Wow you guys! what an awesome 4 day shoot!

I can't believe my most challenging scene is now BEHIND me.... And that I (somehow) survived it. And came home with really rad footage (and, as a bonus, a COLD too! ).

This was the most difficult scene to pull off, technically wise, but it was also the most amazing shoot I have ever had!

But wait... I am getting ahead of myself! I am behind with my blog and must first tell you about the "other shoots", the ones from the previous week-end... So stand by as we get ready to unveil the details on the progress of the film, over the last two weeks...

 

 

 

190.

As I glanced again at my temperature guage I wondered if my ol' jalopy was going to make it to our rendez-vous point. It's 5PM and still in the 3 digits out here in the Mojave desert. The deuce and I just crossed El Mirage dry lake for the second time today. We arrived bright and early on location, thanks to a 4AM call time and thanks to the fact that Tim was only 30 minutes late today . I had been packing and preparing for the trip for a couple days now so by the time he arrived, we were pretty much ready to roll. So we hitched the trailer and off we went.

Once at base camp, right on the dry lake, parked in front of the George Callaway's "coumpound" (As I like to call it), we plugged into the power and fired up our A/C. A meal and a nap later, my phone rang. It was Kevin, owner of Cyclone racing. Kevin and I are long time friends now, who support each other's endeavours and so he has landed his 34 roadster to the film, to be "ZIP"'s hotrod. The 34 was first filmed at the vintage gas station, a few months ago. Zip is the kid in the plad shirt that is talking on the phone at the beginning of our current movie teaser #1. He is an Ohio "Cam jammer", freshly arrived, the new kid in town and he is dying to meet he "legend" Johnny Callaway. We see him catch Johnny at Tommy's Gas station and then Johnny and him drive off for "a little competition".

Today I am filming "the little competition".

"Kevin! You are early... Where are you guys at?"

"We're waiting under a tree, in the shade at the rendez vous point".

"I'll be right there!"

Tim and I hop in our respective rides and drive off, braving the heat. A 30 mimute ride  and 190 degrees of engine heat later, we arrive.

Anthony is all excited about his ride in the hotrod. It's his first time. He confesses he took photos, videos and even called his mom while on the road LOL... I think it is adorable. I really love seeing the young generation become introduced to hotrods and fall under their magic spell. Today, we have made a believer out of him!! We wait for the sun to come down a bit more but I stay busy, getting both boys prepped. I have brought the wardrobe with me so ZIP will look exactely the same as he was, at the gas station, three months ago. Then I (Yeah Yeah, you've guessed it!!!) DO THEIR HAIR.... (This is becoming an inside joke LOL). Right here and there, on the side of this dusty, steaming hot road, we get ready. A shave later, actor Anthony Traina is set to go. Wait! He just slashed his thumb with his razor???

Blood pissing everywhere.  I have to patch him up with a bit of paper towel and gaffer tape LOL. Hey, whatever works. For now, it looks like he will LIVE . So off to the shoot we go.

It's a nice, straight, quarter mile road with no houses, cars or lines on it. And on top of that, it is abandonned and a DEAD END!! Wow! Pinch me, I must be dreaming. It is exactely where my friend Pete said it would be (pretty much, in the middle of NOWHERE). He scouted it for me, from his airplane, a mere 3 weeks ago. This is the perfect road to film Zip's little race with Johnny.

The sun is now dangerously low. With temps still in the 3 digits, I worry for the 34 roadster, which has no electric fan on it. We start filming the arrival of the jalopies.

With the second take, the 34 roadster boils over and start pissing water and coolant everywhere.

This time, paper towel and gaffer tape are not going to fix it.

We wait. The sun is getting lower and lower by the minute. Meanwhile, I film a stationary conversation between Johnny and Zip. I do not have a crew today. So I put Kevin to work. It's pretty simple: All he has to do is hold the boom. Him and Tim helped me unload and set-up my camera quick, so as you see, a crew is not that essential today.

Below: A nice plunging shot of the two hotrodders, ready to make their run

 

We are about to lose the sun!!!!! The roadster pulls himself together and fires up. With only 10 minutes to film the run I have to work super fast. We are all running around to move gear and truck out of the shots, move the camera to different view points and run the jalopies. To film the take off, we quickly swap drivers. I hop in the deuce and kevin is back at the wheel of his hotrod. HIm and I then do a nice dual burnout and take off flying down that road. After we back up, we swap again and Tim and Anthony resume the driving, which is now at much lower, safe speeds. Not to say those kids couldn't burn out if they tried to, but for safety reasons, I prefer they not.

Below: Johnny gives ZIP a three car length headstart, to even out the odds some.

 

The low sun lit the above shot nicely, making the burn outs look quite nice! But it doesn't take long for JOhnny to catch up, pass Zip and dust him.

 

A little discouraged, but amazed, Zip pulls over... "Damn he's fast!"

 

Funny story: the 34 died on us again after the race. To have Zip pull over into the frame and say his closing line, we had to have Kevin, then Tim, push the 34. So when you see the film, remember that behind Zip's hotrod, is our lead man, Tim, hiding and pushing away LOLOLOL. ... Too funny.

 

7:30PM. The sun is now gone  . I have to pack it up. I am about to put my camera in my case when I see a BLACK AND WHITE drive down the improvised dragstrip and head straight towards us.

I would have run and hid, but it is the desert, so there's nowhere to go. So I opted to play it cool instead...

The cop pulls up to us.  Ogh, this is going to be unpleasant. I just noticed the two jalopies are still LINED UP....  Your honor I plead temporary insanity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Johnny Callaway made me do it.

But the cop smiles. "Just wanted to check your cars out". We smile at him and continue packing up. I am awaiting the dreadful "Do you have a permit to film here?" question... Anytiem now... Anytime...

But he shifts in reverse instead: "Well, I guess I'll let you guys finish up your business"

And just like that, he drives away...

  

Wow. Wow wow wow and rewow. I can't believe it. We all look at each other, in disbelief. It's simply incredible!

Now all packed up, we wait for Kevin's roadster to cool down. It is now almost pitch black and the jalopy still won't fire up. It cranks allright then starts and then stutters and dies. Kevin toys with it for a good hour or so... FInally, a turn of the distributor seems to solve it. It's now running again, rough though cause the advance must be all messed up, but at least it's running and should get the boys home.

I decide to follow them for a while, just to be sure... The roadster seems to be working ok. So we bid each other farewell and part ways.

Crossing El Mirage dry lake again, it was now pitch black. That lake is tricky at night. It is so easy to lose your sense of orientation as fas as South and North go. Tim and I end up in the niddle of shrubs and I can't figure out how to get out of this maze. ME! Who NEVER gets lost!! After meindering left and right and a few U-turns, I find the lake bed again. Aiming West, we now are home bound.

Good. Cause it sure would be nice to SLEEP tonight - for a change...

Sweet dreams!

 

 

 

5:30AM - I wake Stacey and Tim up and have them tear the tents down. meanwhile I have Lex get ready. I then send Stacey up the long driveway to the main road, to flag actors down. Otherwise they will never find this place! I then do Tim's hair and Lex's hair too. When I am done with this film, it's official, I am opening a 50's style hair salon. . Really? No, not really. but it's not like I couldn't. I sure got the practice!!!!!

