Author: d f mamea

We wrapped today.  (Considers executing a little happy dance; thinks better of it in case of total body collapse.)

We had a wrap lunch of sorts yesterday as Mr Eversden and his ever-present assistant, Mr Hall, were no longer required for their lighting expertise – the camera was going to be operated from within the car, come what may.  I’d been warned that Mr Eversden could be a bit of a curmudgeon but I found him to be patient and accommodating and utterly professional.  Another name to ask for specifically when I can afford to pay full rates.

Today it was just our actors, the unflappable Mr Amosa and the irrepressible Ms Leilua, our grizzled DOP Mr Meikle, and myself.  Second unit stuff, I think this is called:  getting ‘dirty’ over-shoulder stuff of our actors driving around the city, catching shots of this or that guerilla-styles, capturing moments that may or may not come in handy. It’s always better to have options in editing, than not have enough footage at all.

Our day was five hours long.  After four looong days (I’d be up at 0600, out the door by 0630, home by 2100 with production stuff to attend to, followed by bedtime at 0000*), it was… I can’t find the words to describe how happy I was to see my family in the day time.  It sounds incredibly saccharine but it’s true of my relationship with The Goddess:  time apart is painful.

Sometime this week I’ll post about more specific things – like how could I possibly fill up a day like that with a mere short film, or why in the gods’ name would I do such a thing.  Until then, I’m off to bed.

*  Yes, this was only for four days.  Yes, I am a wuss.  And yes, right now, I don’t care.  But I’ll remember you said that.  I remember things like that. 

I was selfishly hoping that we could wrap today.  I hoped (not quite prayed, but came close) that what coverage/shots we’d got for the montage would be sufficient.

Mr Meikle, through harsh and bitter experience, knows better than to take the hints of a tiring and decreasingly coherent multi-hyphenate.  So we’re shooting tomorrow.

Oh well.

If yesterday afternoon‘s lesson about light-chasing wasn’t enough, today’s shooting certainly drove the point home.  You want two people talking outside?  Shoot the two of them both in frame (a ‘two-shot’).  Then shoot each one individually (‘singles’).  Then when you’re in a dark room with just you and a monitor and your awfully precious raw footage, you – and your end audience – are going to expect all those two-shots and singles to be lit exactly the same.  Even though you shot them over a four-hour period.

A lot can happen in the Auckland sky in four hours when the forecast is for clouds clearing with possible light showers. Heaps.  Bucket loads.

Am buggered so shan’t stay long.

This morning’s set-ups were delayed by technical issues:  a car-rig that had to be adjusted for changing light, then compounded by a lens adaptor that wasn’t as rock solid as expected.  After five hours of rigging, it was all ditched for hand-held coverage from within the car.  The DOP was not happy.  I told everyone who’d listen that my next film would consist of two people in a room and nothing else.

As you’d expect, time spent on the morning’s set-ups meant that there was less time for the afternoon’s set-ups.  Mr Meikle and his gaffer, Mr Eversden, raced not only the fading light, but spotty clouds, big clouds, clouds with frustratingly uneven breaks of blue, and so forth.  Add to that being on the Auckland Airport flightpath, and soundman Mr Rea was forced to pause proceedings when necessary.

No fun at the time.  But fun in retrospect ’cause we still met our day (well, I think we ran ten minutes over).  So a pretty rockin’ day, atcherly.

Time for noddy land.

I really should be in bed. I’ve got to be up and about in seven hours. This is rather irresponsible.

Despite a slow start to the day due to the late arrival of camera gear, we met our day with an hour to spare.  Back-slaps and handshakes abounded.  There was no shouting, no kicking of actors, no beatings of assistants.  Today, I believe, was a Good Day.

On-set workflow was set up by the very capable (and available only for one day) Mr Heron the Camera Assist.  Once we’d wrapped for the day, I took the footage (external hard-drive, actually), and passed it under the very discerning eyes of our post-production consultant who pronounced it “useable”.  Post-production workflow, courtesy of the choice of camera, is also under control.

In short:  the chances of a finished film making it out to those hardy souls who watch short films, have increased that little bit more.  (As per my last post:  if a no-budget feature crashes after shooting wraps, who truly sees it?  No one.)

Onwards to Day Two.

One sleep. Don’t know if it’ll be fitful like the last few. Hope not. Maybe. Probably.

Mr Power had to gently talk me down from an incipient nervous breakdown earlier in the day (“Don’t be ridiculous”) (it was better than “Don’t be a drama queen” ’cause I would’ve clocked him) (not that I’ve anything ag-,… never mind). He’s a good man.

I thought today would be relatively cruisey but an assistant who became unavailable meant a whole lot of scrambling during the day. A nice reminder of how truly collaborative filmmaking is – regardless of how ‘low’ one’s job might be, everyone is essential.

Not all wrinkles had been ironed out when I last saw Mr Power late this afternoon but I’m not going to worry about it any more. He’ll sort things out. ‘S what a good producer does.

Noddy time.

(I don’t know if I’ll have the energy to blog during the shoot. If things go quiet, you’ll certainly know why. If I continue blogging, don’t tell the cast and crew – I should be prepping for the next day.)

Holy crap. Two days to go – not even that: a mere two sleeps. Oh dear.

Mr Power the producer is on the case working through all the things I’m unable to do, or have run out of time to do, or am too chicken to do, or that are his job anyway.

Crew?  Check.

Schedule?  Being finalised.

Script?  Which version we talking here?  Production, shooting, or a revised version of either?  Let’s say… in progress.  Any minute now.

Gear?  Audio – check.  Video – arrives in town tomorrow for check, prep and test by Mr Meikle‘s minion.

Cast?  Check.

Reluctant multi-hyphenate?  Dreading every minute of pre-prod.  But knowing how essential it is to a reasonably drama-free shoot.  Oscillating wildly from little-boy excitement to full-blown terror.

This will end.  In two sleeps plus five shoot days.

And then there will be post.

Storyboardingstoryboardingstoryboarding.<

I strongly suspect this is something I should’ve done, like, ages ago.  After yesterday’s technical recce, I think Mr Forster noticed how much I kept deferring to Mr Meikle and recommended I do some.  Sure, I’d blocked some of the action with the actors during the workshops, but I’d avoided thinking about angles and coverage and owing reverses.  ‘S what a DOP does, innit?  (I think it’s what a continuity person does – and it’s a role we can’t afford on this film.)

So I’m storyboarding.  This is the most drawing I’ve done in years.  Trying to relax and not over-focus on heads being in proportion to bodies.  Trying not to freak out over perspective.

The important thing about storyboards is the time they save.  Instead of waving your hands about and trying to describe a camera move you want to steal from a favourite De Palma film, just a couple of chicken scratchings reasonably clear and simple pictures puts everyone literally on the same page at the same time.

Until that cathartic moment, I’m storyboarding.  And grateful for the practice, decades ago, of countless pictures of alien invaders being greeted by human soldiers backed up by tanks, jet fighters and a death star.