Donna May

More Gifts

dmaymay — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:14:47 +0000

8/31/08More giftsSpoke with Mack Price, Sydney’s father. He is still interested in working with the movie. Yea! I was nervous that since Sydney won’t be able to participate, Mack would decide to not work with the movie as well. I’m so thankful he still wants to do it.

We need a picture of a male musician from the late 1970’s, early 1980’s. He said he has a great one and is looking for it now. One with a mustache and long hair. It sounds perfect. Also he wants to write a song for the song we will use for Jack Ditty. I was thinking he could try to make one of his current songs sound like it is from the 60’s. But he said he actually wants to write one for the movie! Wow! How cool is that?

-Donna May

Reflections on the photo shoot

dmaymay — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:09:00 +0000

8/29/08Reflections on the shoot daySo the shoot was incredible. That being said, the past couple of days have been rough, time wise. I just started teaching at the local community college. In fact this is my first week to teach there. So really the shoot coming the very first week of classes is not the best timing. But that’s when Barbara, the photographer, could come so we have to take advantage of that. I met with Barbara at 9:00 in the morning yesterday to have a short production meeting to talk about how we wanted the day to go and what kind of pictures were needed for the movie. We discussed some possible locations for the band group shot and some ideas for Lyz, the actress that would be there for shots, too. Jimmy, the drummer, got there a little bit early for his 10:00 shoot. Jimmy is awesome. He called me to let me know he was on his way and then got there early. I was so pleased with that. And he showed up looking fabulous! Barbara powdered him down a bit and she and Jimmy were off. Lyz got there just a few minutes after Jimmy. Also, looking fabulous. I had asked her to arrive at the shoot camera ready since the day was stacked. Barbara is a marvelous make up artist. Very often she does the make up for the shoot as well. Of course that’s when she’s shooting at a leisurely pace. Yesterday was not leisurely. The artists were scheduled just an hour apart. So I was happy when Lyz walked in looking gorgeous. Of course I think she is a natural beauty. We went over some of the wardrobe she brought. When I looked at the clock, it was 10:30 and I was running late to be at school by 11:00.

I raced across town to get to school, just barely making it in time to teach my first class. Then, as soon as classes were over, I raced back to the photo shoot arriving right at 5:30, which is when the group shots of the band were supposed to start. All that racing around was incredibly stressful. In the morning, I was really worried I was going to be late for my classes. Not a good thing for the first week of classes as a new instructor. I’m sure my blood pressure was through the roof. While rushing around in the car and feeling the weight of the day, I took a breath and had a realization of how momentous the day was. I’m teaching a class I’ve always wanted to teach and I’m in the process of making my first feature film. That is indeed a wonderful thing. I don’t think there are many moments like that in life. I calmed down and meditated on that. This morning I went back over to the shoot location to have my shots taken and then taught my classes afterwards. I’m thankful my classes are in the afternoon so I can do that but I am completely exhausted now. Must get SLEEP, now!

Hot and Sweaty

dmaymay — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:23:43 +0000

08/28/08
Wow! What a great past couple of days. Barbara Benvil, (http://www.benvilphotography.com/) the photographer, is in town taking pictures for the movie. She has been taking shots of the band Seven Story Drop (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm... ) and Lyz. It has been absolutely fantastic. Barbara has such an amazing eye. She has a great talent for seeing people's talents and capturing them on camera. It was over a hundred degrees outside and she did all of the shots outside. So everybody got hot and sweaty. And lots of the shots were hot and sweaty . Oh, fabulous shots. The photos will be used in the film for the poster shot and for the calendar. It was a long, hot day. We were at Barbara's friend's house. The house was beautiful. The friend could be an interior designer. It was so wonderful.

At the end of the day when we were doing the group shots of the band, we were in the alley when Barbara wanted to shoot them in front of the neighbors white garage. So the guys ran over to it. I was holding the light reflector and Barbara just started shooting. Well, after a couple of minutes, the garage door starts making that noise like someone pressed the button inside. And in fact, the door starts going up. The band scatters but not fast enough. The owner of the garage does a double take. Barbara immediately walks over and introduces herself. Thank God. This is Texas. People carry guns here. And the guys looked liked tough, rockers. We all could have gotten shot. Barbara diffused the situation with her charm and the woman was OK with us taking the pictures.

