Day One

This will be short, I am whooped and grungy and sweaty and I have the weirdest sunburn ever. On our first day of shooting we were outside all day. I had on a top with a wide-scooping neckline and was wearing a big clunky necklace and no sunscreen. Oh, well. The least of our problems today.

It was a long, rough day, but we all survived, and we actually got everything done except for one small scene that I can either live without or shoot later. So, now I know that if things are going well, we will easily make our days.

Al Letson got in today and unfortunately it was his scene we had to drop. But it was a great way to end my day to come home and get a hug from him. And Eric is on his way here and we'll probably go grab some dinner. Also I got to hang out with my little cousins, Joey (age 9) and Sean (age 7), because they were in one of the scenes. They were very excited about it, mainly because they got to say, "douchebag," close to four hundred times.

We experienced some setbacks with transporting the gear, which is too long of a story to get into, and the problem still isn't solved. But that is my priority tomorrow and we'll figure something out. The shots we did get done look gorgeous and I look forward to playing around with them in post-production. Michelle has a lot of great toys in her bag of tricks, and a good crew that knows how to use them.

We had a plethora of Production Assistant interns, many of them with little or no on-set experience, but everyone did great, did anything asked of them, and I did not hear a single complaint out of any of them all day. That is SO important on a set, and I think just in life in general. I like to surround myself with positive energy, and we have a whole lotta that going on. Even though it was a full 12-hour day, and though it wasn't brutal it was still pretty hot, and we had limited access to bathrooms, one of our interns, Dylan, said as we wrapped up, "this was actually more fun than I thought it was going to be." That's a pretty good sign in my book!

I was SO proud of my actors today. All that rehearsal time really paid off. They were completely off book, had their physical cues down pat, they were totally rock solid. There was a lot of focus on the things that went wrong, so I think maybe it went unnoticed that the actors really got everything right, but they did. They made my life a bit easier today and they should be proud of themselves.

Tomorrow we shoot the big finale scene and that will be another killer day. But then I hope (knock on wood) the worst is over. And that is pretty much why I planned the production schedule this way. Get the outdoor scenes shot first, in case of bad weather, we would have a chance to reschedule, and shoot the finale scene next so we don't have this huge day looming over our heads and stressing us out.

Everyone, especially the film crew, are tired dogs. But to me, for my first day of filming a movie, ever? I am quite happy with the outcome. In everything I do in life, if I am having a hard time or things aren't going my way, or tough decisions have to be made, I just ask myself, "Is anybody going to die?" The answer has never been yes. So, whatever the issues are, they can either be solved, or lived with. End of story.

Christmas Eve

That is kind of what it feels like to me right now. Call time is eight hours away. I really need to get to sleep. But I doubt I will be able to do so before 2:00am.

The great thing is though, I am feeling really good about everything. It was a long day of running around, a last minute trip to the Apple store, getting in touch with Al Letson who comes in from Florida in the morning to film his scenes this weekend, another trip to Sam's Club (this time for $600 - OUCH - but I got a lot of people to feed), read 62 emails and wrote 35 (I am not making this up), can't count the phone calls, met with most of my Production Team from 5-6pm, followed by dinner with my Film Crew and their load-in, followed by several more hours bouncing between them, wardrobe, catering, and delegating other production tasks. Michelle and her Film Crew tested their equipment and made sure everything is locked and loaded. Tomorrow morning we are making a movie! And I am actually SMILING about that for the first time in days!

I very much want to sit here and write for another hour or two, but I very much need to at least TRY to go to sleep. Lookig forward to getting Day 1 under my belt. Wish me luck.

Zero Hour

First call time is 21 and a half hours from now. "Stressed," is not nearly strong enough a word. My dogs are staying clear of me. Al Letson, who gets into town tomorrow morning, tells me to breathe deep. Michelle tells me not to worry. Eric says I am not allowed to cry until 1/3 of the movie is in the can. Which is perfect, because that will be our first day off on Tuesday (after we have filmed more than 32 pages in 4 days). So, now I have plans.

Ask Not What Movies Can Do For You...

If you are reading this right now, there is one question you should be asking yourself: What can I do to help Jeanie make her movie better? Luckily, the answer is simplicity itself: you can be in it!

