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Natural Victims: Day One

Since it's going to take another 20 minutes for my audio files to copy over Firewire from the 744T, I guess I should post a quick re-cap of the day.

It was a bit hectic, we got to our BBQ spot right at 10AM and it looked like some kids were going to beat us there by mere seconds. Lillian jumped out of the car and heroically sat down at a key picnic table, thereby reserving the prime grill.

After unloading massive amounts of food & equipment from the car, I went to Ralph's (a major grocery store chain here in California), to pick up a few key missing items: burgers, buns, a birthday cake & ice. I also ran all around the block looking for an LA Times newspaper dispenser.

By the time I got back, the party had started. A few people had arrived and we started picking up party b-roll and eventually moved into recording some of what I'm dubbing "conversational vignettes."

These will establish the party, the time period, some key themes and, of course, the plot point that there is a serial killer, dubbed the Griffith Park Killer by the news media, on the loose in the park.

Extras! Actors!

The actors started showing up at 2pm (when they were called) and we shot all the scenes that take place at the party. I won't truly know how they went until I sit down to edit them, but I think they went awesome. Experienced improv actors FTW!

The leads are... Mike, Drew and Amy. More on them as the shoot goes on. By which I mean, the rest of the shoot is all them. They play the three people who separate from the party and get lost in the park, perhaps being stalked by, yes, the Griffith Park Killer.

What's great is that my friends, many of them fine actors in their own right, were able to create a nice blend from the real world to the movie world. Some of them even stepped in to interact directly with the actors. I think I will be able edit this scene in such a way that you're not sure at first which people at the party the story is going to be about.

A Close Call

I'm going to have to be sketchy on locations, because we weren't able to afford permits. More on the guerrilla equipment that we're using in a future post. There was one tense point where an authority came up to the BBQ area. We were afraid he was going to ask to see a permit, or just check for alcoholic beverages. (There are no alcoholic beverages allowed in this area; something I had warned my friends about, so there could be no trouble there.) I don't know if he saw the equipment and chose to ignore it or if he just didn't see it (because it is hard to see if you're not looking for it). Either way, he left quickly and there was no problem.

Okay, the files are done dumping. Gotta rest up. #2wkfilm is a marathon, not a sprint.

NEXT: Day Two
PREVIOUS: The #2wkfilm Begins

About J. Ott

John Ott is a writer, filmmaker and futurist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.