In The Zone

We shot our second woodshed scene tonight. One of the actors had to be out of here by 9:30. We had 14 shots to do in three hours. No rehearsal. No fiddle- faddling with the lights or the camera. Just go. All I said when we were getting started was, We have a lot of ground to cover. I don't want things to feel rushed. So I'm going to push the tempo and I'm going to ask everyone to stay focused and keep your energy up. And so it went. I was just sitting there and I was out of breath. October and Tara were great. They really kept the energy going and had a good time. It makes my job(s) so much easier when people are having fun.
The plan was to shot the interiors in three hours, release Tara then spend an hour doing exteriors. We did the whole thing in less than three hours. It was great to be in the zone like that.
I read an article the other day about the glut of independent films and how distribution is becoming more and more impossible. How there needs to be a new model for theatrical distribution. Pretty dismal outlook. I've been thinking about it for a few days. The main conclusion I came to is that filmmakers are going to have to find a way to make compelling films inexpensively so that they can survive when only seen by a niche audience.
After the last couple of exercises I feel like I'm on the right track -- working fast with limited resources. Thinking on my feet and utilizing all that's available, making the most of the actors and locations. All the while coming up with stories that the actors are making better than I imagined. I think it's a turning point in my work. For so long it was such a challenge to get it off the page. What I was directing was never quite as good as I'd imagined it when writing or previsualizing. Now things are consistently better than I imagined. It's magic. I really feel like I'm not doing anything. It's an effortless effort.

¡viva!
Signore Direttore