Day 1 of 15

This is our "Day 1" selfie. A new tradition.. :)

We get our "call sheets" at around 8:30 p.m. most days, which tell us when we'll be transported to set, what scenes are going to be shot and in which order, who all 60 people on set are and what they do, plus 1000 other points of interest -- such as the forecast, sunrise/sunset times, maps of the sets, where the nearest hospital is, and who is catering "lunch" (the hot meal is called lunch no matter when it's served - we had lunch at 10 p.m. this week!). We get a 1/4-page-sized booklet version every morning, but that drops the font down to what I call "Tinkerbell," so I keep my phone zoomed in on the doc and consult it a lot.

The only thing that's in bold all caps is what film day it is out of 15. Nobody speaks in days of the week and "company off" days don't have a number - it's like they press pause on Wednesdays and Thursdays and come back the "next day." So much so that when we arrived on set on Friday (the "start of the week"), people asked how our "weekend" was - fair enough - but also kept referring to the Tuesday shoot as "yesterday." Set time is warped. Which explains why the assistant directors actually have to remind the cast and crew to be quiet when shooting on residential streets after midnight! (What? We just ate lunch?)

I'm getting ahead of myself: this is a Day 1 of 15 summary. All the kids had an 8:45 p/u (pick up) for a 9:00 call on the clubhouse set. Gerard - transport coordinator (and sometimes executive producer) was out front in a minivan for the six of us. I suspect he's out there a while before p/u - his motto is "on time is late." He radioed ahead as we neared the set, which I thought was just so the two location guys at the gate were ready to let him through, but a lot of people are on that walkie-talkie frequency and they all apparently leap into motion when they get the news.

We pulled right into the "circus" - the collection of trailers and tents that include hair, makeup and wardrobe (HMW), production offices, tutor's trailer, craft services, washrooms (honeywagons), and more. The production assistant, Taylor, is the first and last person we see in a day. She keeps the timesheets. She opens the van doors, spells out the kids' instructions, and offers to "make a plate" (bring breakfast to the trailer). Sam has 10 minutes to get into wardrobe, move to hair, and then over to makeup and a quick photo by the continuity girl. Then he is actually transported to set. About 500 feet away. Production prefers that the talent goes "radio to radio" so there is always someone official who has "eyes on Sam." It's a well-oiled machine!

The kids each have a small private room complete with a nap couch and washroom in a large single trailer. "Ricky" is written on door number one. Very fun moment stepping into that first set trailer! The TV and stereo system aren't hooked up, but it turns out that Sam spends no time in there anyways. He's in so many scenes that any spare time that pops up is tutoring time (Crew says Sam is "In school" when they are setting up). So that's where he dresses and where we dump coats, bags, etc. in the morning. There's a space heater on in the morning (3 degrees) and an air conditioner on in the afternoon (22 degrees) - crazy October weather!

Sam started the shoot with about 25 trips up and down a lane-way on set - which is an out-of-service agricultural science station, full of old greenhouses and warehouses. There is a farm on one side and a private golf course on the other side. Really nice country views and big blue sky. I was a little worried because Sam was suffering the effects of a crappy cold and mild asthma and the whole film was beginning with an hour of bike riding -- but he was fine. They did pan shots, dolly shots, and (funnest), aerial drone shots of him zipping towards his clubhouse, where his friends were already waiting. By chance or design, it was the perfect way to warm up on set. Sam could get a feel for the director's style and the only thing he had to worry about was not biking faster than the dolly cam and remembering to glance towards the clubhouse a few times. No lines, no real blocking. Nailed it!

The rest of the 8-hour day (days are 8 or 10 hours, plus an hour for lunch) included a lot of lines and blocking, but every shot was rehearsed - first by the actors and then by actors and cameras. Everyone in the warehouse where the clubhouse is set up knows what's going on because the ADs all shout "Rehearsals up!" or "Cameras up!" or "Soundspeed, rolling!" No one has ever said "Quiet on set!" though occasionally we hear "Quiet, please!" when the first shout doesn't do the trick. The director did say, "I'm only going to say this once, but 'Let's do one for safety," which apparently is a cliche and means that the take was great but
you can't be too careful, let's go again.

There isn't much time between takes and scenes. Even when the cameras "swing around"  to set up for a reverse angle shot or to do the whole scene as a close-up on an actor (after the "wide shot," all three kids get a close-up cam for reaction shots), the camera guys are busy but the director wants to talk to the kids. Time is money, so hair and makeup do touch ups while others (or mothers) offer drinks or small snacks (or a neck massage, as was the case when Jakob had a heavy contraption on his head for hours). It's not hard to see how actors can start feeling like royalty, being waited on hand and foot. But it's pretty intense action. That's why there is often a half-eaten muffin on Sam's cast chair!

Sam loves working with Dalila and Jakob, who are so comfortable on set and very well prepared. And everyone seems thrilled with Sam's work (he is the cast "wild card," as the unknown actor). He nailed all of his lines and had great instincts about how to deliver them. When he did get direction, Geoff only had to say it once. Production wrapped at 6:00 on the nose, to everyone's delight! Jenn and Javier said "day 1" is always a little tense because it sets the tone for the rest of the shoot. I didn't notice any tension until I saw the smiles on everyone's faces as we wrapped for the day. So glad this is going well!