I've been putting off writing this entry because it's about our last shoot! Part of me can't believe we did it, we made it through rather successfully (knock on wood, let's pray Garrett hit "record" each and every time he yelled Action), but the more optimistic part of me totally believes it. We had an amazing cast and crew, professional and reliable, and above all, talented! What an awesome collaborative effort.
But let's get to how our last day of shooting started...
A few of us met at the Inn a couple hours earlier than the shoot, the plan being to go out on Ray, our innkeeper's boat. What I failed to realize, was that the boat is kept in Gloucester (a half-hour away), and would take way longer than two hours to get there, out and about, and back. Duh. So, we got sandwiches and hung on our deck for lunch, yet again.
I made a few trips to my house throughout the afternoon. Various things: Props (the bedspread and such), the forgotten water (I was a bad craft services provider for the day), print out the shot list for Garrett, etc. Then, Erika forgot her pink shoes (which was fine, we weren't shooting her feet), Garrett forgot he was nearly out of DV tape (luckily I had one at my house or I'd have made a second trip to Beverly). They were cutting tile in the backyard (you know how loud that is?). Theadora forgot an outfit (thanks to her mom for making a second trip to Ipswich!), you know... one of those days where ya think, "I should have just stayed in bed."
So, around 4pm, we finally got working. Blocked the "kitchen scene" which became the "dining room scene" because, well, the kitchen at the Inn's been gutted and moved out to the carriage house so hey, peanut butter orange muffins now being served in the dining room. No biggie.
Peanut butter orange muffins. A recipe does exist, folks. I'll have to post that for the curious of minds. I was inspired to use such muffins by a weekend I spent years ago at a B&B in Edgartown on the Vineyard. Our hostess made muffins with the oddest combinations, yet, they tasted really good. There are websites for muffin recipes that are geared towards B&Bs. Is this a B&B thing? Anyway. I went for authenticity and baked muffins the morning of the shoot. They weren't bad at all! They actually got devoured... between JT's character Scott wolfing them down (I realized Scott is either sleeping, napping, or snacking at all times - which I just love because he's really either tired from the night before or saving up his energy for the night ahead...), and Erika getting them stuffed into her mouth to shut her up for a moment (thanks for consuming those muffin chunks, Theadora, because I realized they would've gone down a lot easier with a cold glass of milk), and then Geoff (Sam) getting a hold of the plate...
Anyway, the muffins were the center of the scene, but didn't quite steal the scene. Erika makes a fabulous entrance with Sam in tow, and just jumps at Libby with her "Is this her? Nice hair. Fit!" without giving her a snippet of time to get a response in edge-wise. Very well done. Erika is the one in town everyone warns you not to tell things to, because she will broadcast it to everyone else. And in her case, she has the ability to do so.
We managed to get the shot done within a reasonable amount of time (miraculously, considering the state of mind we all seemed to be in, we blamed it on the full moon). Took a break, and moved on the next scene which was to take place in Libby's room at the Inn. We shot that in the apartment bedroom (above the living room we used for Scott's gang watching the book club). It was about a bazillion degrees up in that room so the AC went on in-between takes. We used the floral Laura Ashley bedspread (graciously donated by my boss, I will withhold her name for fear of anyone knowing she still actually used that bedspread in her second bedroom...) and coordinating hideous pink pillow (that I bought weeks ago, it symbolizes the pink foo foo taste of Dennis's ex-wife. A remnant of his past that he's still holding on to.) Erika as Libby got to hang out in her PJs, again, (we kept her comfy), and it was a nice quick scene with Marybeth, Dennis, and Scott. Marybeth plays the woman in town who immediately warms up to you but she's got a lot to hide. She's curious about Libby, but is warm and friendly, and not too in her face. Libby's more of the "leave me alone, please!" state of mind at this point. This scene also sets the tone of the show that the Inn is a place these folks tend to hang out in a lot. They're more comfortable there than their own home (perhaps for MB and Scott their home represents a place to try to make a baby, operative word being "try" and as we learn in this episode, not very successfully... a place they need a mental - and physical - break from every now and again).
Yeah, there's this whole "no one ever leaves" thing going on which seems so in line to living in a small town. I should know! Five years and counting.
The last scene of the day, of the show! is with Erika, Libby, and Sam. It's the late night interview scene "New Gal in Town." Makes you wonder how many there have been, and how many Erika has made leave... being competition and all. This is the scene where Silent Sam gets to scream like a girl, and boy does he shriek a good shriek!! He did a great job being Erika's cameraman, holding the camera and spotlight right at Libby. Geoff has the best facial expressions... perfectly cast!
