This week, Bryan & I cover the third day (of six) of production week on our latest project, IMPULSE. We've decided to format our daily accounts as a questionnaire. Behind the scenes pictures are also included below.
PRODUCTION DATE: November 9, 2009
# OF CAMERA SETUPS: 20
BEST PART OF THE DAY
SCOTT: Shooting the final scene in the film at a beautiful farm house in Perry. It was that surreal moment (which probably happens on all sets at some point) where I was watching the live monitor playback and it hit me: we are actually making our movie.
BRYAN: Working with great actors can be euphoric, but often the pressure of moving the machine along distracts you from taking time to smell the roses. Not this day. Scott and I fully appreciated guiding Chris Masterson and Kristen Norwood through a difficult scene. It was one of those days where you get to sit back and enjoy your collaborators have an artistic breakthrough - and then take credit for it later in a blog post by claiming you were “guiding” them through it.
WORST PART OF THE DAY
SCOTT: Our schedule change. The original schedule had us shooting the final farm house scene first thing. It's a pivotal sequence that -- while it didn't require the detailed camera direction of the previous day -- demanded a great balance of emotional detail. But since Bryan & I needed to pick-up a few shots in the town square, we had to push the final farm house scene until later in the day with the risk of rushing it.
BRYAN: Sleep deprivation setting in after averaging two hours of shut eye a night for the past week. Didn’t help that we crashed into a deer the night before, rendering sleep out of the game plan. Plus, it seemed like Malcolm in the Middle reruns were on tv every night before I went to bed. I'm not gonna NOT watch it. Lastly, why does Red Bull have to taste so terrible?
BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF THE DAY
SCOTT: Finding the right establishing/reveal shot for our final scene's farm house. Filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight) speaks on his Insomnia commentary track about the importance of engaging audiences with establishing shots, which in most movies are throwaway frames for the sake of locational information. Bryan & I take this to heart and spent a long time dissecting our plan.
BRYAN: Getting out of the way. Sometimes it’s best to ignore your Auteur Instincts of visionary shots that demand the audience’s attention. Sometimes, a simple scene simply told is all you need. And often, that’s the toughest time to get out of the way and let the magic happen.
MIRACLE OF THE DAY
SCOTT: Our camera team's work on the final farm house sequence. Andrew, our DP, captured the great nuances of our performers (Chris Masterson & Kristen Norwood) in one particular shot that was supposed to only be a single on Kristen. He skillfully blended a subtle zoom that allowed both her and Chris in the frame, which resulted in a beautiful take that found a permanent place in the end of the film.
BRYAN: Kristen Norwood payed off a risky decision to cast a non-actor in a crucial role by giving a layered, heartfelt performance. We promised her that if she could match the quality of her screen test, we’d have something special. She didn’t match it, she topped it.
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Last movie Scott watched: Insomnia (Christopher Nolan)
Last movie Bryan watched: Knight and Day (James Mangold)
