cue party! cue actors!

I don’t have much time right now, so I am going to try to write all of this down quickly…

After class yesterday, Matt and I went down to Lincoln to pick up our rented film equipment (!!), and we started filming our no-budget movie!  The first things we shot were parking lot scenes from the top of a roof (thanks, Old Chicago) and then driving along Cass Street.  It took a good two and a half hours to get roughly three minutes of footage.  But I had fun the entire time.

Later that night, we went back to Matt’s house with the rest of the crew and cast to film a few short shots of the characters Kate (played by Anna) and Lauren (played by me) leaving a house party.  We had some sticky sound issues that took a ton of time to figure out, but we eventually solved it. And of course, everything that can go wrong will go wrong.  As soon as we solved the sound issues, the lighting hit us with a few obstacles as well (shadows).  We ended up running out of time, but I had an incredible time just being on set!  If nothing else, it was such a fantastic learning experience.

Today, Tuesday, we shot some exterior scenes at a gazebo on a pond.  At first, the rain presented a huge problem.  But then, we figured ‘why not go with it?’  So, we did. And we got wet.  We ended up with some amazing shots that involved having characters playing/running in the rain, which in the end, turned out better than we could’ve hoped for.  I am very excited to see the rest of the footage!

Whew! Okay, hope that made some sense…

twilight of another day

Harold’s Koffee Shop is a one-of-kind stop in Florence, NE.  There are classic formica tables and teal pleather booths.  But there is more to this cup of joe than meets the eye.  It was the location of a Jack Nicholson scene in the movie About Schmidt. Yesterday I got to sit in Jack’s booth and glean some of his leftover stardom.  Although we didn’t accomplish what we set out to do, I still had a great time.  I had the chance to talk with Patrick and Jonathan which was really interesting and cool.

This morning, I once again went down to the NFG office to audition for the documentary Bugeaters.  I recognized a few faces there, including actors from TJNS and April Showers.  Today I also became the newest member of NFG! BAM.

the taco roll

Filming the opening/hallway scene the past few days has been fun.  I got the chance to hold the boom mic as well as direct a little bit. It was such a fun experience being behind the camera, at the controls.  I loved that I was finally able to call ‘action!’  One of the coolest things I’ve learned is how to properly fold the sound blanket.  It requires a very specific techinque that only the most skilled can handle.  When I first tried it the other day, I thought I had it mastered, but today proved otherwise.  I guess I’m not cut out for the sound-blanket-taco-roll Olympics after all.  Best to give up that dream right now.  Oh well.  On to bigger and better things!

audition day at NFG

Resume? Check. Headshot? Check. Parking spot? Um…

This afternoon, after class, I drove downtown to audition for the feature film Departure.  It was sort of scary, but a great experience.  The most stressful part of the whole thing was finding where to park- I couldn’t find any street parking, so I was forced to circle the block for about ten minutes.  Eventually, I glimpsed a parking lot with two lone empty spots. Thankfully, it was within reasonable walking distance to the NFG office building. Once I found the building, I walked into the lobby and headed to floor three, suite 320.  Once I got there, I signed in at the desk, filled out the audition form, and grabbed two sides (portions of the script). Then… I waited.

While I was waiting, I saw a few actors that came to our shoot Saturday- Shirley, Jill, and Randy.  They all recognized me and wished me good luck, which was pretty awesome.  I also got to meet with the NFG president, Derek, and discussed becoming a member- which I will be in a few days!

Finally, my name was called and I walked down the hall and into the room where the director and screenwriter (Brent!) were waiting. There was this big, gorgeous camera ready to film my audition.  I handed my form, resume, and headshot to the director and then simply waited for their cue.  Once they gave it, I read through the lines, said thank you and goodbye- and that was it.  Couldn’t have been more painless! 

wardrobe artist for the day

Today we shot the teacher lounge scene with all the official actors and I was assigned the grueling position of wardrobe artist.  Just kidding, it wasn’t rocket science, it was pretty fun.  I just had to make sure that the make-up and clothing of each actor stayed the same throughout the scene.  Armed with blotter paper, I set out to fulfill my task.  It was very interesting to see what filming a scene is really like.  I realized that it is split into so many different directions and eye lines. It must be difficult to keep track of everything!  

One of the actresses commented on how tricky it is to deliver lines without the other actor to work with.  It’s not like theatre, where the actors can go through the entire scene without interruption.  With film, almost every line is filmed separately, and from multiple angles.  That way, the director has many different takes to choose from in the editing process.

After we finished for the day, I was talking with another one of the actresses, and she was kind enough to answer a few questions about the Nebraska Film Group (NFG).  She has been a member for quite some time and was telling me all about workshops that are offered and audition notices that are sent, etc.  It was really cool to hear what she had to say.  As soon as I’m done writing this post, I’m logging on the the NFG website to see what I need to do to register.

Today was so much fun, can’t wait for more!

film, paper punchers, music, and mountain dew

That is what my day consisted of.  It’s been one of those roller coaster energy days.  Some friends and I have been working on an idea for a no-budget film to shoot this summer and I went to a meeting tonight to discuss our evolving plans.  The meeting was a success- we got a lot covered.  It’s still in the pre-production stage, but its coming along nicely which is great.  It’s been quite a process so far.  There’s a group of four of us who have been working on it since about November 2007.  It’s a lot of work and it gets tedious at times, but never not fun.  Just working on this small little project with a bunch of friends makes me so excited to learn all I can about movie-making. 

Well, that’s it for now.  I’m pretty sure this isn’t 250 words, but don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.

Kathleen

Life is truth in 24mm

After a few minutes of randomly clicking on links and following email instructions, I ended up here. I’m not the most technilogically savvy person, so I hope this works!

First day of class…  I’ve been out of town and missed the first few class days, and I’ll admit I’m feeling a ‘titch’ overwelmed but VERY excited.  I have been looking forward to this class for quite some time now and cannot wait to really get my hands in and start filming.  At any time in my life, starting at three years old, I have been ‘obsessed’ with some movie or another.  As a toddler, I would watch Walt Disney’s Fantasia literally ten times a week.  Growing up I loved The Mummy, Titanic, Lord of the Rings, Moulin Rouge… all of which are still among my movie favorites.  I always wondered how the director did this or that.  Film has played a big part in my life so far, and I’m sure always will.

Shooting the teacher lounge scene today in class seemed to me like an omen of good things to come.  I’m excited to see the footage tomorrow and learn some editing skills!

I recently spent two days as an extra on the set of April Showers and had an unbelievably good time.  There was so much to watch, I found myself wishing for another pair of eyes.  After wrapping, I was actually quite sad to leave the set- I wanted to come back for more and more!  Even though there was a lot of waiting around, I never regretted driving out to Plattsmouth to be involved with the movie.  We even got caught in one of those classic Midwest tornado warnings, which sort of scared the LA people. It was amusing.

Well, I know I pretty much am just ranting about random things now, so I’m going to call it quits for the day.  Looking forward to tomorrow!