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.