Thursday, August 7th, and Friday, August 8th, 2008

Earlier in the week, I sent Kyle a message asking if we can move the equipment to his house sometime this week before we shoot. The call time is 9am, which is pretty early for us, so the less work we have to do before 9am, the earlier we can get started, and the more sleep we get, the smoother the ride will be.

On Friday when I check my facebook account around one in the afternoon, there’s a message from Kyle, addressed to Bill, Alicia and myself, saying that he’ll be unavailable to move equipment other than in the next twenty minutes. He sent this message around noon.

Well, first of all, twenty minutes wouldn’t even give us enough time to pack the gear into the truck, let alone time enough to unload it. He’s also sending this message with a twenty minute allowance over the internet the day before we need to shoot. So rather than call and let us know and give us time, he sends us a message with a strict timeline that can go unchecked for awhile.

Thanks.

Not only is this a douche bag move, it’s an asshole move. It’s not even inconsiderate, it’s abhorrent. We probably could’ve hit the twenty minute mark with more notice, such as a call an hour or two ahead of time, but as it stood, we’d have to be at Bills around 7:30am to pack up the gear, move the gear, unload the gear, then set-up the gear.

We decided not to.

I’m thinking we’ll have to do the wee hours of the morning thing, and Bill scrambles to get a location. We get his Mom’s house in Grimsby, which will work out perfect because she’s supposed to go away camping the two days we’d need her house for.

We decide not to tell Kyle, and replace him with a light-stand, because to be honest, he’s been fairly useless lately. The last time on set for Desolation Row he passed out while he got there late, just like many times throughout the shoot. And this isn’t Bill or Carey late either. This is “oh, I arrived just as you guys are done loading equipment. Aw shucks.”

For two of the four days on Desolation Row, he was a worker. The other two days, he was just like the light-stand; inanimate.

For this shoot on The Van Halen Guitar, he has said he wouldn’t be available other than the days that we’re shooting at his house because he has to work. I understand people have to work, and they won’t be able to make it to every shoot, but EVERYONE has to work. Alicia has actually turned down work to do this stuff. The actors have missed work, as well as Bill. So yes, I understand that people need to work, but if you want to be part of the show, you need to buy a ticket.

You can’t just come into the locker room after the World Series has been won and expect to drink champagne when you haven’t thrown a pitch. If you want to be a part of us, you have to contribute, not just be there when the dust settles.

So Friday evening, Alicia, Bill and myself load the gear into Bills truck and unpack it in Grimsby. Alicia sends an email to the actors involved in the shoot day and we have changed locations.

Also, earlier in the week, Bill and I went out and purchased a prop shotgun that we’ll need on Sunday for The Barber, and I got some longer screws for the Glidecam system. Since I’m not using the Brevis for this shoot, I need to make my camera heavier to engage the springs of the system. I can make it heavier by adding the camera weight plates I got with the system, but I need longer screws to go through the plates and attach to the quick release plate adapter I got.

I watch a couple of movies and storyboard some more for the project before we shoot.