It's been a while since I had a chance to write here, so I need to catch up a bit:
The wo faux nude scenes (Rosalie bertrand's Tristan and Hayley Schaffer's Nimue) were extremely succesful shoots. In reality, the still photographs taken on the set give the impression that far more flesh is exposed than actuall is. Rosie was, in fact, wearing an off the shoulder dress and really quite well covered. Hayeley, admittedly, wasn't wearing much, which made this a memorable experience for most of the crew, as Haylet's body could be the basis for a major world religion. But she is a great sport about these things, and we tried to do as much as possible to keep it from getting two uncomfortable. The exception to that is assistant D.P. Tauna Price, who tries to make as many porn and sexual references as possible, but because she's female she manages to make the actress think THE GUYS are the ones being inappropriate. I love Tauna, but she has all the subtley and social graces of a community bedpan.
The real-world battle sequence was pushed back a day because of intense cloud cover, which we were afraid would wreak havoc with lighting. We went to great trouble for this and the Nimue sequence to secure an HD camera which shoots at 60 frames per second, creating a very cool clow motion effect Patrick and I will always call "Renny Harlin slow motion", due to his effective use of the technique in "Die Hard 2." Originally, the battle was only schedule to include two or three of these shots, and the scene was actually quite dialogue driven. However, as we began filming, cloud cover increased again, and it actually began raining as we were taking the first slow mo shot of the Knights. D.P. Johnny O kept commenting on how great the storm looked. I remarked 'If we cuy the dialogue and shoot it all in slow-mo, this might look better in rain." Johnny, Patrick, Brandyn Cross and exchanged glances, talked briefly, and decided to go for it.
As it turned out, this was a TORRENTIAL storm, complete with hail and mudslides, and concentrated almost exclusively in the neighborhood where we were shooting. The cast and cre banded together like men under fire, sacrifing warmth, dryness, dignity, and, to a very small degree, saftey, as we did an off-the cuff reimagination the sequence that know adds a sort of Ridley Scott-like visual flare and makes the film twice as good. That rainstorm that nearly killed our film turned out to be the best thing that happned to it.
The only major obstacle as capturing the kiss between Arthur and Jenny. Porter and Kayla are, after all, kids. I offered them $20 each to a real kiss, but they were too uncomfortable (in retrospect, their parents probably would have freaked and I would have been in big trouble). i maintain that Porter, at least, will find within two years that this missed opportunity keeps him up nights, but the fake kiss worked.
Of course, reimagining the real life battle means reimaginig the fantasy battle. It simply won't do to have the goofy Knight in the park have a more visually stunning battle than the mythical Knight of the Round Table have. Which means we have been stuck with the massive headache of rescheduling the fantasy battle for a day when we can once again secure the slo-mo cam, and that means wrapping a week later than expected. I wish to make it clear that number of shooting days remains the same as projected, two of them just take place later than planned.
The rain battle will always be one of my favorite filmmaking experiences. We were hit with a challenge, ran with it, and made the film better because of it. In the words of Captain Malcolm Reynolds, "we have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Week 3
The third week of shooting stands out for the fact that nearly every scene we shot was based around kids between the ages of 10 and 14. Patrick and I have worked with kids dozens of times. Between the the years we spent supervising City Rep's Children's Theatre School, and our time at Lowell, Nibley Park and Wasatch Elementary schools, we have supervised, in a creative capacity, over 1000 kids. So, we're pretty used to the ups and downs of the situation. Of course, film is a bit different from stage, so there unique new challenges.
Probably the biggest advantage to kids on stage or screen is that they tend to be more excited about what they're doing. A kid doesn't differentiate between community theatre and Broadway, student film and Hollywood Blockbuster. A kid is thrilled to be in a movie. You don't get the sort of half-hearted work from them you might you sometimes get from adults on a low budget film. They are both taking it more seriously and having more fun, and both of those things rub off on the cast and the rest of the crew.
