i'm ready for my close-up...behind my own camera
January 06, 2003, 6:43 pm

So we're filming.

The movie is an independent film called Ghosts of Hamilton Street written by Daveand Mike. In a word (or two): it rawks.

I have the coolest job on the set: documentary footage. Basically, everyone else on the set works, and I tape them working. I interview people and try my best to catch all the one-liners thrown around the set like freshmen girls at a frat party.

One of the shots of the film involves me driving my car around a block, and to hear my cue, I was given a walkie-talkie (sweet). Since we were outside, the boom mike was picking up some wind, so Adam (assistant director) requested any pantyhose from the ladies on the set.

Not wanting to mess up the shot, I refrained from saying, "NOBODY SAY A WORD!" over the walkie, but Mike wasn't ready to let it slide.

"Jess, did you get them from Richie?" Mike squawked over the walkie, and I watched in horror as the entire crew lost it on the lawn.

The great thing about a film shoot is the plethora of geeky, funny people. Forget the actors (although my buds Zak, Steve, and Jamie are in it, and most of the actors are "one of us"); the crew makes the film. We're lucky that our crew is pretty laid-back and hard-working. I only hope it continues throughout the shoot.

We're shooting every single fucking weekend through March. This is exceptionally lame because it means I'll never have a day off unless I have a day off from school. I'm so tired right now that I can't bring myself to look at a kid's paper for fear of writing illegibly on it. As I sit here, I have to rest my head on my shoulder so it doesn't loll around to my back and stay there, asleep.

There's an energy to a film set, though, that I'm addicted to. I had forgotten how much fun movie-making can be, but also how tedious it is. When I'm on set, I'm charged up that I'm a part of a process that exists solely to EXIST...movies don't save lives, they don't rescue cats from trees, and they don't physically cure any mental ills, but I can't think of many things that pervade my consciousness as often as movies or movie-situations or movie quotes. In fact, if you were to diagram a good chunk of my conversations with people, virtually 94% of them will involve some reference to a film I like or have seen. In this, I am a geek.

The other bonus to working on a film set? Film geek boys. I'm flexible in that I don't have a set type of guy, but anyone who can chain smoke, wear bland clothes, quote Ghostbusters and be THAT charming? Puhleeze. Count me in.

(Every time someone said something along the lines of "Watch how you handle the silks, they're fragile" or "Be sure to set the gel away from the light or it'll burn through it" many film boys would quote "Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.")

I'm dragging though, and I'm dead tired. Perhaps the 14 hour work day has something to do with it?

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Btw, thanks Suz.