THE CHALLENGE:

Make a full feature period drama bringing back to life the 50's hotrod era, entirely by myself and on a no budget.

One renaissance woman and her camera.

Accept no funds from investors - Never sell out - Never consider short cuts - No matter how hard it gets.

Retain complete artistic and cinematographic freedom. Remain true to my vision.

Make a film that is pure Labor of Love.

Complete it in three years OR DIE TRYING.

This is guerilla indie filmmaking at its best, and purest.

SHARE THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE HERE.

This is my blog, where I say it like it is. This is what it took to get here.

Enjoy! And please tell others about DEUCE OF SPADES. 

Here we are, on the set of DEUCE OF SPADES, in Jerry's "Mullseum" aka his five car garage / 50's artifact museum. Ready to rock. There's Marco, the Italian filmmaker. Jerry, the lifesaver. Peter (who owns the 35 Ford truck that TOMMY drives in the flashback) is here with his camera and he has brought Oren (great guy!), a new volunteer who is going to boom for us today. There's Harriette, who's volunteering  as a P.A for the third time... And then there is Jay Edwards, the wonderful actor who will portray MONK. One soldier is missing from our troops today. Stacey.

THE EMAIL

When it rains, it pours. As if finding out about Monk's death wasn't enough, I get an email from Stacey. She is bowing out. This comes as a (bad) surprise. Somehow I had envisioned Stacey growing with us and always being there. Running camera on the modern scene and then tackling a sequel with us... I am either a woman of vision or a woman of delusions...Because Stacey is suddenly quitting without warning or notice and this is a shock. Guess this film is going to move on without her. I probably should try to talk her out of what I feel is a bad decision, but Monk's death has wore me out so I just let it go "So be it". I am going to miss Stacey because I cared about her a whole lot. And although I don't understand her reasons, I must accept her decision and respect it. While most of my volunteers have fizzled out by now, Jerry is pulling in and has rolled up his sleeves, basically picking up the slack from everyone else and watching my back.Good thing, cause I really need it right now, considering I am left alone in this bloody trench to fight this battle... And out of ammunitions .  Losing Stacey's help means him and I will have to work even harder and longer each shoot.

THE TRAIN SHOT

I snap out of my revery. So Stacey is gone. The show must go on. And like Johnny Callaway says: "I'LL BE JUST FINE!" ... Right now I've got to focus on my scene and the lack of lights in this part of the garage... I block my first shot and give the camera to Marco, cause I am supposed to be in this shot.

This is a timed shot with a lot hinging on the ability to coordinate the train's arrival , panning with it to the tunnel , ending in a perfect framing onto a close up shot of Monk's face and in focus and this is not going to be a walk in the park. Marco gives it his best crack, but he fails shot after shot, to get the whole thing right. We now have lost almost an hour and still don't have a shot.

"OK, let me do it." Afterall, I don't need to walk through the door in that shot. I hate being stuck in front of the camera. So I decide to forego my entrance and slip back beind the camera to save the shoot. Right now I want to get this shot done otherwise we will never finish this scene. And Jay, who is quite old, cannot bend down that many times and for that long... I must take care of my actors... So I'll roll it.

Me - "TRAIN!"

(Jerry) - Ready to go!

 Me - "SOUND"

(Oren) Clean!

Me - "QUIET ON THE SET! ROLLING! AND... TRAIN!"

(Jerry puts the train in gear and sends it down the track)

I start my pan, all the while keeping my left eye corner on the train which is coming zipping down the track, around the bend... Pick up the second wagon after the smoking locomotive passes me by and pan with it up to the tunnel just as it enters it then pan up to reframe for Monk's close up shot, focus adjustment... Then calling "ACTION!" and Jay quickly looks towards the door, tries to hide the cigaret smoke and moves out of the frame.

Three takes later we have it nailed.

DONE ! NEXT SHOT!

After a few close ups and over the shoulders we move to the other side of the garage, where the ABYSS awaits.

THE ABYSS

This side of Jerry's garage is an abyss when it comes to light. Basically there are NONE. I only have 4K of lights at my disposal and they aren't cutting the mustard. I struggle to light the next few shots, doing the best I can with the meager means at hand. While lighting, I give Jay a break. He is a senior citizen and I can't work him as hard as my 20 year olds. I send him to take a nap in the trailer. He returns rejuvenated.

THE MONK STORY

We now tackle the last shots, showing Monk telling the girl about a street race in Culver City, in the old days. Jay is struggling. He keeps forgetting his lines, distracted by the people there. It is now 8PM and we have lost all light outside which doesn't matter a bit since we are still in the ABYSS . (be done by 3PM the other location owner said - Yeah RIGHT!) Jerry went to get sandwhiches. Once again he is kindly feeding everybody THANK YOU JERRY, THE LIFESAVER. In fact I am going to award Jerry the MEDAL OF DEUCE OF SPADES when this film is done! He of all people, deserves it most.

I send the crew outside to eat. Everybody. Yeap, every last one of them. I stay alone with Jay. Shlap the boom and mic on a C-stand and we are in business.

And there, with just the two of us, the magic finally happens. Jay is now in character... I am nailing his close up shots, directing him on and off... He becomes animated, full of life, has that sparkle.... That familiar sparkle in his eyes... He becomes Monk.

As I turned my camera off that night, I had a great feeling of having done something worthy.

This one's for you Monk!

Love Always,

Frenchy.

Below: Hariette is sitting in for me but Jay is distracted by her and the crew, so I end up sending everybody outside.

Below: Jay, although bearing no resemblence to Monk, does capture his essence well.

For the past two years, I have been planning to film my Monk scene at my friend's shop in South LA. This location has been lined up since early 2008, so I am well ahead of the game. A recent phone call to location owner to confirm the shoot date and  explain to him it is going to take all day. He says no problem. So far so good. I've got that end of things covered.

Or do I?

FRIDAY 10AM - One day before the shoot, I call my friend again to reconfirm everything. He then says: "You'll be done by 3PM, right?"

ME -  3PM? No... I need all day... As I said...

HIM - Well, I though THAT was all day, you know from 7AM to 3PM.

ME  -  NO, all day means, all day... Until we lose daylight.

HIM - Oh, but I have to get together with a friend for dinner at 6PM.

ME -  X 2 - Well, I TOLD you I need all day and you said OK... Can you reschedule your dinner possibly? Or allow me access to the location much earlier, like say.... 5 AM?

HIM - Oh no, I can't... Well you know, I am trying to help you out here... But that's the best I can do... I am sure youll "figure it out" and make it work somehow...

ME - (take a deep breath Faith) - (silence)  I see... Well.. I guess we'll have to see what happens.

We hang up. I am PISSED. I now have less than 24 hours to come up with a PLAN B. Cause obviously my friend doesn't really care. His sudden dinner plans are more important than my film. . And so it was that the one location I had lined up from day ONE fell through one day before the shoot.

I call Jerry, still venting. Jerry and I debate what to do... I know I cannot pull this scene off in such a small amount of time and this is a scene for MONK and I'll be DAMN if I am going to half ass it. What pisses me off more than anything is that my friend was also a friend of Monk. Go figure.

Being a filmmaker is being a problem solver. wait. make that a MULTI PROBLEM solver .

And that's when it suddenly hits me.

"LIGHT BULB"

"Jerry, we are idiots. We're gonna film it in YOUR garage!!!!!!!!!! Remember how we bloked off 60% of your garage for my garage scene? Used the tarp to hide the rest of the garage? Well, now we are going to use that rest of the garage for Monk. AND this will finally give me a reason to feature your awesome train display in my film, which I had been wanting to do since the first time I ever saw it. '

No doubt, I am brilliant hehehehehe.

Done deal. We both agree that this is the best solution for our problem  and that this way we can film until we're blue in the face and NO ONE will be able to STOP US.

I call back my friend and tell him that I will no longer be needing his shop. I thank him politely and hang up.

