Emperor. Day 1 Shooting.
I took the train late Thursday afternoon from Britomart to the penrose station which was near the location of the shoot. I walked from the station to base camp, applying suntan lotion in spades, ha, No thrill seeking for Matt today lol. After a 15 minute walk I arrived. My first Hollywood set. :D I was excited, and nervous as. I didn't want to stuff up whatever it is I was to be doing (cos they always tell you at the last minute) and cost the production hundreds of bucks. The Basecamp was a leased field and was covered with trucks/motorhomes/trailers/ and tents. I signed in, 3 times. which makes sense cos it's at least 3 or 4 times bigger than anything I've done before (that's what she said jk).
The first thing you notice is how many people there are, Actors, crew, extras, catering, make up, costume, drivers, security, assistants, assistants to the assistants, its incredible! I found out what number I was (in the 600's) and went to costume and put on my appropriate soldier gear. Which of course, fit perfectly, no dragging my shoes during drills today :) After gearing up with my pants/ shirt/ boots and navy type hat I got lead by a young woman through the throng to one of the many make up trailers which was busy, so I ended up sitting in the main tent with the other crew/extras/actors.
There's a book I'm reading called Zen in the martial arts by John Hyam. So I read a little to kill the time. Did you know Bruce lee's right leg was an inch shorter than his left leg? which is why he could kick as fast with his right? You learn something new everyday :)
She said before she left I could eat if I want,Ii got tired of waiting so decided to go for it and test out the food. Had a panini and a corn fritter. and water. Jeez was it was hot today...
Got into make up. I have no hair basically but they still put some product in for the hell of it. The rest of it was a pad full of sunblock. lol. One of the things they always stress on this set is health safety, even when walking around between tents. Wow. I'm going to enjoy my time here. :)
We waited for a couple of hours before we got called up to be ready. There is so much waiting on a film set it's not funny. Waiting for sets to be built up and broken down, cameras to be set, lights to be set etc. Of today I spent maybe 3 hours on the set and 9 hours in between. If I could make my living this way I would :) I feel sorry for the crew though, one of my fellow extras told me they did a 17 hour day a couple days ago. Intense man. If the work doesn't kill you the waiting will ;) ...anyways,
We lined up and got broken down, grease was applied to our clothes to make 'em look worn and sweaty cos of the Japanese sun and our brand new shoes were sandpapered in the creases to look scuffed.
Then we marched up the road to the set. Our squad leader gave us our weapons again and we got in formation and revised the drills, about face, present arms, port arms etc. Was happy to know I wasn't as rusty as I feared. Then we lined up next to these trucks which were genuine 1940's vehicles. As a Sgt, I got to ride shotgun in one of the trucks as we drove through the set.
There's a bit of an adrenaline rush as you hear the director start enthusiastically yelling through the walkie talkie, 'rolling, set! background! action!!!', Then the rev of the old school GMC truck roaring into life and the scene coming to life for the cameras. The refugee's were so well made up that I didn't need to act shocked at all because I literally was. War man. SMH. There's a saying; Fighting for peace is like F*cking for virginity. Pointless. Horrible. But this is depicting the realities of occupation so yeah...just do my job and move up the food chain, can't save the world on my wage lol
I got cooking spray or something like it smeared around my forehead, near my ears and around my neck. Sweat for the camera. Looked good too. We went through the scene a couple times for continuity and camera changes then we had a refreshment break. Then as they took down the set we waited from about 6pm until 9pm when we marched back to base camp for Lunch. While waiting I remembered why it was I was doing something that literally terrifies me and puts me out of my comfort zone. Us extras all shared our views on the industry, our previous work on shortland st, spartacus etc, what to do to break in, pay rates for certain acts, I also learnt alot of my bootcamp pals had martial art backgrounds too which meant I had something in common to talk and joke about. One had been in the army and I learnt all about that too. I'd love to do an SAS movie one day. Our army is bad ass.
'Lunch' was at 10 pm lol. Nasi Goreng, calamari, biryani rice, strawberries, watermelon, potato salad. Like I said a couple posts back. Healthy food only. Was awesome :) Yum.