6AM - Peter drives in with his 1935 Ford truck. He immediately proceeds to swap his radial tires for Bias plys, mounted on black steelies. Meanwhile, John pulls in at the wheel of his 60's car, smiling. He's loving being in the film. John is a new addition to our cast and really lives the era on a daily basis. Too bad his car is a bit too new to make the film, but it's nice to see a young man have an appreciation for old cars. Today John is to be a prominently featured extra. He is going to ride as the passenger in the truck, sitting next to actor Aaron Buer, who has just pulled in, too.

I get the two boys in wardrobe and I (yes, you have guessed it) DO THEIR HAIR.

 (I told you so....)

By 7AM we are ready to rock. The sun is very low on the horizon and this makes for the perfect shot. I film the truck, rolling down the dirt road at high speed, leaving behind it a huge trail of yellow dust, backlit by the sun.

LIFE IS GOOD. This is a golden shot . the kind of shot that, when you watch the dailies, makes you go: DAMN I'M GOOOOD .

Then of course, there are the "other" shots... The ones when you go: "Rats. I could have framed this a little lower" or even" darn, it is a bit out of focus"... But we won't talk about these shots, now, shall we?

Aaron is doing a great job at the buddy who's Tommy has sent out to find Johnny and warn him.

"There's a new cat with a fast heap at Saugus. He's looking for you. He's been laying rubber all over town saying you're no match for him"

Here comes trouble: aka: FRESNO.

Working with talented actors is always a pleasure. Aaron knocks his scene out pronto and soon he is done and goes home. John stays to help Peter swap his tires and wheels again. Peter was so nice: He actually stepped in to replace Juan, holding bounces, flags, booms and doing whatever he could to help me.

We love you Peter!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soon as I was done with the scene, I went back to finish my unfinished previous scene. Tim and Lex are doing a great job, as always. But today they are beakering more than ever. It is Lex's last day with us, as an actress, and Tim is teasing the heck out of her all day. I capture some of it on film  which will make for good behind the scene footage!

Now done with the scene, I look at the sun and notice it is now in "magic hour" mode. We have 20minutes to get a few more shots. We all panick. Tim grabs the camera and starts running. I drive the deuce out into the middle of a gold dry grass field. Lex and Stacey are running to catch up with us. Yes, it is insanity at it's peak.

I shlap the lovers in their deuce and film away, capturing the last few long pans of them, happy, sitting in the hotrod. The deuce looks gorgeous, with the golden reflection of the sunset in it...

All too soon, the sun is gone and we have to fold.

7:30PM - Alana pulls in. Stacey and I load up our lights and drive down to the other side of the property. We are to film the very tail end of the scene we were not able to finish last Sunday.  I have to find a spot that looks similar to Steve Beck's location, match the wardrobe and hair does and also match the light. I get to work.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Tim is packing everything else up.

It is Stacey's first time as a crew person and she kicks more ass than most men I have worked with to date. She is almost competing with Raphael in terms of efficiency, focus, speed and great attitude. And that's HARD to do cause Raphael is KING of all above . Wow. I'm lucky. I really like Stacey, she is a great gal with a great attitude and I am glad to have her on the set with me.

With only two takes, both perfect, we are done. It's a good thing because our small generator dies. It's out of gas. No need to worry about it, IT'S A WRAP.

As Lex and I drive back to camp and pull in, we are in for a surprise. Tim has decided to moon her, as a fairwell present.

Darn. Nice view . But where's a camera when you need one????????

And so it was that we were to survive, yet another full week-end of filming. Our last week-end of filming with Alexandra Holder.

As we said our "goodbyes" the next morning, Lex started crying. I must admit I was feeling a bit mushy myself

But since she has decided to start crewing for us now, then, we will still see plenty of her!!!

And that's a good thing, cause I love my little sister.

 

BEHIND THE SCENE PHOTOS AND SCREENGRABS COMING SOON !!!

 

"I can't believe this is my last week-end"

Lex looks melancholic. This is her last scene with me and it is starting to really hit her. She came up all the way from Dana Point, getting a ride with a friend. She does not have a car. The young actress will spend the week-end up at my house whenever we film. Over the months, I have come to adopt Lex as my little "sis" and I really love her.

I am feeling a little melancholic, too.

We hitch the trailer and look at the clock. Tim is late. Lex and I sit around, waiting for him, watching edited footage from the film... Suddenly, our leading man makes his entrance. And as always, when he is late for call time, I never know when I see him whether I want to slap him or give him a big hug. The boy has been late a lot lately but I have to give him that: Once on the set he works really hard for me, going well beyond the call of duty to help in any way he can. Tim has kicked ass for me so many times, and saved so many shoots, when we were short on crew, that I really can't stay mad at him for too long.

He gives me a huge hug: "I'm sorry! I'm sooOOooo sorry",I am sorry (etc etc)..."

OK, so now I am no longer mad AT ALL.

Tim was not the only one missing today. Juan, one of our newest volunteers, is missing, too . He seems very serious about filming so we ponder what may have happened...

Ponder no more. I get a text from him: His car was towed and he is stranded. He will not be able to help us today . That leaves me with a crew of ONE, Stacey, who is a production assistant and has never done grip / crew work before.

Worry not, I am about to fix that pronto .

We take off, him driving the truck, packed with filming gear, towing our little trailer. And me, behind the wheel of the infamous Deuce of spades, Stacey riding shotgun with me, hanging on to dear life . No, not really, I think she likes the deuce a lot and doesn't mind the occasional bout of acceleration .

The deuce and I just celebrated our second anniversary. It's been two years since we fell head over heels in love and the honeymoon is far from being over. We love, love LOVE each other. So since our anniversary coincides with my Birthday, I decided, on the 20th of August, to spend quality time with the Deuce and work on it. Seemed like a great way to spend my Birthday. Special thanks to "Red" for welcoming us into his little hotrod shop and helping me with the many small repair projects at hand.

On my way out of red's shop that night, I smelled a funky burning smell. I pulled over but could not locate it. Now it was back to haunt me.

I signal to Tim I need to pull over. I lift my hood, snif around.... I can smell it but can't find it. Rats. Is the deuce going to pull a fast one on me?? Guess I'll have to take my chances, since we have a shoot to get to ASAP.

We get back on the freeway. 30 minutes later we exit on Central. I pull into the gas station to refill, the deuce stutters and dies.

Many cranks later I realize the Deuce of Spades ia D.E.A.D .

It's acting like it's the ignition coil. Don't ask me how I know this, I just know, that's all. The Deuce and I have been around the block a few times together. I know it's little songs and dances. I check and sure enough, the ignition coil has melted. .

We are now stranded in Oxnard. I call Red to the rescue. Him and I quickly discuss the problem and come up with a plan. An hour later he waltzes in with a new coil. We manage to move the mount to make it fit. Now bolted to my firewall, we hope for the best. One more crank and the deuce starts!!

 We did it.

Now over 3 hours behind schedule, we rush to the Fillmore ranch and unpack. We filmed our "Passion Pit" scene here last week-end. This place is awesome, with a lot of land, and lots of "locations" to pick from. I quickly scout the dirt road, looking for the perfect spot where Johnny would have parked his car to spend some quality time with his girl, the day before her departure.

