If you are unfamiliar with the 48 Hour Film Project, go here to see what the deal is.This was the third year that I have been involved and as expected I sit here on Sunday night worn out... mentally exhausted... and the house is a wreck. This year however, only part of my exhaustion is due to the film. More on that later.
Unlike last year, my role in the team was providing a location for some shooting... all the editing... and for everybody to meet... Oh... and I acted in it, but a pretty small part this year. That isn't breaking my heart though. I had other things I was doing this weekend. Being there for shooting Saturday was about all I could handle.
As I was writing that last paragraph, I got a text message from Aaron saying they made the deadline of turning in the film with 7 minutes to spare. I have not seen the final product yet, but look forward to getting a screening... Tonight hopefully.
The weekend started with GF and I at the Downtown Cocktail room picking up all the required prop, character, dialogue, and genre information. After phoning the information back to the team, GF and I headed off to meet some friends for a drink or two. GF was about to be leaving for three weeks, and she deserved a night out. Besides, the creative team was limited this year and it wasn't a setting I really wanted to be a part of. (More about the night out in another post)
When GF and I got home ~1am my house had a bunch of people (well a "few" people) in it all working furiously to come up with our story. Pleasantries were made, but it was late and it was time for sleep. Saturday morning I woke up at 6 ef'ing AM to a knock on my door. Call time had arrived and in spite of my protesting headache I managed to roll out of bed. With sleep still in my eyes, I wondered downstairs and was again greeting by a bunch of people I had never met. While introducing myself in my own kitchen (an odd experience) I noticed there was coffee. Thank God. I got a cup, picked up a copy of the script, and went outside to read it through and try to wake up.
About 20 minutes later I was ready to at least face the world, even though I was not really ready to be a part of it. By about 7, the production meeting began and the plan was communicated out to the rest of the team. We discussed responsibilities and were told what the schedule for the day would be. And then it began... All the typical things happened... The first shot of the day took much longer than planned. As soon as we were shooting, the phone would ring. The dog would bark... somebody would cough. Shit happens... but shooting progressed, even if at a slower pace than everybody would have liked.
With only one of the shots at the house done, we had to move to our remote location. We were shooting at a club and only had from 10:30-3:30 to get everything done we needed done there. Sometime around 10, the caravan of 20 cars headed out towards the strip. I had to stop for a few props, and to pick up GF since she had been cast as my hot girlfriend. We were both exhausted, but the part wasn't a stretch for either of us. ;-)
Location shooting was "interesting". We were fighting the clock... Working around the cleaning crew. Fighting exhaustion... but we got most of the shots we needed before heading back to the house for the remaining scenes. Then fate spanked us. There were a few stalls on the strip and it took almost two hours for everybody to make it back here. To Mel's credit, she didn't loose it in spite of being a little behind and having the much needed daylight fading out with every tick of the clock. We finally wrapped up shooting around 7pm and everybody left for the night. Mel, Aaron, and I sat down to talk about the day. What went right. What went wrong. What could have been better. And then I packed up a bag and took off for the night.
After taking GF to the airport this morning I drove home and was once again greeted by a bunch of people I barely know. All good people, but still odd to walk into your house in the morning and have a bunch of people there. Editing was was in full swing, and all the musicians were watching a rough cut coming up with ideas. I can't tell you how lucky we are to have the incredible musicians we have last year and this year. They are amazing. And all really nice guys. With everything going well, I decided to take a nap. A MUCH needed one at that.
When I woke up around 4, the house was quiet. That felt weird. I walked out and saw three guys all with headphones on. One guy on the board... One with a guitar... and one on the mixer. Then I look over and see Hailey with headphones on working on the techno music. I head over the the editing room. Aaron and Mel both have headphones on huddled over the computer editing the movie. I shrugged... went downstairs and made a sandwich. Around 5:30, all the music was done and the musicians took off. I could see the stress level dangerously high in Mel's eyes. I decided to get out of the way for a while. Had to kill some time, so I went down and purchased a new camera. I got home just as Aaron, Mel, and Hailey were running out the door to deliver the movie. I waved as they passed by me. Walked inside, snapped a few pictures of the house in its current state (view here). And then started this blog... And with its conclusion, it is time for bed.
Goodnight everybody....
--C
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