Salton

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Production Notes: "Peculiar production and post"

A few things to note about the production and post-production of Salton: Originally, we cast a different actor as Maxwell Johnson, III. We did 2 days of filming with him, then his schedule got incredibly busy. We made the executive decision to recast the lead character with TJ Dalrymple and re-film our first 2 days. Which was a blessing in disguise because Emily Sandifer was able to make changes to locations, script, and characters that she felt would be better for the final project, after seeing how things went the first two days.  As far as editing: Cinematographer Sergio Z. Bernal also was the main editor on Salton. We had a rough-cut of Salton finished, then he joined the Army, and was shipped off to basic training. So the final editing and sound/music mixing was left in the hands of writer/director/producer/actor Emily Sandifer. The film took 11 months to complete due to filming schedules and editing schedules, and although Sandifer would still like to improve on the film, she's currently working on the feature film script to do just that.

Written by: Emily Sandifer

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Production Notes: "Cold water, long drives, and stinky fish"

We had a blast filming Salton, but there are some things you gotta know: Pre-production/location scouting delays, a re-cast, and limited budget caused us to film from November-March: the coldest time of the year in the Salton area. It's a desert. You'd think it'd be HOT. It usually is. Which is why it was written with summer wardrobe in mind and characters wading in and out of the water.  When we filmed, the average temperatures were high 50s-high 60s. The water was freezing. The old adobe house we shot in: equally drafty and cold. What little crew we had were completely bundled up. While the actors faced their biggest challenge: convincing themselves it was a super hot balmy desert day in hopes of avoiding shivering, goosebumps, and red-noses and fingers.  The drive to Salton from Los Angeles is on average 2.5-3.5 hours, depending on which area of the sea you're filming. So, if we wanted a sunrise shot, we left L.A. around 2am or 3am. Morning temperatures would be around 35 degrees. We had limited days off to film, so when we did drive to Salton to shoot, we usually shot from sunrise to sunset, since many of the shots were on either end of the day.  And on the west shore of Salton: the delicious smell of sulfur and rotting fish.  Limited restaurants, restrooms, and places to wash your hands meant some clever pre-planning for crafties and toiletries.  But all in all: We made it out alive... smiling.

Written by: Emily Sandifer

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Director's Statement: Emily Sandifer, "Salton"

I first drove out to the Salton Sea area in 2008 and quickly became fascinated... or obsessed, actually... with the history, the people, and the future of the sea.  I found a beauty and quiet romance in the desolation there, and although I took hundreds of photos, I wanted to document it further. So, I decided to write a feature script. But I got impatient. Each time I drove to Salton, more of what drew me there was being either destroyed or cleaned up.  This led to producing a short film first. "Salton" explores the mystery of the sea, the history, and the legends. I read so many articles about myths and stories, folk-lore even. I wanted to incorporate that into a love story because I'm a hopeless romantic.  There's so much talk about the toxicity of Salton's water. It got me thinking: what if it was just the opposite? Other things got me thinking: there's thermal activity in the area, I found a "Fountain of Youth Spa" with hot springs, and there seems to be a strange "pull" for many visitors who keep getting drawn back to Salton year after year.  And then you have the current residents. At first glance, you'd ask yourself, "Why would anyone still live out here after everything has dried up and withered away?" But yet, as soon as you leave, you find yourself wanting to go back: to explore just one more area or find just one more long abandoned treasure.  All this, combined with other stories I read about, were inspiration for "Salton." Most importantly: how it effects everyone who goes there, in one way or the other. Amongst all the muck and dead fish, there is something there that no one can deny is eerily beautiful, yet hauntingly sad.  I wanted people to see the Salton that I and many others see. It's much more than a stinky, deserted area. It's a feeling; there's a energy at the sea, maybe residual from the massive tourist activity from its hey-day. The challenge was to translate that into a film that was not loaded down with the history or politics you see in other films about Salton. I wanted to showcase the area to attract people to visit it before everything that makes it unique is gone. Salton is threatened constantly by state park and museum shutdowns due to money limitations, demolitions and clean-ups (which technically could be a good thing to build the area up again, but nothing is replacing the history that is being demolished, it's only being used for dirt bikes and recreational vehicles), druggies and squatters in some areas, and the sea's condition itself which is a loaded discussion altogether. I approached "Salton" as such: a complex area characterized by folk-lore, misconceptions, obsession, failure, oddities, history, and yet potential. What came of this approach was a film primarily about a place of quiet isolation where anyone who didn't want to be found could easily become lost forever.

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Behind the Scenes Interview with TJ Dalrymple, Emily Sandifer, and Amanda Dow

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"Salton" Trailer

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