I still need many, many extras. The more the merrier. If you want to be in this flick, contact my Production Manager, Rebecca Clear Dean, IMMEDIATELY at rebeccacleardean@comcast.net. I especially need extras for THIS SATURDAY, August 2. SO get on board already! Bring your mom! Bring your friends! Bring a book! Filmmaking is a LOT of hurry-up-and-wait. But on the flip side, it is an opportunity to be immortalized!

My brain is so fried yet so clickin' at the same time. I am extremely stressed, but even more excited. I know that my entire team - film crew, actors, and production team - are well-prepared. Five loooong days of rehearsals with the actors, hours and hours of pre-production meetings with Michelle and her crew, and Rebecca and the interns and myself as well running all over town gathering wardrobe, props, permits, artwork for the finale... I still have quite a bit to do in the next 48 hours, but we are in pretty good shape.

All the tiny details, you wouldn't believe how long the list is...yesterday I went to two of my actors' homes to finish choosing wardrobe, plus pick up artwork from one of them...the housekeeper's uniform and the judge's robe that I ordered on the internet came in yesterday... the robe is cheap-looking because it has a bright silver zipper in the front that is not at all hidden, but that is why God invented gaff tape - it can fix ANYTHING. Got in touch with my friend who is loaning me the sweetest limo you ever saw for one of the scenes, and another cherry classic car for a different scene...made some tiny tweaks and put the final, FINAL lock down on the script - no more changes, it is what it is now. Realized I STILL need a hot latino guy for the finale, so I called my friend and investor Mikey B. to dredge one up for me. Mikey is a concierge and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan, he can make ANYTHING happen! Hung up all the wardrobe from the actors who have handed theirs over to me and started sorting them. Made another run to Sam's Club, where I am maxing out my credit card $200 at a time. I have gone there almost every day for the last week, filling my car to the brim with soda, water, disposable plates and utensils, condiments, coffee, juice, snacks, etc. I have been stockpiling for weeks. OOPS, still have to order the flowers for the finale, MUST do that in the morning. And thank goodness my cousin Janet called me to volunteer to be an extra, she is making a cake for one of the scenes and I hadn't talked to her about it in months! But she's on it. Oh, I went to Utrecht art supply and bought $155 worth of black foamcore boards. Even better than duvatene (blackout cloth) for blacking out windows. Man, the money is FLYING out the door.

I really have a million things to do so I have to be going, but every day someone new tells me that they are actually reading this thing, so I don't want to leave you hanging just as we are getting to the good stuff! It is SO much work and I am exhausted fairly consistently, yet at the same time, as soon as I open my eyes in the morning I pretty much spring out of bed. Partially because there is so much to do, but mostly because I am excited to be doing it. The best part so far, though, has really been all the people who have come through for me. Every day the pot sweetens as someone throws their own personal contribution into it, whatever that may be... a location, a piece of equipment, their dad as an extra, a cake :), their time... their support. It means the world to me and keeps me going.

But right now what is keeping me going is the realization that if I don't get some laundry done tonight, I am going to have to go commando through this shoot. Peace out.

This One Goes Out to the Ladies...

This morning PM (Production Manager) Rebecca, intern Corey (sans bow-tie! practically scandalous for him - but understandable, as physical labor was involved), my friend and neighbor Phil Baty (who is in the first and last scene of the film, and insists that I introduce him to everyone as, "The Star!!!") and I drove to the warehouse studios of several artists that Joyce Scott put me in touch with, who are generously loaning their gorgeous artwork to the production. Artists Linda DePalma, Ellen Burchenal, and Oletha DeVane have their work spaces in a very cool old sewing factory building near Television Hill. I couldn't even tell you how high the ceilings are, maybe 20 feet? Maybe more? The windows take up almost all of the exterior wall, so loads of light. Color me jealous.

Another artist that Joyce introduced me to was Dr. Leslie King-Hammond. She has a piece of her work currently on display in the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. We are not able to borrow that one, but she is lending a similar piece to the film for the big finale scene.

The finale scene will take place over the last 8 to 9 minutes of the film, at a group art exhibit combining Baltimore artists from different generations. Some of my own pieces will be shown in the finale, but of course now I feel like a hack next to the talent of these women. But it is my movie so I get to take a few liberties :) . I'll probably shove my own work in a dark corner somewhere.

