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A turn of the century warehouse in Hannibal, MO

And with a BANG! shooting with the fall cast is done. We had just a few shots to do, that required a lot of setup, but after a late start due to having to pack up a huge prop, that had to be partially disassembled, we headed for Hannibal. I know what you’re thinking… “You guys… start late…. impossible.”  But alas, it is so.

This was one of those days that I knew was going to take a while to get ready for, but it was also one of the most enjoyable days of filming.

Jeff, Julian, Rhonda and Devin were ready to roll. Two big scenes. Getting people in makeup and props in place took some time, and after seven hours of prep work, all that for what would wind up being roughly five seconds of finished footage and only one chance to get it right. And that was the real fear. Having to do it again. There were several local store owners that came out to watch. Without giving too much away, we got the scenes shot, they are incredible, and everyone was in a great mood. We wrapped up, and took pictures with everybody, a round of applause for the Fall Cast, and there were hugs and goodbyes as the cast left Hannibal for the last time.

There’s a weird thing that happens when you start working on a project like this. You start to feel like there’s two of you. There’s the Monday through Thursday you, with concerns and issues just like everybody else you know. But come a filming day, the movie is all you care about. It becomes the center of the universe. And then the shooting days are over, and you have to readjust to Monday through Thursday you. As excited as I am about this project, I guess that’s why I don’t talk about it much outside of the circle of people involved.

There’s a real rush that comes along with it, and a real crash. Those weekends of rushes and crashes are almost over. There’s only four filming days left. Most of those are interiors. It will probably seem a bit anticlimactic on wrap day. But there’s a real joy in this whole process. Despite the hours spent driving, and setting up, for just a few seconds of film here and there, there is a real sense of accomplishment, not just by me, but from the crew. They braved the heat, the cold, the water, the snow, the heights. All that to get this done. So here’s a shout out to Mike, Karen, Tina, Kelly, Tim , Maria, and Justin. Each and every one of them has earned so much respect.

I’m rambling, and I’m still exhausted from the weekend, so I’m calling it a night.

More soon.