I can't believe it's been nearly three weeks since we finished principal photography.
The time has flown by. 2nd unit work is now in heavy pre-production mode, so the grind is starting again.
So much for rest and recovery.
Also, I'm getting married in two weeks and that is no small project on its own (thanks to my lovely and patient fiance for being the lead producer on that little production).
Yes, I'm making a feature film the same summer I'm getting married. Me = loco. Big time.
Anyway, the footage is looking great. The RED camera is amazing, but the real amazing came from Donavan (our DP), the crew and the outstanding actors on the project. Together, they made the footage look so damn good.
Principal photography was crazy. Long long days. Not long enough nights (except the nights we worked -- that were too long for sure). It seems like a dreamstate now, looking back on it. Was it even real?
Here's a quick look through some of the stats on the production. These are ballpark figures, so don't nerd out on me if the final needle moves on any of these numbers:
Production days: 17 (out of 19 days straight -- we had 2 days off)
Hours: Most days were 12 hour days, some went well beyond that (I think we maxed at 15 or 16 hours on one painful day). But that didn't include total breakdown and travel time. Add two hours a day for that, minimum. It was grueling.
Cast: approximately 60 speaking roles (we have another 10 or so during 2nd unit work)
Most extras on any one day: 100 (according to our craft services coordinator, "they ate like locusts")
Crew: Between 20 - 25 people every day (a few people bailed when the pressure got too high and they got fed up, unfortunately).
Locations: about 38 (plus about six more will be shot during 2nd unit work)
RAW media files: 2.25TB of video
Takes: over 900 (a bit better than four takes per production hour)
Interesting props or on-set effects: custom-made resin phones, a smoke machine, a homemade virtual reality eyeband (with sequenced LEDs, electroluminescent wire and more), a body bag, white viscous goo (with eyelashes), family photos featuring Erin Gray and faux blood.
These details only start to tell the tale. It was insane.
Principal photography was a huge undertaking. But we're not even close to being done with production work. We have 2nd unit in three different cities coming up over the next few months:
Dublin, Ireland
La Roche, France (near Geneva)
New York City
Plus pick-up work to do yet in the Bay Area still (these are scenes we messed up and need to redo. Or just didn't get for some reason in the first place).
All of this done on a shoestring DIY budget, if you can believe it. (Your tax-deductible donations are still needed, to say the least.)
So far to go -- and yet it seems we've been in the Valley of Pain so long already.
Onward.