Frank Blake’s Dual Agency brings the action to the Yucca Valley Film Festival, screening Saturday, November 8 at 6:30 PM. With sharp fight choreography, bold camera work, and a cast made up of professional stunt performers, this short film proves that big-screen thrills can be achieved on an indie budget. We caught up with Frank to talk about how he pulled it off, his approach to action storytelling, and what he’s most looking forward to at YVFF.

INTERVIEW

YVFF: Action films are pretty rare in the short film world, due to the challenges they present and the skills required to produce them on a shoestring budget. How did you manage to make it work for under $10K?

Frank: Yeah, so they tell me! One of the biggest stunts of the movie was the producing. To be honest, we took a reverse-engineering approach to getting this done. We started with the assets we had available and worked backward to build a story that would fit those resources. My writing partner, Paul Seetachitt, and I knew we could create something in our style to make it work.

I’m a professional stunt coordinator and mentoring director for our local Nashville stunt team, Action Design Services. Our team leader and stunt coordinator for Dual Agency, Jeron Bray, is always putting together action sequences for team practice. From that standpoint, we already had a head start with some pieces that were well-rehearsed.

Almost every single role—actors, DP, costumes—was filled by our stunt team or close network. That’s crucial, because action has its own language, and on a 3.5-day shoot, everyone needed to speak it.

We also got lucky with our main location. Close friends of mine had just moved out of their house, and the furniture was still there. So, the story became about a house for sale (sort of!). My friends still needed me to get a film insurance policy in case the place blew up, which turned out to be the single biggest expense besides editing. We nearly pulled it off at $8K, but we broke a counter during a fight scene and had to do a $500 repair.

The rest was all value-for-value trading. I needed a directing sample, the team needed footage, and everyone wanted to have fun making something together.

Team enthusiasm and commitment really can’t be beat when it comes to pulling off a project like this.

YVFF: The production value is impressive throughout your film—from the drone opening shot to the fight choreography, the blend of digital and practical effects, and the dynamic camera movements. Can you tell us more about the work behind the scenes to achieve such results?

Frank: The first part is just knowing the language of action. Our action DP, Thomas Chi, has mastered that language—so we never found ourselves in those moments where a DP looks out of their element on an action set. Tom understands not only how to shoot, but that he’s an essential part of the choreography.

We set early parameters for camera movement and he kept to that vision. He’s a talented guy—and he’s behind the drone work too.

Beyond camera work, Jeron and I wanted to keep things as practical as possible.

We threw people, set people on fire—did everything we could in-camera.

The car hit was probably the only obvious plate-shot combo. I only wanted VFX to enhance what we’d already done. With a team this skilled, it was more about how much we could fit into our limited time rather than the limits of our abilities.

YVFF: Despite all the action, the film never glorifies violence. It maintains a strong sense of humor and stays family-friendly, with a soundtrack that leans toward entertainment over drama. What were your references for this film, and how do you see the action genre today—both in cinema and streaming?

Frank: Glad you mentioned the music. That was the toughest part of post-production. I probably drove my editor crazy trying to find the right tracks and tone. I want the audience to get that hit of escapism but still feel like, “Hey, we’re just having fun here.”

There’s a fine line between too heavy and too absurd when it comes to music. At one point, I almost used carnival music over our kitchen fight scene. Very happy with where it landed in the end.

I don’t really work from references. My brain doesn’t function that way. I don’t like thinking about other projects when I write, and I try to forget that anything else exists when I shoot. Maybe my subconscious disagrees, but that’s at least what I aim for. I just want to make what I’d enjoy watching as an audience member.

As for the genre—action will always be a core part of entertainment, no matter the format. Streaming has shifted the landscape, sure, and there’s a growing quality gap as production costs drop and content quotas rise. But that also means more opportunity for filmmakers to bring their own fingerprint to the genre.

AI is becoming a powerful tool for enhancing action, but some things never change. If the story doesn’t engage, the action won’t matter. Action always has to serve the story.

YVFF: Has the film already screened at other festivals? How does YVFF fit into your festival tour, and what are you hoping to experience here?

Frank: We’ve screened at several festivals and picked up some great awards and recognition along the way. That said, Yucca is the first festival we’re attending in person. There’s nothing better than being surrounded by people who are hustling, creating, and doing it all for the love of the craft.

This business is all about relationships and energy exchange. If we can pick up some inspiration while we’re here, that’s a total win. If we can pass some of that inspiration along to others, that’s just double icing on the cake. Thanks for having us!

Catch Dual Agency  on November 8 – Red Carpet at 5:30 p.m., Meet & Greet with Janey Hann at 6pm, screenings at 6:30 p.m.

Frank Blake will sign autographs with his fellow filmmakers following the screenings of their films.