The biggest disadvantage is that kids can be hyperactive, noisy, unfocused, demanding and whiny. They can also push very hard to make themselves the focus of every scene. We've experienced all of these problems this week, and to be honest, most of them came from one out of the approximately 30 kids we've been using (I won't mention the particular performer by name in case anyone actually reads this).
By and large, though, working with the kids on "Dreamworld" has been a great experience. During our two days at East Hollywood High School, where we shot all of the school sequences, we were dealing with large numbers of kids, most of them extras. It was very important to us that the extras have a good experience on this movie. Often, visiting a movie set can be like visiting Dickensian London: there is a complex class system, and extras rank dead last, almost as sub-humans. We refuse to ever let that be the case on a film we make. Fortunately, the crew, particularly Brandyn Cross and Johnny O, were like-minded, and we all worked well together (I did place a temporary ban on jokes about "The Clap"). One particular crowd scene took 15 takes to get right, but considering the number of kids we were working with, that's not bad. Kids have to be reminded repeatedly not to look at the camera, and that came up a lot this week, but, in the end, much of our best work was done this week. The production value we got out of the East Hollywood location was immense, and added immeasurably to the film.
Probably the biggest advantage to kids on stage or screen is that they tend to be more excited about what they're doing. A kid doesn't differentiate between community theatre and Broadway, student film and Hollywood Blockbuster. A kid is thrilled to be in a movie. You don't get the sort of half-hearted work from them you might you sometimes get from adults on a low budget film. They are both taking it more seriously and having more fun, and both of those things rub off on the cast and the rest of the crew.
The biggest disadvantage is that kids can be hyperactive, noisy, unfocused, demanding and whiny. They can also push very hard to make themselves the focus of every scene. We've experienced all of these problems this week, and to be honest, most of them came from one out of the approximately 30 kids we've been using (I won't mention the particular performer by name in case anyone actually reads this).
By and large, though, working with the kids on "Dreamworld" has been a great experience. During our two days at East Hollywood High School, where we shot all of the school sequences, we were dealing with large numbers of kids, most of them extras. It was very important to us that the extras have a good experience on this movie. Often, visiting a movie set can be like visiting Dickensian London: there is a complex class system, and extras rank dead last, almost as sub-humans. We refuse to ever let that be the case on a film we make. Fortunately, the crew, particularly Brandyn Cross and Johnny O, were like-minded, and we all worked well together (I did place a temporary ban on jokes about "The Clap"). One particular crowd scene took 15 takes to get right, but considering the number of kids we were working with, that's not bad. Kids have to be reminded repeatedly not to look at the camera, and that came up a lot this week, but, in the end, much of our best work was done this week. The production value we got out of the East Hollywood location was immense, and added immeasurably to the film.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
"The Clap"
Somehow, the Slate/Clapboard/Marker has become known on this set as "The Clap." There is an endless series of jokes about this: nobody says "where is the Slate?" when they can say "Who has the clap?" Even better is to speculate on WHO GAVE THEM "The Clap."
Patrick Gibbs made the first of these jokes, but it has now caught on to the point of being a minor obsession. Sound Mixer Beau Gorley has been known to do this joke as many as 25 times in 4 minutes.
I have no doubt this will be the longest last influence this film has on the people who made. All of us, not matter where we go or what we do in the world of film, will always call the slate "The Clap" and specualte on who gave it to who.
Sigh.
Patrick Gibbs made the first of these jokes, but it has now caught on to the point of being a minor obsession. Sound Mixer Beau Gorley has been known to do this joke as many as 25 times in 4 minutes.
I have no doubt this will be the longest last influence this film has on the people who made. All of us, not matter where we go or what we do in the world of film, will always call the slate "The Clap" and specualte on who gave it to who.