After Tea we chilled abit, talked about the NZ boxing scene and how bad the SBW fight makes u s(NZ boxing) look to the world. I like the guy but he doesn't keep his hands up and his footwork's a mess and, I don't want to sound critical but as he's a NZ champion (now) I hope he improves his opponents, and therefore himself. Like Revolver's number one quote, "The Smarter the opponent the smarter you are"
By now it was really dark outside, midnight. and was quite hard running in the dark to the set. Everypne by now was in good spirits and eager to get home. Jokes abound from some of the guys regarding the calamari, "are you sure that thing was dead before you ate it?" "well if it's still alive it ain't gonna enjoy how it's coming out" lol. good times.
Talked to another of the guys while they set up the lead truck. He'd done heaps in the 3 years he was doing it, and got to do a scene with Matthew Fox a couple days ago. wow, I told him. He said his first job was Yogi bear, since then he's done numerous things. I can't wait to see what I can end up doing :)
The Lead Ute had giant lights set up on it and the camera too the ute would tow the lead jeep in the scene. It was fantastic to see this crew in action, I was in awe at how fast they were doing things. It was after midnight and there were at least a hundred people out there on set. At least today had a nice hot summer feel to it.
We Revved up the trucks and took off through a narrow tunnel with refugees in it. It was tight squeeze but it's such a rush being a truck that loud, and in army colors. Medal of Honor in Real life :)
After 4 or 5 runs we were done, we marched back, got changed and then signed out. Another day at the office :)
Being a broke student, I have to accept certain facts. A) I can't afford a car or a taxi. and B) there's no public transport on a thursday at 2am. But I was happy with my day and the experience of being on a hollywood film set. if a 12 hour day won't kill me, then a 2 hour 13k walk home from Penrose wouldn't either.
I go back in a couple days. I can't wait. :)
Bought some props today, Jack's top, Knife girl's knife. Just have to go fishing when I get paid next. (for the fish at animates petstore, and a stunt double :P)The first thing you notice is how many people there are, Actors, crew, extras, catering, make up, costume, drivers, security, assistants, assistants to the assistants, its incredible! I found out what number I was (in the 600's) and went to costume and put on my appropriate soldier gear. Which of course, fit perfectly, no dragging my shoes during drills today :) After gearing up with my pants/ shirt/ boots and navy type hat I got lead by a young woman through the throng to one of the many make up trailers which was busy, so I ended up sitting in the main tent with the other crew/extras/actors.
There's a book I'm reading called Zen in the martial arts by John Hyam. So I read a little to kill the time. Did you know Bruce lee's right leg was an inch shorter than his left leg? which is why he could kick as fast with his right? You learn something new everyday :)
She said before she left I could eat if I want,Ii got tired of waiting so decided to go for it and test out the food. Had a panini and a corn fritter. and water. Jeez was it was hot today...
Got into make up. I have no hair basically but they still put some product in for the hell of it. The rest of it was a pad full of sunblock. lol. One of the things they always stress on this set is health safety, even when walking around between tents. Wow. I'm going to enjoy my time here. :)
We waited for a couple of hours before we got called up to be ready. There is so much waiting on a film set it's not funny. Waiting for sets to be built up and broken down, cameras to be set, lights to be set etc. Of today I spent maybe 3 hours on the set and 9 hours in between. If I could make my living this way I would :) I feel sorry for the crew though, one of my fellow extras told me they did a 17 hour day a couple days ago. Intense man. If the work doesn't kill you the waiting will ;) ...anyways,
We lined up and got broken down, grease was applied to our clothes to make 'em look worn and sweaty cos of the Japanese sun and our brand new shoes were sandpapered in the creases to look scuffed.
Then we marched up the road to the set. Our squad leader gave us our weapons again and we got in formation and revised the drills, about face, present arms, port arms etc. Was happy to know I wasn't as rusty as I feared. Then we lined up next to these trucks which were genuine 1940's vehicles. As a Sgt, I got to ride shotgun in one of the trucks as we drove through the set.