Monk is going to have a good scene and it will not be rushed. I owe him that much. I doubt that Monk ever had a train display in his garage, but under the circumstances, I am sure he approved and smiled upon us and our efforts, from up there...

4 PM -  I pop by OMEGA PROPS in Hollywood to pick up some props for my new location. I need some trophies and also I need an oxygen bottle and mask. I love going to OMEGA because it is always like being a kid at a candy store... I think that Allan has EVERY SINGLE OBJECT ever created, in his warehouse. If you can think of it, you will find it there ... I walk away with a couple dragstrip trophies, a smile on my face. God bless Allan, I don't know what I would have done without his amazing help.

5PM - I pull in front of Jerry's house in Inglewood, towing Houdini, my little self contained travel trailer, behind me. I drove it to work this morning, packed everything up at 6AM. Including the wardrobe and all the filming gear. Kaya (my Blue Heeler) watched me. She knows that I won't be back for a few days. She's already figured out that when Mommy takes that many bags with her, it's bad news. Kaya cries and barks. She doesn't like to see me leave. I don't blame her. Something about parting with the beings that are dear to you... I was never good at it either.

It's good to see Jerry's friendly, smiling face. I need a smiling face right now.  I'm not the kind to mop and whine, in fact I don't like to dwell and I don't cry that often. So I put up a good face and go about my shoot prep as usual. But deep down, I'm thinking about Monk. And I'm sad.

Earlier today I talked to his son and told him I wanted to go on with the scene. Now more than ever, I wanted MONK to live forever in DEUCE OF SPADES. To be remembered and honored. While talking to him, I found myself at some point unable to talk anymore. Emotions were overwhelming me... I hate this crying shit. I tried to swallow my tears best I could but it was no use.  We both agreed that the scene should be filmed and he gave me his blessings.

"Ok Jerry... Let's figure out where we are going to do this scene...". I scope out the space available and all the cool things we could include in the scene... Oh YES>>>> This is going to work out very nicely!

Jerry and I start to move stuff around and create our set. I have decided to set everything up tonight so we are that much ahead of the game tomorrow. Looking up at his ceiling, I spot a sign: "POSITIVELY NO SMOKING" ... "Oh my God Jerry! I GOT to have that sign in the scene! Since MOnk was not allowed to smoke (doctor's orders) but he smoked anyway...". We set the sign up near the train display, with an ashtray next to it .  

We continue to work on the set until it's late and then I cross the street and retreat in Houdini, where my bed is waiting, with open arms.

I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow... I pray that the scene will come out good and that God will give me to SEE THE SHOTS... I always ask him to help me see the shots... I think He must be listening... Cause so far my eye has not let me down yet... Talking about my eye.... It is closing fast... And I think I am falli ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

(lights out)

Now done with the car trailer, I dispatch Jeff to take it back to David. Sure felt good to unload the deuce and have it back. Would be nice to take it for a drive up Mullholland, the weather is nice... But I don't have the time. This week I must prepare for the MONK scene, coming up around the corner, this Saturday.

MONK

Monk is an old timer I met at Teddy's cafe about two years ago. He is adorable and a darling man, and welcomed me with open arms to his car meet, oftentimes inviting me to join his table and introducing me to all his car friends. Always a sparkle in his eye, Monk likes to burn out with his original three window 1932 blue coupe, as he pulls out of the meet. Monk has seen it all, done it all. He was there at the first SCTA dry lake meet. He has dragraced, street raced and terrorized his neighborhood plenty in his young days... He is a Johnny Callaway. When I show up at the meet, Monk smiles and gives me a big hug : "Hi Frenchy!!"  (Frenchy, that's what he likes to call me)... Having been adopted by Monk meant hearing a lot of cool stories from the old days... One of which will become part of my story line.

Monk is such a colourful character that I decided to depict him in the film. I wrote a very nice MONK scene and I am really looking forward to filming it now, finally... For the last two years, Monk has been kept abreast of the film progress, and I usually will share with him any photos, screengrabs and whatever else I can bring with me to Teddy's Cafe on a Thursday night.

Monk's eyes sparkle when he looks at the screengrabs... Brings back a lot of memories... He is very supportive of my effort and even brought his coupe to one of my night shoot, to help out, despite his frail health. Ah you should have seen Monk that night, looking at all my actors, dressed period correct to 1953 and all the hotrods parked there... He was sooo happy... Sooo happy...

I am really looking forward to going to Teddy's cafe tomorrow to talk to him about his scene and see whether he would like to try out and do a cameo part in the film. In case his acting chops fail him, I have already lined up a professional actor to depict him.. But I hope he might be able to pull it off, cause nothing beats the "real thing"... I really look forward to showing him my new teasers,too in my i-phone. He's gonna love those!

I miss going to Teddy's cafe and I miss Monk. It's been a while... I have been so busy filming seems I never have the time to do mid week car meets anymore...

THE PHONE CALL

The phone rings. I pick up. It's Jim Miller.

"I am calling you because I wanted you to know that Monk passed away  a few days ago."

The news hits me hard. real hard. I believe in life after death, but it is still hard to part. i didn;t know Monk all that well nor for all that long but I must have really loved him because losing him really hurts. Now walking around for the rest of the day with a hole in my heart, I grieve. A splitting headache is tearing my head in two...

As I went to bed that night, I prayed and cried...

Goodbye my sweet friend. Teddy's cafe will never be the same without you. I'm gonna miss you terribly...

Love always,

"Frenchy"

Below: the real MONK, on my set that night, the last time I saw him...

Looking around the bend, I have zero visibility. Cars are coming out of the tunnel at high speed and they cannot see me either. Traffic is intense... I wait for a small break so I can attempt to run across this three lane road.... fast as I can... Chances of getting hit are 2 to 1...  Am I pushing it too far? I take a deep breath, and tell myself "I'll be just fine"

Boy, I sure hope Johnny Callaway was right about this.

Earlier that day - 3PM - Carlos lands in my day job's parking lot. A young, laid back fellow with a nice smile, he is from Milan and freshly arrived in LA. I am glad he was able to make it at a moment's notice because I need to finish nailing the last two shots of this scene so I can return the car trailer to David. This morning I drove the tundra, towing the deuce, to work. People in my office building must be talking about me... They must think I'm nuts.

They are probably right .

"What's that weird girl up to now?" says Claudia on the third floor, to her co-worker Janice. They both drive SUV (or perhaps Mini vans or even station wagons), have husbands and kids. Apparently, women are from Venus and Faith is from Jupiter . Jupiter is a good planet. Lots of thunder there .

Back to Marco. Jerry arrives and we pack Marco in his car and we promptly depart. We are racing against time (NOoooo.... Let me put my surprise look on - REALLY???) LOL... Today we must nail a tunnel shot on a very busy road and at rush hour no less. Oh and did I mention I am supposed to be the only car on that road, during the 6 second shot?

This is gonna be a long day.

We pull in to the side of the road before reaching the tunnel. I debrief the troops. This battle may get a bit bloody I explain. I am not sure what the situation is gonna be at the tunnel... And whether there is a way to plant a camera there... So let's check it out.

THE TUNNEL

"DAMN" As I look at the road and tunnel, the obvious hits me like a ton of bricks (LARGE bricks)... There is no side walk, no shoulder and the side is a steep slope, not a spot to place a camera and cameraman on the side of this road. This is the point where most people would have called it a day, but not me. I'll be darn if I am going to go home with my tail between my legs. When there's a will, there's got to be a way.

"I'm gonna go scope it out, You guys stay here, where it's safe"

To scope it out I will have to cross that road and run up the side of the road up to the tunnel. I will have to run fast because cars are driving up the windy road at a very fast speed. Some even think it is fun to RACE up that road. Litterally. Crossing is very dangerous and running up to the tunnel is no better.

I finally see a small break between cars and make a go for it. Running as fast as I can I end up on the other side and up to the tunnel, desperately looking for a safe spot to land, so I can get my ass out of the traffic's way.