And there it was. A glorious very TALL abandonned orange tree, LOADED with oranges. Had not been picked in years. It seems the tree had more fruits than it had leaves. It almost looked "unreal" and when I saw it I immediately knew this was the spot. The tree was shaped as though it was waiting to shelter the deuce under it's branches. In deed, this tree looked unlike any other orange trees I have ever seen. It looked a lot like our Deuce of Spades oak tree. With big branches that swooped down and a nice, powerful trunk.

We parked the Deuce under the tree, where it was to stay for the next 48 hours.

It is now afternoon, but we decide to film anyway. We will finish the scene tomorrow. I take the time to dial in good light, blocking the sun in parts and supplementing the shots with artificial light. Wow, this looks really beautiful!

We soon lost light .

Tim pitched two tents outside the trailer. At first he wanted to sleep under the stars, as always, but I advised him not to because there were mosquitoes there as big as hawks. I feared they might "carry him away" in the middle of the night. But most of all, I feared having a Johnny Callaway, the next day, talking romance to his girl on camera, with a shitload of red bite marks all over his face .

Tent it was.

We really had a nice evening that night. Tim bought me a little birthday cake  and I cooked some nice pasta. We all sat inside the trailer and had a nice meal. I even got to blow a make do candle (made with paper towell). It was fun. being with all these guys was like being with my own family in some way, we are a family, the DEUCE OF SPADES family. And our family is growing daily!

As I laid on my little bunk that night I couldn't help but feel grateful for all this. And lucky, too.

Meanwhile, outside, blood hungry female mosquitoes were pounding on Tim's tent, beggin him to unzip his door and let them in. Darn! The film hasn't been released yet and he already has to run from sworms of females!!  ...

It's gonna be entertaining to see what will happen AFTER the movie is released .

 

 

 

5PM - I pull into Steve Beck's hotrod shop at the wheel of my deuce. Today is a big day. I am expecting a good number of cars and once again, extras. But today is special because I also am expecting a STEADY CAM.

 Wow. Pinch me! I must be dreaming, Am I getting fancy or am I getting fancy?

Today, I also have my biggest crew to date. I am really styling!!! This has to be my most "pro" looking set to date. Which is not saying much, considering the insane ways I usually film. Coming from a run and gun camera in my backpack background, I always feel my best when I am working alone or with a one person "crew". Skeletton crew is my style for sure. I like my space, I like it intimate and I like quiet. Sometimes a lot of crew people are more of a distraction for me than anything else. But at times they sure come in handy. Because you have these shots that require a bunch of hands working together to pull it off.

Like the shot of Bettie walking in front of the moving merc, last week-end. I was sitting in the trunk of a Japanese car, one guy was holding the hood up, one guys was holding the boom/mic, one guy was holding a bounce on Bettie and one guy was driving the car. So it took five of us to do that moving shot. All of us walking/driving at the same pace as she was. Sounds easy? Think again!

Stacey (yes, she came back for MORE HAHA!) is taking care of paperwork and wardrobe. Carolina is doing makeup (and SHE is a great, positive gal). Jerry is changing plates on the cars. Steve is parking his car collection in front of his quonset hut. Nick is setting up the lights, with the help of Juan. Aaron is unloading my gear. Peggie sue is cutting 1953 fake tags for everyone and taking behind the scene photos. I am once again doing hair (it figures!). Last but not least, Luis is setting up his Steady cam rig with my camera.

 

While we are all busy preparing for the shoot, our actors are posing for photos in front of the cars LOL. (no the flipflops are NOT in the film LOL)

They also are lined up along Steve's shop, waiting...

(below: Steve Becks' collection of period correct roadsters came in handy today!)

Jimmy Lee's stock merc appears in the film for the first time. I do have 4 individual black mercs in my film, three of which are stock.

 

The quonset hut looks awesome, but I will be fighting modern buildings all around us, resulting in some awkward framing. Beggers can't be choosers .

We start to shoot as soon as the sun is down. I am under a great amount of pressure because Steve has to shut down the shop at midnight and that leaves me very little time to film.

Today I have the pleasure of having MONK on my set. He has brought his 32 coupe and another roadster from his Old Timers car club. MONK is the real deal, he has lived it all. 80 some years old and still peeling off! He calls me "Frenchy" I think it is very cute so I let him . He has a big smile on his face. This is bringing back so many memories for so many of our old timers. I am making this film in their honor, as a tribute to a beautiful era long gone. But now it's BACK !

below: MONK, hard core hotrodder who lived  the 40's and 50's hotrod era in California - notice the sparkle in his eyes. He is excited about the film.

 

We start by doing the steadycam shots...

Luis is having a hard time doing a plunging shot from up high, so to frame out the modern building right next to us....  The angle is not agreeing with his rig. We decide to go to PLAN B: Crop for torsos only, to work around the problem, and to show off the line of roadsters behind the actors. It works.

The three musqueteers TOMMY, JOHNNY, ART are coming out of a dance and walking back to the deuce. Johnny is to leave for El Mirage that night, he is going to sleep under his roadster to be first in line tomorrow at the SCTA meet. . Yeah, that's my boy alright!

 

9 PM- We actually take a short break to feed everybody. Feeding crew and actors is becoming increasingly more difficult as I am running completely out of money. Tonight, Jerry, who is ever so wonderful to us and so generous, buys the food. We are having pizzas. They are gone in an instant. Sure would be nice to have some financing to feed people with. But then you end up with a leash around your neck. And I like roaming free. My actors understand that and they are forgiving of the lack of pampering on my set. It's rough and ugly. But it's also pure. Everyone is in this with me, hard core. I love these guys! They got my back and I got theirs.

We resume filming and I have to yell at everyone more often then I had wished because the kids are having too much fun and not paying attention to the director. Tonight I feel like a drill sergeant, a mom or even a mean school teacher.

CHILDREN!! SHUT THE F$#&  UP!   

Meanwhile, the neighbors are lined up along the dividing short wall, watching the insanity, curious and fascinated.

I am in the middle of a close up shot when Jerry walks up to me and shows me his watch.

RATS. Its way past midnight. I promised Steve I would not keep him up late. We have to wrap. I am missing  a couple shots but I can film them later somewhere else. So I call it a night.

With a crew that size, packing up takes instants. What a relief! I walk up to my deuce to start it, only to realize that Tim (who in the scene had the keys in hand) took off with my ONLY set of keys still in his Levis 501 pocket.

We call him and bring his fannies back down to Santa Monica. Hands me the keys ...

It's late and I am tired and only had 4 hours of sleep last night. It's going to be a long ride home, but I know the deuce will take good care of me.

We drive off into the night.

 

"OK. When I say "action", take her face in your hand and start kissing her lips"

I press the record button. "Quiet on the set! Rolling camera! and ACTION"

The young man takes the young woman's face in his hand and starts kissing her. He looks a bit clumsy, unsure of how to handle this awkward situation.

"CUT!!!"

"No, no no no.. Not like this. Like THAT". I give them a little "kissing for the movies" coaching and we roll again.

ACTION!

