“Sure. The call to action will be added during editing. Just be thinking about what you want your message to be.”
The men nodded and left. She and Del returned to the storyboards. Each scene would require setup, filming and then breakdown of the equipment. Time of day was essential for outdoor shots. She’d already prepared a list of B-roll shots she wanted. Once they broke down the storyboard, she could do a detailed schedule, basically hour by hour, for the next five days.
She’d already gone over the equipment. It was good enough to make her both envious and weak at the knees. Just the lighting, she thought, wishing her Fool’s Gold budget allowed for the extra lights. On the commercial, they would use 3-point lighting, with the primary outdoor shots being filmed in the morning, preferably on a cloudy day.
She had an assortment of lenses for the cameras, tripods, not to mention designated hair and makeup people, along with a wardrobe person. Just like the real thing, she thought humorously, thinking how she and Del had made do when filming their stuff.
The commercial would be more complicated. They would be shot in high resolution. She’d already confirmed the commercials would be shown only in the States, which meant NTSC rather than PAL. It had taken five minutes of explaining so Ernesto and Robert understood the difference between formatting for the United States—in NTSC—and formatting for Europe.
“I want to sort through the various shots,” she said. “What we’re going to shoot when. With the clouds forecast for tomorrow morning, we’ll get some great outdoor footage. Can you look up sunrise time tomorrow? And I’ll need the twilight information.”
Del raised his eyebrows. “Twilight as in Team Edward and Team Jacob?”
She laughed. “No. Not the movie. How do you know about them?”
“I’m a man of many sides.”
“So I’ve heard. I need to know what time the morning and evening twilights are. Astronomical, nautical and civil. They’ll be earlier than actual sunrise and later than actual sunset.”
“Because it’s all about the light?”
“You know it.”
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING Del tried to figure out a way to work “astronomical twilight” into a sentence, but didn’t think anyone would actually care. Still, the information was interesting. Astronomical twilight was at five twenty-three, when the sun was eighteen degrees below the horizon. It was the moment when the sky first turned light. Civil twilight was when objects became visible to the naked eye. Today that was at six twenty-five. The actual sunrise would occur at six fifty-one.
In terms of the commercial, it meant a 4:00 a.m. start time for the team, with actors ready and in place by six for blocking and walk-throughs.
Controlled chaos didn’t begin to describe what was happening on set. Equipment had to be placed and then checked. He and Maya had already blocked out the scene, frame by frame.
She worked quickly and efficiently. There was no attitude, no demanding. She gave her best and it was obvious she expected the same from everyone else. Her style was quiet and controlled, with a confidence that allowed everyone else around her to relax.
He was the only one who knew she’d been too nervous to sleep the night before. He’d seen her shaking when no one else had, but he wasn’t going to tell. He admired the hell out of her. Maya had talent, and the ability to make it work. As they’d discussed, she’d jumped and he was right there with her.
The actors appeared—six men and women in their twenties and thirties. They would play happy, romantic couples having a wonderful time at the casino. Later in the day, they would be filming a family of four having fun together by the pool.
He and Maya talked to the actors. He walked them through the actions, demonstrating where their marks were and the pacing of the flow. Maya watched it all through the lens of the camera, nodding as he explained.
“We’re fighting the clock,” she said loudly. “Let’s start from the top. Couple number one, take your place.”
Del used the stopwatch function on his phone to time the action. The couple did as he’d directed, with the second couple following quickly behind. They ran through it twice more. Del watched closely.
After the third time, he walked over to Maya. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” he asked. “Her dress.” He pointed to the actress in a red cocktail dress. “When she turns to the left, the skirt does something funny.”
Maya gave him a quick smile. “Good eye. It’s distracting. If she turned to the right, we’d get better flow with how they’re moving. Let’s try it.”
They made the change and did another walk-through. Maya did a sound check with her audio guy, then called for everyone to get ready.
Del knew the drill. The slate would show the shot name and take number. Quiet was called for on set. Audio went first, then the cameras rolled. The actors got their cue and the filming began.
He watched the action, but he was also keeping tabs on Maya. She ran the show. He was comfortable with that, but he also wanted her to know that she wasn’t in this alone. He would be there if she needed him. As a side benefit, he was learning the equivalent of a master’s class from her. Information he could use when he started his video series. No more amateur mistakes for him.
“Hi. I’m Cindy. I’m one of the hair and makeup people.” The woman who had walked up to him was about twenty-five, with gold-blond hair and big green eyes. A tight T-shirt stretched over impressive breasts.
