Yesterday was a LONG day, but a great day. Especially after how Friday went!!!
Like I mentioned in my rushed rant on Friday, I got up at 5am yesterday morning. Whew... it felt early... thank goodness for Starbucks! There's one on campus that's open 24-7, but I also got to have some caffeine before I showed up at the film location.
Oh, that's right. This is all because I was in a student film yesterday!
We were filming at the director's apartment, and he wanted us there at 6 so we could have time to talk about the story and go over a few scenes. Avi, the director, was super nice and fun to work with! Plus, there was only one other actor, and I've worked with him before. Ethan was in my first film with me! So that made things easier.
The story was about a man living on his own in a dystopian-LA rampaged by war. He's really lonely until an injured young woman, shows up at his doorstep and he saves her life. You can guess how they end up feeling about each other by the end. :)
The crew showed up, and we got the ball rolling around 7. I spent the first hour or so in the bathroom with Zaira, the makeup artist. I know- we got an actual makeup artist. It felt super cool!!! Avi wanted her because he wanted me to look like I was really sick on-camera. She did a fantastic job, plus, I got to know her and talk to her while she was working on my face. She really likes horror films, but likes watching musicals too. I promised her I'd watch Sweeny Todd. :) Meanwhile, the rest of the crew shot most of Ethan's solo scenes.
After that, we just kept working and working and working. Shot after shot. We got ahead of schedule sometimes thanks to a few "one take wonders" which was great! Plus we got some time to hang out and just get to know each other when we took a lunch break, especially since there were only 7 of us in the apartment!
After lunch were all the intense scenes. Zaira fixed my makeup a bit, then soaked a sponge in fake blood for me to hold against my side. It looked pretty gnarly, but was so fun and exciting I couldn't help but enjoy it. When I squeezed the sponge, it looked like there was blood gushing out of my side, and the fake blood got all over me!!! The shirt is unsaveable, and I might have a permanently stained pair of jeans... At least it came off my skin!
After those scenes were the scenes where I had to be the most sick, so I got my makeup fixed again to look even worse than we started out. Plus, since I was supposed to be feverish, she got my hair wet and sprayed my face with a spray can in between each take. That was fun, cause I had a bit of a giggle fit the first time she did it, even though it was one of the most serious scenes in the film... Don't worry, I composed myself enough to do the scene. It's not too hard to act sick.
The last scene we did was also super intense, so we saved it for very very last. Basically, it's my and Ethan's character's last moments.
We finished an hour earlier than we expected- about 5pm!
I really like working on films. It's different, for sure, but I like the atmosphere of it. It's much easier to see the relationship of the crew to the actors in film: they're literally always there to make sure they can get the best view of you and make you look as good as possible while you're doing what you're doing. It's comforting. With all that support and so few people, you just feel much more free to explore and go all-out. No one's judging you but the camera.
At the same time, film acting is different than theater acting. Well... it's the same, but it's also different. Both are acting. You're not changing how you act when you act... you just.. act! But in film, the story isn't going chronologically. It adds another dimension to your thinking since you have to concentrate on what part of the story you're on. You really have to know your character's story arc, scene by scene, really well. You can't just follow your character's story through in a fluid motion, like you can in theater.
I feel like I did a good job, better than my first film, at least. But there's still a lot I probably could've done better, or, at the least, prepared for better. Now I know though! I'm excited to watch both films I've done to judge what I did well and what I can work on next time, assuming I won't get too self-conscious of what I'm doing to watch... Just like anything in life, you get better with experience! And I hope I get to do a lot more films while I'm here.
When I got back, I scared Kieryn with my still-sick-looking makeup. Zaira made it a little over-the-top so it would show up right on camera, so in reality, I looked almost zombie-like... it was funny :) I went to dinner with her and some of her friends, then spent the rest of the evening feeling exhaustion crash over me and doing practically nothing.... I went to bed at 11 and didn't get up until 11 this morning.
Today doesn't look like it'll be as exciting as yesterday was, but I'll let you know more about it when today ends.
Until then, Fight on, friends.
PS: To those of you who were concerned about my last post, or who offered encouragement, Thank you. Your encouragement was helpful, and I appreciate it so much.
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