Finish Line

"Juju," wrapped principle photography last night. I mean this morning. It was our second 20+ hour day this week. And I remember thinking what a killer day it was when we ran 15 hours on my set on "Charm City"!

It was quite an education and I am glad to have had the opportunity. I jumped into this business less than a year ago, and it is my fourth film credit (if you only count being writer/director/producer/etc on my own film as one credit). It was great to have done it back-to-back with my own film, as a lot of things were fresh in my mind. Making a movie is very similar to a group of people standing in a circle, every person with a gun in each hand, one of them pointed at the temple of the person to the left, one at the person to the right. We all are hostage to each other. One might think that the director or producer, whoever is writing the checks, has unlimited power, but that is really not the case. There are so many people you need on a set: the DP, PM (by now you must know these acronyms, or you just aren't paying attention), film crew, sound, make-up, props, catering, even down to the production assistants, who depending on the budget, might not even be getting paid at all. Even extras, who, as a group, pretty much screw you over every time. If twenty people swear on their respective grandmothers' graves that they will show up - count on five. On a good day.

You need ALL of these people and it is a lot of work to keep the peace and keep things moving at the same time. Coming fresh off my own film, it was still raw in my mind the people, events, and attitudes that made my life easier as a director/producer, and those that were counter-productive. "Juju" is the first feature-length project from this director and producer, and I told myself that as Production Manager, I was going to give them everything I wish people had given me, but didn't always come through on. That wasn't always easy to do, especially yesterday. I was nauseous most of the day, seemed to be fighting something flu-like, probably the result of our previous filming day which lasted from 10:00am Monday until after 6:00am Tuesday, and was all exteriors. We filmed at Wayne Shipley's field in Jessup, where the majority of his film, "One-Eyed Horse," was shot. FANTASTIC location and Wayne is the nicest guy in the world (as well as being very smart - he's got a distribution deal nearly locked up and has already sold over 1,100 DVDs). But by four a.m. it was pretty cold and my shoes were soaked from the dew in the tall grass and we were about out of bug repellant. I had arranged for a very nice tent from Absolute Party Rental and a very sanitary port-a-potty from Gotugo, but they didn't offer much in the way of warmth or shelter.

I knew from the start that yesterday was going to go just as long, and put that together with feeling crappy, I was probably a bit grumpy at the start of the production day. But we had a beautiful location at a mansion in Glen Burnie (yes! A MANSION in Glen Burnie!) and the lovely woman who owns the home allowed us to use her furnished, warm, comfortable basement for holding (anyone who is not on set) and catering. I actually found her on Craigslist! I am very wary of going into people's homes as locations, and I try to brace them for the assault. If they haven't done it before, they usually just think it is going to be cool and fun, and it is - but when they first see all that equipment and people rolling in... things can go downhill very quickly. But Mrs. Freeland has had filming at her house before and she was extremely hospitable and friendly, and it was a great place to end the shoot, ESPECIALLY because it rained off and all all day and night.

Super-long days like that can be all right, though. It seems like the first half of the day, people growl around at different stages, and then once everyone has accepted their fate to be stuck together for many, many more hours, everyone sorts of lets go of it. It happened on my set that way a couple times, which at the time made me nervous, because I felt guilty having everyone there so long, and I thought it was just the calm before the storm. But now I know. It was nice in a way to hang out with everyone yesterday. I think we were more relaxed because we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, even if it took us almost an entire rotation of the planet to get there.

Post Time

I am so exhausted. I was driving today to return some of the gorgeous artwork that I had on loan for the production from Oletha Davis, Linda DePalma, and Ellen Burchenal, and I found myself wondering, "Why is my car going so slowly?" The answer to this question was, "Because you need to exert energy to press down on the accelerator pedal." Even that was an effort. I went to my friend Christie's going away party tonight - for five minutes. I just have nothing left for anyone until I can recharge my batteries for a few days. Tomorrow morning I head to Mikey's cabin in the Poconos to do just that.

Last night was the Wrap Party at the Wind-Up Space. Beforehand I took Michelle Farrell (Director of Photography), Michael Bordenick (Executive Producer), and Eric Thornett (Production Consultant, Touchstone, Sounding Board and Junior Therapist) to dinner at the always outstanding Prime Rib. I cannot describe to you how nice it was to relax for that little bit of time, and to be in such good company. I could not have survived this without all three of them keeping me sane. I feel so much lighter today, such a weight off of my shoulders. Of course, that may just be that floaty feeling I get from sleep deprivation.

The party was so much fun. Tucker and the boys rocked it out while we screened some raw footage (thank you Greg Almond!) on the big screen behind them. The Wind-Up is such an awesome place for just such a party, and for filming on location as well. It was cool to see footage of scenes we shot there playing on the wall in the very same space! I think the actors especially appreciated being able to see some of the work they had done come to fruition. It takes so long to edit a feature-length, I was glad to give them a bit of immediate gratification, and it was really fun for me also.

Later in the evening, from out of nowhere I was presented with a beautiful cake decorated with a "slate" that had "Charm City" and my name on it, a card signed by members of the cast and crew, and a gleaming golden, "Oscar", also with my name on it. I was astounded. Some people hate surprises or surprise parties. I love them. I have thrown several for other people, and I know how much planning and thought goes into anything like that. It meant the world to me that my crew and cast would be so thoughtful about doing something nice for me after I had worked them so hard for weeks. It was a moment of overwhelming satisfaction, appreciation, and just plain happiness that I shall never forget, and I thank every one of them from the bottom of my heart for giving me that moment and that memory.

I have learned so much in the last few weeks (and months) and I have so much still to tell you about, but I want to leave it there for now, I want to enjoy the feeling of this moment before rehashing everything that led up to it. It definitely had (and will continue to have, in post, I'm sure) its ups and downs, but for the most part it was simply an amazing experience, and the biggest challenge in my life thus far. That is no exaggeration. But here I am, smile on my face, and gratitude in my heart to all of the people who helped me to manifest my vision into tangible reality, I hope you are enjoying the moment with me. You deserve it.

Still Alive

And that is all that I have the energy to write. Last day of filming tomorrow. Wrap party Friday. 9pm-close at the Wind-Up Space, 12 West North Avenue. See you there...