Shiro's Head - The Production

A true grass roots project, Shiro's Head The Legend is a do it yourself, independent production that is a result of filmmakers Don and Kel Muna maximizing their resources and creative solutions. Knowing that in order to maintain full creative control of their first feature-length film, the Muña Bros. embraced the idea of a fully independent, do-it-yourself approach. This meant that they had to take on the full responsibility of all aspects of production and finance. As a result, they were fully prepared to pull all available resources together. It was then that they decided to take the production of the movie overseas back home to Guam, where support from family and friends combined with their past professional experience gave them the perfect foundation for turning their dream into a reality.

The pre-production for the movie began after the brothers completed their duties as directors of photography and camera operators for a small east coast-based documentary produced by Creative House Productions.

For "Shiro's Head", they created the storyline of the movie based on their original short story entitled, "The Legend of Shiro", a fictional story that took place before the first record of colonization on Guam.

Upon the completion of their screenplay, they set out on their journey to Guam. Throwing caution to the wind and bringing with them only the necessities (clothes, equipment and a few props) the brothers left the mainland and flew for 16.5 hours and 6,400 miles overseas to Guam to begin production on a movie that had no cast, no locations and no guarantees. And more so, because the movie had no budget, they were forced to travel on "standby" status at the risk of a non-guaranteed flight. The brothers, however, were determined to endure any unforeseen circumstances or face any obstacle in order to complete their project. The timing was perfect.

Once on Guam, they hit the ground running with location scouting, casting and logistics. They made calls to friends, family and anyone who would help with the project in hopes that they could soon begin production. It was with this tenacity that even without the help of producers, outside investors or assistants, the brothers secured a principal cast, major locations, vehicles, contacts, extra production equipment and potential soundtrack artists all within their first week on the island. All characters in the movie are portrayed by non-actors that were scouted by the Muña Bros. and just wanted to be part of such a unique project. In classic Guam fashion, the people of the island were there to lend a helping hand and positive support. 

Because everyone involved was donating their time and resources (from a futon to a boat), the production schedule was based around the casts' days off from work and prior obligations. This forced the brothers to shoot around unforeseen circumstances such as using stand-ins and then adding the inserts of the main characters later, making the seamless continuity connect in post production.

Maximizing their resources and creative solutions, the production phase took four months to complete - three of which were spent shooting on location. Production started in late January 2007 and wrapped in mid-May 2007 accumulating over 70 hours of footage.

A true grass-roots, do-it-yourself, independent project, "Shiro's Head - The Legend" is a movie about the importance of family and faith, the two life cornerstones by which this unique project has been made possible.

From pre-production to post production, the Muña Bros. have performed all tasks of above and below the line positions.