The Camera test, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

The Camera test is today and we have a list of things to explore.The new Red Mysterium camera is arguably one of the largest steps towards replicating what the human eye sees in low light.This is exciting for many reasons, the most obvious being night exteriors and the need for fewer lights. Also the option of shooting a scene illuminated only by a campfire, what I'm looking forward too exploring are the nuances that we can find in Day interiors. I was watching "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" shot by the late Conrad Hall. The sense of poetic naturalism is stunning and even more impressive when you consider the amount of light it took expose an image back then and the amount of skill and time to bend the light into those nuances. DP's as of late have been standing on the shoulders of Gregory Crewdson, the still photographer in their stylings of Night Exteriors. I think Crewdson stood on the shoulders of Conrad Hall. Hence the quote.More Later!!

We landed our coach!

First news is that we landed our coach.......Kurt Russell.
We're all over the moon - The investors, producers and those of us that will get to work closely with him. I love his integrity as an actor and I can't wait to study him with my microscope..I mean lens.

I had a dream, or at least I should have had this dream because it would be the perfect metaphor for the final week before prep. Here goes - A surfer paddling into a wave so huge that he can't see over the top of it,the power and speed of the wave is unknown. All that is known is that the Surfer can keep his balance on the board in all conditions. He knows the angles and balance techniques to adapt to anything he's experienced.

I'll stop there but you get it.

We scouted with the full crew this week.I'm excited, it's always illuminating to meet new people and peer into their lives and get a sense of how they work, how they solve problems, operate under stress.

I have developed a new camera rig to help tell the "Time Travel" aspect of our story.
More on that later.

A period.

The hardest part of this gypsy/ carnie existence is spending time away from my family. You can never get time back and mourning it's passage is what most of great art is about. I'm on a plane, flying back into Grand Rapids after spending the weekend at home. The best part of it all is the skin to skin nothingness that passes time in the most sublime way. Pain and sacrifice make great art or at least valiant attempts at great art. Time will decide what the judgment of our endeavors will be.

Fuck. I hate this. My eyes are drowning behind a layer of tears.

I just hope that this sacrifice is worth it. everyday I will exhaust myself for the betterment of the film. There's a saying that ones commitment to something should be like a fire. After it's burnt, it leaves no trace of itself.

That sort of effort is the only way to properly spend this time away from my family.

I have a Sunset scout as soon as I land. Thank god.

Planning football

Yesterday was probably the best day in a prep period that I've ever had. I learned more about a sport, gained appreciation for a genre of filmmaking and explored the art and arc of character development. We have to get it right!

Our film is a love story with a football theme. All in total there will be maybe 25- 30 scripted pages of football and that translates to the same number of minutes on the screen, give or take. Because the nature of shooting football, moving cameras around to cover the plays from different angles, evolving the love story between the characters and the planning of our " secret techniques" that will propel us to the emotional climax of the film, there are a lot of elements to juggle. Looking at football beyond the sport but as a prism in which you view the character of someone is an enlightening process. The plays and the camera angles take on new meaning as your appreciation for the game evolves. Beyond that, sitting in a room with 4 passionate, intelligent, experienced people who all have a love sports movies and who's soul interest is to evolve the genre and tell a new story is a wholly sacred experience. The energy in that room will be translated to the screen, I promise that. Every moment on the screen will have thousands of human hours and sacrifice behind it. Where else can you get that much for the price of a ticket?

Insight: the truly talented people in the business don't have egos because they have nothing to hide. Mark Ellis, that is you my friend.

The town of Coopersville, Michigan is so supportive of us and they promise to fill the stands with 3000 extras. The local news stations from Grand Rapids came out to the field to meet us yesterday, they interviewed Don, our Director and Mark Ellis, our sports coordinator to try and promote the film and get the word out. I threw the football on the field with the AD, (assistant director) Brian, I cant throw a spiral to save my life. As a matter of fact, I think everyone lost respect after watching me throw a football.

The currency gained from planning great shots was spent, wasted, by throwing a football. Damn. The boulder is at the bottom of the hill again. Talk to you later.

And it's a ...........

Push,

Yes, we've delayed another week until we start filming. We are soooooo close to getting a great actor to play the coach, he would round out the cast and then we would be so solid and all of our efforts would be consolidated and fortified. I personally like the woman from Glee as our coach but no one will listen to me.I guess that's why Im the DP.

I'm reminded of a quote by Matisse or someone like that, it basically goes. " Be methodical and exacting in your organization so you can be violently original in your work." I like that and it sums up my entire process.

