FIREDALE: THE MOVIE — Day 20, Stan Winshaw’s Directors Journal
Hopped over to second unit to help with the model work. Glad I wrapped principal photography a few days ago, because I am walking into the ass-crack of Hades with the VFX team. Best hounds in what counts as the business, but all of us are getting railed by circumstance. I don’t know how WPKD manages to get 5 min on-location news stories shot while we can’t nail down 30-secs.
Can’t shoot inside the warehouse because the lighting rig went to shits, and shooting outside means waiting for the wind to die down, which is doubly fucked now that all our coats are blowing out. Nothing like eating fur on a sweet summer morning. Jamming this out here to stay sane, will make a note if/when we get this fucking shot in the can.
Got the shot. At least the master and additional coverage of its descent.
Used the 3 ft. long hero model of the hovercraft. Wires painted out to perfection, got the curve of the thing going into its tailspin. Looks stunning, even raw and ungraded. Artie was dead-on, Chuck Bergen’s a master at flying these miniatures. But thank Christ for digital video, would gnaw my arm off if we fucked this up on film stock.
We aren’t setting up the pyro model just yet, dust devils came around for another fisting. Besides, more of the cam-op’s fur is getting on the set. He’s a gray, so it’d show on the high-angle slow-mo. Fortunately, my tan-furred hide isn’t mucking that up. Ah, the blessings of Navajo ancestry!
Here’s hoping we don’t go over the hour.
We, in fact, went over two. Still no pyro shot.
Phoned Artie while he was at the radio station, he’s saying pack it early for the day. Shitting a brick about going over schedule, but he’s being a saint about it. “Kid, you’re doing what you can, sorry God ain’t playing nice today.” Don’t think it’s His fault either, but what can you do, I guess? Hoping the lads can get the lighting fixed so we can shoot back in the warehouse.
Now for my daily word vomit: piss, shit, fuck, cunt, cock-sucker, motherfucker, tits, fart, turd, and twat. An adequate description of everything that’s gone wrong at the moment.
Glad that’s out of my system, Ellie and Tommy don’t need that shit at home. Can’t wait to see the look on that kiddo’s face when I show him dailies though. If he loves it, the rest of the kids will love it. I’d eat shit like this seven days a week if means we’re getting them the adventure they deserve. God, I hope so — S.W.