The men nodded and left. She and Del returned to the storyboards. Each scene would require setup, filming and then breakdown of the equipment. Time of day was essential for outdoor shots. She’d already prepared a list of B-roll shots she wanted. Once they broke down the storyboard, she could do a detailed schedule, basically hour by hour, for the next five days.
She’d already gone over the equipment. It was good enough to make her both envious and weak at the knees. Just the lighting, she thought, wishing her Fool’s Gold budget allowed for the extra lights. On the commercial, they would use 3-point lighting, with the primary outdoor shots being filmed in the morning, preferably on a cloudy day.
She had an assortment of lenses for the cameras, tripods, not to mention designated hair and makeup people, along with a wardrobe person. Just like the real thing, she thought humorously, thinking how she and Del had made do when filming their stuff.
The commercial would be more complicated. They would be shot in high resolution. She’d already confirmed the commercials would be shown only in the States, which meant NTSC rather than PAL. It had taken five minutes of explaining so Ernesto and Robert understood the difference between formatting for the United States—in NTSC—and formatting for Europe.
“I want to sort through the various shots,” she said. “What we’re going to shoot when. With the clouds forecast for tomorrow morning, we’ll get some great outdoor footage. Can you look up sunrise time tomorrow? And I’ll need the twilight information.”
Del raised his eyebrows. “Twilight as in Team Edward and Team Jacob?”
She laughed. “No. Not the movie. How do you know about them?”
“I’m a man of many sides.”
“So I’ve heard. I need to know what time the morning and evening twilights are. Astronomical, nautical and civil. They’ll be earlier than actual sunrise and later than actual sunset.”
“Because it’s all about the light?”
“You know it.”
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING Del tried to figure out a way to work “astronomical twilight” into a sentence, but didn’t think anyone would actually care. Still, the information was interesting. Astronomical twilight was at five twenty-three, when the sun was eighteen degrees below the horizon. It was the moment when the sky first turned light. Civil twilight was when objects became visible to the naked eye. Today that was at six twenty-five. The actual sunrise would occur at six fifty-one.
In terms of the commercial, it meant a 4:00 a.m. start time for the team, with actors ready and in place by six for blocking and walk-throughs.
Controlled chaos didn’t begin to describe what was happening on set. Equipment had to be placed and then checked. He and Maya had already blocked out the scene, frame by frame.
She worked quickly and efficiently. There was no attitude, no demanding. She gave her best and it was obvious she expected the same from everyone else. Her style was quiet and controlled, with a confidence that allowed everyone else around her to relax.
He was the only one who knew she’d been too nervous to sleep the night before. He’d seen her shaking when no one else had, but he wasn’t going to tell. He admired the hell out of her. Maya had talent, and the ability to make it work. As they’d discussed, she’d jumped and he was right there with her.
The actors appeared—six men and women in their twenties and thirties. They would play happy, romantic couples having a wonderful time at the casino. Later in the day, they would be filming a family of four having fun together by the pool.
He and Maya talked to the actors. He walked them through the actions, demonstrating where their marks were and the pacing of the flow. Maya watched it all through the lens of the camera, nodding as he explained.
“We’re fighting the clock,” she said loudly. “Let’s start from the top. Couple number one, take your place.”
Del used the stopwatch function on his phone to time the action. The couple did as he’d directed, with the second couple following quickly behind. They ran through it twice more. Del watched closely.
After the third time, he walked over to Maya. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” he asked. “Her dress.” He pointed to the actress in a red cocktail dress. “When she turns to the left, the skirt does something funny.”
Maya gave him a quick smile. “Good eye. It’s distracting. If she turned to the right, we’d get better flow with how they’re moving. Let’s try it.”
They made the change and did another walk-through. Maya did a sound check with her audio guy, then called for everyone to get ready.
Del knew the drill. The slate would show the shot name and take number. Quiet was called for on set. Audio went first, then the cameras rolled. The actors got their cue and the filming began.
He watched the action, but he was also keeping tabs on Maya. She ran the show. He was comfortable with that, but he also wanted her to know that she wasn’t in this alone. He would be there if she needed him. As a side benefit, he was learning the equivalent of a master’s class from her. Information he could use when he started his video series. No more amateur mistakes for him.
“Hi. I’m Cindy. I’m one of the hair and makeup people.” The woman who had walked up to him was about twenty-five, with gold-blond hair and big green eyes. A tight T-shirt stretched over impressive breasts.
