Weeks 7 und 8

The past couple of weeks have been dedicated to accumulating footage for the film. We realized just how important coming up with a detailed, comprehensive shooting schedule is. The coming weeks before the big premiere will be dedicated to editing primarily. For our first big (planned) shooting day, we decided to shoot at the Lustgarten, the deconstructed Palace of the Republic, and on Unter den Linden. My role in the group is mostly one of the actress, so I have not had too much experience on the technical, camera work side of things. This I do not mind though, as I am not exactly technologically inclined. The Chrises are doing most of the directing and setting up shots, and they are both very good at it. I especially enjoy when Chris M wears his LA director glasses and big scarf and barks orders at me. It makes me feel like I am in a real movie. Another thing I realized was just how long it takes to set up choreographed shots and how many takes we must get in order to have the optimal amount of footage to bring to the editing table.
I think our film, once we start editing, will take shape as planned--really well. The editing will be completely collaborative, and we have blocked a few hours each night for the next couple weeks to edit. Working collaboratively has been, I think, the biggest challenge as well as the most rewarding part of the shooting experience. It is difficult sometimes to coordinate shot ideas and trajectories for the film, let alone scheduling. However, I think our individual visions regarding the film's aesthetic are very much aligned. We are all pretty excited about the soundtrack idea. I think some others might know what I am talking about, but please, keep it a surprise for those who do not. We thought it would be too easy/obvious to just go pure camp and perhaps too heavy-handed/amateur to go for full-on-serious. So we decided to do something else. All I can call it at this point is "different" or "quite interesting." Stay tuned.
Our group, for the most part, has been driven and proactive in regards to keeping on schedule. I don't know what we would do without Chris M's facilitating skills. However, the fam is in town, so Chris has been unavailable for the last two days, and the rest of the group has been miraculously able to keep it together! Chris H. and I shot at different locations yesterday and today and got some amazing footage. Yesterday we went to Lichtenberg, way east on Frankfurter Allee. One gets the feel of Moscow or something similar in Lichtenberg. We found an interesting (precisely for its perceived homogeneity) location between loads of Soviet-style high rise apartment houses that signifies disorientation quite well, and we were able to acquire some good panning and tilting shots there. The light was also optimal--just before dusk--which added to the eeriness of the place. Yesterday was also groundbreaking--we had our first real success with the bike cam. We wedge the tripod between materials stuffed in the camera backpack, put the camera on the tripod, adjust it to whatever angle works, and I get on my bike and ride. What a great way to film, I mean, I get to ride while filming?! Genius!
Chris and I also had a blast with the bike cam today at the Oberbaumbrücke (think Lola Rennt) and the East Side Gallery. We had a little help from my Freund Felix so that we could get some shots that mimic dolly/tracking shots. The cool thing is that we both get to ride our bikes, and we don't have to spend a bunch of money renting a truck and a dolly and the whole apparatus. I think some of the shots that we got today and more recently look much more professional, or at least aesthetically pleasing, than those of a month or so ago. Maybe this film won't be totally amateur...