When we decided to make a movie, we first took stock of our assets. We didn't know any accomplished actors, we didn't have a proven track record and we didn't have sets or equipment or money. What we had was a dummy. And he had a personality. We figured everything else would follow.
Our original concept was a straight narrative full-length feature; it quickly became apparent that we did not have the resources to shoot on multiple locations with a variety of actors so the fake documentary was born. We only needed actors to commit to a single evening of shooting in one locale. Camera and equipment needs were simple and we could cheat through narration and photos when something was too complicated to shoot. We had access to public domain footage so famous comedians like Hitler and Khrushchev could provide comic relief.
My co-creator and the writer of this film, James, and I very deliberately constructed the mockumentary format and that's where we really succeeded. Our original concept gave us the flexibility to make something that wouldn't feel low budget but could be done with no budget. Most of my real "direction" took place on the computer, editing, pacing and creating and manipulating photos, newspaper headlines and such.
Taking digital footage and making it "feel" like old film was our biggest challenge and one of my biggest sources of pride. The thirty seconds of "film clips" from the Hollywood days took hundreds of lonely hours but are the most reward moments for me personally. I took for granted that we could take James' funny script, give it to talented actors and make funny bits. But to really capture the authentic feel of a documentary, put everything together and hold the viewers attention for 40 minutes or so was a real challenge.
I'm exceedingly pleased with the outcome. I did not want anyone to watch this and think it was done well considering my inexperience or budget; I wanted something that stood on its own. And like I said, we already had the dummy, the rest just followed.