Making IMPULSE, Pt. 12: Production Day Four

This week, Bryan & I cover the fourth 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 10, 2009

# OF CAMERA SETUPS: 27

SCOTT: Working with our two young skateboarder actors, Drake Hagar & Harvey Roberts. Both were a lot of fun to have on set, as they were not only excited to be missing school, but to be making a movie. Their enthusiasm fueled my own, and they were happy to do numerous takes. This was the third time we've worked with Drake, and it's been fun to see him grow - both as a performer and as a person - in the past six years.

BRYAN: In the interest of time on a difficult day, Scott and I were able to divide directing duties. I worked closely with all-star actors Michael Kennedy and Kim Grimaldi, while Scott tethered himself to Andrew Davis (DP), supervising incoming footage. This is not an ideal way of working, but it can be an advantage to have two directors when you’re racing the clock and the actors and camera are divided by a large amount of difficult terrain.

SCOTT: Feeling like you're the single person causing a delay on set. In one sequence, our main character David goes through about eleven different action beats, and I was to direct Chris Masterson through each in order to achieve the correct pacing. Unfortunately my memorization skills have seen better days. From 100 feet away, I had to recall each action and then yell them out, all while monitoring the pacing. Needless to say, I flubbed my "lines" a couple times. This is why I stopped acting in high school.

SCOTT: Our creek location sequence. Choosing to shoot the sequence in handheld and for coverage may have complemented the nature of the sequence, but it worked against the typical techniques that Bryan & I usually follow, in which we don't shoot coverage and each shot is storyboarded in detail. These challenges resulted in taking a little more time than expected and, while filming, I had painful flashbacks from our delays on Day Two.

BRYAN: Adapting to a new creek location with a few days notice. We originally conceived the scene with a large action beat involving putting some of our actors through freezing creek water - but heavy rains made the water levels dangerous, forcing us to relocate the sequence and replace the action with suspense.

SCOTT: Our unanticipated delays in the creek sequence meant we probably weren't going to be able to shoot the last planned sequence of the day, which took place miles away from our current remote location. We were about an hour from sunset and only held a slight chance of firing off one or two takes. Our dedicated crew wanted to make it happen and our caravan sped to our final destination. It was a magical sight to see a giant grip truck taking dangerously sharp corners at high rates of speed. Thanks to our crew for getting it done!

BRYAN: Our small but crafty Art Department came through big by designing a grave site on short notice at our creek location, helping us amp up the suspense, and tie in a few loose story points.

BRYAN: People falling into the creek trying to fish out the prop boxes used in the scene. Cold, wet, and comical.

Last movie Scott watched: Fight Club (David Fincher)

Last movie Bryan watched: Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)