catch 22

I've heard it said that, for a writer and director, the most perfect film is in his head; the completed product is never as good as he imagined.  Too bad I can't make you pay to see my imagination.

After a total of 22 hours, spanning four days, the editor and I have finished a first cut.  During those 22 hours, I've had to analyze, question, defend my choices in shot selection, writing, direction, lighting, use of lens.  It hasn't been easy, to say the least.  But I have learned a lot.  

I have two choices from here on:  dwell on my mistakes and give up, or learn from them and improve.  I choose the latter.  

I'm guessing that's a sign that I really do love this thing called filmmaking.  

Just out of curiosity, how much would you pay to see my imagination?

day three

That's a wrap!

Today was the easiest and funnest day out of our three production days - we had 4 hours to shoot one scene at a chess club with 30 extras as chess tournament participants.  Certainly the energy level and the direction were different than the previous scenes, which included just the principal actors in small, confined spaces.

Thanks to all the family and friends who came out to support this project.  Now to post-production:  editing!

key grip and gaffer

friends and family watching

directing 32 actors and extras

day two

I lost my cool today only once.

If you know me, particularly if you've seen me when I served as tournament director of the United States Gay Open from 2011 to 2012, you would know that my patience magically shrinks during important, stressful events.

How was today stressful, you ask?  Let's count the ways.  On the shooting schedule today were three scenes, totaling six pages (more than half of the entire script).  The first scene required complex choreography due to movement in a confined space.  The second involved precise camera movement timed at exact moments of dialogue.  And the last was a day for night scene (shooting an interior night scene when the sun still hangs up high) that demanded an in-camera character vanishing act coordinated with intricate camera movement.  Oh, one minor detail that exponentially increased the complexity of the day:  we had a nine-year-old actor whose work day could not last longer than eight hours.

In the end, for the sake of time, I had to compromise on several details I had envisioned.  It's funny how you could be holding the script with your notes in one hand, yet still manage to forget all the fine prints during crunch time.

When did I lose my cool, you want to know?  It was during scene two, my frustration growing due to the camera not coordinating precisely with the actor's movement - I grabbed the camera and tested it out myself.  In Hollywood, one can never touch any equipment not within one's department or role.  Luckily, I'm not there yet.  But still...

At the end of the day, as the director of photography and I recapitulated the problem, we realized that a simple change of camera lens would have solved our problem.  Note to self:  never hesitate to change the lens to get the shot you need.

Only once.

showing the actors how a chess piece need to be moved

which monitor to look at?

highest take number today was 8