Snow Globe: Blower Exchange

In this shot from Snow Globe, Big Birdie (Carrie Lauren) stood in her driveway and Guy (Neil Parren) had parked in the street, smugly leaning against his car. The couple had separated or were divorced.

At first Gregory Mohn, behind the camera considered having the red car parked diagonally in the driveway, but when it was backed up into the street to be repositioned, he decided it made sense for Guy to not even bother to use the driveway. I liked the look of the circular cul-de-sac, the definition of which is: a route or course leading nowhere. It was fitting.

Birdie offered to give guy the leaf  blower. She after all was civilized and would not need such a loud obnoxious device. The closest they got to one another is when she handed it to him, extended at arms length. There is a painful moment that happens when you realize that you are never going to see a person who you spent decades of your life with. There had been some good times. But Guy’s girlfriend, Her (Crystal Hanley) was in the passenger seat. He had already started building a life together with someone new. When he put the blower in the back seat of his car he realized he had something to return to Birdie. It was the snow globe. He casually threw it to her. They were about 12 feet apart. Now, keep in mind, this is the only snow globe prop available. To keep it safe multiple shot were done where he acted like he was throwing it but kept it in his hand. Similar shots were done of Birdie acting like she was catching it.

Then the critical shot had to be done where Birdie actually caught the snow globe and reacted. She was moved onto the grass and someone with serious baseball experience stood a few feet from her to lobe the snow globe to her. He coached her saying she should use her body to catch the globe and just cradle it with her hands. Multiple shots were done and I gasped every time. Then the fatal toss happened. The globe slipped through her hands and fell to the ground. There was absolute silence on the set. In slow motion, the globe bounced multiple times and settled between the Saint Augustine blades, unharmed. There was one toss which was a bit too high and Crystal reacted in absolute terror that the globe might fall again. I am certain that will be the shot that ends up in the final cut of the film.

In the next shot the hatchback of the red car was opened and cameraman Gregory sat looking back at Birdie. I had to quickly pack up my art supplies since I would have been visible in the long dolly shot. I hid in the garage with director, Tracey Jane and the mechanical garage door rolled shut. As the car slowly pulled away Birdie got small in the distance. The monitor was set up in the garage and the shot looked beautiful. Tracey was glowing.

There was another scene that was to be shot this day in the pool area after lunch, but I had to drive back to Yalaha to teach virtual classes. There were delicious empanadas for the crew. I slipped one into a napkin for the road. This was the moment where I got to share my sketches with Tracey. Her excitement left me overjoyed. She called members of the crew over to look. Gregory kept saying he could not understand how I did what I do. But I have just as much respect for the entire crews mad skills.

This would be the final sketch of the three day short film shooting marathon. It was certainly an adventure for me and I am so grateful I was allowed into the creative fold. When the film premiers I plan to sketch the red carpet while cleaned up in a fresh tuxedo.

Snow Globe: Dolly Shot

The fireplace was removed to make way for a small track for a dolly shot. The fireplace flames are a sort of projection. It was discovered that the fireplace also makes sound so it was turned off since the flames were not visible in the shot.

Since there was no fireplace in the home of my last roommate situation, we used to turn on the large screen TV and run a 12 hour fireplace video during the winter as we worked on family history research on the couch. There is something soothing about watching the flames and listening to the snapping and crackling. That fire burnt itself out. I now set a fire each evening in a fire pit in the back yard of the Yalaha Studio. I am still burning roots and branches from the Hurricane Milton storm damage. Watching the flames is my way to relax and reflect after a day of sketching, painting and teaching. The TV has never been used except on New Year’s Eve.

On set, the mother, or Big Birdie (Carrie Lauren) and daughter, Claire (Miya Montague) sat uncomfortably on the couch as far apart as was possible. The camera moved slowly forward as they stared into the imagined flames.

As cameraman, Gregory Mohn was setting up for this shot, he shouted out that anything in the kitchen that shouldn’t be seen had to be moved since it was visible in the shot. All the crew snacks and drinks were on the counters. Writer, Director, Tracey Jane was in the kitchen and I noticed her trying to move some things with her one good hand. Her other hand was in a cast. I dropped my sketch to help her out.  We moved some sort of fondue or crock pot set out into the garage and other items went up on the refrigerator out of sight. Several spiky dog balls were moved into her bedroom, which was now the actors dressing room.

Her pup, Luigi was all muscle and energy and would play with anyone who would grab his octopus. Since my artist stool it pretty low, I played with him quite a bit to get some of the energy out of him. That plan seemed to backfire since playing with him just amped him up even more. He had to go out in the back pool area when shooting began, but he just pawed at the sliding glass doors and whined to get back inside. A neighbor had to be called to give him a walk so the scenes could be shot.

