WEEKLY DIARY -
FIVE DAYS
By: Jeremy M. Dayton
June 11, 2004 - Finished writing first draft of short film, Five Days.
Good feedback so far. Looking to start pre-production this week.
June 18, 2004 - Posted casting notice on nowcasting.com. Waiting for submissions...(and they are coming fast!!)
June 20, 2004 - Have been given access to full lighting equipment and dollies. Now just need a head gaffer to help me out with everything. Using craigslist for that!! Getting good response from nowcasting.
June 23, 2004 - Auditions all set up for this Friday at the nowcasting offices in Burbank. Still searching for a few locations.
June 26, 2004 - Had auditions. Went very well. Very tough decision to make on the male lead. Trying to pin down which females are right for which roles- plenty of quality talent to choose from. Also raised some money to reach my budget minimum. (thanks to my Dad, Uncle Whitey, MomMom, and Paul... ) THANKS GUYS! CALL-BACKS AND SECOND AUDITIONS TO BE HELD EARLY NEXT WEEK!
June 27, 2004 - Hitting the phones all day trying to reach minimum budget. Working out shooting schedule and set to size up final two locations tomorrow and Tuesday.
June 29, 2004 - Call-backs and final audition date set for this Wednesday, July 1st.
July 1, 2004 - Okay- auditions yesterday were great! The entire cast is set, EXCEPT ONE ROLE. Still waiting for the right person for it, but outside of that, entire cast and crew is set. Arranged for dollies and lights to be picked up today. All that's left before shooting is settling on final 2 locations and finalizing shooting script! And of course final revisions and touch-ups on the script.
July 3, 2004 - FINALLY- Now the entire cast is set! As well as a final revision of the script which added 3 additional pages and one new character (well worth it). Working out the details for the equipment transportation- and finalizing shooting schedule. Shooting start the 12th!!
July 6, 2004 - Okay- pre-production can be a headache. My Panasonic DVX100 is now not available. Searching for another one to borrow. Might go back to filming with the VX2000. Not the end of the world- just another obstacle. Other than that- just waiting for money to come in and confirming all locations and times.
July 8, 2004 - GUESS WHAT- MORE DRAMA!!! Lost my DP to a better paying job. Lost my lights due to my friend going out of town and forgetting to get the lights to me first. Think I lost my boom guy- but that's not a major problem. But- I did play golf today and found the perfect location to shoot the golf scene. So in that respect, ALL IS WELL. Also just spoke with my Dad, who has found a way to generate a few more bucks for the production budget. Who ever said making movies was easy?
July 9, 2004 - Did anyone ever compare moviemaking to golf? Well I am now. One hole you're shooting for triple bogey- the next hole you're putting for birdie baby! After 2 tumultuous days, things are back on track. I even nailed down my liquor store for one of the final scenes! I also got some fresh art work, copyright free. I think my DP situation is taken care of, but I'll know for sure later on today. 4 DAYS till filming begins!
July 10, 2004 - Just got word I got a little extra money from a stranger my Dad met at a bar. Very cool! Have to settle on DP right now- yesterday had two very solid options. Need to settle on script supervisor and meet with various artists today and tomorrow!
July 14, 2004 - Okay. I don't know why I'm writing this as I have 5 hours till I have to be back up for shooting (at 5:30am) but wanted to give a quick update. Yesterday was the first day of shooting. 9:30 call time and we wrapped just after 12:30am the next morning. Quite a long day. We still had our 9am call today and everyone made it- EXCEPT my make up girl- who had some issues come up... But we got thru it- I was late to work at 5, but all was well. The first 2 hours of yesterday were spent simply trying to get the tripod head mounted on the dolly- so we were behind from the get-go, but once we got rolling- it went relatively smooth- once we got past the first dolly/tilt/pan/crane move of the day. Anyway- picture looks good- microphone is giving us all a headache at times- but we're surviving. It's a sauna on set, but we are still alive. Tomorrow morning- I mean, this morning- we start off on the golf course (just me, an assistant, and 3 actors) to film- with a full crew call at 12pm. You'll hear from soon. We are taking a break form filming on Friday!!
July 16, 2004 - After another long day of shooting, we are back on schedule. Call time yesterday was 6am- headed straight for the golf course- Scholl Canyon. Shoot went great- some trucks and mowers caused sound problems- but we'll deal. God was my head gaffer as the sun gave just enough light needed while not coming out from behind the clouds. Rest of crew arrived at noon- shooting lasted until 11pm, but other than a few things running behind due to wardrobe difficulties, everything went smoothly. Today is a catch up on sleep and errands day- as well as a final day of set up for tomorrow's shoot at the dentist's office (doctor's office) and at ABC studios. We are halfway home!! ** Also received my wide angle lens and filters in the mail today- which made shooting all the more easier.
