Walk and Talk

I don't remember production meetings involving so much walking, and stairs and ladders. It started in a really nice conference rooms with high backed chairs and air conditioning. I was of the opinion that it should have remained there. It couldn't though. There were too many staircases in the film. We had to figure out which one would be staircase #1, etc. There were places that we had seen in the initial tour of the place that the director, Rick Greenwood, had not. I was taking the pictures while Jon and Rick talked. Thus, I was up and down staircases and ladders (yes, ladders). Then there was the tens of thousands of square feet that we had to cover for locations for the rave scene and the meth lab (it's a long story). According to my pedometer, we logged some miles without leaving the building. My pedometer doesn't really count stairs (not enough swing to the legs). I think we logged some miles vertically as well.

But that's not why I don't like production meetings. And I must amend that statement. I think I would enjoy a production meeting when we have a fat budget and thus the ability to hire all the people and rent all the equipment on a given wish list. Alas, this is not the case. So, all of those people in the credits at the end of a film have to be covered in some fashion. But what is the order of priority? Who will wear what hats? How many hats can we pile on any given noggin? The minutia is absolutely maddening but also very necessary. I had become accustomed to running shows that are so small, all of those positions just don't exist. Features are a different animal, and they require a great deal more support. I had forgotten that. Jon and the director thought an hour and a half would be enough and that included the walk through. Jon loves his minutia. He loves it a lot. And there were script teaks to discuss. He loves to discuss those as well. I'm all for a great conversation about writing, but they usually involve some sort of alcoholic beverage and remain theoretical. We needed to come to a swift accord and move on to the next bit of minutia. I must admit to ending the discussions abruptly at times.Still, we got a lot done.

Casting will begin next week. Rehearsals will begin by the end of the month. Jon and I will be videotaping everything for the behind the scenes footage. I'll be taking some photographs. Ralph will be taking a lot more. We'll post what we can.

It looks like this train is going! Stay tuned!