The last day of principal photography started with me being nearly an hour late for the first scene.
Fortunately, I made up by bringing cold water and lemon lime sodas to the location. It was a hot mother fucker. My wife, Tonya, got good and cooked. When we got home her face was dark red. My forehead, neck and even my nose were red. But I digress.
Theo, one of the people I credit with really helping me realize this film, found a piece of broken glass on the street a day before that we were going to need for a scene in which he arrives to his car to find the window broken out. What he found was actually a pane of glass with some kind of tint film on it. The glass was broke, but stuck to the tint. Hank and I broke it apart and scattered it on the hot asphalt to better simulate a window break. I think it worked out well. Theo had a blast yelling out cuss words as he walked into the scene.
In the last post I mentioned that we'd still be short one actor. It was for one of the pivotal scenes for the protagonist, Luis. Fortunately, I found a guy to play. Will came to the cattle call IFMASA had sometime back and I wondered if he might be the guy for the gig. At the time, the part was built a little different. Now I just wanted to fill the spot with the best person possible.
Everything was set. Or so I thought. I called Ariel, the guy who would play the drunk angry guy. I couldn't get a hold of him, at first, but when I did, he told me that he would be unable to make the shoot.
*sound of needle scratching the record*
Yes. I lost the actor I thought I had locked in. My back-up plan was a flimsy one. I would ask one of the Rumbo guys, Bruno, to come downstairs and fill in. Hey, it was better than no plan at all. Bruno's doesn't speak great English, but since it's an alternate take, he doesn't have to.
In the middle of my preparations for ritual siboku, I decided to continue with the shoot. I got Jared and Britney squared away for the fight sequence. We did a few takes of the punch, some close-ups and then the wide shot.
Britney is a really sweet girl. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much experience and not a lot of range. But I wanted her to cut her teeth on something simple. I think that I'll have to be very careful on her scene. The wrong cut and everything will fall apart. Her partner in the scene, Jared, is fantastic. He's got energy and he really got into the part. I hope to work with both of these people again.
Will sat off set and rehearsed his part with my wife's help. Then a crazy thing happened.
While I was setting Jared and Britney up for their alternate take, a guy walking by recognized Jared. Turns out Quinn, the passerby, was an actor friend of Jared's. He's a stout guy. Smaller than Will. But he had the look of a guy who could commit a hate crime, lol. The scene had originally called for Will's character to be the short one and the part of the drunk would be the tall one. The tables were turned, but what was about to happen worked out better than I had planned. Well, not better, but it worked out.
Quinn's an actor. I'm a director needing an actor. The decision was simple.
I offered Quinn the part on the spot. I gave him the scenes, let he and Will rehearse off set, in the parking lot and I returned to Jared and Britney. There's an alternate take where Britney is to be slapped. I blocked them so I could get the hit, but not the fall. In fact, I really wanted not to get a lot the action at all. I wanted the audience to imagine the rest. But I shot it win Britney taking the hit and falling off frame.
After we wrapped Jared and Britney, we moved onto a shot we missed with Theo and Luis. They would walk out of the Milam building and down the street. Knocked it out quick.
Then came Will and Luis. I'm not sure how many productions or films Will has been involved in, but he was a bit green too. He had the right instincts during his rehearsals, but when he got in front of the camera, it was a bit stilted. I don't feel I got his best performance, but I can't expect perfection when I'm not perfect either.
I have to say, Luis has become quite the veteran. Each time he got into his part and gave me a take, it got better and better. I can't wait to see what else he does.
Luis and Will went through their scene a few times. More than a few. We struggled with them hitting their marks and with the lighting situation not being optimal. Hank, my DP, was his usual, inventive self and gave me the most of what he and the environment had.
When we got Luis and Will done, we had to set up our walk on, Quinn, and Will. This one took a little more doing since we didn't have any real rehearsal time and Quinn didn't know he was going to be picked off the street for this. Hank and I set them up and reset them and reset them until we both felt we had something worth shooting. Still, we got some interesting takes.
Quinn is a good actor, but he turns it up too much. Once he found his groove, it was good. He and Will found a happy medium to their scene and I think we got some usable footage. I want to be happier about their scene, but considering all the trouble I had to get it shot, I'll take what I can get. The magic of editing will be on my side.
The last thing we did was a pick up from the Jared/Britney scene. It's the interaction between Luis and Britney.
