"French Toast" Day Two

You've been waiting...haven't you?

Once our first night was up, and the alarm went off @ 7am (yes 7am), we were up; showering, prepping for breakfast (Lester whipped up some delicious French Toast and sausage...you know we simply HAD to, right?) and getting ready for a full day of shooting.

I could kind of tell that the novelty was starting to wear off for my lead actress. She was still putting forth a great deal of effort, but I think it was kicking in that this was actual work. And let's face it, she's 15 and would rather be chatting on the phone w/ her boyfriend, sleeping in late on a Saturday or simply doing those things that a teenager would want to do (what do I know, I haven't been a teenager in quite a long time).

We moved operations downstairs for the majority of the day. It's all of the stuff that happens to our dear "Margot" right before; and just after, the shit hits the fan. There wasn't much lighting to do; as our location had windows in every corner. It was mostly just a bit of eye light here and there and some touches to add more depth. Read; lots of time to set up for each new shot...i.e. what I've come to understand is a regular film scenario. Johnelle (Margot) did some nice work and even added in some clever ad libs. Something about graham crackers. I also found a spot for her to add in another curse word. (Her first line in the script is "Godammit"; which she found great pleasure saying in the presence of her parents). Once we set up in the laundry room area, I had her add a pseudo "mother f***er". She actually seemed uncomfortable saying it. Not to fear however; as it will only appear in the film as "mother f-"; and then the door will slam shut. We got some living room shots, kitchen shots (complete w/ an attitude-y fridge door slam) and some of the first big "adrenaline" moments. Crewman Jeff stood in for our first "zombie" (besides sister Brit of course). Per craft services/cast member Lester's suggestion sometime ahead of the shoot dates; Jeff appears in the window next to the laundry room back door that our heroine stands by for a few brief moments. Dangerous! Looking back and reviewing the shot, I'm not super happy. It seems quite blatant, but I think a nice fade out into the next shot will keep it more subtle. We also got some fabulous shots of "Margot" seeing her mother kneeling over bloody brother Johnny. No effects/gore here folks, it's all in the reaction. Sadly, Johnelle had to react to my version of her name being hissed out. Mom was at work @ the time. Poo.

One of the big mistakes I made was currently occuring as we were speeding through all of the downstairs scenes/shots. Margot was to be wearing a pair of socks. It was nothing that was of great importance in the script, more just a nice bit of kooky business. Plus Clare had found an absolutely cheesy pair of bob socks for the costume...little chickies. They went to waste in the end; as I forgot to have Margot wearing them this entire time. Blast! We cut them in the later (earlier) scene and were back on track. So much for my fun little "bit". Hmmm.

We did some graham cracker drops on the floor and got some nice shots of family photos; including Serena's photo w/ George Romero. Since we have many pans across various family photos, we decided to add him in the mix. Just a picture of our mother character w/ her "uncle George". It'll work. Clare, of course; in all of her brilliance, closed in on the photo; eventually settling on Serena; making her cohort in the photo of less importance. Let's see who catches it. How about all of you jokers reading this now? Then again, he may not even show up. We shall see.

Next up, we got what I call my Jonathan Demme shot. Since he has so many films and shots w/in them of characters looking directly to the camera; as if it were the other character; I decided it would work wonders for Margot's scene w/ "Dad". This was my first big, "oh gee, this looks flippin' awesome...I'm loving this...I'm so smart...etc." Anyway, it was a great moment; and I think Johnelle sold it very well. Then we moved on to Lester's big scene. Subtle, creepy and I think effective. Now, let's drop some not-so-subtle blood on the floor. Good times.

Serena arrived home from work in the late afternoon. We broke for dinner and then got all of Serena's and Lester's voice overs. They both did a tremendous job; and I find them to be very natural. I think Serena could do quite well as an actress; and certainly has a very beautiful face (even as a sinister pseudo-dead creature). Which brings me to that evening's scenes.

Right after dinner (oh yeah, we ran back upstairs to get another shot of "Margot" in her bedroom. I stole a shot from House of Black Wings for this one. Thanks Clare and David!)...we waited for the darkness to roll in. David devised a beautiful light set up for Serena's big moment. First of all, let's discuss Serena's mumu nightgown. Crazy, colorful patterns. Wonderfully tacky! I knew I had to have it in the film; and once Clare (camera/lighting guru that she is) gave the thumbs up that there would be no "moray effect" (I got the term correct; but I'm unsure of the spelling; like the eel, right?...Hey, I'm still learning here. I'm a unitard.), I had my favorite costume piece. And, to top it all off, this was already Serena's. I didn't have to buy it. Nifty, eh. Well, to move on (finally; get off my back!), I think this will be one of the best moments in the film; visually. I originally envisioned an extreme closeup of Serena eating a piece of meat (Johnny?), but then decided it would be better to just shoot her from the back; as the camera moved in on her, she would be ripping at something; as if she were an animal (zombies are people too!). Well, once it was all set up, we got Serena's hair mussed up, gave her a piece of roast beef; strawberry jelly-ed up her hands, and put her to work. We closed in on her from the front as it turned out; and she pulled her body up as she was gnawing. It was a sight to behold. Tremendous work on everyone's part; truly. It's very eerie. I won't give up the final moment of the scene, but it was pretty special. Serena is currently about 3 months out from having her 4th child, so I'm quite certain that the combo of roast beef and jelly was a delish bit of pregnant cravings/snacking.

I honestly don't recall what happened next. What the hell did we shoot after Serena's stuff? Oh yes, we hauled our tired asses back upstairs and got some more various bedroom moments. Johnelle reacting to her family outside of her bedroom door. We completed the background for the "family portraits" scene. I think this is one of the scenes I'm most proud of (we'll see how that holds up following my editing...). I'll save the fun for later...I won't give it away. I was really hoping for an all out tantrum from my lead, and the crew got quite involved in trying to pull it from her. We got some goods, but I think it was just the late hour that left me wanting a tad more. Still, a very productive day from all; and we were back to our squeaky-doored "Margot" room for the night. We all took our same positions for the second night. I told everyone it would be that way. I was the diva and needed my rest. Okay, that's not true. I once again offered the bed to Jeff or David, but it was a no go.

I'm certain I've missed some strange/fun/kooky details about day two, but this will have to suffice. I've obviously let too much time pass to effectively recount all of the wackiness, so I hope this still provides some insight and thrills...to all of my readers; or more accurately; for myself when I revisit this experience w/ my blog/online journal.

Stay tuned...if you care to; for day three; and then day four; and then day five; and then that was it. God bless! Go eat some strawberry jam encrusted roast beef and call me in the morning.