And with that shriek, we wrapped shooting. The day turned out to go smoothly, everyone did a fine, fine job, and we are all very excited to see a cut of the show.
After shooting I took a bunch of digital stills of the gang, what a mighty fine looking group of actors. I am so lucky! They became my characters, so cool!! We celebrated with a dinner out together and with talk of what's next for all of us.
But that's another entry for another day.
For now, I am off to the Austin Film Festival to see how I can get from Point A (low-budget independently made sitcom now in editing) to Point B (I don't know, NBC Must See TV?), without selling my soul. I just watched the movie, The TV Set, which sort of breaks the fantasy-fabulousness of it all. I'm curious how much of that movie is true to life (I'm afraid it's all very close). It was a funny movie but man, a little disheartening!
So as far as as shooting is concerned, it's a wrap. But, really, it is (hopefully) just the beginning.
I'll be back with a report from Austin. My goal is to talk to Thomas Schlamme, best known for producing the West Wing, and see if I can glean a few words of wisdom (and get a business card in his hand with the show website that will soon have a clip on it!!!).
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Flour, Grass, and a Stethescope
It was a prop filled shoot at the Inn. The longest scene of the pilot was up. I think I was overly concerned about how long the scene would take to do so I'd blocked out the whole day. Of course Garrett kept telling me it wouldn't take that long, and sure enough, we wrapped by lunch time! It worked out perfectly as we were able to hang out on the deck at the Inn, have lunch as a group, and enjoy the warm sun of a late summer day.
We showed up at the Inn at 9am and guests were still having their breakfast. So, we hung out, drank coffee, got Carolyn and Christine set up to do make-up out in the not yet finished new dining room, then Garrett and I started rearranging the living room.
This scene had the most dialogue and the most sitcom-ish action of the pilot. JT and Chris (Scott and Dennis) had a great moment together where they hear that Libby's about to enter so in attempts to impress, Dennis throws his apron at Scott, throws on his stethescope, and they both haul in their guts. When Marybeth tells them to act more natural they do an exaggerated exhale (nice call, Debra). I've enjoyed watching Debra's skill in knowing when to ask the actors to punch it up in certain scenes, and in others to "throw the line away" which often becomes the most natural moments. In either case, it always works!
What I can't imagine doing is acting out the same scene over and over and trying to keep it about the same as the last take. Now that I've seen what happens behind the camera, I watch sitcoms with a scrutinizing eye and it amazes me how they get away with the lack of continuity (bodes well for us!). I guess there's a certain threshold, a point where they figure the audience won't notice - with our general lack of attention to detail... Like, I'm curious to see the mess of flour on Chris's apron move from take to take, should be comical, or maybe, as we hope, not that noticeable to the non-discerning eye. We just figure, as long as everything is fairly accurate and not too out of sync, we're fine. It'll give the audience a chance to feel smarter than we are.
The day took about half as long as I'd anticipated so with Susan joining us for lunch, she arrived with our sandwiches in tow. After lunch, I took a bunch of photos of Susan as the ghost with Libby on the couch in various poses. Publicity shots, really. It didn't take long to turn into a laugh-fest (you know. Susan as the ghost Jane reading "Dumped at the Corner of Love and Hate" and consoling that "poor, poor child" Libby) and a mini-history of my life because I went through some of the saved photos on my camera. It's been so great getting to know everyone but it's just as we're jelling as a group, it's just about over. (But that's okay, cast party is coming up, then our TBD Premiere Party, then the Emmy's... what else. :-)
We showed up at the Inn at 9am and guests were still having their breakfast. So, we hung out, drank coffee, got Carolyn and Christine set up to do make-up out in the not yet finished new dining room, then Garrett and I started rearranging the living room.
This scene had the most dialogue and the most sitcom-ish action of the pilot. JT and Chris (Scott and Dennis) had a great moment together where they hear that Libby's about to enter so in attempts to impress, Dennis throws his apron at Scott, throws on his stethescope, and they both haul in their guts. When Marybeth tells them to act more natural they do an exaggerated exhale (nice call, Debra). I've enjoyed watching Debra's skill in knowing when to ask the actors to punch it up in certain scenes, and in others to "throw the line away" which often becomes the most natural moments. In either case, it always works!
