Working Blues

So I have spent the last week working diligently on my thesis project. Saturday night we all went out to shoot a sequence. We got everything set up and started filming, and then the porta pack died. So, we got lucky and Cameron has a friend that let us borrow his generator. We went out Sunday night after filming part of Joe's thesis during the day, and hooked it up. Thank goodness for lots of extension chords. Ended up putting the generator on the next block so that the sound of it would be minuscule. I didn't wrap production myself until 530 am morning. It was amazing to do. I am learning how to communicate my ideas clearly, and I am starting to be able to coax more of the performance out of my actors that I want. So I am happy for that. Frank and I are going to have a meeting later this week to work on our communication and how we need to work together. I fear that his plate is too full and I wish to address some issues and to clarify a final expectation that I have of him as the cinematographer. So I spent the afternoon of Tuesday through the night editing a ruff cut of the scene. The only problem I have with what we shot is that we ran out of room on our audio set up while we were out in the field shooting. So there is a take and a half of missing audio. I fear that that could have been prevented if when I ask my crew if they are ready and they say yes and I tell them to roll and then after I say action past when they are rolling, they let me know wait wait wait that in fact they are not ready. lots of time waisted in room on the audio file. So I have to fix that. There is also the fact that I didn't slate any of my shots, so THAT made the editing interesting. Going to have to have someone setup to do clapboard and log the takes chronologically to help with the editing process. These are things that are just stepping stones. I am finding the pace to be moving along smoothly otherwise, and I feel that I am growing as a Director. I really am able to communicate clearly and I just need to be a litle more firm in a few palces, but I am going to have to be cautious not to push to hard to get people to do what I am asking of them. Luckily, from this last shoot, I was able to fudge an aspect in post work, but there are some things I wish to point out to crew to help prevent some aspects of being...in clear words...fucked. but that's ok, we are all learning and will grow together.