Britney took a lot of coaxing. I don't think she fully realizes how she has to become another person. I think she just hoped that delivering the lines would be enough. We all had to basically give her some motivations. At one point, Tonya took her and made her jog around the parking lot to help her fake a sense of panic and distress. The breathlessness helped a little, but when she got her wind back, we had to give her more cues.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not from the Actor's Studio. I just wanted the girl to succeed first time outta the gate. Both Tonya and I felt that we should give her a chance to break in.
The martini was a gag take. It actually worked out pretty good. And on Hank's prompting, I found a perfect spot for it.
If felt good to get it all in the can. Well, not all of it. The real shooting is through. I need to fix that internal mailbox take that I've been screwing up. That and Luis' narration.
But other than that, principal photography is done!
-30-
Day 7: Still Jenny From The Block
Saturday, July 22, 2006
What? You have no idea what the title to this blog means? It means that J-Lo, otherwise known as Jennifer Lopez, was in my film today.
Nah, not really. But she was at the hotel next to the coffee shop we shot at. Let me start from the beginning.
Sip is a little coffee shop at the corner of Houston and St. Mary's that I was introduced to while I was working at Rumbo. Whenever we had to do a photoshoot for the fashion page and we needed to find somewhere hip and available to shoot, we'd try there. I stopped in there a few shoots ago and they graciously agreed to give us run of the place.
Just before we started, Juan had told me that Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony were staying next door and that her security entourage had been in the day before for lunch. He said that J-Lo swears by the hotel, The Valencia, and that the hotel even special ordered her some super expensive pillows because J-Lo just loves them. Anyhow, I didn't give it much thought and we began our day.
Well, the shoot went great. We set up Naomi (aka Samantha) and Luis (aka Rick) on a bar next to the windows facing St. Mary's and shot from outside the cafe. Juan, the cafe manager, even came outside to clean the windows for us. Talk about class. We shot inside and even got to use the wheel chain in this back-track, spin dolly move for the alternate ending of the movie. We did have some minor issues with lighting, but Hank, as resourceful as any great DP is, got it figured out.
I'm getting to the blog title, don't worry.
We finished shooting the Samantha/Rick scene and moved outside to shoot the scene with Theo (aka James).
So, we're fixing to shoot the James/Rick scene. Hank loaded the camera into it's protective bag to keep it cool while he and Theo went back to the vehicles to fetch Theo's wardrobe. Naomi, Luis and I stayed behind to watch all the stuff. The entire time we were there, a tall, lean black guy with dreads had been watching us as he stood next to this black four door SUV. This was J-Lo's security guy. They were fixing to take her someplace. I think they thought we were either news media or paparatzi because the security guy kept eye-ballin' us the entire time we were sitting there.
Hank and Theo came back and we set up to shoot. I went inside and told Laura, the on site manager, that we'd be outside and almost out of their hair. When I came out, they had just loaded J-Lo into the vehicle and were pulling away.
We were sitting at the corner of Houston and St. Mary's on the Houston side. As J-Lo-Mobile started forward, Luis says, "Can we wave at her?" I said, "Knock yourself out."
The GMC stopped at the light and was right next to us. Luis starts to wave. She had the window rolled down, turns to Luis and says, "Hey, how's it going?" The light turns green and the car makes a turn and is gone.
All of us giggled at the prospect that J-Lo might have thought we were going to take her picture so she decided to be "Jenny From The Block" long enough to give us some face time. HA!
Anyhow, enough about J-Lo.
The rest of the shoot went just as good, but with sound issues. The day we'd showed up to scout the location, traffic was low, sound was low and it seemed to be a little more empty. Well, not today. We had buses every 15 minutes, lots of people driving cars with really loud engines and just about every other piece of ambient noise you could dream of. The boom was catching everything.
We tried taping it to the wall, under the table and between Rick and James, but we were still catching all kinds of pollution. Eventually, we settled on getting the master shot with them talking, despite the noise and doing two pick up shots on both of them to catch the dialogue.
The martini was Theo and Luis walking down this path above the Riverwalk on their way to the coffee shop.
Oh, I almost forgot, I semi-auditioned a guy that I'd seen at the IFMASA cattle call a month ago. Will Carter Jr is the actor's name. I had to scrap my original Frantic Man idea: a small, squirrelly guy and go for a tall, black guy. I think he can pull it off. I hope he can pull it off. What I'm looking for is the energy, not so much what the actor looks like. It's been so hard to cast that part that I'm not sure what other direction to go in.