Sigh.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Week 2
The second act of a film is where the conflict is introduced. Week 2 of shooting "Dreamworld" was an appropriate second act. Massive budget problems arose, enused, were overcome (I prefer not to go into detail). Shooting on location rather than in a studio proved far more challenging. Sound was a major problem. The so-called "Glidecam" gave the effect of the cmaera strapped to the head of a hyper-active seal (and while I enjoy the shakicam effect in "Saving Private Ryan" and the works of Paul Greengrass, I am going here for the visual style of old school Spielberg, along with George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis and Ron Howard. Shakicam doesn't fit). Flubbed lines caused us to take half an hour and 12 takes on a simple low-angle dialogue shot. A fauly gas grill delayed lunch on Tuesday's shoot by nearly three hours, which threw off production to the point where ended the day three shots behind schedule. I don't deal well with falling behind schedule. I have been adamant on this production that we stay on schedule. I was so upset about this that I had difficulty concentrating Tuesday night when viewing a critic's screening of "Hellboy II" a truly great film. Tuesday as a very frustrating day. On the bright side, we got some fantastic crane shots, and the scenes with Arthur's Mother had just the right warmth. Provided I can salvage something of the steadicam shots, the film will not reflect the trouble we had that day.
Wednesday we started early, and dashed out the three missing shots by 10:30 am. And I love the shots. Then we traveled to Silver Lake, a truly gorgeous location, where we shot the sgements of Arthur at the Lake (Hayley Shaffer, our drop-dead gorgeous Nimue, will be added later in close-ups shot at another location). Using a device called a "Fig Rig" (a small steerin-wheel shaped camera mount), we got the sort of shots I wanted from the Glidecam. They wobble a bit, but in a style more reminiscent of Kevin Reynold's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", which much better suits my vision of this film. The open shot tilts down from a glorious lens flare about the trees to a slow approach of Arthur by the lake. Definite "Money shot." While this was the day this week that we did the most physical labor, it was perhaps the least tiring because the tempertaure at Silver Lake was so much cooler. Other than falling in the lake, I had a good day (I only feel bad that I yelled "sh*t" when I fell in, with young Porter standing nearby. But, come on. You fall chest deep in a muddy lake, you yell "sh*t." I don't care who you are.
On Thursday, we got began the day with the stress of the budget troubles hitting us full force, which distarcted and detracted from what should have been one of the most fun days of the shoot, exteriors of Camelot at Castle Creek Inn. But, despite the stress, the shots were terrific, featuring exqusitie costumes rented from Hale Cente Theatre, a beautiful castle, and the luminous Erica Bryce as Guenevere, the hot and evil Anna Crowe as Morganna, and the regal Loren Lambert as Arthur. Thye results we far more than satisfying. The film is looking great, and line producer Brandon Arnold did me a huge favor by begining to capture footage for post-production. We fought back from the troubles, kept control, and ended the week on a high note. The future of "Dreamworld" looks bright.
But I could really use some more sleep.
Wednesday we started early, and dashed out the three missing shots by 10:30 am. And I love the shots. Then we traveled to Silver Lake, a truly gorgeous location, where we shot the sgements of Arthur at the Lake (Hayley Shaffer, our drop-dead gorgeous Nimue, will be added later in close-ups shot at another location). Using a device called a "Fig Rig" (a small steerin-wheel shaped camera mount), we got the sort of shots I wanted from the Glidecam. They wobble a bit, but in a style more reminiscent of Kevin Reynold's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", which much better suits my vision of this film. The open shot tilts down from a glorious lens flare about the trees to a slow approach of Arthur by the lake. Definite "Money shot." While this was the day this week that we did the most physical labor, it was perhaps the least tiring because the tempertaure at Silver Lake was so much cooler. Other than falling in the lake, I had a good day (I only feel bad that I yelled "sh*t" when I fell in, with young Porter standing nearby. But, come on. You fall chest deep in a muddy lake, you yell "sh*t." I don't care who you are.
