July 2006

I fully intended to post about the film during this past week as we were filming. But sixteen hour days are more than I’m used to and frankly, I was just too tired to write much of anything! But now that the filming is done and going to post production, I hope to fill you in on some of what went on during the week.

First off, I’m simply amazed at all that goes into making a movie! Though my guys were shooting a short film (15 minutes when all is done), the same things go into its production just on a smaller scale. And film makers have their own vocabulary, something I quickly learned on set. Here’s a short list:

Crew:
DP – Director of Photography
Gaffer – electrician
AC – Assistant Cameraman
AD – Assistant Director
Grip – All around gopher
Producer
Director
Sound Department
Catering Service
Production Assistant
Still Photographer
Boom Operator
Script Writer

Terms:
Bounce Board – looks like thick white poster board, bounces light
Scrims – circular mesh that goes inside of a light
Flags – a black rectangular screen used to block light so you can aim the light where you want it
Floppy – a huge flag, can go floor to ceiling
Nets – acts like a scrim but is shaped like a flag.
C-Stands – big metal stands with three legs that hold lights and flags, etc.
Silks – spreads light, makes is softer and dims it down. Shape of a flag only white.

On a low budget film like this one, most people ended up doing more than one job. For instance, normally, on a feature film, the DP might sip coffee with the directors as he uses his creative genius to set the next scene and then tell the gaffer and his grips where to place the lights and the scrims or flags or bounce boards or whatever is needed to displace the shadows and create the right look. Our DP did multiple jobs including electrician, gaffer, and grip. This going beyond your job description was true for the entire crew.

The cast consisted of ten actors. Some had minimal parts that only took a couple of takes and the actor could go home. The lead, of course, needed to be there the whole time, and he graciously stayed to the very end. I was amazed to see how willing everyone was to participate. Due to the low budget, all those helping out or acting were volunteers. People gave of their time and gas money, and some came quite a distance each day. Our producer was more help than words can ever say.

If you’ve ever watched behind the scenes on a DVD to see what goes on in the making of a movie, you can see why the cast gets to laughing about silly things and making mistakes and having to retake the scene. I don’t know about a feature film, but it happened on our set as the week wore on. Exhaustion breeds either anger or laughter. Thankfully, it bred lots of laughter on the set. :)

All in all, the making of a movie is a LOT of work! But it’s so much fun too! Randy and I were the catering service for this shoot, and despite the work, I felt like I was on vacation. At least for the first few days, until my feet started aching! Still, it was an experience I will never forget – now for our guys it’s on to post production!

My two oldest sons, Jeff and Chris, have been planning to shoot a short, independent film for the past year or more. They had the script written before they started film school last August (2005) and have been working toward the goal of filming it ever since. Months of preparation have gone into this. Many people have given up hours and hours of their time, and are taking off work to be in on the filming.

It’s amazing to me all that goes into such a project. There is the crew – people who run the lights, the sound, makeup, the DP (director of photography) who runs the camera, the producer, who has done a TON of work on this to pull it together, the directors (my sons) who make the decisions, spend the money, and plan out exactly how to shoot each scene. Then there are the grips, who do the grunt work during the shoot, the food service people, who prepare the meals to feed the cast and crew (that’s me and a few helpers), and the cast – the actors who get to star in the show.

On a big feature film, everybody gets paid to do all of this and it can take months, even years to complete. For this project everyone is a volunteer and the whole thing will be shot in one week.

When my guys were younger, they loved to make home movies using our video camera. As they got older, they borrowed a friend’s digital camera (we didn’t have one back then) and made the What the Muffins? episodes. Now they look back on all of that and see how much they still had to learn. And after attending film school, they are taking the next step to produce this short film for graduation. I just never realized until this week how BIG this project is!

When all is said and done and the film is put together, they hope to enter it into film festivals, which is yet another step toward their ultimate dream of making feature films. But even if nothing else comes of this project, it has taught us all one important lesson. To pray about everything.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, he told them to ask for “daily” bread. And when the Israelites walked 40 years in the wilderness, God only gave them manna one day at a time, except for the Sabbath so they could rest. This project has been so big, with so many things out of their control, that we have had to trust God with the details – one day at a time. God only gives us grace for the trials on the day that we need it. His mercies are new every morning.

This next week we will all need His grace to get through the filming without any more glitches. (There have been plenty so far.) If any of you feel led to pray on our behalf, we welcome your prayers.

And hopefully, in a few months or more from now, I’ll be able to announce film festivals where the film might be showing. But until then – we’re counting down ’til the shoot begins on Monday.

I was having a discussion with some friends yesterday about honesty. Part of it stemmed from bad reviews and how cutting some reviewers and critics can be. On the flip side, some reviewers give everyone five stars, showing little discernment between a good book or film or other piece of art and a bad one.

So how honest should we be?

It’s a good question, and one I pondered. Then as I was reading in the Psalms, I came upon Psalm 15. It says:

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

2 He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart

3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,

4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,

Verse two says to speak truth from the heart, but in speaking that truth, we need to heed verse three and four. If our critiques or comments would slander or cast a slur on our fellow man, we need to think twice about what we’re saying. And if that writer or artist is a fellow believer, we would do well to take verse four into account – honor (speak well of) those who fear the Lord.

