8am to 10p is the new 9-5.
When you’re on most (if not all) movie sets, big or small –you can expect to put in more hours than you thought, or planned to.
If you’re not terribly into that idea, don’t worry, it’ll show and you probably won’t be coming back. Luckily for me, I find most on-set experiences pleasant and downright addicting. It’s even occurred to me that one of the reasons I’ve been interested in working in movies as an actor is because I binge on watching behind-the-scenes featurettes in movies!
Color-me-strange. That’s the way I was built.
Friday brought an exceptionally long day full of highs and lows. The lows, of course, never reaching close to any high a crummy desk job would bring (pointed, this is my opinion and respect anyone that enjoys that type of work).
I found myself surrounded mostly by folks I worked with during the Adobe Youth Voices workshops (Siren Song Creations and DP, Ryan Wood). (See how these things start to domino?) While I was initially asked to be an extra, I figured I’d be doing more grip work. By the end of it, I was trying on so many neat ‘hats’ and left a little more educated. Win!
We had a whole room entirely for gear/equipment staging. Handy, I have to say.
Some fake blood being whipped up. At some point it reminded me of boysenberry syrup for pancakes…
And it wasn’t even noon yet!
For those unfamiliar with movie sets, there’s a lot of waiting…so, it’s good to be prepared. Like these folks…
But you’ve always got to be ready for your close-up!
Notice Ryan’s pro pose…it doesn’t end there. By Noon we were out shooting around various San Jose locations…
We broke for lunch by about 1p –it was pizza. Normally I would’ve taken a photo of it to share with you. But I’m pretty sure you know what pizza is supposed to look like…right?
What I say about people waiting? Well the early evening hours rolls through and we’re straight through to the final stretch. But not without a proper dinner…
No dessert, but there was this extra sweet shot…
What a day.
I’ve been through day job work hours shorter than today but felt like an eternity. There’s some truth in the saying, “Do what you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life…”
Dunno if these fellas have something to add to that…
L-R, DP Ryan Wood, and Director Vijay Vanniarajan
That’s a wrap!
On to the next…whenever that might be.
Are you into filmmaking? I’d love to hear about your experiences and thoughts being in front, or behind the camera. Leave a message below, or feel free to Tweet me at Follow @tasialabastro
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