Sunday, July 17, 2005
Tonight was a long-anticipated scene: the sad tale of Charlette Marone (at Giovanna's Restaurant). This was a night shoot, after 9:00 p.m. so a lot of waiting around to do the scene.
Christian and Foley came over early to rehearse their lines and it sounded like they had them down pretty well. They had practiced on their own a few times this past week which I was thoroughly impressed with. We all knew this was a big and important scene and really wanted to nail it.
By the time we got to Giovanna's, they were just closing up, so we came in with all our gear. Once left to our own devices, we set to work getting the place in order.
Marty Fischlin showed up and we put him to task rounding up some extras, which would ultimately prove fruitless. So we had him, Mike Piazza, and Mike's girlfriend Heather. Not much...a little disheartening, but we'll do the best we can.
We took this scene in chunks and our approach was a bit different. First up, we shot Christian and Michelle's segment. For this part we shot the whole segment from one principal angle, then went back and did various other shots to round out the scene. Michelle was very nervous at first, playing Brenda, but overcame that soon enough and did very well.
Christian, on the other hand, was phenomenal! Cracked us all up with his junkie impersonation. Further, he had ALL his lines down to a tee. We also utilized Foley and our few extras here for the background.
Next up, we focused on Foley as Chuck, who sat a table and bantered with his guests. This went well and Foley looked great in his wig and moustache. His "Knuckle Time!" delivery was also killer.
Moving along, we shot Chuck and Brenda's segment where-in Foley stole the show with a little improvised catchphrase ("What.") As in "What are you gonna do about it?"
And finally, Jones and Chuck went at it. This part was fantastic. Christian really did a convincing job and Foley impressed me with his portrayal of a person whose story confused even me a little (and I wrote it!).
Other than the standard sorts of shots, we did get a nice dolly-like effect using Jordan's skateboard on the marble bar, and in particular the "Knuckle Time!" shot with Jones flipping out in the background were my favorites.
In addition to all of that, we squeezed in the part where Chuck is stopped on the way to his car by Doug.
We did a nice pan with Chuck until Doug came into frame. And another facing Doug with a great lens flare from a background street lamp. Both angles came out great.
Missed out on the crossing-the-street tracking shot...maybe we'll work around that?
Overall a very fun, and very productive, shoot.
Doug's Production Diary 25
Doug's Production Diary 24
Monday, July 11, 2005
A night shoot was on the books, which meant a lot of waiting throughout the day. Dan and I had to walk to Target for a new tarp to act as Jones' kidnapping sack. Since our original was torn and dirty after shooting outdoors with it at Mike B.'s house.
Also, we had to wrack our brains over the Stan's Tea situation, but we decided to go with it and assume the best with Mr. Young. So we procured a mound of loose leaf tea from the Enclave. Then we used Babelfish to translate into Korean the following: Insides of oxen great cure from stress. Signed Stan. We placed this under the tea in a container and got to work.
We have a really nice overhead shot of Buddy and Jimmy lying on the floor. Brett and I nailed this one almost immediately. Fortunately, we reviewed the footage quickly and I did not like the composition: it was completely symmetrical (good) except for one imperfection (not good).
So we re-shot and nailed it...but better!
Then we got a cool pan of Jimmy and Buddy heading for the door. I threw a little "good idea...you go first," in reference to an earlier scene.
Jones in the hall with the sack was great stuff - quick and easy.
Finally, we got to our "70's Show" homage panning between Jones, Buddy, and Jimmy. It took a few tries but we got it. Tony said it turned out really really well. Other than that, a few pick-ups for particular lines, like "I left a note," and "that's how we're gonna do it," and that was it.
Oh! Tony did a little Frankie Chains DVD to use with Buddy. Basically just a bunch of loops with some television-style graphics...very cool.
Onward and upward!
Doug's Production Diary 23
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Today was one that had been looked forward to for some time, lemme tell you. Bob Bene from the Willoughby Brewing Company was really cool about letting us shoot there, and EVERYONE was excited to see Brian Shapiro in action as Frankie Chains.
Man, it was worth the wait!
Brian looked phenomenal in his tailored Ticknor's duds, and the W.B.C. looks awesome on film!
Our first challenge began, really, the night before when all our extra help bailed on us. No "Make-Up Girl," no Brandy, no Gina. Dan and I quickly summarized what we had available and adapted to that. So Frankie's show became one of budget cuts itself: the Make-Up Girl got a better gig on Sally Jesse...powdered sugar buzz subbed for cocaine habit...craft services quite...and apple juice is better than Irish whiskey on an aging body. Jay was great as Frankie's Stage Director, and because of our changes he got extra lines, screen time, and even a close-up!
So our first shot - the Long Pan, went very well.
Then the acting began, and Brian was stellar. He takes direction well, really does a lot to establish his character, and is very cognizant of continuity. Plus, he LOOKED the part so much!
I don't think I have to mention how much storyboards help...but they do (immensely!). There, I mentioned it anyway.
The rest of the shoot at the Brewery went smashingly, and we got all the footage and angles we needed, including Brian's "Promo Spot" for the Frankie Show to use throughout the film. It was great!
Our good luck followed us the rest of the day, as we went from place to place to fill out our scene. Bobick's Golf was really cool - good example of what carrying a camera and equipment can get you! They let us shoot in their private driving range area. A few on-the-fly changes and this segment came out great! Check out the "way to dive right into it..." line - sweet! We came up with a little gimmick for Frankie where we start each part with a close-up and then zoom out to show the new locations - it worked superbly. Frankie quickly endeared himself to us all and hopefully this will translate into the film as well.
Clark Street Convenience was very cool, too. They lady on shift (Jimmie Dawson) was our movie clerk and she was fantastic - this part will knock 'em dead for sure!
Arabica segment went very smoothly too, except for the sound which is atrocious but we can easily re-do that. The Point Park segment was equally smooth (on the Tech Center steps) and the segment down by the river was a lot of fun too.
Only one more segment is needed for this scene - the "sun tanning/boat dock" segment which is my personal favorite. I've had this part in mind for a long time!!
Our shoot was from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. A long one (who keeps THOSE kind of hours?!). But so completely worth it. As usual, this shoot was easier and another step forward in improvement.
Afterwards we watched all the raw footage (45 minutes) and all agreed it was fantastic.
One more scene in the bag...
Almost there!!
