Thursday night roundup

Team Location Lighting has done it again. We've wrapped out another fantastic day of shooting.

Today found as at in the Campus Residence conference room in the morning where Dave set up and shot a cross-keyed interview with Kevin and David seated across a conference table. The shot was complicated (and delightfully so) by shooting Kevin in front of a window, forcing the team to deal with a mixed lighting scenario compounded by a four stop difference between interior and exterior light levels. But Mike got his shots and Kevin and David, with the help of Tanya, put on a great interview and we wrapped with a good selection of footage.

The afternoon was in the very capable hands of Mike as we lit the interior of the Kate's Cottage attic with a plethora of small instruments all on dimmers. The scenario was incredibly Tarkovsky-esque with lights dimming up and down to show the transition from morning to day to night in a single shot. Russel proved a wonderful subject to shoot and hit his marks with aplomb and delivered a stellar performance. We managed to get the shot in one take - an incredible feat of symphonic orchestration - and we wrapped the location with time to spare - and just in time as the heat in the attic was sauna-like. Thank god Zardon had the good sense to open a window before we all passed out.

The night scene was captained by the incomparable David who pulled out all the mixed lighting tricks with multiple gelled lights mixed with HMI and tungsten instruments, including an Arristar Light Balloon sponsored by ALNY and set up by the very capable Duane Shue who joined us on set from New York - thank you Duane. We had a small hitch with the helium for the balloon, but nothing a hair dryer couldn't handle and with the help of a nearby tree, a twofer and a strong arm provided by Alex we got the balloon up in the air, smoked the heck out of the location and got the shots. A Triumph motorcycle was brought in to completed the scene, which was apparently very well captured, though I've not seen the footage yet as I was atop the motorcycle during the shoot.

It's amazing that we've scooted through the week so quickly. It seems like yesterday that Julie and the gange were shooting a nice little poor man's process in the sound stage. Actually, I think that was yesterday. It's been a great week so far and in some strange, perhaps sleep deprived way, I wish we could go for another week with this gang of lighting fanatics. I can't wait to see what Danny (who graduated magna cum laude from the Video Camera class last week), Alex and Al have in store for us tomorrow when we visit Gilbert's and the winery.

Props to the gang as you are, without a doubt, the hardest working, most delightfully enjoyable group of students I've ever lit with. I can't imagine a better class and a more imaginative, gifted and enjoyable group of humans.

Good night and good luck - now let's shoot this pig.