Now You See Me Movie

Day 2 -- Friday Night.

About Me-ish
You may as well know something about me. I love to listen to "ending credits."  Especially the wordless ones.  It's not that I enjoy watching them, but I love listening to the music.  The best of show, if you will, because many of the great uplifting moments of the show are woven together into the final moments for the final you-know-you-liked-it invitation as the watchers watch, leave the theater or turn off the movie in their DVD/blue ray players.  You can turn on some music and read this if you like. It may make it more exciting!

What does that have to do with the filming on Day 2?  Well, nothing much except that the same joy that I have listening to the music was replayed when I was watching and attempting to absorb each great moment.  The location (now scratched off my bucket list), the lights that made awesome cookie cutter shapes in the sky that blasted constantly myself and the other extras, the helicopter that soared over us for awhile with the orb camera one the front (another bucket list thing scratched off), but especially watching the director, camera people and the crew bustling around putting things into place and trying to imagine their goals and perspectives and what it looked like on the screens they were glued to during the filming as well as doing my utmost to not look into the camera lens when it was exactly where I was supposed to be looking.

Lighting .101


They had a little trepidation in talking to me, their head lighter was there and he listened and acted like he was going to answer my questions then he turned around and acted like I wasn't talking to him. After that the guys kind of shut up and wouldn't really talk to me.

But they told me that they had a blonde light up.  They told me that for a film of my hopes I would probably need a red head and a couple of tween lights.  The red heads are smaller than the blondes and tweens are smaller than either.  They also told me the key to having a great crew is to become friends with a good one when they are just starting out and stay good friends, so they want to work with you. :)

Before they started filming for the second half of the night it began to rain and they released us for the night.  Many people that lived in New Jersey were unable to go home until the next morning because the trains and buses stop going there for the night around 1 a.m.

I had really hoped to talk to the director to ask a question at least, but the opportunity never presented itself.  But I met another director/cinematographer that recently made a short.  He told me that his ten minute-ish short cost around $5,000 which he used a single credit card so he could track all his expenses.  He talked about the importance of a good script and truly being passionate about what you are doing. Thanks Nate.

So day two I tried to learn and understand all I could. . . in the few hours we were there.

Now You See Me Movie

Thursday Night -- Day 1.

First I have to tell you, I could not have done this without the amazing help of my dear, supportive husband, W.  I love him more than air and am sooooooo glad I married him. :)

That said. . . I can tell you more of the story of the night--but not the story line--that is under wraps until the movie is out.  I've taken about 300 pictures, because every take required us to have our cameras out and flashing . . . not too much info right?

Day 1, Thursday:  The cattle call.  Correct me if I am wrong, fellow extras reading this blog, but I think this definitely fits the "cattle call" bill.

There we were moo-ving our way thr-ooo the doors of ho-o-olding and oover to 5 Poi-oi-oi ntz (okay, I think I think that's enough with the cattle-y thing--you get the idea) where we climbed the dimly lit stairwells to set holding and onto the set. It was dusk and the light was soon gone and most of the background artists were shuffled in for the first scene.  I was stuck by the door for it, so I walked ten feet backward nonchalantly to ask the sound people questions, careful to not to impede their focus on their work.

Me and my new friend, Megan.  She's hilarious.

Sound Crew: They were polite and happy to answer my questions (thank you!).  Their names are not posted, because I did not ask their permission, but I think you'll get to read them in the credits of the movie when it comes out or on maybe on IMDB. I even got to listen on an extra headset to the overwhelming cheer of the crowd and the one guy I think is a principal actor.  I saw the 8 track recording equipment.  I think they were using two tracks, one for the crowd and one for the actor with the lines.  They have a laptop hooked up to as a back-up recording/monitoring device.  He moves the knobs to amplify the sounds. . .

Something like this, from here.

The noise I heard in the earphones was synonymous with what I heard during filming, minus the speaking actor's part.

They are only involved in the production process.  They do not take part in the post-production/editing process, though the fellow I talked to used to help his grandfather do it in the old days (he's third generation film/TV/commercials sound guy). They write down the sound quality of each take meticulously in a folder they keep next to the sound station they set up. They have a device that syncs with the time on the cameras and the numbers on the clapper (the clapping sound is not essential but is nice in the post production area).

He asked why I was so interested and I told him that I really wanted to make a movie and he immediately said, "Make sure you get a good sound guy." Then continued with something like, movies that have errors or whatnot with the film can be considered artistic choices, but without good sound movies are considered low-quality or crummy.

New goal - - I would like to be on the swat team and maybe a detective. . . in a show.

I sat with the extras for a long time and got to know a few.  There are so many intelligent, talented people that extra.  They have so many skills and are determined to live their dream in whatever way the can.  Many of them are musicians.  One of the musicians that was singing was Sebastian Rivera.   A lot of us just sat in our chairs chatted with our new-found friends and listened to his singing with his guitar and supportive girlfriend.