This time it looks real. I film a few seconds fo the kissing and now I got what I need. Time to move on to the next car.

"CUT!"

I lift my camera up, turn around and walk up to the next car. Unbeknownst to me, the couple behind me is still kissing. And they will keep kissing for another 10 minutes!!!!!!!!! (so I was to find out the next day LOL)

 !! Guess I am a good kissing coach HAHA!!

By now you are all saying: FAITH, we're coming to your next shoot!

No. It's not what you think! We are on location in Fillmore filming the "Passion Pit" night scene. Or, to put it more mildly, the "Lovers Lane" scene. but wait... I'm getting ahead of myself... Perhaps I should start from the beginning...

In the beginning God made man. Then he realize that man was dumb without the woman so he created the woman. Then he realize that neither of them knew what to do so he created the filmmaker. That's when I come in .

The week had been one of my busiest to date. Preparing for two night shoots back to back, both of which requiring a "larger" number of actors, extras, wardrobe and of course PERIOD CORRECT CARS. the later being the hardest to come by. I have been on the phone all day for several days now and I am having a hard time securing cars for my shoots. By now we are only a couple days away from the dates and I still only have TWO cars for my Passion Pit scene.

TWO????????? ... Yugh . Can't have a Lovers Lane with only two cars on it. I became desperate.

I picked up the RED phone. You know, that's the phone that has a direct line with the Big Man upstairs.

"hello? God???"

-Yop Faith, what's up?" he said

-I'm in a load of doodoo. I don't have enough cars. I REALLY REALLY need help here. can you work another miracle for me or have I run out?"

- Let me check.... No, looks like you still have a few left.

_Oh, good. I want to use one then.

-OK, you got it. Let me see what I can do...

I hung up the phone, feeling better. I had FAITH that He would help me out.

The very next day a man falls from the sky. I have never met him before but someone told him about the film and my need for Fillmore located cars. He calls me and immediately solves the problem. And like that, by a mircale of God, I suddenly have the cars I need.

Not only that, he also brings to the table a NEW LOCATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!! . This is a location I had been looking and hoping for for an entire YEAR but was never able to find. And suddenly, there it was, in all its period correct beauty, acres worth of it. Complete with period correct structures, cars and even an old barn. Oh and did I mention ORANGE GROVES??????????????

HALLELUYA!

When I pulled into the property that Saturday, followed by a long convoy of classic cars, hotrods and actors, I felt, in deed LOVED. This was HEAVEN! We planted the trailer and immediately got to work. My new Production assistant STACEY (who kicks ass like you would not believe!) helped get the paperwork done, I got my actors into their wardrobe as fast as I could and did the boys hair. 10 guys.

Tim steps in, "Hey Faith, I know how you do the hair, God knows I've watched you do my hair for months now, so let me help you?" (he sure can be a real sweetheart when he wants to).

Oh why the heck not, I thought. "You get them wet, I nuke them". We are talking about their hair, of course . Tim is not quite an expert yet and I get a few guys that are drenched, while a few more have clumps of dry polmade stuck to their hair ... Oh for heaven's sake!! We laugh about it and I fix the booboos fast as I can and we are soon ready to roll. This is vital because I will start filming at twilight today.

Meanwhile a make up artist is fixing the girls up. It's her first time volunteering for us. She is bitchin about the dust and the lack of proper space to work in. Guess she's not cut for our hardcore, full throttle kind of filming. I dont have time for whiners. So I guess this will be her last time with us too. Everyone on the set is bothered by her negative attitude. One thing is for certain: On my set I have nothing but awesome, positive attitude type people. And everyone always comments about this and how wonderful and rare that is. Just how cool, nice, helpful, supportive everyone is. So when you get a negative person they stick out like a sore thumb and noone there wants them around.

7PM, the sun just plunged behind a tall mountain. I have to start rolling RIGHT AWAY! I wil have about 20 minutes or so to film all my couples in their respective cars. I have already placed each car on the set and now I grab a girl and a boy and slap each made up couple in each car.

Boy, I feel like madam tonight!

I have about 8 cars on the set and 8 couples. DARN IT! No, I have seven couples and a half . I am short one gal. What to do? What to do...

STACEY!!!! Drop those contracts and run to the trailer,  throw a cardigan on, some red lipstick and make a quick poneytail. HURRY!!! Then jump in this La Salle with this boy and start kissing him immediately, I am losing daylight!

It's my Production Assistant's first day on the "job" (she's a volunteer) and I think she is going to remember it for a LONG time .

Minutes later, she is locking lips with 17 year old extra Matt. Matt was not complaining and from the look on Stacey's face (see below), she wasn't either

LOL. Hey, whatever it takes!!

I am going from car to car, panning from interesting car elements to the couples sitting inside, kissing away... the car owners, who are watching all of this, are laughing. In fact, we are all laughing. This gotta be the most fun shoot we have ever had!

(car owner Tom Potter chats with "couple" sitting inside his convertible)

(Garth Rattlif (owner of this green beauty) jokes around with Kyle and Kristen who will be smooching inside his car shortly.)

In fact, everybody is kissing... Everybody but ME . Rats. I feel like I am really missing out.

I soon release my extras and all are delighted. They can't wait to be back on the set. These are a batch of new actors I found, through yet another casting call this week. I suspect some of them will get a part with dialogues in my Saugus scene. They all are reliable, cool and really excited about the film. Good people, good people.

I now move to Art and Sandy in the green Lincoln. This is their first scene kissing and by the look of it, they are clicking! I could swear these two have been a couple for years now. Kyle Clifford is doing a great job, I don't have to tell him what to do. The boy can kiss alright! . Great footage, both of them do a great job at the dialogue and her storming off to look at a Nomad parked in the distance.

(Jerry Mull's gorgeous Nomad will be the star of this scene!)

It is now very late. Past midnight by far. I call Tim and Lex to the set and we load them in the back of the Nomad. This is going to be interesting. Lex is not looking forward to the scene, since she has to lay on her back on a hard surface and have Tim litterally on top of her (do I need to say more?). Fortunately there is no nudity involved, but the situation is still awkward at best. Resulting in some of the best Bloopers and outtakes of the film. ...

Tim, who is very considerate, will hold his body up on his arms the entire time we film, (over an hour) so to not "crush" Lex. He is quite exhausted by all the push ups and simulated hip movements entailed in the scene. In order for the whole thing to look REAL on screen, I have to coach them both, once again.

Maybe I should start charging for my services??

This is all very crazy but it WORKS.

"No, not like this - Like THAT!"

 

Tim is as always, very patient and a pleasure to work with. He is looking extremely very tres severely sexy in this scene. His trusting me, combined with my sharp eye make for a good combination, resulting in sexy hot, but classy/artsy, footage.

The funny part is that on screen Lex and Tim are lovers but off screen they tease each other all day long and beaker. They are good buddies that get on each other's nerves most of the day. I just sit back and watch them battle... It certainly keeps me entertained .

Taking a break from all the "humping". Tim's arms are going to be sore tomorrow! NOTE: Is it me or is there a smile on his face?? HAHA!

 

4AM - IT'S A WRAP!!!!!!!!!

