The Red-Headed Menace

[Director of Photography Michelle Farrell, at the Baltimore premiere of "Smalltimore"]

Well, I think I am in pretty good shape but I still have LOADS more work today before filming our short, "The Red-Headed Menace," this Sunday. A few tweaks to the script, and then the heavy lifting - dressing the set. I have to create a restaurant dining room, pretty much from scratch. And a POSH restaurant dining room at that. It's not a problem, I've spent years in the restaurant business, grew up in it actually. It's just a lot of work.

Then I have to break down the script, which is also a lot of work, even for just 8 pages. Because we are trying to film 8 pages in 6 hours, including a very cool stunt, everything has to be timed out pretty perfectly, plotted and planned for every shot, so we can just bam bam bam knock it out.

But wow, I think I have a really great cast and crew assembled. Michelle, of course, plus Li as Assistant Camera, with whom I worked on "Juju: The Witchdoctor Chronicles", and Fred Besche on sound, I am working with him on Steve Yeager's new project, "The Rosens". Also from "Juju," is Unique Dowtin, as Script Supervisor/Continuity, and Jeff Wilhelm and Mark Mosier, who are doing the stunt work.

I am excited to be working with someone new, Stephanie Refo, who I have assigned as my Assistant Director. More than anything, I am just excited to HAVE an Assistant Director. I didn't know enough at the time to have one on, "Smalltimore," and boy did that make my life a LOT harder than it had to be. Stephanie, along with Lois Tuttle, helped me to round up over a dozen extras before I knew it! Steph seems to be a natural at organizing people, and that is really the gist of being an Assistant Director.

Of course, my trusty sidekick Regina Guy is never out of the loop. She'll be pulling triple duty - helping Michelle load the gear, craft services (though I have a couple of assistants for her that should handle the bulk of it), AND she has a major role in the short itself! Regina has gained quite a bit of acting experience since we shot "Smalltimore" last summer, but this will be my first time directing her.

On the acting side of things, Cheryl Scungio and Johnny Benson return to my set. Can't wait to work with a couple of my, "Smalltimore," stars again! And from "The Rosens," I am borrowing Bobby DeAngelo, Megan Rippey, and David Thornhill, Jr. The gorgeous blonde and resident actress of The Strand Theater, Alex Hewett, is on board, and even Craig Herron of Herron Designs is taking a turn in a small role! Craig is also in the process of designing an ANIMATED logo for my Steel Corset Productions, which I am VERY excited about, and can't wait to show you as soon as it is finished.

I am even borrowing some gorgeous guys in tuxedos from The Prime Rib restaurant (as well as a few menus, for props). And my friend Lisa Knoch is stepping in on her day off from wedding work and the salon to be my Make-Up Artist.

And then there's Michelle... not only is Michelle going to be my DP once again, but she is trying her hand at ACTING for the very first time. Granted, she has been in front of the camera for countless hours while making her award-winning documentary, "Unraveling Michelle," but that was Michelle telling Michelle's story. Though she is playing herself in, "The Red-Headed Menace," acting is a lot different. I, too, am playing myself, and believe me it is going to be a challenge for us both. We were talking about it on the phone the other night, and despite being nervous, she is being a good sport about it. "You stress me, Jeanie!" she whined, but I could tell she was smiling when she said it. "But I heard you when you said, when you took Steve Yeager's [Acting for the Camera] class last fall, that you were pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. I've never done that [acting]. But I will. I'll do it."

I know we'll both be fine, though. In a lot of ways we are cut from the same cloth. I am not always the best party guest. If I don't know anyone at a party, I tend to crawl into my shell. But if it is my party, instinct takes over and the quintessential hostess in me knocks herself out making sure that everyone at my party is comfortable and having a good time. Being on my set is like being at my party (except I'm bossier on the set), so I know I will be fine because I will be setting an example. I don't have the luxury of getting nervous, because since I am also directing, there is no one there to talk me down but me! I had even considered asking Steve to co-direct with me, but I felt like that would be cheating a bit, as the 29 Days Later Film Project is supposed to be more for non-pros, but more so I did not ask him because this is a challenge, and I want to face it. I am really excited that Michelle and I are going to do this together, and proud of us both, too. I think this experience is not only going to make us both better at what we do, but it is going to strengthen both our business-related partnership and our friendship. It means a lot to me that she trusts me enough to put herself out on this limb, with me. Let's hope the bough doesn't break!

All Systems Go

I am sure I am not the only one who works this way, but I just have to do things when all of a sudden I can't NOT do them anymore. I've been having a very hard time writing this short for the 29 Days Later Film Festival. I've never written a short before and it is HARD, it is hard to decide what to make your story about, and it is very hard to try to squeeze a whole story into 3 to 8 minutes.

The hardest part for me is inventing characters out of thin air. Usually I base my characters on a real person, or more accurately, a combination of real people, OR if I know specifically who will be playing the part, then that makes it a lot easier to write for them, if I know their mannerisms or how they would naturally react to something. Up until yesterday, though I had some ideas, in that I knew the people that I wanted for certain roles, but I had not yet contacted them so I didn't know if they were going to play that part. After a flurry of emails, phone calls, text messages, and Facebook postings, I am happy to report that every single person I set out to get for the principle roles were available, willing, and excited to be a part of it. So now I can really hone the script to them and it is a HUGE weight off me shoulders.

Not only that, but my fellow Baltimore Socialite of the Artistic Circles, Lois Tuttle, put the word out for me as well and set a chain in motion that has rounded me up almost a dozen extras already! Extras are such a tough thing to deal with. Though I know a few people who do a lot of extra work and enjoy it, mostly it is a lot of hurry up and wait for them on the set, and for the director it is an anxiety factor in that you never know if they are actually going to show up. Having little to no extras in the background in scenes that SHOULD have a good number of people is a dead-giveaway that you had no budget to speak of. Having bodies milling about in the background is a lot like having proper lighting: you only notice it if it is absent, AND there is no way to fake it. No one ever looks at a scene and says, wow, look at all those extras in this restaurant, this looks so professional, they must have had a huge budget! But if there is an empty restaurant save for the speaking characters, it can look so fake and terrible, and it stands out like a sore thumb. So I am very happy and send out major thanks to Lois and her friend Steph for rounding up these folks for me!

Also I am psyched that some other people I have worked with on other projects are on board. Fred Baeshe (sound) who is working on the Steve Yeager project, "The Rosens," with me, and Unique Dowtin (script supervisor/continuity), Craig Herron (special effects/CG), Jeff Wilhelm and Mark Mosier (stunts), who all worked with me on the set of "Juju: The Witch Doctor Chronicles"). Plus, of course, my staples, Director of Photography Michelle Farrell and craft services manager Regina Guy, who will also have a nice-sized role in the short. For a small, last-minute, no-budget short, I could not be more pleased with the cast and crew I've assembled. It is such a great feeling when someone says that they really want to work with you, or even better, that they want to work with you again! Makes me feel like I must be doing something right. Can't wait to get back on the set!