Hello, everyone! It’s been almost three months since my last
post on this blog, which makes me sigh at first, until I realize that the
reason I haven’t posted anything is because of how busy I have been these past
few months. I’ve been writing and working and watching movies and traveling and
meeting people, but most importantly, I’ve been making movies.
Okay, “making movies” sounds like I’ve been pumping out
feature-length films these past three months, but in actuality, I’ve been
involved with the creation of two short films. The first one, Break-Up
Practice, was written by yours truly and directed by my good friend James
Swarts-Kinsey. We’re working on the final edit right now and should have it
finished and uploaded by mid-April. I’m really really excited about it.
The second one is why I’m writing this blog post. My good
friend Matthew Miller, the mind behind the Shadow|Shine production company,
called me one day and told me he was going to direct a short film, and that he
thought I would be a solid choice to play the lead role. Having worked with him
before (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH7aeMdEKwc), I eagerly scheduled a
Skype audition and eventually was given the part. What I thought would be a fun
way to work with a good friend on a little project again ended up being a
reawakening of my passion for acting, a life-changing experience, and a far
larger undertaking than I expected.
It turned out this “little project” was actually the final
senior project of Cornerstone University’s film students. The cast varied in
age and experience, and the crew reached numbers of over 30 people. Everyone
had a specific job, and mine was to be the lead role, acting seriously for the
first time in four years (two if you count that music video), and I was
terrified. Matt was the only person I knew, and if I messed up, 30 people I did
not know would see said mess up. But, as things do, everything worked out far
better than I could have ever expected. I learned so much about filmmaking over
those six days of shooting, and made some great new friends in the process. I’m
going to recap those days below and give not only some behind-the-scenes from
my own experiences, but explore just how this experience changed and influenced
me as a person. (I’m not going to include much of the plot or description of
the set as to not give anything away before it’s finished. Besides, it’s long
enough as it is.)
Day 0 – Rehearsal: The cast met at Rosie’s Diner, a cute but
condemned building just north of Grand Rapids. There was no heat, electricity,
or plumbing, and since the building was entirely made of metal, it was
essentially an icebox. Matt assured us that it would be heated for the shoot
(if you were there, you’re probably laughing at that), and I met the other
actors. They are all such sweet people, each having different experiences with
acting in the past, and we clicked as well as any cast meeting for the first
time. I had no idea just how much I would grow to love these people in such a
short time.
Day 1 – Rosie’s Diner: I woke up before the sun, ate a small
breakfast, and drove to set with Matt, Michael (Matt’s brother and an amazing 2nd
AD), and Nate (director of photography and all-around brilliant fellow). I
remember Matt saying, “Put on something upbeat,” and Michael turned on the song
“Sunday, Bloody Sunday.” For some reason, that was hilarious to me. Anyway,
this was my first time meeting the crew, another group of people I would grow
to love very much. I was so nervous. And if you know me, you know that I get
very quiet when I’m nervous. And then my nervousness got more intense when I
realized that by not talking, I was probably coming off as some high-on-himself
actor who felt he was above the peasant crew, which was not the case. Watching
them unload everything and set it up was fascinating to me. I had never seen
most of this technology before, so I stood off to the side and observed (not
that I could have done anything, as they were working for a grade and I didn’t
know what half the stuff was). The thing that caught me off guard the most,
however, was being referred to as “The Talent.” All of the actors were called The
Talent on set, which made me kind of uncomfortable at first. I was being
continually checked up on (“Are you warm enough? Would you like water?” etc.).
I was treated as this commodity that needed close maintenance, when in reality
all I wanted to do was help contribute to making a great short film. Eventually
I got comfortable enough to joke around about being called The Talent, but not
for the first couple days. Here were all these people making sure I was
comfortable while they were working hard in the freezing cold, and all I had to
do was wait for shooting to begin. It seemed off to me, and it resulted in my
losing respect for actors who complain about petty things like coffee flavor or
room temperature. The crew works much harder than actors do (the majority of
the time), and to complain about red M&M’s in your bowl when people are
lifting heavy lights to try to make you look half decent is just childish.
Wow, these descriptions are long. I’ll try to hit some of
the big details, but I’m omitting a large portion of the experience. If you
want to hear more, I’m more than willing to talk about it in person.
Anyway, Day 1 was cold. So, so cold. It never got above 28
degrees in that little diner, and we had to work hard so our breath wouldn’t
show up on camera. But despite the freezing temperatures, I was feeling a
warmth and passion I hadn’t felt in a long time: acting.
