Hot Set, Folks, Hot Set

*Yawn*
I just finished my second day of shooting a UT Graduate program student's short film and tomorrow wraps production.  Jesse Klein of Montreal, Ontario cast me in "Sundays," a film about a man dealing with depression who unsuccessfully attempts suicide on Mother's Day.  Though it's a serious film about life with depression, it definitely has it's comedic moments.

Like yesterday...
How often does one get to drive around Austin at 10 miles an hour with a fancy camera suction mounted to ones car hood.  And did I mention the car I was driving was stick shift?  And that the director had to squeeze into the trunk in order to direct several shots without being seen?  And that it was 100 degrees in said trunk?  Have YOU ever tried to drive at a steady pace in 1st gear in a stick shift in one block increments while saying lines and making sure you didn't wreck the vehicle?  It's a toughie, and was honestly quite funny pulling off.

Or like today...
Shooting at a gated apartment complex outdoors, we had a constant stream of vehicles coming and going, which interrupted the takes.  Forever.  We'd start the scene at the front door of the apartment shooting from the inside, outward towards my "brother" and I and within 2 seconds, "Chug, chug, chug, grind, grate, clunk, clunk," a vehicle would be entering or exiting the premisses and we'd have to hold camera.  And THEN it was the ice cream truck (which I HOPE will make it into the film -that'd be too funny) playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in a tinny tone over the bullhorn.  I think we got at least one clean take, but -hey- that's what editing's for, right?

Our cast is tiny, only 3 of us.  Gary, the lead character; Susan, his sister (me) and Joan, their mother.  Since Joan and Gary are depressed (at varying degrees) Susan is the most talkative of the bunch and it's the first time I've had the majority of the lines in a film!  Susan's a bit of a nag and is fed up holding everything together, but she still very much loves her family and is trying to help them move forward, even if her tactics are rather coarse and backward.

I've seen a few of the dailies from yesterday and today's shoots (dailies are the shots taken that day, unedited) and WOW.  I mean WOOOOW!  Allan Ho, the Director of Photography, is so talented and the equipment is so sweet that the raw shots look incredible and I can't wait until March when Jesse will have the rough cut (first edit) up.  The final film is due in May and I'll get to go to the premiere (woohoo!) and I am really excited to see the whole thing come together, particularly after what I've already seen.

Tomorrow I'm planning on bringing the camera so I can snag a few behind the scenes shots to share with you.  Keep an eye out for some fun shots coming up!

In the meantime, after shooting 11 hours yesterday and 9 hours today (with potentially a 12 hour day tomorrow) I will be getting my rest and spending some quality time with the fam.

You stay classy!