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What
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Rehearsal Ideally, before we shot, we'd have had several read-throughs of the script with the full cast. However, we were under a time crunch, and with Maria coming from out of town, it just wasn't possible. I set up one read-through, on the Friday before we shot. The two hitmen had to work, but Derek, Maria, Carol and Michelle joined me at Pensacola Little Theatre. We read through the script several times and went over some costume options. |
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Shooting - Day One We arrived at the Goliwas home around 8:30 Saturday morning. It took a little while for everyone to arrive and get in make-up. The first scenes shot (Scene 1) were the exteriors of the house used for the establishing shots. Then, while the camera was outside, we shot Scene 5, the arrival of the Hitmen. It took a few takes to get everyone loosened up. We basically shot the whole scene in a wide shot, then we did 2-shots and close-ups, running through the whole scene each time. After shooting that whole scene several times from outside, we moved the camera inside and started over. Again, we ran through the scene from several angles, this time starting with Jack and Penny packing their boxes and talking about whether or not to cash in the ticket. James filled out the slate with scene and take information. Devon kept track of the shot list, making sure we didn't miss any important close-ups or insert shots (like the lucky shirt being lifted out of the trash can, the gun coming out of the holster, or Jack's hand grabbing the remote). After lunch, we shot Martha's side of the phone conversation, in a corner of the Goliwas' dining room. When I first wrote the screenplay, I scripted Martha as a voice-only character. Executive Producer Rich suggested that I shoot her side of the conversation, with the idea that she would appear on screen. In editing, however, the scene changed, and she went back to being just a voice. Scene 2 ( from Jack and Penny coming home to Penny's "Maybe we're meant to have it. What do you think?") we shot in the afternoon. We didn't have anything on the TV screen during shooting; the newscast and the "Rob and Big" clip from MTV were added in later, by Amp'd's brilliant graphics guy, Marcelo Nonaca. The way the couch was set up, in an "L" configuration, we had to figure out how to get Jack and Penny to the remote control and in front of the TV. Derek (Jack) had the idea of jumping over the couch, which we all loved at the time, but in editing, it was decided that Jack and Penny seemed too excited, so the leap over the couch was cut. We had to wrap up by 4:30pm, because Liz was having a birthday party that night, and we got everything done just in time. Tim and I left the set and went over to the location for Paula's house to get everything set up. |
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Shooting - Day
Two
The scenes we needed to shoot Sunday were shorter, so I decided to let everyone sleep in a little. We started the day at Paula's house. I had taken the photo of my dad the night before; the framed flag was given to him at his retirement from the Navy. Just like on Saturday, we got the establishing shots of the house from outside, then moved inside. It didn't take very long to shoot Paula's side of the phone conversation - wideshots and close-ups. We caravanned out to the woods, and Liz and I walked around and selected the exact location for shooting, based on the ease of getting the gear there and how it would look on tape. Then James and Tim took turns digging the grave. You know why killers often bury their victims in shallow graves? Because it's really hard work digging a hole that size. We started at the beginning of that scene, with Paula's lines, wide shot and close-ups. Next, we moved the camera to the other side, to get shots of Jack and Penny. |
