Abandoned Train | DeAnza Springs, CA

esmescarlett08
Oct 24, 2022
2 min read

Now, when Collin first told me there was an abandoned Chicago train on the border of Mexico and CA, I almost didn't believe him. So when he told me he wanted to go explore it, I thought that was extremely crazy. I mean I was all in, but it's still crazy. We went, and I soon decided that it would be absolutely criminal to not write and shoot a short film there.

DeAnza Abandoned Train | 09-18

The first thing you need to have when making a short film is an idea. With an idea comes a script, with a script comes an interested producer, with an interested producer comes a crew and with a crew comes a cast. Well, we didn't have any of that LMAO. Usually between Collin and I, when we indulge in creative projects I'll take the writing approach and he'll take the logistic/production approach. As a screenwriting major, I've been cursed with this ability to write very conversationally, the only problem is that I can't really turn it off. Whether I'm writing a paper, a script, or even a blog post that no one's ever gonna read, I can't help but sound like a teenage girl telling you a story. This, while problematic academically, comes in handy when writing for the screen.

It took me SO long to come up with an idea for this train you have no idea. Days were spent schlumped over a computer, staring at a taunting blinking cursor, wondering if I'd have to depend on nepotism to succeed 'cause obviously I couldn't write for jack. That is, of course, until I consulted my bestie Brian G-S. Having met in a freshman screenwriting class, together we came up with a pretty badass zombie-apocalyptic predicament entitled "Measure Twice" (get it? Cut once?). Now that we had a script with pizazz and Collin with connections, the next biggest problem was gonna be set safety.

Broken Glass on the Set of "Measure Twice" | 09-18

To say this was going to be an easy (or even safe) project would be a lie. Abandoned trains on the Mexican border aren't exactly known for their spotlessness, so obviously some elbow grease had to go into sweeping, dumping, cleaning, and disposing of all the rubble and glass within the train. Several trips had to be made down, and without a car you better believe it got expensive. Multiple times throughout the project Collin and I have looked at each other and wondered "is this still worth it"?

We decided yes. Yes, even though the train was 3 hours away (on a good day) and filthy and located on a nudist resort, it was going to be worth it. After all, we're film students. What wouldn't we do for the perfect shot?