I send everyone home. Everyone, except for Lex and me, who will camp out on location, with the gear, in the trailer. I am too tired to move a muscle and need to SLEEP. Tomorrow call time is at 5PM, so I have time to get home, download my footage, shower (I NEED IT) and eat and drive out to the next shoot...

But wait... That's my NEXT blog entry! .

YES!!! Our first official film teaser is now online! View it here and give us a vote! Thank you!!

http://www.dailymotion.com/deuceofspades/video/x6d4le_deuce-of-spades-teaser-one_shortfilms

About the teaser: The teaser is not a film trailer. It is just a sampler of shots / footage with a taste of the film, and a hint of the secondary plot. I basically picked the most exciting moments filmed to date and threw all of them in a big mixing pot, shook it all up and VOILA!

In the trailer you will see snipits of many of the scenes I blogged about here, inluding the gas station scene, the train station scene, the police station scene, the jalopy race scene, El Mirage, the Oxnard house, the fillmore roads, the hotrod shop, the 50's hospital room and props, and much much more. For you who have been following the behind the scene SAGA, the teaser will be especially fun to watch!

Enjoy!!

Special thanks to FLAT TOP TOM (www.Flattoptom.com) for donating a song off of his album for the teaser, and to Blues Award nominee MARK HUMMEL (www.markhummel.com) , who wrote the tune, for lending his creation for the film.

PLEASE SEND THE TEASER'S LINK TO ALL CAR LOVERS AND INDIE FILM LOVERS YOU KNOW and help us get the word out about this DIY cinematic adventure of Epic proportions!

 

Wake up at an ungodly hour and almost fall off my bunk. I am letting Lex sleep in the large lower bed and have crawled up the upper bunk, which is much smaller. I step outside: The deuce is covered in dew, but gorgeous as ever, parked alongside my little trailer. We have spent the night on location, might as well, since we are shooting on the same road today.

I take a morning walk. Scouting pepe's little ranch for a new corner I might not have used before. I have filmed so many scenes here, it is amazing that, around a bend I am able to stumble upon, yet, a new "location". Pepe has avocado trees, rows and rows of them and it hits me that although I have filmed in orange groves, lemon groves and oaks tree forests, and even a cactus plantation (check the Jalopy race teaser), I have not yet used avocados. I find that the lines are very pleasing to the eye and will make for a good setting to start the scene.

As I walk, I get greeted by a very curious, and gregarious, humming bird. Him and his lady land next to me and stare at me for the longest time. We have a "moment". He's scratching his head and ruffling his feathers and I am amazed at how tiny and precious he is. He takes off, starts hovering 2 feet away from my face, staring at me again, then back to his wire. For fifteen minutes the humming birds and me hang out, a mere 5 feet from each other. Then I finally head back to camp, delighted by my little morning encounter.

Tim and Raphael pull in just as I walk back. Raphael is the most organized, efficient, punctual man I know (suffice to say he is a computer consultant for HP) so I am glad he is giving a ride to Tim this morning. Cause I know Tim is going to make call time today, on time . I wake Lex up and she gets ready and we get started promptly.

The day will be spent filming up and down that row of avocados, which entailed a lot of running back and forth from the actors to the camera, and they were quite a ways away. In the process I sprained my foot. . Now limping, I resumed filming.

The sun is high in the sky and it is hot. Lex is wearing a cachemere red sweater and Tim has to wear the famous heavy 50's vintage motorcycle DEUCE OF SPADES custom LEATHER jacket. Both are really hot. As for me, I am frying. I have been under the full sun for two days straight now and I am now sun burnt.

Sun burnt and limping, I resume filming.

Fighting an ever shifting daylight and the tree shadows, we film the dialogue, constantly readjusting the actors positions. I also have to readjust my heavy camera position each time. Today I have a crew of ONE. That means I have to lift the heavy camera up and move it and after a whole day of that, my right arm (which I use like a jack) is now bruised.

Bruised, sunburnt and limping, I resume filming.

When the going gets tough, the sissys go home crying. I am now almost done and we have been at it for 10 hours. Both Tim and Lex are hard working and patient and we make a really good team. Resulting in really good footage. By the time we finish the last section of the scene the sun is in "magic hour" mode. The light look beautiful and the close ups on Tim's face, as he says important stuff to Bettie, look really good. However I am about to lose daylight . I still have to film the car taking off with Bettie in it and I have to crack the whip on my actors to get them to focus and to several takes quickly in a row.

By the last take, the sun is gone and I have lost more light than I can afford. We have to wrap.

The good news is: I GOT ALL THE SHOTS!!! Once again, just in time, the last shot was a keeper and we are good to go!

Raphael, Tim and I pack it up and Tim takes the wheel of the truck while I drive the deuce back home. I am now starting to relax. I did it. I got the scene done and now I can't wait to start editing the footage, see how it all turns out. Coming home with footage is always exciting. I feel like a bird building a nest. I bring building blocks back and then go to town.

11PM. Back in my bed now, I reflect on the week-end and I am happy. Despite a rough start, it did turn out good and I got the scene done. Remember what I always say? Never give up! Never surrender!

It's all up to Tim and Lex today!

 

 

 

 

 

Ever had one of those days whene EVERYTHING seems to want to go the wrong way? And the day feels like one of them grocery store shopping carts that only want to go sideways, no matter how hard you try to push them forward?

Today was one of those days.

5AM- the bell rings. It's Nick, looking a bit sleepy, but on time.

"Is Tim here?" He asks. I shake my head no. He looks puzzled. "Well, he resumes, I was supposed to give him a ride but he never showed up so I waited a bit but had to leave cause I didn't want to be late for call time."

Mmmmmm... I pick up the phone and repeatedly dial my lead man but he is not picking up his phone.

 Great. Now I am really looking forward to the many cars and car owners, actors and crew people converging over to my house. It's going to be a blast telling them that we do not know where Johnny Callaway is .

I feel nauseous.

Pretty soon, everybody arrives. I decide not to say anything at all. After all, Tim will show up, I am sure. Well, at least I think I am sure... Pretty sure... Mmmm... Ok, I hope he will.

HE'D BETTER!!!!!!!!!!

I decide not to think about it and go about my day as if everything was A-OK.

We double park in the street for an instant and my next door neighbor opens her window and starts yelling at us at the top of her lungth.  It appears she was able to hear us, despite the fact we were not "loud". She has turned from nice lady to raging bitch in 1.5 seconds. heck, even my hotrod wouldn't have been able to catch up with her.

 My most sincere apologies to her do not seem to help much. She is obviously in need of her meds . I have lived here for 7 years now and have had nothing but great relations with all my neighbors. But today is one if THOSE days. I told you so.

I gp back inside the house to feed my two dogs before leaving. My blue heeler jumps and all the food spills everywhere on the carpet.  Both dogs jump on it, pretty soon I have a dog fight on my hands.

. I break up the fight and clean up the spilled food and walk back outside.

I then go to get my hotrod started. And of course TODAY, it doens't want to. Many girations later and over a dozen cranking of the starter with a screw driver, the hotrod finally fires up.

By now I am late by 30 minutes.  We are to hook up with several actors in Oxnard. They're going to wonder where we are. I call them and inform them of the delays.

