In which the boom operator takes note of a gore special effects day from start to finish.
Friday 9:00 am
(It’s not Friday, it’s Saturday because we did a sixth day last week and it’s not 9:00 am, it’s 2:30 pm because we’ve been pushing the call time all week.) We’re going to shoot a few pages and do the highly technical blood gag, in which the actor opens a laptop and the monster ex machina shoots out a bolt of electricity and explodes her head, last.
Big effects gags are always done at the end of the day. It’s a 1st assistant director trick to keep the director from blowing a whole day on an effect. What it means, in reality, is that we’re short on time at the end of the day and also exhausted.
10:00 am (3:30 pm)
This is painfully slow. FX unloads. They look like if you wrote a movie about a band of ne’er-do-wells who start a special effects company, which is, you know, fitting.
5:00 pm (10:30 pm)
We’re getting set up now. The gag is basically a laptop with three rubber hoses drilled through the bottom that run back to a contraption that is operated by a man with nine fingers. Compressed air propels fake blood that has been loaded into the lines when a cue is given and the nine-fingered man opens the valve. It’s all very scientific. The thing is a LOT bulkier than it sounds and hiding the blood lines is almost always nearly impossible. The actor is in her little tent. We’ll shoot her out, meaning we’ll cover all the parts that we can’t replace her with a body double, and then begin the gag. It’s going to be a long night.
7:00 pm (12:30 am)
All talent are wrapped, all smiles and fake blood. The heat was on during an August heatwave because she was chilly. The 1st has asked sound if they can leave the AC running. We’re happy to oblige, we do not give a damn if there’s a humming in the background at this point.
8:30 pm (2:00 am)
After a long heated conversation with the special FX lead, the director wants more blood, and says it needs to be darker and more viscous. This happens every time. Things like the ‘blood look’ are always approved in pre-shoot tests, and then on the day, it’s never enough. It would seem no one from any of the relevant departments ever anticipates this. The FX department are frantically mixing up a new, very expensive, batch of blood.
9:00 pm (2:30 am)
We’re all set, the blood is thicker, more plentiful and hot and ready. In 3…2…1…
9:01 pm (2:31 am)
It jammed.
9:10 pm (2:40 am)
Ok, here we go again!!
9:12 pm (2:42 am)
Well, THAT didn’t work, we’re going again after a really quick reset.
9:45 pm (3:15 am)
3…2…1… Blood everywhere. The stand-in who is acting as body double (well, back of head double to be precise) is covered. Sets is livid. We’re going again once they replace the couch, the carpet, the chairs, clean the walls and, well, everything.
The focus puller thinks there was a buzz, I don't think even the director cares if the focus was a bit soft at this point.
10:50 pm (4:20 am)
This is the one, I can feel it. Grips and electrics are packing up. Many departments have wrapped. Sound is still here. We don’t know why, but they want to keep us, just in case. The last 4 hours have been M.O.S. (I find myself wondering what term we should replace Machine Only Sound with if there’s no film in the camera to hear.)
The mixer is asleep at his cart.
10:55 pm (4:25 am)
Ok! 3…2… Oh wait, hold on.
10:58 pm (4:28 am)
Right, ready, aaaaaaaaaaand... A mighty trickle dribbles from the blood rig.
The director is despondent.
11:00 pm (4:30 am)
Fuck it, we’ll do it in post. That’s a wrap everyone!
In which the boom operator takes note of a gore special effects day from start to finish.
Friday 9:00 am
(It’s not Friday, it’s Saturday because we did a sixth day last week and it’s not 9:00 am, it’s 2:30 pm because we’ve been pushing the call time all week.) We’re going to shoot a few pages and do the highly technical blood gag, in which the actor opens a laptop and the monster ex machina shoots out a bolt of electricity and explodes her head, last.
Big effects gags are always done at the end of the day. It’s a 1st assistant director trick to keep the director from blowing a whole day on an effect. What it means, in reality, is that we’re short on time at the end of the day and also exhausted.
10:00 am (3:30 pm)
This is painfully slow. FX unloads. They look like if you wrote a movie about a band of ne’er-do-wells who start a special effects company, which is, you know, fitting.
5:00 pm (10:30 pm)
We’re getting set up now. The gag is basically a laptop with three rubber hoses drilled through the bottom that run back to a contraption that is operated by a man with nine fingers. Compressed air propels fake blood that has been loaded into the lines when a cue is given and the nine-fingered man opens the valve. It’s all very scientific. The thing is a LOT bulkier than it sounds and hiding the blood lines is almost always nearly impossible. The actor is in her little tent. We’ll shoot her out, meaning we’ll cover all the parts that we can’t replace her with a body double, and then begin the gag. It’s going to be a long night.
7:00 pm (12:30 am)
All talent are wrapped, all smiles and fake blood. The heat was on during an August heatwave because she was chilly. The 1st has asked sound if they can leave the AC running. We’re happy to oblige, we do not give a damn if there’s a humming in the background at this point.
8:30 pm (2:00 am)
After a long heated conversation with the special FX lead, the director wants more blood, and says it needs to be darker and more viscous. This happens every time. Things like the ‘blood look’ are always approved in pre-shoot tests, and then on the day, it’s never enough. It would seem no one from any of the relevant departments ever anticipates this. The FX department are frantically mixing up a new, very expensive, batch of blood.
9:00 pm (2:30 am)
We’re all set, the blood is thicker, more plentiful and hot and ready. In 3…2…1…
9:01 pm (2:31 am)
It jammed.
9:10 pm (2:40 am)
Ok, here we go again!!
9:12 pm (2:42 am)
Well, THAT didn’t work, we’re going again after a really quick reset.
9:45 pm (3:15 am)
3…2…1… Blood everywhere. The stand-in who is acting as body double (well, back of head double to be precise) is covered. Sets is livid. We’re going again once they replace the couch, the carpet, the chairs, clean the walls and, well, everything.
The focus puller thinks there was a buzz, I don't think even the director cares if the focus was a bit soft at this point.
10:50 pm (4:20 am)
This is the one, I can feel it. Grips and electrics are packing up. Many departments have wrapped. Sound is still here. We don’t know why, but they want to keep us, just in case. The last 4 hours have been M.O.S. (I find myself wondering what term we should replace Machine Only Sound with if there’s no film in the camera to hear.)
The mixer is asleep at his cart.
10:55 pm (4:25 am)
Ok! 3…2… Oh wait, hold on.
10:58 pm (4:28 am)
Right, ready, aaaaaaaaaaand... A mighty trickle dribbles from the blood rig.
The director is despondent.
11:00 pm (4:30 am)
Fuck it, we’ll do it in post. That’s a wrap everyone!