Girl on Rocky Top

Yesterday, we shot on the ledges of a place called "The Pinnacles" in Berea, KY. This is the title scene in which Scott, Brian, & Wendy spend the day hiking and having a great time. At one point, Wendy sings a verse of "Rocky Top" and the others join in -- in a hammy way. One pleasant surprise in casting: Jenna ("Wendy") can really sing. In fact, the whole cast can. The scene therefore played out less campy than intended. Serendipity.

The bugs at the bottom were fierce and the trail up to the ledges was steep--especially for the crew carrying camera equipment. So once we got there, we shot enough material for two feature-length films...just to make it worth the climb.

Jenna sang the first two verses of "Rocky Top" about 40 times...a painful chore for a UK fan.

It was the most fun day of the shoot.

Rain Delayed

Filming today (the hiking scenes at the trailhead and at the lookout) was called on account of rain. We'll try to wrap up shooting at the lake in one day, instead of two, later in the week.

Two crews diverged...and re...verged

After filming a brief scene in the little town of Irvine, KY, yesterday morning (just a brief shot of "Scott" and "Tab" walking on the sidewalk eating ice cream...something that NEVER happens, but we have to indulge the film-makers here), we split into two crews.

Most of the cast and crew went with the DP, Chad, to film more driving scenes in the hills and hollers between Irvine and Jackson. Thomas ("Brian") had a bit of a stomach bug, so driving on those serpentine roads was just what the doctor ordered.

Nick ("Scott"), Andrew (the director), Brendan (sound) and I went back to the EKU campus to record the voice-over tracks and some poetry. In the evening, both groups reconvened and we shot the "boo-bee!" scene and some more driving/car scenes.

It was a long day.

"Making our day" at Moores Grocery

Last night, we had our first and only night-shoot. The call was at 5:30 pm at a little country store called Moores Grocery in Berea, KY, where we shot until 1 am. We were shooting scene 13, in which they have stopped for supplies at a roadside store. The scene is intended to introduce some of the tension between all four characters. It was the best scene we've shot so far. Jenna (Wendy) and Nick (Scott) were relaxed and having fun, Thomas (Brian) and Jen (were conflicted, but subtly so). Overall, you can really see the cast bonding and the effect it is having on their scenes.



Too, the crew is functioning like a well-oiled machine. Not only did they get all of their shots (what they call "making their day"), Andrew (the director) and Chad (the Director of Photography) even talked John (one of the producers) into getting a few more night-time driving shots for the can.



Thankfully, we are off today. Night shoots will wreck you.