On Set 1015

This is my last real day on this movie. I am doing a small scene later on, but my character does not even need to be in it. They could have saved a lot of money by simply cutting me out of the scene and telling me to go home tomorrow. But I see no reason to point that out. They cannot already know.

Today is one of those days on set where the actors wait around a lot. Each setup takes time. The director and DP talk about the shot, which they have undoubtedly already talked about before showing up today. The DP tells the gaffer and grips where to put everything. It looks like this crew knows what to do, but this part always takes a while.

When all the equipment is where it is supposed to be, the boom operator and sound mixer check their earphones. The director tells the actors what to do and finally, after waiting anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours, the camera rolls for a few minutes. Then we either do it again, most likely, or take another break and start all over with the next shot.

In the theater, you work out all the technical details in rehearsal. Come showtime, you just get out there and go. The pace is much faster with more action, which is a little ironic since most movies are edited to seem faster. To me, it is easier to play the character all at once. It is like telling a story from beginning to middle to end. When shooting a movie, you tell the story completely out of sequence. Your character can go to school today, die tomorrow, get married the next day and be born the day after that. The editor puts all the pieces in place. In a movie, you start and stop so often, it is easy to forget where your character is at any given point in time. The old joke is an actor asking the director, “What's my motivation?” There is a reason for that.

This is why some actors stay in character throughout the shoot, but I would feel crazy doing that. Being in character on stage makes sense. I cannot see myself walking into a produce store and saying, “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears of corn.”