Sunday, March 15, 2009

Shooting a film

Yesterday was the first shoot for the movie Crossroads, being filmed right here in Alabama by a friend of mine. He was in the last play at Theatre 98 and asked me to come in for a screen test. He offered me a choice of two parts and I chose the one I thought was most interesting. I'm really excited about this because it's my first time doing anything like it and we all know how much I like trying new things!

The shoot was interesting, to say the least! Most of it takes place in a forest where these people have set up camp and in the areas surrounding the camp. I was in one of the three scenes we shot yesterday.

The thing that struck me most was how VERY DIFFERENT filming is from theatre. I mean, I knew it was different, but it felt so strange. I have no problem at all acting in front of an audience. I get so much energy from my fellow actors and from the flow of the production and from the audience members. With film, especially one with a small crew like this one, there are not many sources of energy. Also, I generally get my sense of character during the rehearsal process, but with film you have to go in with that already. I hadn't done a lot of preparation as far as that goes, so I had to make something up on the fly!

I actually feel like I wasn't very good yesterday. I felt awkward with the camera so close to me and didn't really know what to do with my body or my eyes. The director said I did fine, but I think he was just being nice. I need to really focus on the next shoot and make sure I do better.

Overall, it's been fun so far and I'm looking forward to going again.

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