The idea for “Witt's Daughter” came to me one day when I was ironing my clothes and watching a marathon of “Untouchables” and “Gladiator.” I thought, “What does a loving father do when he’s been away at war and finally returns to the person he's thought about most in the world, and finds she doesn’t remember him?”

I gravitate to working with visuals because my background is animation; but I also love working with actors because I admire their process. I approached casting like I do drawing: opposites. Therefore, mega talented Adam Egar’s height was as important as his ability to act. I wanted a man of stature to make the little girl seem smaller-- and also make him seem more helpless when his tiny girl controlled him. I wanted Mandy, a small, but not so small woman to play the wife so it looked as though she was a mixture of someone who was vulnerable, but was at the same time someone who could hold her own. None of the male actors in the ensemble were the same size, shape or coloring for a reason. They were all layers in the filmic painting. Working with the actors on set, I made it a point to know what I wanted, and strove to articulate it clearly. I also worked hard to suppress the urge to give line readings to anyone above the age of five. I give actors the place they are to end, but also give them the freedom to play at how they are to get there. I love the collaboration!

Production design for Witt’s Daughter was made easier by the fact that I had a house, built in the late 1920’s and it was decorated with handed down antiques.  I also had boxes full of 1950's dresses I had gotten from Ebay.  I would sew what I else I needed, and crawl thrift stores for other items for little inexpensive props.  Production designer, Mary Benitez did a great job using the elements that were there, as well as bringing in some research and elbow grease of her own.

Even though I chose to set my story in the past, I wanted to make the world of “Witt’s Daughter” a vibrant one. One of the words that I used frequently in scripting was “warm.” and nothing showed that warmth more that the works of the vintage magazine illustrators of the past. I keyed in on their warmth and color and often times fearless use of blacks. My cinematographer, Jeff, was a wonderful ally. He loves shadow and is an amazing lighter. I wanted depth, and the challenge of so much color, IE: characters in color against colored backgrounds, is flat images. Jeff was able to springboard from the elements I gave him and help create the theatrical style lighting I saw in my head. Color, light and shadow. It was all a wonderful contrast to the drama of the story and kept it from being too ponderous.