Dropkick Me Kenny Through the Goalposts of Strife

I'm completely drained from Sunday. I really tried to push the material as well as Mike and myself. At the end of the (long) day, I think it was worth it, but it was a rough ride. Our actors were patient, George and Ken, and Yara was as sporting as her outfit in being kept late. James came out and didn't even get his scene shot since we were behind. We appreciate his understanding about that.

Mike really made a big difference, since he basically provided permission to go with some of the more kooky ideas that I might have written off otherwise. He really seemed to pick up on that at our lowest point. That is why he is there. Also because he mans the rifle when Patrick is not present, all Werner Herzog-style.

Some of you have heard me talk about this, but you really end up writing a movie three times. Once when you create the script, again when you film it, and finally in editing, which is the version that actually goes out to the audience. The shooting is the most stressful portion, that's when the money is flowing, the people are all there and you don't have a lot of time. There are so many moving parts and people don't show up, bulbs burn out, car doors lock automatically...

During writing and editing, you have the time to figure out what you want to do. On the shoot, it's all happening at that moment. That's really the challenge of filmmaking (sure it's not possible without all the other stuff, the planning yadda yadda), because what you envisioned in the script is taking new form in the reality in front of you. Actors play the part differently than in your imagination, the sets take on a unique look, unexpected events happen. You have to respond to it all and shape it, grabbing the bits that work, pointing people in new directions, keeping everything within the context of the film as a whole. It's also six times harder if it's comedy. If you can react to it well, you can find what works and really capture something interesting.

That process happens on all the shoot days, but Sunday we were looking at new directions for material and doing so amidst the usual insanity adds to the burden. Sure, a director can have a vision, and find the right actors and push their performances in the desired direction and have all the control in the world, but the movie takes a new life. What's more, no matter how pure the initial vision, people add things to the movie that you simply can't imagine. It's unexpected bits that often transform a movie into something really special, if handled properly by director, editor and the et ceteras in the credits.

You can't tell exactly what that is on set though, editing reveals it. Just like with shooting, as you start to put footage together, it begins to take a new form, and what feels like the best take on set can seem totally out of place when compared to the rest of the material. All of this is for the best, in a sense it is just a continuation of the editing of the script, refined throughout the production until the final print.

For instance, we did a scene a completely different way simply because the lockbox we had only fit in the largest suitcase we collected. I knew we would be using the lockbox but never actually knew how large it was. But we took that and responded to it and made some choices. Just like we pulled the switcheroo on George and moved his scene to a new location. You can have a high degree of confidence in what you shot, but like I said you never really know until you go to edit. We'll be reviewing the footage and seeing how it sits, but that's why you shoot multiple takes. Sometimes a line gets flubbed or a light gets bumped, but you also just need choices in the editing room. It's easy to get a few laughs, it's another thing to maintain the tone throughout the movie.

I of course exacerbated the stress of shooting by forgetting like five different things we needed that day. A lame mistake that threw off the schedule quite a bit since we had to retrieve them. We recovered okay, but didn't make the progress we should have. We'll be holding some extra meetings this week to make sure we get back on track and sort out these logistical issues.

Oh yeah, one more thing for the colossal post:
We made our first appearance in the press!

Kelly shared with us an article from the Puget Sound Business Journal about the growth of filmmaking in Washington that mentioned our production by name. Pretty cool since this happened completely without my knowledge.