A Night on Set
I park the suburban for the umpteenth time that day, after wrangling it up the gravelly hill. A fire burns amidst the cameras, lights, boom mics, heating the 90-degree air even more. I carry a package of water bottles along the forest path to the set. It’s been a day of madness, of driving back and forth from set to town, climbing the hill in the car or on foot, carrying equipment through the trees with sweat dribbling down our faces. The costume measurements were mixed up, the generator was available two hours late, the lights didn’t work and someone had to drive out to get new ones, we had noise from the highway, our director’s CRV got stuck halfway up the hill, and the actors got lost en route.
But now it’s time for the shoot. The actors take their places by the fire, their faces aglow in a perfect blend of firelight and artificial moonlight.
“Quiet on set!”
The prep had been chaos, to say the least, but the moment the camera started rolling, the crew worked like a well-oiled machine.
There’s something intoxicating about the moment shooting begins. Suddenly, all the stress and heavy-lifting and long hours of pre-production are worth it as you watch something beautiful unfold. For a few seconds, or if you’re lucky, a few minutes, the set belongs to the actors. Then another burst of noise from the crew as Solomon, our director, talks to the actors. And then another take.
Solomon and Stephen, our director of photography discuss technicalities as Karis stains the protagonist’s torn shirt with fake blood. Austin, our last-minute assistant director (we’d lost two previous to him), pushes to keep the shoot moving. He’s doing a phenomenal job, especially considering this is his first gig as the AD.
As the night goes on, a sliver of moon rises to watch our exploits. By now, we’re having difficulty with our lead actor, as he gives pointers and opinions about every department. Solomon patiently hears him out, though I can tell he’s frustrated with the situation, having his own vision for his film.
We’re all exhausted and it’s still hot in spite of the lateness. I stand behind Laurel, our lead actress, while she waits for her cue. She’s bearing the delays patiently as well, and we watch our protagonist’s interactions with Solomon with growing concern.
We wrap at 11:00 pm. Another hour of striking the set and carrying gear to the house. It’s been seven frenzied hours on location, but as I meet with all the department heads, we decide to scratch the day’s work and look for another actor. His lack of professionalism was too much for us to handle, and no one felt comfortable with working with him for the rest of the semester. He may be a great guy who was just having a bad day, but either way, we’d rather not risk finding out. A weary gaze settles in all our eyes, but we’re all in agreement. We need an actor that will take direction and respect our roles and his own on set.
We’ve lost a whole weekend of shooting.
I drive home past midnight. I’m tired and sweaty and sad that the shoot was a dud, yet I’m also inspired and excited for the next shoot. It’s an amazing team of people. Never have I worked with a team of people who worked so well under duress- not even in all-instructor wilderness trips. I’m thoroughly impressed by their patience, endurance, and humility, not to mention their hardworking spirits.
We’ve had a lot of drawbacks so far, but we’ve recast the movie and rearranged the schedule. It’s going to be a mad semester, but this film will be a force to be reckoned with. At the very least, it’s crew will be.
