SPLINTER UNITS CAN BE FUN!!

The splinter unit has been a blast. Two days with minimal crew. On Easter I got a call from Kendall who offered to help us out on Monday for our first day – and thank heavens for him. We started the day in St. Giles with one actor (Tom – Nicole’s father) and a montage sequence of his final moments in his congregation. A smaller group of our splinter unit traveled up the mountain to capture some driving shots of the minivan in the film. We ended the night atop Hamilton Hill, permit-less with a very loud diesel generator in the city parks between 9 and 11pm. Everyone did everything on this unit – we all did grip and electric work. We all did construction, we all ran cable, we all coiled cable, we all helped each other out. It was nice. I drove our Sam & Jen actors home that night before starting our second day of splinter unit.

We had an easy day – day for night shooting in the forest, moving to the DeAth household to reshoot the backyard swing scene. This was a fun night. Less people than on the first night. Best part was in the dark – Anton, Lisa, Magali and I had to build a swing set. Two pairs working with both sets of instructions (could this one set be any more complicated?) and two flashlights. It was funny. And we most likely lost some bolts amidst the grass. Our shadow was in play tonight – by Mr. Jones himself. I hope this beast turns out better than the makeuped version. Eep.

Two shorter days, wrapped out by 11pm – and good thing too cause we have a VERY LONG day ahead of us. We will be shooting our 18 hour day starting at about 12pm through to 6am the next day with a wrap out of gear at our suppliers. Yikes people.

I feel a new hope for our last day. Even though at the last minute we had to ask our main crew to work the full 18 hours - as our secondary team fell through. We had a rough end to the week before. Don't get me wrong - last Thursday was fun at times. It was the day where we thought the case was stolen. The day where we had a good hour after set up before we had to shoot - so a bunch of us played frisbee and soccer. It was a nice day to speak with some crew members that I haven't seen in a while. It was also a rough day for the art department - because their truck didn't travel to set with the others. So I went back to Carter to pick up their truck, of course, after they were closed. I was at Carter standing outside their locked gates with Chris' son Josiah, stuck waiting for the next available person to drive down the mountain with the gate key (thank goodness we had this key). So the art cube truck arrived hours after it should have been and production on the tent for the proposal scene was very delayed. They did a great job none the less - but everyone would have been much better off without the stress.

This was also the day of the big 'rain out'. Although - this has continued to bother me. The team was only able to capture 4 shots that night. Not a very good thing at all. Some crew members blame the rain - however, they only pulled the plug about 45mins before the sun would have risen anyway. It was simply a bad day in the end. It's unfortunate to. I remember starting the day at the top of the hill, flyering the are the day before, coning off the parking lot and having our trucks move in. We looked like a real production - and it would be our last one with the RVs.

The next morning, we had to all pack up and head home for Easter and also clean out the RVs and drop off all the extras at the Jones' house. After packing up everything and picking up Karl from his breakfast hot spot, Darryl, Mags and I got some grub before hitting the road one last time before Easter weekend. It was actually perfect cause on most weekends we dont' know what to do with the van (cause I can't park it at my house without a permit) and Darryl was going to Barrie for the weekend - so it was like - cool, here are the keys. Even though the shoot was rough, it has always been nice to spend time with crew in the mornings and making sure that everyone is okay. It's reassuring.

After this 'rough' day on set, it was great to have a smooth splinter unit with great help and dedicated crew! So many memories.