What I can't imagine doing is acting out the same scene over and over and trying to keep it about the same as the last take. Now that I've seen what happens behind the camera, I watch sitcoms with a scrutinizing eye and it amazes me how they get away with the lack of continuity (bodes well for us!). I guess there's a certain threshold, a point where they figure the audience won't notice - with our general lack of attention to detail... Like, I'm curious to see the mess of flour on Chris's apron move from take to take, should be comical, or maybe, as we hope, not that noticeable to the non-discerning eye. We just figure, as long as everything is fairly accurate and not too out of sync, we're fine. It'll give the audience a chance to feel smarter than we are.
The day took about half as long as I'd anticipated so with Susan joining us for lunch, she arrived with our sandwiches in tow. After lunch, I took a bunch of photos of Susan as the ghost with Libby on the couch in various poses. Publicity shots, really. It didn't take long to turn into a laugh-fest (you know. Susan as the ghost Jane reading "Dumped at the Corner of Love and Hate" and consoling that "poor, poor child" Libby) and a mini-history of my life because I went through some of the saved photos on my camera. It's been so great getting to know everyone but it's just as we're jelling as a group, it's just about over. (But that's okay, cast party is coming up, then our TBD Premiere Party, then the Emmy's... what else. :-)
Shake 'n Bounce
Get your pajamas on, it's time to shoot the bedroom scene with Scott and Marybeth. We shot in the Carriage House of the Inn which was perfect with a bed in front of a bookshelf stocked with an interesting variety of books (including, Dumped at the Corner of Love and Hate displayed in all too obvious a manner above Marybeth's pillow). With a tv glowing blue with the Ipswich local access posting of, I don't know, might as well have been lunch menus, we didn't have to move a thing.
For props I had brought, among other things, a magic eight ball only to find Maria
has some sort of affinity for them (who knew?) and brought her own. I made a logo for the "bought in bulk" box of pregnancy tests and we tucked that under a night stand. I only bought one test for Marybeth to unnecessarily shake and Scott (you're a doctor?) to get all "eiw" over. I didn't bother telling the young, male cashier at CVS that "it wasn't for me." "It's for a TV pilot we're shooting" would have been a great excuse and probably something they don't normally hear. Though, he was so engrossed in a conversation with the other cashier about some sort of rehearsal schedule that I was almost tempted. But I took my change and left quietly with the box in the not quite opaque white bag shoved into my purse.
Maria looked great in hot pink silk pajamas with a green camisole underneath. Scott in striped "sleeping pants" as he called them and a t-shirt. Needless to say, they looked like a fabulous and believable couple.
Garrett and Debra worked out the blocking relatively quickly and Garrett got shooting. We had to cut and tell Maria to bounce up and down on the bed more while she was shaking the digital thermometer (okay, so I'd written in a mercury thermometer but since those are like lethal if they break, we opted to go with a "why are you doing that?" kind of line. We joked about throwing in a PSA about mercury thermometers but that may have broken the flow of the scene. We had to have her bounce so then Scott could get all uptight about the (added in post-production) squeaky bed and how it'll ruin his concentration, and oh no, give the town more to talk about.
I have to say, this is probably my favorite scene of the pilot. As I've said Dennis is the heart of the show, this scene is the most heart-felt. In writing the pilot I felt like I had to remain quite surface level with the characters, introduce them, throw out a few glimpses at back story (Hello, Dennis and the lawn? the bedspread?), but the story of Scott and Marybeth trying to get pregnant, as much as it's exploited on Erika TV (i.e. local access) and talked about around town, it's still a serious, private matter which is what's explored. They're so bummed the test came back "better luck next time" and the way Garrett shot their resigned slump back into the pillow from above looked so cool!
The set became very relaxed very quickly. It was interesting to watch two actors, who don't know each other all that well, having to portray a natural closeness, and five crew members watching their every move. Nice work to JT and Maria.
And to Christine and her first experience slating. After just a couple soft claps that she felt the need to rate with two thumbs down :-), she was giving David a run for his money.
It was a good night. The comfort of the cast and crew working together was surfacing more and more. It made me feel reassured that the next shoot at the Inn would go very well.
For props I had brought, among other things, a magic eight ball only to find Maria
has some sort of affinity for them (who knew?) and brought her own. I made a logo for the "bought in bulk" box of pregnancy tests and we tucked that under a night stand. I only bought one test for Marybeth to unnecessarily shake and Scott (you're a doctor?) to get all "eiw" over. I didn't bother telling the young, male cashier at CVS that "it wasn't for me." "It's for a TV pilot we're shooting" would have been a great excuse and probably something they don't normally hear. Though, he was so engrossed in a conversation with the other cashier about some sort of rehearsal schedule that I was almost tempted. But I took my change and left quietly with the box in the not quite opaque white bag shoved into my purse.Maria looked great in hot pink silk pajamas with a green camisole underneath. Scott in striped "sleeping pants" as he called them and a t-shirt. Needless to say, they looked like a fabulous and believable couple.
