GLAM SQUAD AND MY OWN BED

So I was talking to the makeup gal who is staying at the house here with me in Victoria. Her name is Tana and I have worked with her before but not recently. We were collapsed in the livingroom one night after work, sipping on some wine and talking shop. I told her that I would love to get into the makeup department as I did have my hair and cosmetology licenses years ago. She perked up and said I should for sure make the change over. That 'swings' are hard to find. A swing is an assistant that can do both hair and makeup. She tells me that she would hire me. So we talk about how that would work and the upshot is that, when we both get back to the mainland, I will go over to her place and she will help me get a kit set up and then, once she is on a show where she will need to hire help with background, she will hire me and start me off that way. I am absolutely over the moon excited about this new door opening and am so grateful to Tana for this offer. I feel like my life may be taking a new turn and so it will be interesting to see what the future holds.

I am still waiting to hear if my agent wants to take on my new script. I am hoping so. If both of those scripts sell, that's another door that will be wide open. I am thinking that, once work here dies down for the winter, I will go visit Ron Oliver and we can start collaborating on our wedding movie script.

Also, a good friend just bought a new home and is putting in a basement suite. She has already rented it to a young single woman but she wants a mature room mate. So I have agreed to be that room mate. So I will be moving the weekend this second show is finished. It's going to be a crazy few weeks coming up. But if I can get through them, it will mean a bank account in the black, and the first time I have slept in my own bed in two weeks shy of a year. I just realized that the other day. A year since I have had my own place.

I hope I never have another year like this one. For all the adventure, it's been stressful as well. I am looking forward to some stability again. Bring it on.

OLD YELLER

Week two is over.

This week we shot mostly in a small village-like subdivision of Victoria called Fernwood. It was the setting for the married student housing at Harvard. The Line Producer was telling us the story of how this neighbourhood was run down and had a lot of drug dealers and other unsavoury elements to it when a woman who lived there decided to do something about it. She had attended a David Suzuki seminar and came home inspired to change her corner of the world. It started with a coffee shop and grew to a co-op that now has low income housing in two buildings and small businesses have sprung up all around to service the people there. It reminds me of a tiny version of Commercial Drive. The houses are similar, it's a very family oriented neighbourhood, and the stores and art galleries are funky.

Early in the week I receive a phone call from the Vancouver office of this company, Front Street Productions, asking about my availability for another show that will film in Langley and Vancouver. It starts the day this show ends so, unfortunately, because of the overlap of one day I won't be able to take it. They say they want me on the show so will work something out. When I get home, there's an email from the Line Producer saying that they want me from day one and they have arranged with this show's Line Producer for me to leave early. My friend Laura will take over for me here. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, and extra three weeks of work is fabulous. On the other hand, I don't like leaving something before it's finished. Especially not a show. I have heard from the girls in the house here that there is another show on the island a week after this one ends so I talk to the Line Producer about joining that show. He tells me that yes, there is another one scheduled, but the details haven't been finalized and he would hate for me to give one I have up for one that might get pushed. He's right, of course. I have missed out on shows before because I have counted on the one that never happened. So I decide to take it and leave this one early. I make the arrangements with Laura that she will come over to the island on Friday and I will leave on Saturday and start the new show on Monday.

It means I will miss all the scenes inside the classrooms of Harvard as well as the scene where the young mother gives birth to her son. But, I will get to work with Annie Potts the last two days I am here, so that makes me happy.

It also means that the ride back to the mainland I had lined up won't work. I have no idea how I am getting all of my crap onto the ferry if I don't have a car to put it in. Transport will get me to the ferry, that's not a problem, but none of them will be traveling over on a Saturday when everything there is closed down. They make frequent trips over during the week. But that isn't going to help me. I can't imagine how I am going to make this work and I lose sleep over it. I send off an email to the LP on the other show explaining my problem and she sends one back telling me they will work something out. I ask on this side about keeping my rental car for the next three works of the show and then bringing it back over here when it's finished but that won't work for accounting. The LP here says maybe the contract can be switched to the other show and he will look in to it. I am hoping that between two sides working on it, I won't have to walk onto the ferry. I will look like a tinker with all my wares hanging off of me.

I write to my son asking that, if I need him to, would he mind picking me up at the ferry terminal in Tsawassen and he says he will do it; just to remind him a few days before.

The show I am going to is about a mother who was an alcoholic while raising her daughter who is now 24 and has a huge chip on her shoulder about it. She goes back home to live with her mother and 5 year old half sister and sees how her mother has changed since joining A.A. and how different a life her young sister has as a result. She is full of resentment and the story is about her personal journey through the process of forgiveness. It's an all black cast, which is a first for me. The Director of Photography is a good friend who I have worked with a lot and also one of the hair girls is someone I get along great with and haven't worked with in a long time as she took time away to have a baby. I don't know the director but have heard from others who have worked with him.