Finally a little flat spot in the hill. There is not enough room for two people to stand, but for one camera and a man, it should do.  Yes... The angle and distance are right, this WILL WORK !!  - If I can get my cameraman and filming rig here  in one piece, that is...

And so it was that Marco and I ran across the curve and made it alive to the other side and then up to the little spot, with all the gear. We then quickly set up the camera, I picked my lens, adjusted exposure, shutter speed, framing etc and explained to Marco what I had in mind. then I left him there in his little safe spot and ran back across the road... ("Why did the chiken run across the road? Cause it was probably making a film LOL)

For the shoot, I will have to cross back and forth and run up and down that road no less than 10 times !! I keep thinking I am going to get hit by a car today, that I am crazy, that I should give up... But find myself runnning across the road once again... With near zero visibility.

 THIS SUCKS!

Oh but that's not the only thing that sucks today. Today, I also have to drive through that tunnel no less than 20 times, trying to time myself in between heavy traffic. I even time the nearby traffic lights to figure out how much time I have in between red lights to attempt one clean run. Meanwhile, Marco is also sweating bullets. He has a challenging shot to do and his pan must be perfect. 

I have to turn around twice each pass, and both places I am turning around at are illegal turns.  I risk having a car plow into my rig and my deuce on it... Oh boy oh boy... I am not enjoying myself.

To time the shot, we have our walkie talkies.

Murphy's law: The lack of reception of communication devices will be proportionate to how badly you need to communicate.

Needless to say in our case, we desperately need to coordinate the shot and have ZERO reception, neither with walkie talkies nor cell phones.

 X 2

Each time I turn around, I have to back up the trailer into narrow residential streets and hope to not have a car plow into me. Fortunately, I'm good at towing. Heck if I don't make it as a filmmaker, I can now apply for a big rig driver job. Yeah, that's on top of my moving company job : I'm gonna be rich!! HAHA!

But then again, I'll probably kill myself today on this road, so I won't need any job at all .

Each pass we take, we run into a problem. Usually, a modern car will sneak into the shot. It is now 5PM and there are cars everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE.

This is going to be a looooong shoot.

Pass after pass, we try and pass after pass, we FAIL.

Jerry offers to go down and keep an eye on upcoming traffic, while I have the downhill traffic figured out to a T, cause of the red light pattern.

JERRY - "OK Faith, I have a red light down here now... There's a silver BMW coming up your way and it is clear after that.. I repeat CLEAR" ... Of course his message sounds more like: "OK Faith keiruygf We are fgherigf dfruihtr after dfkhsgh BMW hjgfdurtyr" because reception sucks.

But I think I got the idea, so after the silver BMW, I make it a go.

Oh wait. I forgot to mention that for the shot to look good I will have to drive in the MIDDLE of the two lane road, meaning, be neither in one lane or the other... And no matter how much I floor the Tundra, it is afterall towing a trailer and deuce up hill and little shit cars with grouchy office job people in them are catching up to me before I get inside the tunnel. And they can't figure out why the hell I am driving in the middle of the road, taking up all the space and ...

"You #%^%$$$^% ###  !!!"

They yell at me, eloquently, using elaborate words I am not at liberty to repeat on this fine blog site...

Some give me the finger. Others just honk and yell... Usually I would be upset but I honestly don't give a rat's hemoroidal ass right now. I simply DON'T CARE. I only have ONE THING on my mind  and that is to

GET THE SHOT.

ME: "WHAT?"

MARCO (repeating himself on the cell): "I said we got the shot!"

ME: "Are you sure?

MARCO: "Yes!"

Another suicide run across of the road and up to the camera confirms my hopes.

WE GOT THE SHOT!!!!!!!!!!   

And we are both still alive to celebrate!

The celebration takes place at the local mall. Food court, cause we're poor. We are poor but happy. We got the shot... Oh yeah!!!!!!!! WE GOT THE SHOT.

And I am alive to tell the tale!

After the quick dinner break, we head out to get a night shot. This one will be very easy, not much traffic where we are filming. Ironically, I set up my camera in front of a film school LOL...

Showing once again that the only real film school is out here in the street, DOIN IT.

Oh YEAH.

Below: A shot that could have claimed our lives.

I love my I-phone. But not so much when it rings at 7AM in the morning to wake me up... And I am lacking a good 20 hours of sleep...  I open one eye...

OUCH !

Major eye strain and migraine headache...  Oye. This is going to be a looong day... Especially since I have to haul my ass all over the places today, driving ALL DAY for the shoot...

Soon, (much too soon if you ask me LOL) Jerry and Michael join me at base camp. Jerry and I are scoping out how to tie down the deuce and secure the tarp. Jerry has come prepared of course, he kicks ass as a Production Assistant! He brought lots of gismos, including clamps and bungee cords... Michael is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and gives us a great hand. He was able to free up his schedule for this shoot and shows up on time, punctual and professional, as usual.

Jerry and I both really like Michael a lot and we are bumming that he is unable to be our camera guy for the rest of the film. He fits right in. We ask him again, but once again he declines... He might be able to fill in here and there, but cannot commit. Needs to grab the better paying jobs (sigh)...

It will take us over two hours to get the deuce and tarp just right. We then hitch and head out.

Today we will be driving to a lot of locations, stopping along the way to get quick shots of the hotrod girl towing her barn find back to California ... The hotrod girl is not looking too good this morning... Kinda green...

 "Jerry, I think I am going to puke"...

My headache is very massive and I can't open my eyes. Jerry is driving, I just lay there, pretty pathetically helpless. Now and then I crack an eyelid to see where we are.

Everytime we stop to film, I have to drive the Tundra and do complicated maneuvers to turn around and do several passes of the rig passing the camera. I got the Walkie Talkies with me and we are able to time my drive by filming LOL so that I am alone on the road. This because we are supposed to be in Texas and all the cars around me have CA plates LOL... So we cheat.

First stop, we experience another great exemple of Murphy's law at work:

Mental note: No matter how far remote a location, the moment you stop to film, all hell will break lose.

Today is no exception. Jerry and Michael have set up the camera on the side of a remote road. We can't even see any houses around. Just a couple of garbage cans. Meanwhile I have turned around and waiting for their "green light" to drive back... But I get a disturbing message from them:

"FAITH ... We have to move the rig. There is a garbage truck that has come to empty the trash cans we set up next to"

"YOU MUST BE JOKING !!!"

No. They weren't.   We had to redo all the framing, focus adjustments etc. Can you imagine that? What were the chances!!!! All we needed was 10 minutes. And that is just when the truck arrives. Not before. Not after. Just during the ten measly minutes we needed to nail the shot. Of all places and all times, it had to show up right where we were and right at the time we were there. Go figure!

I'm shaking my head and laughing... But not too hard, cause it hurts. The Excedrin I took earlier is no worky... Rats.

Anywhoo, we then drive out to Palmdale and on the way there  I spot some oil drills so Michael and I go scout. By a miracle of God we discover some that are at street level in a dry, isolated area.

Needless to say as soon as we pull the camera out a truck with two dudes in it pulls up next to us.   Here we go again? The oil rig belongs to their company and so does the lot we are parked on...  AGH - Will it ever end?????

But they are nice guys and give us their blessings to get the shot ... So we gun it and then run.

Destination? Pete's house. He has scouted his area for us and we do a few more freeway shots there. He then follows us up a very windy road that Michael has used on car shoots in the past. Yielding some scenic drive by shots.

Meanwhile, my migraine is still raging. I let Jerry do the driving... Trying to rest my eyes...

6PM - We are - as always- losing daylight fast and no where near done. WE capture a few cool shots, thanks to Michael's ability to nail it from take one, pretty much ... Ah the good man....

8PM - We squeeze one last dusk shot and it's all over. My headache is finally thinking about leaving my cranium - emphasis on "thinking".... We are tired and hungry. A stop at the local Panda Express joint and we refill ...