Garrett and Debra worked out the blocking relatively quickly and Garrett got shooting. We had to cut and tell Maria to bounce up and down on the bed more while she was shaking the digital thermometer (okay, so I'd written in a mercury thermometer but since those are like lethal if they break, we opted to go with a "why are you doing that?" kind of line. We joked about throwing in a PSA about mercury thermometers but that may have broken the flow of the scene. We had to have her bounce so then Scott could get all uptight about the (added in post-production) squeaky bed and how it'll ruin his concentration, and oh no, give the town more to talk about.
I have to say, this is probably my favorite scene of the pilot. As I've said Dennis is the heart of the show, this scene is the most heart-felt. In writing the pilot I felt like I had to remain quite surface level with the characters, introduce them, throw out a few glimpses at back story (Hello, Dennis and the lawn? the bedspread?), but the story of Scott and Marybeth trying to get pregnant, as much as it's exploited on Erika TV (i.e. local access) and talked about around town, it's still a serious, private matter which is what's explored. They're so bummed the test came back "better luck next time" and the way Garrett shot their resigned slump back into the pillow from above looked so cool!
The set became very relaxed very quickly. It was interesting to watch two actors, who don't know each other all that well, having to portray a natural closeness, and five crew members watching their every move. Nice work to JT and Maria.
And to Christine and her first experience slating. After just a couple soft claps that she felt the need to rate with two thumbs down :-), she was giving David a run for his money.
It was a good night. The comfort of the cast and crew working together was surfacing more and more. It made me feel reassured that the next shoot at the Inn would go very well.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Coconut Cream Pie
Thank you Agawam Diner! Or, should I say, we did it!! Probably the most "out of our control" shoot on the schedule was the afternoon we needed to shoot at the classically chrome Agawam Diner in Rowley. About a month ago I stopped by to pitch the show and how we'd like to shoot a scene there and was told as long as we do it on a slow weekday afternoon, it was a go.
We of course showed up early to have lunch, club sandwiches, fries, and free refills of Diet Coke. We then eventually staked our claim on half of the diner as our "extras" showed up. Garrett's mom and brother, Morris from Film North, Nicole, David and myself who sat in a corner reading "Dumped at the Corner of Love and Hate." Hee hee. (I hope Garrett humored me and got me in the shot!!)
Once we got settled in and the diner grew quite quiet, we felt more comfortable being there and started talking up one of the waitresses, Ethel, who gave Leila as the waitress a few pointers. Ethel who "Elvis Costello made a video with" was awesome. The other waitresses enjoyed the free entertainment and we ate as much pie as possible.
Coconut cream. Lemon meringue. Oh yeah. Good stuff.
Mike Evers as our Slow Poke and our leading lady Erika as Libby came in, sat down, and did their thing. I couldn't watch since I was supposed to be reading my book but Debra and Garrett seemed psyched with the performances - why wouldn't they be? When it's said on the TV that Libby is single, we were all to look at her. I completely deadpanned it, thinking, why as a single girl should I give HER sympathy?
Or, that might just be justification for a crap acting job. Stick to the writing...
The only "oh no" moment we had was when this cute pair of elderly ladies who probably have been coming to the diner at 3pm sharp every Wednesday for the past 50 years, walked in and towards our area. We asked if they would sit on the other side and they shook their heads NO! Like, "this has been our lucky booth since time began, we're not budging!" But, it ended up that they thought we were shooting on the other side and didn't want to be in the scene. Whew. All good.
Afterwards, Garrett, Erika, and Mike took off to do the driving scene and it was done in a snap! Garrett said Mike drove obnoxiously slow which is sooo perfect for this area. I hope Libby did some road rage moves, well, that you can show on local access.
Our teaser is in the can! So is a big slice of coconut cream pie. As a friend of mine says, "A minute on the lips, years on the hips."
The shoot went smoothly so, hey, I'll take the extra pound.
We of course showed up early to have lunch, club sandwiches, fries, and free refills of Diet Coke. We then eventually staked our claim on half of the diner as our "extras" showed up. Garrett's mom and brother, Morris from Film North, Nicole, David and myself who sat in a corner reading "Dumped at the Corner of Love and Hate." Hee hee. (I hope Garrett humored me and got me in the shot!!)