Today we meet with the infamous Mark Ellis, he's the man behind every major sports film in the past 15 years, he designs the plays and coordinates our vision to the field. The fact that we have him, AAA talent on our paltry budget speaks to the power of our script and the belief that we can make a good movie.

Lastly, i go home tomorrow for the weekend.
The weather is clear, seas are calm and the view from the crows nest looks good.
Never trust a good day or let it lull you into complacency.

More on that later.

Chapter 6 " pushing hard to go deeper"

2 weeks away from shooting and I can honestly say that I've never worked so hard in prepping a film. I know I just issued a challenge to all my future employers but Im okay with that. 14 hour prep days filled with shot listing, location scouting, meetings,etc. I love hard work, especially when its invested in something that is grounded in vision and integrity.Don our director is committed so deeply to bringing this film to its most perfect realization and I am his partner in this. He's making me better and that excites me.

How can I not view this experience through my new perspective of battling cancer and winning? I'm stronger and wiser and I feel that my work will vibrate with a new intensity and depth. Shoot me for saying this but I feel that a lens is more than a prism for viewing, it can also be a diving rod, a seeker of the truth and conveyor of beauty. Suffering creates depth and depth deepens ones experience therefore a deeper well from which to draw. The real trick as a DP is listening and not seeing. If you can hear and feel the intent of a scene,the root of the idea then you'll know where to put the camera.

Christine Lahti and Melanie Lynskei are going to be in Touchback. How lucky are we? 2 amazing women with depth,warmth,magnetism and passion. More on that later.

Lastly, I don't think anything good comes from coasting.There has to be conflict,a disruption of the norm to create something new. I've lived my life seeking peace and harmony but that pursuit can also coax one into easy decisions and mediocrity. I hope to find a balance, a way to lead and inspire and also challenge and enlist peoples best.

Capter 5

I've always had a theory that when making a movie, you haven't really started until you sacrifice something that is near and dear to you. It can be a precious plan, a preconceived idea, your composure, etc.The sacrifice must be one that hurts, that cuts deep.

Why?

The reason for this is that it takes a life to create life. A movie becomes a living thing that breathes and lives and can be a transformative experience. Something with that kind of power has to be forged from the toil of many. A great film can influence lives forever, change the way the way one views a situation, influence their actions and thereby redirect the course of their lives.

Am I crazy? Probably, but you've read this far so give me one more shot.

Everyone that makes a film and loves the script is convinced that it can be an amazing one. (sssssh I'm talking about the "A" word and yes-a passe institution whose approbation still means the world, even to the most cynical.) Sometimes you can reach so far that you fall over. That's where I'm heading, I just hope that my wisdom will keep me from falling over, weeble out my worble. The kool aid tastes good and I drink it everyday.

The protective shield of cynicism robs all pleasure from living and ultimately giving. A film needs your blood and absolute commitment. How else can it be born?

Cynicism is a condom that can't be worn, especially in this process.

I guess I'm done with that one. sorry if I lost you. Hopefully this post will be as cringe inducing in time as my clothing choices in 1989.

Chapter 4

I've seen more locations in the last week than most people (except for mailmen) see in 6 months. We have finally found the location of the main character and the synchronicity between what's been written on a page and what one finds in the world never ceases to amaze me. This farm has angles that both support what has been written and what was shot by a splinter unit last year in a different state. The level of detail (which I'll spare my single reader) in which this location works is astonishing. It's now up to our producer to convince the owners to upend their lives for 3 weeks. Good Luck Carissa!
Still no word on our "big fish" actor but at least we have a location to shoot the other half, well, 1/4 , actually 1/6 of the cast.

Last night I had to mediate a conflict between my nearly teen daughter and my wife. I was on the phone until 12:30 am. We all found peace and the storm passed. That is both the blessing and curse in being away. I miss my life and the process of seeing my kids evolve but my perspective by being away also lends a "crows nest" perspective to the situation and from that vantage point I can see clearly without the turbulence of emotions. It does get lonely up here sometimes though.Adulthood is kidnapping my daughter and we can't help at all.

My wife is on the front lines and God bless her for that. I am performing a duty by working but I LOVE it as well. Imagine if ice cream and french fries were the healthiest food you could eat, that's sort of it.

Lastly, today we start to devise a way to shoot the football scenes. We have a magnetic football board and a macro lens, and they call this a job?
All the guys I'm working with play basketball as well, there's a court at our hotel.

More from "Camp Bromance" later.