Wow.
Started out around noon yesterday and got home around midnight, did a few things around the house with Thomas Berrios for todays shoot and retired to bed after 1:00 am and had to open the coffee house at 7:00 am.
We filmed multiple exterior apartment shots, interior stairway shots, and a downtown Asheville scene. I am very happy with the footage we captured. Jordan, the lead, did an exceptional job: great facial expressions, movement, and presence.
Beforehand, Thomas and I walked around downtown Asheville attempting to capture a few random people shots. I was surprised that in such a ''creative'' and "artsy" area, that so many individuals refused to help out. Basically, we said, just screw them. Thomas made arrangements with a friend to meet next Tuesday to get what we need, no thanks to the general population on Franklin Street.
We did, however, enjoy superb pizza at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company. God, I ate so much pizza and cheese that I thought I'd die. I think Thomas thought I was on the verge of crossing over, too.
We were sipping iced lattes like distinguished gentlemen at Starbucks on Charlotte street when I realized that I had forgotten to purchase a small bucket for ice that was to be used in one of the scenes later on in the afternoon. This sent us scurrying around town in search of a pail or a bucket or anything with a handle that might potentially hold ice.
We secured a kids pail.
The previous 2 nights, I worked late in the night on the "fake apartment" set. I hooked up exterior lighting, fought man-eating mosquitoes, hammered nails and sawed wood in the shadows cast by the lights, which at best, the acts of hammering and sawing in the shadows of night, are acts of torture to the fingers of my left hand.
Fortunately, all fingers escaped unscathed and intact.
The "fake apartment" is looking well, I must say. I might post a few photos of it. The neighbor girls walked over, 5-minutes apart, asking if I was building a playhouse for "little guy." I guess the first girl didn't quite understand what I meant by "prop" and "independent film." And when I said I'd be tearing it down next week, she looked puzzled and ran off to summon reinforcement.
I've been planning and meeting with actors, building sets, spending what little money I have, and just generally running around in overdrive for days now and just when I feel I need a day to crash back down to Earth for a little R&R, an extremely aggressive shooting schedule stares me in the face.
Today we will shoot at least 10-12 hours, Saturday, 16-18 hours, Sunday, 16-18 hours, Monday, 12 hours, and Tuesday is still up in the air.
If I didn't have to worry about opening the coffee house, it would be a tad easier. But as they say in Isoltania - you do what you have to do. And one thing about it, even though there are always bumps and jolts, daggers to the heart, and figurative titty-twisters, we all come through it thinking it was the greatest time ever in the history of mankind.
That's what I just love and adore about indie filmmaking. It ain't work - it's a freaking blast.
And to hell with anyone who says differently. And a big "to hell" to anyone who regards it as a mere hobby. It's hard, arduous work, and hard, arduous work generally pays dividends in the end. It's all about perseverance and constantly moving toward your dreams and not away from them.
It's all about not sitting on your ass and expecting others to hand you a life on a silver platter. It's taking charge, taking action, and taking risks. For every supposed failure, there's a lesson, and in every lesson there is positive energy and positive energy produces postive results.
Amen.