With all luck, everything left will get done tomorrow. And what is that, you ask?:
1. Theo's broken window scene
2. Frantic Man meets Rick
3. Frantic Man meets Drunk Guy
4. Rick saves the day
5. Rick & James leave the Milam
I'm nervous and excited at the proposition of tomorrow being the last day of principal photography.
I still have high hopes that Naomi will be able to come out one last time so we can get her and Luis in their alternate take at the HEB parking lot. But if she can't, I've already found a way around that.
-30-
Nah, not really. But she was at the hotel next to the coffee shop we shot at. Let me start from the beginning.
Sip is a little coffee shop at the corner of Houston and St. Mary's that I was introduced to while I was working at Rumbo. Whenever we had to do a photoshoot for the fashion page and we needed to find somewhere hip and available to shoot, we'd try there. I stopped in there a few shoots ago and they graciously agreed to give us run of the place.
Just before we started, Juan had told me that Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony were staying next door and that her security entourage had been in the day before for lunch. He said that J-Lo swears by the hotel, The Valencia, and that the hotel even special ordered her some super expensive pillows because J-Lo just loves them. Anyhow, I didn't give it much thought and we began our day.
Well, the shoot went great. We set up Naomi (aka Samantha) and Luis (aka Rick) on a bar next to the windows facing St. Mary's and shot from outside the cafe. Juan, the cafe manager, even came outside to clean the windows for us. Talk about class. We shot inside and even got to use the wheel chain in this back-track, spin dolly move for the alternate ending of the movie. We did have some minor issues with lighting, but Hank, as resourceful as any great DP is, got it figured out.
I'm getting to the blog title, don't worry.
We finished shooting the Samantha/Rick scene and moved outside to shoot the scene with Theo (aka James).
So, we're fixing to shoot the James/Rick scene. Hank loaded the camera into it's protective bag to keep it cool while he and Theo went back to the vehicles to fetch Theo's wardrobe. Naomi, Luis and I stayed behind to watch all the stuff. The entire time we were there, a tall, lean black guy with dreads had been watching us as he stood next to this black four door SUV. This was J-Lo's security guy. They were fixing to take her someplace. I think they thought we were either news media or paparatzi because the security guy kept eye-ballin' us the entire time we were sitting there.
Hank and Theo came back and we set up to shoot. I went inside and told Laura, the on site manager, that we'd be outside and almost out of their hair. When I came out, they had just loaded J-Lo into the vehicle and were pulling away.
We were sitting at the corner of Houston and St. Mary's on the Houston side. As J-Lo-Mobile started forward, Luis says, "Can we wave at her?" I said, "Knock yourself out."
The GMC stopped at the light and was right next to us. Luis starts to wave. She had the window rolled down, turns to Luis and says, "Hey, how's it going?" The light turns green and the car makes a turn and is gone.
All of us giggled at the prospect that J-Lo might have thought we were going to take her picture so she decided to be "Jenny From The Block" long enough to give us some face time. HA!
Anyhow, enough about J-Lo.
The rest of the shoot went just as good, but with sound issues. The day we'd showed up to scout the location, traffic was low, sound was low and it seemed to be a little more empty. Well, not today. We had buses every 15 minutes, lots of people driving cars with really loud engines and just about every other piece of ambient noise you could dream of. The boom was catching everything.
We tried taping it to the wall, under the table and between Rick and James, but we were still catching all kinds of pollution. Eventually, we settled on getting the master shot with them talking, despite the noise and doing two pick up shots on both of them to catch the dialogue.
The martini was Theo and Luis walking down this path above the Riverwalk on their way to the coffee shop.
Oh, I almost forgot, I semi-auditioned a guy that I'd seen at the IFMASA cattle call a month ago. Will Carter Jr is the actor's name. I had to scrap my original Frantic Man idea: a small, squirrelly guy and go for a tall, black guy. I think he can pull it off. I hope he can pull it off. What I'm looking for is the energy, not so much what the actor looks like. It's been so hard to cast that part that I'm not sure what other direction to go in.
With all luck, everything left will get done tomorrow. And what is that, you ask?:
1. Theo's broken window scene
2. Frantic Man meets Rick
3. Frantic Man meets Drunk Guy
4. Rick saves the day
5. Rick & James leave the Milam
I'm nervous and excited at the proposition of tomorrow being the last day of principal photography.