On Thursday, we got began the day with the stress of the budget troubles hitting us full force, which distarcted and detracted from what should have been one of the most fun days of the shoot, exteriors of Camelot at Castle Creek Inn. But, despite the stress, the shots were terrific, featuring exqusitie costumes rented from Hale Cente Theatre, a beautiful castle, and the luminous Erica Bryce as Guenevere, the hot and evil Anna Crowe as Morganna, and the regal Loren Lambert as Arthur. Thye results we far more than satisfying. The film is looking great, and line producer Brandon Arnold did me a huge favor by begining to capture footage for post-production. We fought back from the troubles, kept control, and ended the week on a high note. The future of "Dreamworld" looks bright.
But I could really use some more sleep.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Lessons Learned From the First Week of Shooting
1. Take time to get good lighting, but psuh the crew to stay on schedule.
2. Trust my instincts. Spielberg has taught me well.
3. If people flake out everytime I try to use them in a movie, it's probably time to give up on them.
4. Listen to ideas from the crew. Most of them are good and worth using.
5. Watching Johnny run at top speed until he slams into the back of a truck is damn funny.
6. A little courtesy and diplomacy goes a long way.
7. Take time to make sure everyone is clear on simple procedures.
8. Costco Pizza is better than you would think.
9. Sometimes "line reading" is a good technique for child actors.
10. When Rosalie Bertand is being obnoxious and saying 'that doesn't make sense", it usually pushes me to come up with something much better.
2. Trust my instincts. Spielberg has taught me well.
3. If people flake out everytime I try to use them in a movie, it's probably time to give up on them.
4. Listen to ideas from the crew. Most of them are good and worth using.
5. Watching Johnny run at top speed until he slams into the back of a truck is damn funny.
6. A little courtesy and diplomacy goes a long way.
7. Take time to make sure everyone is clear on simple procedures.
8. Costco Pizza is better than you would think.
9. Sometimes "line reading" is a good technique for child actors.
10. When Rosalie Bertand is being obnoxious and saying 'that doesn't make sense", it usually pushes me to come up with something much better.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Meaning
About a week ago i suddenly realized that the story of "Dreamworld" is actually more personal than I realized. Arthur is me, at a time in my life when I was depressed, scared, unhappy, and thought little of myself. Like Arthur, I lacked the confidence and initiative to make myself happy.
Then I came across a group of people who believed in me. Their belief that I was worth something made me believe I was. But, also like Arthur, eventually I realized I couldn't make it just on that. I couldn't live in that moment forever. I had to take the lessons from that experience and apply them to moving and be being a happier, better me. I did, and, if i hadn't there would be no "Dreamworld."
Then I came across a group of people who believed in me. Their belief that I was worth something made me believe I was. But, also like Arthur, eventually I realized I couldn't make it just on that. I couldn't live in that moment forever. I had to take the lessons from that experience and apply them to moving and be being a happier, better me. I did, and, if i hadn't there would be no "Dreamworld."
Friday, July 4, 2008
Day 2
Yestreday marked another very sucessful shooting day. About 20 shots this time instead of 30, and the quality of shots and acting is high. There is a particular shot I'm crazy about. It's very Spielbergian. It's a segment that my instincts told me I shoot all in one long take, but I was sure I was going to get pressure to shoot more coverage. We got halfway through shooting the second set-up and my trusted cinematographer, Tauna Price, said "We should go back and do this all in one shot." Sometimes I should just trust my instincts.
Members of the crew have started doing an impersonation of me, which basically consists of constantly checking their wristwatches. I'm very concerned about staying on schedule. Channing Lowe, instructor and Executive Producer, really impressed the importance of this one me, and he was right. When I last directed a group project, "Sure Thing", the scheduling got away from me a bit, partly because I was afraid to tell the lighting crew to hurry up, and partyl because Justin Bruse and Chelsey Richardson (excellent as they were ), didn't really know their lines. Also, Jim "Smooth" Stephen was there, which makes everything harder. This time, I'm boung and determined to never lose control. Again, I'm using Spielberg as my model here. I wonder if I may be a bit overbearing with the crew, but I think the results are baring me out.
