Well, well, well, it’s the moment I’ve been waiting for, the fight scene. Today was definitely the most interesting day I’ve experienced when it comes to filming our short film, just as it should be given that today was our final day of filming. We began by shooting the Italian restaurant sequence. The entire day has been overcast and cloudy, so it wasn't surprising when it started to drizzle. Nevertheless, today was the day that we needed to wrap everything up, so we needed to power through it. Before we stepped foot outside though, we needed to simulate the consumption of alcohol, so we whipped up a concoction of Sprite, water, and lime juice in a wine glass, making for an unpleasant, nonalcoholic, white wine-resembling beverage. When it came to the subject's partner, we simply provided her with a glass of water, serving as a contrast between their two drink choices and conflicting personalities. Once there was a break in the rain, we began to film as quickly as we possibly could, only taking us three takes to get the shots we desired. As I had done with the office and subsequent bedroom scenes leading up to the date, I posed the subject in the same manner that she had been, leaning at an angle with a smile on her face. Using the same logic as we had in previous scenes, I filmed the shots in which she was shown in one long take before switching over to filming her partner. In editing, I plan to combine these clips together to achieve both the effect of an eye-line match and cross-cutting. Going a bit off script, we used a close-up shot of the subject’s partner to allow for a real-time reaction to her observance of the subject drinking from her glass five times, which ties better into the following argument scene.
Speaking of that argument scene, we initially intended to have our primary subject's partner pacing around behind them on the couch as they scolded the subject. However, when reevaluating our filming location, we discovered that not only was the couch attached to the wall, but there was also a mirror that sits directly behind the couch, meaning that if I recorded directly in front of it, I would be present within the shot. Hence, I decided to shoot from an angle to account for said mirror. When it came to the general layout of the room, my team and I decided to make it look as neat and clean as possible, once again drawing a contrast between the two personalities and lifestyles of the subject and their partner. Given the context and subject of the argument, we also rolled up an alcoholic drink cart and had it be visible within the frame. With the physical altercation that transpired, I also ensured that the shot of our subject’s partner being killed after being smaller against the corner of the wall was obscured. That way we could also make certain that the groupmate playing the subject’s partner was not actually injured, given that safety is our utmost concern.
When we had both of those two scenes completed, we changed set locations and headed over to my teammate’s other home where we filmed her in her living room with the scene following the soured date. It did take a few tries to get her to nail the tone and emotions, but overall for someone who isn’t a professional actress, she did a pretty good job! We also discovered that we have unsuspectingly engaged in a continuity error, having the subject not dressed in her date attire the morning after the date. To accommodate for this error, I recommended that we show the subject get up to leave the frame and presumably get ready for bed before returning to the couch and falling asleep there.
As per usual, here are a few production stills to give you a better idea of what the filming process looks like from my perspective and that of my team.
The photograph above is of my other teammate who is portraying the subject’s partner as we attempt to get the framing of her face just right so that her reactions to the subject’s drinking are the most central part of the shot.
Even though we’re almost at the end of our journey, I want you to know that I’m still here and “I’m in it for the long haul” (Ian Munsick, 2021).
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