I still have high hopes that Naomi will be able to come out one last time so we can get her and Luis in their alternate take at the HEB parking lot. But if she can't, I've already found a way around that.
-30-
Day 6: Back To The Future
Friday, July 21, 2006
Today's shoot was totally improvised. I had nothing planned, no storyboards, no clues. It's background stuff for a voice over by Luis where he explains...well, you'll just have to see the film.
Luis, the male lead, is at home with his new wife, played by the lead actress, Naomi. They're doing bills, watching TV and reading mysterious emails.
My particular favorite was the stuff we did with them watching TV. The living room can get very dark when you close the shutters in both the dining room and the living room and turn off the lights. It could almost be night. So, we closed every one of them, turned off the lights and put the TV on. I wanted to give the sensation of them watching TV without the sound. You know how the light reflects back onto you when you're in the dark. Depending on what's on the screen, the room can be dark or kind of lit. It's a real mood setter.
We sat Naomi and Luis on the couch and then I proceeded to find something in my movie library that might have lots of lights and darks. I came up with "Backdraft". I figured that with all the explosions and fire sequences, it would be great. It sure was. We filmed one take with just the light from the TV. Then Hank, my DP, suggested we try one with a bit more light from a clip lamp we had with a low watt bulb. Hank had constructed these reflectors from cardboard and aluminum foil. We bounced some light from the lamp onto the actors and some from the TV screen. That worked well. Then we tried doing some just from the clip lamp, hitting them directly from the front. We had tried other options and the homemade reflector was casting a shadow from a different angle than the TV. Bouncing the light from the carpet to the reflector, to the actors worked great. I watched the monitor and Hank did the effect. Fantastic. I'm gonna be especially careful with that scene. The mood it sets is just awesome.
We also reshot the internal mailbox scene that I fucked up before. I used my Sony, opened up the view screen and flipped it around so that the actors could see what they were doing and how they looked. Before, it was kind of hit and miss as to where they were on frame. This way, I could look at the camera placement and they could see that they were where I wanted them. I haven't looked at the footage, but it think it will be great.
We have a really heavy day tomorrow. I've got to find some glass and break it for a scene with Theo. Rumbo didn't ever email me back about coming up to the office, so I'm guessing that they don't want me back. We'll just have to find a way around that. We have footage of them leaving the building. I'll just have to find some creative way to add something where we don't have to even set foot in the Milam building. I think I have an idea. *Insert evil laugh here*
Tomorrow is also the coffee shop scene. I think it's so cool that we got Sip, a popular downtown coffee shop, to let us shoot there. It's gonna be fantastic. It's a real trendy place that's gonna look so good on camera. Nevermind that it's in a really great. We've got two scenes there tomorrow. Naomi with Luis and then Luis with Theo.
Then on Sunday, we have the ambitious, yet action packed Frantic Man scene and the "Fight" scene. I'm still chasing down the actor to play Frantic Man. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. Then I have to rig something for the fight scene. A roll of quarters that will explode as Luis hits Jared, the drunk guy.
It's down to the wire. If I can pull this off, I'll have Luis come by the house and record the voice over stuff Monday and Tuesday. He leaves for El Paso on Saturday. I still haven't told him that I'm not sure we're gonna have a wrap party.
This is kind of nerve-racking and exciting all at once. Man oh, man.
-30-
Luis, the male lead, is at home with his new wife, played by the lead actress, Naomi. They're doing bills, watching TV and reading mysterious emails.
My particular favorite was the stuff we did with them watching TV. The living room can get very dark when you close the shutters in both the dining room and the living room and turn off the lights. It could almost be night. So, we closed every one of them, turned off the lights and put the TV on. I wanted to give the sensation of them watching TV without the sound. You know how the light reflects back onto you when you're in the dark. Depending on what's on the screen, the room can be dark or kind of lit. It's a real mood setter.