Tracey watched the scene on a James Bond style black case that had a monitor. The stool she sat on squeaked, so she had to remain perfectly still. If I needed to grab a new pen or brush, I made sure to move in slow motion so as not to make a sound as well. This was a quiet somber moment between mother and daughter and a moment when they would truly connect. The conversation between mother and daughter was soft and muted. I am so used to actors shouting to the rafters in theater productions. The boom mic held my Arturo, and a hidden mic in the couch must have caught it all.

Snow Globe: The Monitor

In this scene being shot for Snow Globe, Claire, (Miya Montague) and her mom Big Birdie, (Carrie Lauren), sat on a couch staring at a fire in the fireplace after returning from a funeral. This shoot had been delayed a week because Carrie had been horribly sick.

When I  arrived and was walking towards the house, Miya and her mom Brandi had also just parked. I thought Brandi might be the actress but her daughter was going to be the star for the day. As the room was being prepared for the shoot Brandi volunteered to vacuum the set. I helped by moving furniture, since I wasn’t sure where to set up to sketch yet.

This scene took most of the morning to shoot. In it, Claire stood up and walked to the mantle of the fireplace to pick up the Snow Globe. A message from her now deceased Grandmother was taped to the bottom. There was an obvious somber attitude to the scene but director Tracey Jane wanted a contrast between the two characters. Mom, or Big Birdie was to be emotionally distraught, but Claire who was clever and a problem solver, was supposed to offer hope and insight at this darkest hour. Maya was having difficulty finding that balance. Each take of the scene she projected a somber attitude. Tracey kept coaching her to lighten her mood and someone suggested that Miya needed to do some jumping jacks just to boost her energy level.

The dialogue was so soft that I couldn’t hear very well from where I sat. The boom operator kept the mic right on top of Maya as she spoke. Carrie’s mic was right near her hidden in the couch.  Eventually a shot was done which captured the exact mood and energy that Tracey was hoping for.

Manny Plaza-Fernandez sat looking at the monitor. It was his job to be sure each shot was in perfect focus. In one two shot, the mom had some dialogue and then the camera had to rack focus on to her daughter Claire. Tracey wanted that rack focus to happen on a particular line of dialogue and Manny made it work. Gregory Mohn behind the camera often consulted Manny because he was almost always right. Collaboration made each shot work.

Snow Globe: Young Birdie

This was the first day of shooting of Snow Globe in the home of writer, Director Tracey Jane. This scene was to be shot in the den right off of the entry hall. I liked the painting of an angel with golden wings above the piano. A portrait of a classical quilled scribe had to be replaced with a more generic 1970s abstract in muted izod colors.

GregoryMohn was behind the camera and he wanted these shots to be a worms eye view looking up at the giant piano. The piano itself had been moved from another room, but that task was complete by the time I got to the set. Arturo worked the boom to record sound.

In this shot Little Birdie (Addison Sanders) pushed a small footstool close to the piano so she could reach up for the snow globe. Her mother Grace (Audra Darbyshire) was up on a stairway landing and saw what their daughter was up to and she ran down the stairs to stop her. Addison’s true parents were in the hallway to coach and offer support. It was so cute watching the young actress accomplish each task in turn and then freeze in embarrassment. Tracey was wonderful in keeping the young girl’s energy up. Audra, was quite believable as Addison’s mom. She got on her knees and interacted playfully. There was a warmth to every playful shot.

There were so many close ups to be shot, of the young girls feet padding across the floor, of her pushing the stool, and the moments as she reached for the globe. There was only 1 snow globe, so it was treated like a golden talisman. It could not, and must not be broken.

What would be an instant in the final edited film, took hours to shoot. I was asked several times, how I could sketch so fast, and yet each sketch took several hours to complete. Artists function in slow motion recording an instant in a world of ever evolving, fast paced chaos.

Tracey Jane has a habit of telling stories that reach in and grab me by the heart. There is wonder and aspiration followed by sorrow and then hope. In my mind she was directing this film with one hand tied behind her back, because she had injured her left hand and it was still in a cast. This short is told in a nine page script but the emotional resonance spans decades. I respect and admire any artist who can strum my heart strings so effortlessly.

Snow Globe: The Skate Room

It was getting late at the Semoran Skateway (2670 Cassel Creek Blvd, Casselberry, FL). Writer, Director Tracey Jane and her intrepid film crew had one more scene to shoot in the Skate Room.

