Good for Camera? Sound? Let's move on....

quiet on set
Originally uploaded by yayaempress.

So my shoot came and went. I really wanted to keep blogging about it and keep everyone abreast of how it was going on. Unfortunately, it was too much. For the past two weeks I've been sleeping less than 4 hours a night.

It was a lot of stress, and a lot of headaches, but ultimately I'm happy. I liked my performances and I loved the way it looks.

So, now I'm back in Toronto for a week of R&R. Regular entries from now on.

Stress Level Rising....

So I start shooting next week. I'm really starting to feel it. The last few days have been devoted to making equipment deals, securing locations and rehearsals with my actors.

I have to admit that after every rehearsal with the actors, I feel a lot better. I think I can pull this off.

I wanted a small crew, but it's somehow swelled to about 14 people. I've even recruited a few people outside of my class, which is humbling. Let's be honest, everyone on this project is working for free, and working for me. That's what makes me feel so anxious, because I don't want to dissapoint anyone, and I definitely don't want to make anyone feel that they are wasting their time whether it's the producer, storyboard artist, the grips and everyone in between.

Jodie Foster (for John)-again

Due to the many questions about the Jodie Foster thing last week:

It was held at the graduate film school at NYU. Ms. Foster's presentation was part of the weekly Chair's Workshop series, where people throughout the industry (usually directors) drop by informally to answer questions or show new work. This week is Anthony Minghella (recently people as Gaspar Noe, Daren Aronofsky, Oliver Stone etc... have done it). It's usually very hush hush, and notices go through a small mailing list.

There definitely was no video camera, unless someone did a camera-phone job, but I doubt it.

Honestly, she talked for hours, and I showed up late, so I'm not sure what she said at the beginning. She talked about how to work with the cardinal sins of filmmaking (children and animals), her experience on Spike Lee's Inside Man and the little prep that she did for it.

A nice moment was when she genuinely seemed stunned when looking at herself about 20 years younger in the scenes from The Silence of the Lambs.

Not much else to report.

B-List Celebrity Sightings! (Revisited)

This past week, a friend shot most of her film in East Orange, New Jersey. A few nights ago, we were shooting in a convenience store for the night when Treach from Naughty by Nature rolled up in his red Hummer....a friend of the producer.

It was great to see the dude responsible for such classics as "O.P.P" (not the Ontario Provincial Police) and "Hip Hop Hooray".

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster
Originally uploaded by Ewwwwwwww.

Wednesday night, the grad film school had the pleasure of hosting Jodie Foster for it's weekly Chair's Workshop series.

The small room was packed, so we (myself & spy) had to view from the projection booth.

Ms. Foster talked mostly about directing actors, and her views on the various aspects of filmmaking. Purely fascinating, and so sure of herself, she came prepared with index cards and lecture outlines! Very impressive, she's a natural. It's clear that she really thought about what she wanted to say and made a succinct presentation.

What I found fascinating was her 'three levels' of a performance:
-the physical (the blocking, the movement, the appearance of the character)
-the feelings of the character
-the trajectory and ultimate destiny of the character throughout the piece.

She also showed clips from her favourite movies, and taught about the various directors she's worked with, and her directing foibles.

Most of the examples she gave came from The Silence of the Lambs, which I feel is a letdown compared to her work in Contact.

All in all, a thoroughly engaging, fun and educational experience from the awesome Jodie Foster.