Still no word from my lead man. I could turn the car off, go back inside the house, crawl back into bed and hide under my bed sheets and wait for the day to be over. It probably would be safer.

Instead I drive off and head out to my shoot. Once at the wheel of the deuce, I start relaxing. nothing can touch me here. This is my heaven, the world can fade away. All that is left is the sound of the cam and this great feeling of freedom. We have a nice convoy, several cars, including a trailer with a gorgeous stock merc on it. The merc came from far away to be in the film. And we are going to shoot this scene, with or without our Johnny.

But hopefully WITH cause he IS in the scene. At least, last I checked the script .

We arrive at the final location and start setting up camp. Today I have a large number of volunteers.

 Wow. Pinch me, I must be dreaming. A crew of FOUR?? Plus me = FIVE???

The merc is unloaded and fires up. The driver, who is a friend of the car's owner and also an aspiring actor, informs me that due to a schedule change at work he will no longer be able to stay all day. He now has to leave by noon.

 SAY WHAT????

Yep. Definitely one of THOSE days.

OK, fine, I'll shoot this the smart way. I'll shoot all shots involving the merc been driven and then let him go to work and shoot the rest of the shots which involve the merc just being parked. And since I don't need my lead man for that part of the scene I should be OK (I hope?).

Boy oh boy what a day!

A text message pops in my beloved i-phone. It's Tim. Glad to see he is alive. He's got a ride but the radiator is busted so it will take him a good two hours to get to the shoot. By then my other actor will be gone.

Please hand me a shotgun so I can blow my migraine away. I take a deep breath and get to work.

I expect more bumps in the road, such as camera failure, or even a meteor to crash on top of me. The way the day is going, a crashing meteor is not enirely out of question LOL. But, I am able to film and get some narly footage. My actors are kicking some serious butt. The merc looks great. At around 11AM, it starts making a weird noise. Driver parks it, owners looks at it. It has overheated. It is now out of commission for a while. Fortunately, I got my shots, so we resume the scene, since in the script, the merc does pull over the side of the road and is parked.

I film away. Great shots, all is well... My driver now has to leave. Another guy steps in, we give him the same clothes and decide he will be the one to drive off with the merc at the end of the scene. Ok, problem solved.

By a miracle of God, our lead man makes it to the shoot. We start filming him right away. Tim hops behind the wheel of the deuce and the first thing I film is Johnny Callaway flying to the rescue. I hop in the trunk (again) and film from the car's P.O.V, and get a really cool shot that way. I then have Tim drive straight at the camera and do a long skid / stop. As I film him, it suddenyl dunned on me that the car was speeding STRAIGHT AT ME and that I was in the middle of the road. But for some strange reason I felt no fear at all. I KNEW that the deuce would stop and trusted that Tim would handle it.

He hit the brakes and the deuce started skidding on the layer of sand. It finally came to a full stop. I looked up and found the grill was only a few feet away from me .

 Good job Tim!

Mental note: Let's not do that shot again.

I get all the remaining shots involving the two jocks and Johnny and the short rumble that occurs between them.

 It is now time  to film the jocks getting back in the merc and driving off. The owner informs me that she has DIED. It appears the old gal blew a gasket of some sort and all the transmission fluid is now on the road. . Time to pack her up and ship her home.

BUT I NEED MY SHOT!!!

I beg the ol' gal to come through for me. AND SHE DOES. She fires up one last time and drives a last 20 feet stretch and then permanently DIES.

 I got the shot! I got the shot!!!  I can finish my scene now!!!

All of us land a hand to push the heavy merc back up the ramps onto her trailer. Actors, crew and me, all push away and up she goes. We help tie her up and thank her for coming through for us, against all odds.

So the shoot was officially over and by a miracle of God we had survived the day, and lived to tell the tale (and even blog about it)  I was happy.

A couple days later I talked to the merc's owner. He told me that he could not understand how the merc was able to fire up and drive one last time when (I quote) there was not a single drop of transmission fluid left in it.

I guess she really wanted to be in the film that badly .

 

below: Screengrabs from footage filmed that day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found a few Behind The Scenes shots today, I thought you would enjoy so I decided to share them here. But before I do, I wanted to mention that last night I started cutting footage from my Flashback scene #1 shot Sunday. Details on that shoot coming up tomorrow. For now, suffice to say that I was very very happy to see that the scene edited beautifully. I was a bit worried because the blocking was complicated, with quite a bit of moving around and more actors than I had ever filmed in one shot, interacting with each other. So I was stretching my capabilities, or of you prefer, expending my craft quite a bit. But once again I nailed it. I must be either very talented, or the luckiest beginner on the plannet.

Or maybe a little of both??

The shots edited seamlessly, and both lighting and acting was absolutely awesome.

LIFE IS GOOD.

I am about halfway done with the scene. The vintage parachute, donate by Jim of DEIST, certainly added a lot to the authenticity of the scene, and so did the period correct shop, thanks to PAUL at COOKS MACHINE WORKS.

THANK YOU!

Meanwhile here are a couple recent shots:

Actors and car owners converge to the meeting point the morning of the shoot: from left to right:

Aaron Pagel (BOB), Nick Gallagher (grip), Shawn Arbalo (car owner and driver in our scene), Anthony Traina (ZIP), crouching under him is A.J (29 roadster owner), Mademoiselle the filmmaker (me), behind me is Jess Buschini (BUDDY), Travis Polland (VIC WAYNE), crouching below him is Kyle Clifford (ART DELANAY), Wes Hagger (GARY) and car owners (Early V8 Ford club members) Wendi and Tom Potter.

 

Below: I am eager to try out my new skills as a special effect make up person. My philosophy? The more self contained you are, the less dependent on outside help you are, the more of a chance you will have to complete your ZERO budget film. And at this point, I guess it doesn't get more "INDEPENDENT" than this independent film! Freedom is worth its price in GOLD.

Here you can see me starting to create the long surgical scar on Johnny Callaway's torso. The Latex will have to dry and then be painted to match the skin tone. Also, note the fake swollen cheekbone, created with mortician wax. It was my first time working with this medium. It's a little creepy, but I really liked it.

 

I had decided to practice on myself earlier that day .  By now, both Tim and I look pretty BEAT UP . I really love doing special effect make up, it is an absolute BLAST! Note that Tim is the one who elected to lay down on the ground. Fine by me, I'm flexible. I did give him some padding from my camera case to put under his head. Whatever works!

below: Going over last minute dialogue changes with the boys.

 

I could not think of anything more worthy and gorgeous to film than those cars! Here, Wes sits behind the wheel of the roadster and is ready to go!

below: trying to get the famous first flashback shot of the film, and everything I had to try / go through to finally get it!!

This way?

 

how about THIS way?

No. So how about THIS way? (contortionist)

 

Finally, I get it (hence the smile on my face!)

About to lose all daylight!

Weeeheee! I got it! I got it! I got all the shots!!! IT'S A WRAP!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry I was unable to blog this week. I have lots to tell you (lots and lots) but it will have to wait until next week.

The DEUCE OF SPADES project is now full throttle. My two extra deuces must have just opened up because I find myself pinned to the seat! Brace yoruself Faith, brace yourself. My RPMs are all the way in the red. Hope I don't melt a rod.

