Day One: Crew Madness

Kim and I have had long endless discussions about our film. Stalker is a small film we like its small scope and we really wanted to keep the film in a small workable atmosphere.

Things didn't necessarily work out as we planned especially on the first day. The crew although diminutive in size: John, Katie, Randall, Hank and Kristina who all had too little to do. Its was our first day of principal photography so Kim and I had some issues to deal with which eventually ballooned into problems.

I think there were basically two problems "unclear chain of command" and "poor communication."

Okay before I start worrying about Saturday's shoot...

I will go into great detail about this past shoot we did on Tuesday March 20th!

We had the smallest crew imaginable...only three people: Randall our D.P., Kim and I.

We also had our share of distractions...

The small spare bedroom we chose for our location was unbearably warm so we ventilated the room by opening a window to let some cool air in. Well we also let in a swarm of mosquitoes.

Our valiant D.P. and our brave actress Corey chased the swarm around the whole apartment.

There was argument on the behalf of Randall our D.P. that the mosquito was magical being who was merely trying to bring blessing to our shoot. We all laughed at him.

But later that night when I showed them some of the photos I had taken...we saw something interesting.Can you see it? There is a little magic in that picture?!
:)

Set Production...hurdles

I am trying to make up for the inconsistent updates. I had a lot of issues with the Brooke's bedroom set. The reason is simple, our location was a vacant bedroom. Why would that be daunting? Because we would have to fill the room with life to break up the bland walls.
And we had issues with representing our character through the set. She's an interesting character...very girly and very controlled. Her girliness is very old fashioned though because she is a romantic but she is not a modern girl in style.
But the room itself was really small...very beige and difficult to block. We wanted both Brooke and James to use the room as a breaking point (both characters make very big life altering decisions in this room). But its hard to block out both the character and the camera movement because of the pokey size and huge bed that obstructed movement.
Not to mention the fact of the pokey bathroom we had to film in...and the room need a girls touch to set the mood.
It was a hard job but we did eventually figure out something...I will post those production stills later. So that you can all see the final product. It was a two person effort but given more time we could have done a lot more with it.

I needed a break...so I came here!

You know its pretty bad when you're body starts getting sick that you need to start slowing down and getting more rest. But who has time for all of that? So thanks to some over the counter meds I'm here at school but I'm feeling far too feverish to stay in class besides I got like 10 mins before I gotta take my meds and get something to eat. (I'm sick of skipping meals)

So as of this moment I absolutely refuse to put myself last...unlike the past couple of weeks. Fuck that...seriously.


So here's some update.



We have completed three shoots. And made some quick changes our shooting dates and crew!

But first let me introduce you all to my lovely lovely cast!
This is Brian he plays James...is that not a trusting face, you can tell he really feels confident about our film. His character James is the unlikely victim. His best friend Brooke is infatuated with him, her feelings become so uncontrollable that it destroys her.

Corey is nothing like her character and is an absolute pleasure to work with, in case you can't tell she loves to laugh. There are three leads: James, his best friend Brooke and his girlfriend Maggie. But my time is up...I gotta go take some meds so I will post more info later.

For now...know this, our 5-day shoot was shortened to a 4-day shoot. We have successfully completed 3 days. Our next shoot is on the 31st!

That may just give me enough time to work on late projects and documentaries for my other classes. Yeah me.

I am having a great DAY!!!

I was actually struggling today due to my lack of sleep my frazzled mind was having to work overtime. My poor co-worker Robert saw me at the end of the day...he was trying to converse with me and I was just a mess.
He actually told me to go home and get some rest. What a kind man!

Anyhow the reason that I am having the BEST day ever is that I got a late call from Randall (me and Kim have been crewing his film) and he told me that he wouldn't be needing my help for tomorrow's shoot especially since I live all the way out in Oro Valley.
He's such an angel. But he has consistently been the nicest guy to work on the set with. Its hard to find a BFA who is easy to work with. There are usually two extremes: either they micromanage too much or they don't act as the leader. Neither choice is easy or conducive to a good production.

There are the few that balance that line and are both cool/calm leaders that trust their crew. Then there are those that inherently distrust their crew and do the work themselves. (I hate the distrusting ones...they are like poison to a shoot)

You'd think filmmaking was easier, but teamwork is an art in itself.


Sooooo anyways I am sleeping in tomorrow morning. So that means I will likely be ready for my meeting with my cast on Sunday (my God I'm the director) AND I will still get to hang out with my co-workers at the park for a picnic. I miss them so much!

When you think about it that Randall just saved my life if not my weekend. He's a good guy.

Okay March update:

This week has been absolute hell. A lot of stress, mid-terms, homework assignments and racism. We were supposed to start filming last night on campus but there was just no time to do it. Both Kim and I needed to work on our project for Roddy (30-page bundle of fun) and I feel that it was just too soon to start filming with the actors.

I changed the schedule and we will start shooting next week Tuesday & Wednesday. And this weekend I will meet with the cast to go over the script and discuss the characters.

I am starting to become a little weary of this semester: I am disappointed with the professors in the Media Arts program and yet I am really surprised by the BFA the more you work with them the more you see who they really are.
After working on that shoot for my two friends Randall and Hank...I was completely stupified. You don't really know a person until you work beside them. It was a crazy experience.
I'm hoping for our actors sake that Kim and I will handle the stress.

On a secondary note, our first day of shooting goes down on Tues, March 6th the same day that the sneak peek for 300 screens on campus. For free!




That is so wrong. I've been waiting for this movie...for months upon months. *Sigh*

Casting Call...

It went well. We didn't get a huge number of people but between short amount of time and scheduling difficulties we go a good group of actors.
We met with a handful (literally) of people. There were only two girls who could make it--and both were impressive.
There was a nice show of guys but one really stood above the rest. I hate the fact that we have only one male character; there were two really good actors to choose from. And besides all the guys assured us that they could take time off no matter what.

We closed up early--I was dog tired and Kim was longing to go home and get some sleep. Oh and lovely lovely Kristina came by and helped us out--it was about time she meet Kim. Kristina agreed to help us with the film and I get the feeling she will be our right hand (she came down and hung out with us when no one else could) she a hero in my book!

So we kind of made our choices even though we said we would let them know by Saturday (we knew after the last actor left: of the three main characters we had them.)

And not a one had a week hand shake--one should always be prepared to shake hands!


So far so good. Now we have to get everyone ready to shoot. Our first day is next week TUESDAY!

*sigh*

One hurdle down six more to go (yes six shooting days) to come. I am too tired. And this is only our film--we are still crewing on someone's film this weekend. *I have painting to look forward to*

I'm gonna get some sleep.