I’ve been wanting to talk about the production process for Fading for weeks now, and finally, here it is, the blow-by-blow.
The greatest thing I got from this process was how a team of people can make an idea real - despite some substantial difficulties - and have fun doing it.
We needed to find and shoot in one interior, and several exterior locations. Melissa Jackson, my production designer, and I went to the various spots that were options for locations. One was Stacie's house, another Kate Giller's house in SF. Stacie’s was where I originally imagined it taking place. Her house was tough though. She and her husband Kevin had succeeded in making a really welcoming, sweet, charming home. It was the opposite of the stark minimalism I was looking for in the Writer’s house. In my mind, the Writer's striving for perfectionism has leached out all color, all hope, all chaos. Stacie’s house would need a complete revamp and the moving of several extremely large sofas to begin to work. We headed to Kate’s.
Kate’s was essentially a long studio. Windows down at one end, darkness in the rest. Hardwood floors, great molding and structure. Thinking about it in terms of the Writer made it make more and more sense. It was great. It would take less to convert it, and it would take care of itself in terms of mood. Plus, Kate would be out of town working. We had an interior!
Kate’s was essentially a long studio. Windows down at one end, darkness in the rest. Hardwood floors, great molding and structure. Thinking about it in terms of the Writer made it make more and more sense. It was great. It would take less to convert it, and it would take care of itself in terms of mood. Plus, Kate would be out of town working. We had an interior!
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| Pre Pro with David, Vanessa, and Henry, Kate's Cat |
Vanessa Avery came on as my first AD. That role is critical to production. They are in many ways the train conductor, keeping everyone in sync, keeping the train on time, seeing when we are straying from schedule and understanding when to call for help. She and I met at the location on prep day and talked through the schedule.
Our overall plan was to shoot the film in three days. We were going to space the shooting out over two weeks, one sunday, the next sunday and the immidiate Monday. Our dialogue here was critical because if we didn’t have good expectations of time and work load we could easily end up stalling the plane (or train, in this case.)
I had made a shot-list of 12 setups for the interior scene. A setup is a given placement of the camera: Location, height, lens, etc. Each setup takes time for not only the camera, but the lights, the set, the actor, the sound, anything that will be in the finished film. 12 was a good number for us, a newly formed crew, on an interior location. But it would only be if we kept ourselves on time.
Vanessa drilled me about each setup. “How much time do you need to set up.” “20 minutes.” Ok and how much time shooting?” “15. No 20. There s a focus pull in there.” We went through this with every setup. Figured out lunch break possibilities and talked though how we would communicate on set. It was exciting to see the ideas coming into the realm of reality.
I went home and tried to get some sleep. I didn’t get much. There’s a lot riding on the role of director. There’s the sense of leading a crew. There’s also the sense of decisions that are only yours to make. Decisive actions, clear directions. The crew and cast depend on these things. Sometimes human beings aren’t that clear. It's such an interesting balance between transparency and role. It’s a time in my personal life when transparency is far more important than role. How will I stand as a director on this film?
I got up early, and besides Ari - the first Assistant Camera - who had slept at the location (watching Kate’s cat, Henry) I was the first one on site. I got a coffee at a corner shop and sat outside watching the slow mist come down. It was a Sunday morning. And soon there would be eleven people working feverishly inside this residential apartment. Hopefully not waking the neighbors.
Our overall plan was to shoot the film in three days. We were going to space the shooting out over two weeks, one sunday, the next sunday and the immidiate Monday. Our dialogue here was critical because if we didn’t have good expectations of time and work load we could easily end up stalling the plane (or train, in this case.)
I had made a shot-list of 12 setups for the interior scene. A setup is a given placement of the camera: Location, height, lens, etc. Each setup takes time for not only the camera, but the lights, the set, the actor, the sound, anything that will be in the finished film. 12 was a good number for us, a newly formed crew, on an interior location. But it would only be if we kept ourselves on time.
Vanessa drilled me about each setup. “How much time do you need to set up.” “20 minutes.” Ok and how much time shooting?” “15. No 20. There s a focus pull in there.” We went through this with every setup. Figured out lunch break possibilities and talked though how we would communicate on set. It was exciting to see the ideas coming into the realm of reality.
