Snow Globe: Blower Exchange

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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: The Monitor

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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

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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: Director’s Chair

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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

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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.

50th Annual Mount Dora Art Festival

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On Sunday, I was going to sketch on the set of an independent film, titled Snow Globe, being shot locally. One of the actors got a bad case of the flu, so the shooting schedule was set back several weeks. Suddenly my Sunday was wide open for other sketch opportunities.

A neighbor across the street let me know that Mount Dora was holding its 50th Annual Art Festival all weekend so I decided to go. Parking for this event was going to be a challenge. Many residents opened up their driveways and yards charging $20 a pop to park. I decided to approach Mount Dora from the north and look for parking up there. Several side street had police signage saying parking was suspended temporarily. Side street parking was not an option, so I just kept driving north until a spot opened up. It was quite a hike to the event but I need the exercise. It was a gorgeous day but I was still sporting a hoodie and fleece. I was a sweaty mess by the time I got to Donnelly Park.

I walked one block through the narrow art festival tent valley. An online map showed that if I walked down one aisle ignoring what was on the opposite side of the street and then always turned right, I could see every booth.  I saw just 1 woman wearing a mask. The crowd was way too thick. Seeing every booth stopped being a priority. I cut through a tent to the sidewalks which were getting little use except by artist vendors. I could see glimpses of the art from the sidewalk and nothing drew me in begging for a closer view. Donnelly Park had port-o-potties which I used. I settled on this view since I love that old Donnelly House which is also a Masonic Lodge. Much of the house was hidden by foliage but the corner tower stood tall.

Later this month, I will be having a laser shoved up my corner tower to core out my innards so that I don’t have to pee every half hour. I am glad to say I finished this sketch in one sitting. Once done I immediately ran to the port-o-potties. If the sketch seems rushed of frenetic, that is why. I was told I would have to do exercised before the operation. This is my form of exercise, which is sitting as long as I can to finish a sketch. It is the one form of exercise I love to do.