Once we got settled in and the diner grew quite quiet, we felt more comfortable being there and started talking up one of the waitresses, Ethel, who gave Leila as the waitress a few pointers. Ethel who "Elvis Costello made a video with" was awesome. The other waitresses enjoyed the free entertainment and we ate as much pie as possible.
Coconut cream. Lemon meringue. Oh yeah. Good stuff.
Mike Evers as our Slow Poke and our leading lady Erika as Libby came in, sat down, and did their thing. I couldn't watch since I was supposed to be reading my book but Debra and Garrett seemed psyched with the performances - why wouldn't they be? When it's said on the TV that Libby is single, we were all to look at her. I completely deadpanned it, thinking, why as a single girl should I give HER sympathy?
Or, that might just be justification for a crap acting job. Stick to the writing...
The only "oh no" moment we had was when this cute pair of elderly ladies who probably have been coming to the diner at 3pm sharp every Wednesday for the past 50 years, walked in and towards our area. We asked if they would sit on the other side and they shook their heads NO! Like, "this has been our lucky booth since time began, we're not budging!" But, it ended up that they thought we were shooting on the other side and didn't want to be in the scene. Whew. All good.
Afterwards, Garrett, Erika, and Mike took off to do the driving scene and it was done in a snap! Garrett said Mike drove obnoxiously slow which is sooo perfect for this area. I hope Libby did some road rage moves, well, that you can show on local access.
Our teaser is in the can! So is a big slice of coconut cream pie. As a friend of mine says, "A minute on the lips, years on the hips."
The shoot went smoothly so, hey, I'll take the extra pound.
Boys Boys Boys
What a fun night of shooting! Granted, it was all the guys of the cast, but the vibe was strong from the get-go. We shot the scene in the apartment that is on the back of the Inn. The living room was pretty small and us who like to watch had to peer over each other's shoulders into the room that increased in temperature in about 5 degree increments.
Garrett got the room set up and we had some time to hang out in the kitchen while the sun set. It's great to be able to hang out with the cast, I feel like I'm slowly getting to know everyone since we're shooting this all broken up in scenes and the same groups of people have only really been together once or twice.
I was able to get some beer and soda pop from Mercury Brewing Company to place with the labels conveniently out for some shameless product placement. Of course, in return for the free advertising I asked to have beer donated to our cast party! I'm enjoying involving the community in this project and I love the nod to Ipswich with all the "Ipswich Ale" labels. I was instrumental in creating the half-full (and empty) bottles. :-)
Hiccup.
The guys took a little time getting comfortable with acting together, for the first time really, and the energy ramped up after a few takes. Walt Kosmolski as "Husband 1" was pretty freaking hilarious. I had to bite back many laughs every time I heard his comments about sports bras being "so unflattering." The way he ran his hand across his chest, oh man! I thoroughly enjoyed the ranting husband that Will Keary played. He's got the hot wife who always covers herself and she has the nerve to comment about his figure!! I loved the lines delivered by the guys when Will was all "I'm not fat!" - it was such a typical girlfriend moment, "Of course you're not. "You're fine."
Chips, anyone?
I ended up changing the bit of the script where Dennis and his son Henry are hanging out on the couch watching Libby on TV. Originally, we aren't supposed to see Henry's cute face, but a.) not knowing if we'll shoot more episodes and b.) Todd Daily's adorable face and energy convinced me that we should give him some deserved face time. We felt bad yelling upstairs, "Todd, you don't need make-up because we won't see you." Awww. So, he made it on. It was a lovely scene actually. Chris Doyle as the innkeeper, Dennis, made me realize he's the heart of the show. He has this caring, emotional way that stood out from the rest of the actors. He cared about the book they were "reviewing," and cared about Libby upstairs in his inn, and we'll learn with his wacky flavored muffins, he's the caretaker of the group of friends that the show revolves around. The character Dennis is a bit less sad and more heartfelt to me now.
And, the very last take of the night was Chris having to say "Excuse me?" over and over dropping from a falsetto womanly voice down into his normal voice. I had to leave the room or else all Garrett would pick up would be my laughter. Everyone lost it at that point, really. Ending on a high note (or I guess, a less-high note) really is a very good thing. It made lugging my TV and tables back into my house at 11pm a bit more worth it.
I do want to commend the guys on their wardrobe choices. I more or less left it up to the actors to dress as they thought their characters would. For this particular shoot I said it's a casual golf shirts and khakis kind of evening, not even thinking Scott (a "too right" for the part Jonathan Thomson) should be in something that makes him stand out a little, just as his wife Marybeth did. He looked perfect in his blue oxford and loose tie completed with country doctor Chuck Taylor high-tops. And Chris with his slightly loud but by no means obnoxious shirt was great too. I now need to find him a not-too-loud apron...