One of my favorite things about hanging around actors is that we're all a bit on the wacky side and it is so fun to break out in accents (good or bad) and chat up a storm. And we laugh about ridiculous things that are only really funny in the middle of the night, otherwise they just seem lame.

Wardrobe Girl, Me, Megan, Detective Girl (names have not been added because I forgot to ask permission).

We were all up together until 5:30-6 a.m. when we were "wrapped." I got home around 7, just in time to get my kidlets ready for school.

Vodnik

I'm going to be reading this book. Why would I post it on this blog, you ask?  Because, I think someday someone may make a movie out of it and I wanted to be one of the first ones to say so.

Also, I've read the first few pages available on Amazon and I'm hooked. And I want to win a copy. And that is why. Check it out. You'll probably like it too!

From Amazon

Now You See Me

I'm going to be an extra on the movie Now You See Me.  It's a few days of all-night shooting. My other background artist friends tell me that all night shooting can be rather heck-ish.  But I'm excited to go in and stand a lot, hopefully watch the tricks, pyrotechnics, movie stars and chat a lot with the other 400-ish artists with me.  We're going to be at 5 Pointz, a graffiti mecca that is located in Long Island City, Queens.  Story is I am in the climatic part of the movie, if you see me, which is not likely. . . but I am not doing this to be seen, I am doing this to learn (and let's be honest--get some moolah).

Photo by Special KRB

And the show is about five magicians . . . renegades, I believe.   The stars, according to IMDB are Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson . . . see IMDB for more information. IMDB says the storyline is: "FBI agents track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money."

I'm supposed to be hip, funky and eclectic in a coat and scarf.  With warm winter clothing underneath.

They told me to wear one, bring one similar outfits to show wardrobe so they can decide what I will wear.  I got my super warm  non-black, red or white coat (the official nixed colors) fixed today for free by a tailor in my neighborhood (yay!).

I'm supposed to bring my camera.

This is probably all the information I will be able to give you movie-wise. . . but doesn't it kind of make you excited to see it?  I'm excited to see it. . . and not just because I'm going to be in it.

Blue Bloods "Reagan vs Reagan"

Starting at 1:40ish into the show--there's me! :D 

And again.

And again.

Want to watch it? See it at cbs.com.

You see those ladies sitting next to me?  We became good friends in the hour and a half we were sitting there.The Blue Bloods crew is really close, I think.  And their food services were some of the best that I have seen.  Plus the food I "was not" eating was really tasty when it was hot.

Okay, at the end of the show when it showed the same filming day but different people I was really curious about if the restaurant Reagan was really innocent. . . What do you think?

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day!

A Gifted Man Part 2

Where's M?  

2:12

  A Gifted Man in the Roosevelt Hotel. In the episode

"In Case of Heart Failure." 
The link will take you to CBS to watch the episode.

3:07ish

 4:12ish

What a great experience! :) 

Also I would have leaned out a couple of feet except I didn't know the plant was blocking me in the last photo. Even if you can't see it, I felt lovely.  Thanks to the people I met that made it even more amazing.

I have to say the PAs were really helpful and talkative about making films and movies.  They even offered to look at my screenplay. Did you know I am writing one? It's almost finished.

Then I talked to wardrobe and they were super nice.  The guy had done the wardrobe for a lot of shows including Madonna's touring. He told me that my film preparation I should go through each of the scenes and write what wardrobe would be required for each person, that would make it easier to help the actors or wardrobe find what each person needs.  I felt so inspired I wanted to march in and add it all to my script.

Now you know why I am being a background artist. I want to make a movie, my movie. It's more than the sort of "Where's Waldo" game I play each time I try to find myself. I am learning all I can each time.

The hair lady was a little annoyed at being asked so many questions. It was probably the fact that it was crunch time and several of us missed a scene waiting for our hair to get done. In fact there were so many of us waiting I got us in a line for her to tell us whether or not we were ready to go down (assertive, right?). I wanted to go watch, but I also wanted my hair done professionally--my first time as an extra. . . . so it worked out happily for me. :)

You can't see my friends there but that girl with the blue was one of the ones that I sat and talked with extensively in the hair preparation part of waiting. She is an opera singer.  The other lady in the foremost front is a SAG actor that sat and watched them film for awhile with me.

I also got to hear one of the CBS head haunchos from CA come and give the cast and crew a pep-talk-ish sort of speech.  Fabulous.

Blue Bloods

Source

The Set
Mr. Tom Sellack; tall, broad shouldered, stately, and utterly focused; sat six feet away from little ol' me in Bamontes, a stand-in restaurant for a Center Street restaurant.  The tables were round. There was a chandelier in the middle of the room right above Mr. Sellack's table. The kitchen had windowed doors that faced the dining room. You had to walk through a crowded bar (crowded with screens and director's chairs).  The owner of the establishment sat watching at the bar.