After the shoot was over, I could tell Barbara was completely spent. She didn't get a break all day. Her cameras area heavy. For her it was like lifting weights all day. But it was so worth it. I hope she thinks so too. The band members had a great time. I was happy they got to work with a professional photographer who really knows how to work with people. Jeff said she had him rolling around on the floor. Whoa. I can't wait to see those shots. At the end of the day, Barbara and I went to have a couple of drinks and we finally got a chance to chat a little bit. She has been working all over the place. She does lots of work in Atlanta and had the opportunity to go to the Caribbean for a big shoot. The next day, Barbara was able to get some shots of me, too. It's funny, I can coach others in front of a camera and yet when I'm in front of it, I feel so self conscience and insecure. So Barbara had to walk me through it too!

More Hard Decisions

dmaymay — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:43:45 +0000

Just spoke with Sydney. She’s been looking into the details of the class Jeremiah recommended in New York. Although she is excited to be taking the classes, she has decided that taking classes up until December is going to be too much work for her. She is already a student and she has a part time job as well. She is simply not going to be able to take the classes. I completely understand. But oh man. I’ve had to take a hard look at working with her in the movie. With her living in New York and not being able to take the classes, I’ve had to make the decision to replace her as Lovely. I really hate that. She is such a talented person and she absolutely looks like my Lovely and has the same qualities. BUT, these are the dilemmas directors face. I called her today and I think she was a bit relieved to hear the news. She’s working really hard right now on so many different things. This will take some weight off of her. So, I’m looking for a new Lovely. Preferably one that lives in Dallas. I am still interested in working with Sydney’s father on the film. I asked Sydney if that would make her uncomfortable and she said no, which was great news to hear. I sent her father ( Mack Price ) an email and we will chat about it this weekend. I am a bit heart broken that Sydney won’t be on this film but I just know we’ll work together one day. The timing was not right this time.

Asking Old Friends for Advice

dmaymay — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:08:53 +0000

Jeremiah Comey

Spoke with my ex-acting teacher in Los Angeles, Jeremiah Comey. (http://www.jeremiahcomey.com/). I was hoping he could recommend an acting teacher in New York where Sydney could take class and he did. It’s been a while since I’ve spoken with him and it was great to get a minute to chat. He had to leave his groovy building at Hollywood and Vine. It was an old nightclub that had been converted into his studio. It was around the corner from the Pantages and I used to see Anngelyne’s Corvet parked on the street. Apparently her office was near there, too. There was a great juice place just down the street where you could get a mean celery, parley and cucumber juice! I am so thankful for Jeremiah’s recommendation. It is really too bad that Sydney can’t take class form Jeremiah. He has a lot to teach. He helps develop so many wonderful actors in his classes. I learned so much from him. Although I didn’t realize it at the time (because I didn’t know I would move behind the camera), he showed me how to get good performances with actors with great nuance nuances. I hope I can measure up to his teaching. He has a book out now called, The Art of Film Acting. I think I’ll get if for all of the actors cast so far. Jeremiah also told me about another one of his ex-students who is now directing. His name is Johnny Asuncion and from his IMDB page (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1193694/). He looks like he’s done quite a bit of work including a movie at festivals right now called FLOAT. I can’t wait to see it. Jeremiah has a film that’s going to festivals too, called WHILE YOU WERE AWAY, that looks great, too.

All in the family

dmaymay — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 02:52:49 +0000

07/20/08
Spoke with Sydney Price’s parents today. They are wonderful. They are both full of life and were so easy to speak with. I explained the story line to them. They liked it and are all for Sydney getting involved with the film. Yea! Sydney’s father is a musician. And he is about the age the father in the film would be. So it might be possible to use his picture for the one that Lovely refers to in her apartment. This would be so great to have Sydney’s real family involved since the theme of the film is that we inherit our talents from our parents. Also, it might be possible for Syndney’s father, Mack Price, to record a song of his own that we’ll use for Jack Dittie’s song. Yea again! Things are looking good

Gifts from the Gods

dmaymay — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:22:15 +0000

Spoke with Barbara Benvil (http://www.benvilphotography.com/). She is the most amazing photographer. She is coming to Dallas. As soon as I heard that, I knew she had to take pictures for the movie. In the film there is a Seven Story Drop poster and calendar. She used to do my headshots. Once she started doing them, I started getting called in for auditions all of the time. She has a real talent for seeing other people’s unique qualitites and transfers that to the photos she takes. She makes everyone look fabulous. She said she could do some shots for us. Yea! She'll be taking pictures for the poster and the calendar as well as some general promo pics of the band and Jeff by himself as the male lead. I feel so lucky she can do it.