The executive producers of this show, Jack and Carla, seem to be very happy with my work. They keep commenting on how I have 'saved them again' from a major continuity or story problem. We had a big one last night. We shot a scene that, originally, was a transition from fall to winter. It was changed in a revision of the script from summer to fall but was not moved in the story. I was given strict orders to follow the A.D.'s breakdown of days and dates and so I did. As a result, we had shot two scenes in the first week that take place before the transition where our actors were wearing winter clothing. Now we are shooting a scene where the producer doesn't want to see any jackets and wants everyone in colorful summer clothing for the first half of it. I double check my one line breakdown to see where we are, date wise. It's October 25th in my time line. I tell him this. He says it is supposed to be the end of summer. I quickly realize why we are having this problem and tell him. The director comes into the discussion and is not happy about the mix-up. He walks off to direct the scene. I pour over my one-liner looking for a solution as they go ahead and film the summer part of the scene. Suddenly I see it. The two scenes where we shot the actors in winter clothing are continuous meaning no time passes between them; they are leaving a building - have a short conversation with another couple - and then in the next scene they arrive at their apartment and have a short spat. I turn to Jack, who is sitting behind me, and suggest that those two scenes can be moved to right after the one we are shooting now. It's the only place it can go because in the scene after this one in the script, 2 months have gone by and she is hugely pregnant. It will kind of ruin the transition of time as far as her pregnancy goes; the passage of time and then in her apartment while she swaps out a fan for a heater and we see how huge she has gotten, but it's better than seeing actors in winter garb and then a summer scene shortly after. He likes it and so does Carla when she hears it and I write a note to the editor on the script to move the scenes.

The A.D. on this show is a yeller. Yesterday he screamed at me, twice. The first time, there was a wardrobe question for a scene we were about to roll on. Drew thought he was in the wrong shirt. The AD says it doesn't matter, it's a stand alone scene -meaning there are no more scenes that take place on this day. I pipe up and say it's not a stand alone day, that we have just shot a scene from this day and there was one we shot a few days ago as well. He turns on me and asks, "So is he in the right shirt? He seems to think he's not." I try to explain that we haven't seen this tee shirt as he was wearing another shirt over it that was buttoned up and he will find that shirt in this scene and put it on. And that I heard from wardrobe that the producers didn't want to see Drew in gray and he was wearing a gray tank under it before but we never saw it as he had a button up shirt over it. This green tee has a v-kneck and we won't know it's different. He won't let me get two words out. As I am trying to talk, he keeps yelling at me. I finally just close my mouth and let him rant. He walks away without hearing my answer yelling that he's sick of problems and we all need to make sure there's no more screw ups. I say to his back, "Well, if you'd let me speak..." But he's gone. Later in the day, I was walking across the little dead-end street that the square we are shooting in is on, following the director to go talk to our actors who were sitting in a car for a scene. As I start to cross the road, he screams at me to 'stay off the road'. I jump and look up at him - he's not 20 feet away - I look over my shoulder at what traffic is coming and there are about 4 people on bikes over half a block away. I could cross the street 5 times before they get here. I look back at him and am about to ask him what his problem is when I see his face harden. The look says 'bring it on'. It's kind of the face change I have seen right before an abusive person strikes out. I hesitate on the knife edge of yelling back at him and then I decide to just walk away. I keep going across the street and he yells again, "you were right in the path of that cyclist'. I just ignore him and proceed to do my job.

CARIBBEAN FOOD

The weekend went by fast.

Today I show up at circus, which is in Hillside Mall parking lot. I was just there on Tuesday to try to pay my Fido bill, and so knew exactly where to go. I get there and the locations fellow tells me that circus is close to set like Calgary is close to Edmonton. Oh-oh.

I ask him where catering is today and he tells me they are on set so I make my way over to where transport is loading people and see that a 7 passenger van is just leaving. I yell to the locations girl standing right by it to stop it for me but she just looks at me with a blank expression and lets them go. Fortunately, there is a 15 passenger van right behind it. It is full of extras. One rolls down the front window and asks if I am going to set. I say I am so someone opens the slider and I heft my bag inside and climb aboard.

It takes a full 10 minutes to drive to set. Sheesh maneesh.

When we finally arrive, I climb out of the van and drag my bag full of scripts and supplies around looking for catering. I can't find them. I see Jill, the camera operator so ask her where catering are set up. She tells me they are at circus. I am incredulous. Really??

