A TEST OF METTLE

Everyone is firmly settled into the Vampiric rhythms of night shoots, but night 4 is a race against the piercing dawn light. We have a mammoth 14 pages of script to cover tonight. Every single actor in the cast is here tonight, including a couple of newcomers -- welcome Tamara Zook (Mama Cheese) and Brian Russel (Fat Bert). The dog is here, too. Even the Condor is making a repeat appearance tonight thanks to the efforts of the lighting and electric crew (pictured below).



Our makeup lady, the unflappable, hard-working, and ever cheerful Tina Shults, has whipped up a home-made concoction of fake blood with her secret home-made recipe. It’s perfectly edible, she tells us. (Edible is not necessarily synonymous with “tasty,” mind.) Doesn’t stain clothing, either. Our actor dog will need industrial dog grooming by the time we’re through. Don’t worry, a representative of the Humane Society is on set to monitor our handling of animals. Including Jamie (below) -- he’s quite the animal. (Baddaboom! Thank you, I'll be here all week.)

Dusk starts out Josh, the director, rehearsing blocking with the cast while the camera and lighting crews get to work. A table full of In-N-Out burgers is quickly consumed. (Note to the In-N-Out in Claremont: Profuse apologies for triggering multiple heart attacks when I rolled up to the drive thru and asked for 40 cheeseburgers -- to go.)

Then it’s time to do the scene with the dog in play. Script supervisor Jessica Derks (below, l.), already a star on the shoot for her meticulous eye on continuity, has her work cut out for her as the lengthy scene is filmed multiple times from multiple angles. The actors freeze in position after a key moment in the scene, so that Tina (below, r.) and the dog trainer can rush over and apply F/X makeup to Matty the mutt, and then resume action. Matty also has to be rinsed down, shampooed, and blow dried in between takes, too. Talk about a pampered pooch.














The energy levels are high. The final scene, a showcase for Kevin (Winston) and Tamara (Mama Cheese) has everyone convulsing with laughter -- it'll be a wonder if the laughter doesn't bleed over into the audio track! Everyone is exhausted come night's end. Especially Nick Gregorio, the production coordinator. Nick is a director in his own right -- his offbeat comedy, "Happy Birthday, Harris Malden" is a hit on the festival circuit -- and he has formidable organizational skills that can only come from the experience of directing your own feature and having first-hand knowledge of what goes into pulling it all together.

-- Stephen Humphries (production assistant)