Oh, P.S.

Dear Boys of Self Storage

Ya'll looked super cute with your goofy gross mustaches

but I am glad they are gone.

Why?

Because now we can see all your beautiful smiles

Unclouded by historic facial hair.

Welcome back to the 21st century

you handsome devils

Love,

The Costume Mistress

Clean Up

11 am--FCLO: I return all of my rentals... but I forgot the hat... goodness sakes... 

So I'll have to go back to return the hat

11:30 am--Buffalo Exchange: I sell things--$22 worth of things. so that's a third of my overbudget deficit 

12 pm--art from the Penniless Writer for "Still"

6 pm--stuck in 101N traffic... in the rain... and the dark... ugggggggggg

7:25 pm--Cop Prop Shop: drop off all of the Riot Police gear... something Production Designer should have done but since it is her birthday, it is a labor of love. Thankfully we're not nailed for a late fee. They don't care. Why? cuz they are amazing people

I am doing post-Self Storage clean up

and I feel like life is going back to normal:

a birthday cake for my roommate Larissa

linner with my little brother since we need to catch up on life

a clean kitchen thanks to Jerelyn

all of us together watching Darjeeling Limited, having a good time

It's back to "Still" now

I feel so good. so. so. so. sooooo good.

Now to get back the remaining $42 that I owe Production Designer for covering my butt at the Cop Prop Shop... ending in me covering my own butt. I have put a lot of my own $$ into this film, but it's okay. I just hope the film turns out amazing.

On the latest gossip:

UPM and Key Grip are back together... as some have anticipated

For myself... well, that's all secret business ladies and gentlemen....

Until post production,

much love

The Costume Mistress

Filming Day 6: THAT'S A WRAP!

"That's a wrap!" Boss Man yelled.

We all cheered and applauded. 

We hugged and kissed and smiled and laughed.

We took an all-crew, all-cast photo.

We toasted and drank to our good time and success.

We thanked each other

And then we inhaled Chipotle burritos as if we had never seen food before.

It was a great day. A great long day.

I hope all the boys went home to shave off their nasty mustaches

I hope our feet ache only with the satisfaction of a job well done

I hope our thoughts turn to our God, the fountain from which we gain all inspiration and strength

I hope our hearts are endeared to one another

I hope that the premiere is not the next time we see each other

Good night SS crew

May your dreams be sweet and your morning lacking in stress

-Felicia Heykoop

The Costume Mistress

Filming Day 5

Well I started the day off right by getting to set a whole hour before my call time. Unfortunately, with Makeup Mistress being my roommate, she came too early too. When 1AD asked me why I was so early and revealed to me that I was not called until 8:45 I told him not to tell Makeup Mistress. I broke it to her myself.

"I am going to kill you," she said bluntly. "I could be still sleeping." 

I apologized profusely. She settled for a nap in my car and was in a better mood when I got her at 9.

Other than my scheduling mistake, it was a good day. Really good.

Some details:

worked on shirts for the Guy and Zoning Officer characters until 3 am

3 hour nap until 6:45 am

on set early, not feeling well--when I don't sleep I feel sicker

And feeling sicker

and sicker as the day wears on because the food on set is not good for you

Green Rockstar #2 which tastes like utter poison

my non-nitrate diet means I cannot eat neither lunch nor dinner (tomorrow I will pack my own, just in case this happens again)

UPM his minor hysterical breakdown so I spike her Diet Coke with Kava extract--the new ambrosia and nectar of my filmmaking career

BTS girl is here! Oh my gosh, where have you been?

An amazing set--kudos to Production Designer and her kick ass team. I feel like hippies really do live here

A round of "happy birthday" for Production Designer (24 on Monday) and Steve (Guy character, 57 as of today!) as well as delicious pink cupcakes

A gracious Starbucks run by The Not-So-Penniless Writer for a latte that warms my aching cold bones and clears my foggy head

An ahmazing conversation with Makeup Mistress that reminds me why I love where I live and with whom I live. (I am blessed to live in a house full of love. We really do genuinely care for one another. We take time to sit and listen, give advice, bear one another's burdens. We have family meals, we host our friends, we dance and laugh and clean and jump on the trampoline. Makeup Mistress... wow do I love her. She is a part of my sanctuary on set and at home. I love her very much and thank the Lord for bringing us together at long last).

Wrapping an hour late and being unaware because of such wonderful conversation. PTL!

Tomorrow is the end. Hallelujah. I will miss this wonderful crew. I look forward to these fostered friendships, new and old and the return to normalcy in our relationships. It has been a privilege to work beside and learn from such a wonderful group of people.

gone to the dark side

There is a reason that things that you shouldn't ingest taste horrible.

