Night Shoots

The first rule of the film is not to talk about the film. The second rule is "obey all rules." Or something like that.

So I can't go into detail. Suffice it to say that the latest project is a horror film being shot at an abandoned mental hospital. It doesn't get any more artistic than that, eh? But I'm actually enjoying myself: The director is a great guy, and he's spent so much time below the line that he knows how to ask for things in triage: Level one he has to have, level two would be nice, level three he doesn't give a shite. I love that. It allows me to plan and react, instead of just doing one.

And for the first time in a feature, I'm The Guy: Production Designer. Sure, it's a low-budget slasher film, and my staff consists of five people, so there is some serious title inflation going on here. But it is nice to not only be allowed to have input, but to expected to do so. Last night we shot the biggest and most involved set of the shoot, where we turned a 2,400 square foot office into a cramped, run-down rural sheriff's office, complete with jail cell. I've seen the dailies and it actually looks pretty good.

Oh, and once again, me with my everyman face has been plucked from the crew and stuck in front of the camera. This time I play a rural sheriff, big belly sticking out over the Sam Browne belt. I won't tell you what happens to the sheriff, but it's not pretty.

Call time is generally 6PM, and we wrap around 7AM. It's weird to come home in the morning and hit the sack. But, what the hell, I can never sleep at night anyway.

More to come. It's good to be working again.