It is nice, and reaffirming, to meet and work with such strong and gifted women. As with the cast, I did not look for any certain "type" of person when deciding on my production and film crews, I just chose the strongest, most knowledgeable people I could find that I thought would also be fun to work with, and that is how I ended up with Rebecca as my PM and Michelle as my DP. Throw me in there as Writer/Director/Producer, and as long as this thing doesn't fall completely apart, that is a pretty solid all-girl trifecta that should help us get into any female-centric film festivals. It wasn't something I was thinking about initially, but I am glad it worked out that way.

And while we are getting all girlie up in here... guys, tune out for a minute...

I am keeping this blog for a few reasons, first as a record so that I myself won't forget all the things that I've learned along the way, but also just for anyone interested in the process to be able to get a handle on the gajillion details that go into making a film. Even a small film is a large undertaking, and to anyone who hasn't done it, often it seems glamorous and exciting. Exciting, yes, glamorous, no. Do-able, yes - as long as you don't approach it idealistically. Which is what I really want people to grasp from this blog.

So, one of the million things that I did NOT think about when I started all this - female filmmakers, when possible, should take into account something that men don't have to. Timing. If you are planning a short-term production schedule, there is probably a week to ten days of the month that you should NOT schedule yourself to be in production. Ya follow? Lucky for me, though I didn't plan it that way, that won't be a problem for my shoot.

Oh, and remember that thing I said a few entries ago about having a boy-toy on hand to relieve some stress? Forget it. If you find the time, you won't be able to find the energy, and vice-versa. But as soon as we wrap, all bets are off.

Okay guys, you can take your fingers out of your ears (eyes?) now, just in time to say goodnight. Need to get a good night's sleep, have to focus on breaking down the minutia of the production schedule tomorrow. More stuff I didn't think about at the start of all this, how long it is going to take to move locations, how long to film at each, add up cast, crew, extras, to figure out how many people we have to feed each day (and how much I can spend doing so), how many interns we need on hand, how many vehicles we need, where we are going to park them...

But it will all get done. Then I have a wardrobe meeting with one of my actors, and have to prepare for rehearsals, which we will be doing intensively Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, while at the same time giving a couple interns their first trials by fire, and Thursday doing camera tests with Michelle. I had a good production meeting with Michelle and her crew yesterday. We visited a few of our prominent locations, including the Wind-Up Space, so she can get a handle on how she wants to light and shoot the place. And Rebecca nailed down for me the park & street permits we need from the City, PLUS a permit from Domino's Sugar to be able to legally film footage of their neon billboard over the Harbor to be included in the film! I am very excited about that, it is such a Baltimore icon, and in real life it makes me smile every time I see it.

There are an infinite number of details that you can't let slip through the cracks. But when you break it down, not one of them is brain surgery. Surrounding yourself with good, strong, smart, flexible, pro-active, experienced, enthusiastic, talented, and fun people is KEY to not losing your mind. That one I got down pat.

Confessions of a Three-Headed Monster

Mmkay, I am so brain dead it took me a couple tries to remember the passcode to sign on to my own blog so I can write this to you. Yesterday was mentally exhausting. Today was emotionally exhausting. Both were physically exhausting. And it ain't half what it is going to be on shooting days.

But I'm not really worried. Today was our second day of rehearsals and for me it just flew by. The adrenaline is starting to kick in, I think for the actors, too. Yesterday took a little longer, as we were getting our "legs" for it.

Also, yesterday morning I finished the production schedule. I have to say that BY FAR the hardest part of this whole thing so far has been making the production schedule. I have years and years of scheduling experience, and the cast was amazed that I had their rehearsal schedule to them within 48 hours after our table read, when they gave me their availability for the month. But production schedule is a whole 'nuther animal.

It is not just about who is available when. It is about WHERE is available when, what is happening (in the scene), who it is happening to, and finally, lastly, who is available when. I have been doing event planning for a long time, and I am pretty darn good at it, if I do say so myself. But the highest maintenance wedding you can imagine is CHUMP CHANGE compared to a production schedule. I chipped away at it continuously, but it was still looming over my head, especially in the last week. My brain would not shut off for more than three hours at a time, so no matter how exhausted I was or what time I went to sleep, I would wake up after three hours and not be able to go back to bed. I finally finished it yesterday early afternoon. And last night was the first good night's sleep (almost seven hours! Joy!) I have had in well over a week, if not two.

