Movie Madness Weekend

Well, this past weekend I shot my final project for Production II, a short film entitled Calculus. First off, a special thanks go out to my cast (Jeff Lee, Anthony Brenneman, and Ariana Hodes) and crew (Claire Darby, Dustin Harrison-Atlas, and JP Eason) for their help in making it all happen. Also, shout-outs should go to Larry Engel, the AU MPC Equipment Room, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and Laura Murray for their guidance and assistance.

Wow, what a process this was. The other night I compared the experience to that of a cross-country national meet. You spend so much time thinking about and preparing for this one day or moment, then when it comes it's like , "wow, I can't believe this is actually happening." This feeling overtook me about five times within the first hour of shooting on Saturday. I was both excited and nervous; because in the end my name is attached the final product.

I have working on this project since the beginning of the semester but more recently put a lot of time and thought into the final logistics of the production. You'd be surprised how many pieces there are to a seven minute short film. To make a long story short, it isn't as simple as showing up with a few actors, a camera, and some microphones. It starts with an idea, then moves to a script, then a better a version of the script, then a final version of the script, location scouting and approval, finding actors beats, creating shot lists, attending casting sessions (props to Claire and Dan for their organization of this), production schedules, finalizing a crew, script rehearsal, equipment reservations, and finally shooting the actual film. What's great is that I did all of these things, and for the most part did them well. However, I am not striving for a job "well" done. I seek higher standards of organization, planning, and production that I will only achieve after multiple attempts in the film/video world. So on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being my highest possible standards, I give my performance a 6.5. Ultimately I think it will turn out awesome, but I still have a lot to learn. Below is a recap of my production weekend. Reader will find some of things I learned, in what was the most educational experience of my second semester.

Friday Pre-Production Wrap-Up
After having script read-through with my cast on Tuesday I was able to finalize some of the final changes to my script. This allowed me to finalize a shot list and move towards the final details for production. These final details included equipment, materials, and location preparation. I started my day off early by arriving at school shortly after 9am. This allowed me to pickup my equipment early (20 total items!!) from the AU Media Production Center, guaranteeing the use of a DVX-100 for my production. Of the camera's available to me at this point, the DVX-100 is pretty decent and allowed my DP (Director of Photography) and I to shoot in 24P. In addition to that I got everything else under the sun including three microphones and various other toys.

After equipment pick-up I made trips to Trader Joe's and Staples for a few materials. Trader Joe's helped supply a few snacks for the cast and crew (primarly Cats Chocolate Cookies), while Staples provided me with batteries and Summerbridge favorite, blue-tape. After running around Bethesda I was able to go home and do a final edit on a script due in one of my other classes. Just before my afternoon class I typed a quick e-mail to my cast and crew, assuring them that the weather forecast (thunderstorms) would not deter my current plan. Fast-forward three hours later, I was done class and still finalizing little details for Saturday. Somehow I squeezed in an eight mile run, watched a little NBA playoffs, cooked dinner, finished making my shot lists an bulletin board materials, and did a final equipment check. Oh, but wait. The final equipment check wasn't so simple. Of the 20 items I took from the equipment room, not one was a lighting kit. This was an awful feeling. I needed a lighting kit and the rumor was that the equipment room had a waiting list. Luckily after a few calls to classmates, one of my crew members (Yay Claire!) had one for the weekend. This saved me from an early death. I was able to get to bed around 1:30am, looking forward to my 7:45am alarm.

Shoot Recap 4.26
On Saturday I scheduled four scenes to be shot. Three were outdoors, the last in an academic building hallway. The weather prediction was scatter t-storms, I got a bright sunny day. As Grady Little would say, "Who knew?" Things started off pretty slow. Everyone told me to budget more time for setup, and I thought I had added enough. It turns out I was wrong. The first scene, budgeted for 2 hours, lasted just under four hours. By 12:30 we were running a full scene behind schedule. Issues with sound equipment and the need for more time with my actors contributed to a stressful beginning. However, I pulled it together and tried to proceed as planned. After lunch I attempted to get back on schedule and did just that. I shifted the missed scene to the end of the day and went on to the third location. After re-focusing things went a lot smoother, and we subsequently finished the day on time. (Special thanks should go out to Genna Duberstein for her help on the bulletin board, as I had zero time to prepare it for the shoot.) My first full day of shooting ended at approximately 6:40pm, with all four scenes shot. After getting home around 7:15 I was flat out exhausted and still had a lot of prep-work for the following day. As a result I took the day off from running (GASP!) and focused on my project. I had to be in bed earlier than the last few nights, as I planned to race a 10k at 8am the next morning. This was of course prior to a noon start time for day two of my production. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, I'm pretty brilliant.

