Rubbin' is Racin'

So I've decided to title all my blog posts from here until I end this job - what two, going on 10, weeks? - after random quotes from Tom Cruise movies. [Bonus points to whoever can name this post's reference]

But aside from that, I also wanted to throw up a quick post here before I go to bed (just got back from the office...it's 1am) because something rather exciting happened at work today. I mean, to everyone else at work, it was nothing and certainly, within the grand scheme of the movie, it was nothing. But to me, it was a reminder of why I got into this line of work and why I could not sit at a desk for 60 hours a week. What happened today was fresh, thrilling, it was a rush!

Basically we've come to the point in filming where you've got to tie up loose ends. Throughout a filming schedule, there are always those little things - inserts, close-ups, push-ins - that can't quite fit within the confines of a day's shooting schedule and are cast out in the milieu of last weeks' work. And so without fail, here we were at the stage trying to get those missing shots. One such shot was a push-in on Tom in a car. Sounds simple right. The car doesn't have to move. Tom just needed to move his head ever so slightly. But to make the scene feel alive and natural within the rest of the scene we shot over three months ago, there needed to be movement of other traffic behind. That's where I came in...

The 2nd 2nd AD has done a terrific job of immersing me into other aspects of the job of an AD. Before the holiday hiatus, he had me place a street full of background actors, give them intentions, what have you. It was exciting to feel like an active contributor to the creative process, since after all this is a creative industry. But today, he had a new job for me: Be part of the traffic moving behind to keep this push-in alive.

And so, I swiped the 2nd AD's keys, hopped in his car, and got to my start mark. The mission was simple enough. Be one of two cars to drive behind Tom's car at a natural speed, a distance of about 100 feet. Easy, right? Oh wait, but we're going to keep rolling for a while and do numerous looks all in one take, so as soon as you clear the frame, whip around and get ready to cross again. Because, may I remind you, there are only two cars. Yes, it would make sense to have more cars, but the road was tight (made even tighter by a condor lift in the middle of the road. So, as the two cars are crossing, you basically graze past each other and then attempt to do-si-do around until you're lined up again. Oh yeah, and there's always the chance a train might roll through. Sounding a little more tricky now right?

But for me it was awesome! It beat the mundane monotony that is paperwork. I was pushing pedal to the metal, doing some epic K-turns (is that an oxymoron?), and reacting to my surroundings. I felt like a stunt guy (God only knows what kind of driving actual stunt guys are expected to handle).

At the same time, it was a humbling experience. I was so jazzed up about an element of the movie that is so miniscule within the greater scheme of things. Surely the shot is so tight on Tom's face that my peeling out in a silver Nissan Sentra rental only provides a hint of reflected light on his cheek. Yet it actually felt like something. Something real. And that's ultimately the role I want to have within this industry, preferably on a larger more noticeable scale. To further quote the mystery movie that lent today's blog its title, "I'm more afraid of being nothing than I am of being hurt." What department I need to be in to best achieve that goal is anyone's guess, but right now I appreciate being where I am and being able to do the diverse things I get to do each day.