Who's in charge here?
I believe, for the next few days, Mother Nature is in charge of our shoot schedule.
We spent Saturday in Bayport and Red Wing Minnesota. Those of you who know Minnesota geography are now scratching your heads wondering why I selected Bayport for a location shoot because it is nowhere near Highway 61. You are correct. This is where the Executive Producer (re: Me) gets to decide how best to convey the spirit and nuance of a part of the script that deals with what remains of those early days of highway travel. The old, two pump gas stations, for instance, are largely gone EXCEPT for a lovingly restored gas station/garage in Bayport. The Minnesota Historical Society has a nifty black and white photo of the station in the 1930's, and viewers will see that photo, and it will slowly "morph" into how it looks today (virtually the same) as I walk into the frame with the Bayport station behind me. I think it will be a nice effect.
At any rate, I didn't stop to think that the St. Croix Valley and Bayport were in line for some frost Saturday morning and we began shooting at the break of day, (the coldest time of the morning I might add) and on screen, all you see are clouds of steam coming from my mouth as I attempt to spit out my comments between chattering teeth. There purports to be an old Hollywood secret to keep that from happening in cold weather shoots. Producers have actors suck on ice cubes between takes. I tried that. Doesn't work. It just makes you colder than you already are!
We did get some nice takes (as the atmosphere warmed up) and then it was off to Red Wing for more work, including a nice interview about a 1930's era gangster found dead by the side of Highway 61. It has quite a twist to it but you'll have to wait to find out more.
The weather the remainder of Saturday was simply stunning with beautiful light with which to shoot. Unfortunately, today (Sunday) Mother Nature has decided to be a little petulant and it is windy, cloudy and rainy. I'm a bit of a weather geek, so early this morning, I checked the forecast and decided to make a run for Barnum Minnesota, where we had been rained out a couple of weeks ago.
We managed to get there, shoot my on-camera standups and some footage of the town itself, before it completely clouded over and the winds picked up to more than 25 miles an hour. Mother Nature is certainly in charge, and I'm just along for the ride.
Because the forecast looks pretty dismal this coming week (the week I took off work to finish all my standups from St. Paul to LaCrescent) we will work inside Monday and Tuesday doing some key interviews. Wednesday is a travel day and with luck, the rest of the week will be nice enough to really come close to finishing up my on camera work. Keep your fingers crossed. (and put in a good word for me with Mother Nature!)
We spent Saturday in Bayport and Red Wing Minnesota. Those of you who know Minnesota geography are now scratching your heads wondering why I selected Bayport for a location shoot because it is nowhere near Highway 61. You are correct. This is where the Executive Producer (re: Me) gets to decide how best to convey the spirit and nuance of a part of the script that deals with what remains of those early days of highway travel. The old, two pump gas stations, for instance, are largely gone EXCEPT for a lovingly restored gas station/garage in Bayport. The Minnesota Historical Society has a nifty black and white photo of the station in the 1930's, and viewers will see that photo, and it will slowly "morph" into how it looks today (virtually the same) as I walk into the frame with the Bayport station behind me. I think it will be a nice effect.
At any rate, I didn't stop to think that the St. Croix Valley and Bayport were in line for some frost Saturday morning and we began shooting at the break of day, (the coldest time of the morning I might add) and on screen, all you see are clouds of steam coming from my mouth as I attempt to spit out my comments between chattering teeth. There purports to be an old Hollywood secret to keep that from happening in cold weather shoots. Producers have actors suck on ice cubes between takes. I tried that. Doesn't work. It just makes you colder than you already are!
We did get some nice takes (as the atmosphere warmed up) and then it was off to Red Wing for more work, including a nice interview about a 1930's era gangster found dead by the side of Highway 61. It has quite a twist to it but you'll have to wait to find out more.
The weather the remainder of Saturday was simply stunning with beautiful light with which to shoot. Unfortunately, today (Sunday) Mother Nature has decided to be a little petulant and it is windy, cloudy and rainy. I'm a bit of a weather geek, so early this morning, I checked the forecast and decided to make a run for Barnum Minnesota, where we had been rained out a couple of weeks ago.
We managed to get there, shoot my on-camera standups and some footage of the town itself, before it completely clouded over and the winds picked up to more than 25 miles an hour. Mother Nature is certainly in charge, and I'm just along for the ride.
Because the forecast looks pretty dismal this coming week (the week I took off work to finish all my standups from St. Paul to LaCrescent) we will work inside Monday and Tuesday doing some key interviews. Wednesday is a travel day and with luck, the rest of the week will be nice enough to really come close to finishing up my on camera work. Keep your fingers crossed. (and put in a good word for me with Mother Nature!)
posted by Cathy Wurzer at
5:51 PM
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