Race/Shoot Recap 4.27
Sunday started off at 6:15am with a quick bowl of cereal and a commute to Gaithersburg MD. Only about 30 minutes away, I was able to get to the race in plenty of time for packet pickup and a solid warm-up. I had figured this race would be pretty dead in terms of a talent pool, as there was another big race in DC at the same time. While doing striders at the line it seemed the competition was a little weak until five minutes before the gun. Then, all of a sudden the entire nation of Kenya showed up at the line. Pardon my political incorrectness, but seriously, nine runners of African-descent came out of nowhere. Fantastic. Westchester Track Club decided to crash this cash party, and all of a sudden my guaranteed payday was in serious jeopardy. With money going out to the top 10 ($200 for 10th place, which was pretty awesome), I knew this was going to be a little tough. The gun goes off and I find myself in a pack of nine Africans and Michael Wardian. The race went out quick, because the 10k was down-hill at many points during the race. I opened with a 4:47 and was within striking distance of the Westchester guys, but then they decided to run 29 minutes. So, about eight of them ran away from me like I was a freshman and they were the seniors, leaving me with one guy the size of Bekele and of course Wardian. I managed to drop Wardian and ran the next three miles with Tariku Aboset. At about five miles he decided he wanted no part of my long legs down the stretch of this race and ghosted me for about 400m. At six miles I was in 10th place and had comfortable lead on Wardian. With the last 400m being downhill I ran a 56 and somehow managed to break 31. Here were my splits for the race (4:47, 4:52, 5:03, 5:03, 5:04, 5:06, 56) for a total time of 30:54. It was a pretty good effort considering a huge lack of sleep and a recent upswing on my my training. I figure with some more freshness and I might have been able to run about 20-30 seconds faster, but I am not going to play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game. I ran what I ran. Overall a good race and I scored $200.

I got home with plenty of time to prep for the shoot, as I left before the awards ceremony. It was a little strange rushing out of there so quick, but I had to do it. The night before I had set up all of the lights and gear in an attempt to make things easier on the crew. With the shoot being at my apartment life was going to be much easier on day two. Everyone showed up on time and we got to work right away. However, we still managed to start running behind schedule. Most of the time was spent lining up a good "master shot"and working with my actors. Jeff, my lead actor, was huge. I learned so much from his preparation for the role and his attention to detail. I'll have more later on my improvements in my next post, but overall I wish could have directed him better and with more focus. I guess it comes down to me filling multiple rolls. Ideally I would be just the director, and my only job would be to work with my actors. After massive amounts of prep time, we finally got rolling. We knocked out the three remaining scenes and finished at 7:00pm. After cleaning up and a Chinese food feast our day came to a close. Again, I was pretty exhausted and ready for bed.

So that was my weekend. I'll try to write some more about my final thoughts on the process. Oh yeah, and maybe I'll actually tell people what the film is about.

Alyssa and BU

Per request:

I would like to announce that my sister, an exceptional student-athlete at Springfield College, was recently accepted to Boston University for graduate school. She will likely be entering their two year social work masters program, and live the dream.

I would also like to mention that I also applied to Boston University for graduate school. However, unlike my sister I did not meet their standards for acceptance. Kudos to her, send mad props.


In her honor I am going to create a list of qualities that make her a fantastic person, likely the reasons she was accepted to BU:

- Ability to cry a full five seconds after injury. The pause before the crying is truly a gift, one Alyssa has mastered. Don't believe me, I've got some great video.

- Ability to run barefoot in the snow during the winter and make faces at our neighbor's house. This turned out to be especially important when the ignored us for almost two full years. Again, there is a video out there.

- Ability to mimic the theme music to a cult tv classic, "My So-Called Life." Go now, Go.

- Ability to toss soda cans from a two story window (after stabbing them with a fork). She may have had some help with this, but it was none-the-less impressive.

- Ability to relate fashion statements to pop music. My favorite example: Alyssa once said "Then people started wearing their shirts like this (tucked in) and they came out with a group called Ace of Base." One question remains for me, who is "they"?

- Ability to pick out amazing Christmas gifts. When I was in 7th grade I received a copy of a Janet Jackson single (on tape). It was "what I always wanted."

- Ability to dress up like a starwars character at the request of her brother. There is a great photo of this above. She actually let me tie two bundles of sox to her head so she would look like Princess Leia. Always a willing participant.

