August 17, 2003
We've reached our final day of shooting. It was a perfect day. Joy D. Borland and Aja Martin were absolute perfection as Victoria and Laura. Also joining us on this day were Barbara Abrams and Rick Jennings; they also did an excellent job. Our DP, Laura Mankowski, stepped in front of the camera as well for a cameo! We filmed in an office building in University Heights with the generous permission of the owner. It was the perfect location for our scenes. I couldn't have asked for a better conclusion as we ended our days of shooting on a wonderfully quiet and happy note. Once again, I thank all who worked with us on our film--a special thank you to the owners of the homes and office building, the City of Shaker Heights, the entire cast, and our lead crew members, Abi Pink, Elizabeth Gould, Laura Mankowski, Evonne Fields-Gould, and all others who helped out.
Now, post-production (editing, music, sound mix) begins.
August 16, 2003
Our final day in the "Whitney" home. We also had our final shooting day with the entire "Whitney" family, Cheryl Eitman, Bruce Jennings, Robert Abrams, Daniel Anstandig, Lauren Geber, and Eudi Tracey. Thank you so much for a wonderful experience. It was a joy to work with all of you and you've exceeded my hopes and dreams in your performances. My mother, screenwriter Evonne Fields-Gould, and I have lived with this story for nine years, and you have all brought it to life beautifully.
We filmed some very wonderful scenes today, including a very important dinner scene which Bruce Jennings was so generous to serve as the, well--dinner wrangler. He set the table with the proper settings and supplied the food. Thank you, Bruce, you really made the scene special. Cheryl Eitman and Eudi Tracey also brought personal items that brought another scene to life magnificently. The amazing owners of the home treated us to yet another delicious lunch--We can't thank them enough for all that they have done for us.
The performances by all the actors couldn't have been better. Robert Abrams gave a particularly moving performance in the dinner scene--I'm proud of you, Robert. Cheryl Eitman, Bruce Jennings, and Daniel Anstandig made me believe they were truly a family in one scene, which I call the "goodbye before the goodbye". The last dialogue scene of the day featured Cheryl Eitman in a wonderfully performed monologue written beautifully by my mom. And I am so proud of Robert Abrams, Eudi Tracey, and Daniel Anstandig for such powerful performances in a key scene that occurs midway in the film. This was actually a scene that I decided to reshoot (it was originally filmed on Wednesday in the hall of the high school). I'm so happy I decided to reshoot and restage the scene--this time in a different location--because it turned out to be one hundred times more emotionally charged than the first version.
Tomorrow is the last day of shooting. We wrap with Joy D. Borland, Aja Martin, Barbara Abrams, and Rick Jennings.
August 15, 2003
As anticipated, we had a three hour delay to the start of our shooting day because of the massive power outage on Thursday. But, we got to the business of making movie magic and finished the day only one and a quarter of a scene behind. Not a problem, will get'em tomorrow. The scenes that we shot today were amazing; it's great to see the "Whitney" family dive into their roles with such dedication and passion. The most emotional scene of the day involved Cheryl Eitman and Bruce Jennings--and they hit it out of the ballpark! It's wonderful to see these two actors work together. The owner of the home treated all of us to lunch--what terrific people they are. Thanks to them and thanks to all the performers and crew for a great day.
August 14, 2003
Today was Joanna Mitchell's last day of filming. Thank you Joanna for all of your hard work and wonderful talent.
The temperature was in the mid-to upper-eighties and we were shooting outdoors the entire day. We persevered and captured some really amazing performances on camera. I am especially pleased with the scene in front of the Whitney home (I won't give away what happens) which involved the entire Whitney family and Victoria, as well as the characters of Jenny, Kyle, and Laura. I'm also very happy with a scene between the characters of Sharon and Matt that was originally shot on the first day, but I decided to reshoot it in a different location and gave more specific direction to the two actors (my direction to them the first time around was too general). They did a wonderful job with it and the scene came to life the way I hoped it would. We also reshot one of the "hallway" scenes from Wednesday. We shot the scene outside, and it played so much better this time around.
But of course, the most memorable part of the day is getting the news that power on the eastern portion of the U.S. and Canada was out. You can't imagine how happy I was that the camera batteries held out! We all had to return to darkened and silent homes. Shooting for Friday, August 15 will undoubtedly be delayed. So, basically, we had a wonderful shooting day that was topped with an historic, if not inconveniencing, event.
August 13, 2003
Today we filmed the chess tournament scenes. It was a very successful, exciting, and long day! I want to thank all the extras who came from all over Northern and Central Ohio to work on our film. They were all terrific! On this day, we filmed the end of the final act with the entire cast--it was a great moment for me as a director. I also want to thank my crew for their extraordinary work on this exhausting, hot, but very satisfying day. The only downside is that there were two scenes we filmed in the hallway of the school that, after looking at the footage, didn't work for me. They are important scenes, so they must be done right. I think I will reshoot them. Tomorrow, we're back at the Whitney home shooting exteriors--this will be the day the actors playing the Whitney family will begin shooting their really important scenes. I know they'll be great!