We sat Naomi and Luis on the couch and then I proceeded to find something in my movie library that might have lots of lights and darks. I came up with "Backdraft". I figured that with all the explosions and fire sequences, it would be great. It sure was. We filmed one take with just the light from the TV. Then Hank, my DP, suggested we try one with a bit more light from a clip lamp we had with a low watt bulb. Hank had constructed these reflectors from cardboard and aluminum foil. We bounced some light from the lamp onto the actors and some from the TV screen. That worked well. Then we tried doing some just from the clip lamp, hitting them directly from the front. We had tried other options and the homemade reflector was casting a shadow from a different angle than the TV. Bouncing the light from the carpet to the reflector, to the actors worked great. I watched the monitor and Hank did the effect. Fantastic. I'm gonna be especially careful with that scene. The mood it sets is just awesome.
We also reshot the internal mailbox scene that I fucked up before. I used my Sony, opened up the view screen and flipped it around so that the actors could see what they were doing and how they looked. Before, it was kind of hit and miss as to where they were on frame. This way, I could look at the camera placement and they could see that they were where I wanted them. I haven't looked at the footage, but it think it will be great.
We have a really heavy day tomorrow. I've got to find some glass and break it for a scene with Theo. Rumbo didn't ever email me back about coming up to the office, so I'm guessing that they don't want me back. We'll just have to find a way around that. We have footage of them leaving the building. I'll just have to find some creative way to add something where we don't have to even set foot in the Milam building. I think I have an idea. *Insert evil laugh here*
Tomorrow is also the coffee shop scene. I think it's so cool that we got Sip, a popular downtown coffee shop, to let us shoot there. It's gonna be fantastic. It's a real trendy place that's gonna look so good on camera. Nevermind that it's in a really great. We've got two scenes there tomorrow. Naomi with Luis and then Luis with Theo.
Then on Sunday, we have the ambitious, yet action packed Frantic Man scene and the "Fight" scene. I'm still chasing down the actor to play Frantic Man. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. Then I have to rig something for the fight scene. A roll of quarters that will explode as Luis hits Jared, the drunk guy.
It's down to the wire. If I can pull this off, I'll have Luis come by the house and record the voice over stuff Monday and Tuesday. He leaves for El Paso on Saturday. I still haven't told him that I'm not sure we're gonna have a wrap party.
This is kind of nerve-racking and exciting all at once. Man oh, man.
-30-
Day 5: A Kiss Is Just A Kiss
Sunday, July 16, 2006
The big scene between Luis & Naomi went very well. With the video storyboard I did days ago, Hank and I didn't have to guess at where we'd put the cameras. I wish I'd done more of those. There's still time, especially with the fight scene, the frantic man scene and the two coffee shop scenes coming in the final weekend of shooting.
Both Naomi & Luis really benefited from the rehearsals, but they starting delivering their lines a bit flat on two takes. We managed to get plenty of coverage. I think it's going to look fantastic.
We had to shut off the AC to cut down on the ambient sounds while we had them boomed. And, FUCK, was it hot. Speaking of hot...
...We went back to the parking lot and grabbed a few of the shots that where we had the boom coming out and the alternate take we missed. It was freaking hot. I think we managed to keep the continuity (as far as natural lighting), but it was scorching. Thankfully, we weren't there long.
Next weekend is going to be a mother fucker. We've got another shoot at my place on Friday. Then on Saturday, we have two shoots at Sip, the coffee shop downtown. Not to mention Frantic Man's scene, the scene we missed at the Rumbo office and the fight scene in the parking lot across the street from the Milam. Whew. It's gonna be freaking heavy!!!!
I'm not even sure what we're gonna do about a wrap party yet. I know Luis has to leave at the end of the month and I will be in Houston about that same time too. I don't know. I might have to take him out for drinks and dinner separate from the group.
Either way, I'm excited at the prospect of having it all in the can and looking forward to pulling my hair out in post. Written, produced, edited, scored and directed... by me. Wow.
-30-
Both Naomi & Luis really benefited from the rehearsals, but they starting delivering their lines a bit flat on two takes. We managed to get plenty of coverage. I think it's going to look fantastic.
We had to shut off the AC to cut down on the ambient sounds while we had them boomed. And, FUCK, was it hot. Speaking of hot...
...We went back to the parking lot and grabbed a few of the shots that where we had the boom coming out and the alternate take we missed. It was freaking hot. I think we managed to keep the continuity (as far as natural lighting), but it was scorching. Thankfully, we weren't there long.
Next weekend is going to be a mother fucker. We've got another shoot at my place on Friday. Then on Saturday, we have two shoots at Sip, the coffee shop downtown. Not to mention Frantic Man's scene, the scene we missed at the Rumbo office and the fight scene in the parking lot across the street from the Milam. Whew. It's gonna be freaking heavy!!!!
