Two Days Before Production

Since Saturday, I have been averaging about 3 hrs of sleep per night, it must be anxiety. Last night I was able to sleep through most of the night. Things are falling into place. I got my crew together, most of the equipment has been rented and I bought most of the props.

Again, I will be wearing 50 hats; director, producer, production designer, errand runner, you name it, I'm on it. When I feel like I'm at the breaking point, I always say next time I'm hiring someone to do all of this but the reality is that I can't afford to. I can barely pay the crew and the actor's salaries are deferred. I have to admit that as hard as this road has been, all the heartache and stress that this production has caused me, I LOVE IT. I get off on the rush of figuring out how to make it work, how to make it look as good as an HBO show on a microbudget. Fine, I admit it, I'm a masochist!

I have one last rehearsal with the actors tomorrow night. We will be working on blocking and scene transitions. I need to take a picture of their scripts, they have more notes than there are lines.

I need to make the final decision on what camera we are shooting with. I got an amazing deal on the RED but it shoots at a 4k resolution and all that footage will be a nightmare to deal with, not to mention how much money post will cost. Matt Boyd, my kick ass cinematographer suggested we shoot on the Canon 7D, I got my research done on that workflow only to have him call me last night saying he can get an amazing deal on the new ARRI Alexa. His connection just got it and is giving us a great deal, (about 66% off). I need to check with the insurance company to make sure we have enough coverage for the camera and the lenses. We have the 7D as a back up plan but Matt is stoked to work with the new ARRI.

While I am glad for having choices to make, I won't have much time to get familiar with the camera before we shoot. I don't know if other directors get as involved w/these details but I'm a bit of a control freak and I like knowing what I'm working with. I've worked with Matt before and I trust his judgement so I am going to let him make the choice. I checked out the ARRI website and it is a pretty neat camera.

Off to work I go, I am not a woman of leisure. I have two full time jobs, one that pays the bills and one that nourishes my creativity.  My two full time jobs have been kicking my butt this week.

xoxo,
Lucy