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Here are the previous entries...
July 26, 2004
Grand Rapids, MI
I have a newfound respect for actors. It is exhausting, hard work.
Even though I had to miss filming for a couple of hours because of school, I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it was exhausting. For scene 7, it took a total of 67 takes. Although in defense of the actors, a lot of it was because of noise from cars, trucks, or airplanes and helicopters. And for scene 17 it took only 28 takes. But some of the takes were because of forgotten lines by everyone, or giggle fits by Jami. J It was great.
Scott, Dan, Brad, and Caitlin, were fun to work with, completely professional, and a lot of fun. It was not only interesting, but amazing to watch Scott, go from actor to Jacob. You could see the transformation, how he distanced himself, not physically, but mentally, and went quiet and focused and became Jacob. A 17 year old boy, frustrated that he can’t go to war, and is finding himself a little attracted to his best friend. In scene 17, he goes from playful actor to his character, sad and a little depressed, but trying hard not to show it, from when Tim says tape rolling to action. A matter of seconds.
Not to forget the others.
Dan, who jumped in and worked the boom today, waiting patiently until it was his scene, and then it wasn’t a scene, but pickups and fillers, to show the friendship between Gemma, Noah, Jacob, and Matthew. He did a great job. But he definitely seemed to have more fun once he was in costume.
Caitlin does makeup wonderfully. Chris wasn’t kidding, not that she would. But Caitlin does know what she’s doing. Making Scott look slightly younger, and Dan slightly older. She jumped in and held the placards indicating the different scene takes, gave lines when they were needed, and helped Scott and Jami run lines. And made everyone laugh. In a very good way.
And then there is Brad who came in from a family tragedy not that long ago. Right from work, and jumped in. Having never tried on his costume and missing the one read through that we did, he was prepared and was great.
Parts of Scene 17 were brainstormed and rewritten by Scott, Brad, Jami, Dan, and Caitlin right before we shot them. It was amazing. And the scene was much better for it. In a way, the revision made is making for a better movie with Scott in the role of Gemma’s best friend.
I’m all ready thinking ahead to the next projects.
I know without a doubt that all of these kids will go far if they are just given a chance and exposure. And if that happens, and we have fun helping them, that will be a wonderful experience.
I didn’t get a chance to see Serra act today, I’m pretty sure she did great. Jami was excellent, if a bit shy and stiff. But I know I’m proud of her. She didn’t complain at all today. And both she and Serra were able to play and just be kids. And that was good. Serra gets along great with Dan, who plays Noah, which is her older brother. I’m proud of both of them.
It was a great day, and while I have reservations on my value to this project, I had a lot of fun, and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to do it. For my gifts are given by Him and Him alone.
July 29, 2004
Grand Rapids, MI
I think I now understand why I felt like I was no longer needed. In the afternoon, when the actors brainstormed a scene and it ended up better than I had written it, they owned it. They knew their characters so well, and it was at that point, that my job was mostly done. They owned it, and I was unprepared for it. And they did very well.
August 1, 2004
Grand Rapids, MI
Oh My God! Night shoots are so hard. And even harder with kids -- especially uncooperative ones. Serra was uncooperative at best. Though Jami did pretty good. She’s beginning too loosen up. To get comfortable in her own skin, even though she doesn’t want to do it anymore. I think she’ll find that she likes it, that it will give her a creative outlet, and a chance to make more friends and different people.
Again, bless Caitlin, Dan, and Brad for their patience and hard work. They filled in as both cast and crew, and did phenomenal. But, writers should really never be actors. I’m a little disappointed on how things went, not because of the actors, but because of the dozens of things that didn’t work out, and because I know that I stunk as an actor. Writers are not actors! We create not re-create.
When Whisper of War was originally conceived, it was only going to be me, Serra, Jami, Tim, and Lynne, and possibly one other – whoever played Rebecca. But these guys are so good that I just had to add them. And their abilities as actors so far surpass ours, that it is unbelievable.
August 2, 2004
Grand Rapids, MI
Amazingly enough, just when I think everything is good with the script, plans change. Tim viewed the footage and decided that we needed to make a cast change. Specifically, himself and Jami. So now, I have a major script change to make. Wow! Scott is now the lead. Dan is Josiah, and Brad is Noah. AHHHHHH!
August 8, 2004
Grand Rapids, MI
God bless these kids. Even though the script was nearly completely rewritten, they rolled with the punches and worked hard and did a fabulous job. And while I’m pretty certain they think I’m blowing smoke, I’m not. This weekend’s shots were excellent!
Brad never received the message that we needed him Saturday night, but cancelled his plans and came anyway. We were able to shoot the Teaser, adlibbing parts as we went. It was excellent. I did see it, and I agree with Tim – very good. We put Mary “Rebecca” in with Scott, and though stiff, the scene was better.
In a weird way, it was easier to work with Dan as Josiah and Brad as Noah, than with Tim as Josiah, but that could also be because I already did do the scene with Tim and it came easier this time. This time it was also more Jacob. It really is his story. And I’m glad that we put Scott there. He can carry this. I think any of these guys could. As good as Jami is, I think this big of a role was too much for her to start with. Mary is doing an excellent job as Rebecca. That too was a good choice.
Saturday night, we shot both 10 and the Teaser, and Serra, didn’t say any of her lines. She just acted. I said her lines and they (Scott and Jami – Jacob and Gemma) reacted as if she had. It works. At least for 10. It was an exhausting night, but good. We viewed the dailies this morning – it was good. I’m proud of these guys.