I'm not even sure what we're gonna do about a wrap party yet. I know Luis has to leave at the end of the month and I will be in Houston about that same time too. I don't know. I might have to take him out for drinks and dinner separate from the group.
Either way, I'm excited at the prospect of having it all in the can and looking forward to pulling my hair out in post. Written, produced, edited, scored and directed... by me. Wow.
-30-
Day 4: Taking It To The Streets
Saturday, July 15, 2006
You'd think that with soaring gas prices gasoline stations might want to get a little positive press by letting a small indie film crew shoot a two minute sequence at their pumps. No show. Every single one of the gas stations I approached said no. A couple of them didn't even let me finish my sentence. There was one, which shall remain nameless, who said this to me:
Me: Hi, is your manager in?
Gas station person: (suspicious) Uh, yes, I'm the manager. Is there a problem?
Me: No, no. My name is Julian and I'm currently directing a 30 minute film. I was wondering if it might be possible to film...
Gas station manager: No, no! Thank you.
So, the scene changed radically. We went from gas station (which had the potential to be covered and provide some shade) to open parking lot (which was hot and caused some grief).
Thankfully, I had some help from two other IFMASA members, Ellen & Modrea. They lent their minds to respin the scene and then pitched in to help film it. I found a good lot that wasn't too busy for a Saturday. The magic hour loomed and then came and then went. We managed to capture some of it, but lighting issues played havoc with each take. Not to mention the fact that after I screened the dailies, we had the boom in two different shots. In one of them, it was a reflection. In the other, the boom pole and mic cord were on bottom right hand of the screen. Then we had a mini light peek it into another shot. We were so worried about the light that we just ran through a couple of scenes without checking the frame. A separate monitor would have helped us a bunch. I'll have to invest in one after this gets completed.
Then we had the grocery store parking lot shoot. We got there just as dusk was running out and night was fading in. Hank was worried that we'd have to shoot the scene with our smaller, single CCD chip cameras in order to grab as much ambient light as possible. He ended up shooting with the XL1 and the shots were great.
To make matters more complicated, the scenes we shot at both parking lots require alternate takes, which we failed to shoot. So now, we have to do more pickup shots at both locations. One we'll do tomorrow after the Luis & Naomi's big scenes and the grocery store one we'll have to grab next weekend.
Still, despite the small setbacks, it was a productive shoot and we got lots of usable footage.
-30-
Me: Hi, is your manager in?
Gas station person: (suspicious) Uh, yes, I'm the manager. Is there a problem?
Me: No, no. My name is Julian and I'm currently directing a 30 minute film. I was wondering if it might be possible to film...
Gas station manager: No, no! Thank you.
So, the scene changed radically. We went from gas station (which had the potential to be covered and provide some shade) to open parking lot (which was hot and caused some grief).
Thankfully, I had some help from two other IFMASA members, Ellen & Modrea. They lent their minds to respin the scene and then pitched in to help film it. I found a good lot that wasn't too busy for a Saturday. The magic hour loomed and then came and then went. We managed to capture some of it, but lighting issues played havoc with each take. Not to mention the fact that after I screened the dailies, we had the boom in two different shots. In one of them, it was a reflection. In the other, the boom pole and mic cord were on bottom right hand of the screen. Then we had a mini light peek it into another shot. We were so worried about the light that we just ran through a couple of scenes without checking the frame. A separate monitor would have helped us a bunch. I'll have to invest in one after this gets completed.
Then we had the grocery store parking lot shoot. We got there just as dusk was running out and night was fading in. Hank was worried that we'd have to shoot the scene with our smaller, single CCD chip cameras in order to grab as much ambient light as possible. He ended up shooting with the XL1 and the shots were great.
To make matters more complicated, the scenes we shot at both parking lots require alternate takes, which we failed to shoot. So now, we have to do more pickup shots at both locations. One we'll do tomorrow after the Luis & Naomi's big scenes and the grocery store one we'll have to grab next weekend.
Still, despite the small setbacks, it was a productive shoot and we got lots of usable footage.
-30-
Day 3: Cyber Punked
Friday, July 14, 2006
We had a great shoot today. I've tried not to shoot in sequence so it will make me be more conscious about what's going on in the frames.
