Shoot: Beginning of December

Yesterday, I went into my commercial agency to sign a contract extension. My original contract was for one year, which was coming to a close this month. The new one is for 3 years. It's cool to have that show of faith on their part, and I have high expectations for myself in the coming year.

I completely forgot to chronicle the events surrounding my October 5 day on the set of "Beginning of December". I arrived at the small studio a bit earlier than my 9am call time owing to my preparedness for [and subsequent lack of] traffic. The set was built in a small-ish sound stage and looked great. They were starting the day with a shot from the previous day that had been missed, so I hung out in the dressing rooms for a while chatting with other cast members. When the director came up to talk, there was some waffling on whether or not I was ultimately going to be seen. I had been under the impression that I would be briefly seen just as my significant other storms out of the apartment. Fast forward to getting on set, rehearsing a few times, etc. The entire short takes place along a hallway, so you [the camera] never goes into the doors, just down the hall. Our shouting match is heard from the hallway by the main character and timed so that when my girl leaves, the main character in the hallway sees and is next to her.

The shots were meticulously set up by the DP Blake Jackson. The few moments I watched at the monitor looked great. This all led up to the day getting later and later, and me becoming more and more certain that there was no way they were going to set up a shot with me in it. Sure enough, after lunch, I was released and headed off to work for the evening. It was fun to work with some nice people on an interesting project. I was told that our off-screen audio sounded perfect, but I'll admit to being disappointed that I won't have anything to show for it [footage for my reel], especially since I know it's going to look so good. I guess that's somewhat selfish of me, but then again, that's how you get actors to do stuff like this for free...good project, good copy. Stuff happens, especially on tight-budget productions, and the best of intentions meet the demands of the budget and schedule. Maybe I'll figure out a way to use the audio somehow on a reel. Anyway, having said that, I did enjoy myself, met some terrific people and wish the best for the director and the film. If the chance to work with them again arises, I'd do it.