Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Film Camp in the South

So here I am in Mississippi. That's right, Mississippi. A few months ago, I was offered a job as a film producer for Elysium Films. So, for the next few weeks, I am here in the hot, humid weather having an amazing time and learning so much. For those of you who think that my blog is boring, check out the movie blog explaining all of our local adventures on set.

The film I am helping to produce follows the story of two young boys as they come of age in the deep south. The story is good and the footage is better. The things I've seen have taught me a great deal about color, resolution, and organization. My job in making this story come to life is lining up all the actors, vehicles, and other sundries. It sounds like a simple job until 35 people show up at Riverside High School wondering why they're wearing church clothes.

Even in just the few weeks I've been here, things have been a real trip. We’ve had three days of shooting and things are looking great! Even in just a short while, we’ve grown into a pattern of living that seems to work for everyone. The days are long, but the work is worth the price. We work 12 hour days, generally starting at 7am for the production team, and sometimes not ending until the wee hours of the morning.

Playing the character Fess, John Alex has an energy that brings a smile to everyone’s face. Today, in a rare moment of free time, we went out to the parking lot and decided to cook eggs on the 101 degrees pavement. As you can see, they didn’t exactly fry, but the heat definitely made an impact. The cast and crew has been staying hydrated with the wonderful help of our “crafties” Debbie and Gloria.

On set, things continue to progress. Monday, our first day of shooting, was hectic as we scrambled to compensate for the forecast of rain. As usual, the weatherman was proven wrong when we woke to sunny skies and a heated afternoon. Nonetheless, we decided to shoot in the air conditioned, First Baptist Church before moving to the corn fields near Roy’s Store. Nearly 35 extras showed up to help us with the scenes.

And that was just the first day.

Since then, the team has managed to crash a car, burn down a restaurant and tallied more bug bites than there are mosquitoes in the state. All in all though, this has been an incredibly positive experience.I'm enjoying learning how to be in charge and responsible for *everything*. Living here has been like attending film camp ...... with beer.


To top it all off, Josh Jones, son of our local hero, graciously took a group of us to see the alligators last Sunday. That's right, alligators. Not the ones in safe little cages. the real ones. I snapped some sweet photos of a 14 foot mama and was nearly eaten by a hissing, angry mother protecting her babies nearby. It was quite the southern experience.


I will be sure to update this with photos as often as I can. I've been taking photos of everything and trying to remember the most exciting stuff. Last Sunday was our first day off and would not have been complete without the afternoon out on the boat with the innertubes. Having never been tubing before, I had the time of my life. My friends, Doc and Amile can attest to my physical prowess considering I never fell off once.

In any case, please continue to check the site for more updates and photos as the weeks go by. It's worth the 30 seconds.