Well, dear readers, we had a really great second day of shooting for the first two episodes of Outside The Box, season two. I arrived at nine and we were supposed to set up and be shooting by ten. At nine-fifteen I got a call from our camera people that their car had died. Thankfull, they live only three blocks from where we were shooting, so they walked home, got their second car, loaded it with all the equipment and miraculously got to us by nine-thirty. While they were getting there, I worked out the way we were going to shoot the first number so when they arrived, I showed the cameraman exactly what we were doing and what the coverage would be, and they got set up in record time and we started shooting right at ten. We had that first number in the can thirty-five minutes later, including all the coverage. It was adorable, with Euan Morton and twelve-year-old Sami Staitman. I so wish I could tell you about the number and what we were doing but I’m not going to be spoiling any of those surprises. Then Euan did his solo – we did about three takes from each angle – it was a really wordy number and we had a few stumbles, but he nailed it but good and it’s pretty hilarious. Then we did the final number, adding the beautiful Emma Degerstedt and our mighty ensemble. Emma had learned one note wrong, and we tried and tried to get the wrong note out of her head and the right one in, but any singer will tell you how hard that is when they’ve been drilling the wrong note. But once we had all the coverage with the exception of the ensemble, I stayed in her close-up and we ran the track and had her not sing until the problem line – that did the trick and we got two good takes of it with the correct note. So, with the magic of editing it will be perfect. Then we did the ensemble’s part and that went really well and what I could see from the monitor, the stuff looked great. That brought us to just before one, and our lunch break – right on schedule. We had five pizzas from Dino’s along with salad. We were back to work about forty minutes later, having finished with Euan and Sami and Emma.
Then we began the three numbers for the next episode. We began with the opening number, which just features the ensemble. I’d allotted a whopping ninety minutes to shoot that, because I knew I wanted a lot of coverage and fun angles. The reason it’s so easy to nail these numbers so quickly is that I do just the coverage I need and only a couple or three takes of each angle. Since each song is only a minute long it goes very quickly. So, we used all ninety minutes and there are a LOT of angles and I think it’s going to cut together really well. Just before we wrapped that number, Hal Linden arrived and we ran just the end of the number so he could do his little entrance in the final four bars (he’s revealed). Then we let the ensemble go. Jenna Rosen had arrived as had Jane Noseworthy, so we brought them in and we did the second musical number – that’s mostly Jane, but Hal sings four lines and he was absolutely hilarious doing them, because like all great comic actors, he played it completely straight. Jenna was laugh out loud funny doing her stuff, and Jane Noseworthy was a great sport about one particular bit – again, I just can’t say more without giving things away, but I do think this episode will be one of our best. Sharon McNight did a small role, too, and she was great. Then we did our final number and that one went very quickly, and we did some insert shots that were really amusing. Oh, and my friend Rob Bowers came earlier and played the piano player, because I like to have cutaways to a piano player – it gives us some variety.
We wrapped by five-fifteen and then the camera and sound people dumped the footage and sound onto our hard drive and that was that. Jenna and her mom and Sami and her mom and I went to a Mexican restaurant that was a block away. It was actually very good and I ate way too much food. Then I stopped at the mail place, not to pick up packages, as they were closed, but to pick up an important envelope – for the second week in a row it wasn’t there, so it will hopefully come today or there will be hell toupee, believe you me.
I then came home, answered a plethora of e-mails, had a telephonic conversation, and watched some of the footage, which really did look incredibly good. And there is a Jenna moment that will go down as an Outside The Box classic. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get some semblance of beauty sleep.
Today, I will hopefully arise after a good night’s beauty sleep and must deal with a somewhat upsetting thing I became aware of yesterday – please send your strongest excellent vibes and xylophones that it all works out okay. Then the helper will be by to get some invoices, after which I shall hopefully pick up some packages and, more importantly, an important envelope and then I’ll hopefully do some banking. Then it’s Juliana’s run-through with a small group of friends, and then the rest of the day and evening is mine all mine. I may even try for a foot massage at the local foot massage jernt.
Tomorrow is sound check and then show time. Juliana is having it recorded so she’ll have a nice souvenir of the act and can probably use it for promotional purposes. Next week we have our Kritzerland rehearsals, so that will be fun, and I have a lot of work to do on other things, including casting the next two Outside The Box episodes, which we’d like to shoot in a few weeks.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, deal with the upsetting thing, but hopefully your most excellent vibes and xylophones will do their magic, I must hopefully pick up packages and an important envelope, I must do a run-through, I must eat, and then I shall relax and maybe even have a foot massage. Today’s topic of discussion: Our next Kritzerland show will be a Rodgers and Hammerstein evening – so, what are your all-time favorite R&H songs, but especially the more obscure ones? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland very happy that day two of shooting went so well.