First-day funky fun.

The weather was 1 degree during breakfast, the location was beautiful and daring, the folks were funny and sort of standoffish, and the work was just about as erratic as one could hope for. I enjoyed the whole thing, pain and patience included, and look forward to seeing where this all heads. Absolute radness!

Traveling is fun and frustrating.

Which I suppose is just part of the territory. The effort expended in traveling at all basically necessitates the challenges that generally accompany it... and today, we definitely followed that formula with precision and passion. It was a good day, though, and will not soon be forgotten.

Adventure all around us!

And far across the country, even! Sure, it will be ridiculously cold a great portion of the time that we are there but that ain't nothing in my book. I might think differently in a couple or so days but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I am not quite sure how to build this memory but I have a bit of time to think about it on my way. Good, challenging, learning-stuffed times a'comin'!

So much training. So little time.

But I think the training out in the field will really be the training that matters most. I feel confident we have a solid grasp on what to do and lots of the little details will really start sinking in through repetition. Most of the system already seems to work pretty well, luckily enough, due to the efforts of our trainer's experience.

Starting to learn the ropes.

The beginning of training today was actually a little intense. Mostly conceptually intense, that is. Lots of things thrown on the plate with brief introductions to their place, for the most part. Tomorrow we will resume in a more in-depth fashion. A tremendous effort in all mental aspects.

Wrapping up more locations.

It is really starting to feel like we are making strides toward finishing the production now. Our pace isn't particularly faster than normal(though, I would guess it's a little faster at least) but we are finally closing up many scenes and locations that we won't need to go back to anymore. Some of them could have been done at some point earlier in the shooting but they were done now instead... so we'll take the benefit of completion now... and enjoy it. Ha.

Never the actual end.

Though, I might only participate with my now former band in very limited capacities in the future. I am thankful for the experience of being with them... I am excited to see where they go from here. It is truly bitter-sweet. Farewell, my friends of Bes - Bronson, Brady, Thene.

I am really gonna miss the band.

Now, after having to give up the band to my erratically available career choice, I am quite sad to let the band go. We played a good set tonight and I am quite grateful for the opportunity I have had to be a part of such an excellent experience. It is a bitter-sweet transition in the fullest sense of the term.

The exciting world of media management awaits!

And I suppose it is a step the even more exciting world of camera operating. At least I get to travel to new parts of the country. I've never been as far east as Ohio... and it might even be sub-zero temperatures when we are there... which is also a first for me. Pretty cool, eh!(pun totally intended)

Self-respect prevails.

At least, it has prevailed today. I expect the work to be abundant and somewhat challenging but definitely a worthy experience. It even seems possible that I get some solid stability under my belt... definitely not to be overlooked. I look forward to the challenges ahead!

Sticking to some sort of guns.

I am quite glad for the opportunity which has been offered me at my current job. It is full of potential and shows promising possibility in the financial stability realm of things. As it isn't 'quite' what I would like financially, however, I was inclined to press for more money. When the moment came that I needed to make the decision to press or not, I actually chose to press. I am finally realizing that, despite my enthusiasm to actually do the work at just about any rate, I am often overlooking my actual needs almost completely. Yes, my financial needs are much higher than I generally let on, but my emotional needs are also effected by this in a way I did not much realize in the past. My level of self-respect is diminished when I don't ask for what I think my time is worth. I know I am a valuable addition to every project I am a part of. When that knowledge doesn't square with the return I am in cognitive dissonance about my own self-respect. What a pain in the face that is!

Learning about the craft.

There is always something so fascinating about hearing the opinions of those people who are already doing what you would like to do in the future. Their experience is so interesting and humanizing. It brings them, and the positions they hold, back down to earth where the regular folk like myself can reach out and grasp it in a relatable way. My favorite kind of research, I suppose.

Round one complete.

The end of our 16-day run has been reached. We still have some weekends to shoot out the rest of the stuff we missed as well as the stuff we had planned for later anyway. I hope it won't be too much of a bear in the edit room... but my hope is likely a very misplaced thought, indeed!

It was/has been a great experience with great people! My friends, co-creators, laughter-purveyors, and dreamers!

Fun filming with friends.

My addiction to this career that I have chosen is growing stronger. It might seem like a bad thing(as addictions generally are) but I think it could be a good thing, too, since a career can be built around it. There are so many reasons it is enjoyable, good, and potentially healthy. Friends, activity level, expression... just the tip of the iceberg.

On set disagreements.

There is much to be said about the pre-production process and its importance to the success of an efficient production process... however, and I am sure it goes without saying, there is not much to be said about the need to keep creative differences to a minimum. I think they are important to the overall quality of the product but realistically I tend to think they should have been worked out prior to shooting... at least as much as they could have been, anyway.

Working with children as actors.

I have to say that, beyond my regular experience with children, trying to work with children as functioning work peers is somewhat nightmarish. An unruly kid, in normal life, is pretty annoying in general. It just seems to be multiplied when an unruly kid also technically needs to be the center of attention. I think we have been pretty lucky with the little gal we are working with on our set but she certainly gets into button-pushing mode for me every now and then. Just an observation, I guess.

Just moving along today.

I am starting to feel a bit burned out, physically speaking, and it has started to affect my emotional enthusiasm a bit. I didn't get enough sleep last night so I am sure that would be the main contributing factor. Tomorrow will be a whole new day for sure.

Beautiful locations.

I have to say that one of my favorite things about this whole film making experience over the last couple weeks has been visiting the excellent locations we have been able to use. From the beach house, to the cafe, to the barber shop, to the insurance building, to the King Street Station, to the main character's home... and everything in between. It has been inspiring. And even though the weather has been very "Washingtonesque", with it's fairly regular bouts of rain, it has been quite beautiful as well. I am very lucky and blessed to be a part of it all.

The grind continues.

But a good grind it has been. We have made great relationships out of our struggle and I expect good things to come of it, final product and otherwise. Now, I need to sleep... because sleep is a really good thing.

Back in the world.

I am finally back in a place with internet and cell service... and it is quite the strange feeling. Life without it is somewhat liberating despite its limited, almost archaic, state of being. A release of responsibility but a disintegration of sociality as well... or something like that. Ha. Anyway... the shoot continues as it has... relentless and creatively energizing.

Long day three.

Mostly due to the workload... partially due to the Superbowl loss. But it was a grand day nonetheless! Our team is gelling quite nicely and I think the product is starting to look pretty awesome.

Second day success.

It was cold and foggy but nothing on the will of our team. We made some decent cuts and were relatively efficient... I'm happy to keep it going for the next couple weeks. It's a tremendously fulfilling sort of thing.