Today, we got a late start, but we still managed to shoot four scenes – 7,8,16,17a,17b – so more like 5. We were suppose to shoot 4 and the cast photo, but we couldn’t since Laura couldn’t make it due to a family thing. So 4 will be done in Ludington. Along with 5. And a few others. The only scenes left after that will be Interiors – which we can do when Scott comes home from school on break – and scene 21 – the ending, oh, and all of the contemporary shots, which I think would be cool if we could get these guys into the contemporary scenes, at least part of them, because that would show some continuity.
All of the scenes shot today went really well, although, I still doubt my place in front of the camera. It was fun. I think the hardest scene to date for me, was scene 17b. That is where Jacob finds the letter telling of the *********(death of his brother, and that his father is missing). That renewed my respect for actors, I had to pull things from places I never wanted to see again. I don’t know what Scott did, but damn he was great. I also know cooling off after that scene took some time. At least for me. That was unbelievably hard.
I held the boom mic for scene 7, and my arms are killing me. That Dan did it for an entire day shocks the hell out of me. Caitlin, Lynne, and I took turns on the boom and reflectors. A production crew and a boom operator would be great. If only we had a budget.
At one point, before we started this morning, and at lunch too, the four of them (Dan, Caitlin, Mary, and Scott) broke into song – and they sang beautifully. But, oh my god, the best was the interactions and pranks between the cast (not including us, Jami, or Serra). And like it or not, we got some of them on video.
Caitlin reminded me of what it will be like on “Huntress”. And honestly, I can’t wait. They are wonderful to work with. And serious and professional when they need to be. I think “Huntress” and “ABC” will both be fun.
Not only are these guys great actors, they will go far, of that I have no doubt. I hope their families are supportive and behind them. Their families should be proud. The amount of work they did, and just getting into their roles to the amount that they did, so that their actions and body language was right and natural is phenomenal.
There are still things that have to be done, prop wise, but all is well. Scott, Mary, Dan, Brad, and Caitlin, all have a reason to be proud of themselves!
August 13, 2004
Grand Rapids, MI
Several days have passed since we shot scene 17b. The scene between Scott and I. For myself, I brought myself to a point where I pictured, having to believe that it was my child that had died, that meant Serra. When the scene was over, we had to go directly into Scene 8. Scott did, thankfully, get a few moments, but doubtful enough, time to relax between scenes. On the way back from the set to the trailer I felt myself shaken, but blew it off, thinking that I was just over reacting, not having to do that before, went straight into the next scene, working. Monday was filled with school and family commitments and with ideas on a new series that I’m working on. It wasn’t until Tuesday that it truly hit me. I hadn’t allowed myself to calm down after that scene. But what bothered me, and still does, is Scott. Never before have I asked someone to do what I couldn’t. I’ve always expected more from myself than others. But that was not the case this time. I didn’t have to pull the emotions that Scott did, I don’t know how he did it, and I’m in awe of his ability. I don’t know how long it took him to calm down. And now, several days later, I still wonder how he is doing. None of us, Tim, Lynne, nor I really knew what were asking of him. Now we do. Now I know when I write something what I’m asking. And while I did know that Scott could do it, I didn’t know exactly what I asked of him. In order for me to calm down, I needed to talk to Lynne, because she is my sister, because she was there and would understand the most. It was hard to calm down. Scott did a phenomenal job. And I do hope that this time in between shots, Scott can calm down, and will talk to whomever he needs to. I know that we will be taking breaks in between scenes, especially scenes like these. I also will ask, that during emotional scenes the sets are closed, unless the actors themselves are okay with the presence of others.
August 18, 2004
Grand Rapids, MI
We shot scenes 13, 15, 4, and 5 yesterday up in Ludington. And aside from a few delays and a last minute site relocation, everything went rather well. I drove Lynne’s van with Scott, Mary, Cait, Laura, and Serra. I’m glad I did, it gave them a chance to sleep on the way up there and on the way back. The emotional intensity was great.
Scott did a phenomenal job working with Serra. She says she loves him. J I had to smile. Although, I’m no where near ready for boys to enter the picture, other than friends!
I was extremely happy with the way things went. For the most part. The hardest part was not having enough scripts. I had one copy, we had three. I have no clue where the others are. I do know, that although we will always have scripts on site, two things need to happen, the cast has to have the script, with the latest changes, and they need to know which scenes that we are doing on that particular day so that they can review ahead of time. Memorizing lines was easier for me, since I wrote them and have been looking at them for a while.
Due to more scheduling conflicts than I care to count, scene 21, the last scene is now going to be done during the semester break. Along with the Teaser possibly. Dan would like a chance to get into character better.
Along those same lines, I think that we need to have a few more read-thru’s before we start filming, One read through only, wasn’t quite fair, although they all did a superb job, even with all of the changes that were made. I think that also has to change. The day I make changes, I need to get them to everyone. Whether by email, snail mail, or have the actors pick them up, or me drop them off.
Now, all I have to do is tell them that I can’t hear really well. Sucks.
I’m still not sure how well I did as far as acting goes, I’m scared to ask, but I was infinitely more comfortable with it at the end, than in the beginning.
Tim and I agree that the scenes being done probably played havoc with everyone’s emotions. Especially the level of intensity some of these scenes required. I don’t know if they were told we would shoot out of order or not.
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