So yesterday was Day Two of shooting.
It was a long-ass day. Dallas and I had to get up at 6 AM. We were all supposed to meet at Studio X in time to LEAVE at 8 AM. Dallas and I jumped in the loaded car around 7:45 (which would have JUST gotten us to X at 8), but about five blocks en route, I realized “Shit, I forgot the ticket book prop for Officer Rakouskas.”
So we headed back to my place, grabbed the prop, and continued onward.
Of course, when I got to X, most of the cast was there, making sarcastic remarks about me being late. But we headed out – Dallas and I listening to The Chronic all the way there. Because he had to get into character. Yup. That’s why.
The owners of the house we were shooting at, Chuck and Pam Anderson (the parents of my friend Matt) were so very nice and accomodating. Today Tracy told me we should get the whole cast and crew to sign a thank-you card. This is just ONE of the ways in which Tracy rules. More about her ruling later.
The weather was gorgeous. We started setting up craft services. Evin arrived and said “I was promised there would be coffee today. Show me coffee,” which caused me to do the first delegation of the day: showing Jason (our PA) how to use the coffeemaker.
Ben (the DP), Andrew (sound), and I started walking through the setups. Shadows are tough to deal with in an exterior, let me tell you. Somehow between two months ago (when we scouted) and yesterday, the airlines must have diverted all their flight patterns so that every single fucking airplane heading in to Midway airport was flying right over this house. But, true to form, my even-tempered sound guy didn’t bat an eye at this challenge.
Then it was time to set up for the first shot of the day: Scene 8C-1. This is the scene where Trevor gets a ticket for loud music, and Jeff tries to intervene. We used my shitty ’84 Saab as Trevor’s car. Great. I am 27 years old and drive a car that could pass as the “hoopty” of an 18 year old punk from Naperville.
I walked through a rehearsal with Dallas (“Trevor”), Ryan (“Jeff”), and Jamie (“Officer Rakouskas”). Then Ben calls me over with the bad news: “I’m getting major glare here. I need a polarizing filter. Is there a camera shop around?”
Quick consultation with Matt tells us that, yes, there IS a camera shop…about 25 minutes away. Math whiz that I am, I calculate this will set us back an hour (at least). But if you need it, you need it. So I quickly give Jason twenty bucks (Ben assures me the filter will cost $15 “at the most”), and send him on his way.
In the meantime, Ben and I try to find something we can shoot without the filter. We finally settle on scene 8F – the “lawncare” discussion between John and Mary and Jeff and Samantha.
Of course, by the time we figure out how to light it and rig the sound (we had to muffle the shotgun with some paper toweling due to the wind noise), Jason came back with the filter. Which cost $35. I swear, Ben has a mental price list from 1982 or something.
So we shoot 8F. And of course, there are kids and dogs and people in the background…Tracy diligently runs off to yell at them.
We shoot the “Potato Salad/Abortion” scene between Zoe and Mary. Evin (“Zoe”)was amazing with her intensity in this scene. Marla (“Mary”) came up with a great bit of business in which she thrusts a hot dog at Zoe, causing her to recoil. It played pretty funny. At least to me.
The “Officer Rakouskas” scene was next. And it was un-fucking-believeable. I know Ryan was getting nervous hassling Jamie – he felt like he was bugging a real cop! Jamie played the part excellently. Subtle details such as how he carried himself, handled the tickets and licenses, and just the tone of his voice (I later found out he’d been watching “COPS” every day for weeks to research. It paid off.) Andrew was a real trouper in this scene – he hid in the backseat of my car to get sound…and it was HOT. But he didn’t complain other than to say in a mellow voice “yeah, it got kind of warm.”
We got some other good footage. Dallas has finally gotten to Trevor, I think. In one scene, he played him very, VERY true…and some great comedy came out of it…which, as to be expected, he didn’t think was funny until he saw the dailies. My favorite line of that scene was “I don’t need some CEO tellin’ me how to be a white person.” My second favorite: “Some banker starts talkin’ about ‘all them crackers down there on the South Side’, you know, he’s talkin’ about me, but it’s deragatory.” (Maybe you have to hear the delivery).
We ended up running a little late on shooting…but we managed to get everything done. Ben looked like he was about to die…but he held through. Tracy was amazing. She was really sick this weekend, but she busted ass like nobody’s business.
I think I’ll update this more later. Post some stills too.
Here’s one for now: