Action!

On the way home from filming today I started to think about the sort of things I've gained making this outrageously complex feature film without a budget, experience, time, or any other reasources. I'd like to think my mastery of cinematography has been dramatically improved -- last summer, in New York, I was always nervous about picking shots, thinking that my fellow students would be able to tell how bad I was right away. Now, if nothing else, I'm more confident about what I do. My articulation and direction still need work, but it's improving. I think a lot of the problem there is that almost all my decisions are made on the spot. I vaguely remember a time when we used to storyboard this thing. That time is long since passed. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a staff and everything. Ah well.

I like scanning the script and realizing just how rapidly the number of scenes left to film are shrinking. I am very burned out and I need to relax a little bit, but I won't be able to until it's done. I defenitly have reached a new level of understanding of a characteristic about directors that I once heard: apparently, most directors take about a month off after every film just to recover and not do anything. I know I'll want to. Or, at least, I don't want to have much responsability for a little while. We're getting there. Not having school in the way is a defenite plus.

There was a point when I thought this might be a low key, pleasantly boring summer, but I'm positive that is no longer a viable option.

Today was one of those days I don't like -- as far as filming goes. I always seems that whenever I have the most people coming for a shoot, the most things go wrong before it starts. Reading that back it makes perfect sense that that would happen, but it doesn't make me feel any better about the whole thing. Mr. Borland described me as "demanding but supportive" after the scenes we did on the bus the other day, and that's what I strive for, but sometimes, like today, I'm just demanding. And that's just not a cool thing to be with your friends, in my opinion. It'll be worth it in the end, I guess.

I'm really hoping for another good Brazil versus Germany final this year.