05.27.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:16 pm by Fletcher
Day five had us heading out to Queens for some establishing shots of the neighborhood for the Hitman. I met Ninjascott and Lydia out at the van - the drive though Manhattan a reminder of why we choose to do this kind of work, watching the midmorning bustle of deliverymen, office workers and cabbies.
We got to location, which was smack dab in the middle of Guidoland. Every car had some kind of hip-hop blasting out of sunroofs, you could smell the hair gel from miles around. Since it was daylight and very little of the shots included dialog, I was handed a bounce board and was set to aim them at our actors. All in all, a pleasant gig, requiring little more than me standing still, turn a piece of foamcore around…
We also grabbed a few shots in a laundromat, again a quick easy affair. The old couple that ran the place sat outside watching us run in C-stands and large lights, while Megan, the makeup artist stained a t-shirt with fake blood.
The tough part of the day came when we found that our last scenes were going to be delayed by the last actor - who foced us to sit around waiting for darkness and when he got off of work. Nothing is more fun than staring at the same street for 3 hours watching the sun go down. Fortunately my friend Shannon the Baker called and alleviated my boredom by providing snarky comments and her own tales of being a PA and other horror stories…
When the Hitman arrived, we instantly sprang into action - using the roof of tha van to shoot from and using the headlights to bounce light off of - wrapping with near military precision. In order to blow off some steam we spent a few hours at a beer garden, downing pitchers of Spaten and trading lurid stories…
Ironically, last day of the shoot started right near my former job. I had the advantage of knowing where every coffee shop and deli in the area was a detail the crew richly appreciated. We set up simple shots utilizing our actors as “talking heads” simply using bounce cards and filming them ‘confessional style’ like every reality show in the universe does.
My last effort on the shoot was at a church we were using to film the ‘Wedding video’ and the scenes where the groom is found passed out on the steps - the church itself was beautiful, and the sun outside made everyone relaxed. I had to leave early, as I had planned to fly out early the next morning - and I bade my farewells to everyone, a little bummed it was over.
Because I was leaving, I also had to turn down three other set jobs, offered to me by Gene, the key grip and mentor on set. A shame really, because I find that I enjoy this work more and more - the exercise, the constant location changes, the instant bursts of creativity when called for, the cameraderie and the jokes…
Plus everyone always talks in obscure movie quotes, a geek’s paradise. I think I could really get into this…
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Posted in Uncategorized at 7:14 pm by Fletcher
Day five had us heading out to Queens for some establishing shots of the neighborhood for the Hitman. I met Ninjascott and Lydia out at the van - the drive though Manhattan a reminder of why we choose to do this kind of work, watching the midmorning bustle of deliverymen, office workers and cabbies.
We got to location, which was smack dab in the middle of Guidoland. Every car had some kind of hip-hop blasting out of sunroofs, you could smell the hair gel from miles around. Since it was daylight and very little of the shots included dialog, I was handed a bounce board and was set to aim them at our actors. All in all, a pleasant gig, requiring little more than me standing still, turn a piece of foamcore around…
We also grabbed a few shots in a laundromat, again a quick easy affair. The old couple that ran the place sat outside watching us run in C-stands and large lights, while Megan, the makeup artist stained a t-shirt with fake blood.
The tough part of the day came when we found that our last scenes were going to be delayed by the last actor - who foced us to sit around waiting for darkness and when he got off of work. Nothing is more fun than staring at the same street for 3 hours watching the sun go down. Fortunately my friend Shannon the Baker called and alleviated my boredom by providing snarky comments and her own tales of being a PA and other horror stories…
When the Hitman arrived, we instantly sprang into action - using the roof of tha van to shoot from and using the headlights to bounce light off of - wrapping with near military precision. In order to blow off some steam we spent a few hours at a beer garden, downing pitchers of Spaten and trading lurid stories…
Ironically, last day of the shoot started right near my former job. I had the advantage of knowing where every coffee shop and deli in the area was a detail the crew richly appreciated. We set up simple shots utilizing our actors as “talking heads” simply using bounce cards and filming them ‘confessional style’ like every reality show in the universe does.
My last effort on the shoot was at a church we were using to film the ‘Wedding video’ and the scenes where the groom is found passed out on the steps - the church itself was beautiful, and the sun outside made everyone relaxed. I had to leave early, as I had planned to fly out early the next morning - and I bade my farewells to everyone, a little bummed it was over.
