I sometimes feel as though I waste too much time thinking about what I want to do, rather than taking the necessary steps to actually accomplish things. My wandering mind and need for grand inspiration are my largest flaws. I find finishing things I’ve started to sometimes be a difficult task as well.

I’m beginning to feel like a real person.

Things need to change. Not “things should change,” but instead they need to.

I refuse to accept this from myself.

Maryland Filmmaking or: How I Learned That It Might Be a Good Idea to Keep This Place the Way It Is

It was day one of Car Trouble’s principle photography. We were an hour behind schedule, and had many frustrating moments of waiting due to cars passing by and ruining our shots and sound. I wouldn’t say that tension was high, but it is safe to say that people were stressed. I was. Then again, when am I not stressed while on set?

I heard the words “Sound speeding”. I hit record. “Cam speeds, marker.” Before Serhat, the 1st AC, could even mark it, a white SUV drove behind us, pulled over, and stopped right there. I could practically see my reflection on the grill, that’s how close it was, mid-take. Cue widespread groaning from the everyone present.

At that point, our thoughts were “Really? After all of this, we’re gonna get shut down?” Of course we weren’t filming with permits or anything. What do I look like? I can’t afford that shit, and neither could anyone else. We need every dollar in the budget to go to food and equipment. That’s about it. Any extra must be divvied up for the other costs.

Out stepped a rotund man in uniform. He had black boots and a crew cut.

“How’s it going?” I said.

“Alright. How’re y’all doin’ today?” he responds.

 ”Fine,” everyone uttered in a defeated manner.

“So what’re y’all doin’ out here?”

We talked about what we were doing, said we were students (true), said it was a student project (lie), and played dumb a little bit. He informed us that we were filming on what was technically state park land. We said we didn’t know (true). He said he just wanted to check it out, and that many film crews come through trying to film, and that he wanted to know the size and other details. I imagine if we didn’t say it was a student project he’d say we need a permit.

He wished us a good day, and good luck, and went on his way.

“This is why I love Maryland,” I said immediately after he drove off.

And it’s true. I love Maryland. I love filming in Maryland. If I felt I had a choice, I’d stay in Maryland my whole life. If it were California, we’d be done. No more filming. On state park land? Even worse. A fine? Not in Maryland.

That brings me to the idea of tax incentives in Maryland, which is currently in discussion state-wide. I do not think that Maryland should offer tax incentives to productions, because the volume of productions will increase, and ruin what Maryland has going for it. Maryland’s economy doesn’t need boosting. Maryland’s jobs don’t need boosting. Maryland is just fine how it is: welcoming, understanding, and untouched.

Reputations

From what I have come to understand, in film your reputation is pretty valuable, as it is in life in general. No one wants to surround themselves with undependable people who they cannot trust. Not even untrustworthy people want to be around untrustworthy people. Who would? When you give your word to do something, you do it. If you don’t, you are by most definitions untrustworthy. On Thursday, our second day of production for Car Trouble, one of our actresses decided not to show up, and to not tell us about it beforehand. There we were, trying to run a professional set, and this girl makes our lives all the much more difficult. She didn’t call, email, telegraph, or perform any other attempts at communicating her absence. She turned off her phone, and would not respond to any forms of contact on our behalf. Now, I’m not going to sit here and slander her or anything, but what she did is completely wrong. We were basically screwed. We allocated that day for what we were filming, the entire cast and crew was present, and we were held back by an inconsiderate person.

We waited an hour and a half. I suppose we were foolish for waiting that long. I think we’re nice people, and we wanted to give her a chance. Maybe something happened on the way down. Who knew? We gave her the benefit of the doubt. After we felt that we had waited long enough, we didn’t panic. I’m proud that we kept cool heads and handled it well. We called one of the actresses who auditioned and we liked, and went down mercy street. Luckily, she was totally down. One of the grips drove out and got her, and we filmed a scene that her character was absent for until she got to the location.

Overall, here’s the message: if you’re going to bail, don’t agree to do it in the first place. Okay, that’s easier said than done. Here’s the real message: if you’re going to bail, communicate. If you don’t communicate because you’re afraid whoever you’re bailing on will get mad, you are making a foolish mistake. If you say nothing, it is an absolute that they will be mad. If you say something, you have nothing to lose.

We still haven’t heard from that actress…