Locations are in charge of where the circus parks, where the work trucks park, where catering parks, where everyone parks. Yet one of their own doesn't know where catering is? Unreal.

I grab a transport guy and ask if he can radio someone to send a breakfast to set for me as I don't have time to go all the way back for it. I won't make it back in time for a blocking if I do that. So they make the call and fifteen minutes later the on-set wardrobe gal brings me my breakfast.

We are shooting a bunch of exteriors of the building where the apartment of our young couple is housed. Once we've done those, we move inside and up the narrow staircase to two small, and I do mean small, apartments that we have taken over. We will shoot in both; one is the entrance and bedroom the other is the kitchen, living room and a den.

There are a row of shops under the apartments in this old, brick building. One of them is an authentic Caribbean restaurant called Stir it Up. The people who run it look like they just walked off of Tortola. The guys have dreads, the woman has slicked back black hair and booty. I can't wait to try their food and go ask for a take-out menu. I plan to come back here on my day off, that's for sure.

At one point, during some down time for me, I sit on the bench in the roadway that's just a paved footpath - no cars allowed- and watch the Caribbean family and friends. I think about how they left the Caribbean to live in B.C. and how I want to leave B.C. and live in the Caribbean. Why doesn't the BVI government allow us to just trade places with someone who wants to leave. That would be perfect. I should suggest it to them!

Every night we get a hot snack provided by the crafty guy. I am excited when I find out that he just placed a huge order with the Caribbean restaurant for jerk chicken, roti, and other items from the menu. When it arrives, I happen to be in the room they put all of the food in as I just used the restroom near by. This means I actually get my choice of what I want to eat... nevermind that... I actually get to eat some of it. The other night when we were at the Parliament Buliding, pizza was ordered for the crew and I never saw a slice of it as I was stuck inside and couldn't get outside where the food was and the only place we could eat it as no food was allowed inside. So this is a huge treat for me. I take a few pieces of the shredded jerk chicken and a slice of the roti. It tastes heavenly.

DAY ONE

I went to sleep to the sound of waves again. On my iPod. I wake to the sound of someone knocking on the door and I hear a woman's voice say, "Ladies?" I look at the clock; 3:54 a.m. WHO could be at the door at this hour? I get up and look over the rail down to the entrance hall. The front door has tinted glass and I can see outside. No one is there. I get back into bed and am thinking I dreamed it when I hear it again. Knock, knock, knock - "Ladies?". I call out, "Yes?" but no one replies. I roll over and try to go back to sleep. I can now hear the women downstairs talking and moving about. I need ear plugs. I don't have to be up for over an hour yet. It's not going to matter much now but by the end of the week I will be needing every second I can get.

I must drop off because my alarm wakes me at 5 a.m. I roll onto the floor and then stand up. Not as easy as it sounds with my bum knee and bad back. I need a BED!

I am out of the door by 6 a.m., map in hand. I find my way to set without a problem; it takes about 20 minutes to get to Sidney, where we are shooting all day today. I park my car in a huge field with the other crew cars, and walk to the catering truck for a scoop-full of scrambled eggs and some orange juice. I want to be really good about what I eat on this show. There's always so much food between catering and craft service, and I end up gaining weight. But I really want to lose weight so my resolve is strong. At the moment.

I heft my bag into a 15 passenger van and climb in the back beside Jill, the 'A' camera operator. I have worked with her before so we chat a bit about how dismal this past year has been for both of us insofar as working goes. We get to set, a 200 year old church just across the street from Brentwood Bay, in less than five minutes. It is surrounded by a graveyard on three sides. It is very picturesque. We are starting out inside, in a room off the tiny main sanctuary. This scene is before the wedding of two very young people. The bride is with her friend getting ready and both mothers will be in this scene. I leave my music stand, which I use to hold my big fat binder, and work bag with my big fat binder inside and which is, basically, an office desk on wheels, on the lawn and go inside to see where the director is. I haven't met him yet as I had to miss the production meeting due to being with Shonah while she had her wisdom teeth out. I don't know many people on this crew as I haven't worked for this production company, Front Street Productions, before. I soon meet the director, the 1st Assistant Director and the two executive Producers.

There's a flurry of activity happening already as the set decorating team get the room ready, as well as the sanctuary for a later scene. The grips and electrics are already hard at work setting up some preliminary lighting. Soon 'on the clock' is called and a private blocking is held. This means just the actors, the director and 1st AD, the Director of Photography (DP), Jill and myself are allowed in the room while the scene is played through to see where the actors will stand and deliver their lines. This way the DP will know where he needs to put the lights and the camera operator will know what shots she has to get. Once we run through the scene a couple of times, the rest of the crew is called in to watch a run through. Then the actors leave to finish hair, makeup and getting dressed in their costumes; stand-ins take their places so that the DP can light them. I go outside to find out where 'video village' will be set up. This is a cart with two monitors on it that are worth about $40,000 each. The camera assistant will run a line to the monitors from the cameras and then the Director, DP, and myself will sit and watch the filming of the scene. Clustered around us while the cameras are rolling will also be the producers, the hair and makeup gals, and probably the on-set wardrobe assistant, props and set dresser. They will watch for their own continuity, and I will watch everyones continuity to make sure that everyone and everything is consistent from scene to scene and take to take.

