08/24/06 - 08/25/06

Night Shoots

Ah, I was wondering when it would happen. Everyone is tired, communication goes awry, tempers flare.

And noone brought the marshmallows to roast over our campfire. *sigh* I pine for s'mores!

The last two nights were very long, very cold (when not next to the fire), and very wet. Only a 7% chance of rain my ass! We're all on a tight schedule because of light, and we're sitting under umbrellas half the time.

But you know what? It got done. All irritations aside, we're still on schedule.

Cool.

Now, after a day off, we're all heading back again for another week in the forest...but thank the Goddess, no more night shoots!

I'll catch you all up more later.

See you!

08/23/06
Two Down, ? To Go...

Our first night shoot! Technically, I don’t even need to be here, but hey, how else am I going to get pictures? (Of course, later I realize that all the pictures I take end up ruined anyway because I'm not allowed to use a flash. Sometimes I’m not the brightest bulb.) Besides, they were shooting some pretty cool fight scenes so it was fun to watch.

OK, it was really frickin’ cold by 2AM and I ended up wearing the coats of three other people who were smart enough to come prepared. I looked like a Russian doll. You know, peel off a layer, there’s a slightly smaller version underneath. Or maybe an Oompa Loompa. Hmm.

Anyway…

Lot’s of blood and yelling. Very cool scene. And once again, that’s all the info you get, so you’ll just have to wait for the premiere.

Natch.

Goodnight. Or morning. Whatever.

08/22/06

Woohoo! Today was so much fun! Even with the rain and such, we all had a pretty good time.

One small sad note. Today we lose Sven of the broken ankle (*sniffle*)...



...but continue on with our new AC, Boris.



Before our first scene today, standing around waiting to start, we all quieted and listened to the trees swaying in the wind. Creeaaakkk. Creeaaakkk. Then Neils said, “I used to think that when a door creaked, it was the hinges needing oil, but now I think it’s the wood remembering the wind.” He blew his words off as silly, but I thought they were lovely. If you let your mind wander a bit, you can believe the trees are speaking to you.

I love it here…


Group shock


Method acting? Hmmm.... ;-)


You can't help but love 'em


Keith's favorite pose


Sebastian's coveted pink box


The other half of our day - waiting for the rain to stop between shots.

CREW UPDATE:


Meet Gisella, our new script continuity gal, and Nilo's replacement.


It took forever to get a decent picture of this guy all by himself. Say hi to Tom, our gaffer.


Cute as a bug, this is Louise (but for some reason, I've been calling her Lucy...oops). She's kind of like an intern, I guess. Helps out wherever she's needed.

Tonight, drinking aplenty! Because tomorrow everyone gets to sleep late in preparation for our first night shoot.

Oh, and I learned how to say “matchbox” in German, but it’s a really long word that I have no idea how to spell. How useful is this word to a non-smoker, anyway?

G'night!

08/21/06

Bye-Bye Bambi

Not many pics today, but do you really want to see a dead baby deer more than once? Me either. Relax folks, the deer was originally killed for food by local hunters. We didn't kill it for the film or anything. So put the pitchforks down.

Today we did what is probably my least favorite scene. The one where I have to squat for a pee. Yeah, there is no way this scene can be even remotely flattering. And before you ask: No, I did not drop trousers for this scene, though one crew member thought I should in order to be “realistic” (funny, I was shown only above the waist the entire time. Huh.). Luckily, we don’t see that person very often.

There’s always one, isn’t there?


Poor baby deer....


Finding Sarah in an awkward position. Aack!

Unfortunately, that set the tone for the rest of the day. We had our first (and hopefully only) accident. Sven, our Assistant Cameraman, broke his ankle in the woods (and then WALKED back to base by himself before going to the hospital, where he waited 3 hours in the emergency room because they forgot about him. I guess hospital care is the same just about everywhere).

And finally, a note: For anyone who only speaks English – Learn another language. Seriously. Because it can get real lonely sitting in the middle of a crowded room and not understanding ANYONE. I am kind of ashamed, actually. I am working with a bunch of people, all of whom know at least two languages, and I only know one. It’s embarrassing.