Quote of the night: "Just don't dye your hair." I'll keep the story behind that one for the DVD extras. That and, "Can you say 'friggin' on local access cable?"
p.s. I had too crazy a day to remember to charge my camera battery so as soon as I get stills from Mike Evers who shot an evening's worth of behind-the-scenes footage, I'll get them on the site.
Garrett got the room set up and we had some time to hang out in the kitchen while the sun set. It's great to be able to hang out with the cast, I feel like I'm slowly getting to know everyone since we're shooting this all broken up in scenes and the same groups of people have only really been together once or twice.
I was able to get some beer and soda pop from Mercury Brewing Company to place with the labels conveniently out for some shameless product placement. Of course, in return for the free advertising I asked to have beer donated to our cast party! I'm enjoying involving the community in this project and I love the nod to Ipswich with all the "Ipswich Ale" labels. I was instrumental in creating the half-full (and empty) bottles. :-)
Hiccup.
The guys took a little time getting comfortable with acting together, for the first time really, and the energy ramped up after a few takes. Walt Kosmolski as "Husband 1" was pretty freaking hilarious. I had to bite back many laughs every time I heard his comments about sports bras being "so unflattering." The way he ran his hand across his chest, oh man! I thoroughly enjoyed the ranting husband that Will Keary played. He's got the hot wife who always covers herself and she has the nerve to comment about his figure!! I loved the lines delivered by the guys when Will was all "I'm not fat!" - it was such a typical girlfriend moment, "Of course you're not. "You're fine."
Chips, anyone?
I ended up changing the bit of the script where Dennis and his son Henry are hanging out on the couch watching Libby on TV. Originally, we aren't supposed to see Henry's cute face, but a.) not knowing if we'll shoot more episodes and b.) Todd Daily's adorable face and energy convinced me that we should give him some deserved face time. We felt bad yelling upstairs, "Todd, you don't need make-up because we won't see you." Awww. So, he made it on. It was a lovely scene actually. Chris Doyle as the innkeeper, Dennis, made me realize he's the heart of the show. He has this caring, emotional way that stood out from the rest of the actors. He cared about the book they were "reviewing," and cared about Libby upstairs in his inn, and we'll learn with his wacky flavored muffins, he's the caretaker of the group of friends that the show revolves around. The character Dennis is a bit less sad and more heartfelt to me now.
And, the very last take of the night was Chris having to say "Excuse me?" over and over dropping from a falsetto womanly voice down into his normal voice. I had to leave the room or else all Garrett would pick up would be my laughter. Everyone lost it at that point, really. Ending on a high note (or I guess, a less-high note) really is a very good thing. It made lugging my TV and tables back into my house at 11pm a bit more worth it.
I do want to commend the guys on their wardrobe choices. I more or less left it up to the actors to dress as they thought their characters would. For this particular shoot I said it's a casual golf shirts and khakis kind of evening, not even thinking Scott (a "too right" for the part Jonathan Thomson) should be in something that makes him stand out a little, just as his wife Marybeth did. He looked perfect in his blue oxford and loose tie completed with country doctor Chuck Taylor high-tops. And Chris with his slightly loud but by no means obnoxious shirt was great too. I now need to find him a not-too-loud apron...
Quote of the night: "Just don't dye your hair." I'll keep the story behind that one for the DVD extras. That and, "Can you say 'friggin' on local access cable?"
p.s. I had too crazy a day to remember to charge my camera battery so as soon as I get stills from Mike Evers who shot an evening's worth of behind-the-scenes footage, I'll get them on the site.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
A Sunday Spent at Erika's Studio
We had an efficient two-hour shoot today at my good friend Heather Johnstone's house in Ipswich (of course). She has a very pretty bungalow with a living room that worked perfectly for Erika's living room / studio. The call was for Geoff and Theadora along with their dazzling smiles, a few cue cards, an ovulation chart (which will probably float around in trunk of my car for the next few weeks until someone sees it and I have to explain myself), and a well-worn North Shore map with a bright red line that's to show Libby's route into town.
"Do I have the hots for Erika?" "No, just Marybeth." It was once again time for Silent Sam to shine.
