Somewhat Normal

Hey there. Another long-ish period of silence, but with good reason. I was pretty beat when I got back from California, plus had to catch up on the Day Job. On top of that, just before I left for Cali, I had agreed to take the position of Production Manager/Assistant Director on a short film called, "Please God, Someone Normal," filming in Arlington over Labor Day weekend. That meant that while I was in California trying to promote "Smalltimore" and meeting as many people as possible, I was also doing pre-production for PGSN. I was in contact with the Director, Jonathan Reed, almost daily, plus Michelle, who was DP and referred me to Jonathan for the job.

Friday, September 4th was the first day of filming. Jonathan treated me and Michelle like gold, even putting us up in a very nice hotel the night beforehand so we didn't have to face the hellish weekday morning drive between Baltimore and Arlington. He even found us a pet-friendly hotel so I could bring my dogs and not impose, again, on my neighbors Phil & Ron, who had just finished dogsitting duty while I was in California for 10 days.

The script was 15 pages, and is a comedy. I thought it was cute when I read it, but I wasn't sure if we could pull off all the big shots Jonathan wanted to really pull out the laughs. But it turned out to play out even funnier than it read, and Jonathan was really flexible with the actors and when he or Michelle would think up something funny on the spot, we would throw it in and give it a try.

Jonathan had flown in two friends of his from L.A. who are comedians, Steve (I never got his last name), and Noel ElGrably. They were a lot of fun and kept everyone rolling. There were so many takes during which it was nearly impossible for people not to laugh while we were filming. It is going to be a long time before any of us can think of a quesadilla without hearing techno music in our heads and picturing Noel (in the gayest voice ever) chanting, "Quesadilla, quesadilla," while sashaying and trying not to let his junk fall out of his booty shorts. You had to be there.

We were only shooting 3-4 pages a day, but that allowed us (a) to have time to set up some AMAZINGLY gorgeous shots, and (b) to actually wrap each day in 12 hours (thought we worked EVERY minute of it). In "Smalltimore" I learned to love the jib-on-a-dolly shot. In "PGSN" I got to witness a jib-on-a-dolly-on-a-ramp-built-of-plywood&apple-boxes! Impressive.

Yesterday, last day of shooting, we were woefully behind schedule at a location, the L.A. Bar & Grill on Columbia Pike. Jonathan thought we'd be done by 3pm, which is what he had told the bar owner originally, but we didn't get out of there until after 5:00pm. I was stressed and trying to move it along but there were several shots we really couldn't live without. The owner didn't get upset about it, even when he had customers start coming in at 3pm. Since we were still shooting, sometimes a Production Assistant would hold his customers outside for a minute while we finished a shot. From 3pm to 5pm I tried not to sound apologetic but at the same time not sound bitchy when I yelled, "QUIET!" before every take. As PM/AD, though, it is definitely not my job to make sure everybody likes me. They just need to listen to me. I'm okay with that, and everyone was very cooperative. I have been in that same situation, on a shoot in a bar where we are still filming after real customers come in, and either people won't be quiet, or worse, they will not only NOT be quiet but will complain loudly about how they didn't come into a bar and pay for their beer so that they can be told to shut up.

But the customers were really cool, we did not have to do a single re-take because of customer noise. When we were about to do the last shot before shooting cutaways that didn't need sound, I announced, "This is our last take with sound! Thank you so much for your patience!" and I heard one customer say, "That's okay! It was kind of cool to watch."

I forget that sometimes, that people who have never done this always, always find it fascinating. That is one of the most fun things about filmmaking - everybody wants to talk about it, all the time! People who do it love to talk about it, people who don't do it love to talk about it.

I am a Gemini, as you may or may not know, and according to my horoscope, September 4th (first day of shooting PGSN) was supposed to be a banner day in my house of career, whatever that means, and supposedly a lot of doors to future successes were to be opened for me that day. It was a fantastic shoot, and I hope and expect it will lead to other great things. It was such a pleasure to work with Jonathan, Tina, Kerry, Eddie, Jack, Patrick, Scott, Ricky, Lexy, Kenny, Cindy, Skylar, Megan, Noel, Steve, Jasmine/Kate, Sara/Heather, Marcus, Edan, Travis, Erinn, Will, and as always, Michelle. Seriously, it is a rarity to work on a set where there isn't even one single person who was lazy or unpleasant. I was very surprised to find out that the lead actress, Kate, as well as the Chief P.A. (who was more like Assistant Production Manager) Tina, had never done this before. They were total pros and on point at all times, as was everyone. I SINCERELY hope we all get to do it again sometime, and sometime SOON!

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!