Two of likely four shooting days have been completed on Child of God. We’re shooting this feature simultaneously with Amity (Child on Saturdays; Amity on Sundays), and within Child of God we are often shooting disparate scenes simultaneously. It’s enough to make this author a little schizo. I am acting, producing, shooting, kid-wrangling, singing, casting, catering, brainstorming, driving, negotiating, deliberating, pontificating, fuming, aching, capturing, sunburning, procrastinating. It’s an intense and exciting time.
Wake up, get the kids up, dressed, fed, Alejandro and Ali load up the equipment, we all pile into the van and head to the church. Alejandro shoots the sketch comedians (who are insanely brilliant) while Ali shoots me and “Cindy” (must remember to call her by her character name so the kids use it) practicing hymns while my children run rampant and (this is the hardest part) I ignore them. Then I wrestle the children into the van again, and off we go to pick up some lunch for the cast and crew. Standing in line for thirty minutes at Subway placing individual orders for fifteen while the beastlings sing and dance and ask to be held and touch the hot under-the-counter lights (That’s hot! Yes, dear, stop touching it.) Finally, the grandfolks take the kidlings away, and I don a DVX and shotgun and begin long takes of the deliciously funny improvisors, lying on the floor or doing exotic stretches in between said takes. Shoot until six, pack up, grab some dinner, return home, start capturing footage to various drives, charge batteries, make use of the massage chair, collapse into sleep, and start again the next morning with Amity.
I haven’t sung in decades, and it’s apparent. I’ve had a cough for about four months now (likely the consumption). And I was not raised with hymns, so… the learning curve is rather steep. I’m not going to really pull it off. Fortunately, Jennie sings beautifully and is patient with my (coughing) fits and (false) starts, and inability to remember which notes to hold a little longer for dramatic effect or BECAUSE THAT’S HOW THE SONG IS WRITTEN.
I’m having a crazy amount of fun. Stressful, hectic, manic, schizophrenic fun.
I’ve been in love with this movie since we started planning it a year ago. It may be very beautiful. Innocence and faith and strength and beauty and music and triumph over cynicism. Or it may have little to do with any of that. The joy of these productions is that they change according to what magic occurs every shooting day, and they change repeatedly during the (relatively) languorous editing period. All iterations have great beauty. I will fall in love with each version. I have fallen in love with every actor and every crew member. I love making movies.
I’m also looking forward to sleeping away the month of July.
This post was cross-published on the Child of God website.