So, the loose...and I said loose...premise of the film is that I am the driver of a bus/van for a mental institution. I pull the van over so that I can go into a store to buy some objects, but more importantly, I go in there to flirt with the cashier. While I'm in the store, the patients escape to the donut store (Donut Planet) where mayhem ensues. As things go down on film in the donut shop, they'll cut to me meandering through the store. Kind of like if the folks are away the kids will play.
Day #1 - Monday
So, a rundown of what went down...Monday's time for me to arrive ("call time") was noon at a place called Mr. Donuts in Rosamond. I didn't want to be late, and I wanted to scout the location out first, so I arrived (i.e. drove by) the shooting location and saw cameras and crew all set up. But, since I was 90 minutes early, I went and sat at a McDonald's for an hour. I was able to do some more online submissions for roles, etc. (which is how I got the Donut Planet gig).
I rolled onto the set about 15 minutes early, and I was greeted warmly. I was informed that they were a bit behind, so I got comfortable in the establishment next door. Think Clerks and the video shop in relationship to the Quick Stop.
I sat in "Randall's video store" while they were shooting next door. There was no air conditioning. The temperature was over 100, and there was a breeze...a breeze of hot air. Inside the building, there were rooms everywhere. I was fascinated by the structure, and I was so curious what it was used for before it now sitting deserted.
I was informed that it was a former marijuana dispensary. Of course it was. A pot store right next to a donut shop. Brilliant. I haven't seen that business acumen since Peyton Manning bought all of those Papa John's stores in Denver mere months before they legalized marijuana. Brilliant.
"A bit behind" was an understatement...two hours go by and I still haven't shot my scenes yet. I am in my scrubs and I'm ready to go. I hear someone say "lunch break" and they wonder why I didn't eat any of their lasagna. It looked good, and smelled good, but I said, "I haven't done anything yet. I haven't earned anything." Everyone on set...EVERYONE...was genuinely kind and pleasant. I got along with everyone.
Fast forward to 4ish, and I start to get my make-up done. If you didn't read the earlier posts. The role was originally intended to be a man in his fifties. They obviously can't pull that off with me, but they want to age me a bit. So, we went with graying the hair a bit, some glasses, and the more time-consuming stage...latex around the eyes for crows feet.
It wasn't until 5ish that everyone started wrapping up in this location, and we started getting into vehicles to drive/ride to the next location (Lancaster) for the market scenes. Finally, it was time for my close-up, Mr. DeMille. Google it, kids.
It had already been a long day, but it was time to suck it up and shake it out. Game time! Bring it!
The cashier is a going-to-be sophomore at Boston University majoring in theater named Mollie. She's a SoCal girl, but enjoys schooling on the east coast. Film is west, east is theater.
My dialogue scenes were written as a four line flirtation. That's it. We did it one time like it was written, and then the director wanted to improv a bit. My ears perked up at the sound of that. So, he wanted us to do the lines as written but then keep going until he says "cut." So, I took the lead and led the cashier through a meandering scene that covered everything from ponytails to Bitcoins. It was awesome. I kept seeing the crew shaking a bit from holding in their laughs. He said "cut" and they all broke out laughing. We did three more takes from various camera angles, etc. and the cashier and I kept building off the original improv for editing/continuity sake. It's easier to cut together three different camera shots of one scene when the dialogue is set in stone, but if it's rambling all over the place, then it can be tricky in post-production to reconstruct the dialogue. So, a few key words repeated from take to take was needed, but we could develop the story a bit.
Ironically, in my audition I was directed to make the character charming yet a little disturbing, maybe even a little creepy. However, through the improv a different character entirely emerged, which was cool. He was a little shy/timid person that was finally speaking to this girl after several failed attempts in the past. It really turned out to be very sweet and several female crew members said "awwwww" when we were done. "He's just so adorable." So, the creepy aspect was nixed, and we focused more on the vulnerable/likeable character choice. I think it worked out well.
The director told me later that he had enough material from our improv that he'll be able to splice it into the film at key points of the shenanigans going on in the donut shop...instead of just a few times, which he originally planned to do. He can drop it in several times now since he has so much stuff to work with. So, White Shoes (my character's name) might have more screen time than was originally intended/planned.
We wrapped up my speaking scenes around 8:30ish, and in the summer, it's dark by that time. Weird. Back home, there's still roughly an hour of light left. I was saying my goodbyes, and the last person I was shaking hands with said "I'll see you tomorrow." The director and I looked at each other. We had shot all of my dialogue, but we had neglected...or forgotten...that I still had to drive up to the shop in the first place, so I needed to come the following day to film that important scene. They graciously offered their couch to me, and I stayed in Lancaster for the night instead of driving 90 minutes back to LA and sleep for seven hours before turning back around the next day. It was very gracious of them, and I was extremely thankful.
Day #2 - Tuesday
I didn't have to put the makeup on as I wasn't having any close-ups, so the glasses covered the lack of latex. I did have grey put back into my hair though. Here are some pix of the beast that I got to drive up and down the street to get the opening shots.
We started about two hours after call time, and my scene took awhile to set up. They want the van to be blurry as I drive towards the stationary camera, and as I get closer, they want it to be in focus. So the trick is to focus on the final resting spot of the van. Get that in focus, and don't worry about the rest of the time that the van is driving because it will be blurry...BUT...it will be in focus IF I hit the spot. IF is the operative word. They placed a sandbag on the street so that when I felt the van's tires hit it I knew I was good.
We did about 5-6 different takes of me driving up and exiting the van before I walked off into the distance, and the final shot was awesome. A thirty second (at least) uninterrupted shot that they can use to open their movie with...no cutting needed. All of that prep time to get things right saved a lot of hassle and wasted energies in trying to get the ultimate take on the fly. We got it, and I was finished ("wrapped") for good.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete