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.

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.

All Grown Up (or at least on my way)

Hurray! I did not have to set my alarm clock today. That was nice. And I had a great night's sleep, so I think I am back to normal (relatively speaking).

Quite a weekend. 5:30pm Friday I showed up on set for a short indie called, "The Mystery Date," written and directed by Arlette Thomas-Fletcher, who is also the President of the Women in Film & Video Maryland Chapter. I was recommended to Arlette by Michelle Farrell of Absolute Independent Productions as an AD (Assistant Director). I'm not sure if that was actually my title. I'm not even sure if I'm getting screen credit, I never asked. I probably will. But it doesn't matter. I got what I was looking for from the experience, and that is what is important to me.

Every book I have read and every person I have met in the business has told me the same thing - work on as many sets as you can to gain experience for doing your own work. I couldn't agree more, the experience is invaluable. When it is not your set, when you are not the Big Cheese, you really get a great perspective on the whole process from the inside out. As an AD (or whatever I was) I was pretty much smack in the middle of everything. I took my orders from Arlette directly, I helped to keep the actors and the PAs (Production Assistants) wherever they needed to be and doing whatever they needed to be doing. On this particular production, however, I think my experience was slightly Utopian. Everyone was so pleasant to work with! Everyone was really happy to be there, nobody complained when we ran over (which we did each night), just genuinely nice people and REAL PROS, even the youngest actors who were only 10 and 11 years old and who had HUGE amounts of dialogue.

I was also the Script Supervisor. Now that is no small task. Sometimes I assisted with blocking (which actors move where and when within a scene) but mostly I dealt with continuity and the lines themselves. Continuity, to put it nicely, is a bitch. But for some reason I kind of like it. Continuity is trying to remember every single frickin' little nuance of how a scene was filmed, and then make sure it is done that way again in every following take, especially for the close-ups.

A good example of patchy continuity is a classic, "The Wizard of Oz." Dorothy will be skipping along the yellow brick road, and her hair is tightly curled at the ends of her pigtails. Then they move from the wide shots to the cutaways when she is having a conversation with someone, like the Scarecrow. Close-up on Dorothy, her hair is tight and falls only an inch or two below her chin. Cut to a close-up of Scarecrow for some dialogue. Back to a close-up of Dorothy. Now her curls are loosened and fall several inches further down her chest! Back to Scarecrow. Back to Dorothy. Tight curls again! Many a drinking game has been borne of movie mistakes like this.

So that is the sort of thing I had to watch for. "Cross your legs the other way!" "Put your elbow on that pillow!" "Don't lean in, you're casting a shadow on the other actor's face!" Plus if someone forgot their line, I would feed it to them. Or if it was a scene where it was important they run straight through and I NOT feed it to them (because for whatever reason my voice could not be edited out later), I would have to remember where they screwed up, and try to help them find a way to remember the line correctly.

All in all, I think I was properly prepared for the experience, and approaching it the way that I described in my post a few days ago, like it was a wedding or any other huge event that I have already had plenty of experience doing, served me very well. Some things were a little different, because I was describing that wedding as if I were the Director, which I was not on this set. When you are an AD (or whatever I was), it isn't the lead actors that are your Bride & Groom, it is the Director (Arlette) and the Director of Photography (Michelle). But again, lucky for me, they are both pros and there was no major drama between them. I can see, though, how it could get pretty hairy if you are not in such an ideal situation, because there will always be differences of opinions from time to time about how something should be shot. In the end, the person who wins is the person who is writing the checks.

Friday's shoot was from 6:00pm-12:00am, Saturday's from 8:00am-9:30pm, and Sunday's from 8:00am-9:00pm. You do the math, I'm too tired. But I think everyone involved walked away from that set with a sense of satisfaction of a job well done, the knowledge that they were part of creating something that they can be proud of, and the hope of working with a lot of the same people on other projects in the future. Not to mention a new appreciation of their own pillow.