10PM - Still in Palmdale and DEAD. We part ways. Michael will take Jerry back to his car and I will head to West Hills, leaving the travel trailer at the Fillmore location for the next few days... Who knows when I will have the time to go and get it??  I am missing a shot, a night towing shot, which I need for my scene. but more importantly I am missing my tunnel shot. And I need that shot very very badly. So I am going to have to film it tomorrow after work cause I need to return the travel trailer this week, David needs it back. Guess I'll rest when I'm dead.. (which, at this rate, will be soon LOL)...

I text Marcos, a young Italian filmmaker whom I met through my add. I like his work, he has a great eye and his tastes are very similar to mine. Maybe he could be the one? Luckily he is available tomorrow afternoon and accept the job.

12PM - Now back home. Parking this long rig on my curve is hell. I worry about the deuce, spending the night alone on the street. I decide to stand watch and sleep on the couch, near the front window, with my guard dog Kaya, armed and dangerous. No one better think about messing with the deuce tonight, cause they'll have to deal with one crazy ass cattle dog and its even crazier owner...

GRRRRR WOOF !

5AM - I wake up, alone in my trailer. Stacey is at the same hotel as Jerry. Daylight is already out, I put my marshmellow outfit on, grab my camera and get out. The light is perfect... The sun, hiding behind the thick morning fog... I take pick up shots of cars, car parts, engines etc... I love working alone and thrive that way.

7AM- I pick a few oranges from the tree and visit the chicken coop... Bummer. No eggs for me .

There is a chicken laying down inside.. She looks like she is thinking about it... I coach her:

"Common!! PUSH!! PUSH darn it! I aint' got all day and I sure would love a nice fried egg with my frehs squeezed OJ... PUUUSSSSHHHHHH "

But the chicken just stares at me...  Undoubtedly, the lights are on but there's nobody home LOL.

Below: Unwilling.

Well, I guess it's right back to the Faith Granger diet then... No breakfast for me.  I'd like to bitch and moan about it but I don't have the time... My crew and cast has started to roll in. We got work to do...

This morning I wan to film Pat's shots in front of her house, and to match my soft light from last night, I will need to take advantage of the morning layer. So we must roll ASAP and nail it fast. Since I am not in most of the shots, I can once again be behind my camera and that sure feels goooood.

Below: I can shoot Pat's shots - Yes this IS the (IN)FAMOUS ski outfit. aka the "Marshmellow outfit"

Pat has a great face

Adam rolls in (guess he's hard core LOL) and takes over for the over the shoulder shots...

We nail the shots fast... Good thing, cause now the sun has burnt through the fog and we are back to harsh light and heat...  

I move the crew back to the shed where we are to film the continuation of shot #1. So we will be in the shade now, no matter what. But I guess I have made enemies yesterday when I lutted the spider's homes... One of them bites me twice on my back and it is now rather swollen...

I dial in the light. Adam has some suggestions so I let him try it his way but it does not produce results I am happy with. So back to my old ways. And now I have something that looks like my work. I shoot Pat's medium and close up single shots myself... They come out really good... Pat is doing a great job and showing just the right amount of emotion at the end of the dialogue...

Here, showing emotion as she remembers her late husband...

We now tackle OTS shots and my close up... I HATE close ups on me. It's so humbling. You never feel so ugly as when a camera is shoved in your face and STARING at every little flaw of your skin, teeth, nose oh the list is LOOONG... I need a head transplant that's what I need LOL.

But today I am happy with my performence. In fact, very happy. This morning I watched the footage filmed last night and found that my acting was very much OK. Not sure why I was freaking out so much... But I guess your first on screen appearence with dialogues can do that to you... No matter how confident you usually are (sigh)... But I'm all better now! (apart from needing the head transplant LOL) I got my mojo back and it will not leave again for the remainder of the film.

Below: the hotrod girl... Not perfect looking but handy with a wrench (or two)

We struggle with the sound... People driving by, cars and of course BIRDS ... I used to LOVE birds... But that was a long time ago .

One of them is now perched atop the highest palm tree on the ranch. And making a rockus. We are pounding on the trunk with a shovel... To no avail... And none of us can throw rocks that high anyway... Although we take turns at trying... That one mocking bird puts us out of business for a good 20 minutes...  Where's a bazooka when you need one????? 

Now done with the dialogue, we have lost a lot of daylight... And running out of time to finish the scene...

AND OUT OF HARD DRIVE??????????????

Holy shit! This is the first time I fill both my P2 cards up... Oh boy... I am a good 60 minutes away from home and have no laptop (maybe next film, when I have some money??) ...

Oh boy! (Jerry's favorite expression)...

I blow off a few takes that I know we don't need for sure... making room for a few more takes...

below: time to get the deuce out of the shed

Meanwhile, we are quickly removing the deuce from the shed and loading it up onto the car trailer. A look up at the sky confirms my fears: The sun is plunging...

 AGHHHHHH  No time to tie the deuce down. I will have to tow it for the scene as is and hope to not lose it somewhere on the driveway... I also have but 5 minutes to block the scene. This is to be one continuous, transforming shot which may be challenging to nail... And we might only be able to get about 4 takes before we lose daylight... We'll never make it.

I want my mommy!!!!!!!!!

below: Stacey is my stand in so I can visualize my shot and how to block this section of the scene.

NEVER GIVE UP NEVER SURRENDER!!

Brief pow wow with Adam....

Let's roll it ! I put my life into Adam's hands. Stacey will be pulling focus for him... We all hold our breaths...

The shot starts with an extreme close up, turning into an Over the shoulder that Pat has to step into and then turning into a master shot as I leave...

God is with us today because Adam and Stacey NAIL IT FROM TAKE TWO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

What could have easily taken 40 minutes to film has taken... Five minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another DEUCE OF SPADES miracle.

Quick! Pat's closing shot!! I film it as the sun plunges behind the mountain... Pat looks great standing next to her lonely house...

Below: JOANN quietly watches as  Faith drives off with the deuce...

7PM - Joann leaves... We wrap... Adam and Stacey help us load the truck up with the gear (more biceps) and then also leave. Now it's just Jerry and I. We are dead. But we have one last nagging problem on our hands:

TOMORROW WE FILM ALL DAY AND I HAVE ZERO HARDDRIVE SPACE LEFT.

Sigh.

And so it was that, although both completely spent, Jerry and I had to drive all the way back to my house to download that night...

1 AM - We are starved. Wendy's is the only joint open so we are eating burgers, sitting in the truck in the parking lot. Late dinner would be an understatement .

And then IT came. Trotting across the parking lot... Alone. Hungry. A coyote. Amazed, Jerry and I watch it for a long time. It roams around, for over 10 minutes... Ignoring us... Looking for trash to eat...

A survivor...

I leave him a piece of my burger.

Cause I of all people, know first hand how it feels to have to fend for yourself all by yourself. And to be hungry LOL.  But we survived another shoot, and I did it, yes, I did it... With a little help from my friends ...

"Ready to head back to Fillmore Jerry?"

Jerry nods and shifts it in first gear. We're good to go.

Today is "D" day. "D" as in DEUCE, "D" day as in the day the Deuce of Spades resurfaces. This is a key scene and as I opened up my eyes that morning the first thought that crossed my mind was:

"I sure hope I nail it!"

My alarm clock has not had a chance to ring yet. I jump to my feet, hyper, get dressed quickly and open the trailer door.

Below: Base camp: I'm always home wherever I am with "Houdini" my little travel trailer

Outside, nothing but land... Orange groves, fields... And... FOG???????????

What the heck! A look up and the sky confirms my hopes: Looks like we have good, thick cloud cover, which may make our shoot a lot easier to negotiate... But I don't expect this to last long... This is typical morning layer in Fillmore.

RATS! My hair is going to go frizzy now.  I have never cared in the past, but now I have to be an actor as well as a DP and director and the director in me wants my actors to NOT have frizzy hair. . Baseball cap it is. I wear it  about once every other year so today is a special treat for my cap.