We get a bit of a late start to the day, which is typical for the first day. Everyone is getting used to everyone elses working habits and needs and it typically takes three days for the team to gel.

The weather is holding up. The day starts out cloudy but gets clearer and hotter as it progresses. At one point I have to bring out my hand fan to keep myself cool. A girl in wardrobe gave it to me years ago and I use it all the time on set. I love it.

I see Carmen on set, the Wardrobe Key who is staying in the house with me, and tell her about the strange knocking this morning. She tells me that it was her girls trying to get into the bathroom downstairs that the make-up gals had locked from the inside. I laugh and say tell her how I had jumped out of bed to see who was at the door.

Props bring the chairs over to the village and the girl apologizes to me because the name on my card that slots into a clear vinyl pocket is someone elses name. Apparently I was not the first choice for Script Supervisor on this show. She tells me that it will take a couple of days to get a new one made with my name on it. I tell her that I don't have that big of an ego. Just take some gaffer tape and write my name on it and put it over the other gals name. And I only ask for this so that people don't call me by the wrong name and then get annoyed when I don't reply. She thanks me profusely and a few minutes later, my chair has my name on it. Some people think that it's an ego thing to have your name on your chair but, in actual fact, it just means that you get the same chair back all day when they have to move them around and so the pocket that hangs off of the arm has your water bottle in it and your garbage or saved cookies. Or script. If that is what you put in it. I don't as my script, two of them - one for me to scribble notes all over and one for the editor with camera lines on it, are in my binder at all times.


The main actor in this show, Drew Seeley, is a terribly cute young man. I looked him up on IMDB last night, something I do with ever actor I work with so that I know who they are, and he is a Disney boy. He is also a singer. I chatted with him as he waited for the lighting to be ready and he is a pleasant and polite young man who works very hard. He tells me that he spends a lot of time traveling to state fairs to perform. I would love to hear him sing. I read on IMBD that his voice was used along with Zach Ephron's for High School Musical. He tells me that is how he got in with Disney.

The very gruff head of transport comes up to talk to me and I find out that they don't need my car as the director doesn't like it. He wants one older. He tells me that production won't be paying for the car, I have to, and that they would have only paid $50 for one day's use anyway. This is a big hit. Over $600 for the three weeks. I am not thrilled, but I don't have a choice. I have to have a car.

Once we are finished with the scene in the side room, we move into the sanctuary for a short scene. It's just a portion of the wedding service. After that, we move outside for a scene of the family having their photo taken, and then across the street for a wide establishing shot of the church.

Once that is done, we break for lunch. There are always several selections on the menu. I have the beef and some peas and carrots. I take a little of the spinach salad from the table. I am really not feeling well, due to my back hurting, so I end up eating very little of it.

After lunch, we move to a new location. I pile into a van with the 1st camera assistant who has the camera on his lap in the back. We drive to a warehouse that has been converted into a bus depot, with the talent of the set dec crew. There are two Greyhound-type of buses sitting outside. We film a heart wrenching scene of the now not so newley-weds (about 9 months) as the wife leaves the young husband and her baby son. She won't be coming back. I fight back tears during the rehearsal. This is going to be a real tear-jerker of a scene.

Once we film 8 different angles of the scene, we wrap 45 minutes early. Because of our late start today, we have to push two scenes that take place in another location to tomorrow. This company does not go into overtime, they can't afford it. I am happy to be done early, and take the next fifteen minutes to finish up my paperwork.

I catch a van to the circus - what we call the place where all of the trailers are parked. I head into the AD trailer, which is a small office on wheels, and make copies of all the paperwork I generated today - about 30 pages. These will be sent to the production office where they will make a copy for themselves and send a copy to the editors. The editors will use my notes to find the shots they need to cut the film. They will read what takes didn't work and why; which takes the director liked; if there were sound problems - like the airplanes that flew over the church every 20 minutes at about 400 feet as we were right next to an airport(!); that sort of information.

I get into my little car and drive back to the house, missing my turn-off and have to take the next exit and go back one. When I get in the house, I put all the paperwork back into my binder and prep the pages for tomorrow.

All in all - not a bad first day.