Tara the Tiger

Tara the Tiger
Originally uploaded by Signore Direttore.

Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake
Originally uploaded by Signore Direttore.

Mirror Lake

We went up to Mt. Hood yesterday to shoot a scene of the hike that Travis and I went on after breakfast. Joey tagged along much to the dismay of David. We shot our leaving and returning during principal photography.
The plan was always to shoot anything that didn't happen at Capstone Lodge at a later date. Yesterday was a perfect day. Climbing the 700' in 1.6 miles with packs loaded with gear on a hot afternoon wasn't easy, at least for me. But it was lovely, especially arriving at the lake. I'll post a photo later on.
Jordan was on his own with the camera. We recruited a young film student that I persisted in calling Sam all afternoon. His name is Charlie and he was a big help, handling sound, assisting Jordan and keeping track of our gear as we moved around the lake.
We kept the scenes very simple. My attitude towards this thing is pretty loose. I definitely know the story we're trying to tell, but I'm not holding onto the results too tightly.
I'm not sure if it's unwise to not be watching so much of it through the camera or monitor. Of course I'm in front of the camera a lot. But I don't watch playback. I don't want to risk rewinding the tape and it takes a lot of time. On this project I would rather trust.
Much of what will be revealed in the editing of Made Crooked will be just how keen my instincts are. It's scary to think they suck. And just as scary to think they might be pretty damn good.

nc

Green Screen

It was hot this weekend. Triple digits. But we persevered.
The focus was on Tara smashing the badminton birdie in slow motion. I had Mike Mills's music video for Air in mind. We didn't acheive anything as poetic, but it was cheeky and fun.
Jordan did us all a huge favor by coming in the previous night to set up the green screen and pre-light it. He was bummed that he couldn't get it any closer than half a stop. Maybe that's why he drank the sixer of Red Stripe that I left for him. He said there was no water, but I think it was the shame of that background not being perfectly lit.
Tara did a great job. She was a "real tiger, baby." I was doing a ridiculous impression of a EuroTrash fashion/soft-porn photographer to keep things light. All that sort of stuff is so artificial: Arch your back, lean forward, lift your elbow, let your hair flow, move your arm in a mechanical motion, jump at the same time, smile ... Be a tiger!
Okie was there with his amazing camera. I love that thing. Slow mo with no dropped frames. Instant playback. Handles the chroma like it's 4:2:2. Oh, I love Dave for more than his camera -- so laid back while being Okie on the spot.
We did a lot of fun stuff with the birdie after Tara left. Can't wait to see it composited.
The pace at which we shoot the pickups is so different than being on set. We take our time. A half day to shoot 1/8 of a page. Decadence! Half day pre-light. Bacchanal!

Not Getting it Right

It really takes some effort to get used to ignoring expectations. Looking at the footage from Made Crooked is a task of not looking too closely for what I preconceived or even what might be expected in a conventional sense.
I notice a tendency to want to get moving, to get my hands dirty, in most of my pursuits. (Patience, or lack thereof, is a persistent theme in my life.) Walter Murch speaks of his first time with the material when he takes notes of his impressions. He ignores technical issues of how it's going to cut together.
All projects benefit from this patience. This project, shot so unconventionally and on the fly, demands it. I suppose one of the lessons in this project is that to complete a film takes time. Perhaps we shot the bulk of it in three days but we'll make up for that fluidity in the editing phase. Maybe a future film might take longer to prep and shoot, but will come together more readily in the edit.
I've sat down a couple of times with Jordan looking at Made Crooked and kvetched that a scene wasn't shot the way I had asked or the focus was on the wrong element in the frame. I really need to sit down and watch the footage as Murch does. This is what we have to work with - we didn't make any mistakes. We did our best. Sometimes our best was superb and evident. Sometimes our best provides us with an opportunity to look at the film in new ways.
I recently saw a classical play that tells a compelling and relevent story about ambition and abuse of power. I know the theme only by knowing the text. What was presented on stage didn't tell me that story. I would have to think very hard what story I saw and heard the other night - certain sections and elements of the original came through - but overall I am not so sure. A benefit of the film medium is we recorded what the actors were doing and expressing and can abandon the script as necessary as we discover the story (ies) that we told.
I wanted to shoot some pickups at Mirror Lake on Mt Hood this weekend. Schedule conflicts prevent such an ambitious location, so we'll be doing it in Forest Park. Instead of relying on the beautiful scenery of my first choice, I asked myself how I wanted to juxtapose the goings-on back at the cabin. I found much more interesting choices and ideas of telling the story. Things I might have missed had the focus been on getting everyone up to the mountain this Sunday.
More evidence of not getting it right is that the sex scene that is to be intercut with the rest of the family hiking wasn't shot as we rehearsed. (Initially an irritating bummer as it was the only scene we rehearsed for the film.) Once I got past wanting it to be right/according to my expectations, I saw the opportunity to avoid a pretty throwaway hiking scene. Every scene in a film should count, so all these mistakes ultimately keep us honest.
I am so glad to not be getting it right.
Did I just say that?

nc

Feeling the Effects of the High

There's a Mexican rock song from Caifanes called Aqui No Es Asi that has a line that translates roughly as, "You come from there and you don't know your destiny ... Invoking forces that you'll never understand."
It's been several weeks since the shoot. No accidents. Not the name of the film. Not the subject matter that poured from my sub-conscious. Whenever I heard that song, and I heard it a lot while living in Mexico, I interpreted it as an admonition to the gringos that came and mucked about without really knowing what they were doing. Or of the white folk that involve themselves in Native American spiritual rituals.
I feel like I messed with something I knew nothing about and am now faced with finding out how to deal with what has surfaced.

I am afraid to see what ends up on screen.
I am afraid to see what my life will look like.

nc

Big Ol' Angel

Big Ol Angel
Originally uploaded by Signore Direttore.