- Ability to solve problems. Once she took our emergency key and didn't have the time to put it back in it's proper place. So, instead she put it (and this is brilliant), under the door mat. This was great, as I got locked out the next day and had no way of getting in. When my dad pulled in the driveway that February day, he was also impressed with Alyssa's problem solving skills.

- Ability to balance (standing) on a water tube (occupied by me might I add) while singing Ace of Base's hit single "All that She Wants."

- Ability to wear an eye-patch. It's been a while but I know she's capable.

- Ability to hum the theme from Home Alone and get others to join in. She also does a killer Beyonce impression.

Simply put my sister is an awesome person. There is no one I would rather have as a sister and I am extremely proud of all her accomplishments. Love you Lyss and congratulations.

The Warm Has Arrived and Other New Changes

If there was any doubt about Spring having begun in D.C., the debate is now over. The last few days have no shifted my daily running wardrobe to simply shorts, socks, and shoes. That's right folks, it's time to work on the tan out there. In addition to the weather I have other topics I would like to discuss. Below (in bullet points) are some current thoughts of mine.

- Where have I been? After the Super Bowl loss my blog concept lost serious steam. To be honest I couldn't handle writing anything for a while. I really enjoy writing about sports, but for the longest time I couldn't even look at anything Patriots related. Now, I would say that I am over it. I have put what was an amazing season behind me, and am going to move forward. By the way I am writing you would think I believe I am actually part of the team. Sometimes it feels like that.

- Do I find Blogs cliche? Yes I do, but do I think I am too good for them? Certainly not. The thing for me is to find a real purpose to having this blog. Before it was to write about sports and other things, now? (this brings me to my next point)


- What does the future hold? Dare I say, anything. I would like this to be a place where I post some stuff about my feelings on sports, my current level of training, and my experiences with film school. Will there be wild cards, of course, but when you think about it, those three topics should fill the space.

- Quick Sports Hits: The NBA playoffs start this weekend. I for one am excited. I started getting back into the NBA last season as the Celtics amassed the league's 2nd worst record. This year I was rewarded for following that dreadful squad, as they did a complete 180 and earned the league's best mark. There will be more about the NBA soon, but wow, I can't wait to see some of these games. Early prediction on my end has the Suns and Celtics in the finals. The Red Sox are just starting out so I am not ready to get into freak out mode about them. If I was home listening to WEEI everyday I would be debating whether or not we should trade Bucholz. Instead, I am taking it all in and learning to appreciate the concept of National League baseball. Last week I went to a Washington National's game at their new stadium. Unfortunately I didn't see a solid bunt or 10 sac flies, but I did see a pitcher get a hit. You have to love small ball. Also, I drafted Manny Ramirez in my fantasy keeper league. You could make an argument that was the best decision of my year. As for the Pats, time to get ready for the draft. I still have a weird feeling in my stomach about them. I don't think I can handle another last minute loss in the Super Bowl. If I had my say in the draft room I am going after a corner, because Ellis Hobbs isn't getting it done. I like Jenkins out of South Florida, but he is not top-ten pick material. Maybe they can trade down.

-Running Update: Training is going well. I have been putting in pretty decent mileage for most of the year. My totals look a little off because of some days off in the last month, but the quality is definitely there. This week I am on pace for 84 miles, which would be my second highest of the year. Some people may be aware that I recently signed up for the Vermont City Marathon (Memorial Day Weekend '08) and that it's the current focus of my training. My races this winter/spring have been excellent thus far: 31:22 - 10k in February, 24:57 - 8k in March, and a 51:02 - 10 mile just two weeks ago. Workouts have been a big part of this as I have stepped up the quality, pushing myself with more volume (28x400 in 70 w/35sec rest, 10x1000 in 3:01-03 w/ 2min rest, 4x3200 9:55-59 w/ 3min rest). Long runs have also been crucial, as 18-20 miles on Sunday is now a staple. In the coming weeks I will look to do a few more workouts, race a 10k on the roads, and do my dress-rehearsal run. I am sure to feature more posts on this and my upcoming taper for the marathon.

-Film School Update: I am currently working on my final project. I'll spare you all the details at this moment, but planning is going well. I am scheduled for two days of shooting next weekend, and I can't wait to get it off my plate. Recently I have been helping others with their final projects for the semester and working on a documentary script for my writing class. I also do some photoshop work for my digital imaging class. I'll get more into this stuff, but right now it is all up in the air.

-Returning to NH: I am flying home for my mom's graduation on the weekend of the 10th in May. I can't wait.