So it’s all done. That realization still hasn’t quite sunk it.
We wrapped last Wednesday, August 8th. I am still astounded at the fact that we only had to add a half a day and that was due to a severe thunderstorm. We managed to stay completely on schedule the entire time, an impressive feat considering our low budget and strict schedule.
It’s quite surreal that it’s over. It’s strange how you get so used to seeing people all day every day for week after week and then, all of a sudden, you just don’t see them anymore.
The rest of the shoot went really smoothly. The house stuff went really well. We had some issues in getting all of the locations dressed in time, but in the end it all worked out. Everything looks beautiful on camera and that’s ultimately what matters. We were able to be really resourceful and recycle a lot of things too (including locations – we used one bedroom for 3 different rooms!).
Things get more challenging the smaller the space gets. There were some rough times – the closet set was tiny, the bathroom, and even the bedrooms got difficult. Some of the handheld stuff we did required the room to be nearly empty and even when we had a static camera, it was difficult for more than the essential people to be present. I always hate that, because I feel it’s bad for morale when half the crew has to be downstairs while the rest of us are up shooting. It really made me want to shoot everything from now on in a studio, where I can have complete control over light, temperature, and sound, plus there’s enough space to move around. But then, I guess you lose out on everything that makes independent film so wonderful.
I strongly believe that creativity comes from limitations and indie film is certainly rife with limitations! It’s sort of a love-hate thing. The qualities of indie film that are so great and that really push you as a filmmaker and end up being so fulfilling are also the ones that make you wish you had a desk job. But in the end, it’s worth it.
Pat’s last day was Saturday, which was quite sad. I hated to not end with Pat and Sarah. Sarah wrapped on Tuesday and Wednesday we drove up to Mt Dora to pick up the day we missed. I had been concerned about that day since before the shoot started – it was period (1940s) and we didn’t have a makeup artist, our location was sketchy and full of bugs, spiders (big ones!), and alligators, we didn’t have working bathrooms on location, I wasn’t sure if we had power… But the day went off without a hitch. Almost had a setback when the contractor working on the house showed up to put in screens on the porch, but we sent him off to lunch and by the time he got back, we were wrapped. We shot some beautiful stuff, some in slow motion, which is always fun, and it was quite a nice way to end the shoot.
Until we were leaving and James, our boom operator, rear ended Matthew, our 2nd AC. This brings the car incident total to 5. This list includes our location manager’s flat tire during our technical scout (halfway to Mt Dora), a PA driving our key PA’s car several blocks with the emergency break still on, our propmaster and his fiancee getting in an accident, and Andrew, our line producer, having to drive to Punta Gorda or something to buy a new car in the middle of production.
So now that the adrenaline that has been keeping me alive for weeks is gone, I’m wholly exhausted. Every bone and muscle in my body is sore, tired, and achy. I want to sleep for days, but I haven’t really gotten a chance to rest yet.
I’ll start editing in the next few days. I wanted to take a little bit of time away from it, because I’ve been living with it (and eating, sleeping, and breathing it lately) for so long. Sometimes you just need a little break. I’m really excited to go through all the footage. It’s going to be such a beast to edit, but I can’t wait. Now is kind of the nice time though – before I get into it and realize what doesn’t cut and what shot I should have used, etc etc. Now I can be blissfully ignorant of all the wrong choices and just be satisfied that we pulled it off.
It’s interesting to me how there are two very distinct battles in indie filmmaking; the first is the obvious one – trying to make a good film. But the second was one I had previously underestimated – actually getting a film made. It will never cease to amaze me that films actually get made. I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum one Saturday night during production and was just blown away. All of the difficulties we had on our film… I simply can’t imagine trying to accomplish something of that magnitude. Maybe one day I’ll feel otherwise, thought I’m not quite sure that I want to.
The fact that we had a successful shoot is such an accomplishment that I haven’t really had much time to think about whether or not it’s a good film. It almost seems beside the point sometimes. Production just becomes such a battle – getting through the day. I don’t mean to downplay it – of course it was something I thought about frequently and tried my best to make sure everything was as good and true to the story/characters as it could be. It’s just that I don’t feel people give enough credit to the fact that films actually get made. We should look at films and say, okay well it’s terrible, the dialogue is horrendous, the actors have no chemistry, the story is lame, but wow! They made a movie!
Alright so maybe not. But it’s not an easy thing. And we were lucky. It could have been much worse, if we’d been less prepared and had less smart, talented people.
Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. Thanks for reading.
–erin