Goodnight.

08/20/06

A Marathon Runner - What?

Got up late. Damn, I hate that. This morning, it’s only Keith and I on set (for the actors, anyway. No break at all for the crew). Today, I get to run. And run. And run. And run.

I’m really not built for running.

However, I also get to shoot at things today, and that’s pretty exciting. Let's call it aggression therapy, shall we? (-;

Oh yes, and the big stunt of the film…

…………….

OK, the day is over now and here’s the reality of it:

Handling guns? Scary as hell. And we won’t even talk about the time I managed to release the clip after firing. Yep, just watched it drop to the ground…which everyone found very amusing. And actually pointing a gun at someone while pulling the trigger? Whoa, talk about a reality check. Even knowing it was loaded with blanks, it was a frightening situation (for the person in front of the gun as well, I imagine. Two words: Brandon Lee). Luckily, we had our stuntmen back again, keeping everything cool.


Wolfgang and Nikko (gun specialist), making me feel just a little bit safer...

And the running? Still hate it. This will never change. Ever. Damn, my ankles hurt.


Pop quiz: How do you get Shannon to run? Shoot an arrow at her. (Yeah, Sebastian won't let me ride a horse, but shooting arrows at me? No problem.)

But the stunt was awesome! Heck, seeing Wolfgang in a shower cap and a wig was enough to make it worth the trip. Heh!


You should see the wig. Ha!




This is what Keith does...


...and this is Wolfgang's version. Three times and not one scratch on him. Whoa.


I, of course, get the easy part. It looks kinda cool, though, yeah?

And then we were off to another location, a really cool old worn down military medical building where, upon leaving, we found we were locked in at the gate. But, it seems our AD is adept at picking combination locks, so within a few moments we were out. (A very convenient skill, Manuel!)


Oops.

I am exhausted. I will be sleeping very, very well tonight.

08/19/06

OK, On A Personal Note...

Meet my newborn baby niece, Lauren! I know this isn't movie related, but I really don't care. My baby niece is here! A big congrats to my bro Cody, and to the beautiful mom, Jenell!

And now for the obligatory baby pics of this absolutely gorgeous child (and I'm not just saying that because she's related to me, either...) ;-)


Oh, the cuteness...


...it just doesn't quit!


My baby brother with his baby girl.

(As much as I would love to put up the momma and baby pic, Jenell might not appreciate being posted to the world right after giving birth. We'll see.)

Over-the-moon Auntie Shannon, signing off.

08/19/06

To the Deep Dark Woods We Go...

This may be my last blog for a few days. Tonight we drive out to the woods, where we will be staying for the week, and well, I don't hold great hopes for the internet situation. But I will have LOTS to catch up on when I get back on the weekend. To start, tomorrow someone gets shot, and at least one more character gets killed later in the week.

Did I mention that I LOVE this job? Yeah.

Talk to you all soon.....

08/17/06

This Is How It Looks When It's Done Right.

The pictures, I mean. Our still photographer, Maxim Matthew, has graciously agreed to let me put some of his pics up, so now you can see what all of this should really look like. And take a look at more of his work. His fantasy series is pretty damned cool.

www.maxim-matthew.com


Day 1


Still shot of "Tom" looking very rugged and manly. ;-0


"Sarah and Frankie" still shot


"Roman"


My absolute favorite pic from Maxim so far.

Hopefully, I will get more pics soon. (Hint, hint, Maxim! (-;) So, y'all, I think that's it for today. Have a good weekend!

08/16/06 - 08/17/06

One Dead....

and if you don't already know who or how, I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to wait until the film comes out. (Thhppbbtt!!) I will say that I have never had more fun on a movie set, and it's fascinating to me to see how these effects are done.

I'll also mention that it included hours of laying on cold wet sand and way too much time in 55 degree lake water. And those are the only clues you get....


It's morning, it's wet, it's cold. I laid here for about 2 hours....


but that's nothing compared to this poor guy. Uli was in the water most of the day...