Porter Bagley is quite a gifted young actor. He had some difficulty getting the right emotion out what I call the "Braveheart" speech, where he rallies the Knights to action. Brandie tried some improv with him. Brandie is terrific with directing kids, but it wasn't working this time. So Patrick jumped in with another Spielberg technique, one the master used with Christian Bale on "Empire of the Sun": Patrick simply acted the scene and had Porter imitate it. We'd never try to do this with an experienced, adult actor, but with a kid, it can work wonders. Patrick is THE "Gladiator", "Braveheart", "300", guy. He has an incredible affinity and feel for that type of movie, and his stage performances as Edgar in "King Lear" and MacDuff in "Macbeth" have had that sort of oratory one of his strengths as an actor. He was actually a bit concerned about his ability to drop it for Gawain (which has not been a problem), but it was great to see it put to good use here.
One extreme challenge in directing is keeping focused when you have on the set a member of the opposite sex with who you are in any way infatuted. Yesterday, Brittany Dean, a gorgeous and talented actress I worked with in the play, "Lend Me a Tenor", was in the scene. i haven't got a chance in hell with Brittany, but the fact is my heart beats a little faster whenever she's in the room. I was glad to use her in the production, and she seemed to have a great time.
One sad not yesterday was that my television colleague Ruth Bryce, a terrific girl who has been very magnanimous in cooperating with us in the use of a studio to which she has more claim than I, was dealing with the death of a family member. It cast shadow on the whole day, and I will be thinking a lot about Ruth. She's a terrific person.
Perhaps the most memorbale line from yesterday's shoot was not in the film. When it was suggested that the virginal Galahad (played by Robbie Bagley in what I see as star making performance) not wear his glasses in a scene that takes place after his first experience with a girl, on the assumption that"he's a man now", co-D.P. Jonnhy O stated "Yeah, sex cures all vision problems." Personally, I don't think Galahad had sex, just made out a little. But it was quite funny.
So, the film remains on schedule, with high qulaity work done so far. We have left the big comic book store set, with the comforts and controlled environment of a studio, and now embark on the challenge of location shooting. Hold me.
Members of the crew have started doing an impersonation of me, which basically consists of constantly checking their wristwatches. I'm very concerned about staying on schedule. Channing Lowe, instructor and Executive Producer, really impressed the importance of this one me, and he was right. When I last directed a group project, "Sure Thing", the scheduling got away from me a bit, partly because I was afraid to tell the lighting crew to hurry up, and partyl because Justin Bruse and Chelsey Richardson (excellent as they were ), didn't really know their lines. Also, Jim "Smooth" Stephen was there, which makes everything harder. This time, I'm boung and determined to never lose control. Again, I'm using Spielberg as my model here. I wonder if I may be a bit overbearing with the crew, but I think the results are baring me out.
Porter Bagley is quite a gifted young actor. He had some difficulty getting the right emotion out what I call the "Braveheart" speech, where he rallies the Knights to action. Brandie tried some improv with him. Brandie is terrific with directing kids, but it wasn't working this time. So Patrick jumped in with another Spielberg technique, one the master used with Christian Bale on "Empire of the Sun": Patrick simply acted the scene and had Porter imitate it. We'd never try to do this with an experienced, adult actor, but with a kid, it can work wonders. Patrick is THE "Gladiator", "Braveheart", "300", guy. He has an incredible affinity and feel for that type of movie, and his stage performances as Edgar in "King Lear" and MacDuff in "Macbeth" have had that sort of oratory one of his strengths as an actor. He was actually a bit concerned about his ability to drop it for Gawain (which has not been a problem), but it was great to see it put to good use here.
One extreme challenge in directing is keeping focused when you have on the set a member of the opposite sex with who you are in any way infatuted. Yesterday, Brittany Dean, a gorgeous and talented actress I worked with in the play, "Lend Me a Tenor", was in the scene. i haven't got a chance in hell with Brittany, but the fact is my heart beats a little faster whenever she's in the room. I was glad to use her in the production, and she seemed to have a great time.
