The Film Shoot

Let's just recap for a moment. We've been finished with principal photography for nearly two weeks now. The film's in the can, being processed, and soon to be transfered as a file to our editor. However, I've yet to disclose much information about the production itself. Therefore, I thought it'd be beneficial to write a lengthy blog about the trials and tribulations of the film shoot. Then I thought to myself, this is a film. A visual medium. If you wanted to read lengthy descriptions and paragraphs of my thoughts, a book would be much more appropriate. But it's not a book.

Instead, I wanted to show you several pictures from the set. Both on set and off, because the bulk of the fun was when the camera wasn't rolling. I'm incredibly lucky to have been a part of such a fun and professional team. So, without further ado...

Screen Shot 1: We had this shot where we film Etienne (Lukas Delcourt) from behind a bookshelf as he plays with his toys. At one point, the action figure wasn't tall enough so I had to call for a "mini apple box" to give him a few centimeters.

Screen shot 2: Etienne, always the couch potato, was shot yet again watching television. Our camera operator, Raphe Wolfgang, frames the shot diligently.

Screen Shot 3: Before we shoot our actors, I needed to peer through the viewfinder to frame the shot as I envisioned. Fortunately, the Director of Photography (Jorge Urbina) and I share a very mutual vision.

Screen Shot 4: With any shoot, there's always bonding during lunch. The cast and crew take a load off on our living room set. Note how everybody's seated exactly the same (with their legs crossed). That's what happens when we're working together for hours on end.

Screen Shot 5: One of our super PAs/Art Assistants (Stephanie Coogan), stands in for one of our actors. Don't let her innocent smile fool you. She's actually a phenomenal producer.

Screen Shot 6: One of my favorite shots. Our actors, Isabelle Giroux and Lukas Delcourt, film a scene of intimacy. Incidentally, they both became very close friends throughout the filming process.

Screen Shot 7: One of our Second ACs, Eric Patton, inserts the slate before we shoot one of the film's beginning scenes. Our Gaffer (Brian Carroll) did an amazing job lighting the set.

Screen Shot 8: Our Amorette, played by Isabelle Giroux, gets into character as we prepare for a very emotional scene. Not only is she our leading lady, she's also our narrator.

Screen Shot 9: Check out a great photograph of our Production Designer (Gilberto Vega) and his beautiful restaurant. The ambience was perfect for this particular scene.

Screen Shot 10: Our Script Supervisor, Maura Concannon, was my right-hand lady throughout the entire production. In fact, we'd have our own little pow-wows off set just to figure out a few shots.

Screen Shot 11: The Queen of the entire production (i.e. our Producer, Allison Vanore) poses for the camera between putting together the entire film. She and I have a lot more work to do...

Screen Shot 12: Love this shot of Lukas. He keeps himself occupied between lighting set-ups by posing with the production slate. Or... we're making him work double time...

Screen Shot 13: This is a prime example of how the entire crew came together to create something magnificent. This exemplifies the work of our Costume Designer (Joslyn Sifuentes), Hair/Makeup Artist (Moira Taylor), Gaffer (Brian Carroll), Director of Photography (Jorge Urbina), and Production Designer (Gilberto Vega) -- and several key people from the camera team. Not to mention Allison Vanore and Isabelle Giroux, prime factors in this entire film.

Screen Shot 14: This is a screen shot of the scene. Amorette tunes out while Etienne continues on and on with his story, oblivious of the his girlfriend's heartache. Pretty shot.

Screen Shot 15: Our last day of principle photography... and a very fun one. Our Crane Operator, Ryan Elliot, showed up and did some fantastic work for our exterior shot.

Screen Shot 16: Jorge and Ryan working hand-in-hand to get this shot as perfect as possible. Well, not literally hand-in-hand. This isn't 'Park Bench' (one of my other shorts).

Screen Shot 17: Unfortunately, the sun decided to work against us this day. We had to figure out a way to make the crane's shadow as inconspicuous as possible. We worked it out.

Screen Shot 18: Our Camera Operator, Raphe Wolfgang, sneaks in with the slate. He looks rather confused. He probably was...

Screen Shot 19: Moira Taylor, our makeup and hair artist, entertains herself (and the rest of us) between takes. This is a fun set!

Screen Shot 20: Since we were unable to get her a desk at this particular moment, Scripty Maura Concannon is roughing it while timing several shots.

Screen Shot 21: We're getting one of our last shots of principle photography. In all actuality, this would be 2nd unit, but we're fully capable of doing everything ourselves with an unbridled level of enthusiasm!

All in all, it was a fantastic shoot, and I'm looking forward to closing up production with a few more pick-ups this weekend and the confessional scene next week. I'm confident our post-production team will be just as fantastic.