And then there's Keith, who had to go in the water half naked.


"This is awkward," says Keith. (Well how would you feel if 5 or 6 men told you to bend over....to put the weights around your waist so you can sink in the water. Get your mind out of the gutter!)


Awww, poor babushka!


Our fabulous stunt coordinator, Wolfgang, back again.


I hope Keith remembers - he ASKED for this photo...


Rough day, dude, rough. ;-)

Luckily, Thursday was much easier. The woods we are filming in are truly beautiful. And VERY alive. As soon as I got out of the van I took a look at the ground, which was moving. Spiders and ants all over the place. It's like Jurassic Park here. I keep expecting a Raptor to come barreling through the trees. If you stay quiet for just a moment, you can hear the forest "buzz". I'd love to tell you about the "spider on the shirt collar" episode, but the parties involved would probably lynch me (relax, boys, I won't name names. Hee!).


First thing in the morning.


My favorite pic of the day.

This was our last day before a two day break. On Saturday, we all move to the woods to stay for the next three weeks. woohoo! We're also losing a couple of crew members after today: Nilo, our 2nd AD, is going back to New York on Saturday. We've been sharing living space for the last three weeks. He will be missed.


*sniffle*

And our wonderful caterer, Stephan, will also be leaving us, as the farm we'll be staying at will be providing the food while we are there. But we'll see him again after it's all done - at the wrap party!



So, next week:

Our biggest stunt is coming up on Sunday. SO cool!

08/15/06

Allow Me To Introduce . . .

The Crew

OK, so I've been taking tons of pics on set, but it has taken me a while to actually learn who everyone is (actually, our director Sebastian is helping me out with this one, because I suck at names). But now I've got all that worked out, so here goes:

These are the people who are making this film actually happen: the cameramen, the gaffers, grips, production assistants, and so on, who start the day before we actors show up on set and end when we've already gone home. I don't understand most of what they say (it's that whole German language thing, ya know...), but they are all very nice to us anyway. I am SURE I am missing some people, but here are most of them, in no particular order.


You've already met Ian, our DoP, so I just wanted to show him in action. Today was the first time I saw him smile on set. He should do it more often.


Uli, kep grip. You see his hat? He told me it is from his army days. He was in construction for the military (but I've forgotten what his platoon(?) was called).


You remember Nina, don't you? She goes all Samurai on us with the makeup brushes after every take, keeping us looking pretty.


I have never been able to get a good picture of these two! This is Olaf and his assistant Sabina, the wardrobe staff. And thank the Goddess they were nice enough to consider what we liked as well as what worked for our characters.


Andreas: car captain. Picks people up, takes them home. Pretty self-explanatory, really.


Manuel, our AD. I'm pretty sure that headset is surgically grafted to his skull. I don't think I've ever seen him without it. (:


Alex (blue shirt) and his assistant Peter, our sound engineers. Peter is very quiet, and Alex, well, he always cracks me up. (You'd have to meet him to really get an idea. He's cool.)


Stephan, our caterer. I always feel like his personal pain in the butt, being the only vegetarian on set, but he has been incredibly nice to me about it.


Johannes, Production Assistant. Always a smile on this one's face...


Fabian, our Production Manager. I'm not sure what all that entails, but it's very, very important. (Hi Fabian!)


Boris, our prop man and all-around nice guy.


I call these ladies our "Power of Three". These women pretty much run the show, practically speaking. From left: Julia - Production Assistant who seems to be everywhere at once and knows everything; Natalia - Production Coordinator, who has been with the film since pre-production (and runs a daily movie quote contest of which I am currently in the lead (hee!)); and Ines - Set Manager, it's her voice we listen to on set...usually telling us to be quiet.


Sven, our Assistant Cameraman. It's the only pic I have of him with a smile...

Whew! That's it for now, until I get more, and hopefully better, pics. With 21 days of filming to go (and living with each other most of that time), I'm sure we'll all be getting to know each other alot better. So stay tuned.

Bye for now!