somedaybitch | (no subject)

did the production design for a 5 minute homage to Charlie Chaplin. that shot Feb 23, 24 and 25th. we shot HD in black and white. that was a good time, and my first working with digital. the cinematographer from that, heretofor known as the DP, then got a call from a stand up comedian going thru a pilot film program at UCLA, asking him to dp her short film. he told her he'd do it if i did it. [i was chuffed. he told her that he and i were a package deal. :::heartshim:::] i told her "you had me at Dan Hertzog." that shot March 17 and 18th. i got the call for that about a week after the Chaplin short. i've never prepped a project that fast before, but holy cow it looked wicked cool. it's quite possibly my best, most cohesive work to date - solely because the director found me a KICK ASS art director and some decent crew - and when i get pics i'll post.

so, then, the 19th, we were wrapping up returns and doing a paint restore at the director's house - where we shot - and i got a phone call from the props guy from the Chaplin short. he had worked on it because i had no crew and the guy's a friend of one of the producers. he's a professional props/set dresser and currently working on a pilot, filming for Touchstone Television at Paramount. because it's pilot season, and everyone's prepping extra material for the strike that they expect to hit when contracts expire next year, the local IATSE shop had no additional crew available to book. it's called "being in permits" - in that, productions are 'permitted' to seek non-union help. that's me, non-union. so Justin calls me and says, "hey. when your phone rings, answer it. we need crew on this pilot." he gave a rushed explanation of why, none of which i could either hear, or understand, and then finally called back an hour later asking me what i was doing at 6am the next [tuesday] morning.

that was my very first "professional" work day. if i acrue 30, then i can join Local 44, the set dresser's union. if'n i want.

6 am the next day - two days ago - and i'm walking across the street into the Paramount lot to work a professional job on a tv pilot. it was fairly surreal. i even got paid. don't know how much yet, but still with the groovy.

amusingly, it was a cop pilot - [horrifyingly bad, but we won't go into that]. the leadman and head set dresser were beside themselves with glee, and stashed me behind a computer making "authentic" cop shop stuff for the sets. later in the day, after it had gone to shit nine ways from sunday, they tag team begged me to come back the next day. stupidly - i mean, really, how can you turn down two men begging at your feet? *especially* when one's a Brit transplant, Doctor Who fan boy, and close friend of Chris Eccleston? i was doomed - i said yes. did i mention that that was yesterday, and yesterday was my monday, and i worked graveyard last night? yeahhhhh. so, very tired today.

on my way to work from, well, work, the leadman called and asked me to email my schedule to him so he could call me again to work on his other projects when i'm back from Montana. oh did i forget to mention Montana? yeahhhh, 'nuther short film i'm designing. we're shooting on the sets of Redford's film "A River Runs Through It", in the first week of April in Bozeman.

in the middle of all of that, the costume designer of the gang short film i designed for last halloween, called me and asked if i could work her film. i laughed; thought about it for a billionth of a second, and then laughed some more. i told her i'd visual consult to help her rookie production designer, but i didn't have the time. also, all this time, my mentor from Toronto has been trying to get me to say yes to help him, possible even co-design, an independent horror film. it's paying, and not paying that bad for an indie. the dates are iffy right now, and if they stay the same i won't have a problem saying no on accounta i just don't have the time. if they push though, which is quite possible because of funding, then i might do it. maybe. all that other stuff? those are all free, wedged in between my so very much more than 40hr a week "day" job. fun, but exhausting. it's quite possible i'm insane.

man, i'm tired again just writing that.