PART FOUR
When All Else Fails...
After much debate and a walk in the mall with my wife, I had figured out how to resolve the DP/cinematographer problem.... I'd do it myself. Now I know it sounds crazy, but I had figured out a few years before some techniques to both act in front of the camera and run it at the same time. I would also train other people how to do it as well. It would be tricky, but not impossible.
The other problem I had was the fact that my brother was bringing the lights for the shoot. Now it seemed that just when I resolved one problem I had another. Months prior I had done some exstensive research on cinematography with books, research on the internet, etc. My concern was how to shoot a film that was night-for-night and realistic. I wanted people to feel like they were in the movie with Allan Carter, running with Allan Carter, experiencing what he experienced... One of my leasons was the use of "practicals", or things that woudl be in the scene anyways, to light the scene. For instance we would use candle lights, flashlights in the cave.
We finally got a hold of my wife's cousin who explained that the guy I wanted to rent the camera from was trying to get a hold of me. There had been a mix-up in communications. I got the number to the guy, but had 30 minutes to get him to promise to rent it to us or I wouldn't be able to make it happen. See I was getting a hold of him on a friday, driving down to pick up the camera the next day and on sunday Andrew arrived on the bus, monday was the first day of shooting. I had all the other equipment, but no camera. If this guy said "no" at the end, then I wouldn't be able to move forward.
I got the guy on the phone and offered him the original 300 for 2 weeks, plus after the shooting he got the rest of the equipment. It was a gamble, but without the camera I would loose the cast we lined up. I offered it too him, he took it.
I drove down to the southern part of Ohio the next morning from Central Michigan, picked up the camera, and headed back up towards Michigan. I was tired, but I was excited. I was going to make it happen. Finally the one missing puzzle piece was in the trunk of my car...
I stopped at a gas station near the border of Michigan. I called my wife to make sure she knew I was heading back home. She said to me over the phone, "'K' isn't coming to Michigan..." I was a bit bewildered... "She won't able to do her part in the movie..."
What followed when I got back home was repeated phone calls to try to find a way to get her to show up, but some personal situations had developed so that she was unable to do it. We tried to find multiple women around town who could play the part. One after another our options were running out.
Remember that my original intent was just to make a film that showed my talent, potential, but not something that would be a big hit and sell itself. So I wasn't looking for much, just someone who could fill the role...
Andrew showed up on Sunday from the Grey Hound. He had not had a chance to read the script before getting on the bus, he just knew my prior work. He hopped in the car and told me he loved it, one of the best stories he had ever read... Then I told him the bad news.
We weren't able to shoot the film. Two weeks after Andrew showed up he would be hopping on the bus and making the long drive back. This was it. I may never get another chance. We decided to take a "leap of faith" and believe that some how I would make the film... or atleast hope to get another shot at it. We took the camera and shot "test photage" of different scenes to see how they would look in the camera. This gave us information on how the lighting looked in the cave scene, etc.
Andrew hopped on the bus, headed back home... Then reality sunk in... I just watch my dream disappear... That may have been it, the end of my possible film making career... What could I do next?
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