David couldn't make it to the shoot so I got to do the slating and clapping (very exciting - I really think David and I should have a clap-off). The actors did a nice job with their quick lines, except when Garrett wagged his bum and made Erika break out in laughter (outtakes). I loved the way Erika jumped off her chair and put her face in the camera to announce Libby's arrival to town and the bigger news of her being single. She ate that news up like it was a handful of Margaret's chocolate chip cookies.
I can't describe how it feels to see my written work come to life. I mean, it's all out of order and in snips and snaps, dribs and drabs, but the anticipation of seeing the final product grows more and more every day. (No pressure, Garrett.)
And then I go spell "broccoli" wrong on the one of the lunch cue cards. I'll be sure to point it out to you in the DVD commentary. How embarrassing. I seriously had a difficult time writing words on poster board. I probably messed up five pieces of board before getting it right. With a thick permanent black magic marker in hand (no delete key, no spell check, obviously), I'd start out the first word "Tuesday" and write "TUED..." Agh!! BROCCILI. Who the heck spells it like that? I could have written BROCOLLI. Thank goodness words like "vacuum" or "accommodate" didn't need to be written out.
Another classic moment was being asked how I met Heather.
Response: Book Club.
Nah, it's not autobiographical at ALL.
Heather was so kind to let us use her living room as a location. She also took the photos of the day. She has great hopes that her chair will some day be famous.
The most genuine moment of the day which I'm sure will the take that is used is when Sam unfolds the map that shows Libby's route. It's backwards, then upside down, Erika all the while egging him on and trying to tell him to fix it. Well, the last take just kept going and going. Wait, it's upside down again. And backwards. Now just backwards. If we kept it all in it would take up half the show. But it was funny and cute and, best of all, real.
"Do I have the hots for Erika?" "No, just Marybeth." It was once again time for Silent Sam to shine.
David couldn't make it to the shoot so I got to do the slating and clapping (very exciting - I really think David and I should have a clap-off). The actors did a nice job with their quick lines, except when Garrett wagged his bum and made Erika break out in laughter (outtakes). I loved the way Erika jumped off her chair and put her face in the camera to announce Libby's arrival to town and the bigger news of her being single. She ate that news up like it was a handful of Margaret's chocolate chip cookies.
I can't describe how it feels to see my written work come to life. I mean, it's all out of order and in snips and snaps, dribs and drabs, but the anticipation of seeing the final product grows more and more every day. (No pressure, Garrett.)
And then I go spell "broccoli" wrong on the one of the lunch cue cards. I'll be sure to point it out to you in the DVD commentary. How embarrassing. I seriously had a difficult time writing words on poster board. I probably messed up five pieces of board before getting it right. With a thick permanent black magic marker in hand (no delete key, no spell check, obviously), I'd start out the first word "Tuesday" and write "TUED..." Agh!! BROCCILI. Who the heck spells it like that? I could have written BROCOLLI. Thank goodness words like "vacuum" or "accommodate" didn't need to be written out.
Another classic moment was being asked how I met Heather.
Response: Book Club.
Nah, it's not autobiographical at ALL.
Heather was so kind to let us use her living room as a location. She also took the photos of the day. She has great hopes that her chair will some day be famous.
The most genuine moment of the day which I'm sure will the take that is used is when Sam unfolds the map that shows Libby's route. It's backwards, then upside down, Erika all the while egging him on and trying to tell him to fix it. Well, the last take just kept going and going. Wait, it's upside down again. And backwards. Now just backwards. If we kept it all in it would take up half the show. But it was funny and cute and, best of all, real.
Ladies Night at the Ipswich Inn
Upon arriving at the Ipswich Inn on Wednesday, August 22 around 5pm, none of us expected there to be no power in the house! Has a TV show ever been made by candlelight? Always first. The power was restored slowly room by room, luckily the living room being one of the first. It was the setting of the Book Club scene, with Erika at the helm and three garden clogged "housewives" and a hot Marybeth, or shall we say "Marybreasts," at her side. (Funny how a fumbled word "accidentally" slips out and is never, ever forgotten).
Christine and Carolyn started the make-up by the natural light through the windows and thank goodness by the time the sun started to set, eventually had lights in the dining room turned make-up central. We decided to shoot Janine's scene first since it was a brief scene with "Erika's Mom" on a phone. We crammed about ten people into a bedroom on the third floor (The Ipswich Chronicle's reporter and photographer, me, David and his loud clapping hands, Walt/Husband 1 who stopped by to check the production out, Garrett of course, Janine of course, and, that was enough. Only 7. Felt like at least 10. Maybe it was David's brilliant clapping.)