Because I was leaving, I also had to turn down three other set jobs, offered to me by Gene, the key grip and mentor on set. A shame really, because I find that I enjoy this work more and more - the exercise, the constant location changes, the instant bursts of creativity when called for, the cameraderie and the jokes…
Plus everyone always talks in obscure movie quotes, a geek’s paradise. I think I could really get into this…
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05.22.07
Posted in Film at 8:53 am by Fletcher
We regrouped in the afternoon for some daylight shots - I was impressed how they took my bedroom door and by putting up a curtain and cropping in tight, made it look like a window - shot from the outside. Being a true fan of creatively finding solutions - I richly enjoyed seeing this kind of inventiveness.
Since the producer made extensive use of my paintings, he decided an establishing shot of one of the actors painting was needed - so I became the on set consultant, setting up the easel and providing direction for the actor to look realistic. Guess art school paid off after all…
We did a few more shots and wrapped fairly early - and shortly the habitat was back to pristine condition. You’d never know that it was packed to the rafters with a film production. After chatting with the roomies, they weren’t too put off by the whole thing - I think we might be using the habitat as location again - hopefully for money next time…
The next morning was an early rise - on set call was for 8:45, I haven’t been up that early in a while. We met on 46th St. at the set of ‘Tony & Tina’s Wedding,’ dragging all the equipment down a flight of stairs - I wasn’t looking forward to dragging it back out at the end of the day. Set up was easy, as the location had already been rigged for lights, the biggest problem was wrangling the 40 extras we had for the ‘reception,’ people of all ages, including several little kids running around - I had to mentally remind myself to temper my language…
Amazingly, NinjaScott got the shots he needed quickly, running the glidecam through the crowd - basically giving groups of people free reign to act as if they were at a party and they responded well to this. I tell you, the man is a natural. We shot some seated scenes, a few crowd scenes and cut everyone but a handful of extras and the principle actors.
This was my favorite moment - one of the guests was annoyed that there were no men at the reception and hooked up with the waiter. It was another glidecam shot, in the kitchen. Since I was on the boom - I had to sit on a filthy kitchen floor, right underneath these two as we went for 3 or 4 takes, shoving a mic between them as they were making out…
The rest of the day went quickly - amazing how a 12 hour day on your feet can pass - and as they were setting up the ‘martini shot’ - the last shot of the day, I busied myself cleaning up, gathering equipment and hauling it up the stairs. There was a cute PA guarding the van with a huge bag of assorted candy, and the last minute sugar rush helped power me thought the exertion…
This is it - we’re over the hump, 2 more days and done…
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05.20.07
Posted in Film at 11:49 am by Fletcher
We reset the previous days location - with a huge exercise mat and shot a scene with our actors in karate gear whomping the shit out of each other. I was on the boom mic - and you could hear these two really hitting each other, especially when the actress would flip her sparring partner over her shoulder, he would land with such a thud, I thought, ‘hell - no need to replace THAT in post…’
We wrapped, lunched and set up in the habitat - I had a panicked moment envisioning the huge monster lights heating up so much and setting off the building’s sprinkler system, but Cisco and Capt. Ron assuaged those notions, they were more concerned with blowing out the buildings antiquated power grid.
Having 5 actors and roughly 10 crew, the habitat got jammed up fairly quickly - I gained new respect for submariners, having to live like this for months at a time. We set up 6 different lighting arrangements - amazing that you need that much light to make it look like nighttime, and got underway.
I was on the boom again, funny how tiring holding your hands over your head for extending periods can just wear you out. By the end of the day, my arms were shaking - if the black ops boys need any ideas for extreme rendition, make give people jobs as boom operators.
Luckily, the roomies weren’t too put off by having the habitat flooded with people and equipment, they milled about, mixing with the cast and crew quite readily. Capt. Ron and Gene say Joe’s laser cut art pieces and instantly were excited about creating custom-rigged camera parts - hopefully it’ll mean some business for Joe.
