there’s lots. Every changeable was an escapade [and] took immoderate level of problem solving that I did not expect. He did tally into nan camera respective times, erstwhile truthful difficult he was fine, but nan camera — we were nether nan bed, filming together, and he runs into nan camera and knocks it correct into my face. The 1 wounded connected group was Indy wounded me.
DEADLINE: What was nan astir difficult point to get Indy to do?
LEONBERG: Essentially, it’s clasp still. The hardest point would person been nan easiest point for a quality actor. At nan extremity of nan movie, there’s this melodramatic interchange of looks and adjacent ups betwixt Todd, who I’m opinionated successful for conscionable looking into his eyes. He’s looking into mine. To get those shots, I conscionable needed very precise adjacent ups wherever there’s a shallow extent of field. I conscionable request him to clasp still and look astatine 1 point for for illustration 8 uninterrupted seconds. I believe, we went backmost and checked, it took america 3 days to get that. On Monday, we tried and like, it was like, ‘Well, possibly if we clasp a portion of nutrient disconnected camera,’ but then, no, he’s excessively excited. So he wants to return it. We tried for nan hr of his attraction span.
At a definite point, arsenic I mentioned, his attraction spans are astir important resource. When it’s gone, it’s for illustration trying to get a small kid who’s overtired to do something. You conscionable person to stop. So we effort again connected Tuesday, and I hide what we did nan 2nd day. I deliberation we conscionable utilized verbal commands to effort and get him to enactment and past look astatine my face. Then I deliberation connected nan 3rd day, we utilized a somewhat different nutrient that he wasn’t arsenic excited about, but he still wanted. So it was 3 days of filming to get those adjacent ups astatine nan extremity of nan film, which I deliberation perfectly make that finale work. So it is decidedly worthy it. Yeah, that was very challenging.
DEADLINE: Were location immoderate tricks you needed to thatch him aliases did you effort to trust mostly connected commands he already knew?
LEONBERG: It wasn’t truthful overmuch school him tricks aliases commands. I would opportunity he is eager to please. He’s very intelligent, and he knows sit, stay, down, stand. Getting him to move from constituent A to constituent B, either starting sitting, opinionated aliases laying down, and ending sitting, opinionated aliases laying down, that’s almost nan grade of his tricks. That’s only truthful useful, because truthful overmuch of nan movie isn’t activity aliases action. It’s benignant of what is he seeing. So it was uncovering caller stimuli to punctual him pinch and caller ways to prosecute his earthy curiosity. So I mentioned vertebrate noises. My woman and I thought, erstwhile we started making nan movie, ‘This is going to beryllium easy, because we’re going to commencement quacking…if we quack for illustration ducks, he’ll look complete astatine us.’ But past aft a week of filming, he’s like, ‘The quack doesn’t really mean anything.’ So past we started whistling, and past aft a week, it’s for illustration nan whistle doesn’t mean anything. Maybe we tin opportunity a connection to him. There’s a reside successful which you speak to a dog, successful which you opportunity ‘sit,’ and if, alternatively of nan connection ‘sit,’ you opportunity ‘pizza box,’ nan canine will look astatine you, if you request him to look successful a definite direction. So we had to perpetually germinate a rolodex of commands and caller stimuli to springiness him to support that earthy curiosity, which is powering truthful overmuch of that perspective, curiosity-based filmmaking.
DEADLINE: Now you conscionable person a immense swath of things you tin opportunity to him to get his attention.
LEONBERG: So, a nosy point he did study that was much for illustration a trick, is, I don’t cognize if you’ve ever been connected set, but aft a changeable is completed, an AD will often say, if we want to reset and do different take, they’ll say, ‘Okay, everybody backmost to one’ arsenic successful backmost to first positions. And I would opportunity that conscionable benignant of arsenic a joke, conscionable for maine and my wife, like, ‘Okay, Indy, bully job, backmost to one.’ Somehow he benignant of gradually came to understand that if we were doing thing repeated, particularly if location was activity involved, he did study nan bid ‘back to one,’ if location was a mark. Because he we did thatch him ‘place,’ which is, ‘get connected this thing’ aliases ‘stand here.’ He would understand ‘place’ was like, ‘go to that spot.’ He learned to equate ‘place’ pinch ‘back to one.’ So, he did study a small spot of movie group lingo.
DEADLINE: My past mobility for you is conscionable what’s breathtaking you astir nan future?
LEONBERG: Yeah, I mean, I’m very excited to make a movie that doesn’t prima a dog. I’ve very overmuch enjoyed this. It was an astonishing family project, and I’m surely going to proceed to research position and constituent of position arsenic thing that really powers a movie successful a very literal sense. But, I really person different film, aiming to movie successful early 2026, that’s not animal related, but it’s successful nan aforesaid horror-thriller space. So I’m definite I’ll support moving successful scary and thriller. It’s nan genre I’m astir excited and passionate about, and surely nan 1 I devour nan astir arsenic an assemblage member. I besides thin to bask these situation movies, things that look for illustration ‘That’s a cool, relatable idea, but really would that ever work?’ Like, ‘How would you make a movie wholly pinch nan dog?’ So, support continuing to property things location is 1 of my missions.
