April (Filming) in Paris

This phase of 2013 is a slight departure from what I am normally involved with.

My brother was hired to shoot a film in France, and haphazardly sent me a text message one day saying, "Hey! you should come to Paris with me and be my AC (assistant camera operator)"... to which I thought for 2 minutes and replied "...ok, I'll go."

It was that random.

So over the last couple of weeks I've been in the process of moving into my new place, had a wedding to shoot, and filming & editing for another video project... all while planning a trip overseas. A month-long trip, no less.

With a bag (full of clothes and equipment) and a backpack (with a camera, lenses, laptop, chargers, hard drives, etc.) I caught an 11-hour flight to Paris earlier this week to meet up with my brother and our writer/director, who were coming in from the first round of filming in New York.

We are staying in Gentilly, in an art studio owned by Keith's friend Jonathan (an artist/art-history professor here in France). Each room is full of giant canvases, sculptures, prints, lithograph equipment, paint, and chemicals.

Sprinkled in are laptops and power cords. There's even a full (real) human skeleton assembled in a wooden closet in the room where I sleep:

We have 3 weeks total to write multiple drafts of the script, cast our actors, run rehearsals, plan shooting schedules/times, and scout locations. Our days so far have consisted of a LOT of walking around Paris and jumping from train to train, with our "down-time" being filled with script revisions and read-throughs. We have cast our lead actress already, but still need to fill a few other roles.

Keith & Kevin discussing the first draft of the script

It's an experience, for sure. Sometimes tiring and stressful, but so far it's been a lot of fun. Filming starts tomorrow.