Call time for the crew was 7 am, so a little less than 6 hours sleep before it was back in the drive-through lane of McDonald's for a cup of coffee and an egg McSomething-or-other, and back to the shoot. I was the first one there and was met in the alley by the rental truck by a half dozen men pushing shopping carts. They all seemed to be looking for something (recyclables, I think) and didn't take much notice of me staring fixedly at my coffee cup. (By the way McDonald's has really advanced the science of disposable coffee cup design.)
At seven, the rest of the crew started showing up, and we looked at the state of the set and began figuring out what needed to be done. My biggest concern for the day was that we were going to have to build this elaborate set, and then take it down in time for a 6:45 pm rehearsal that was to take place in the same room later that evening.
My duties in the morning involved a trip to the hardware store, and then an hour or so of setting up my station for music play-back. The cast started arriving around 10 with a selection of their own clothes for costuming. Allegra (the Assistant Director) asked me to help pick out clothes for them, but I politely declined. Whatever creative skills I may have, picking out clothes is not one of them. Allegra suggested that I go run an errand for them instead. We needed some lighting gear from a rental company called Wooden Nickel Rentals. I got the shopping list of what we needed and set off with a hastily-printed Google map of where I was going.
This map showed the rental office as having an address in the 5900 block, and yet Google showed the location as being in the 6300 block. I was certain that Google had made a mistake and gotten their locations wrong, somehow. I took a chance and followed their directions, however, and turned into a desolate-looking alleyway hoping to find some place called Wooden Nickel. (The alley actually looked like the location for the movie Punch Drunk Love.) At the end of the alley were 8-10 Ryder rental trucks variously loading and unloading in front of a cavernous looking warehouse. I meekly parked my minivan next to what looked like a 20-foot box truck (with lift gate!) being driven by guys who looked to be life-long teamsters. I wandered into the warehouse having no idea what I was there for or how I would get it.
Now, lighting equipment generates some heat. When it is on. When it is not on, it doesn't generate much heat. Why, then does Wooden Nickel Rentals keep their warehouse cooled to 17 degrees Farenheit? It was freezing cold in there, despite being a beautiful day outside.
Wandering in the warehouse door I was desperately looking for some guidance when I saw a hand-lettered sign pointing further in that read, "Front Desk" with a sign pointing towards the back of the warehouse. Why does Wooden Nickel Rental put their "front" desk at the back of the warehouse? This seems to be a place of contradictions.
I was finally helped by a lady who assured me that all the paperwork I had carefully faxed to them several days earlier was nowhere to be found, and that I would have to fill it all out again, along with locating the mysterious document known as an Insurance Certificate. After several phone calls and many minutes later, she was able to examine the newly-faxed Insurance Certificate to her satisfaction and allowed me to show her the list of items I was there to procure. I only glanced at the list before I left, but now was left handing her a handwritten list that included items like:
1/4 crate boxes
sandbags (cheap)
Gaffer's tape
6" C-clamp with baby spuds.
I'm the kind of guy who likes to go to the hardware store knowing exactly what I need, so that I don't look like an idiot when the person helping me asks whether that screw I need is metric or not. I may have no idea, but I like to be prepared for the question, at least. Handing a woman who looked like she had seen a thousand lighting guys from the studios a list that included something labeled "C-clamp with baby spuds" made me nervous. I was half wondering if someone was playing a cruel joke on me.
In the meantime it's 12:15 and we were hoping to start shooting at 1. I'm never going to make it.
The lady didn't even blink about the baby spuds, and handed the list to a guy nearby whose job it was to grab the items on my list. He didn't burst out laughing about the baby spuds. Now my curiosity was growing to see what baby spuds on a C-clamp looked like. How do they differentiate from adult spuds?
The guy came back with a heavy-duty flatbed cart loaded with all manner of strange devices, and sure-enough, some strange looking C-clamps with what looked like odd protrusions sticking out of the side. Baby Spuds. Go figure.
12:30 I'm racing back down Vineland toward ANMT. By 2:30 we had finished the rehearsals with the cast, and were ready to film the first song. Fortunately everything seemed to be working (with the exception of the electrical circuit my computer was plugged into, which turned off the moment I was to press "play.")
Finally getting some full takes by 4:00, but our 6:45 deadline is fast approaching. At 5:15 I told Russell, the director, that we had time for one more, and even then we'd have a hard time striking the set by 6:45. We finished the last take, and everyone pitched in to strike the set, which was ready for the next rehearsal by 6:15. We left the room looking much as it had two days earlier!
Ultimately it was a good day. The cast and crew were all in good spirits and doing great work. One song down, four to go, two days to do them. Plus the entire set to rebuild in the morning. Why do people do this?
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