There's a bit of an adrenaline rush as you hear the director start enthusiastically yelling through the walkie talkie, 'rolling, set! background! action!!!', Then the rev of the old school GMC truck roaring into life and the scene coming to life for the cameras. The refugee's were so well made up that I didn't need to act shocked at all because I literally was. War man. SMH. There's a saying; Fighting for peace is like F*cking for virginity. Pointless. Horrible. But this is depicting the realities of occupation so yeah...just do my job and move up the food chain, can't save the world on my wage lol
I got cooking spray or something like it smeared around my forehead, near my ears and around my neck. Sweat for the camera. Looked good too. We went through the scene a couple times for continuity and camera changes then we had a refreshment break. Then as they took down the set we waited from about 6pm until 9pm when we marched back to base camp for Lunch. While waiting I remembered why it was I was doing something that literally terrifies me and puts me out of my comfort zone. Us extras all shared our views on the industry, our previous work on shortland st, spartacus etc, what to do to break in, pay rates for certain acts, I also learnt alot of my bootcamp pals had martial art backgrounds too which meant I had something in common to talk and joke about. One had been in the army and I learnt all about that too. I'd love to do an SAS movie one day. Our army is bad ass.
'Lunch' was at 10 pm lol. Nasi Goreng, calamari, biryani rice, strawberries, watermelon, potato salad. Like I said a couple posts back. Healthy food only. Was awesome :) Yum.
After Tea we chilled abit, talked about the NZ boxing scene and how bad the SBW fight makes u s(NZ boxing) look to the world. I like the guy but he doesn't keep his hands up and his footwork's a mess and, I don't want to sound critical but as he's a NZ champion (now) I hope he improves his opponents, and therefore himself. Like Revolver's number one quote, "The Smarter the opponent the smarter you are"
By now it was really dark outside, midnight. and was quite hard running in the dark to the set. Everypne by now was in good spirits and eager to get home. Jokes abound from some of the guys regarding the calamari, "are you sure that thing was dead before you ate it?" "well if it's still alive it ain't gonna enjoy how it's coming out" lol. good times.
Talked to another of the guys while they set up the lead truck. He'd done heaps in the 3 years he was doing it, and got to do a scene with Matthew Fox a couple days ago. wow, I told him. He said his first job was Yogi bear, since then he's done numerous things. I can't wait to see what I can end up doing :)
The Lead Ute had giant lights set up on it and the camera too the ute would tow the lead jeep in the scene. It was fantastic to see this crew in action, I was in awe at how fast they were doing things. It was after midnight and there were at least a hundred people out there on set. At least today had a nice hot summer feel to it.
We Revved up the trucks and took off through a narrow tunnel with refugees in it. It was tight squeeze but it's such a rush being a truck that loud, and in army colors. Medal of Honor in Real life :)
After 4 or 5 runs we were done, we marched back, got changed and then signed out. Another day at the office :)
Being a broke student, I have to accept certain facts. A) I can't afford a car or a taxi. and B) there's no public transport on a thursday at 2am. But I was happy with my day and the experience of being on a hollywood film set. if a 12 hour day won't kill me, then a 2 hour 13k walk home from Penrose wouldn't either.
I go back in a couple days. I can't wait. :)
TimeFish
Shot the first day of 4 or 5 shooting days today. Just exterior shots. THe special effect I did for the first scene of the film will crack you up. But time is of the essence. I have 2 weeks to shoot, cut and edit this little monster. I shoot with Victoria tomorrow. The pic I shared yesterday in the storyboard.
Some of the DVDs I have recently aquired. :)
I've sorted out that we're moving out of our pad in April, so I took some posters down and now there are only 2 walls with our posters on them :) The future looks good, wife has a job and I kinda do. haha...Anyway, It's 2 am, I was supposed to sleep about 3 hours ago but I'll never find time after tonight to write this with the shooting for my school project and emperor coming up so count yourself lucky I did :) See you round ;)
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