Below: Baseball cap it is!

I get out and start scouting the location, spotting strategic points... Oh yes... Come to mamma!! This scene is going to rock!

I have filmed here before, several times. Notably, the Passion Pit scene, the Ambulance scene and  the Bad News Travels Fast scene... So many memories... I feel a little blue... I miss Tim and Lex...  And filming them... But I snap out of it real fast cause I have WORK TO DO. Today I am using the remaining of the huge property, which I had never had a chance to utilize before, much to my chagrin... Let there be chagrin no more cause now I am going to squeeze every possible cool shot out of it . Special thanks to John and Lindy for welcoming us again and being so supportive!! We love you guys!!

I hop in the truck and go pick up Jerry, on the way there I cross path with Stacey who has volunteered for the week-end. It's good to see her, I care about the girl, like a little sister. Even though she has decided to not run camera for me... The three of us have a quick coffee break at a local dive donnut store and then rush back to the ranch.

We soon have arrived back at base camp and Garth rolls in .

THE PREPPING

First order of the day: Wipe the deuce dry.

Second order of the day: Decide which building the deuce will be stored in. I spot only one enclosed building, so I snatch it. A Lasalle is pulled out of its sleep and out of the shed, to make room for the deuce.

Third order of the day: Make the deuce look like it's been sitting around for 50 years. We start with fake dust... Then, after I back up the deuce in its new den, I tackle spider webs. A trip to the special effect store having yielded no results, I decide to be smart and use the location's own resources to create my spider webs... In this instance: Putting the real spiders to contribution!  Cause let's face it, nothing looks as real as real spider webs!!!!

below: Picking up real spider webs from all around the shed... I was not very popular with the spider community that day LOL

The spider webs are sticky and the only way to move them safely is using two wire coat hangers... Once again, making lemonade out of rocks. LOL... But the results were very satisfactory!!!

Last touch: We let the air out of the tires, to give a "almost flat tire" look to the deuce. Jerry is in charge of that one and has brought an air compressor with him to reinflate the tires when we are done. Jerry always thinks of everything!

8:30AM - Still no DP. I am starting to get stomach acid. What if he is a no show? I check my i-phone and find a message from him. He got lost and is now running a bit late but he is coming ... Immediately, about 500 pounds are lifted off my shoulders...  I feel much better now!

9AM- Adam is here. I expected some old dude but he is just a kid. Good, he'll fit right in with the rest of us weirdos LOL ... I debrief him and give him the side to read so he has an idea of what we are doing today.

9:30AM- Pat pulls in. She is a very nice lady I auditionned a few weeks ago for the part of SANDY but could not take because of her heavy Texas accent. But I remembered really loving her acting... So when I rewrote the beginning of my script, to tighten the story and shorten the film some, and suddenly needed a female, mature actress with a Texas accent LOL - I KNEW EXACTELY WHO TO CALL . They say God works in myterious ways..

No kidding!

Pat is excited to now be a part of the cast. For the next two days I am going to work her very hard and she proves to be one tough mamma. Through fog, heat, hunger, thirst and many many takes, and even longer waits in between, she patiently waits, always a smile on her face.

THE SHOOT

Everything is now set-up and I decide to tackle the hardest shot of the week-end first. Get it out of the way while we are still "fresh" sorta speak. It is a long dolly shot that follows Pat and I as we pass by the shed. I have many problems. The ground is very uneven and my dolly is too short.

Below: my big doly system will not work so I will use the table top dolly for that shot. Here setting up the base...

Also we now have massive sunlight hitting the ground in front of the shed and inside the shed it is quite dark. I don't have enough light to compensate, so I must try to tone the sunlight down in any way possible.

While Adam and I try to figure out a way to make a 20 foot long platform on which to roll my mini table top dolly, Jerry and Garth tackle creating a tent to get some shade in front of the shed...

An hour later we have both problems resolved

Below: make do flags provide shade to get better exposure for the shot.

Meanwhile, we decide to improvise and experiment with our make-do dolly. Long roof pannels that were lying around on the property seem to provide a good solution to our problem....

To make the shot even more interesting I decide to use an old Model A roadster body, which was just sitting on rafters near by. The boys carry it and shlap it on the ground, by the shed... Now I really have a cool shot.

Below: A screengrab from that shot

We are now ready to roll. I grab Pat and her and I go back to the trailer to get ready. We get into our wardrobe, tend to make up and hair. I thank my baseball cap: My hair is not too frizzy. Guess I'll survive the shoot .

This first shot is very challenging. I set everything up but then have to hand the camera over to Adam who will be sweating bullets for the next hour trying to get that one shot. The roof pannels are a bit wobbly and he is litterally bending in half to reach the camera, which is at ground level. Plus he is working in full sun and it's getting HOT... I bet you Adam hates me by now... But if not, I'm sure he'll hate me later  ...

Below: The deuce resurfaces...

1PM - Pizza break. Thank you Jerry!  As always I'm working while (barely) eating...

1:30PM - Tackling the second shot of the day, yet another challenging dolly shot... Once again, lack of time dictates we make do with the table top dolly... We are going to need some sort of table... Or build one...

Below: Jerry and Garth make-do a table for us... Heavy as hell, but they're hard core! Hey Jerry, stop hiding under that table! I can see you! GET BACK TO WORK LOLOL...

Below: Showing Adam how to tackle this next shot

And then we roll it... The timing is essential, otherwise Adam runs out of table and the shot ends too abruptly... Pat and I have to walk through the warehouse and make stops at just the right time and speed... But we all nail it after about 15 takes.

Below: The camera crabs behind old model As while we walk on the other side... The location is rich with production value...

Next shots are much easier... Thank God!

Below: Garth (left), when not taking behind the scene photos, is busy helping in any way he can.. Here, shielding me from the sun so I can actually see the monitor and adjust focus and framing...

Screengrab:

3PM - We now have another challenging shot to tackle. Booming it is going to be hell... The long, precise pan and focus adjustments are not going to be a walk in the park either. Adam does well, despite his constant cell phone texting distractions.

Mental note: From now on, no cell phones allowed on my set.

Below: blocking the shot

After resolving the many problems the shot presented to me, I hand the camera back to Adam and play actresses again - and that's a wayyyyy easier job!

Screengrabs:

I do a LOT of takes... Everybody is now a bit aggravated at me because I am still not happy. I see little flaws in each take and I am looking for the ONE take I can be proud of. Pat is there for me and she is very willing to do it again and again... But I fear we are going to lose sunlight soon... And pray for one good take... Finally we nail one. ..

5PM - QUICK !!!!!!!!!! Last shot! We are going to lose daylight! We are all running around, moving gear as fast as we can... Now in the front of the main house, filming the beginning of the scene. Aka: My arrival. the sun quickly plunges behind the super high mountain that flanks the property. It si still early, but we already lost the sun rays. Now left with extraordinary, soft light to die for... This is what I have been waiting for... This very special lighting situation at this specific location, will allow me to have very good lighting for this exterior  - otherwise unshaded - shot...

Below: I block the shot before the sun plunges and evaluate test shots...

Below: A few more rehearsals and we will be ready...

Below: Stacey is running out of fuel but we are not done yet.. In fact we haven't even started rolling!

Below: THE SUN IS GONE - Now we roll take after take...

Me (the director) is driving me (the actress) crazy. I keep making me do it again. and again and again... I am having a moment of doubt... This is my first dialogue scene in the film... What if I SUCK? The perfectionist in me is freaking out... MUST NAIL IT... Or else... Me (the actress) is really trying hard to kick ass for me (the director)... I am jogging up and down the long driveway, in fact SPRINTING.... The goal? To be out of breath, to look stressed, lost and in trouble. It's working . I am also losing pounds by the minute LOL... The Faith Granger diet (aka: run around all day and never have time to eat... But YES, you can eat ANYTHING you want... You just will never have the time to eat it LOL)

6PM - Now we have lost all daylight for sure. I finally call it a day IT'S A WRAP !!!!!!!!

