Another 48 Hours

Thank God there was a bathroom.

As my body ages, I find that I’m heading to the loo a lot more often than I did in my younger days.

It’s gotten to the point that I’ll check the location of the lavatory upon entering a new place before scoping out the fire exits.

I understand that this is a fact of aging, but there’s no law that says I have to be happy about it.

I spent the day on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn on Saturday after signing up for The 48 Hour Film Project, a contest where teams write, shoot, and edit films in the allotted time period.

I had done this last year with the idea of getting more experience on a film set and gaining enough confidence to shoot a short film of my own.

A year has gone by without me making that film, so I figured I’d join this competition again as way of acquiring additional knowledge so I could get my rear in gear.

Like last year, I was the director. I wasn’t at all happy with my directorial debut and I was determined to do a better job this time around. And while I did achieve that goal—kind of—I know that there’s still a great deal of room for improvement.

Now this thing was scary enough, but I was further hamstrung by a hideous stomach virus that started midweek and played merry hell with my innards on Friday—the day before we were supposed to shoot the film.

Backing out at such a late would’ve probably tanked the entire project and let people down, so that was not an option.

I went through my usual routine of cursing the fates, shaking my fist at the heavens, and whining about how this always happen to me, which made everything so much better.

It was so bad that I pretty much quit eating—no hardship given the volcanic eruption going on in my intestines—stocked up on the Pepto Bismol tables and dragged my ailing ass over to the location.

We had the use of an empty storefront for about eight hours, which was a relief, seeing as how last year we shot outdoors and got soaked in a ceaseless rain.

Quiet on the set

The weather was beautiful in New York on Saturday and shooting outdoors on such a lovely day would’ve been a blast, but I was in no shape to complain.

And to be honest, having that storefront freed us from the need to get permits or deal with crowds…or search for a bathroom.

We did have two brief outdoor scenes and in both cases the people we encountered were very nice to us: one young lady offered to move while we were shooting a mugging scene—it wasn’t necessary—and a homeowner very kindly gave us permission to shoot a scene in her driveway.

Shooting was an all-day affair, and it was rather frustrating at times, especially in the early innings.

I felt like I was being shut out, but that’s largely my own doing, since I was not assertive enough. This has been a probelem since I often hold in my anger until I explode and upset people with my overreaction.

A few times I forget to say “cut” until I noticed the actors were looking at me and waiting for the order. The truth is that I’m just not accustomed to taking a leadership position.

There’s that introverted side of my that tells me to stick to writing and avoid getting involved with people but that, of course, means never directing a film.

Things picked up after lunch—which I very wisely skipped given the condition of my guts. I began to feel more confident in my decisions.

At one point in building starting to shake from the sound of blasting reggae music. At first, I thought it was someone’s car stereo and that they’d soon be gone.

But no, it turned out to be coming from a block party that was taking place at a cul-de-sac directly across from us.

I thought we were royally screwed but the crew members assured me that the noise could be deleted in post-production. Thank you, Jesus.

So, at the end of the day, I’m very glad I signed up for this competition. It got me out of my comfort zone—big time—and renewed my desire to stop procrastinating and start shooting my own film.

I’ve got the drive; I’ve got the vision; and, most importantly, I’ve got the Pepto Bismol.