It has been one of the busiest week to date. I think my phone never stopped ringing and I must have talked with 400 people over the last 4 days alone. OK. So maybe I'm exagerating, but just a little. Maybe it was only 387 people .

I have two challenging exterior night scenes coming up this week-end which I have been working on all week. I can't wait to tell you about all the amazing things that have happened this week and how everything is falling into place just in time to finish our last stretch of flashback filming!

I now can see the finishing line, and I'm still racing. Two and a half more months of this madness and I will cross that white line.

Can I do it? Yes, I think so, with a little help from all my friends, old and new. Each step of the way someone will be placed on my path to provide just enough help to keep this going. Everything is falling perfectly into place.

All I can say is that I guess this film was meant to be.

Being in pre-production + production + post production simultaneously is probably breaking all filmschool rules ever made. But then again, I've never been to film school so what do I care?

As "someone" once said, (and if I live to tell this tale I too, will be able to sing this loud and proud):

I DID IT MYYYYYY WAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

I feel another large drop of sweat roll all the way down my spine.

I am standing up the rafter of this metal shop, and the sun is beating on the roof a mere few feet above my head. If we don't nail this shot quick I am going to DIE up here!

Yes, you guessed right, we are back at COOKS MACHINE WORKS to film the second half of our first flashback. With three hours of sleep.

All the boys are back and today I was even faster than ever doing their hair. I like doing the boys hair, it gives me a chance to chit chat a bit with each of them. Our hair/makeup set up is very fancy: A grungy shop bathroom, and the actors get to sit on the john LOL. I make jokes about it: "step into my office, please sit on my fancy hairdresser chair" .

Now and then I am in too much of a hurry and the actors get a little more water on their head than they had hoped for. Jordan, one day, got pretty wet. We still laugh about this, to this day.

Another drop of sweat... "QUIET ON THE SET! ROLLING CAMERA" ACTION!!!"

The Deuce of Spades looks drop dead gorgeous, parked inside this period correct, huge shop, amongst all the 1940's machines. It is covered with a vintage parachute, on loan from Jim at DEIST (thank you Jim!). I had met Jim at El Mirage a year ago and he came through with his promise to lend one of his chutes for the shoot.

I get the shot and am glad to get back down and away from this oven. we have been here since 6AM, but the shop was near period ready, I guess still clean from our last shoot. Paul was a doll, helping us move the larger stuff out of the way... All of us pitched in and cleaned up the location of all modern stuff in less than 30 minutes. So when the actors showed up, we were ready to roll.

My biggest challenges today will be dealing with a large number of actors interacting with each other on screen and the blocking nightmare that this creates. The blocking moves from one spot to the next, and that is another set of headaches in itself, since each spot has to be set up to be period correct and lit. The shop itself is very dark, despite the many windows. All my lights are on, and the shop's breakers are starting to pop . And I still don't have enough light. I am at slow speed and fully open and I know the scene is going to look a bit soft, but that's a compromise I have to accept, since this is the only way we are going to be able to film this.

That's not our biggest problem today. Our biggest problem is the HEAT. It is VERY HOT inside the shop and we have to have all windows and doors closed because we are a mere 40 feet (if that) from the 5 freeway!  X 1000. It is VERY noisy. And not period correct noise either.  Can't have the fan running while we film either cause it, too, is noisy. So we are really HOT HOT HOT.

But there's worse: The scene calls for some of the boys to wear jackets. Anthony got the short end of the stick, cause he is wearing Zip's famous LEATHER AND WOOL vintage blue varsity jacket. ... I really feel his pain. Aaron is suffering too and for more than one reason: A)- he is walso wearing a jacket and is very hot and B)- he's been going without any sleep for the last 48 hours. He works nights and was not able to get the night off, due to too short of a notice on my end  so he has to film all day and work all night and be back on the set today to film all day again, in intense heat (with a jacket).

By now he MUST HATE ME. Aaron is a really good actor by the way. I know he is going to kick ass regardless and I am glad he stuck it out. The scene came out awesome! He really makes a great BOB. Bob is Sanyd's older brother by the way. A bit of a prick, if you know what I mean, but loveable, somehow. None of my characters are black or white.

We are now almost done. Suddenly, Michael's mother decides to turn into a filmmaker's Antichrist . Like all mothers, she is eager to support her son and starts snapping photos of him being filmed, with a little camera, unbeknownst to me. I never even noticed it until we were all done and wrapping. THEN one of the actors mentions the "flash"...

?????????? What flash??? He mentions the taking of photos  WHAT????????????? I was too busy to notice it .

I check my footage. Surely enough, there it is right in the middle of my best take.

   . We already have wrapped. I figure I can fix it in post.

Well a few days later I sat down to edit the scene. And found that most of my takes had, at some point, either a flash, or the sound of the disposable camera being reloaded or even the sound of coughing coming from the "audience"...

At this point I wanted to SHOOT MYSELF IN THE HEAD. I cannot tell you just how mad I was. It was eating at my gutts. My best takes, RUINED. Right there and then I decided to add a few more RULES to my SET RULES. One of which prohibiting any photos from being taken while on the set and also prohibitting spectators altogether.

... Thank God I always take more coverage than needed because it saved me. I was able, somehow, to work around all the booboos cause by one well intentionned mom. She is a very nice lady, she just didn't know and I didn't catch it.

Live and learn .

Meanwhile it is now 9PM and we have cleared the shop. I give Paul a huge hug, and thank him again profusely. He has saved the scene today! I hop in the Deuce and jump on a busy freeway. Heading home, dodging bad drivers and tailgating idiots, I reflect on the day. I am surprised I am still going strong, despite my lack of sleep and two long days of intense filming. I am amazed at how everything seems to be coming together... Somehow... We always end up pulling it off.

I am grateful to the big Guy upstairs!  He must love jalopies or the old timers, because he is really helping me out every step of the way! Thank you God!!

below: Screengrabs from the scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8AM - My neighborhood witnesses the arrival of several gorgeous period correct stock cars and hotrod, as well as a fairly nice number of young, handsome, 50's hotrodders looking actors. Everyone is wearing their period correct Levis 501 and cool white T or 50's tops / jackets. It is quite a sight!!

We watch a bit of footage, eat a couple donuts and have coffee. This morning, our shoot starts off more like a little house party than anything else! It's fun. I then quickly do the hair of all seven actors and we leave. Don't worry, the stuff I put in their hair basically will last for a week or so - and their hair will never move. In fact, it takes a dynamite stick to get it off ... No joke. We convoy out to the location.

 

As soon as we arrive to the location, we get busy. My crew sets up camp, I pick lenses and the car owners swap license plates.

It is going to get hot in the light blue Bel Air,which is where I will be doing most of my shooting today. But the boys are tough. I get started right away by filming the Bel Air driving down the road, and organize cross traffic to give the scene a sense of being real. I direct drivers, give them signals to choregraph the perfect timing for the cars crossing each other...

And end up with some cool shots below: screengrab from the actual footage)

now done with cross traffic, I send a few of the cars home. Meanwhile,  I decide to change a few of the opening lines and the cast is rehearsing. Everybody seem enthoused about being back on the set, even if it is dusty, hot and we don't have chairs for everyone (cause we're poor) . Note that this actor below is not yet wearing his period correct leather shoes, cause we haven't started rolling with him yet.