By the time we got back downstairs the lights were 95% restored (except for the bathroom) and just about everyone had arrived and was going through the make up assembly line. Leila Girard, Emily Kulik, and Diane Henderson were all wearing their sport bras and stretchy pants, and heinous fake Crocs while Maria Mogavero as Marybeth had on a fabulous short skirt, low cut shirt, and high heels. Splendid.
Garrett got the ladies settled on the couch and started shooting. There really wasn't much room to stand behind him or off to the sides so there was lots of back and forth between watching, grabbing a sandwich, telling the even-at-a-whisper-his-voice-boomed guest with the name of a famous Mike Myers Saturday Night Live skit character to be quiet, then being hushed myself a few times (sorry!), telling the guest to keep his voice down a few more times (does "quiet on the set" mean nothing to you??) all while apologizing profusely to the innkeeper Ray (who is so awesome by the way, let's see if he lets us back into this Inn a few more times...).
We got through the ladies scene, into Silent Sam's shots behind the camera (what comic relief Geoff brought to the group!), and a few more shots of the ladies from Sam's POV, then it was a wrap at about 10:45pm. I am so impressed with Garrett's organization and management of the scenes. He so knows what he's doing (why wouldn't he?), the angles he needs to shoot and reshoot, he's so level-headed, I feel so lucky to have him on board. Equally as talented in working with the actors is Debra who is amazing at keeping the energy levels high, keeping the subtext flowing, and really making the actors deliver lines like they're their own. While getting ready and running lines she had them sing them like an opera which was totally hysterical. The utter catttiness of the "The doctor's got the night off?" "How's that diet you're on" exchange sung like, I don't know, La Boheme.
Classic.
We are so lucky to have the Inn as a location. It really is a perfect place. We got to shoot in the living room, get ready and hang out in the dining room (except it'll be interesting to see who pops up in the mirror that reflected back into the living room...), kept all the food in the kitchen (mmm. Margaret's cookies), and yeah, it just worked so well. Thank you Ray. We'll be back. :-)
Christine and Carolyn started the make-up by the natural light through the windows and thank goodness by the time the sun started to set, eventually had lights in the dining room turned make-up central. We decided to shoot Janine's scene first since it was a brief scene with "Erika's Mom" on a phone. We crammed about ten people into a bedroom on the third floor (The Ipswich Chronicle's reporter and photographer, me, David and his loud clapping hands, Walt/Husband 1 who stopped by to check the production out, Garrett of course, Janine of course, and, that was enough. Only 7. Felt like at least 10. Maybe it was David's brilliant clapping.)
By the time we got back downstairs the lights were 95% restored (except for the bathroom) and just about everyone had arrived and was going through the make up assembly line. Leila Girard, Emily Kulik, and Diane Henderson were all wearing their sport bras and stretchy pants, and heinous fake Crocs while Maria Mogavero as Marybeth had on a fabulous short skirt, low cut shirt, and high heels. Splendid.
Garrett got the ladies settled on the couch and started shooting. There really wasn't much room to stand behind him or off to the sides so there was lots of back and forth between watching, grabbing a sandwich, telling the even-at-a-whisper-his-voice-boomed guest with the name of a famous Mike Myers Saturday Night Live skit character to be quiet, then being hushed myself a few times (sorry!), telling the guest to keep his voice down a few more times (does "quiet on the set" mean nothing to you??) all while apologizing profusely to the innkeeper Ray (who is so awesome by the way, let's see if he lets us back into this Inn a few more times...).
We got through the ladies scene, into Silent Sam's shots behind the camera (what comic relief Geoff brought to the group!), and a few more shots of the ladies from Sam's POV, then it was a wrap at about 10:45pm. I am so impressed with Garrett's organization and management of the scenes. He so knows what he's doing (why wouldn't he?), the angles he needs to shoot and reshoot, he's so level-headed, I feel so lucky to have him on board. Equally as talented in working with the actors is Debra who is amazing at keeping the energy levels high, keeping the subtext flowing, and really making the actors deliver lines like they're their own. While getting ready and running lines she had them sing them like an opera which was totally hysterical. The utter catttiness of the "The doctor's got the night off?" "How's that diet you're on" exchange sung like, I don't know, La Boheme.
Classic.
We are so lucky to have the Inn as a location. It really is a perfect place. We got to shoot in the living room, get ready and hang out in the dining room (except it'll be interesting to see who pops up in the mirror that reflected back into the living room...), kept all the food in the kitchen (mmm. Margaret's cookies), and yeah, it just worked so well. Thank you Ray. We'll be back. :-)
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