My video storyboarding plan has fallen short. But today I did manage to get Naomi & Luis to do some rehearsing for their big scene together.
Anyhow, Hank, as usuall, came through with some great stuff. The shoot today was pretty short. We just needed to get "Rick" reading the crazy email he assumes is his friends' idea of a good joke. Hence the title of today's blog.
Again, Luis' lush character got to have a beer. Compared to the other beer bottles we've had in this shoot, this one might be a bit more obvious.
I'm having a great time. I feel much more confident about my abilities now than I had when we fired off the first frame. Much more than in "Caught In The Rain". Working with the actors has been very interesting. It was much easier to explain the character's motivations to the actors than I thought. And since this is the first indie film both my leads have done, it's been a learning experience for all of us.
We have Luis & Naomi's two big outdoor scenes tomorrow after 5pm. I'm not sure what to expect. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch that magic hour that directors hate to try to chase. Dusk is really hard to grab.
-30-
Day 2: Office Space
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Let me just say that working without a net is exciting and frustrating. I didn't storyboard or video storyboard the office sequence like I wanted to. And it bugged me all day.
We got into the office fine, but after we got there, we were short two actors. One of which had a bunch of lines. I stepped in front of the camera for my director's cameo. A little more than Hitchcock; a little less that M. Night Shyamalan. My big line is:
"This town is full of freaks."
I'd like to thank the Academy...
We moved all kinds of stuff around to dress the desks a little better. The phone on my old desk still had my name on it when you picked up the handset. It's only been a few months. LOL. There was no one there at all, so you'll see me walk around a bit during the office scenes. If I'd have had a wig and another shirt and pants, I would have gone that route.
We got some great footage. Theo, who plays a secondary role, really came through with his part. He really explored his character. Luis gets better every day. I noticed a few times that he dug in and pulled out little gold nuggets in every scene. My DP, Hank, was full of ideas and suggestions. That makes my job a thousand time easier.
I'm not gonna say that I didn't get upset with any of them. There were a couple of times that I didn't feel I was getting what I wanted. I mean, this is my material. But I don't say anything or dwell on it because I know that I have my faults too. I took the lazy approach a couple of times and we had to take some pick-up shots to compensate. No one is perfect. But we worked great together.
We did get to walk down to the coffee shop I had in the script, "Sip," and managed to get the green light from the owner to shoot there. That was really good news. The bad news was that we had to cancel Day 3. Lacking the skinny, nervous guy for the first part of the day just killed that. Not to mention the fact that I have yet to get clearance to film across the street at the parking lot between Travis & Houston streets.
By now you've noticed that I've never really said what the film is about or dropped any hints as to the genre. I won't. In fact, if you don't know anything, you'll have to keep coming back here to get more info.
I'm going to have to get to work on some storyboards for the shoot between Luis and Naomi, the lead actress. I want this to be intimate and sincere. They're both good actors. Now I just gotta get them good, together.
I'll post screenshots of the shoot as we didn't have anyone there to shoot behind the scenes stuff.
Day 3 is cancelled. Day 3, Take 2 will be this Friday.
-30-
We got into the office fine, but after we got there, we were short two actors. One of which had a bunch of lines. I stepped in front of the camera for my director's cameo. A little more than Hitchcock; a little less that M. Night Shyamalan. My big line is:
"This town is full of freaks."
I'd like to thank the Academy...
We moved all kinds of stuff around to dress the desks a little better. The phone on my old desk still had my name on it when you picked up the handset. It's only been a few months. LOL. There was no one there at all, so you'll see me walk around a bit during the office scenes. If I'd have had a wig and another shirt and pants, I would have gone that route.
We got some great footage. Theo, who plays a secondary role, really came through with his part. He really explored his character. Luis gets better every day. I noticed a few times that he dug in and pulled out little gold nuggets in every scene. My DP, Hank, was full of ideas and suggestions. That makes my job a thousand time easier.
I'm not gonna say that I didn't get upset with any of them. There were a couple of times that I didn't feel I was getting what I wanted. I mean, this is my material. But I don't say anything or dwell on it because I know that I have my faults too. I took the lazy approach a couple of times and we had to take some pick-up shots to compensate. No one is perfect. But we worked great together.
We did get to walk down to the coffee shop I had in the script, "Sip," and managed to get the green light from the owner to shoot there. That was really good news. The bad news was that we had to cancel Day 3. Lacking the skinny, nervous guy for the first part of the day just killed that. Not to mention the fact that I have yet to get clearance to film across the street at the parking lot between Travis & Houston streets.