And since I have worked my crew so hard, we all go to the local seafood restaurant and pig out.

Maybe they won't hate me quite as much after that delicious meal? ...

PS: Sure hope Adam shows up again tomorrow LOL.... If he is not COMPLETELY traumatized by now.... That is...

The bite of cold night air rushing at my face.... I can hear the V8 purring under the hood... Hot air venting out the many louvers at the top keeping me from completely freezing to death...

I love my deuce... 

Behind me, Jerry, towing the travel trailer and Jeff, towing the car trailer. Boy do I get the boys in trouble... If it wasn't for me and my crazy Hot Rod film idea, they would probably be home, dosing off on their couch, comfortable, watching some mindless TV show... Warm... Relaxed.... Lazy...

But now they are driving on a dark road late at night, following some crazy woman who is driving a 1932 roadster. without a windshield of all things. And she's wearing a ski coverall and leather aviator cap and goggles...

Never a dull moment in my company ...

We stop at El Pollo Loco cause that's the last joint that will be open past that point. We are a bit tired, especially Jerry and I who have loaded up all the gear (again) back in the truck... Yet, spirits are high and we are all laughs... We are excited about filming scene ONE of the film this week-end...

So let the good people of this world snoose on their couches with their TV set on tonight... On our end, we are going to make history or die trying  no matter what it takes and how uncomfortable it gets.

Back behind the wheel... The deuce carries me in its womb, carries me away from everything... Nothing is left but the road, the deuce and me...

And the sudden nagging realization that I have been too busy to memorise my lines for tomorrow's scene ...

AH RATS! I forgot. Too much to think about, I guess...

And so, there, somewhere between Simi Valley and Fillmore, on the old 118 route, I started going over my lines and memorizing them... Letting the deuce do its hypnotic magic...

11PM - We finally pull into the huge property, which is dark and quiet. We unhitch... I set up camp quickly. Jeff then drives Jerry to his hotel and they both leave... I remain all alone in the middle of this big deserted field...

I probably should be a bit scared, but I'm too tired. The boogie man can't kill me, I'M ALREADY DEAD LOL...

My head hits the pillow and I am gone is 2.5 seconds... Tomorrow is going to be a BIG day...

Sure hope that DP shows up!!

It is now Thursday and I am running out of time faaaast. I am cleaning up the trailer, loading it up and getting the props and wardrobe ready. Let's not forget the make up bag...Oh, and  Food... Water...

Meanwhile my computer is getting loaded with applications from crew people. Sorting through all these resumes is a full time job... And I barely have the patience and time for it... But no choice. I make a few phone calls... Talk to a few more people... One of them, a DP, seems excited about the project. He is available this week-end!!

So far so good... I look at his reel, like what I see... But I know that there is no way any DP is gonna stick around on my $75 a day pay which is all I can afford.

Actually, I can't even afford that much. In fact right now, I can't afford NOTHING. Cause there's no funds left. What so ever. Jerry feels sorry for me so he has been helping out, feeding the crew over the last few shoots. It's a good thing or we would all be starving ... Thank God for the few donations here and there... I trust that God will provide me with what I need to finish the film. After all, this whole journey has been one leap of Faith (pun intended) after another... And He has not let me down yet.

Neither has Jerry. I logon to find he has made a nice donation that will help cover the cost of a camera person for the next couple weeks... So the job is offered to Adam, the DP, who is sure he will be available every week-end until end of June to help. That, of course would be ideal, but I have my (serious) doubts that it would be that easy. But I guess we'll have to wait and see how things unfold...

As I hang up the phone I can't help but wonder whether Adam, whom I have never worked with before and don't know at all, will show up at the shoot Saturday at 7AM... All the way out in Fillmore 

What if he doesn't???  X 2

Does anyone have any advil??

3PM - Running down the big flight of stairs of my office building, I finally escape the day job. Destination? Jerry's garage, where I am to pack everything up. As I reach the driver's door, I notice I am out of breath. Badly so... My body is taking a beating and it is about to give out on me... I need a break. I need to sleep, to rest, to relax, to empty my head for a day...

But no such luck. There will be no coasting for a while. All I see ahead of me is more uphill rocky roads... And I'm running out of gas...

Agh.

Now pulling in front of Jerry's house, it's just him and I and a shitload of stuff to do. We have a BIG shoot coming at us point blank, and no time to really prepare for it now... This getting behind schedule by 3 days is going to crucify me, I know that... But what choice do I have? I have to bite the bullet and take it like a man.

Wait... I'm NOT a man... So does that mean I can whine and mope and cry like a little girl, then? Cause there's more than one good reason to ... Yeah, no, I don't think so. Jerry and I take down the HUGE tarp and it only weighs, like... 474596564566-56756700045674356 pounds. Jerry is roaming around in his big garage...  I sit in the deuce for just a moment... And fall asleep....

Below: Jerry snap a candid shot while I sleep away peacefully... Unaware that paparazzis are lurking on my set... LOL

Almost an hour later, Jerry is waking me up...

"I didn't have the heart to wake you up but it is getting late"

Me (groggy) : "???? Oh... SHIT!" I never realized I had fallen asleep in the first place!! I get up... Well at least I think I am up...

Jerry proceeds to measure the deuce and to cut the tarp to convert our previous "wall" into a car cover. Meanwhile, I am wrapping, hauling heaving stuff back and forth to my truck. My biceps are looking damn good these days .

While my body is busy lifting, my brains are busy trying to figure out how we are going to pull the next "coup de force" and tackle the incredible logistic's nightmare we are now confronted with for our upcoming "JOANN scene".

I need to get one deuce, one truck and travel trailer and one car trailer in Fillmore by Friday afternoon. And there's only one of me. And I only have one towing vehicle. The car trailer is all the way down in Orange County no less...

Time to call the cavalry. Today the cavalry is Jeff, my ex. Yes we are still best of friends. In fact I am still great friends will all of my exs (the ones I haven't killed, that is LOL). Jeff is to drive out to OC after he gets off of work at 5PM and brave a good 3 hours of intense crazy ass LA traffic on the 405 to go pick me up that car trailer and then haul it all the way to Fillmore Friday night... I think I am asking wayyy too much of him, but I ask anyway... And since I have never asked for his help with this film yet... He says YES ... He will borrow his roommate's truck to tow the trailer... Ah the good man ...

One down, two to go... Jerry and I pow wow... Friday,  he will drive his Cadillac to my house, leave it there, hop in the truck, tow the trailer while I drive the deuce and we will head out to Fillmore where he will spend the next two days, helping. Jerry's makes reservations at a local hotel. Jerry's wife, Janet, is also a great fan of the film and very supportive. She gives him her blessings. As for me, I will as always, sleep in my little trailer "Houdini". I called him "Houdini" because he is the "Master of Escape" hehehehe...

Now I can finally breathe easier... Looks like we might be able to pull this off afterall... if I can find a camera man by then, that is...

I load up the last bit of gear...  Jerry and I convoy back up to my house, me at the wheel of the deuce, and him following me with the truck and gear.

8PM - We unload all the gear... More biceps for me ...

9:30PM - I drop Jerry's back in Inglewood... And immediately drive right back to West Hills.

10:30PM. I wake up at a red light. Guess I must have dosed off when I stopped... How long was I asleep for?

Yop, I definitely need to rest...

But that ain't gonna happen anytime soon.

Below: It is now time to say goodbye to our garage set... but I can't help but feel a little "blue" as we dismantle it entirely...

The finding of Johnny Callaway's letter to Bettie is the catalyst that triggers my entire film. So I knew, going in, that this shoot was going to be challenging. How to retain the dramatic quality of the moment, within an otherwise mundane 'person working in their garage' everyday scene was the question. And that question was tossing and turning in my head while I was tossing and turning in my bed, unable to sleep that night.