After many hours, many takes - we wrapped at 1 AM, piling the equipment in the main room, more shots are needed in daytime - on set call a mere 13 hours away… I had a quick ale with the roomies, and fell asleep exhausted, dreaming of being followed by cast and crew asking me a million and and a half questions…
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05.19.07
Posted in Film at 11:07 am by Fletcher
We had a late call, 3 PM. A simple set up - a few dolly shots. Luckily the building had a freight elevator which we availed ourselves of as we unloaded the van. I was pleased to see Capt. Ron, Gene and Francisco - all of whom I worked with on the Nantucket shoot, in addition to Ninjascott and Lydia - it felt like the band was together once again…
The big running joke was that our location was an office, used primarily for acting classes, and no matter how we dressed the set - it looked like we were making an adult film. No mater where you drifted about, you’d always catch a snippet of someone mocking a guitar solo, imitating a porn soundtrack…
Since we only had 2 actors on set, hair and makeup went quick and we were rolling, getting into the groove. There weren’t too many problems, with the exception of a light blowing out and the sound man, Dmitri who’s lav mics were so sensitive they were picking up the actors heartbeats. A true moment of joy for me was when we did a long shot, centered on my painting - it felt like the culmination of all of my creative endeavors, captured in one moment…
Our whole sequence of shots centered around an argument between the two actors, punctuated at the end by one of them hurling a vase against the wall. This last shot was reserved for Ninjascott, who pitched that sucker with such force that the entire crew recoiled from the shards that flew everywhere. I tried to capture the moment, but he was too quick:
Next time, I’ll get it.
Memo to self: Wear shoes with proper arch support!
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05.18.07
Posted in Film at 10:15 am by Fletcher
The Hammer called, asking if I would assist in some craft shopping for the shoot - being the able bodied and no agenda freelance that I am - I agreed. We met to pick up the rental vehicle - a new service called Zipcar, that I was thoroughly impressed with (more on that later) and headed to the monster Costco in Brooklyn, once again playing navigator.
When we got to the monstermart - I was blown away by my sheer consumer instinct reaction: a case of 200 light bulbs for $10? Gotta have it. A five gallon drum of pretzel sticks for $2.99 - get it! I didn’t have much time to get lost in the sheer bloody-mindedness of it - as we had cases of beverages to grab, tons of snack to procure and a car to return by 6 PM. We ended up filling the giant sized shopping cart - racking up $250 worth of goods as we checked out. Once we hit the parking lot and saw the time - we called Zipcar and with the press of a few buttons, were able to extend our reservation with no hassles, no cajoling and no bribing of some flunky on the end of the phone, just a pleasant recorded voice - thank you Zipcar.
We jammed back to Manhattan, running all of these goods up 2 flights of stairs and ran over to the rehearsal - it was a bit of a karmic bitch slap that it was held in the same building that I sofa surfed in for 8 months, when I broke up with the long term relationship. But, it is right around the corner from my current habitat - so no long trek to be on set. We arrived late - the actors busy with working out dialog, when it occurred to me, this is the same stuff that Heather and I worked on a month ago, and here it was - performed live…
I met with Dmitri, the sound guy, who quickly pressganged me into holding the boom, and Megan the wardrobe person. As rehearsal went on, people left one by one, as they were no longer needed, until it was the core, NinjaScott, The Hammer, Cisco and myself and we talked about set decorating the office we were in to make it look like a living room. I’m not sure how it came about - but we decided that some paintings would look perfect on the walls, so it looks like the Muse Painting is getting its motion picture debut…
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05.17.07
Posted in Art, Film at 10:11 am by Fletcher
The day started with tackling the backed up drain pipe, a task I had been putting off for various reasons, mostly because it meant being cramped into a tiny utility closet snaking with water lines, drainage pipes and electrical conduit - my favorite combination in a dark, small space…
I keep myself amused by imitating Scotty from Star Trek, adopting a brogue and saying shit like, “The energizer is bypassed like a Christmas tree, so don’t give me any bumps.”. Damn Scotty, bet he never had to snake a bolus of Nurse Chapel’s hair from a toilet main…
When I finished, I was sweating, shaking and probably a little brain damaged from organophosphate poisoning, the smell in there was horrible, a combination of the goop and chemicals sent to destroy said ooze… BUT - when Joe turned on the water full blast, and it drained like a champ - I’ve never been so happy to see the Coriolis effect in action…
I had finished lunch and was helping a friend set up a new website when it suddenly got very dark - I looked outside and you’d think Spielberg’s special effects guys were putting on a show. I don’t think I ever seen such an evil looking sky outside of a movie, I just had to grab a photo…
Ninjascott dropped by for some advertising work and to talk about the shoot, and no matter how much I tell people that I’m NOT a graphic artist, they still insist that I make logos, create ads and other marketing stuff. I really don’t have any feel for text placement, font choices - I simply go with gut-feelings, as in - that looks right. It was in that spirit that we took the ‘Duplex’ logo and made a full page advertisement for it - and despite my reservations - I think it turned out alright:
We rounded off the night when Lydia The Producer (AKA The Hammer) and Harriet the Assistant Director, came over to hash out the shot list and schedule. We talked over a few ales, figuring out the quickest easiest way of getting this done - it looks like Monday will be our big day, the most shots - and most likely the most tense.
