So much for my “daily update” during production. As you can imagine, things were a little busy. One of the big things I was reminded of during our shoot was how tough it was to be both a director and producer at the same time. You have to separate the two and take turns playing each role. The director in you wants to get another take. The producer says move on. The director in you wants to figure out a way to get to the other side of the river for the better camera angles. The producer in you reminds you that the sun is moving, and it’s going to cost money to buy a make-shift ladder. (Yes, we tried that!)

Shooting Spectre was an amazing experience overall. As expected, I learned a lot from doing it. I learned a little more about my style, I got insight into where I am strong, and I had plenty of insight into where I start to break down. I could sit here all day and write about the mistakes and missed opportunities. We missed some shots, we probably have some continuity errors, and there were a bunch of technical break-downs too. But that’s production, right? All things considered, it went really well! We have enough footage to make this movie. I plan to do some green-screen and other pick-ups in the coming months. That way, we can fill in some of those holes.

The crew was awesome. Even though this was the longest shoot I’ve been on so far, with the largest crew, we had surprisingly few complaints or squabbles. People seemed to get along great, and I noticed afterward that a lot of them were making plans to either get together or collaborate on something in the near future.

To just people’s names here in a general “Thanks” would not be doing their work justice. I might be bad about doing daily production updates, but I would like to take the time and give each person or team a shout-out in a more thorough manner here on the production blog.

So where are we at now with regards to the movie? Well, to be honest, I’ve barely looked at the footage that we’ve shot! I’ve verified that it’s there, and I’ve backed it up (with the help of two uber-camera geeks Chris and Alan). I’ve imported it all into Final Cut and started marking the good takes and putting meta data into each one. But I’ve not really begun to actually edit. The reason is simply that I need a break. Sure, there was a 9 day shoot, but that wasn’t really what drained me. I think I’m mostly tired from the long months (years?) of planning and writing and re-writing and re-planning every little detail of the movie. Since we wrapped I’ve read a few books that had previously been put on hold, I’ve caught up on Guitar Hero, and now I’m playing the “new” Zelda (which has been out for 2 years) like a fiend. I’ve also been negligent in updating Dragonmount, my other big geek-out hobby, and need to get back on that. Oh, and, getting the household ready for the new baby.

But, in the end, I just can’t stay away too long. I’m starting to feel Spectre burning on my back. The urge to draw it forth is rising in my gut. Soon I’m going to get deep into post-production.

If the baby doesn’t keep me up all night, of course. :-\

Over 2,100 photos were taken during out 9 day shoot. (Thanks, Lou!) I’ve rated and catalogued each one. I plan to post some soon.