I went home and tried to get some sleep. I didn’t get much. There’s a lot riding on the role of director. There’s the sense of leading a crew. There’s also the sense of decisions that are only yours to make. Decisive actions, clear directions. The crew and cast depend on these things. Sometimes human beings aren’t that clear. It's such an interesting balance between transparency and role. It’s a time in my personal life when transparency is far more important than role. How will I stand as a director on this film?
DAY 1
I got up early, and besides Ari - the first Assistant Camera - who had slept at the location (watching Kate’s cat, Henry) I was the first one on site. I got a coffee at a corner shop and sat outside watching the slow mist come down. It was a Sunday morning. And soon there would be eleven people working feverishly inside this residential apartment. Hopefully not waking the neighbors.
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| Photo courtesey Adrien Blondel |
Stacie and Vanessa arrived; Alex the Director of Photography with the camera truck, Adrien - gaffer, Kris - audio - and the rest of the crew. Monica, our brave PA headed out for coffee and breakfast. The rest of us went inside and started prepping. It was damn exciting. To have all those people there. To have a crew there. A team. Finally all the prep work and talking and recruiting was over. Now it was time to shoot. We had a crew meeting, talked over the plan, and took a moment to appreciate everyone being there. Now it was time for work.
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| Photo courtesey Adrien Blondel |
Setup 1 would be shooting from the bathroom hallway all the way down the apartment to the desk. It would be the widest shot and would require set dec to be completely done. People helped Melissa move things out of frame and finalize the look. Alex, Ari and I were with the camera framing up, seeing what was included, what wasn’t. Seeing if there was enough light as it was. Kris on audio worked with his somewhat unfamiliar rig and got his settings where he needed them. Adrien prepped his gaffer lighting equipment and then started shooting stills - he was double duty this day.
Vanessa kept an eye on the clock and kept checking in with me and the rest of the crew as we neared our first time mark: shooting setup one. We were a little behind but ready within about five minutes of our goal. This was to be a static shot, long in case I wanted to put credits over it. We got out the slate, Vanessa slated for us. “Roll sound” “Sound rolling” “Scene 1a take 1, roll camera” “Camera rolling” “Marker.” -clap- she stepped away. “We’re going to let this roll for sixty seconds,” I said. "Action." and we let it roll for the 60 seconds i wanted. I carefully watched the frame, the light, the feel of it. “Cut. That’s it. We got it. Moving on.” “Moving on?” Vanessa asked, incredulously. “We got it.” “Okay. Moving on. Our next setup is 1D over here by the window. We need to move the bed down into place and Laura, you’ll need your coat on…” and so it went on.
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| Photo courtesey Adrien Blondel |
There were challenges. It was very dark in the back side of the apartment and Adrien wanted to use more artificial light to boost it. I was reluctant. I wanted to see as little artifice as possible and so we agreed on a very sparse look in the closet. We also ended up with some continuity problems. As we had planned to shoot it somewhat out of sequence to make the set-up times as short as possible, we hadn’t really charted out the movement of props and furniture. In some of the shots the chair was straight back when she got up, in others it was angled 45 degrees. The plant that she tries to water was absent in some wide shots of the table, and present in others. It was definately a learning experience in the total unforgivenes of continuity in film. You can try to be casual about it and “not stress” but it’s one of those things that actually need to be close to perfect. We also challenged our actor, Laura, with some very subtle but specific changes that she had to keep consistent from setup to setup. She comes back into the room after putting her jacket on and sees her plant for the first time as being dead and needing water. That reaction, of seeing, deciding, and acting needed to be very specific to read on camera and then needed to be consistent from setup to setup as we covered it from three spots. Laura killed it. Once we found what we needed and where we needed to be, she remembered it and nailed it again and again. Continuity for acting levels is a whole other conversation - but just as important. And to keep continuity of acting and still have it feel fresh and alive, that is really an important part of that craft.
