We took yesterday “off” to get the cast and crew settled, but that really meant a lot of running around in Merida getting SIM cards for phones, groceries, booze, etc.
Up before the crack of dawn to shoot the arrival of the Canadian characters in the village of Chicxulub, and their hapless march down the beach. Don’t think anyone was happy about getting up in the dark (remember to check your shoes/clothes for scorpions) but the light was nice and fragile and the streets were pretty empty when we got into town.
This is the first time I’ve used the Steadicam rig provided by the excellent Mr Steve Abbott. Steve’s a pal and screenwriter back in Toronto. He’s a serious man, as this anecdote will prove. Decided a week before coming down here I reeeeeeally wanted a tripod with a fluid head mount to do smooth pans and such. Asked Steve if he had any idea how I could lay hands on one for little to no money (how to get a proper heavy tripod on the plane without paying for excess luggage was to be my next question). Steve said I would be better served by a Steadicam rig. I said sure, but they cost a fortune. The next day Steve and his wife Darleen bought us a brand new official Steadicam Merlin/arm/vest rig. He said since it was now apparent that we were actually doing this insane thing, we should have the right equipment.
Independent filmmakers, you need people like this. People who believe in you and demonstrate it in a useful way. Plus, I’m sure he’ll be asking me for some unspeakable favour when I least expect it. So it goes.
It’s a very delicate piece of equipment, finicky to set up. Sweated bullets over it the night before shoot. It works very well, but beware: if you are using the Jr. with a lightweight camera (which the XH A1 is, even at around 6lbs.) it’s going to spin like a pinwheel if there’s any wind. Which there was, of course, shooting on a beach.
The few locals who were out and about were clearly intrigued by the appearance of several gringos, one of whom had a robot arm growing out of his chest attached to a large camera. But, it being the Yucatan, everyone maintained a polite, unquestioning distance.
A struggle to keep the camera somewhat stable while following actors all the way from the main square to the beach — but in the end perhaps only 30 seconds of footage are steady enough to be used. We shall see.
For the final shot at the beach, asked the actors to just walk along the shore dragging their suitcases until I yelled cut. It looked beautiful, seagulls soaring and diving all around them at sunrise. By the time I was done with the shot Rob, Emily, and Phil were too far away to hear me say cut so I had a cigarette and waited for them to get tired and turn around. Which they did, just before they became specks in the distance.
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