Trailer -- day eight
Topic: Trailer

Location: Michael Caruso's loft, rooftop, Downtown Los Angeles

Here we are. The last day of principal photography. All that's left after this is one day of green screen work. And don't let the date of this post fool you. We went well into the morning of May 1st.

I've never lived in an apartment building where the roof is accessible. You always see those films where an artist is sitting on a rooftop, a sketch pad sitting in front of them, simultaneously soaking up the atmosphere and creating a masterpiece. And lo and behold, there was an artist on one corner of the roof doing exactly that. You see, artists opt to do their work in the presence of breathtaking vistas and gorgeous skylines, whereas screenwriters often choose to be surrounded by latte-laden college students and whipped cream confections.

As you've probably guessed, I've never written -- and never will -- in a coffee shop. And yes, that includes Starbucks. Yes. Never. Never ever. No Starbucks.

Sorry. Back to filming...

The crew did an amazing job setting up the first shot. Scott, Justin, and Tanner climbed on top of two separate structures (which would be used for the big Drake/Donovan fight) and set up a contraption consisting of a ladder, small crane, and the camera. I'm surprised Rob didn't soil himself, watching his new camera being suspended so high.

Three hours for set up. But the time was needed, because the shot is an integral one for the trailer's finale. I won't give away all of the details now, but basically, Donovan will be hanging off a tall roof. Well ... I guess that's all the details, or at least most of them. To pull this off, Rob will employ his special effects skills by adding an intersection below. So it was a good thing that it looked so great. In fact, the crash mat was a perfect fit (within half an inch) between the two structures. Another stroke of good luck.

Sean did a great job tumbling off one of the structures multiple times and even kept his whining to a minimum concerning the previous day's facial injury. Sorry, Sean. ;-)

The rest of the shots were of Donovan and Drake fighting. Michael and Sean worked with James Martinez (who played The Terror in Shadow Falls) to coreograph their moves, and the actors' natural instincts eased what could have been a painful job for James. The fights consisted of several different set ups and a shit load of takes. I didn't get a chance to speak with Sean, but I know that Michael was aching. That was to be expected, because both actors were punching each other, throwing themselves around, and wrestling on top of a roof. And that was just foreplay.

I was under the impression that the budget would not be able to afford everyone's favorite Steadicam operator, Cedric Martin. So when I saw him get out of the elevator just as I was about to go up to the roof, I was pleasantly surprised. For a great example of Cedric's work, watch the Shadow Falls trailer. His camera movement was the core of the trailer, where Ronnie (Neil) is telling the kids about The Terror. If that scene hadn't worked, the trailer may not have had as much impact. When you get a chance, please check out his website, which I've added as a link on the side of this page.

Rob's brother (the exceutive producer) was there and he was highly impressed with everything. I don't think he stop smiling the entire time, and he and his wife are extremely easy to talk to. They showed up before I did, chatted with the cast and crew throughout the initial three hour set up, and even though they had a three hour drive ahead of them, they didn't leave until nearly Midnight.

Everyone took off around 4am and I got home just before 5am. Not the longest shoot we've had, but definitely the latest.

I'm just sad that it's almost over.