"Corrado" - A production blog

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I'm exhausted. On and off, I've been looking at the footage, and it all look great. While we are on schedule (or at least within a page) of being done on Sunday, there feels like a lot more to do.

I've learned a valuable lesson with scheduling during this movie, and my organization and support level on movie #2 needs to be faaaaaar better. It's not so much that we are missing things, it's just that there are no segues on many of our scenes.

I never really understood why people do second unit photography, but now I know. Just because the scene starts as INT: DINER - DAY does not mean it actually starts inside the diner.

An exterior shot of the place to establish would be nice, and is easy to do.

Our schedule is so tight that we have more or less ignored what we thought of as minor establishing shots.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not a huge deal. I can go back with a crew of 2-3 and get all the shots I need in a day or two, but keep in mind that this second unit stuff is the thing that makes the movie more interesting and fuller, and I will firmly devote myself to doing it and taking my time.

Fortunately, all of this is a car ride away for me. Had we been on a remote location, it would be difficult or impossible to go and get this stuff.

Here's the current plan:

Cut the footage I have after the principal wraps, and then compile a list of pickups and or 2nd unit work I am missing.

Pickups are fairly common after principal photography. Am I missing anything right now???? I don't know. Even with a script super and lots of coverage, I may find I am missing a shot or two after I edit it.

No biggie. Pickups are done all the time. 2nd unit work, however, is usually done concurrent with the 1st unit work, but I will go back and get this minor stuff at my own leisure and have a little fun with it.

It will be difficult to know how my life will be like after production wraps. I've become used to the routine, the long days, the camaraderie of the crew, and the humor on set.

I will miss it very much. Being on set is like no other job. The euphoria of being there cannot be duplicated.

I'll of course see the actors around in the future. I've made lifelong friends out of Tom and Johnny, who are going to be in my next movie.

Some of the crew will be carried into the next movie, some will not. Some have exhibited ugly streaks, others, brilliance and loyalty.

Mistakes made so far:
  • Failed to properly budget for the amount of petty cash needed on a daily basis. A cast / crew of 30 consumes tons of water, snacks, and soda. Things break. Supplies run out. I'd say we spend 300-400 per day on little minor nothings, including some craft service.
  • Saved a buck, and got shitty food. Fired my caterer two days ago because of crew mutinies and food poisoning. Got a new one. All is well on the set of corrado.
  • Line produced this movie. Note to self - hire a UPM.
  • Didn't hire a location manager. My location scout sucked, and she was always ready to charge overtime the second we exceeded our contract. I had no one to help me with surly property owners, cleanup, complaining neighbors, etc. Get a location manager / cleanup crew next time. I was washing the bathroom floor of the mansion at 1 am a week and a half ago.
  • Should have rented a trailer. I rented one for the last week of production. What a luxury. It's out mobile production office. Also a place for above the line to hang out and decompress. Frequently go rest between setups. I'll never be without one now.
I think that's it for now. The project goes along fairly smoothly. Would like more time and more money, but something tells me I'd ask for that if I had $50M to spend.

Two more days to go!
 
taormina said:
An exterior shot of the place to establish would be nice, and is easy to do.

Our schedule is so tight that we have more or less ignored what we thought of as minor establishing shots.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not a huge deal. I can go back with a crew of 2-3 and get all the shots I need in a day or two, but keep in mind that this second unit stuff is the thing that makes the movie more interesting and fuller, and I will firmly devote myself to doing it and taking my time.

Fortunately, all of this is a car ride away for me. Had we been on a remote location, it would be difficult or impossible to go and get this stuff.

Here's the current plan:

Cut the footage I have after the principal wraps, and then compile a list of pickups and or 2nd unit work I am missing.

Pickups are fairly common after principal photography. Am I missing anything right now???? I don't know. Even with a script super and lots of coverage, I may find I am missing a shot or two after I edit it.

No biggie. Pickups are done all the time. 2nd unit work, however, is usually done concurrent with the 1st unit work, but I will go back and get this minor stuff at my own leisure and have a little fun with it.
Click to expand...

Awesome update Adam!

It's funny you mention the establishing "2nd unit" stuff... same thing happened on our feature, I've been getting that stuff over the last few weeks... and have a few more shots to get, but as you said, it's simple, and you can do it at your leisure...

Can't wait to hear/see more!
 
thanks for the update adam.

something that was invaluable when i directed Heart of Now was having the editor assemble a rough cut of the film as we shot. so every night the media was ingested and cobbled together so i could periodically go back to the studio at the end of the day and review cut scenes of what we'd shot before moving to the next location.
 
Bryan said:
I think somewhere he said it was only a 14-17 day shoot, something like that.

By the way, I just discovered this thread today and spent the last 5 hours reading through it. Holy crap, what an amazingly inspirational story!

Good luck with the rest of shooting Adam!
Click to expand...
Same here,
I just discovered this thread today
Thanks to luis.
Amazing...
Good Luck Crew..
 
Zak Forsman said:
something that was invaluable when i directed Heart of Now was having the editor assemble a rough cut of the film as we shot.
Click to expand...
I was going to suggest this as well. Especially wiht a tapeless system, there's no real hassle involved in keeping a rough cut going as you go, and then you can periodically review what you've got to make sure that you can cut it together. It's soooo much more helpful to realize you're missing a shot while you're still there, with all the actors and with the location, than it is to try to pick it up afterwards.
 
an onsite editor is the best thing ever! After finishing up on a feature last month we had 85% of the movie rough cut when we wrapped production! That's insane!
 
Charlie Anderson said:
an onsite editor is the best thing ever! After finishing up on a feature last month we had 85% of the movie rough cut when we wrapped production! That's insane!
Click to expand...

it's very helpful. Heart of Now was heavily improved to allow for some surprises, some of which changed the emotional trajectory the characters were on. the first two thirds of the film were shot in LA, but the final third took place at a distant location in a natural environment. it was ESSENTIAL to have the editor on set to consult with as well as assembling a rough cut so I could see what questions the film was posing before heading off to shoot the ending.
 
Break a leg?

Break a leg?

Maybe you should kill everyone before it's all over. Then you won't have regrets that you can't end the movie in a certain way or tie up some loose ends that will crop up later. Just kill 'em all.

Break a leg anyway :-)
 
yikes, i just read this entire thread and feel car sick (take that as a compliment! if i spend too much time in front of a computer monitor i get car sick, but the thread was too good to stop). glad to hear that everything is working out. this thread and prodigi's thread has provided more motivation than ever to actually get out and do something. keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!
 
Hey Adam, great update on the 9th. Again, invaluable insight and info.

I hope that you successfully wrapped with principal photography yesterday.
 
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Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Now comes the fun part -- editing! :beer:

Tell us about your first impression on seeing the entire rushes.
 
Principal photography.

Principal - n. or adj. Person or thing of the highest order or position.
Principle - n. A law or doctine.

e
 
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