One sad not yesterday was that my television colleague Ruth Bryce, a terrific girl who has been very magnanimous in cooperating with us in the use of a studio to which she has more claim than I, was dealing with the death of a family member. It cast shadow on the whole day, and I will be thinking a lot about Ruth. She's a terrific person.
Perhaps the most memorbale line from yesterday's shoot was not in the film. When it was suggested that the virginal Galahad (played by Robbie Bagley in what I see as star making performance) not wear his glasses in a scene that takes place after his first experience with a girl, on the assumption that"he's a man now", co-D.P. Jonnhy O stated "Yeah, sex cures all vision problems." Personally, I don't think Galahad had sex, just made out a little. But it was quite funny.
So, the film remains on schedule, with high qulaity work done so far. We have left the big comic book store set, with the comforts and controlled environment of a studio, and now embark on the challenge of location shooting. Hold me.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Shooting Begins
Day one of principal photography of "Dreamworld" was one of my most exciting days. It's a very different process directing a film with a full crew (okay, a small crew, but big enough and talented enough to make all the difference) and top quality equipment.
I'm nuts about the anamorphic HD camera, and I can't express how much I love the small, handheld monitor we're using. It allows camera operator Andy Baker to move around as much as he needs to, but allows me, as director, to keep full visual control. The storyboards Patrick and I drew were also incredibly useful. Mounting them on a wall in the studio, I was able to view them every so often when I needed to clear my head and keep the flow of the scene in my head.
The scene we chose to begin shooting the film was the scene where we first meet Merlin and the Knights in the Comic Book store. It's a dialogue heavy, character-driven scene, and that's where I like to start: a place that give the actors a solid base to jump off og in developing the characters. Shooting out of sequence in a film can cost you the continuity of performance you get in play. I try to minimize that.
There was no doubt after the first day that the actors had been cast correctly. Patrick did some of the best work I've ever seen him do. The pressure of producing and acting at the same time has, at times, made it difficult for him to be as prepared and memorized as wants to be. This time, he was pitch-perfect, trusting his instincts and acting very natural. It was easy to see where his film trating with Frank Gerrish and Reb Fleming has paid off. I'm almost tempted to do it myself.
Brandyn Cross is nailing the role of Merlin. The role was orignally envisioned as being played by Jack Black, but, well, that's beyond our budget. Brandie, who has been instrumental in developing the script, gives exactly what the character needs.
The kids are amazingly bright and talented. Chase McKnight, as Lance, throws himself into the role of the cocky jackass with such ease you'd never suspect what a nice kid he is. Porter Bagley, as Arthur, has a natural, innocent charm which gives the film it's heart. He's also very bright and inquisitive. He and fellow child actor Coby Rose kept offering suggestions, which I admit sometimes got on my nerves, but showed remarkable understanding of film. Porter's observation's about lighting leave me suspecting he may very well end up as a fillmmaker.
One of the few moments where the acting wasn't working lead to a memory that will likely make me smile for years to come: Brandie and I had been experimenting with Merlin doing a John huston type, booming voice when telling the story of Arthur. It wasn't working, and I think it was just a faulty idea, not any fauly of Brandie's. But during one shot, 2nd A.D. Fernanda alves (who I'm starting to think of us as Pink Wombat's Kathleen Kennedy: everyone on the Pink Wombat team is compared to someone on Spielberg's team) quietly typed the words "Brandie is not eblievable" on her Blackberry and discreetly showed them to me. She was right, and it was easily corrected.
Three of the biggest influences on the I direct are Spielberg (of course), John Ford, and Ron Howard. Ford had a tendency to shoot his films in a style that left little option to studios to re-edit them. Spielberg and Howard have both expressed a preference for "money shots over MTV coverage." I have to know in my head how it's going to cut together. I will not rely on coverage to save my bacon in post -production. I don't trust it. This sometimes leads people to think I'm not shooting enough coverage, which I admit is occasionally true. I shot some extra close-ups at the urging of Brandie and Line Producer Brandon Arnold, and I'm sure I'll use some of them.