Day 2 – Rosie’s Diner (again): This was the day I really got
into my character. The cast and crew came back to the diner, ready to face the
brutal chill (we even sent people over early to get the generators going and
set up space heaters to make it a little more bearable when everyone else
arrived), and it was my “big day.” This was the day that the majority of the
focus was on my character and therefore on me. I had a lengthy shot that was
around a minute of only me talking, arguing with the narrator (who will
eventually be added in as a voiceover). That was one of the things I was most
proud of, personally, because it was the first time I really felt in tune with
the character I was playing, and the first time I got a big chunk of solo
spotlight. After the second 12-hour day in a row, I still wanted to keep
shooting. Everything was turning on for me: the acting, the energy, and I was
even getting to know the cast and crew better. I couldn’t wait until the next
day.
Day 3 – The Warehouse: Thank God for heat. Also, I got to
wear a leather jacket and carry a (fake) gun. Getting to play a revenge-thirsty
Chicago cop was one of the manliest things I think I have ever done, and it
felt good. Granted, the short film is a comedy and seeing me try to act tough
is, well, comedic. Having a “love your neighbor,” “turn the other cheek,” anarcho-pacifist
play a city cop bent on murderous revenge could not have been a stranger match,
but I guess that’s why they call it acting. And once I found that character
(and could put my personal beliefs aside to play said character), I had such an
amazing time. Not to mention, I like to think I pulled off “rugged revenge cop”
rather well.
This was also the day I got much closer to the cast and
crew. We all sat around (comfortably…again, thank God for heat) and talked
about life and movies and music and Tolkien. I really bonded with quite a few
people. It was amazing. This marked the halfway point in the shoot and I was
already sad that it would end. I wanted to eat peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches and discuss The Hobbit and debate film and make jokes every day for
the rest of my life.
Day 4 – The Office Building: More heat! Huzzah! This day was
more of doing what I love with people I was growing to love more and more. I
could gush for hours, but I’ll save you the saccharine. The biggest personal
realization that came from this day happened when I was alone in the office
room, looking out the window over the city of Grand Rapids. It was quiet, I
wasn’t yet in costume, and the city was sprawled in front of me. It was in this
moment that I felt very much at peace, and a strange sort of fiery, bass-y
“voice” echoed in my gut/chest/head that said something I’d been longing to
hear for a while: this is the next step. You see, I’ve been kind of quiet about
it, but the prospect of where I would be when my lease is up has been weighing
on my mind. I knew I didn’t want to stay in Kalamazoo, there was a possibility
of moving to California with Jamey, but overall I had no real lead on what to
do. Then, when this moment happened, I realized that I would be living in Grand
Rapids next year. It’s a bigger city, full of fresh faces and new experiences,
an untapped treasure chest of learning. It’s close enough to home that a
Christmas visit wouldn’t drain my bank account, but far enough away to really
start (or rather, continue) my post-college life. I would speculate as to
whether or not I would come to this realization had I not done this short film,
but this post is already long enough as it is. Let’s continue.
Day 5 – Funeral Scene: The title of this post is a lyric
from the song “Clark Gable” by The Postal Service, but it is also a reference
to this day. We made it rain. Okay, I just really wanted to say that, but we
did use a hose to simulate rain and it was sososososo cold. I mean, not Rosie’s
Diner cold, but still hand-numbing. Again, despite the cold, it was still a
great time. The spaghetti was delicious.
Day 6 – Car Stuff: This was probably the most stressful day
since it was a lot of little shots taking place in three different locations.
(Cam’s famous homemade pizza eased the stress so very much. Yum and a half.)
But by the end of the day, I was just crushed that the principal photography
had wrapped. Sure, I’m glad we got it all done on time, but I wanted to keep
everything going for weeks and weeks. Like the cliché goes, though, everything
comes to an end.
Day 7 – Pick-Up Day: This day was unexpected. We had to
reshoot some stuff in the studio, and it was just Matt, Nate, Crystal, and
myself. The four of us were tired, and kinda loopy, but we got everything
finished. All that’s left is some voiceover recording that I will be doing this
week, hopefully.
Gosh, it sucks to re-read that and realize that I barely
dented the surface of all of the amazing things that happened over the past two
weeks. If you were involved in the production, you probably feel like I left
out a lot (which I did), but don’t think that because I omitted so much, I
don’t remember everything. This has been such a life-changing experience for
me. Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of it; thank you to Matt,
Nate, and Cam for letting me live with you for a few days; and thank you to the
One who gave me the passions and talents of writing and acting when I was being
made. I can’t wait to see how this short film turns out.
Here’s to storytelling, cinema, and a community of creative
and wonderful artists (I love you all)!
lovelovelove,
Adam