Back in Paradise

dmaymay — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:43:54 +0000

Met with the band Seven Story Drop today. Needed to let them know that the shoot has been postponed to January. As I arrived at the studio where they were rehearsing, they were pulling up a trailer to load after their rehearsal. They were headed to Snyder for a 4th of July concert. All the guys were there. Jeff, Andrew, Mark, Dewayne and Jimmy. These guys are all so handsome. I imagine the women watching the film will fall in love with them instantly. There’s Jeff, the lead singer, who has cute puppy dog eyes with a body that’s all man. He’s got a great voice and sings with such passion. And he’s a nice guy. There’s Mark, the lead guitar player. He had the most incredible guitar chops and unexpected blue eyes you can get lost in. His wife is a lucky woman. Andrew plays rhythm guitar. He is the classic dark and handsome. When he looks at you with his dark hair and eyes your heart melts. Dewayne is the guy next door who gets really sexy when he plays his bass. Jimmy is the drummer who has a hidden intellectuality along wit his tattoos. I’m so looking forward to working with these guys. They are a wonderful band and each musician has his own talent.

Chick Flick Rebellion II

dmaymay — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:06:26 +0000

06/20/08

Chick Flick Rebellion II

OK so just watched a great Chick Flick. It’s Jane Campion’s In The Cut. This film may have a crossover appeal as it’s got Meg Ryan naked. And it’s also got Mark Ruffalo. Naked. Beautifully so. As in completely. And we women get to see it. Thank you, Jane Campion! I’d seen the movie before and got it off the shelf just for the heck of it. Then when it came to the sex scene, I had completely forgotten about it. It is so well done. Beautifully shot. The Cinematographer ( Dion Beebe http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0066244/ ) uses something called a swing tilt camera for part of it. The focal point is narrow so part of the image is out of focus with another part being in focus. The effect is magical. Makes me want to learn how to use that camera. Apparently it’s been around for a long time. Just checked the IMDB page of Dion Beebe. He was DP for Collateral. I used to work with Stuart Beattie, the writer for that film. Is that 6 degrees of separation? Anyways, this post has to do with my film because I've been inspired by Jane Campion. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001005/

The X Files lessons and More Inspiration

dmaymay — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:57:15 +0000

06/17/08

More inspiration from friends. Met with my producer friend, Sharon Hewitt today. It was a great evening. She is a creative thinker. We have parallel projects. Meaning we are both working on projects and we seem to have some of the same challenges. We brainstormed some ideas of how to approach marketing the projects once they’re done. One of the biggest things as an independent producer is figuring out how to get your project out into the world. The projects take so much of your time. As in years of your life.

That is one of the things I think most people don’t realize when you talk to them about shooting a project. Everything takes foreeeeeever. First of all, once the actual shooting takes place, there is the lighting which takes a while. Then there are the props and the camera rehearsal. Then when you shoot and go back and do another take of the same scene, you’ve got to reset the scene back to the beginning. And that’s just from one angle. Usually you get the Close ups, the long shots, the reversals, etc. Here’s an example. I was on and episode of the X-files tv show. I played a rattlesnake worshiper. The scene was a woman giving birth to snakes with her cult sisters surrounding her. The scene included a special effect that was a moving prosthetic the actress giving birth had to wear. It was a fake stomach that moved as if baby snakes were moving inside her stomach. Here is how it worked. Two SFX guys off camera had a remote control device attached to the stomach that made the “baby snakes” move. The camera man used a hand held camera, panned it in front of the cult sisters then panned down to the woman’s stomach where the baby snakes were moving. Then the camera panned over to where we see the woman give birth to the snakes. (Another guy off camera pours water with baby snakes in it on the woman to simulate her giving birth.) All in one take. So the crew had to move the cameras, start the SFX snakes, pour the water on the woman and at the same time the actress had to do her thing and act like she was giving birth to the snakes. This scene had to be rehearsed several times to get the timing right for the cameras and the actors. Then when the cameras rolled, each take took about 8 minutes to shoot and then another 10 minutes to clean up the water, dry everything off and have the actress change into fresh, dry clothes before cameras could roll again to do another take. (Because the production was about to go into golden time, I ended up not being in that scene. They didn’t want to take the time to have the stand-ins and actors change places so the stand-in ended up on camera.) So you see, everything takes a long time.

Getting back to my friend, Sharon Hewitt. We are both trying to figure out what and where our market will be after the films are shot. And we both got so excited about the possibilities the internet brings up. So we are figuring out a model to use for both of our projects. We are open for ideas, too.