But, a point was reached where we were falling behind schedule, and I had to move us forward. We had 30 shots to accomplish in one day, and got off to a late start. There were times when I chose to keep moving after one sucessfull take. This is usually frowned on, but it saved us this day. We got 30 GOOD shots in one day, and I've never felt more like a real film director than I did on that day. I hope the rest goes as smoothly.
I'm nuts about the anamorphic HD camera, and I can't express how much I love the small, handheld monitor we're using. It allows camera operator Andy Baker to move around as much as he needs to, but allows me, as director, to keep full visual control. The storyboards Patrick and I drew were also incredibly useful. Mounting them on a wall in the studio, I was able to view them every so often when I needed to clear my head and keep the flow of the scene in my head.
The scene we chose to begin shooting the film was the scene where we first meet Merlin and the Knights in the Comic Book store. It's a dialogue heavy, character-driven scene, and that's where I like to start: a place that give the actors a solid base to jump off og in developing the characters. Shooting out of sequence in a film can cost you the continuity of performance you get in play. I try to minimize that.
There was no doubt after the first day that the actors had been cast correctly. Patrick did some of the best work I've ever seen him do. The pressure of producing and acting at the same time has, at times, made it difficult for him to be as prepared and memorized as wants to be. This time, he was pitch-perfect, trusting his instincts and acting very natural. It was easy to see where his film trating with Frank Gerrish and Reb Fleming has paid off. I'm almost tempted to do it myself.
Brandyn Cross is nailing the role of Merlin. The role was orignally envisioned as being played by Jack Black, but, well, that's beyond our budget. Brandie, who has been instrumental in developing the script, gives exactly what the character needs.
The kids are amazingly bright and talented. Chase McKnight, as Lance, throws himself into the role of the cocky jackass with such ease you'd never suspect what a nice kid he is. Porter Bagley, as Arthur, has a natural, innocent charm which gives the film it's heart. He's also very bright and inquisitive. He and fellow child actor Coby Rose kept offering suggestions, which I admit sometimes got on my nerves, but showed remarkable understanding of film. Porter's observation's about lighting leave me suspecting he may very well end up as a fillmmaker.
One of the few moments where the acting wasn't working lead to a memory that will likely make me smile for years to come: Brandie and I had been experimenting with Merlin doing a John huston type, booming voice when telling the story of Arthur. It wasn't working, and I think it was just a faulty idea, not any fauly of Brandie's. But during one shot, 2nd A.D. Fernanda alves (who I'm starting to think of us as Pink Wombat's Kathleen Kennedy: everyone on the Pink Wombat team is compared to someone on Spielberg's team) quietly typed the words "Brandie is not eblievable" on her Blackberry and discreetly showed them to me. She was right, and it was easily corrected.
Three of the biggest influences on the I direct are Spielberg (of course), John Ford, and Ron Howard. Ford had a tendency to shoot his films in a style that left little option to studios to re-edit them. Spielberg and Howard have both expressed a preference for "money shots over MTV coverage." I have to know in my head how it's going to cut together. I will not rely on coverage to save my bacon in post -production. I don't trust it. This sometimes leads people to think I'm not shooting enough coverage, which I admit is occasionally true. I shot some extra close-ups at the urging of Brandie and Line Producer Brandon Arnold, and I'm sure I'll use some of them.
But, a point was reached where we were falling behind schedule, and I had to move us forward. We had 30 shots to accomplish in one day, and got off to a late start. There were times when I chose to keep moving after one sucessfull take. This is usually frowned on, but it saved us this day. We got 30 GOOD shots in one day, and I've never felt more like a real film director than I did on that day. I hope the rest goes as smoothly.
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