24 days of principal photography later...here we are. CENTS is in the "can" as they say.
There are many things to say. Lots of little dramas along the way.
Like the time we noticed smoke drifting up from the drain covers in the courtyard of Desert Ridge Middle School where we spent 10 days of our shoot. We had to evacuate while the fire department investigated.
And when lightning forced us to shut down our generator and a New Mexico style summer rain & hail storm forced us to huddle inside a small, stiflingly warm house.
Then there was day 23, scene at the elevator. Rolling...sound speed...camera speed...ACTION!...whack thump thump whack crash...CUT!. Turns out some construction workers were right outside the building on scaffolding tearing tiles off the outside wall.
And I could name at least a dozen more issues and challenges. But despite that, the shoot was amazingly smooth and organized.
Making a film is like pulling together a big project. There are a lot of moving parts that have to fit and work together smoothly. The script, the Director, Director of Photography and Production Designer create the vision and set the tone. The film crew figures out how to implement the vision - with each craft doing it's piece of the work. Grip & electric (setting and shaping light, building things like rain machines and shades), locations (finding the best places to shoot the movie) wardrobe, makeup & hair, the assistant director department, continuity (script supervisor), art department and props. And not to forget "Craft Services" (for the crew's all day long snacking pleasure) and Catering for those necessary hot meals.
Not to forget the cast - the principals, the day performers and the background (extras).
Then there is the ever present production office, making sure the infrastructure is in place and handling all the things that will keep the production on track and organized and out of trouble.
We began this project in 2011 (and before that for Chris who had already spent time writing and rewriting the script). It's now 2014 and we've just finished our final day of principal photography. The work isn't over by a long shot but we are on the path and its exciting to have accomplished so much!