God doesn’t condone lying, and honesty is still the best policy, but we need to wrap that honesty in a heart of love. The New Testament tells us to “speak the truth in love.” The way I see it, that means to check our motives before we make those comments, and make sure they are worth saying. Constructive criticism can be carried too far and where art is concerned even the best opinions can be subjective.

So yes, speak truth from the heart. But be careful to honor the person in the process.

This is my week to host the Biblical fiction genre on Favorite PASTimes Blogspot. I hope you will take a moment and click on over to check out my posts, leave a comment for a drawing for a free book, and post any questions you might have to help me make each hosting week better.

Some of my topics include:

1. Two Sides of an Ancient Coin What is Biblical fiction?
2. Biblical Novelists Past & Present Who writes Biblical fiction?
3. Great Biblical Fiction What makes a Biblical novel great?
4. Finding Sources for Ancient Times Where does an author find resources for eras long past?

If you’ve checked out my Projects page, you know that I have a Biblical series on the Wives of King David looking for a publishing home. Michal, Daughter of the King is complete and Abigail, Peacemaker is planned for a rewrite later this year. When I recently dug it out and reworked Abigail’s proposal for my agent, I was reminded yet again how much I love this genre and this time period in history.

Maybe someday I’ll be able to offer my books to those of you who visit my site, because I would love to give you a glimpse into the stories that I love so much – both my Biblical series and my romantic suspense series.

But romantic suspense is a topic for another day and the subject of other blogs, though I include history in both genres. Another reason I’m promoting Favorite PASTimes.

Hope to see you there!

Okay, I wish this summer felt lazy, but here in Michigan it hasn’t actually felt like summer. This week is supposed to change all that because temperatures are due to hit near 90. But I must admit, I’m enjoying the mid 70s and low 80s. My kind of weather. The 90s might actually make me want to swim in the pool though. :)

Regardless of the weather, summer seems nearly as busy as any other time of year. A part of me would love to just kick back and take about three months to read everything on my TBR (to be read) pile. But new books keep coming out and the pile keeps growing. So three months wouldn’t be enough time anyway. :)

The busiest event of our summer revolves around our kids as they get ready to shoot their independent short film. Amazing what goes into such a project! For my part, I’m doing what mom’s sometimes do best – plan and prepare the food.

I know nothing about directing actors and lighting crews or setting up the cameras to get the right angles. The whole thing is like a foreign language – fascinating but it takes time to learn.

Just like most things in life. Just like writing.

After twenty years of working at the craft, I feel like I still have so much to learn. When I think I know what I’m doing, there is always another level to achieve. But then we never stop learning and growing, and it would be unwise to come to the point where we think we’ve arrived.

It’s okay to take breaks and enjoy lazy days any time of year. As long as those breaks don’t lead to being satisfied with the status quo. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as staying the same. We either move foreward or we fall backward. Trying to maintain without any further personal growth is exhausting, like treading water.

Better to jump into the deep end and swim, then float when we need a break. Here’s hoping for at least some lazy days of the rest of summer!

I feel like a kid in a candy store – finally able to update my weblog! My server has had problems for a number of weeks and unfortunately, I had no way of letting anyone know who visits this website. But I’m back now, and I hope you’ll stop on by again and visit often.

There is so much to do when you’re playing catch-up, but I’ll start by saying that I have a new Spotlight up! Please check out my “spotlight” on Kathleen Fuller and find out more about this wonderful author than you ever did before! I’ve been Kathy’s critique partner for a number of years and didn’t know her like I thought I did. So please check out her interview.

What else? Well, Randy and I spent a few days last week visiting Marshall, Michigan. We got to tour some historic homes and visit some cool shops. My treasure hunting in antique stores landed me an out-of-print book about the early 19th century homes in Marshall with pictures and a bit about their history. Fun!

One of the most interesting tidbits of information I discovered however, was the history behind a phrase I knew growing up. For Christians who didn’t believe in swearing, an alternative phrase was “What in the Sam Hill…?” Rather than saying, “What the…” among other things.

Well Marshall, Michigan has the answer to the meaning behind that phrase. In fact, Samuel Hill (yes, that Sam Hill) is buried in Marshall’s Oakridge Cemetery, and he used to live in one of the houses in town. He was a surveyor and spent his summers in the Upper Peninsula and wintered in Marshall. Word has it that Sam Hill had such a foul mouth that his own name became a byword for swearing. A rather fitting end to his cursing legacy, I think.

Besides Sam Hill, the town is rich in history. Michigan’s public school system was planned under one of the oak trees that still stands as a memorial to those men who developed it. I’m not sure they actually did Michigan a favor in that regard, but that’s an opinion for another day.

The townspeople are quite friendly – one man even let us tour his home (a gorgeous octagon house that has fallen to disrepair, but lovely just the same) and a policeman stopped to chat and offered his help while we were strolling down Michigan Avenue. If you’re ever between Detroit and Chicago, I encourage you to stop by Marshall for a visit. And don’t forget to eat at Win Schuler’s Restaurant along the way.

All for now…(boy is it good to be back!)