Fun Facts about The Scavenger
This is the first film for both lead actors Ella Headrick and Connor Nielsen.
This is Rooker’s second “crew of two” film, whereas every position from pre-production through post was filled by himself. His second crew member, Phil Kinney, recorded production sound during the shoot dates.
The make up used by the actors is primarily real dirt combined with KY jelly.
The ‘human ash’ tossed by the Scavenger is actually charcoal dust taken from the filmmaker’s grill. Actress Ella Headrick accidentally took some of it in her mouth on her first take. After a quick rinse and spit, she was ok again shortly thereafter. She said it tasted ‘salty’. The filmmaker uses a lot of salt on his steaks.
The film was shot on the filmmaker’s family farm, once a thriving cattle farm, but now mostly just a collection of rusting, broken down equipment.
To help slip into the role of Aden, actor Aaron Dunlap woke up at 5am on the day of the shoot and took a long, isolating walk through the woods. When he returned back to set, he refused breakfast, claiming that in Aden’s world, hunger drives people’s actions.
The film was shot in early fall when all of the vegetation was still bright green. Everything was converted into a series of browns in post to convey a hot, dried out world.
The film serves as both a prequel and proof-of-concept for the feature screenplay The Scavengers, a PAGE Award Finalist and Austin Film Fest Second Rounder.
The entire cast and crew are from the Triangle area of NC. The shooting location was also NC, near the Virginia border.
Only one light was used for the entire production, a Kino Flo Diva, to serve as a kicker for the cabin scenes. The rest of the shots employed only natural light.
The entire film was shot in two days, plus another half day for additional scenes that were added in post.
The costumes of both Girl and the Scavenger comes from the filmmaker’s own militaria collection. Girl’s jacket is Vietnam War issue, the Scavenger’s jacket is WWII.
Girl’s rifle was made by the filmmaker and is actually a toy flintlock with a old surveyor’s sight tied onto it’s side using hay-baler twine. The original idea was to use a real weapon, but the filmmaker loved the patina on the toy gun enough to where he felt the authenticity of the weapon would never be questioned given that it looked like something that would really exist in this world. The gun is actually one of the filmmaker’s childhood toys, as evident by some stickers that he placed on the butt as a child that depict his initials.
Ella Headrick as “Girl”
Ella Headrick has been performing onstage since age 4, and has starred in such roles as Lottie in "A Little Princess", Anne Frank in "And Then They Came For Me" and Cosette in "Les Miserable." She is currently competing in the NATS regional competition for Musical Theatre and rehearsing for a spring 2020 performance of "The Drowsy Chaperone." The Scavenger represents Ella's debut on-camera role.
Connor NielsEn as “The Scavenger”
Connor is a Durham-based actor and arts administrator who has appeared at North Carolina Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, and Theatre Raleigh. He holds a degree in Dramatic Art from UNC-Chapel Hill. This is Connor's debut film role.
Aaron Dunlap as “Aden”
After serving in the USCG, Aaron moved to NYC and studied acting with George Morrison, Mike Nichols, and Kathy Hendrickson. He presently lives in Wake Forest, NC. "My favorite thing about acting is applying different techniques and approaches to reach the desired goal."
W. Jarvis Rooker - Filmmaker
Rooker’s prior shorts have won a number of awards including a variety of Best in Category, Direction, and Cinematography. His last short film Restitution sold into distribution and is currently playing in rotation on cable TV. His feature screenplays have placed in the Quarterfinals of the Nichols, the Finals of the PAGE Awards, and the Second Round of the Austin Film Fest. He holds an MFA in Film Production from Chapman University.
