Miracles

Over a year later, this shoot was still one of the longest, most boring shoots I’ve ever been on!

I was in the far back corner of a studio audience for a scene on a now-cancelled show called Miracles… Don’t bother watching for me. Even if the show actually airs, you won’t see me. The scene was a psychic talk show called ‘Into The Light with Jason Herlock’. I was in the upper upper upper right hand corner of the audience risers and it was a royal pain to get out of my seat even during the few ten minute breaks we got.

We spent twelve hours working on that two minute scene because the director needed to get it from every conceivable angle and with every lens ever invented…on video, on film, left, right, over the shoulder, establishing, mid, inserts, crane, every angle imaginable…Except one…And I swore I wasn’t going to be surprised if they’d dug a hole and shot the scene from directly below the actors, getting that up-the-nostril shot. I honestly swear that was the only angle they didn’t shoot it from. Needless to say, I was truly bored until I grabbed my book and hid it when cameras were rolling.

Since then, I’ve learned that it’s always good to bring a book. It can be sat upon, stashed in a pocket or hidden within the set when cameras are rolling. Along with a pocket-size notebook and folding pen for writing scenes and notes, I’ve also discovered using my handheld with ebooks loaded in it because depending on the scene, it can also double as an intellectual prop and I can get more notes and scenes typed in it even during the shot.

Miracles, so far, has been the only show where a single scene lasted the whole shoot. I’ve had longer days, but they had several scenes instead of just the one. And to think that after twelve hours, there was still a group of extras who hadn’t even been used yet. Jeepers creepers! I’d thought I’d been bored!

Bonus: I actually did make it into the finished product…

Comments are closed.