August 12, 2003
On the schedule today were the scenes to be shot in "Victoria's" home. It was a very good day. We finished three hours ahead of schedule! Joy Borland was terrific as "Victoria" in her first full day of shooting. The always reliable Aja Martin and Robert Abrams were also working this day--with Robert having his third full day of shooting in a row. We had a really good time. Would love to write more--and I will add more later, but I'm exhausted.
August 11, 2003
Today was the first day of filming inside the "Whitney" home. We started outside the home with an improvised scene between the social worker, "Mary Jones" (played by screenwriter Evonne Fields-Gould) and "David" (Robert Abrams). After just a few takes of honing the dialogue, the two performers nailed the scene and we moved on to the days scheduled work.
"David's" first time arriving at the Whitney home was, appropriately, the first scene filmed in the home. Director of Photography Laura Mankowski got to work "painting" the set beautifully with the production lights and gels. With the atmosphere set, we began to shoot. It was a somewhat complicated scene as it was divided into three set-up segments with a number of set-ups with-in the segments. Bruce Jennings, Cheryl Eitman, Robert Abrams, and Evonne Fields-Gould were terrific, and after scene three was completed, we moved upstairs for the next scene.
From here, the day went fairly smooth as we were able to briskly move through the shooting schedule with no problems and some really cool performances. There was a moment, however, when a grinding chainsaw from somewhere outside threatened to ruin the audio track for a key scene. Fortunately, the chainsaw was eventually silenced, and cast & crew quickly reassembled in the room to re-shoot the opening of the scene before the chainsaw began again--it never did.
Robert Abrams gave an especially good performance today in a scene that was revised just a week before filming began. To our delight, the scene was everything screenwriter Evonne Fields-Gould and I hoped it would be.
We finished the day an hour and thirty minutes early. Tomorrow, Joy D. Borland, Aja Martin, and Robert Abrams are on the set.
August 10, 2003
It was the first day of shooting today and it went great. We started off working on Lomond Boulevard with Joanna Mitchell and Robert Abrams. It was a simple, one shot scene that was very important to the story--well, just about every shot is important to the story in one way or another. After working with the two young actors, we moved to the car and began shooting scenes with Aja Martin, Joy Borland, and Robert Abrams. We drove up and down the partially blocked-off Lomond Boulevard for nearly two hours. I had a lot of fun shooting these scenes, and though the scenes were fairly simple, all the actors gave commendable performances.
We then traveled to Horseshoe Lake where the majority of the day's scenes had to be shot. We started simple with a couple of one-shot scenes featuring Robert, we then moved to the first scene that occurs in the film. This was our most complicated scene with twenty set-ups! The actors were all great and endured retake after retake like the professionals they are. Along with Robert, Eudi Tracey, Kevin Crowe, and Evonne Fields-Gould were featured in this scene.
Following Scene One, we moved several yards down to a nice tall tree and filmed Joanna Mitchell and Lauren Geber in one of their scenes that occurs in the middle of the story. Lauren and Joanna were excellent, and as we wrapped that scene, Daniel Anstandig arrived and we moved on to film on the opposite side of the Lake.
Daniel and Lauren have great chemistry together, and I was especially pleased with their scene which they shared with Robert and Joanna who also work very well together. At the start of this scene, I was a little frustrated because we couldn't shoot it where I initially wanted, so it was a little challenging to revision it. Ultimately, it turned out very well.
I will write more about this day, including working with Rick Jennings, tonight (I'm writing this Monday morning). I have to leave now for the second day of shooting. Later!
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It is now later and I have finished a second day of shooting. But before I write about that, I must complete my entry for Day One. After shooting Sharon's (Lauren Geber's character) first scene, we moved on to a rather cool scene with Robert Abrams and Rick Jennings, who plays Kyle. It was great fun seeing these two square-off, as their characters are at odds with each other throughout much of the film. I don't want to give away too much about this scene, however.
Our last scene of the day was at Shaker Heights High School. It was an exterior scene filmed at the front door and parking lot. This scene also featured Rick Jennings, Robert Abrams and Eudi Tracey-- but this time, Rick squares-off with Joanna Mitchell, who plays his sister. Hhmm...it seems Rick's character is making enemies with a lot of people in this film. :-)
August 9, 2003
Today, at 10am, the cast and crew conducted the all-important "Read-Through" and production meeting. I have to say , it went very well and I was very excited to see the members of the production team assembled together in one room.
This was our first opportunity to read the script as a group and discuss important details involving the film. It's always an exciting moment to hear the actors bring the script to life with their reading. I know, without a doubt, we will make a wonderful, funny, and moving film. We have a really solid group of actors and a talented and eager crew--nothing could make a director's job easier! I also want to thank the City of Shaker Heights for all of their support.
Tomorrow, at 8am, our first shooting day begins. We will shoot all of the exterior scenes that take place on the street and at the park. I will document the day in this journal tomorrow evening.