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October 15, 2011:

CUT. PRINT. OVER THERE.

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it is late and I am exhausted and as if that wasn’t bad enough I am also exhausted and it is late. It was a very long day, but episodes four through six are now complete and ready for the editor. We began the long day with the Alet and Andy Taylor number. Obviously I can’t tell you what it is, but I can tell you that the cameraman almost ruined several takes he was laughing so hard. Let’s just say Alet and Andy went for it and they are both quite brilliant. It was a number that was more complicated than the other stuff we’ve shot, which was basically just flat on with pop-ins for coverage – a lot of coverage, but coverage that’s very easy to do. Since there were a lot of moves in this number, we had to shoot it a little differently, so we went verse by verse – we’d do a master shot, then the close-up (sometimes a medium shot and a close-up), then we’d transition into the next verse and do the same thing. Then the bridge of the song and then the end. So, for each verse we had to shoot at least three angles and I always do at least two takes of each angle, and sometimes more. Then we had the long intro to do, which included the ensemble playing party guests. There were six angles to do in that, so by the end of it all we were about thirty minutes behind schedule. Still, I was moving very quickly and the words of low-budget director Lee Sholem (Roll ’em, Sholem) were ringing in my ears: “Cut. Print. Over there.”

Then we did the Gregory Harrison number. Once we got the geography of it for the camera, we began shooting and that one went very quickly. We did a very wide master shot, then popped in for a closer shot of just the ensemble stuff, and then Gregory’s medium close-up and extreme close-up. Unlike most web series, we’re really shooting these like little movies, which is the fun part for me. My cameraman was pretty fast and we just barreled along. We took a half-hour lunch break, then finished Gregory’s number right on time. I put Melody in this number and the camera just eats her up – very energetic and very funny.

Then we began the Matt Ashford number. Again, we rehearsed with the track first, then got the geography for the camera, and then began shooting, after having some camera battery issues that really slowed us down by about forty minutes overall. All the spare batteries were supposed to be fully charged, but we found they were only half-charged, so we began running out and we were having to change batteries every few minutes, charging one while the other would last a few minutes. It’s not the most optimal way to shoot. I also knew that we really did have to wrap the number by four and be out of the room by four-thirty because the owner needed to leave by then. That’s a little wacky for a rehearsal studio – usually you can always count on it being available for an extra hour at the end of a day and usually this busy studio is always open until eight or nine, but for whatever reasons, we were the only thing booked yesterday. So, we had a little pressure and so I wasn’t thinking as clearly as I normally do and I didn’t think through the master shot in Matt’s number – at one point he’s revealed after the ensemble clumps center and then splits apart. I should have shot one version of the master where Matt didn’t walk in to place behind the clump, so we’d have a clean reveal. However, I have quite a bit of coverage for that whole section and I’m hoping that the editor can work some magic there and cover up that little problem. We also have coverage of Boswell playing the piano and that’s always our safety out for problems, so we can always go to him if necessary. One way or the other, we’ll make it work.

We actually wrapped around four-fifteen (after we finish all the coverage, we then do a wild recording of just the song itself, so we get a really clean vocal), and were out of the studio right at four-thirty. We then shot the Matt Ashford set-up scene outside the rehearsal studio – Matt in his car with his assistant. It went very quickly and very well and we were done by five. We then had to dump the audio and video on to our mini-hard drive. That took about an hour. At that point it was six and I knew there was no way I could get to Barry Pearl’s on time to go to the opening night of Annie – Friday night traffic in that neck of the Valley is just impossible, whether on freeway or surface street. So, I called Barry and told him and offered my apologies.

I then picked up a couple of packages, then came home and put all the footage from today on my computer so I can just look at everything and make some choices, takes-wise. Since I’d only had two really small pieces of pizza for lunch, I went over to Jerry’s Deli and had a turkey sandwich and no fries or onion rings. When I returned, I looked at some of the footage and it really looks nice. It’s funny, after all that shooting, I’m able to watch all the footage and it all adds up to less than an hour – all of it. That’s because the numbers in their entirety are only two and a half minutes long – so, even with all the angles and all the takes, it really doesn’t add up to that much time, in real time. All in all, it was a great, fun day.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I am all in and I must get my beauty sleep.

Tomorrow, I will hopefully arise after a good night’s sleep, then I must do the four-mile jog (I’ve missed the last two days), then I must write liner notes, finish assembling the script for the LACC show, and then I have some errands and whatnot to do, hopefully some packages and an important envelope to pick up, and then I must try to relax.

Tomorrow, it will be more of the same. Next week is very busy, and I must get the Gardenia show material to the singers – we’re quite behind. I have meetings, meals, and many things to attend to.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the four-mile jog, write, assemble, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up packages and an important envelope, eat something light but amusing and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: Here’s a topic I always enjoy – if you could have a favorite book turned into a film, what would it be, who would direct, and who would you cast in the leading roles? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland. Cut, print, over there.

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