Friday, August 3, 2007

I DEW

DEW you?

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF PRODUCTION.





"Call time is 10 am and I still have to pick up the lead actress I met via a craigslist ad. It is now a quarter past 10 and I still have now clue where I am driving to as my phone continues to ring. I try not to answer it as I try and make sense why there are two different Mission street exits. I crumble my mapquest directions and throw it in the back seat. My phone rings again, it is a crew member asking me where I am and verifying that they are on time despite the director not knowing where he is going. My phone rings again. The lead wants to know where I am and I tell her I will be there in seven to ten minutes (the typical answer I give to anyone when I am running late). As I am explaining my tardiness to an actress that I have talked to once in the back of my head I am thinking that in the back of her head she does not trust me and probably questioning the validity of our prior conversation. I bring a female crew member to avoid scarring off the actress from the feel of a shady adult filmmaker. I stop by two gas stations and against my internal instinct ask for directions and of course neither of them know where I am going. That’s makes 3 of us. A strange coincidence occurs when they both try to get me to buy maps. At this point I want to punch them in the neck for lying in order to sell a 3 dollar map, but I am trying to make a commercial so I will save this for tomorrow. I jump back in my car to see 3 missed calls. So I drive following my instincts which have done nothing for me. Welcome to 10:40 am. This is when God realizes he is done laughing at me and I see a road sign that shows me where to go. I quickly call the actress saying, “I am here.” I still have another 2 minutes until I am there so I kept her on the line. Finally I see her and introduce myself. I quickly call my crew members that are waiting at a coffee shop and I tell them I will be there in 7 to 10 minutes. At this point my brain is thrown off track and I am trying to figure out how to make up this time when I only have one day to shoot and need the daylight. So I tell myself it is just 30 seconds that I need despite knowing that telling a story in 30 seconds can be more difficult than telling a story in 5 minutes. I arrive at the coffee shop 15 minutes later. I am try rushing everyone as they all make smart ass remarks saying I am late not them. I know this. I rush everyone into the parking lot where I do a quick wardrobe check. We then all begin our 5 car motorcade to the beach. We arrive to the beach and begin setting up in what should have been a clear day by now, but the fog has yet to burn off. We start shooting and things finally begin to run smoothly. Once I get the take I needed for the first shot, a huge weight lifts off my shoulders. I am able to have fun with the shoot now. It turned out to be my favorite production day of all my projects."

Dave Keenan
Digital Filmmaking Program Graduate
Writer/Director of "I DEW" Commercial

About Me

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San Francisco, California, United States
San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (SFSDF) is one of the most innovative film schools in the country. Offering programs in both Digital Filmmaking and Film Acting, SFSDF bridges the gap between traditional education and professional moviemaking. Our intensive and hands-on programs are designed to prepare students for a successful career in the motion picture industry. The innovative curriculum is taught by award-winning filmmakers and is project-based, with students creating their own movies and working on professional feature-length motion pictures. SFSDF students learn the art and craft of filmmaking and work in a variety of genres – fiction, commercials and documentary. Each class is structured around small production teams in which students produce their own movies and crew on team member projects. In this way, students get personalized instruction, maximum experience with the equipment, and create material for their demo reels.

Feature Films


SFSDF is also the only film school in the country offering every student the valuable experience of crewing on a professional feature-length motion picture through its sister company, Fog City Pictures. In the past year, Fog City Pictures has produced two feature films with a talented array of award-winning actors and filmmakers. For more information on these and other upcoming productions visit our website http://sfdigifilm.com/feature_film.html.