Thursday, August 12, 2004

HBD

I turned 31 today. Figured that was a good excuse as any to blog -- given that I don't seem to have any other excuses to blog lately.

Had a script-reading / scheduling meeting tonight with the principal actors. One part had finally, after months, been cast. The other part had just been recast after my original pick moved to Kamloops. After the reading, I think I'm going to recast that part again. Nothing against the fine fellow who read tonight -- he's a good friend of mine -- but he's just not right for the part. Besides, there's another part he's desperate for, so he'd be perfectly happy if he got to return to doing that part.

The female part which I finally cast after months of stressing...well, I'm super happy with my choice. She read the part cold today, having never even so much as looked at the script, and she was great. And surely she'll only get better as she actually learns her lines.

Oh, and when she had to read her lines as a phone sex operator...super hot.

After the meeting I went for a few drinks with my actors and miscellaneous others, and had a bunch of laughs. Nothing over the top, but I think that's what I'm most comfortable with. Just a few drinks with friends, some laughs, and then home to have a few more drinks before bed.

First day of shooting is Tuesday. We're shooting about three pages of script. It's a small shoot, but there's lots of coverage to be done. It's one of those funny scenes were nothing much happens, but there's a lot of editing, a lot of jumping around from shot to shot -- a need to establish a degree of urgency, a sense of panic.

The scenes were chosen because A) they didn't require anyone but the one actor, and B) because they didn't require any of the other extravagant props that will come up later. Like stacks and stacks of porno mags.

Just a guy and his telephone.

It should be an easy shoot. And it's officially the first shoot of the film.

I wanted to start with the first few scenes of the film -- they're bigger and require actual location work, but they're also the only shots that the lead female are in, and I thought it would be best if we could get her involvement over with as quickly as possible, so she could return to her regular life. Unfortunately, we're waiting on the arrival of a microphone / portable power supply for microphone, before we can do those scenes, so until it arrives, we're stuck shooting in locations with power outlets.

Like my house. Where the majority of the film will be shot.

I'm excited. I'm nervous. I hope I don't botch it.

The difficult thing about this scene is this: It's not supposed to be shot in this house. It's supposed to be shot in the house I lived in six years ago.

When I've written scripts that I intend to actually shoot myself, I tend to write for locations I know. It's easiest that way. If you let your imagination wander into any and every possibility, you very quickly write yourself out of scenes that you can actually shoot with a limited budget and ability. So, knowing that going in, I try to restrict myself to scenes that can be shot in locations that I have access to.

Unfortunately, this scene -- thought written years later -- was conceived to take place in a house that I no longer live in. So, even now, as I run the blocking over in my head and think about the framing of the shot, I'm seeing the geography of a house I no longer inhabit. And that's going to be a problem.

It's unfortunate, because it would have been so nicely framed in the other house.

Although the other house would have created some ugly back-lighting issues, with its massive windows right where I would have shot the scene.

So maybe everything's going to work out for the best.

1 comment:

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