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...