Table of Contents
Three Key Takeaways
- The film explores the cultural fascination and personal upheaval sparked by DNA ancestry testing.
- Ray Sisters balance dramedy tones by keeping humor subtle and grounded in emotional truth.
- Innovative multi-cam shooting enabled capturing a complex family scene efficiently and authentically.
Co-directors and real-life siblings Austin and Westin Ray, known collectively as the Ray Sisters, bring their new short film Spit It Out to Nòt Film Fest.
Featuring a compelling cast including Eric Roberts and Kate Sumpter, the film delves into the unexpected consequences of a father’s DNA ancestry test results.
With a blend of drama and humor, the Ray Sisters craft a story about family secrets, identity, and the messy truths uncovered by spit in a vial.
Q&A Interview
What drew you to make this film? Why this story, and why now?
With the popularity of DNA ancestry kits, many of us have discovered our unexpected Irish or Sub-Saharan roots. We’ve learned about genetic predilections. Are you a sweet tooth, or a fast sprinter? But for some families, it’s the discovery of a close relative they didn’t know existed. In an instant, the past significantly alters the present and future with one surprising DNA match. Our story explores society's rising fascination with DNA kits like 23andMe and Ancestry.com.
The idea of this was ignited in the midst of the pandemic, when random hobbies like perfecting your sourdough starter or diving into Duolingo became fervent obsessions. As Spit It Out’s screenwriter, I (Westin Ray) fell down my own rabbit hole of research that led back 12 generations on websites like Ancestry and 23 & Me. Complex family trees and learning what our ancestors were doing in 1693 became my historical addiction. My sister and co-director Austin rightly reminded me that I needed to somehow relate my recent obsession back to our careers, so I started writing this script. Within the same year, our circle of friends started sharing similar stories: unexpected discoveries made through DNA matching, and yet strangely, we haven’t heard of any film or TV stories that specifically deal with this topic.
As co-directors & real-life genetic matches, we Austin + Westin Ray, brought together a cast & crew from San Diego, Seattle, London, LA, and NYC to create this narrative short with compelling drama and tense comedic moments. Spitting in a vial is awkward—so is the juxtaposition of celebrating your past, while still concealing a lie. These juicy contradictions prompted us to create a story about family dynamics, preconceived notions, spit, and surprises.
What surprised you most about the filmmaking process this time—creatively or logistically? Was there a moment on set or in post that completely changed how you saw the story?
We wanted to shoot two scenes during magic hour's dreamy, sunset lighting. But, "magic hour" truly should be called "magic minute"....unless you're in Iceland in the summer. Haha. We thought we'd already learned this lesson on past shoots, but yet we did it to ourselves again! Rushing to get coverage of both scenes and both actors (in consistent lighting) all while prepping a quick car shot in the same lighting proved to be immensely difficult as it rapidly became darker and darker. In the edit, we had to get extremely creative to problem solve this lighting continuity issue--using a combo of VFX, clean plates, and color correction tricks to fix it.
Is there a moment in the film that feels the most you—something only you could have made?
In our film, there's a scene between siblings at the end of the film where very few words are said. But through humor and a few shared glances, it's evident there's a deep mutual understanding. Being sisters ourselves, we thought about our own dynamic while directing the scene, and hopefully it feels truthful to how siblings communicate.
What was the hardest creative decision you made while making this film?
As directors, one of the hardest balancing acts on a film is crafting and protecting the tone. We knew that we wanted a naturalistic dramedy, that felt like a drama with subtle comedic moments that arose from tense situations.
There were moments where we could've turned Spit It Out into a full-on comedy and it was tempting. The script read quite funny, and during table reads with the actors or fellow collaborators, it was easy to make the jokes bigger or the reactions more over-the-top.
To fight this, from a directing perspective, we decided that on set and in the edit, we needed to keep pushing against the humor. It's important to remember that the characters don't know they're in a comedy. They are going through exhausting and emotionally gut-wrenching moments. It is the audience that is chuckling or cringing at their unfortunate predicaments.
Lastly, this was not a creative challenge, but instead a physical one: the day before set, in the middle of rehearsals, co-director and writer Westin was stung inside her nostril by a honey bee. Luckily, the stinger was swiftly extracted by her sister. Go teamwork! Later in post production, co-director & music composer Austin was stung in the foot by a sting ray—so this film was made with lots of venom pulsing in our director veins. Still waiting for our superpowers to appear.
"Spitting in a vial is awkward—so is the juxtaposition of celebrating your past, while still concealing a lie."
What do you hope audiences take away from your film?
We hope this film leaves its audiences with lots to think about....most importantly, is it better when life is messy, but truthful?
How has this film shaped or shifted the kind of stories you want to tell next?
This film has only solidified the types of stories we want to make: dramedies with stranger-than-fiction premises.
What’s a tool, technique, or resource that really helped you during production?
We usually shoot single-cam, but for Spit It Out our DP Chris Koser suggested we shoot multi-cam with two Alexa Mini's. Shooting multi-cam definitely added to the cine budget (and footage size on hard drives), but it was well worth it for the time that it saved in our schedule! Because of our film's premise of a family gathering, we have a mammoth 10-page scene with 6 characters. Capturing each character's reactions and lines in the time we had was only made possible by shooting multi-cam!
Independent filmmakers often rewrite the rules out of necessity. What do you think is the greatest strength of independent filmmaking, and how did you lean into that on this project? Is there a lesson or breakthrough you’d share with others navigating this path?
One of the greatest strengths of indie filmmaking IS the ability to rewrite the rules and not be confined by tradition. There's a lot of freedom in not having to wait for approval or permission to make your film.
"It's important to remember that the characters don't know they're in a comedy. They are going through exhausting and emotionally gut-wrenching moments."
What does it mean to you to have your film selected for Nòt Film Fest?
We've noticed that the community of Nòt alumni filmmakers is strong, so we're thrilled to be adopted into this film family. No DNA test required. ;-)
How do you hope being part of Nòt Film Fest will shape the life of this film?
We're excited to introduce our film to international Italian audiences and connect with a wider global community of creative movers and shakers.
Where do you see this film going next?
We're in the middle of our film festival circuit, with the hopes of premiering online at the end. After SeriesFest and HollyShorts accepted Spit It Out in their TV Pilot categories, Spit It Out has gotten interest in development into an episodic series, so we will be exploring this avenue.
"At the core of all my work is a desire to tell smart, cinematic stories that entertain, inspire, and intrigue."
Cast & Crew
- Anya Longwell — Actress/Model
- Micah Flamm — Actor: Finis Terrae, Venice Film Festival 2020 Best Short Film
- Tadeo Sorice — Actor
- Artemis Snow — Actress
- Jenna Jiménez — Actress
- Chris Koser — Cinematographer: Freedom's Path
- Gerry Vazquez — Sound Designer: The Morning Show, Yellowstone, The Lincoln Lawyer
