collisionwork | Feb. 28th, 2008

We continued shooting Daniel McKleinfeld's video short yesterday afternoon/evening.

It was a bit more of a pain to light the basement than I thought, as we were just putting gels around 250w bulbs in cliplight fixtures, and we rapidly discovered that the gels would melt very VERY quickly if they came into contact with the bulbs for even a fraction of a second. So lighting took longer, but shooting actually took shorter than anticipated. Looked great, especially in the shots where I also slashed across frame with bits of green, which I was handholding over a Lowell light.

The basement scene was the faux-slasher movie that opens the piece, so I went all out with silly horror colors -- Dario Argento as filtered through cheap 80s horror. This picture's been Photoshopped to try and make the light/set look more like they did through the 24fps DV camera, but it doesn't really have the right contrast and color. Close, though:

Here, Jessi Gotta is ready to go as the Prom Victim:

Below, Daniel practices the shot of Jessi entering the basement to hide from the Killer.

Ah, I see we now have the corsage on her wrist. It was forgotten for the shooting of one shot, requiring a redo, and the bad continuity actually wouldn't work even in this "bad" movie within the short. Of course, that was one of the two shots that required Jessi to be exposed to sub-freezing cold in that dress, and half-barefoot, as she enters the basement and closes the grate behind her.

It got REALLY cold out there last night. I had been boiling my hands, even with heavy workgloves on, holding the light in the basement, and thought it would keep me warm outside, but it didn't do a damned thing except cause the gloves to smoke (there may have been some oil residue on them). It wasn't pleasant at all for Jessi.

Tonight we're shooting a full outdoor scene that I'm acting in. I've been established as wearing a light t-shirt covered by a light suit jacket. I can't really wear another layer without it showing or looking weird. Damn.

And here are some more of the joys of shooting -- Jenny Tavis (PA/Script Girl), Jessi Gotta (Victim) and Danny Bowes (Killer) are waiting for the camera setup. Danny spends his time texting. At least it's actually somewhat warm down here in the basement by this point (it wasn't when we started) with all the 250w lights on:

More joys of waiting, this time in the enjoyably-appointed antechamber to the basement proper. Danny and Jessi wait again for Daniel to get the shot set to return to the scene of the cheesy slasher movie. My job as lighting director is pretty much done, so I'm waiting to get on set and act myself as the director of the horror epic.

Tonight, Michele Schlossberg and I freeze out on Daniel's front stoop for the last scene and shoot day (and we shoot my one-shots for the kitchen scene). It'll look good though - Daniel has done a rough cut of the kitchen scene and it's working. That was quick.

And I actually had time to go through yesterday and look back at the auditions I've done to date and fit people into the shows where I need them. I have to see two more people at least, but if the ones I'm planning on seeing pan out for the parts I think they'll be right for, and everyone accepts the parts I offer them, I could actually have all of my shows cast in two or three days!

Except for Penny Dreadful, where we're not getting men of the types we need. Dammit. Goes up on March 15. Double dammit.