BACKROADS production report: Day 3

Our third day of production was perhaps the most exciting and the smoothest run.  It was certainly an ambitious schedule: we had two of the most demanding scenes planned for the same day, both of which involved gunfire, driving the truck across unpaved terrain, and blood effects.  But it was also exciting because we knew we were creating two unique scenes that would ultimately define the film we were striving to create.

Fortunately the team had really come together by this point and we were working very fluidly.  The art team had the sets up and dressed well ahead of time.  The grip department anticipated the next shot and had the equipment ready.  We had everything organized and set out in order so that we knew we were being as efficient as possible.  The only thing that set us back was waiting for the morning fog to burn off so that we had the proper sunlight.  And once we did, we had one of the shoot's most beautifully lit scenes.

I only have a few pictures from the morning shoot that day, though I'll have more in the future.  The first scene was shot underneath an enormous powerline tower.  It's a slightly surreal landscape that comes across beautifully in the film.  Everything went well at the shoot (other than waiting on the shifting light), and our only other major challenge was the fire ants.  Major props to the entire crew for making the morning's shoot go so smoothly.

After lunch at base camp we headed to the set for the final scene of the film: a desolate field strewn with old run-down cars.  My description of the scene in the script:

The convertible is parked in an open field strewn with broken-down cars.  The overgrown grass struts up through the rusted engines.  Broken windshields and jagged metal.  An enormous warehouse looms in the distance.  The farmer stomps towards the convertible.  The wife and her lover sit up from the back seat and hustle to get out of the car. 

Again, the scene takes place in an unlikely and even more surreal landscape.  It has a nice way of bringing the film full circle (we open on the young man's broken down car), and is just a visual treat.  I'll discuss the poetic implication and symbolism a lot more after we've finished the film so that I'm not giving away any more spoilers than I already have. 

A few pictures:

 

 

This was a particularly fun (and challenging) scene to shoot.  We had a lot of slow motion shots (to be used at the film's climax), and a bullet-hit effect on Josh.  The reset time for the bullet-hit was substantial, so it was important that we get it right on the first try if possible.  We did.

Another particularly exciting thing to film was the feud between Brent (farmer) and Caitlin (the wife).  Shooting it in slow motion (and thus without sound), they were allowed to improvise and I was able to actively direct by shouting things at them while watching the monitor.  The tension was incredibly high as the two very talented actors screamed at one another and I shouted directions to fuel the fire.  The result is a powerful scene wrought with emotion that I think will ring very true in its final form.

Of course we had a lot of fun with the blood and gunshot scenes.  The reactions on the actor's faces after the first time we used the bullet-hit effect are priceless. 

We used every second of daylight to capture the two scenes.  Unfortunately we still had some pick-ups to do, thus requiring a skeleton crew to return for a fourth day of shooting.  But some problems are blessings in disguise, and the fourth day turned out to be a real treat for me as a filmmaker.  I'll write about it soon.