Most of Day Two involved shooting a lengthy dialog scene in a restaurant. Nothing too crazy: two people chatting at a table. We all wanted to shoot in the restaurant’s glass-enclosed veranda, and I embraced the sun through the window as part of our lighting (using our own lighting as well, of course). This strategy mostly worked, but no one anticipated that we would spend eight hours on that scene (I thought it would take us four hours). It was an important scene, so it’s good we took the time to get it right, but there wasn’t much I could do about the fact that the sun changed dramatically over the course of the day. One must work with the cards one is dealt. All in all I think we pulled it off, and the director is happy with the cinematography. Ended the day with a two-shot exterior scene where we managed to wrap just minutes before we lost our light. Everyone cheered. Crew morale is high, and that is really the most important thing on a shoot this size.
Tomorrow will be day exteriors all day, with lots of crane work. It’s an ambitious schedule, but as a group we are learning quickly how to work best together. All the departments are really a pleasure to work with, especially the guys and gals in camera, grip, and lighting. Kudos to our dolly grip Yura for his quick build today.
One thing I (re)learned today: never use new equipment on set before testing, even if you think you know it well.
One thing I am grateful for today: in the end the director agreed to my request that we shoot close-ups during the dialog scene.
The view from Kostava Street: homemade borsch and cloudy skies. Autumn is upon us.
THE BRIGHTER LIGHTS. 