Woke up with anxiety at the pit of my stomach. Somehow this feeling that I was missing the boat. I had filmed a couple shots of the girl finding the letter yesterday but I knew it was NOT IT. I had somehow wandered onto the wrong path.

Once again trusting my instinct, I knew I had to find the path and I had to find it FAST, cause we were going to film in a few hours... I prayed for inspiration... That I would "See the shots" I needed guidance. Unable to sleep, I decided to edit what we had so far... Assess where I was at. Turned out to be really helpful. I also found myself calling my mom in Nice , France, at 3AM in the morning. I needed to hear her soothing, loving voice. After all, I am alone here.

7AM - It is now time to get ready to go to work. I feel better but I'm sleepy and tired. I have decided to reshoot and to go with my gut feeling. New ideas are coming to me, as I drive to work... I am starting to SEE IT... Yeah.... That's it... That's how it should be filmed...

9AM - At work now, waiting for time to slowly trickle... Still feeling the pressure. What if I miss the boat? What if I fail? I used to be terrified thinking about Johnny's last race. The famous night race... For months I agonized over it... Not knowing how I was going to light it and thinking about how impossible it would be to shoot it... Then one day I found myself diving right in and all fear was gone. Hopefully today would be the same.

3:30PM - I pull in in front of Jerry's house.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking and I want to take a different approach to the finding of the letter."

The door rings, it's Michael. He is a fellow dvxuser forum member and has seen my add and answered it. We immediately like Michael. He seems very nice, helpful, pro but at the same time respectful of my artistic vision and he doesn't at all try to take my set over... We are a good match. I also find his camera moves to be very close to what I like so on that end of things we are also a good match... Michael loves cars and does a lot of filming for the Kelly Blue Book website. So he is excited about DEUCE OF SPADES...

Below: My crew today consists of two people: Michael (left) and Jerry (right).

4:00PM - We start rolling. Each shot is carefully planned and lit, and I rule out a master shot. This section of the scene is very up close and personal. So it is made  mostly of close ups... Michael has to climb inside my trunk to film the trunk panel being unscrewed... He's going handheld on a super macro shot... And has the steady hand needed to pull it off! Hats down Michael!

We play with reflections in several shots and then we struggle to try to simulate the light beam of a flashlight to light the inside of the trunk, revealing the letter.Nothing we try seems to work . Finally out of options I go: "Well, let's try my stingray flashlight... I doubt it can put out enough light for my camera set-up, but who knows? What do we have to lose, we've tried everything else LOL".

And wouldn't you know it? The flashlight looks great  DUH! I guess we had overlooked the most obvious and simple solution LOL: Using a flashlight to simulate a flashlight beam of light LOLOL... What a concept!

Now that the hotrod girl has the letter in her hand, we go to medium shots. We then film missing close ups on the letter itself, which will go with the crane shot we filmed yesterday...

Below: Battery acid and fifty years are causing the envelope to fall apart.

Below: Our hotrod girl doesn't know yet what she's in for, when she finds Johnny's letter.

Michael is nailing the shots quick so we finish that section of the scene around 10PM.  Wow, that went well.

The anxiety is now gone. I am smiling again... Relieved... Looks like I am on the right path again... Happiness, in the palm of my hand... One more day of shooting and we will be done. Hopefully...

6 AM - I wake up feeling great, which is more than I can say about Stacey. She is still very sick and will be out for the duration. Best if she stays home and rests, besides, none of us want to catch her virus, I definitely can't afford to get sick right now.

GETTING SICK...

Which reminds me. Ever since I have set out on making this film, nearly three years ago, I have been healthy as a rock. Everyone around me gets sick, but I seem to sail right through it all, unharmed. I must confess I have been praying God to give me life and health so that I may finish this film. He must be listening. I think He must want me to make this film, because miracles keep lining up and He keeps saving our fannies, at the last moment every time.

Today the miracle is named ROBERT. I have never met him and today he has driven over two hours to come help me, out of the kindness of his heart. There is no pay, no perks, no fancy catered meals,  and nothing but hard work ahead of him, yet he has showed up on time and a big smile on his face, at Jerry's house. I instantly like Robert. A nice, laid back, soft spoken fellow who has a true love for filmmaking.  My kind of guy. We have set up camp in front of Jerry's garage. Jerry's life, once so peaceful, organized, safe, has just been hit by a tornado called FAITH GRANGER and it will never be the same again .

below: Jerry's garage is not so clean and organized now hehehehe...

there's junk laying everywhere, wires, gear, bounces, C-stands, cranes...

WAIT! Did you just say "CRANE" ???? Yop. You heard me: CRANE.

THE CRANE SHOT

I have this dream. That one day I will be sitting on a big crane which will lift me up into the sky up up up up up and I will be behind the camera and film a great crane shot... Ahhhhhhhh... But that day is not today.

Or is it?

Must be nice to have money and a budget to have big gadgets such as large cranes. As for me, all I have is my tri-pod and an old rusty forklift (if you have been following this blog you remember the forklift )... In my film, so far ZERO crane shots. PArtly because I don't have a crane and partly because even if I had one, unless you have a high end crane, it is not very feasable doing complex shots with a 35 mm adapter on a low end crane. So today I am thrilled to give it a crack. What the heck, what do we have to lose?

Four hours. That's what it took to set up this one 6 second shot. Then you wonder why it takes so long to finish a film?  But well worth it in this case. Robert and his son brought their crane and we struggle with the set up for a while, their tripod being too weak for my heavier camera rig. We then try my tripod and it seems to take the weight OK.

We can't really go very high cause the car is inside a garage, but I have a cool shot in mind, which should work well. Once on the crane , the camera cannot be accessed. Focus can't be pulled... I suggest we try anyway and with my extra long whip (no, no - not that kind of whip you guys! A "whip" is a device that allows you to reach for your camera focus from a distance) so we experiment with pulling focus during the move.

IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next comes the tedious task of lighting the car. The garage door has to remain open, because of the crane... And that leaves me with a big lighting problem on my hand. Overexposure from the bright sun outside on the car nose, and underexposure inside on the car body and trunk... And me.

 BRING IT ON!! One by one, I tackle each problem, each reflection, each glare... And finally we have a plan of attack. It will take all five of us to pull off this one shot:

Below: Jerry and Michael are Hollywooding make do flags to block glare on the deuce's nose and emblem. Robert is raising the crane and his son pulling focus... As for me? Just sitting there inside the deuce, looking pretty (sorta LOL)... I feel useless during the shot, but before and after, I am the one who makes things happen.

Below: evaluating the footage
 

below: Giving instructions as to how to do the crane shot and at what speed...

NOON TIME - We break for lunch. Once again sitting in front of Jerry's house, on his grass... Having a strange public picnic of sorts... Jerry's neighbors must be looking at the "circus" and wondering what happened to the nice, quiet, discreet fellow who once used to live in this house... Today we are partying on the front loan... Stuffing our faces, animated, excited about the shoot... Laughing...

Go figure... LOL

1PM - We are back in the trenches. Still filming the same scene. Lighting is a real pain in my... well.. you know...  I want the garage kinda dark and moody, but at the same time we need to be able to see the tools, 50's props and of course me. Robert is still learning my shooting style... I like fluid camera movements... Everything must be fluid, focus pulling included... I also like my camera to "breathe"... I will find that it took many shoots before the shooters started to get it... Resulting in doing a large amount of takes, trying to get it, and still not quite getting it...

Below: I am monitoring the shot in my monitor while doing it.

TOSSING THE WRENCH

I have decided the hot rod girl will be flipping a semi large wrench in the air whie talking on the phone. I practice for about 10 minutes and quickly get the hang of it, Both single and double flips. Luckily, no crushed fingers in the process . We then roll... Needless to say most of the shots, I get it right, and a few I miss and the wrench falls, bouncing on the ground in a loud "SHPING!"... Fortunately it decides to NOT bounce onto my roadster and hit it. So we are OK.