Mother nature has been good to us.

So why am I drinking this HORRENDOUS stuff?

Musical Inspiration

I have been listening to a lot of Daniel Johnston, Bright Eyes and Muddy Waters while working on these costumes.

I am adding "Four Winds" by Bright Eyes to my list of Self Storage songs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqPVXTOKqqs

[oi. marry me]

Days left of shooting: 3 (almost done!)

Costumes needed: 1 (almost done!!!)

let's talk about stress

boy can I tell you the stories.

The Production Designer saved by sorry stressed butt today by initiating a run to the Cop Prop Shop, a prop house run out of the home and garage of a lovely couple from New Jersey who were so gracious to us. Armed with cups of coffee and a yellow legal pad, we made a shopping list, fine-tuned it thanks to lack of budget and walked out of there an hour later with everything we needed. Even worse though, she had to spot me some of her budget to cover everything. I am so embarassed. I told people I would go under budget and I would have if the film did not get shoved around so much, we didn't recast, I had adequate contact information and kept better track of all my money and better contact with the whole crew. It is a two-way street. I am learning. I must exercise forgiveness for myself... and everyone else.

In the broad scheme of things: it really isn't that big of a deal.

Self Storage is not the end of the world.

Now the only costume I have left to worry about is the shirt I am making The Penniless Writer. That's it! (Poor guy. I hope he does not find this blog for a while. I can't imagine how it would be to read about how what was a fun story has become an agent of stress for the people making it, though I guess that is to be expected at any rate. Still. I feel horrible about it myself.)

Time spent with the Production Designer was great and much needed. I was reminded that before we did all this movie crap, we were friends. We danced together, laughed and swam and joked and picked on each other. We were normal. Now we are THE ART DEPARTMENT HEADS. What in the flip. She's not even really my boss. We both feel we have learned a lot from this past weekend and vow to be more on top of it this next weekend. Saturday we have 20 set ups, Sunday we have 30. This weekend is going to be hell. Lady Producer is working on finding us a second makeup artist since we will have a full cast and I'm still worried about it. The last thing I want is for the production to be held up for makeup and wardrobe. I would be mortified.

After family dinner for two hours with half of the "Still" crew, Key Grip and I went to the Self Storage Dept head meeting for two more hours. Now let's talk about stress. I can't even convey how badly my head hurts right now. I am trying to shrug off the mistakes. I am trying to release the anger. I am trying to refresh my mind. I am trying to finalize my vision. I am trying to keep on the same page as everyone else. I am trying (god, desperately trying) not to panic.

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend kicked the crap outta me.

out of all of us, I bet

Day three went well for me even though I had to leave early (and I much rather have been on set than at the SOS appreciation banquet that I attended instead of the last half of yesterday. ugg)

It was an odd day. We had a lot of people on set, more than I would deem necessary and we were getting too relaxed to be as productive as possible. The Penniless Writer was there which surprised me. We hadn't seen him for the first two days and it was interesting to hear his experience with seeing the reality of the film vs what had lived in his mind for a whole year prior. Even more to my surprise was his reasoning for not being on set prior to day 3. 

He had read my "Still" director's blog and had taken very seriously one of my entries about not wanting Mr. Supe ("Still"s writer) to be on set with me because I believed having the writer on set opened the door for all sorts of problems. I was shocked. How does my opinion about my own film so affect a member of another film? Boss Man is his boss, not me. I must remember to be very tactful. It wasn't that I didn't want to see him there--I did--and not that I wouldn't love to have Mr. Supe's support on the set of "Still"--it's just that I am well aware of the conflict of interests. In all honesty, I wanted The Penniless Writer to be there to share in the joy I felt for him--that joy caused by finally seeing the characters come to life on set.

I had my mentee Alyssa from the CMA mentorship program on set with me. It was our first time meeting but this was the only day that was going to work for her to shadow me. She is a busy little bee. She is a sophomore and this is her first year in the film program. Already I see her experiencing the same excitement and anxiety and frustration that plagued me my first year. It's odd to revisit all that. It seems a lifetime ago. But it's amazing the level of maturity and self-discovery you achieve by the time you get to my age. Imagine how much more is ahead of me, only half way through my BA and on the verge of directing my own major project. The anticipation of growth is killer but I know from experience that the growth involved in filmmaking is painful, time-staking and exhausting. The rewards are abundant and indescribable, though. It would take hours to relay it all and I'd still be recognizing changes months from now.