Yesterday I let everyone go after 6 hours of rehearsal, though we had scheduled eight. It was enough, we weren't really in a rhythm yet, though we accomplished what I wanted to. Today everyone had a much better feel for it, and we rocked it, going the full eight hours, but making all of it count. The actors and I are collectively breathing life into the script. Now it is up to the actors to get off book for next week, and THEN to keep what we have set down in their brains up to and including when we actually FILM it.

All in all, today went very smoothly and I was very happy with it at the end of the day. What made it tough was doing one very short scene at the end of the day, involving Thom. It was the first time I cried in front of any of the cast. I guarantee you it won't be the last.

In fairness to you, as if you are reading this you must have some interest in indie filmmaking, I need to say for the record that I don't write down everything that happens. Things do go wrong, people who promise you things do fall through, you will have disagreements with people, there is never enough time in the day, and as we are entering production money is flying out the door at an alarming rate. But as they say, a fish stinks from the head down, and for this production, I am the three-headed monster: Writer/Director/Producer. I'd be lying if I said it was easy to lay down the law, steer the boat, keep the creative juices from getting stagnant, and maintain a positive attitude all at once, and all the time. But if I didn't do exactly that, this thing would fall apart in a Charm City minute. Granted, that is about ten times as long as a New York minute, which is one of the many reasons I love this town. But still, it is just a minute.

New Friends & Old Clothes

Good gracious, I don't know where to start, life has been such a blur the last few days. I don't know why this continues to surprise me. Saturday I was an extra (though a prominent one!) in Eric's film, but I don't want to say too much about that as I think he has personally been keeping a lot of it under wraps. I'll just say it was a very looooooooooooong day, but the footage is going to look incredible, I can't WAIT to see it! I hope to get a sneak peek this weekend.

Sunday was great. Started off by interviewing a young man named Corey Smith for my production team. A very sharp dresser with a thousand-watt smile, I am quite pleased to tell you that Corey is on board as our main wardrobe person, among other hats he will be wearing. He jumped right in and tagged along with me all day while I met up with three of my actors to work out their wardrobes. Beteween Killer Trash and the thrift store on Fort Avenue, by the end of the day, they were pretty well done.

The night before that, Saturday, I sent one of those actors, Phil Calvert, on a mission to research his role of Thom, which mainly entailed boozing it up in Dundalk while T.T.Tucker & the Bum Rush Band played at a bar there. Phil is dedicated to his work.

While the role of Thom is not a lead, Phil has a great task ahead of him, but all kidding aside, he is taking it quite seriously. The role of Thom, as I have mentioned here before, is based on my friend Thom who passed away. Tucker was Thom's best friend and bandmate, so Phil has been spending time with Tucker and the guys, and learning their songs, and meeting a lot of people who knew Thom. In many ways it is wonderful to talk about Thom and have people excited about helping Phil to get to know a man he is playing but will never meet. It is incredibly important to me to do him justice, and the film is dedicated to him. But it is harder for me than I thought it was going to be, and I find myself shedding a few tears almost every day when I talk about him or write about him, like I am right now.

But I am very happy the way things are working out, how everyone is so into it and seem to be becoming friends in real life as well as onscreen. Cheryl Scungio, who is playing the lead (Gracie), has been spending a lot of time with Kelly Coston, who is playing Gracie's best friend Mel. They are hysterical together and their dynamic in real life is going to lend itself to the camera perfectly. Cheryl, Kelly, Phil, Corey and I had a blast shopping together all afternoon, laughed the whole time. I think my favorite part was making Phil try on the leather pants with flames up the sides of them at Killer Trash. But my favorite outfit of the day was a bright blue halter-top jumpsuit that Kelly absolutely ROCKED. When I saw it on the rack, my comment was, "That is so Donna Summer." It looks amazing on her, and she was so happy that I gave her the thumbs up on it that she literally skipped back to the changing area.

I got a boatload accomplished on Monday and today also, but more on that later. I have to complete the production schedule before we start our first day of rehearsals tomorrow at 2:00pm, so, signing off!