My On-Set Experience
There I was sitting eating (shhhh--it was only supposed to be pretend eating) itty bitty bites of delicious, steaming and later-cooled lemon chicken and pantomiming with a few of my powerful best friends I met a few moments before. We talked about important "cases" we'd encountered at work like the case of the pb&j that had gone a rye (heehee--awry).  The "sun" was shone in on us from the doorway (a really strong, bright light that had the same effects on me as the sun--it made me really thirsty) and the crew zipped around making the shots look glorious--and my hair/make-up fixed up a couple of times--to save it from the melting "sunshine"--which made me feel so much more official.

My powerful hair do.  I wonder if I looked more powerful like that.

These were the make-up people.  They reminded me to put on lipstick a few times.

And Mr. Sellack and fellow SAG acting actors? They were acting up a storm. I really wanted to watch, but all I could do was absorb from a distance.  It was just like sitting in any other restaurant hearing a conversation that is much more interesting than your own and you are dying to look more than a glance, but realize doing more would be considered rude-- if I had, in this case, I would have been looking straight into the camera.  But I could sense the actors were really in "the zone."

The holding was in a Roman Orthodox Church. This is one of the paintings. Mary looks a little red-eyed and grouchy. I hope that's not irreverent. But in a way, it makes her seem more personable and mom-like; maybe thinking, "Thanks wise men. I'm glad you came but my Son really needs to lie down for a nap now and so do I."

What I Learned
In all my experiences before this, the first assistant director would shout out right before the take, "Rolling!" "Background!" "Action!"  So I had to change my thinking when the First AD didn't shout that out too much.  To Mr. Seleck they would sometimes say softly, "Rolling, start whenever you want."

One time I thought there were crew members hopping around and I thought they were just keeping in character and going through their lines I decided to get a drink of water from my purse--BUT, lo and behold they were filming. Ugh. I felt so guilty. Note to self, only take a drink of water when a crew member is obstructing the view of the camera--not the actors--a crew member.

Afterward the 2nd AD came to our table and said, "Could you please move less."  I am not sure if it was pointed to me, though it felt like he was looking at me and only me---but each of us thought it could be us.  We were supposed to be power-diners, so after that we tried to look more serious, and um, powerful.

These are the types of signs they have to let us know where holding is . . . that's kind of given, but just in case you were wondering.

One of the big things I learned that day was that different directors do things, specifically warning background artists, differently.  Now I know and will be prepared in the future.

I have been looking into film making on a much smaller scale and in my reading found out something about director, Clint Eastwood. Here it is, just in case you are interested, "One of the best lessons I ever got in film directing was watching behind-the-scenes footage of Clint Eastwood at work. He is a revelation in simplicity. He'll casually walk through a scene with the actors then say, "Okay, let's just roll one off and see what happens. Go whenever you want."  He's loathe to say, "Action," never says "Cut," and never uses video playback, standing right next to the camera and watching each take on a little wireless monitor he carries around in his hands.At the end of a take he might say, "Yeah, that was nice. Let's move over here. . . "One or two takes on each angle and that's it."(Carroll, Mike. Naked Filmmaking; How to Make a Feature-Length Film without a Crew for $10,000 or Less. 2010). 

That's exactly how the director worked.  The crew really made a point to stand back and let the actors take over, it was amazing. There was such focus in the whole restaurant. I loved it.When and if I make a movie, I want to work like that.

This guy paused to pose for me while he opened the door to the holding room. Thanks guy.

My Off-Set Experience
When they were finished with that scene and they didn't need my table of people any more, I went outside to wait and see if they needed me later.  I talked with the guest star a little and soon found myself standing in the walkway of the door and I overheard Mr. Sellack telling Jay O. Sanders that he was a producer and had produced several things.

These were super nice extras with me. The gal in the front and left was a waiter.  The guy at the front table was a pedestrian.  The people in the very back were the hair people. One of them was the guy I wrote about previously in my White Collar post.

I wanted soooo bad to go and pepper Mr. Selleck with a boat load of producer questions. But one of the first rules of background artistry is to let the the principals have their space and do not speak to them, unless spoken to. But it was really hard! So soon enough they were called back into the restaurant and I went and waited for 40 minutes for some really great juice in the very brisk wind then walked back to holding.

They didn't need me for the rest of the day. But I was there until 10:30 p.m. mostly talking with other adults, which at this point in my life, is something I do not get to do often. The other background artists were really nice and interesting people. I felt blessed to talk with them. From 7-7:30 we had dinner--which meant for me fresh stir-fry--which was delicious! They had left over fortune cookies so my table smuggled them all and we had a fun fortune cookie reading.  Mine said profoundly, "Do something spontaneous tomorrow."

Russian Orthodox Church--the holding.

Watch It!
If you don't get CBS on your television (I don't) then you can watch it here, eventually. The episode is going to be called something like "Reagan vs. Reagan."  Let me know if you see it.  It will be great!

Thanks
And dear CBS productions people, if you ever see this, thank you for the opportunity. I learned a lot. The cast and crew were focused and determined.  Thank you for your quality programming. :)  M