It's getting closer. And I'm getting looser. For the first time ever I am not running around the day before the production like a madman. I'm not working with the actors. I'm trusting our work up to now.
Instead, I got a massage. I went to the bank to draw some more petty cash for the producer. I went to Freddy's to buy some long underwear for the boys. Something I already asked production to do, but since I was right there I thought, why not. I started looking for sizes and it was annoying me in short order. So I walked quietly away and let others help me.
I have a meeting with Jeff Harding the AD to go over the schedule and I have to stop by Gearhead to make sure the trucks are loaded as I would load them were I working today. I have to go pick up our M-16s (actual weapons) after dropping my children off for a sleepover.
I feel good.
Godard was right. I was lost on where to put the camera in one of my opening shots, the introduction of Private Naitani. I recited Godard's admonition. Sure enough something else was wrong, I was falling prey to surprise rather than tension and revelation. I wanted to show Naitani already stuck instead of showing him get stuck. The medium better serves suspense than surprise. Think about Buster Keaton and the banana peel. If they didn't show the banana peel before he falls, it isn't as funny.
It's like telling a joke -- without a good set up, the punchline suffers.
Wish me buona fortuna,
Signore Direttore
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