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| Laura. Photo courtesy Adrien Blondel |
Our longest setup was the shot where she comes close to the camera and grabs the plant. It involved both a pan, tilt and focus pull. It was the first time Ari and Alex had really needed to work in unison. It was not an easy move. We weren’t working with expensive focus pulling gears and fixtures. It was just Ari’s hand on the barrel of the lens as Alex moved through the scene. On top of that the acting value had to be there as well. We ended up taking 23 takes. We all laughed at how many it took, but what it really was, I think, was the forming of the team of the operator/dp and the focus puller/ac. They needed to be able to work in unison, as a single operator, and by take 23, they had achieved that. And the shot was beautiful.
We suceeded in finishing early. We ended up literally an hour ahead of schedule. We all broke our equipment down and returned Kate’s apartment to it’s former identity. We had done it. Day one was complete.
I was very proud of the team, and of myself. The idea had begun to become reality. It felt excellent.
The second shooting day got tough. Everybody started getting sick. A hint of a bug from the first week of shooting had basically knocked out Vanessa who ended up leaving early and started its work on me, Alex, Melissa, and several others. It was our first outdoor shooting day and we found a beautiful spot in Oakland. However it was right inbetween two churches and on a Sunday that became a bit busier than than we expected. Sound was a challenge, and we ended up shooting many takes MOS (without sound) for speed's sake. This was the critical "entrance into the forest" shot and I had taken a risk by setting it in a much rougher space than it had been written. I wanted it to be scarier that she was going in. More of a point of no return. So my actor had to literally crawl on her belly under the fence to accomplish the goal. Thankfully I cast an excellent, dedicated actor and she was up for it. Melissa was shocked that I was endangering the costuepme so early on in the shooting process. I had no answer for her.
We suceeded in finishing early. We ended up literally an hour ahead of schedule. We all broke our equipment down and returned Kate’s apartment to it’s former identity. We had done it. Day one was complete.
I was very proud of the team, and of myself. The idea had begun to become reality. It felt excellent.
DAY 2
The second shooting day got tough. Everybody started getting sick. A hint of a bug from the first week of shooting had basically knocked out Vanessa who ended up leaving early and started its work on me, Alex, Melissa, and several others. It was our first outdoor shooting day and we found a beautiful spot in Oakland. However it was right inbetween two churches and on a Sunday that became a bit busier than than we expected. Sound was a challenge, and we ended up shooting many takes MOS (without sound) for speed's sake. This was the critical "entrance into the forest" shot and I had taken a risk by setting it in a much rougher space than it had been written. I wanted it to be scarier that she was going in. More of a point of no return. So my actor had to literally crawl on her belly under the fence to accomplish the goal. Thankfully I cast an excellent, dedicated actor and she was up for it. Melissa was shocked that I was endangering the costuepme so early on in the shooting process. I had no answer for her.
We grabbed the "walking through town" shots after lunch with a skeleton crew. Some had gone home sick already. We wrapped around two.
We were planning on shooting the next day for the finale shots. It was to be the longest day busy far, comprising both the forest wandering sequence and the climax at the tree. But I was exhausted. I went up to the location to finalize our scout and prepare the map. On the phone with Stacie on the way home I admitted that I was worried about the shoot. Worried that I wasn't at 100percent. More like 50. She was concerned about that and was concerned for the other team members who were already struggling. It was looking like Vanessa would be able to be there at all.
There's a strange balance with production. You want the show to go on. There's a producer fear that if you give up a day that's been planned you'll never get it back. You'll loose momentum. The crew will loose confidence. I was scared to let the day go and have this happen. Stacie said she would call around the crew and find out of there was another day that would work. Maybe the following Friday. I got off the phone worried. But secretly hoping we would put it off. I was exhausted.
I was eating dinner with Kate an hour later and Stacie called saying everyone could do it on the Friday. We unanimously agreed that that was the best bet. Relieved I returned to dinner with a big smile and ordered some wine.
Certain things have their own clock. Sometimes it just needs a little more time. I need to remember that now as we look ahead into post production.
The next four days I was in bed trying my hardest to keep the cold from taking me down completely. I drank tea and slept and did the whole thing. I knew I had to be ready by Friday.
