somedaybitch | home again, home again, jiggedy-jig

got in around 4 am this morning and it was GLORIOUS to sleep in my own bed, shower with my own soap and drive my own car. *sighs*

here's some initial photos - 35mm film with the roomie's camera - until i get copies of everyone else's digitals, and the shots i took on their cameras.

none of these photos can be used without both my, and the director's, express written permission.

that's Adam Cohen, the cinematographer, facing the camera in the foreground. in the backround is the grip truck, full of the grip - stuff that the lights go on - and electric equipment. the two crews are collectively referred to as "g and e".

exterior of the main character's "house", to the left of where Adam is standing in the previous pic. there's about 2 FEET of snow on the ground. it snowed off and on 3 or 4 more times that day, dumping about another 2 FEET of snow. that was fun to shoot in. /sarcasm

the pretty amazing thing about the weather in terms of the film was that we essentially shot in all four seasons, over 6 days, which authentically gives the story a genuine passage of time.

shot in the historic Storey Mansion near the campus of MSU - Bozeman.

that's Tommy Rose, A camera's first asst cameraman. funny, funny dude. he's sitting on the dolly, which is a piece of equipment, with wheels, that the camera mounts on which allows for a smooth 360 motion of the camera. it can run on just the wheels or on track; the camera can "boom" up or down, and it can get extended range of motion when a jib arm is added. the jib arm lets the camera go almost all the way to the ground, and rise about 7 or 8 feet above the ground. anything higher requires a crane...which we had. boy, was that groovy.

the lead actor, Steve, as his character "Warren" walking behind the orphanage where the story takes place.

Bobby Woo, key grip, there on the left. Bobby was the cinematographer on the gang film i did the design for back in late October, and he's how i got this job, by meeting all these guys on his senior film. i'd do just about anything for Bobby. he rocks my world. how can you not love a guy who blushes when he talks about his girlfriend, and introduces his mom? to Bobby's right is "video village", the hook up from the cameras to the video monitors so the director, et al can see what the camera is filming. the two sound guys and the script supervisor are standing around it.

that's Nikki, sitting behind the desk facing the camera, our lead actress, in her "office" at the orphanage where she's head nurse. the furniture was all rented from a local antiques dealer in Bozeman and is period to the mid to late 1930's. the wallpaper is original to the house, which was built at the turn of the 20th century. the drapes are not original, but are vintage, and came with the house.

another view of the office, with the lead actor.

Ryan Close, the director, backlit by the 10k light set up just outside the window, to simulate day light. we shot that particular scene at night.

Ryan facing the camera for once. he got nicknamed "Rusty", for *always* having food in his hands. i got nicknamed "Walker", because of the cowboy hat i was wearing, and the "outlaw" coat borrowed from the roomie. that coat? warm, like whoa. in the edge of the frame is Dave, the second unit director.

two of the vintage cars whose use was generously donated by a car club in Billings.

and here's the third. from left to right are Steve the Actor, Ryan and his mom, then Kate Ryan, the behind the scenes videographer, and the red haired kid is Garrett Davis - nicknamed "Irish" - the locations manager, 2nd 2nd asst director, and all around Production Bitch. Garrett and Ryan grew up together in Billings.

another shot of Adam, along with the gaffer [head lighting guy], Vong Chea, and Nick, aka "Serpico", the boom operator. Vong was the director of that gang movie.

Brett Alexander, in costume as "Ronnie" - the boy that the main character wants to adopt - hamming it up for the still cam. Brett's nickname was "Rug Rat".

Steve Nelson, first asst director, nicknamed "Poo Bear" for those stylish, stylish earmuffs and beanie. he wanted to change his nick to "Poo Bear and his Beard'O'Power" but we nixed it.

Simon England, A camera operator, and 2nd asst camera, Will Who Looks Like A Tree. he wore some sort of heavy duty hunting overalls thing, with a dense wooded pattern, and we actually have some gag footage of Will in the frame, with someone yelling at him that he's in the frame and to freeze, at which time he makes like a tree and freezes.

i love how these chairs are lit. Adam made my set so stunning.

that's Poo Bear again, Kate Ryan, nicknamed "EPK", and Chiaki Yaginamoto, 2nd asst director, nicknamed "Sushi".

here's a better shot of Garrett, on the last day of filming. note the green grass in the backround. all the snow had finally melted, and the sun came out later, which was a good thing because we had the crane out for our "Gladiator" shot of the tall wheat grass, and then at the river, at sunset, with Warren teaching Ronnie how to fish. sadly, i took those pics on Tommy's camera, so i'll share as soon as i get them.

Eric Capella, the sound mixer, trying to stay warm. boy, was he happy when production finally set up the torpedo heater. mmmmmmmm, heater.

Tommy, pulling focus - measuring the distance from the camera lens to the actor, to determine the depth of field for the given lens being used. if the focus puller screws the pooch, there's no shot. it's one of the most crucial but unsung crew positions. Tommy's doing it because Will is off doing about 6 billion other things right that second.

watching a scene being shot at video village.

Adam horsing around with Belinda Carreno, the costume designer.

Tyson Vick, promoted-to-Art-Director and props guy extraordinaire. Tyson's a Bozeman local and Ryan found him on myspace. dude was the find of the century.

Chris Walters, best boy electric, hamming for my camera.

Dustin From Texas, B camera first asst camera. we spent a lot of time running both cameras at the same time, for the same shots - instead of 2nd unit filming somewhere else, which is typically what's done - it allowed us to get more "coverage" of scenes without burning the time normally required for a change of camera set ups.

Harry Souders, one of the grips, blowing me a kiss. awwwwwwwwwwww. and that's Kamel Allaway in the hoodie, production coordinator and the other Production Bitch.

G and E, making the lighting happen. that particular set up was the craziest thing ever. they rigged something like 5 c-stands, all holding flags and lights, in order to bounce the light down the stairwell and onto a wall, all to emulate a sconce we didn't have, cuz Adam and i thought a sconce would look cool on that wall. the boys were so proud of their work, it was adorable.

Collin Cates, B camera operator, and the backside of Bobby Woo.

Brett and his suitcase - standing by for "picture" - on the road where his "mom" drops him off at the orphanage because she's not good at that mothering thing. that scene made me cry when they shot it. twice. Cassie, the actress, is only in that one sequence in the film, but it's crucial to the tonality of the entire movie, and she nailed it in one.

so that's all for now. when i get some of the others, i'll post them.