I just debriefed with the UPM which may have been a bad idea. She sees more of the problems than I do. Drama surrounding production design is through the roof--takes the cake off the locations' failure to know that the sprinklers would go off in the park right as we were scheduled to start filming. All of our stuff got so wet, including our actors' clothing which was hanging from a C-stand nearby. Makeup Mistress was beside herself. Production Design: it would take a long time to explain the frustrations there so I will spare the details. But our DP's ability to do his job is suffering because of it and that's not okay by any stretch of the imagination.

I got to see Boss Man after they wrapped and I was home from the SOS banquet around 10:30 last night. He sounded very happy, was smiling, told us he was doing well and feeling satisfied. Whenever I can on set, I ask Boss Man how he is doing or how he is feeling things are going. His positive responses give me the emotional and mental strength to keep doing my job. If he is happy, then I am happy and I am encouraged to do my best because it is what he deserves to see and he is really the ultimate beneficiary of my efforts. I can only hope my crew for "Still" will feel the same.

Filming Day 2

was amazing.

I really enjoyed myself

the stress didn't matter

the pain only kinda mattered

the boredom was basically non-existent.

it is so good to feel so a part of something. usually i don't because i am jsut make up or i'm absent or i don't know the people or we're missing a majority of the people we need. but this felt very different. we feel like friends. we fell like a team.

and it's hard to be upset when you see Boss Man walking around with a big smile. Not even his gross mustache can take away from that. it just makes you feel that yes, i am doing something worth while and awesome because Boss Man is happy.

Even better, 2nd AC's fiance, Anna, was there. When I saw her, I dropped all of the costumes I was holding right in the grass and ran to her. It was so good to talk to her again and see her and hug her. I thought none of this would happen until spring break or even until their wedding. I had no clue. Hopefully she is back tomorrow. Tomorrow I am also having my Mentee Alyssa come on board to see how we do our thing. I can't wait to get to know her and teach her about the film program and have our crew bring her in and love on her. I hope she is game because tomorrow's supposed to be a real hell of a whirlwind so says Mr. Supe.

Mr. Supe and I also got the oppurtunity to talk with Mini Supe, Key Grip and Camera Man about "Still" as we are all on that crew as well (Mini Supe is Script Supe on "Still", Key Grip is our Camera Op and Camera Man is our DP, Mr. Supe, of course, the writer and I the Director). It was so good to hear from the guys how they were feeling about the project. It makes me excited to hear their input. Too often it feels like just Mr. Supe and I getting excited and brainstorming, but in reality, the excitement permeates our crew and vision is everywhere.

Hallelujah

I cannot wait until tomorrow!

Filming Day 1

Today was long because of the conference Mr. Supe and I attended this afternoon topped by the first day of filming on Self Storage.

Poor Boss Man got off to a very bad start. He got in a car accident about an hour before we began rolling and hadn't eaten so his adrenaline levels were too high for him to function properly. I felt so bad for him. As he got into the zone though, he calmed down. He wasn't quite himself, but at least he wasn't so scattered by the end of it.

I must admit, I surprised myself with how amazing these characters looked in their costumes. It felt real--to see them in their set in their clothes. Production Designer and her crew really outdid themselves. This world is beautiful. Mr. Writer! If only you were here tonight! How exciting it must be to see your characters whom you have spent so much time grooming and loving to take on flesh and voice and clothing and space. How invigorating! I feel I have already known these people for months now and I have been reading the letter they've sent me until now I get to meet them face to face after a long distance relationship.

I honestly cannot wait until tomorrow. :)

Abuse

I was upset about the Friday shoot thing

Because no one asked if we were ready

no one asked if we were available

they just assumed

unfortunately I have a life outside of this movie

Also

Why do we feel it's okay to be totally rude to Makeup Mistress?

No one feels the need to introduce her to the rest of the crew?

Or even to the Above the Line?

as if she needs any more reason to feel out of place and alienated from us

I'm debating writing an email to the producers and 1AD....

[And believe it or not Mr. Writer:] I am having fun, I really am. I am enjoying the challenge despite the blatant abuse.

Things that make my job worthwhile:

finding ditto pants for $5 (for the Constance character... but I just can't bring myself to destroy them!)

tube socks

helpful store clerks

compliments on my boots (the ones I bought for the Maxine character that fit me too)

Boss Man's excitement when he sees my loot

The Writer being a good sport 

(good story here: so I had Writer do a fitting last night with the pants I bought. Just as I anticipated, they were severely short on him. Why did this happen? They match the measurements he gave me... which were the same as mine... I tried the pants on myself.... I measured his inseam--44"! not 34"! I had to laugh. What else can you do in this situation? Poor guy. He was such a good sport about it. Boss Man tried the pants on and they fit him perfectly. THings like these, this kind of laughter, this kind of mishap--they make me happy and make my job worth while) :)

Days until shooting: 1

Costumes left to get: 7%