Filming is Going Well!

Our first day of shooting proved to be a productive one! We began bright and early, shooting some of our exterior shots in West End. We had few problems, and everyone was in good spirits, given the hour we all awoke (4:30 for me). We got some lovely close up shots done of much of the phrase work for the piece, and watching the dailies, it came out really, really well! Better than I expected! I think my favorite part of the morning's shots were Robert's (my fiancee) shots. He made only a small cameo, but he did a great job! Woo-hoo for Rob's film debut. I think Brett and I are really beginning to get the hang of this dance film thing! This year, I feel so much more ready to envision how phrase work will look on camera, and communicate my desires with Brett. He seems much more able to envision what I am communicating, as well. We're beginning to speak each other's languages.

After wrapping on the morning shots, we took a break, and came back in the evening to shoot some interior shots. We dressed out Brett's living room with some lovely candles on the mantle, and fluffed the couch cushions just right. The space looked clean, and sophisticated. Brett said that it gave him a feeling of southern gothic, and I think he's right. We spent a lot of time lighting the space just right, and our efforts proved successful. The colors melded together very well, and our costumes, perfectly selected by Mackenzie (my twin and dance partner) looked amazing in the space. This set of shots went well, too, and we were very happy with what we shot that evening. I am so excited to finish up this coming weekend! We are spending the week in preparation, doing some last minute shot rehearsals, dressing out our kitchen space for the kitchen section and revisiting shot schedules.

Ru, my parent's mini schnauzer, gets to make an appearance in the film on Saturday, and it is all he can talk about (well, let's just say he's VERY excited...there are cookies involved in this activity!). I just hope he can keep his focus. He is a good dog, and generally is good-natured and obeys commands well. However, there will be new distractions on set, and he is not, of course, a screen-trained dog.

With the way this weekend's shots have turned out, I am confident that if we keep going like we have been, the film will be great! I'm more excited about this film than I have ever been about my previous films...I finally feel like I know what's going on! More later!

~Cara