I really love my boys, they are hard core and very dedicated. I would recommend any of these talented actors to anyone, anytime!! And if you have not cast them yet, then you're not doing your homework .

My next task is to film a conversation inside the Bel Air. Here's one I have not tried yet. My first instinct is to try to get the tripod inside the car but no go. It's too big. So I pull out my shoulder mount, purchased in May but never - to date- ever used. And it turns out to be just the tool I needed to pull off those shots!

 

In order to keep the heavy camera steady I will have to do a lot of girations and become a contortionist

 

Once again the actors pitch in their extra hands and eyes to help me bounce light back into the car. Above, you can see Kyle Clifford (ART),  help out by squeezing himself between me and the driver to bounce light onto actors sitting in the back. (see screengrabs below)

 

We are followed by a cool 50's style 29 roadster hotrod, driven by actor Wes Hagger. This is Wes first time on my set. Wes has a very cool bone structure and a strong face as well as a very distinct voice. He stood out amongst hundreds of other actors who submitted to be in my film and I wanted to feature him in this scene. He definitely comes across as the strong, quite type, balancing the other characters very nicely. (below: behind the wheel, Wes Hagger)

Now done with the inside shots I have one last difficult task to tackle: Chasing the bel air and filming just the tire / front fender. This turned out to be the most challenging thing in the world. I was fighting too many parameters such as:

1- a very bumpy road made it impossible to have a steady shot

2- the hubcaps reflected everything like big mirrors - ROUND mirrors, so anything near the car could be seen, including the big rigs parked along side the road and of course, myself and the golf cart I was riding.  Moving more forward would result in seeing me in the front bumper   X2.

I was at it for almost two hours, just to get the first shot of the first flashback. But it was important to me so I stuck it out.

NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!!

I try filming from the front of cart, then from the back, then with tripod, then with shoulder mount... Still don't have the shot

 

 

IT'S OFFICIAL I AM NOW GROUCHY 

And what comes out of my mouth sounds something like this: " ##!%&*$$ ^&$    (beep) (beeeeep) #$!! "

The road is too narrow to drive both vehicles side by side for more than 20 feet. That doesn't leave much time to get a shot. . Meawhile, the fast, but rough riding golf cart is taking it's toll on my body, I have been bouncing up and down, trying to balance a 25 pound rig on my shoulder, for over two hours straight now.  Both Jerry and Garth are worried that i will fall ot of the fast moving cart, so I strap myself down wit a motorcycle tiedown. Hey, whatever will keep me alive so I can finish this film .

Suddenyl: EPIPHANY!!!! I can get rid of the stupid reflection by simply tilting the camera a bit and filming at an angle! And finally I GET THE SHOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And on top of that it looks COOLER .

7PM - After driving out to a second location to film additional driving footage and then losing daylight, I call it a WRAP.

 

 

Special Thanks to Jerry and Garth, for sticking around until the very last shot and lending their gorgeous classic cars to the scene. I cannot stress enough just how wonderful these two guys are and how blessed I am to have friends and supporters like them in my life. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

And, with a little help from my friends, againts all odds, I have succeeded in completing the first section of my flashback #1

I come home beat and very very tired. Yet, I can't help but look at the footage because I am excited. Next thing I know I start cutting, editing it right there and then, complete with music. By the time I am done it is 1AM and my call time is 4:30AM tomorrow (wait... TODAY???)... And I will be filming ALL day Sunday.

Ouch, this is going to hurt.

PS: the 1 minute scene came out AWESOME !!

 

I wake up with a headache. Go figure . Tomorrow is my shoot and my back is against the wall. I await a phone call, hoping that Paul will come through and save us.

10AM - I hear word: PAUL WILL WELCOME ME INTO HIS AWESOME PERIOD CORRECT SHOP AGAIN THIS SUNDAY so I can save my shoot!!

Oh the blessed, BLESSED man! I had a smile up to my ears and was practically jumping up and down! YES!!!! YES YES YES YES YESSSSSS!!!  

Then I thanked God and asked him to bless Paul a million zillion times....

Then I noticed about 6000 pounds had just lifted off my shoulders. .

Life was good again.

I immediately emailed everyone letting them know about the location change and without batting another eye lash, shifted all my planning to accomodate for the change.

Oh, and then I did the cool "I did it! I did it!" dance...  NO, you don't get to see this one in my film  .

 

below: COOK MACHINE SHOP saves my film from disaster and I am forever grateful!!

THANK YOU PAUL!

 

I have been working very hard, for the last two weeks, to line up everything I need to film my first flashback scene. The scene will take two days to complete, starting with an exterior section (county roads, cars, orange groves etc...) on DAY ONE and ending inside Johnny's speed shop "Callaway Speed Shop" on DAY TWO.

With over 8 pro actors, several period correct classic cars, a good number of props and two locations, it was challenging to coordinate and put together, to say the least .

It is Thursday today and I dial up the DAY TWO location owner, to touch base and make sure he remembers we are to film at his shop Sunday. This is a routine phone call, just to confirm on my end everything is GO. We had already confirmed on his end, the week prior that Sunday was good for him for sure.

Imagine my surprise when I hear him say:

"Oh, hi Faith. Sunday? Oh NO impossible! I can't do it this week-end."

SAY WHATTTTTTTTTTTT  ?????????? What do you mean you "can't do it this week-end?".

Apparently he got another engagement and ommited to mention to me that the location would not be available.

I take a deep breath. I don't want to snap at him because he has been good to me, welcoming me into his shop twice before. but I don't think he realizes what kind of MESS he is leaving me in, by pulling the rug from under my feet a mere TWO DAYS prior to my shoot and without notice.

. I suddenly feel nautious.

I ponder whether he even remembers promising the shop would be available to me that day.  There is no need to bitch about it, so I thank him and hang up.

 take a deep breath Faith.

I already know I am unable to reschedule the scene, because there are too many people involved and also because I am now fully booked until the end of October. I can't move any shoot dates anymore. Everything is LOCKED.

WHAT TO DO???????????

I pull out my thinking cap and screw it on. Somehow, there must be a way I can save my shoot. My actors have been booked for both Sat and Sunday, some of them have had to negotiate with their employers to become available. And I'll be damn if I am going to let them down. .

When the going gets rough the tough keep walking (even if they limp)  .

Suddenly the light bulb goes on. I remember Paul, the very nice man who runs COOKS MACHINE WORKS shop. We filmed there a mere few weeks ago and he really was a doll to all of us. It became obvious that he was my only hope.

I dial up his number, while praying that he would be able to help me out on such a SHORT SHORT notice.

Paul was very nice on the phone and told me he was going to check his schedule out and talk to his better half and see if he could be available that sunday to open up the shop for us. He would let me know the next day.

I didn't sleep very well that night. I was worried that this time, I was not going to be able to pull it off. I didn't want to disappoint my cast and car owners.  ... What I needed was a MIRACLE.

I finally dosed off, hoping for the best...

"Ah Faith, it will all work out in the end... You'll see" said the little voice inside my head...

Sure hope the little voice is right!