By now you've noticed that I've never really said what the film is about or dropped any hints as to the genre. I won't. In fact, if you don't know anything, you'll have to keep coming back here to get more info.
I'm going to have to get to work on some storyboards for the shoot between Luis and Naomi, the lead actress. I want this to be intimate and sincere. They're both good actors. Now I just gotta get them good, together.
I'll post screenshots of the shoot as we didn't have anyone there to shoot behind the scenes stuff.
Day 3 is cancelled. Day 3, Take 2 will be this Friday.
-30-
Day 1: A Beer A Day...
Friday, July 07, 2006
Hank, left, Luis and Julian talk about the mailbox scene. Tonya Cordero/Big Bang PE
Julian signs off on shot. Tonya Cordero/Big Bang PE
Luis sits at the computer with his morning beer. Julian Cordero/Big Bang PEThings went well on the first day. While it didn't seem like we got a lot done, it felt good to be behind the camera again.
Luis, the male lead, got a kick out of drinking a beer at 10 am. He worked quite well. I still see room for improvement, but he's doing a fantastic job.
Hank, my DP, has been fantastic. He's insightful and always has a good idea under his belt. Not to mention the fact that he's very knowledgeable as far as photography goes. He's got a good feel for it all.
We got some of the first scenes in the script in. The main set up. I think we shot a great deal. I'm wondering, having looked at the dailies, if we're gonna need so much for the intro.
Tomorrow is our shoot at the Rumbo offices. It might seem crazy, but there's still an actor missing. Two actually. I'm going to readjust the script to make the scenes a bit tighter and not require those two missing parts. I think I can make it work.
Here's some shots that Tonya and I took during the shoot.
-30-
Is This Thing On?
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Lost an actress, gained an actress. I went with the runner up after a mess of scheduling conflicts with the original selection. I'm just glad both are talented otherwise I'd be up shit creek.
Tomorrow is my first official day. I'm nervous. Well, jittery. I think I have so much more knowledge about directing and about the business than I did when I tried doing my first feature length film, "Caught In The Rain."
I got a myspace message from a guy who I use to talk film with from time to time. He's doing some film editing. He asked about that old flick.
Anyway, I hope that the film looks and sounds as it's suppose to. I really care about the script and with me being behind the camera exclusively, it gives me the chance to really coax the right kind of performance from the actors.
More emails to send. More things to plan. Later.
-30-
Tomorrow is my first official day. I'm nervous. Well, jittery. I think I have so much more knowledge about directing and about the business than I did when I tried doing my first feature length film, "Caught In The Rain."
I got a myspace message from a guy who I use to talk film with from time to time. He's doing some film editing. He asked about that old flick.
Anyway, I hope that the film looks and sounds as it's suppose to. I really care about the script and with me being behind the camera exclusively, it gives me the chance to really coax the right kind of performance from the actors.
More emails to send. More things to plan. Later.
-30-
Here We Go....
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Well, the makeup artist might not be available for all the dates we're shooting. She's bringing home the bacon and since I'm not a paying gig, she's got to worry about those that do. I totally understand that. But she said she might be able to work on a couple of days. I hope those are the days we bring in the lead actress.
Oh, then there's that. The woman I selected had conflicts with the dates I scheduled her shoot for. She sent me an email telling me that she couldn't move the dates and thanked me for the opportunity. I quickly emailed her back and told her that I'd push her scenes to the weekend before her commitments in hopes that she'll be able to do it.
My DP is ready for this weekend and I've got to send the email out to make sure everyone is on board for the heavy shooting day on Saturday.
We start with basic scenes on Friday, all the stuff at the front end of the script.
Is this getting heavy? No, probably not. But I think it will.
-30-
Oh, then there's that. The woman I selected had conflicts with the dates I scheduled her shoot for. She sent me an email telling me that she couldn't move the dates and thanked me for the opportunity. I quickly emailed her back and told her that I'd push her scenes to the weekend before her commitments in hopes that she'll be able to do it.
My DP is ready for this weekend and I've got to send the email out to make sure everyone is on board for the heavy shooting day on Saturday.
We start with basic scenes on Friday, all the stuff at the front end of the script.
Is this getting heavy? No, probably not. But I think it will.
-30-
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