Below: five single wrench flips and one double flip in a row must be perfect or we don't have a shot.

7PM - Robert must go, he has a long drive ahead of him. I give him a big hug and thank him. He has been such a wonderful person to meet and I am excited to now have him as part of our DOS family. He is not sure what his schedule is going to be like in the next few weeks, but says he can probably come again and help.

9PM - Jerry and I are now done putting stuff away. Jerry has brought his cars back into his back yard. They cannot go back in the garage because the set is still there since we are not done filming. yep, we are behind schedule, badly so. We are no where near done with the scene so I am looking at shooting here for the next few days, right after work. Yes, I have a day job mind you. The next few days are going to be LONG days... I am tired just 'thinking' about them...  The deuce seems to be happy in this garage though. Jerry's other cars, however, are grouchy: They have been expelled from THEIR home by this new kid on the block. I think they are calling him a "prima donna" behind his back. LOL But afterall the deuce has already been on the cover of two magazines, and is the star of a feature film, so... Can you blame him?

I hope we don't have a car fight on our hands tonight! LOL  

5AM - My alarm clock ring. I grab my i-phone to turn it off and notice I got a text. It's Stacey. We talked on the phone last week and she has offered to make herself available this week-end, since I have not yet secured another shooter. Now I see her text: She is sick as a dog with stomach flue and puking her head off.

A telephone call later confirms my fears: Stacey is out of commission. She sounds HORRIBLE and can barely talk. No way is she going to be able to shoot today.  

7AM - I pull in front of Jerry's house. This week-end we are supposed to film the pivotal "Letter" scene. The hotrod girl working on her deuce and stumbling upon Johnny's 1955 letter by accident. I have given myself two days to film this because I am filming a lot slower now that I have to be on both side of the camera at the same time (more or less LOL). Losing a day of shooting is going to be something that I will not be able to recover from easlily and will cause a collapsing domino effect of the worst kind. As you will see in the next few blogs.  X 2

THE GARAGE SET

My garage being in a total state of disarray since we worked on the deuce, I have asked jerry to land me his immaculate, 50's artifact engorged garage, which is PER-FECT in every way.

Except for one thing:

8AM - "Jerry, your garage is way too big for that girl. I don't want the audience to think she is rich, cause she is not. We need to turn your 4 car garage (well, actually five car garage) in a normal two car garage."

Jerry scratches his head... "How are we gonna do that?" We pick each other's brains for a while when suddenly his light blub goes ON "TILT" ... Jerry remembers that a few years ago a friend gave him a very large tarp, and he has never used it once. It must be around here somewhere and maybe we could hang it to create a wall. Sounds like music to my ears.

10AM - Jerry's nice friend Michael arrives to help us. Just in time to fight the many spiders that are crawling out of the tarp Jerry and I are carefully unrolling... Wow! That thing is HUGE. Nice color and textture too... It is very heavy,a high quality, fabric type tarp. I think it is going to work out great.

Below: Michael and Jerry unfold the huge tarp, which measures 30 feet square.

One down, one billion to go. Our next task is to create a fake wall. We witness yet another DOS miracle: It was like it was all meant to be. The tarp has eyelets that match exactely the space between the bolts that hold Jerry's garage wall together. All we have to do is unbolt, slide the bolt back through the tarp's eyelet and the tarp is hanging per-fec-tly. As a matter of fact it looked so perfect that the next day one of our volunteers leaned on the "wall" unaware it was fake... And almost fell over LOL

THE SET

I now create a two car garage set, carefully selecting the items the hotrod girl would be likely to have in it, including of course a huge tool box, air compressor, jack, radio, workbench, grinder etc etc... Basically whatever I have in my garage... Plus a few 50's memorabilia items such as a red gas pump and a large vintage Coca Cola machine. Jerry has a lot of Coca Cola items and I am sooo happy that Coca Cola gave me permission to depict their brand in my film because we can use all of Jerry's cool props now.  We really have a blast putting everything together. When done, the garage looks so real I instantly feel at home in it.

It is now noon. We get some subway sandwhiches and chow down, sitting in the grass in front of Jerry's house. Meanwhile, Jerry has had to move all his classic cars out of the garage and parked them on the street. They are stopping traffic. People pull over, get out of their cars and start snapping photos . Yep, hotrods and classic cars have that effect on everyone!

Below: All of Jerry's cars were used in the film, and today they are hanging out together reminiscing of our flashback shoots...

2PM - I don't have a shooter. I have called all my buddies but on such a short notice none of them are available. The good news however is that God is sending help my way. One of my fellow dvx users members "coincidentally" just sent me a PM, telling me how much he has been enjoying following my filmmaker's thread for the last year on that forum and offering his help. His timing could not have been more perfect. So he is coming tomorrow, with his son, and his crane , to help me behind the camera.

HALLELLUYA!!!!!!!

Meanwhile I hate to waste a day so I decide we should try to film something, what the heck, maybe a few pick up shots and see how it goes. Michael is a photographer and although he has never been behind a camera I figure it is worth a shot (or should I say 30 shots LOL)  He courageouly accepts the challenge.

RETURN FROM THE DRAGSTRIP

I am missing a shot to link the dragstrip scene to the box scene. I want to show the hotrod girl driving back and pulling into her garage. Jerry's street is nice, with a nice hump at the top, so I can emmerge  on the horizon as I drive over that hump, which makes for a nice shot. I want it to be fall / winter in the modern days so I instruct Jerry to help me gather a lot of dead leaves and we lay them all on the road.

Following which we have to litterally stop traffic so the cars don't distrub the leaves when they drive on them. It's a small residential street but Murphy's law says that as soon as I plan to film on it, EVERYONE and their mothers will be driving on it - ALL AT THE SAME TIME . Finally we roll. I am tearing ass down the street, sending the leaves flying as I pass by the camera I then hit the brakes hard and skid to a semi halt, just before the driveway. Three takes later we have nailed it. So far so good.

The next shot is another story altogether. Michael is sweating bullets. I am asking the impossible from him: To do a pan with a focal adjustment smoothly and on his own. All in all he does well but none of the pan are smooth enough for my liking. Meanwhile Jerry has to hit the garage remote just in time to open the door just enough so that I can drive under it when I rech the garage, up the driveway. I don't want the girl to slow down... The timing must be perfect. Thirty takes later we finally have one that is good. Jerry's neighbor must be sick of hearing my loud hotrod driving up the driveway then backing out, over and over and over and over again...

Below: Michael is sweating bullets trying to get the shot.

7PM - The sun is now really low on the horizon so we break for food again and then we set up the next shot which is a night shot.

Below: I film samples and watch them to make sure the framing and lighting are what I want.

We have a GO!

Another challenging shot involving a pan up and going from a close up on my wheel up to my face, with a focal adjustment. I really feel bad for Michael. Meanwhile Jerry is holding the boom and busy monitoring neighborhood activity. We have to stop a lot because of bikers roaming the streets on Saturday nights. There is a nice tavern a block away so we can hear them very well ... Of course there are also crickets. I used to love crickets... Not anymore. I have to have a man to man (or should I say woman to cricket) talk with one of them, and get him to shut up.

"I AM FILMING GOSH DARN IT!!! GO 'CRICKET' SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

I am able to subdue the loud mouth (or should I say loud legs???LOL) and we are finally able to get the shot and film the dialogue. I am once again working in a vaccuum, talking on my cell to someone who... Is not there and does not exist.  Story of my life LOL....

11PM - We fold. I have to drive all the way back to West Hills now. The deuce is going to spend the night here at Jerry's, in Inglewood... The deuce and I rarely part so this feel real strange.

But I know he is in good company since his good ol' buddy "Challenger" is staring at him eye to eye... Ironical, when you think that the two cars in the film, are rivals and mortal enemies.

below" The Deuce of Spades and Challenger are squaring off again LOL

As I walked away from my deuce that night, I could not help but feel I was leaving a part of me behind... And feel sad about it.

See you tomorrow my love!