Make It Work

We officially wrapped the shooting of our short film earlier this week. It took one amazing crew, 4 days, and countless gallons of coffee to get it all done. It was really fun, we had a great cast and crew who made all the hiccups we encountered along the way seem less like the end of the world. This whole experience made me appreciate how much goes into making a movie and how lucky Hollywood is to have millions of dollars to make it work.

Every shoot has its obstacles and ours was no different. Whether we were kicked out of our first location for going over time, forced to “cheat” a kitchen scene in a backyard, kicked out of the backyard for not being allowed to shoot there, securing a location just hours before we were set to shoot or having to film in a crowded café and deal with the sound of barking Chihuahuas and dominos being played in the background, we overcame it all. I may sound calm about all of these issues, but in reality I think I had several minor heart attacks over the weekend.

Because I am the writer behind this beautiful project and have no film school experience I spent the majority of the days sitting by the actors, eating pretzels and wondering why the crew was referring to clothespins as “ C47s”. I think those who did not know that I wrote the script were wondering why I was there. Some thought I might be an assistant of sorts, but that was quickly revealed to be false when I didn’t know the answer to basic questions like, “what are we doing next?”, “are we shooting the forest scene today?” and “when is dinner?” It seemed the questions transitioned in importance as people tried to pin point my role on the set. I was first thought to be important enough to know what was immediately happening next, to possibly knowing if a huge scene was on the day’s agenda, to the caterer.

I learned a ton working on this shoot, but it also showed me how much I would rather work in television. I was lucky that my brother was directing this film because most film writers are tossed to the side after their script is picked up, whereas in television, the writer runs the show. We had to search for weeks to find locations whereas TV shows have their permanent set and do not move much from there. In movies you work with your cast and crew for weeks but then go your separate ways when you wrap, in TV you can get much more attached because everyone will be back the next episode or next season.

Eli and I enjoyed this project so much that we are already planning our next one. In other aspects of my life, I picked up a nanny job that PAYS, I’m working a different internship and trying to write my hands off. Hollywood will be mine soon.