Now, we start rolling.

This is the first time I’ll be behind the camera, other than for the Horrorfind commercial in March. So, I made a checklist for the set:

• Charged battery…check.
• Tape in, queued up…check.
• White balance set…check.
• XL1 set to interlaced mode…check (we’re converting to 24p, but that’s a whole, upcoming, post in itself).
• Subject framed…check.
• Lights set properly…check.

And, um, anything else?

Oh yeah,

• Focused? …check. Whew!

Photo provided by Robert Long II

We finished auditions for our next feature last weekend. We didn’t get as large a turnout as we expected, but the quality of those that did show up was surprisingly high. Usually, about 5-10% are really good, another 10% we can work with, and the rest should look for a new career, but this time we must have gotten at least 15% that were excellent, and another 20% that were workable. I’ll take that kind of quality over quantity any day.

After viewing the tape and mulling over the choices, we decided–with very little disagreement–on our cast of choice. It was comforting to see that most of the parts had solid backups in case the first choice didn’t work out.

This week we called the actors and made the offers. Nearly everyone accepted– excitedly. While we had to go for a couple of backups, we don’t feel like we settled in the least.

Now we’re gearing up for production, which should begin in July. There’s a lot left to do before then. Final script tweaking, prop gathering/crafting, scheduling, scouting a few more locations, purchasing equipment, and drafting all kinds of lists.

Whew, that’s a lot. And I wouldn’t miss it.