I was a bit daunted at the prospect of sketching the skate room since there were literally hundreds of pairs of skates tucked away in all the cubby holes. I asked Tracey if I would have enough time to do a sketch. My thought was that I needed at least 2 hours but they were shooting just one scene.

In this scene the protagonist, Teen Birdie (Grace Violla) was struggling to untie her skate. She was visibly upset. Later that evening when it was about 4am in the morning Tracey laughed at me saying, ” and you thought you wouldn’t have enough time to sketch.” I clearly do not have any concept of how long it takes to shoot a scene. Liv, Birdie’s best friend, (Payton Hubert) entered the scene. She had on a pair of metallic blue pants that definitely hearkened back to the flamboyant fashions of the 1980s.

Grace did an amazing job of remaining visibly upset despite the multiple takes of shots. There were other skaters behind her on the bench and they had to get out of the shot to let the drama play out between the two actresses. The boom operator was doing his job for the very first time. He had to be reminded once to raise the mic a bit higher to get it out of a shot. The lighting tech had the difficult job of keeping a white cloth diffuser raised over his head to soften the spot light. His arm must have gotten tired.

My fountain pen ran out of ink, so I switched over to colored pencil to sketch the skates. I was worried I might be visible in the shot where Liv enters the skate room doorway. She was right next to me. Tracey who was looking at the monitor assured me I was out of the shot. Then she made a piece sign and leaved forward a few inches from me and her fingers entered the shot on the monitor. I smiled and made sure to sketch while seated bold upright.

The scene didn’t play out straight through. A series of close up shots were done as Teen Birdie struggled with her skate laces. Tracey Jane stepped in when it was time to block out the action and dialogue between the actresses. She had a vision of what she wanted to happen and just needed to be sure everyone was on the same page. Clear communication on an active, fast paced film set, is critical. Besides the drama unfolding in each scene being shot, the collaborative artistic drama behind the scenes is just as exciting.

A final scene unfolded when Teen Birdie’s mom, Grace (Audra Darbyshire) entered. She knew her daughter was upset and hoped she could reach out and help, but Birdie felt too crushed and sullen. She stormed off , leaving mom confused and heart broken. My sketch was a wrap and I decided I would not attempt a second pass at sketching the skate room, so I packed up my art supplies and quietly slipped out. I had a 30 mile drive back up to Yalaha which was itself an adventure, driving through some of the thickest fog I have ever experienced. I just had to trust there was a road ahead of me. When I got back to the studio at around 5am, I imagined that the film crew was probably still hard at work at the Semoran Skateway.

Snow Globe: Director’s Chair

The film shoot for Snow Globe at the Semoran Skateway was going until late in the night. It would be past 5am before equipment would be packed back up.

At this point in the shoot, the two actresses, Grace Violla as Teen Birdie and Payton Hubert as Liv, Birdie’s best friend, were being shot skating around the rink.

Writer and director Tracey Jane was in the concessions area watching the shots on a monitor. Rather than a luxurious directors seat with a megaphone, she sat on  a humble packing crate. Most of the extras were also seated in the concessions area. These were die hard skaters who were itching to get back out on the rink. The rink house music was no longer playing and they just sat chatting at the tables. Interest waned since they couldn’t sit passively, and they started heading for the door. Each walked over the Step Down warning tape and past the Power Roll machine on their way to the exit. Tracey realized she was loosing her extras who wanted music and the rush of skating. There were other shots that required skaters in the background. There was no way stop the exodus.

The next shot that required extras had teen birdie fall and skaters rolled past her as if she didn’t exist. To accomplish this shot the few remaining extras simply roller skated in a tight circle around birdie and the camera. This kept the few remaining extras in the tight shots on birdie. The rink felt crowded on the monitor. That is movie magic right there.

Tracey Jane had two of her other short films at the Love Your Shorts Film Festival in Sanford, Florida. Those films are Life is Torture ( A Simply Medieval Musical) and The Heatbreak.  This was the Florida Premiere for both of those films. It seems to me Tracey Jane is on fire, and I am so happy I got to witness some of the creative magic first hand. I loved making my animated short film, but that was a solitary effort. Tracey works with a creative army and manages to keep all the demands and emotions of everyone involved in check. That is no small task.

Snow Globe: Consessions

I was sketching on the set of an independent film shoot at Semoran Skateway (2670 Cassel Creek Blvd Casselberry FL.) The short film being shot was called  Snow Globe written and directed by Tracey Jane.