As the shoot progresses, I’ll try and update as much as possible - and since I’ll have my point and shoot, photos will follow…
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05.15.07
Posted in Uncategorized, Art, Film at 4:54 pm by Fletcher
Waiting for the Photographer roomie to wrap up a meeting so I can get in the utility closet, wrench in hand and snake the drainpipe for the shower because its been backing up like a debutante being offered a job in hardcore porn…
Gotta love a clog so bad that Hot Shot (AKA sulphuric acid) won’t kill. At least I know it ain’t my hair clogging it up…
Oh well - updates:
Ninjascott got a play entered into the Midtown International Theater Festival and wants me to design some graphics for him, since I already did the logo… Details of said work can be found here. If you can go, I highly recommend it, as I saw a read-through of the first act back in my Volcano days, and the man is an epically funny writer. Plus you can do me a favor by proclaiming loudly, “Wow, those graphics are fantastic!” Help a brother out.
Secondly: My favorite part of painting, the Decay. Now that the basic colors are down, its time to weather it, flog it and stick it out in the rain, for that Beat Down by NYC look I love so much.
Its interesting, due to a recent and profound influence, I’m painting in a much more Impressionistic manner than I normally do…
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Posted in Uncategorized, Film at 7:33 am by Fletcher
Spiderman 3 review (IMAX style)
I don’t get how critics are trashing this as being too camp. Fer cryin’ out loud, its a comic book movie and its directed by Sam Raimi. What did you expect, Shakespearean dialog?
I have to admit, I completely geeked out to the whole IMAX experience - the huge screen, the monster sound and digital projection. It was a little pricier than a typical movie, but worth it. I guess for the price of admission they could cut out the advertisements prior to the film, but I do like a whole slew of trailers, but alas, they only had one.
The film fit right in with the series, and luckily even the minor characters are still the same actors - there’s nothing that’ll jerk me out of a story quicker than replacing a character with a different face (Matrix, anyone??) Bruce Campbell has a cameo that was worth the price of admission alone. I was a little taken aback by casting Thomas Haden Church and Topher Grace, but their roles were handled quite deftly and seeing Eddie Brock under the symbiote suit with the gnarly teeth was a nice treat.
Considering that they couldn’t do the whole ‘Beyonder’s World’ story arc to explain how Parker got the suit, the explanation seemed a bit rushed - they do cram a lot of exposition into the movie, but it also gave them a chance to tease us again with Curt Connors, AKA The Lizard, a villain I’m curious to see what they could do with.
Having been a fan of the comics, they do treat their characters with respect, Spidey was always the flawed hero - broke, unlucky and fumbling as Parker, but a cocky, mouthy SOB when he puts on the suit, and he’s not immune to hubris - which always seemed to make the character more human…
Still, its not high drama - its a popcorn film. Funny, good action and an all around summer blockbuster. My only hope is that they won’t end here - I think there’s enough good material that they can take ol’ Spidey for at least one more swing around the block.
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05.14.07
Posted in Art at 9:21 am by Fletcher
Fellow film buff and also unemployed cohort Wendy invited me to a New School screening of ‘Recycled Images and Non-Camera Filmmaking’ - several shorts comprised of ‘found footage’ and leader strips that had been scratched, colored or subjected to chemical processes.
These films were painstakingly produced with nothing more than a splicer, and hard work - tweaking individual frames by hand. Accompanied by music (and in one case, a live performance piece done entirely in feedback snarls and loops) seemingly random images could evoke an emotional response.
By far the most interesting piece was ‘Grandfather’ by Jimmy Kinder - it was a narrative constructed from colored frames and old World War 2 films - reminiscent of the old Movietone News Reels, about how his grandfather had endured a US attack on the Truk Islands, and how he was the same age as the author of this film. I suspect Mr. Kinder will be a name to watch for in the future.
In this day and age of instant digital perfection and virtually anything that can be imagined can be writ to film, its always a treat to see this kind of work - a reminder of humble beginnings and that true creativity doesn’t stem from how well a person can manipulate software…
The latest on the painting - the basic color groundwork is now finished, time to get deep with the decay and weathering…
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