July 18, 2004 - Yesterday I flew solo, with Doc and Ray assisting. No DP or Gaffer, but set-up time was minimal and I'm extremely happy with the lighting. Our Doctor's Office scene went smoothly and looks great. James was fantastic as the DR. Made it to ABC on time and quietly brought our equipment up to the 8th Floor to film as quickly as possible. Were outta there in just over an hour. Thanks goodness cause in the hurry to get there, I left my additional tapes at home- and only had about 12 minutes of tape time left on the one in the camera. We nailed it though. Now 3 days left of filming. Just had to plead with my liquor store owner to allow me to film there later in the day as I found out my actor had a scheduling conflict and could not shoot during the early morning hours. Long day ahead to finish up the shooting schedule for this week, but we're more than halfway home. Nice to finally start shooting some of the lighter side of the movie yesterday- was able to see that, "Oh yeah, there is some comedy in this!" Filming begins again on Tuesday.
July 20, 2004 - Filming went great. A bit of a long night and I may have kept everyone around a little longer than they desired, but it paid off. The final scene went off great, without my landlord's cooperation! The silhouetted punchline to end the movie should be hysterical. The liquor store scene was a riot as well and should look great.
July 22, 2004 - THAT'S A WRAP. One of the most stressful days, only because time was of the essence and a choreographed scene was slated for 4pm in which I only had some of the girls for an hour or so. All went well though. The whole team multi-tasked well- only a few no shows- which actually worked out for the better in terms of spacing for the cumulative effect dream sequence. Lighting was a bit of an issue, but still looks reasonable. jail scene is hysterical. Thanks Will and Mike! I actually lied a tiny bit. While it is a wrap for the entire crew- I do still have one half of a scene to shoot. That should be a piece of cake. Next week, post will begin. From what I've looked at, the quality lighting and set-dressing, the production value of this film will be more than 10-20 times to that of what I spent. Thank you to EVERYONE who pitched in in some form or fashion to help me along the way. Check out the Thanks You page for more. That's it for now. Now begins the serious search for more great original music to really make this movie bounce!
July 26, 2004 - Have received loads of mp3's to listen to of original music for the film. Have not started the editing process yet as I am waiting for my new system to be built first- which should be ready to go within a day or two. Returned all equipment to Jack and Mitch today- so I can walk thru the kitchen again without stubbing toes. Tomorrow have to do a pick-up scene with Shira- and one with Drew near sundown. Besides that- establishing shots of my apartment building and of the time clock at work, that's it! More to come!
August 4, 2004 - So swamped with wedding video editing and getting my new computer system working properly, that I've fallen a bit behind on editing the film. I am uploading daily, scene by scene, and still searching for original music. Once I'm caught up, my pace will pick up. Working on a full trailer in the meantime as well.
August 14, 2004 - Okay- enough headaches. I'm charging thru growing pains with the new computer and I think the computer is finally giving in. Constant freezing problems have kept me from getting much editing done. Now I have accepted doing one or two edits, having it freeze, closing and reopening and starting over again. I just save after each and every edit at this point. I'm slowly but surely getting thru it, and it's slowly letting me edit longer and longer before it freezes. Weird. Still swamped with other videos to edit as well, but now getting a lot more done. Hopefully within a week I'll have a first cut done. Maybe wishful thinking, maybe not!
August 19, 2004 - THE FIRST CUT IS DONE!! It's 3:30am and I just finished the first cut. Still plenty of touching up and molding- not to mention music selection to do- but the first cut is done!! Contact me if you want a sneak peek!
September 3, 2004 - Well- I just submitted the film to Sundance. Temp music and temp titles still in tact- and without a sound master- but today was the deadline. Final cut had a running time of 28:27. Four minutes shorter than the first cut. Plenty of festivals left to submit to, but the first one is in. I'll keep you all up to date as to the FINAL CUT premiere. Take care and best of luck!
October 14, 2004 - Been a while - Just to update- Still awaiting final composition from my composer- as well as rights to one song. As soon as I get those, I will run off DVD's for EVERYONE!! Been busy catching up with other things, so partly the reason for the delay.
December 21, 2004 - Just sent out cast and crew members copies with full menu options DVD, complete with bloopers and outtakes- as well as an alternate ending.