DAY 3
Friday came and it was time. An early call at Stacies and then a caravan to the top. We had talked about four locations but Vanessa talked me down to three. Some footage had been corrupted from our second day of shooting and I wanted to squeeze it in. Vanessa talked me down. It was promised to be an extremely hot day - maybe the hottest of the summer. Exhausting the crew was a bad idea.
Our first locations were deep in the forest. Bay and chaparral and plenty of poison oak. But at least it would be cool in the shade. We made our base camp near the road and then hiked in to our first location, about twenty minutes hiking. Stacie and Melissa were on water and provisions duty. Not an easy task. Because of a miscalculation we arrived at the first location without enough water. This would keep happening throughout the day. The one thing we needed desperately was water to be abundant and available. Despite this the crew was locked in almost immediately. The time off had been restful for everyone. We were all excited to be out in the woods at last. It was the terrain of creativity. Of mysticism. Of what the writer had been seeking. Frankly what I had been seeking. And all of us. I love the idea that this film and this character is in some way a champion for all of us. For all of us a chance to do something challenging and creative and walk in a path-less land.
After lunch we did some more of the deep wood shots. These ones were on flat ground. Challenging because I wanted a very shallow depth of field we shot on a 50 prime at 1.8. Again a huge challenge for Alex and ari. We wrapped there and moved ahead of schedule to the final location: the tree.
It was hot. I had taken a DayQuil to keep from coughing during takes and it was starting to cook my brain. Stacie gave me water and some food. We had time to assess the location before the light got sweet. I was glad, I needed the time. This was going to be the most experimental sequence. We knew a bunch of moments we wanted to get. Her walking up. Her seeing the tree. Her taking off her jacket. But I wanted to shoot it impressionistically. Wide lens, following her, improvising. Letting her explore, and Alex explore visually. For that we needed time and stamina.
Alex and i walked through our route and then talked the rest of the crew through it. Everyone would need to stay behind the camera during takes which would be its own challenge. We wound up and did our first one. It was magical watching it unfold. I really just watched walking along behind Alex and Ari and Kris. The rehearsals with Laura were now being allowed to play out. I could just watch and see her explore. It was very beautiful.
We talked though what worked and what didn't from all sides and then did another take.
From this point forward we were on a ticking clock. We need to make sure that we got all the coverage we needed during the late afternoon sun. Once the sun set, there would be no way to match the shots. We basically had one hour.
We moved up into the tree to get some for coverage of her experience in the tree. To make sure that we had enough of the moments of her having her catharsis. We put Alex up in the tree on a very small branch, and let him watch from above as she came up into the tree and was on my level with her when she was up there. We took a look at the footage and then decide we need needed a closer lens. So we gave him something closer, and to the scene again.
We then did the same action but camera staying in front of her instead of behind her going up to the tree to make sure we got coverage for face and her reactions. We felt we covered the scene well, so we waited for the sun to get even lower to really get that golden light. Once it did, we did the whole sequence again. Following her up, and then leading her up with the low light. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful time of day to be up there, and a beautiful experience working so closely with these people in this beautiful setting working on this beautiful idea.
We had a final shot to get with the tree and the sun behind. Ari, Alex and I did that one a couple of times, Ari cradling Alex is he leaned back. It was another lovely moment.
The sunset was so exquisite it really took our breath away. And we had gotten all the shots.
There's something that I've been trying to understand recently about adversity. Whether to avoid it, whether it's presence means something is wrong. I think when I was younger I used to really believe that if things were difficult it meant that I was on the wrong path. I begin to see now that adversity is a way to test a person's resolve. To challenge them. To give them an opportunity to grow and transform themselves as they meet the challenge. I really saw that in this crew especially on the last day. We had been through a lot by then. And we had figured out how to work together to support each other. It was an amazing feeling doing that last sequence and working seamlessly together. Feeling of mutual support. Shared aim. Hard to really put into words exactly what it was. But it felt good. And part of that was a result of the difficulties we had faced earlier in the day and earlier in the week. the bliss on that hilltop by the tree watching the sunset in some ways was only really possible after so much struggle.
We had done it. We had made an idea a reality. Now it was time to edit all that footage together.