I was sketching the rink from the concessions area and once that sketch was finished I simply turned around to sketch as lighting was being set up. A lighting tech had just set up a large flood light to illuminate that far end of the concessions stand. That is where the scene being shot played out. I could watch what was being shot on the monitor beside me.

I tried to sketch the lighting tech several times but he was in constant motion. Instead I sketched the young skater behind him. At this point I had no idea who was in the cast and who was an extra. A group of die hard skaters were seated at the table beside me so they were most likely extras. The skater I was sketching turned out to be Teen Birdie or Grace Violla. She was the lead for many of the scenes shot at the rink. She had a crush on a handsome boy but he ended up writing the number of her best friend on his hand. Tracey Jane who was seated in front of me explained that this was Grace’s first time acting for film. I was happy I had caught Grace in the sketch even if by mistake.

Filming Snow Globe

Equal Play Productions took over the Semoran Skateway (2670 Cassel Creek Blvd, Casselberry, FL) for a very late evening of filming for Tracey Jane‘s short film titled Snow Globe. I arrived at the Skateway a little before 11pm and several of the film crew were unloading cameras and other film equipment. I waited near the entrance and followed them inside since I figured they knew where to go. We walked past the ticket window and went inside. All of the film equipment filled a storage room at about the 50 yard line of the rink. Actors and film crew were crowded inside. Here I got to hug the writer, and director Tracey Jane. I have been a longtime fan of her plays, musicals and now film productions. 

While the film crew were busy unpacking and setting up equipment I sat and started a sketch of the rink. There were still crowds of skaters but come 11pm the lights went up and skaters were asked to exit the rink. Any skaters who wanted to stay behind and be an extra in the film were requested to fill out a release form. A core group of die hard regulars stayed behind and other skaters filtered in who specifically showed up for their opportunity to appear in an independent short film. The female skater I placed in the foreground of the sketch said, “I’m 56 and still skating strong.” A group of 5 or so male skaters formed a wolf pack and skated at top speed around the rink swaying in unison to the music right until the music stopped.

While I was doing this sketch, actress Carson Jean Holly was delicately trying to keep her balance as she, walk-slipped her way at the edge of the rink on the carpet, often grabbing the wall for support. I couldn’t help but feel absolute delight, because if I had tried skating instead of sketching, I would have spent most of my time falling down. I first met Carson when she performed in A Halloween Carol, The Musical, also written by Tracey Jane. She impressed me as a consummate professional. When Carson steps into a roll she goes all in, and she felt certain, she would learn how to skate before the evening was through. She offered comic relief on a long night of marathon shooting and in my case, sketching.

As often happens, this spot that I chose to sketch from turned out to be the main staging area for much of the action in the scenes to follow. I had to move when the filming began. Luckily all the line work was in place and I could add water color washes from anywhere. I set up right next to the monitor where Tracey could watch the scenes as they were filmed. I got to see her delight and concern as scenes unfolded on the monitor. Besides all her directing responsibilities, Tracey also stepped into mom mode, by offering me and cast waters, to be sure we stayed hydrated. The filming would be happening until 5am, so I had plenty of time to get more sketches under my belt.

While doing this sketch most of the filming being done was B roll footage of skaters. Gregory Mohn shot footage while skating and leaning forward to get the camera inches from the ice. Much of the acting and dialogue scenes would happen in the concessions area. Although I have a copy of the script, I decided to keep myself in the dark and learn about the characters as filming happened.  I consider this sketch my establishing long shot.

Chicago Spider

The view from the hotel room was of one of Chicago‘s many draw bridges. If you are sketching then it is imperative tat you draw a drawbridge.

What drew my attention far more however was a large spider dangling just outside the glass. He or she was busy starting to spin a web.

I have been to Chicago twice. Once was for a vacation and culture and the other was to screen my film COVID Dystopia at the Chicago Reels International Film Festival where my film won an award for the best animated film at the festival. Chicago has always felt welcoming to me. Right now I am searching for a place to settle and call home. Perhaps Chicago deserves serious consideration.

The Bean

No trip to Chicago is complete without seeing The Bean or Cloud Gate.

Cloud Gate is a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of Grainger Plaza at Millennium Park in the Loop Community area of Chicago. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed “The Bean” because of its shape, a name Kapoor later grew fond of.

The Bean’s reflective surface was inspired by liquid mercury. The surface reflects the surrounding architecture and makes the crowds gathering at its base look like ants. The sculpture is a selfie magnet and pigeons have taken a liking to roosting on top of the sculpture. Their droppings are only mildly invasive as are the droppings of the tourists and art lovers. No pencil was left behind in the making of this sketch.